His Christmas Baby: A Friends to Lovers Romance Read online

  “I missed you too Keane, but what are you doing here?” She blinked up at me with questions in her eyes. “Is everything okay ?”

  “Everything is fine. Seamus and Rosie are somewhere in the South Pacific.” Not that she cared, they hadn’t spoken since Seamus left and I didn’t blame her even if it would make things awkward when he returned. “I couldn’t wait another moment to see you. To hold you. To taste you.” I’d dreamed about it the whole flight over, how it would feel to have her again .

  “Mmm, I’m glad because I had a surprise all planned for tomorrow .”

  “Oh yeah ?”

  She nodded. “Hell yeah.” She slipped from my arms and disappeared down the hall. Five minutes later she came back looking like every forbidden fantasy I’d ever had about her. “What do you think ?”

  What did I think? I thought she looked like the perfect wet dream in her white see thru lingerie that gave me the perfect view of her rosy pink nipples along with the dark strip of hair between her legs. “I think you are everything I ever wanted .”

  She sighed and leapt into my arms, wrapping her legs around me. “Perfect. That’s just what I was going for.” And her lips were on mine, attacking them hungrily while my hands roamed her lace covered body. She gasped when I squeezed her ass and one finger slid into her opening .

  “You should never wear panties again,” I growled and she laughed

  “Maybe you should give me a reason to toss them out,” she teased, licking my neck and nibbling my ear. Pretty much driving me out of my fucking mind .

  I laid her on the sofa and quickly got rid of my pants and boxers, my cock jerked at her hungry gaze and the way she licked her lips as she reached out to me. “You can suck me off later, right now I just need to be inside you.” She opened her legs wider in response, giving me a perfect view of that wet pink pussy, lips glistening deliciously. “Just one,” I told her and knelt between her legs so I could get a taste of her sweet pussy before I slid deep into her .

  “Keane,” she cried out, hips jerking so enticingly I just had to have another taste. And another until her arousal dripped between us .

  “So fucking good,” I told her and thrust all the way in. “Love you,” I told her and proceeded to fuck her until we were both sweaty and panting. You ready to come ?”

  “Always,” she answered breathlessly and reached between us. Instead of reaching for her clit she grabbed my balls. “I love you Keane. So much. And I love your cock,” she said and gave a gentle squeeze .

  Suddenly my control snapped and I pounded hard into her, sinking deeper when she wrapped those shapely legs around me, digging her feet into my ass. Hard and deep I went, keeping a furious pace that hurtled us both straight into satisfaction. Pleasure. Blind fucking pleasure that I swear had me seeing stars. My name fell from her lips like a prayer as she came. “ I roared my own pleasure into the mostly empty apartment and fell on top of her .

  “That’s how a boyfriend is supposed to greet you .”

  Boyfriend. I hated that term. I was too old to be anybody’s boyfriend. “And how does a fiancé greet his woman ?”

  Confusion flashed in her eyes but it quickly turned to naughtiness. “My guess is with more oral .”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped at her unexpected comment. I used the moment to roll over and reach for my jeans, pulling out a velvet box and opening it .

  “Then I guess you’d better give me the right answer.” I wasn’t a traditional kind of guy, but I was already kneeling beside her, so I grabbed one of her hands and held it to my chest. “Fiona O’Malley you have been torturing me in one way or another for your whole life. I’ve loved you for much longer than I should have, but now that I have you, I can’t see ever letting you go. Wherever we go, whatever we do, I just want us to be together. Will you marry me ?”

  Tears swam in her blue eyes but she gave me a toothy smile as she nodded. “Hell yeah I can’t wait to be your wife!” She tackled me to the ground and kissed me until I was breathless and hard all over again. “You really want to marry me ?”

  “More than anything, Fi.” She ground against me and I groaned, wondering if I would always feel so hungry, so wild when it came to her. “In fact, I thought maybe you wanted to drive over to Vegas and then spend the week driving back to Boston. Just the two of us .”

