Baby For My Billionaire Rival (Billionaire Daddies)

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Caroline

I t’s the middle of the night when we get back to Gram’s. Jude, Chase, Jake, and me. Gram is being kept overnight for observation but should be released in the morning if she’s still doing well.

Though I’m exhausted, I’m also starving. I’m not even sure if I say it aloud, but the second we walk in the house, Jake jumps into action, ordering pizza which arrives, thankfully, before I pass out. To my delight and to my body’s relief, I’m able to keep the pizza down without any sort of nausea and everything inside me settles.

Gram is alive. She’s safe. I’m here with my brother and best friend. And a man who loves me. The father of my child.

A man I love and still am not sure how to tell him.

Eventually, it’s nearing two a.m. and the four of us are strewn around the living room at Gram’s. I know she’d be furious with us to see our feet up on the furniture. I giggle inside thinking about it.

Jude yawns. “I think I need to go to bed.”

Chase runs his hand through her red curls. “Sounds about right. Caroline?”

I am leaning back on Jake’s chest, my eyes half open. “Yeah, if I can manage to get up.”

“I should get out of your hair,” Jake mumbles.

I look up at him. “You have to go home?”

His mouth twists. “Well, I mean –”

“No, Jake, you’ll stay. I insist. You can stay with Caroline in her room,” Jude says.

Chase winces. “ Jude .”

“Oh, relax, we already know they’ve ya know. ”

My brother groans. “Do you have to remind me?”

Jude grabs his hand and pulls him off the couch. “After everything we’ve put her through, I think you can handle knowing your sister is sexually active.”

Now Chase and I both groan. Jude and Jake laugh. I can already tell they’re going to be a dynamic duo, teasing us Gladstones and pushing our buttons.

“Good night you guys,” Jude says with a glimmering smile.

Chase touches the top of my head as he passes us. “Rest, Caroline.”

I slide my cheek against Jake’s chest and sigh heavily. We stay there for a while, neither of us willing to move. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” I whisper.

“Hm?”

“If you wanted to go home? You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

Jake puts his lips against my ear. “Do you want me to stay?”

I grab one of his arms and pull it over me, bundling myself into his chest. “Yes. Badly.”

He smiles. “Then I’ll stay.”

I hum happily.

“But we aren’t going to sleep on this couch.” Jake gets up and swoops me into his arms, bridal style. “So, where to ma’am?”

I don’t resist, pushing my face into his neck. “Second floor, first room on the right,” I mutter.

Despite the tiredness, Jake’s strength doesn’t falter. In his arms, I feel so safe.

When we reach the guest room, he carefully lays me down across the lacy comforter, my head on the pillow.

“Let’s get your clothes off,” he says softly.

“I don’t want to move.”

“I’ll take care of it, honey.”

I sigh. “You just want to see me naked.”

“No, no, I want you to be comfortable.”

I smile at him as he stands at the baseboard of the bed.

“May I?” he asks with an earnest look.

Nodding, I gesture to the dresser. “There should be nightgowns in there.”

“Nightgowns, huh? What year is it?”

I laugh. “Gram has clothes for everyone in case they stay over, but it means it’s all to her taste.”

“And Gram has very… good taste,” he says as he opens the dresser drawer.

“Oh, she’s going to love you with that attitude. Just give it a little time.”

Jake laughs and then begins to hum as he rifles through the drawer. I watch him through half-lidded eyes. Big, strong man. A future father. Full of love. For me.

I don’t know what I did to deserve this. Especially after the way this story started.

“Alright,” he says, carrying a pink floral cotton nightgown over to the bed. “Shirt first, hm?”

Jake removes my clothes methodically. Not for a second is there anything sexual about it other than the fact his touch sends my blood coursing. I’m too tired to do anything about it other than luxuriate under his hands.

Each piece of clothing he takes from my body, he folds and places in a neat stack. Once I’m entirely naked, he unfurls the nightgown, holding it up. It’s antiquated looking, a shapeless shift with a frilly collar and cuffs. “Ah, you could be like the ghost of Christmas past in this.”

I laugh lightly.

“Arms up.”

I lift my body which feels heavy as lead and then my arms. Once the nightgown is over my head, I lean forward and snatch a tiny kiss from his lips. Jake reddens. “Oh, my word.”

“I couldn’t resist.”

“Please, don’t ever resist.”

I lean back into the pillows as he pulls the skirt down my body. He stops at my waist his smile fading into a thin line. I hear him swallow.

Jake stretches out one of his hands and hovers it over my middle, unsure of himself.

“You can touch,” I say. “There’s not much there, yet, but you can.”

He nods and places his hand on my middle. His forehead tightens, thumb sliding back and forth across my skin. “There’s a baby in there, huh?” Jake smiles at me.

I smile back, tears welling in my eyes. No one has talked about the baby to me like it’s a miracle yet. It’s all been some sort of accident. A mishap. Something unwanted and unplanned. I nod. “Yeah, there is.”

Jake leans down, nuzzles his nose against the skin below my belly button and then kisses me softly. I cup the back of his head, playing with the locks of his hair. He rests his head on my stomach, blue eyes finding me, flickering in the yellow lamplight.

There’s no such thing as a right moment. But what moment could be more right than this?

“I love you,” I say.

Jake closes his eyes like he’s not sure if this is real life. I’m not sure it’s not a dream either. “Say it again,” he says softly. “Please.”

“Jacob Leslie –”

A tear springs from his eye, and glitters down his cheek. He smiles.

“I love you.”

He pushes himself up from the bed, taking a step back. He runs his hands through his hair. “You mean it.”

I giggle. “Yes.”

“Seriously.” He sits on the edge of the bed, taking me by my shoulders. “You really mean that?”

I nod.

