When Matt opened up the door and saw her standing there, all he could think about was how much he wanted her.
No, how much he needed her right now.
C.J. on the other hand felt nervous because she didn't know how this night would end. Right now, she was his best friend and business partner turned lover but by night's end, she'd be the mother of his unexpected and most definitely unplanned child. She just wished she could look into a crystal ball and know ahead of time before she told him, how he'd react to her news.
After he had been shocked by it of course but once the initial reaction to it started to ebb away, what would come next?
Would he congratulate her, probably not, but would he at least not be upset by it? Would he head to the nearest escape route instead?
C.J. thought she knew the man in front of her so well but in at least one critical way, he'd left her on his doorstep guessing. Not able to predict how he'd respond to the most important news he'd ever given her.
"Come in," he told her.
She smiled and followed him inside his spacious house. It took about two seconds before he swept her up in his arms and started kissing her mouth, his lips tasting her and driving her into a whirlwind of anticipation and wonder. She wondered where he'd learn to kiss like he did and then decided she didn't really want to know. His hands ran down her blouse, towards the front of it, his fingers frantically unbuttoning it so he could access her breasts.
They'd been a bit tender lately so she might have to tell him to go a bit easy on them but when he stroked them, his first contacts were feathery touches, teasing her really rather than stirring pleasure.
He pinned her against the wall and his hands moved lower, until they began to slide her skirt up her legs towards her panties.
"Matt…"
"Too fast for you," he asked, breathlessly.
"No…" she said, "I need you…"
"You want to eat dinner or should it wait?"
She looked at him, her hands eager to touch him but she hesitated because they really needed to talk…but when he slipped her blouse off over her arms and off of her, she forgot what they needed to talk about…oh maybe it'd come back to her.
"Later…right now I want to see your bedroom…"
He smiled at her and then swooped her off of her feet, while she remained dressed in her naughty lingerie and moved their action to his bed.
"Wow," he said.
She couldn't disagree as she stroked his chest with her fingers while lying next to him.
"You're amazing…"
He kissed her softly in the mouth feeling totally content from what they'd shared and she knew that soon he'd drift off to sleep…and she didn't want to lose him. Not while she felt so connected to him that she could tell him anything.
Like he was going to be a father….
But Matt didn't fall asleep right away, as he hugged her closer to him.
"This week's really been something…"
"I know but we're together."
He kissed her again for that and she tried to work up the courage to tell him her news. She really couldn't wait any longer because as the father of her baby, he deserved to know the truth.
So he'd have the information he'd need to make his decision…for better or for worse.
"Elizabeth's after my company."
She widened her eyes looking at him.
"What do you mean?"
He sighed next to her.
"She's got it in her head that she's going to buy it out from under me if I don't give her what she wants."
"But she can't do that Houston."
He shifted in the bed.
"She can try but her terms, I couldn't go along with them."
"What were they?"
Matt hesitated.
"She wanted me to marry her," he said, "for us to get our engagement back on track."
That sent some shockwaves through C.J., mostly that Elizabeth would take such drastic steps to win Matt back. She had thought it wouldn't have been that hard a while ago because Matt had been so set on marrying her, had said he loved her and if she'd made her move earlier…
But maybe he'd moved on, and maybe she had something to do with that. Maybe it had been the action of taking their relationship to this new level.
"Oh…she really thought she could get you to marry her by threatening your company?"
"Yes she did but I told her no," he said.
"But what if she follows through with her threat?"
Matt sighed again.
"I can build another company even from scratch," he said, "We've done it before and we could do it again…if you help me."
As if he even had to ask!
"Of course I'll help you," she said, "but maybe we need to strategize so that she won't get your company."
He stroked her arm.
"I thought about doing just that but not right now," he said, "I've got other things I'd rather pay attention to right now."
She smiled at that and kissed him on the mouth.
"You hungry," he asked.
Suddenly she felt ravenous.
"Yeah…how about some of that pizza…?"
He nodded and said he'd go fetch it and when he got out of bed, he didn't bother with putting on a stitch of clothing. She appreciated that gesture because it gave her a chance to admire his sexy backside.
Not to mention the frontal view she'd get when he returned and he did with pizza and what looked like a bottle of wine.
Oh no, no could do when it came to drinking alcohol. Not while she was expecting a baby.
"I found some of your favorite vintage from that winery in Napa Valley."
She shook her head.
"I'm not feeling like wine right now but I'll take some of the pizza."
He frowned.
"But it's top of the line from Vance's own private collection."
She looked apologetic.
"Maybe later…"
Yeah, much later she thought but he put the wine down without further questions and she dove into the boxes of Wolfgang Puck's designer pizza with much gusto. He took a couple slices himself and they ate together on his bed.
"Delicious."
He looked over at her.
"Not as much as you," he said, "You're really something…If I'd known you were such a fire cracker…"
She smiled at him.
"You'd still take your time getting here but that's okay," she said, "Because we did get here and it's been the best time of all."
He couldn't agree with her more and after they had dined on the pizza, he put the boxes aside and pulled her into his embrace. She hugged him tightly because the warmth of his arms just felt so damn good.
She could spend all night wrapped in those arms, while she slept. But she still had to tell him her news and she didn't know how he'd take it. So she took a deep breath while he still held her.
"Houston…"
"Yes…?"
She paused.
"I've got some news for you and I don't know what you're going to say."