  Her gaze softened. She nestled against me, bringing my cock to a rest right at her opening, but she had that soft-love look and I knew she was about to get mushy. “I guess I got lucky when I fell in love with you Keane. I knew you were a good man and now I know you’re also a romantic .”

  I frowned. “No one said anything about romance, Fi .”

  She laughed at me. “Oh yeah what do you call the road trip I always wanted as our first honeymoon ?”

  “I love you Fi and I just want you to be happy, that has nothing to do with romance .”

  She laughed and then kissed me, slow and sweetly. “Fine but what about the food warming in the oven ?”

  “That’s just to keep you fueled up for the night ahead,” I told her as I grasped her hips and slipped inside her body .

  “Speaking of head,” she purred as her hips rolled in a figure eight that drove me wild. “How do you feel about road head? I hear all the kids are doing it .”

  “Right now Fiona, I’ll give you anything you want .”

  Her gaze turned serious and her movement became quick and shallow. “It’s a good thing that you’re the only thing I want Keane. Forever .”

  “Come closer and let me love you then.” I pulled her close and kissed her, knowing our life together would be filled with love and passion. Just as it always had been, only now it would be better. Deeper .

  Lasting.

  * * *

  THE END

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  A Family By Christmas

  Chapter 1

  “W hat am I going to do?” Lucy asked in a voice high with desperation. She paced the small living room of the apartment she shared with her four-year-old son Jacob .

  “Call him ,” her brother Chris advised softly from the other end of the phone receiver held to her ear. “You’ve kept this from him long enough. Do you have any idea how hard it was keeping it from Mom and Dad? ” he demanded .

  Lucy laughed hysterically. The mere thought of rich, famous Joe Landers finding out he has a secret son would make huge headlines and that was the main reason she’d kept it from him. She didn’t want her son exposed to that kind of life .

  “You never should have kept this from him, ” Chris admonished and she rolled her eyes at the years’ old argument .

  “I never should have told you ,” she snapped and instantly felt guilty. It wasn’t Chris’s fault that she’d fallen for her brother’s gorgeous best friend from college. She’d met Joe a little over five years ago, while she, herself, was only a college sophomore .

  Joe had come back to town to act as best man for Chris’s wedding and after one alcohol-hazed night, he’d left Erie, Pennsylvania and Lucy in his rearview mirror. The town wasn’t affected as much as Lucy – she’d been pregnant with Joe’s child. He’d gone on to sign with the St. Louis Cardinal’s professional baseball team and now had a reoccurring multi-million dollar contract. He loved his high-rolling celebrity lifestyle and the spotlight it gave him. He’d gone on record numerous times saying how he wasn’t the type to settle down with just one woman and he adamantly claimed not to want children .

  Lucy, a straight-A student, who loved nothing but studying and collecting books, couldn’t stand the thought of her son being used as fodder for some money-grubbing newspaper or tabloid trash. So, she’d kept Jacob’s existence a secret. It had worked fine for four years now .

  Chris inhaled deeply on the other end
of the call. Having moved to San Francisco, California shortly after getting married, he kept in constant contact with his little sister. Ever since she’d gotten pregnant and refused to reveal the father, their parents had virtually disowned her. They’d died in a freak car accident a month before Jacob was born. Chris was the only family she had left .

  “You can’t do this alone, Luce,” her brother said. “You’re gonna need help .”

  “And you’re sure neither you nor Amber can come?” she asked again. He’d already told her they couldn’t get the time off of work, but it didn’t hurt to ask again .

  “I’m sorry, sweet pea, I wish we could, but Amber just got this big promotion and I need all the hours I can clock for the mortgage. I know it sounds like we’re brushing you off, but I promise you, I’m not. It’s killing me to know I’m letting you down, but I can’t take any time off until next month and then God Himself won’t stop me. You just need to make it until then…” He trailed off .

  “And it isn’t like I can get a babysitter,” Lucy admitted. “This is a 24/7 clinic and they won’t let Jacob stay with me.” No matter how badly she didn’t want to call on Joe, she slowly realized she had no other choice .

