Lone Star Baby Scandal(9)

The scents of Clay, his cologne and sex swirled around her, furthering her desire, building yet again to a fevered peak. Clay lost all control, pumping inside her in a raw, animalistic manner. She responded, raising her legs, cupping his head and kissing his sweaty brow. At some point she lost her small grip on reality. The room spun and the sky exploded as together they found completion.

Clay dropped his heavy body to the side, one arm and one leg still covering her. She turned, facing away from him, and curled into his body. With one heavy arm he pulled her closer. She felt him rain kisses over the back of her head. Then she slept.

Her internal clock said it was past midnight when she woke up. Clay was still beside her, his hands playing with the strands of her hair. She smiled and turned onto her back, her hand stroking the beard stubble on his face.

He caught it in his hand and placed kisses in her palm. “Are you all right, Sophie?”

“Mmm, I’m good.” She could hear the drowsiness in her own voice. “But it’s late. I should go home.”

“There’s no transportation leaving the ranch tonight. I’m afraid you’ll just have to stay right where you are.”

“Can I borrow a car?”

He was still for a moment. “What if I said no? What if you were trapped here?” He rolled onto his side and propped his head on one hand, looking down at her. “If I beg would you stay?”

She reached out and cupped his strong jaw, feeling the evening shadow rough against her skin. Her thumb moved over the full lips that could do such amazing things.

“Clay, we’ve talked about this. You know it’s not something I feel comfortable with.”

“I want you in my life, dammit.”

“You have me in your life. Five and six days a week, eight to ten hours a day. Longer when needed.”

“That’s not the same thing and you know it.” He was silent as though in deep contemplation. “You are hard enough to resist during the day in the office. To know you could be living under my roof, to know I would get to see you and be with you every night as well... I think it would be the best for both of us. That’s as lightly put as I can say it.”

“I understand.” And she did. She was so in love with him that other men just didn’t exist. She respected Clay and was flattered by his desire to keep her solely with him. Maybe she was a bit old-fashioned, but why start a serious relationship if you knew from the beginning it had nowhere to go? Clay didn’t want a wedding ring and all the trappings that went along with it. She did. He still had most of his life to live and be free. Sophie was the exact opposite. She longed for a husband, a home and kids scampering and playing around the house. She wanted a man with a golden band around his fourth finger that proclaimed he was happily married and proud to let any and all know it.

“If you don’t want to move in here then let me set you up in the penthouse of one of my buildings nearby. You would want for nothing, Sophie. You would be close to the horses anytime you wanted to ride.” He nuzzled her ear. “And you’d be closer to me.”

“I like my little house. It’s only four miles away.”

“That’s four miles too far. If you won’t agree to that, either, then let me move in with you.”

She couldn’t stop the giggle that rose in her throat. “Oh, yeah, I can see how that would work out well. Park your Porsche out on the street.”

“I could always drive the truck.”

“Let your feet hang over the end of the couch when you sleep.”

“Not if I was sleeping with you, which I absolutely would be.”

“You would bump your head every time you came into the house.”

“Sophie, you drive a man crazy. I know because I’m there.”

“I like to make you crazy,” she said, rubbing her fingers over the thin line of hair below his belly button.

He took her hand and pushed it lower, wrapping her fingers around his shaft. “Stroke it,” he whispered.

She didn’t hesitate. The feel of his smooth, silky skin was in such direct conflict with the rest of his body. Clay rose above her and found her mouth in the darkness.

“What am I going to do with you?”

The words Anything you want flittered across her mind. She was so in love with Clay. She could no longer deny it. Even to herself. But he must never know. Clay lived on the fast track and even the idea of tying him down was ludicrous.

His lips came down on hers and there was no more talking for a long time.