He narrowed his eyes as he released her enough to look into her eyes.
"What is it…it can't be all that bad?"
She bit her lip and tried to focus on those words. She didn't think it was bad at all, but what about him?
"You can tell me anything, you know that."
And she did, that's the way their relationship had always been even when they were just the closest of friends. But this news, it went beyond anything she'd ever told him. It was the type of news that could seriously alter two people's lives and their relationship. But his eyes, they just told her to tell him and so she did.
"Matt…I'm pregnant."
Once the words spilled out of her mouth, she waited for the world to change.
Matt just stared at the woman in front of him for what seemed like an endless moment. Did he just hear her right; did C.J. his best friend and business partner just tell him that she was pregnant?
He had to double check.
"Did I just hear you right," he said, "You're pregnant?"
She nodded.
"You got tested?"
She arched a brow at him.
"Of course I did and I failed it," she said, "and I've been to see a doctor already."
"You did what?"
She looked as if she were getting impatient with him.
"Of course, I needed confirmation and to make sure she…or he was doing okay."
Matt furrowed his brow.
"Was he or she…doing okay?"
She nodded and pulled the sheet around her. Too damn late to cover her sexy body if that was what she were thinking. His hands had just run over every inch of it while making love and he had savored the contact as he always did. But now she had just told him that she had gotten knocked up.
"I'm about six weeks so that means it happened at the beginning of our…relationship."
He frowned.
"But I thought you were using something, that's what you told me before we…"
Now she looked more than impatient, she looked offended which meant she covered up more of her delectable body from him.
"How long have you known?"
She sighed.
"Not long at all," she said, "I was never not going to tell you."
He digested that still watching her sitting across from him.
"So it's my baby…"
She just looked at him then and then she definitely looked angry. She picked up a pillow and threw it at him before getting out of bed and heading to the door.
Not even noticing she was buck naked, and beautifully so as she prepared her exit. He jumped up after her and stopped her before she could leave the room. She just turned and looked at him, folding her arms over her breasts.
"Of course it's yours Houston," she said, "I haven't been with anyone else."
He sighed itching to stroke her face to ease some of the anger off of her face but he knew if he did that, she'd push him away.
"I know that, I'm sorry," he said, "It's just such a shock."
She nodded at that.
"It was to me too because I didn't anything could go wrong with the pill. It's like 99.9% effective."
"Guess we fell in the statistical error sample group," he reasoned, "God I can't believe I'm going to be a father."
She looked up at him
"I know it's a surprise and I know the feeling Matt but I also know that I want my baby."
He sighed.
"Our baby…"
She put one of her hands on her hips.
"Matt you don't have to do anything," she said, "I know how you feel about what happened when you thought you got a woman pregnant…"
"That was a while ago and she wasn't you C.J.," he said, "and don't you even think you'll tell me to stay away from my child."
The determination that filled his voice surprised him and it surprised her too. Her brows arched and she nodded at him.
"I wouldn't do that Houston," she said, "but I'm not going to force you into anything either. It's not good for me or the baby."
"I see…"
"And I have to put our baby first."
"Of course…so do I and that means we'll be raising him or her together."
She smiled when he said that but her eyes looked guarded.
"Ok …We'll work something out."
He nodded and then reached out to caress her face.
"Now that we've settled that, let's get back into bed.'
Her eyes widened and he smiled at how she just stood there staring at him not carrying that she didn't have a stitch of clothing on her.
"What…just like that…after what I told you," she said.
He kissed her softly on the mouth, tenderly as he drew her in his arms.
"Yeah just like that…"
So after looking at him, she got back on his bed and wrapped a comforter around her. She looked fetching in it he thought as he stepped out in the hallway to get some composure.
He wanted to pump his fist in the air, feeling incredibly virile at the moment or maybe potent was the better word. That amazed him but the idea that in several months her body would change, bearing proof of the life that they had created, it sent a rush of blood throughout his body that overwhelmed him.
He felt like a stud right now. It might not be appropriate but he couldn't help himself. Tomorrow morning, he'd get out of bed and run 10 miles on the beach and then swim to the pier and back, before doing wind sprints on the beach.
But for now, he felt this primal need to take care of his woman, so he returned into the room where she sat there waiting for him on the bed and he joined her.
When he had left the room for a long moment, she had been concerned almost scared that he'd walked out on her and she didn't know when he returned. But a moment later, he had joined her back on the bed and seared her mouth with a kiss that made her blush. He ran his hands through her hair and his tongue sliced between her lips into her mouth and nearly made her jump.
Damn, he could trace the inside of her mouth with it like no one's business and send electric charges through her body.
"Oh you are so damn sexy…"
She sighed.
"So are you…"
.
"Why don't you get some sleep," he said, "You must be exhausted."
She lifted her head and gave him a funny look.
"I'm fine Matt," she said, "I think I just about wore you out though."
"You sure did," he said, "I'll probably be out in a few…"
"Okay then I'll take a nap with you," she said, "but I'm glad that you're happy about the baby."
Matt looked at her and realized that on many levels, he had been at the news, the thought of a new life that would share his DNA, sent all kinds of emotions through him. But he knew there'd be logistics they'd both have to sort out as well and she'd have to get used to him calling some of the shots. As she drifted off in his arms, he didn't know how she'd handle that.
As she fell asleep, he lay there thinking of all the plans that he had to make for their future, before he nodded off himself.