  “So, bite the bullet and call him. If he’s an ass, then you let me know and I’ll beat him senseless,” Chris threatened. “But honestly, I can’t see him turning his back on his own flesh and blood . ”

  Lucy caved at her brother’s trust and faith in his longtime best friend. Maybe she had been wrong about Joe, maybe she did owe it to him. Mind made up, she decided she’d call him and ask him for help, but she refused to throw Jacob in the line of fire just yet. If Joe came and actually showed some interest in being with her son, then maybe she’d tell him. Only time would tell .

  Chapter 2

  J oe Landers ran his fingers through his spiky, black hair and laughed at the naughty girl sitting next to him. She leaned against him, her breasts pressed as tightly against his bicep as possible and whispered really interesting things in his ear. Or, at least what he managed to hear was naughty. The pounding bass pumping through the club’s speakers managed to drown out pretty much everything. Her makeup seemed exotic but he knew the flashing, fluorescent lights always camouflaged the smallest flaws. Even though she looked like Marilyn Monroe at the moment, she was probably more of a Molly Toothless in reality. But hell, he didn’t care. His bear goggles were on tight and he was ready for whatever ride she provided .

  “C ’mon baby,” she cooed and scooted across to exit the leather booth seat, her hand grabbing his and urging him along behind her. “Let’s go someplace a little quieter .”

  Joe nodded and tossed a few bills on the table to cover their drinks and followed her lead. Once on his feet, he slung his arm around her shoulders and laughed when they both weaved and wobbled their way to the door. Shoving through the blacked-out door, he inhaled sharply when the cold Missouri air hit him square in the face. Shaking his head to dispel the ringing in his ears, he frowned when it didn’t work. The girl squinted down at his jacket pocket .

  “I think your pocket’s ringing,” she slurred and then giggled .

  J oe pulled away from her and dug in his pocket until he found the offensive little device. Pulling it out, a familiar face from years ago flashed across his screen and he sobered in a hurry. But before he could hit the send button to answer, the connection dropped. His eyes flicked to the signal strength on his screen and he noted he had full service. Had she lost connection? The little screen went black as he stood there and let his thoughts run wild. He’d had it pretty bad for his best friend Chris’s little sister ever since he first laid eyes on her. Joe had rolled into town to act as best man for his bud’s wedding and this little slip of a college sophomore flat-out stole his breath. He remembered that day as clear as if it were yesterday. He’d pulled his rental car up in front of the Conlay’s modest brick home. A petite girl with a long, bouncy ponytail knelt in the front yard gathering the contents of a spilled bag. He’d rushed from his car to help her scoop the books and papers before the wind carried them away. Contents safely returned to her backpack, they rose and the moment their eyes met, Joe’s heart lurched in excitement. He faced five-feet-seven-inches of the most adorable bookworm he’d ever met; her big, brown, doe-eyes nearly cut him off at the knees. He still remembered what she’d been wearing that day as well: a yellow sundress with a pair of those little white tennis shoes. Shaking his head to clear the lustful fog settling over him, he swiped the screen to the right and held his hand up to his drunken date, motioning for her to be quiet. He then waited for Lucy to answer the call. She picked up on the fourth ring .

  “ J oe? ” she whispered. “I’m sorry it’s so late, I didn’t mean to wake you . ”

  “N ah Luce,” he scoffed. “It’s good to hear from you. What’s it been – six years?” he asked and batted his hand when the drunken woman grabbed at his arm, her face scrunched in a jealous sneer .

  “More like five years, give or take a few months, ” she answered drolly .

  J oe laughed at her sassiness, his gut feeling a warmth that had nothing to do with alcohol. He’d instantly fell in lust with her the day they’d met, so when he had the chance to spend some one-on-one time with her after Chris’s wedding, he fulfilled his fantasies by giving her the night of her life. A small part of him hated leaving her behind the next morning, but she just wasn’t a good fit for the lifestyle he’d wanted. She was the kind of woman a man settled down with, raised a family with and grew old with. Three things he didn’t want .