Sophie woke before dawn, eased out of bed and hurried to the shower. She couldn’t face Clay. Nor could she count the number of times they had made love. Standing under the warming spray, she leaned her forehead against the stone wall and indulged in reliving the memories from last night. He’d positioned her in so many ways, brought her to climax so many times she didn’t know if she would ever recover. But that was a great thing. Her body felt well used but more alive than ever.

Exiting the shower, she pulled on one of Clay’s T-shirts, gathered her dress and heels, and eased down the stairs in the hopes of finding someone who would take her home. Within minutes she was on her way. She refused to worry about the staff gossiping about her and their boss. Women sneaking out of his house in the early hours of the morning were probably a common occurrence. Or they had been at one time.

The following Monday at work was easier than Sophie imagined it would be. Clay did kiss her good-morning but then sealed himself inside his office, door closed for most of the day. She heard his voice get loud and angry a couple of times and it made her curious to know what was up. The next time he emerged, she intended to ask. This was so out of the norm.

At four o’clock the inner door opened.

“Sophie, why don’t you head home. There is no reason for you to stay any longer. I suspect I’ll be on the phone the rest of the day.” And the door was again closed.

This was repeated the next few days and still Clay didn’t reveal what was wrong. The men and women who called sounded upset but didn’t care to speak with her. Just Clay. So as soon as his line cleared, she would send the next call through without knowing what was going on.

Days after the siege had started, the high intensity of the calls stopped. Clay began spending more and more time out of his office but that dark side of his personality remained in place.



Trembling, Sophie stood from the bathroom floor. She turned on the sink faucet, then splashed cool water on her face and tried to still the shaking. This was the third time in a week she had awakened to a feeling of nausea. Initially believing she’d picked up a bug, she’d shrugged it off as summer flu and had begun religiously taking vitamin C. But now she wasn’t so sure she’d diagnosed her symptoms correctly.

Please no. There was really only one other thing it could be. If she took into consideration the recent intense cravings for hot-fudge sundaes and strawberries with tuna fish, it limited her choice of mystery illnesses down to one. She could be pregnant.

She’d been so seduced out of her mind by Clay the night of the masked charity ball in May, she honestly couldn’t swear they’d used protection. Stupidly she hadn’t thought about it. Until now. They had made love into the wee hours of the morning. Neither seemingly could get enough of the other. And how many times had he kissed her awake only to take her again? And again. And she’d not wanted him to stop.

She could go on worrying about her suspicion or she could face the facts in a doctor’s office. She would make an appointment today. She couldn’t think any further ahead than that. After wiping her face, she brushed her teeth and reentered her bedroom to get dressed for work. It had been a challenge not to fall into Clay’s arms every time he walked into her private office knowing she must keep up appearances in front of the rest of the house staff. She’d always left her door open for employees to come to her if Clay was otherwise tied up in meetings or on the phone. It would look odd if she suddenly started closing her door. She was probably overthinking the situation, but her mind had ceased to rely on common sense.

But if she was carrying his child, her situation would go from difficult to practically impossible in a heartbeat. If for no other reason than knowing Clay had made it clear a long time ago he didn’t need nor want any emotional attachments. Marriage and becoming a father were about as emotional as you could get. With his lifestyle, a child just wouldn’t mix. But he had every right to know. This was not something she would keep from him. But that said, she would wait and hopefully choose the right time to tell him.

Right now he was involved with something bad going on with Everest. He hadn’t shared what it was but each time one of the board members for that company called, his whole demeanor changed. He never asked her to take a message or tell them he would call them back. Sometimes Clay would open the inner door with fires of anger blazing in his eyes. Other times he would just step through and disappear out of the house. Sometimes the glow on the phone line would go out and still he didn’t open the connecting door. Something was definitely up but until he chose to confide in her, all she could do was maintain as much normality as she could.

Sophie stepped outside into the morning light and locked the side door of the little rental cottage behind her. For heaven’s sake, she was getting ahead of herself. She was worrying about the outcome of a situation that hadn’t as yet been confirmed. Maybe she’d been hit with a flu bug.