Jake kisses me softly, cupping my face in his hands, and sliding his fingers back through my hair. “I can’t believe it,” he whispers.

“Why?”

“Because, I…”

I place my palm on his and tangle our fingers together. “Why can’t you believe I love you?”

“I just…”

Jake begins to cry, his head hanging down, tiny sobs racking his voice. I tuck him to my chest, holding him close, and coo to him softly. I can feel all the pain. The pent-up hurt I caused. But more than that. There’s grief here. His father. Grief is never far behind joy.

“You’re going to make a great dad,” I say into his hair.

Jake presses his nose to my cheek and weeps. “Thank you. Thank you.”

I take his hand, slide it down to my stomach, and let our hands marry there. Together. Anticipating the fruit of our love. I slide my hand flat against his. Tight. The time will go faster than either of us will be able to conceptualize. I’ll swell up, the world will know it’s us, always been us.

And then we’ll be a little family.

There’s no one I’d rather do this with.

“Caroline?”

“Yes, baby?”

“I love you more than life itself. And, I’m the luckiest man on earth.”

I kiss him gently and hold him close, both of us quickly drifting off to sleep with smiles on our faces.

“How are you feeling?” Jake asks me as the sun slots in through the curtains.

I’m not sure what time it is, but I’m in no rush to get out of bed. Jake sleeping beside me the whole night, spooning me from behind, his adoring hands resting on my belly, was a dream come true. I want to revel in this dream a little while longer.

“Not sick yet,” I murmur.

He leans on his elbow to look into my eyes. Brown hair bedheaded. Eyes halfway open, adjusting to the light. An image of a perfect mess. “You’ve been feeling sick?”

“It’s… not great.” Understatement of the year, but he’ll find out sooner than later. “I’m fine right now,” I say, then tug on his neck for a kiss.

Jake moans into my mouth.

I feel his cock jump against my ass. “And how are you feeling?” I say through a chuckle.

Jake lifts his chin, smiling bashfully. He reaches down, adjusting his morning wood. “Sorry, I can’t help it.” He rolls onto his back with a sigh.

I decide to take advantage of the morning energy while I can. I roll over and swing my leg over his hips. “Who said you should apologize?”

Jake’s eyes widen.

I take his hands and place them against my waist. “Would you take it off?”

Quickly he pulls at the fabric of my nightgown, lifting it further and further until I’m fully exposed. There’s a pinch of chill against my nipples. They harden.

“Caroline, I don’t…” He breathes in deeply, trying to figure out what to say. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

I lean forward, my breasts resting against his bare chest. “You won’t.” In truth, I’ve started feeling an increase in desire lately. Something I ignore or take care of with my hand. Now that Jake is back in my life, he’s not going to know what hit him.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m pregnant, not porcelain.”

Jake rests his hands on my lower back and lifts himself a bit off the bed. “But you’re precious.”

My stomach flips and I’m suddenly aware of the dampness between my legs.

Ducking his head down, Jake finds one of my breasts with his mouth, enveloping the nipple between his lips. Our eyes lock as he sucks, flicking at the tender bud. I moan softly, allowing my hips to undulate against him, his clothed cock sliding through my wettened crease.

“Mmmm…” he moans against me, eyes rolling back.

Jake languishes on my chest for a while, making sure neither breast feels unattended. Finally, he reaches down and grabs my ass. “Oh, I’ve missed this,” he murmurs.

I tip his chin back and kiss him. Me too .

As our lips tangle together, we work his briefs off. The second he’s free, I reach down, grab a handful of him and I remember. I remember all the times he filled me, stretched me, claimed me. We weren’t exactly as careful as we could be. Maybe it was our primal instincts clawing onto each other, making a match before our brains could.

Whatever it is, I don’t care. He’s the father of my child. And I know he’ll take care of us any way he can.

So I will take care of him.

I lift my hips, allowing Jake to straighten out his cock. The head finds my opening notch and, with my eyes pinned in his, I sink down, letting out a strained whimper from the back of my throat. It feels so good to have him again. My nerves pulse through my body, each of them warning me of the next ecstasy to follow.

Jake’s mouth parts. “God, you feel…”

I start to rev my hips against him, dipping my head to his shoulder.

“You’re so soft,” he groans into my hair.

Jake keeps his hands on my backside, increasing our tempo. He moans over and over and I want to savor just how desperate he is for me.

He slides his hand between us, right up against my belly. “I’m not hurting you? This is okay?”

“The most natural thing in the world,” I say through a ragged breath.

Jake takes that moment to flip me onto my side, carefully, cradling my head as it lands against the pillow. He scissors my legs apart and fucks me while on his knees.

Warmth pools out in my belly in a way I’ve never felt before. It tingles and tickles, melting my brain with euphoria. “Jake,” I pant between his thrusts. “Touch me.”

His hand slides down my leg, but I snatch it, and redirect it so his palm is splayed flat against my clit. The warmth, the connection, I don’t know what it is. It’s lightning striking the same spot over and over again. I start to shake and wail, having to push my face into the pillow so my voice doesn’t shake the walls.

Jake’s hand, pressed at the spot where our connection is deepest, sends me spiraling into the longest orgasm of my life.

He grabs my thigh, drives into me, and then releases inside me.

My body clenches, pulling him out of himself, taking it all in, reminding us both how deep this connection is.

I start to cry.

“Baby, no, don’t cry. Baby, please…”

I weep in his arms. “Felt… so… good.”

Jake kisses away my tears, smooths back my hair, and reminds me why he’s the one for me. Our hands lock against my navel. Soon it will be undeniable to everyone. However, all that matters is that it’s undeniable to us.

“I love you,” he murmurs in my ear. “Let me love you forever.”

I smile through the tears. “I think that can be arranged.”