C.J. looked at the flowers and saw that they were indeed from Matt and the card inside said that he needed to talk with her. She just gritted her teeth because he hadn't given her any time to think about it.

But the flowers were gorgeous, some orange roses mixed with those tiny white little buds that she liked so much, and some passion flowers. Damn he played dirty didn't he?

He could do that all he wanted but she wasn't going to just jump in and help him in his madness. She could just see the women of all different kinds lining up at the office with their medical records and resumes in hand to audition for the job of making a baby with Matt. She couldn't imagine what kind of questions he'd ask especially if he decided to do the deed au natural.

Then would it resemble a dating game?

She didn't even want to think about how crazy it could get in the office while Matt continued onward with his quest. Maureen walked up to her, shaking her head.

"Some young guy delivered them just a half hour ago," she said, "You must have an admirer."

C.J. sighed.

"It's just Houston…he wants me to help him with a project."

Maureen nodded.

"I heard…he's looking for a woman to help him procreate," she said, "The city's filled with them so it shouldn't be that hard to find one."

"It's not quite that simple."

Maureen shrugged.

"Don't know why it has to be too difficult," she said, "Over half the female population would be happy to jump into bed with him long enough to get it done."

C.J. just listened to her, couldn't argue with that part of it because she often fantasized about doing that herself. But what about after the conception, she didn't know if she'd be able to walk away from her own baby. How many women in that population that would jump his bones inside a second would be willing to do that?

"It's not like he'd have to tie them to the bed though that might make it more exciting."

C.J. frowned.

"You really think so? I mean he's great with a rope but do women really go for that type of thing?"

Maureen nodded, with a smile.

"Oh yes…the ropes chafe a little bit at first but that just adds to the experience."

C.J. looked at the receptionist a bit uncertainly.

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that."

Maureen seemed to accept that answer and looked again at the beautiful flowers.

"He must really need your help…"

C.J. ran her hand through her hair, which hung loosely today. After those…thoughts she'd been having after their meeting last night, she just felt like not wearing it up.

"He just wants me to validate what he's doing and I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not, you're his best friend and you should support him on something so important as to having a child."

C.J. felt that tug of guilt again.

"I just can't…in fact as his best friend, I should be coming up with ways to discourage him from what he's doing."

Maureen seemed to reject that argument quickly.

"You know, as his best friend, you should be volunteering to do it yourself."

C.J.'s brows rose.

"Excuse me; did I just hear you right?"

"Yeah, unless you have hearing problems," Maureen said, "You're a young vibrant and very attractive woman albeit one with questionable taste in style and I'm guessing all your parts work."

C.J. knit her brows.

"I guess so," she said, "I never tried to have a baby before so I wouldn't know."

Maureen eyed her critically.

"You've got the perfect build for baby making," she said, "Nice hips, great breasts…"

C.J. arched a brow.

"Maureen…"

The other woman didn't flinch in her assessment.

"Really you'd be a perfect mother for his baby."

C.J. sighed, not wanting to get into it with Maureen. She didn't even believe that Matt had his head on straight right now and didn't know what to do about that. How to stop him before he went off the deep end past the point of no return, she had to think of a strategy fast.

Maureen smiled.

"He'll have a beautiful kid, the man's just perfectly designed yet he's honed his body to a sharp edge…oh I'm sure many a woman's body would feel hot just thinking about a night with him."

Now C.J. felt a rush of heat move through her body, because a night with Matt, she could almost imagine it, the scorching of her skin by his touch, and how she knew theyd' fit together just fine. But she knew her body wouldn't be the casualty of a night with him, it'd be her heart. No matter how hard she tried to protect it and tell herself that she'd never fall for him that way, she'd go head first into that abyss so quickly if she just let herself.

Just the thought scared her even when her body ached for him.

"Well I guess they'll all be left wanting if he chooses to go with artificial insemination."

Maureen just almost looked horrified, enough to draw a smile from C.J.

"Oh my god, he can't go run off and do something that's just so unnatural," she said, "If nature's given a way for humans to procreate that's so damn pleasurable, to do otherwise just breaks all its laws."