  “T o what do I owe the pleasure of this little call?” he asked playfully and then scowled at himself. The alcohol was messing with his mojo .

  “ I need your help, ” Lucy admitted gently .

  S ensing a chance to rekindle an old flame, Joe shoved his date back inside the club and pushed the door shut behind her. Leaning against it, he put all his weight into keeping her inside while he made other plans .

  “W hen and where darlin’?” he drawled. “Give me the details and I’ll be there,” he promised .

  Chapter 3

  “W hy can’t I go with you, Mommy?” Jacob asked in a low and frightened voice. “I don’t want to stay with a sitter, I want you ,” he insisted and Lucy pressed her eyelids closed to avert the tears .

  She’d had no idea how difficult it would be to look down into her baby’s big blue eyes and tell him that he had to stay with a stranger while Mommy went to the hospital to get better. The only time he’d been out of her sight was when she’d gone to work; barring that, the duo were never far from one another. When she’d gotten the Librarian position at Erie’s public library, she’d found Jacob a day care just next door. That convenience allowed her to see him on days when the library sponsored children’s activities and during her breaks. She took solace in knowing he was just next door and she could pop over to see him anytime she’d wanted to. He only had a few more months and then he’d be ready for kindergarten. She wasn’t sure how either of them would handle that step, but she vowed to cross that bridge when the time came .

  She set the shirt she’d been folding down on her bed and knelt before her son. Little tears escaped his eyes, snaking shiny, moist patches down over his baby cheeks. She took his glasses off and dabbed at his eyes with a tissue .

  “I know sweetie,” she cooed reassuringly. “I don’t like this either, but Mommy has to get better and the doctors need me to stay there while they give me medicine.” Shoving his little glasses back onto his freckle-smattered nose, she bent down and gave him a quick peck on his protruding lips .

  “You get to stay right here at home and Mr. Joe is Uncle Chris’s best friend, so you’ll be just fine with him. I’ve made him a list of all your favorite foods and television shows -” Her voice trailed off when anxiety caused her chest wall to tighten to the point of hyperventilation. Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly and did her best to smile .

  “Uncle Chris will call and check on yo
u and you can come visit me, can you be a big boy for me?” Lucy asked pasted a smile on her face .

  J acob tucked his chin and hugged the raggedy teddy bear a little tighter to his chest. He nodded gently and climbed up on the bed to watch her pack. She’d just zipped the rolling suitcase closed when someone knocked on their door. Jacob jumped at the unexpected pounding and gripped his bear a little tighter .

  Lucy inhaled deeply and steeled herself for the upcoming performance. She looked back down at her son and prayed Joe wouldn’t see himself in the boy’s eyes like she did. Her baby had taken after his father in every way but two: he had his mother’s bad eyesight and he was shy to the point of terror; which was in direct contrast to Joe’s arrogance .

  “Y ou ready to meet Mr. Joe?” Lucy asked Jacob and held her hand out for him to take. He nodded once and slipped his small fingers through hers .

  Chapter 4

  J oe popped a mint in his mouth and ran his hands through the thick black spikes on his head. After hanging up with Lucy, he’d gone straight home, tossed some clothes in a gym bag and hopped the next flight out. Upon arrival at Erie International Airport, he’d promptly rented a car – a 2017 candy apple red Ford Mustang GT – and hauled ass to her apartment complex. It was the longest fifteen miles of his life. He glanced down at his watch and the indigo blue digits read 5:27 a.m. Damn, he’d made good time, he thought to himself. After one last, deep, breath, he raised his hand and knocked twice .

  However, he wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions that assaulted him with she opened the door. Although a small woman to begin with, Lucy’s petite frame barely managed to hold her skin on her bones, her hollow cheek bones and dropping eyes betrayed her condition without her uttering a word. Fear tore through Joe on a level he’d never felt before. But before he opened his mouth to inquire about her health a small hand snaked around from behind her and wrapped around her thigh .