C.J. sighed.

"But many women have babies this way when they aren't in relationships with men."

Maureen harrumphed.

"It's just not right," she said, "when you can just tie the man down and give him a night he'll never forget."

C.J. just wanted to shake her head at Maureen. She never got it why some women were so into rope play. It just sounded so demeaning to have a man exert that kind of power over you.

Then again, an image flashed in her mind just then of her tied up on her four poster bed. She'd been buck naked and Matt had been over with his devilish tongue tracing circles around the nipples of her breasts. Her nipples hardened and stood at attention as he drew one inside his mouth, leaving her to guess which one.

She'd arch her back of course, how could she help herself, and she'd be silently begging her with his eyes because she'd also been gagged to move his mouth lower between her thighs.

Oh yeah, she'd think as she felt him there.

Just as quickly as she could manage, she clicked that fantasy off, shaking from the intensity of it. How could she ever even imagine what it'd be like to be dominated that way by any man?

But then again, it hadn't been just any man, it'd been Matt.

"I wouldn't mind it if he tied me down before having his way with me."

C.J. blinked her eyes and looked up to see the smile on Maureen's face. Her own body still trembled from what she'd imagined. She needed a drink but it was still too early. Maybe focusing on some contractual work would get her mind off of him.

Damn she was going crazy, she had to be and if he hadn't dropped that bombshell on her she'd be just fine.


Matt entered the restaurant to meet with a client wondering if C.J. had seen her flowers yet. He'd picked out her favorites and had them arranged by the best florist in L.A. Would her face light up or would she immediately suspect his motives? Hopefully, at least she'd enjoy them before she distrusted them. His muscles ached from his early morning run which he hoped would jump start his day because he'd been up all night tossing and turning while dreaming about C.J..

In every single one of them they'd been naked and doing the most amazing things with their bodies. He had to force the images away so he'd be able to concentrate on business which was setting up an appointment to play burglar on a security system that needed some work on a high priced estate in Bel Air.

He'd recruit C.J. to help him with that. It'd be worth it just to see her in that form hugging prowler outfit she usually wore…his pants tightened just at the idea. Damn, he couldn't get turned on during his meeting, bad for business so he'd have to be thinking about security systems, the ins and outs of them all the way to his table.

This meeting would go smoothly and then he'd head back to the office after stopping to pick up some takeout from C.J.'s favorite eatery first. He knew it would take some persuasion on his part to get her to agree with his plan but he'd never not been successful at brokering business deals. He knew she had just begged him off last night because she'd been concerned about him.

Once he eased her worries and convinced her of his sanity, she'd go along with that and apply her crack legal skills to iron out the process that he'd begun outlining inside his head.

She'd looked so pretty last night even though she dressed down. The truth was she looked beautiful no matter what she wore and he could only imagine what she'd look like without a stitch. No part of her would be hidden from him, left up to his fantasies he harbored about her. If he didn't have to put all his thinking into procreation, he'd spend more time trying to figure out how to find out what her clothing covered but business had to take priority over everything else.

He felt an urgency to have a child that he didn't understand but he didn't question it. He could only believe that it'd been because of his brush with death. Although he'd had many of those…but maybe it had been because he hadn't yet turned 30.

He smiled at the man who sat at the table who had wanted to purchase a security system from his company. He'd been friends with his father and had been curious to see how his son would measure up in his own field. As Matt sat down across from him and picked up a menu, he knew he'd be more than ready to broker a great deal.

So he tried to focus on what the man asked him, the questions about his product.

"I need to feel total confidence that my wife and children will be safe," the man said, "My line of work puts them at risk."

Matt nodded because the guy had worked as a manager for one of the top of the line jewelry stores on Rodeo Drive and it wouldn't be unheard of for a band of thieves to show up at his house and hold his family hostage so he'd hand over some of the prized pieces on sale.

But his mind kept wondering to the fact that he needed to find someone to give him a baby and he needed to find some way to get C.J. to help him do that.