THIEF: Part 6 Page 2

  “Yeah?” I ask.I’m supposed to be submissive, at least a little, but I can’t help myself: I turn the dildo up to its highest setting.Instantly, my back arches; Alex tightens his grip on my hips and thrusts up again.

  “I’m coming, Alex,” I tell him, as my orgasm begins.Both of my holes tighten, filled to the max and quaking; my breathing stops for just a second as the orgasm reaches its height.“Yes,” I manage, the sound drawn-out and wispy, as Alex thrusts deeply one last time before exploding.

  “Erin,” he moans loudly, holding onto my hips for dear life as his cock empties itself inside me. “Christ, I…I…He shakes his head. I imagine it filling me, and feel a second orgasm hit just in time to finish with his.

  He can barely speak as I slide off of him and pull the dildo from my pussy.I touch the wet tip to his chest, still vibrating, and we laugh before I turn it off.

  “This pregnancy thing,” he says, finally, “is totally working for me. I gotta say.”

  Even I have to nod at this.“I read that some women's hormones just go crazy.”

  “That's the best understatement ever,” he pants, and we laugh again.

  I sink into the crook of his arm.For a few minutes, I don’t think about anything.I just breathe and listen to his breathing.He whispers my name every few seconds and strokes my hair.

  “This,” he whispers, “is exactly where I want to be right now.”

  We fall asleep for a little while, exactly as we are.Finally, the chill of the air conditioner getting to us, we get up and find our pajamas, then return to the same places as before.The night outside the window is deeper.His heartbeat is quieter now.

  “Erin,” he says, after a long time, a little louder than before.I look up at him.His eyes look electric, almost frightened, but he’s smiling.

  “What?” I ask, laughing, my nerves rising.I sit up a little.“Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He sits up too, propped against his pillows, and reaches into his pants pockets beside the bed.“I wanted to wait,” he says, “you know, take you out for dinner or something fancy, but I can’t keep it a secret.”

  “You got a job?” I ask, tucking my hair behind my ear.“That’s great, baby!”

  He shakes his head.“No, that’s not it.Still haven’t heard back from anyone.”He gets out of bed, looking for something as he shuffles around in the half-dark.

  “Well…what is it?”I get up onto my knees, trying to see his face.“You’re kind of freaking me out now.”

  He looks up at me from the floor.“I wasn’t looking for a job today.I was up near D.C.My grandmother lives there.”

  “Okay…” I say slowly. I shrug, making it clear I don’t get the joke, if there is one.

  Alex takes a sharp breath, holding up what he was looking for: a velvet ring box.

  I realize he’s wasn’t on the floor to search.He’s down on one knee, kneeling.

  “Oh, my God,” I whisper.My head swims, and I think I might be sick.This time, it’s definitely not hormones.

  Alex opens the box.Inside is one of the largest diamonds I’ve ever seen in person, set into a beautiful rose-gold band, studded with emeralds.I can’t take my eyes off of it, but not just because it’s so stunning.I’m not sure I want to see Alex’s face yet.

  “Erin,” he says, and I can hear the smile, clear as the jewels, “will you marry me?”

  Chapter Four

  “Jesus Christ, look at that thing!”Fiona and Jane yank my ring hand towards themselves, fawning.“It’s as big as Jane’s!” Fiona says, eyes wide.I give her a look.

  Jane, oblivious to my nerves or Fiona’s insensitivity, sweeps me into a hug.“Congratulations, sweetheart!” she says, almost a song.“I can’t wait to hear the details.How’d he do it, candlelight dinner?One of those flash mob things?I saw a video online of one of those, you know.Not my style but very creative.”

  Fiona snickers, and I glare at her again.She knows the real story—anal sex followed by a pajama proposal—but Alex and I have agreed on a romantic dinner for public retellings.“Just dinner at a restaurant,” I tell Aunt Jane.“He snuck the ring into my dessert.”

  “You know what, hold on a sec.”Aunt Jane ushers me into her house and orders us to sit in the parlor while she finds the camera.I can hear her shouting to Killian, and my new uncle muttering responses that he has no idea where the camera is, or if he even still owns one.

  Fiona kicks my shin lightly, but enough to smart a little.“You didn’t tell me you’d said yes.”

  “I didn’t,” I hiss.“Well…not at first.”My sigh sounds strangled and weak, like a kitten’s.“It’s complicated.”

  Truth is, it was incredibly simple—I was the one who complicated things.“You don’t have to answer right now,” Alex had told me, handing the ring box over and sitting beside me on the bed.I still couldn’t believe it.Just kept staring.“I know it’s kind of…out of the blue.So, you know, take your time.Think about it.”

  I didn’t say anything.He pushed my hair back from my neck, kissing me, and looked at the ring over my shoulder.“My grandmother got that from her mom, and since she never had any daughters, and since my dad never had any daughters…she promised it to me.Said she’d hang onto it ‘til I found the woman I wanted to spend my life with.”I felt his lips against my skin, forming a smile.“So I drove up there, knocked on her door, and told her I needed that ring.I don’t think I’ve ever seen her walk so fast.”

  I tried to laugh.To blink.To do anything but stare.It took more effort than I felt capable of, but I managed, “It’s beautiful, Alex.I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything yet,” he reminded me.“Think about it.”

  And so I had.For four days straight, it was all I could think about.Alex promised not to pressure me, but I could feel how hopeful he was every afternoon when he came home, wondering if I had, finally, put on the ring.

  But how could I?Here I was, only twenty.Pregnant when I thought I’d been infertile, at least for the time being, with a baby I wasn’t even sure was his.No job.No diploma.No idea how I’d contact the other possible father, or how I’d tell Alex if the test proved this baby was Silas’s.

  Yet when I took the ring from its box on that fifth morning, just yesterday, I didn’t feel strange as I turned it in the light.I didn’t feel weird, slipping it onto my ring finger.

  It felt right, wearing it.As though, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, I was ready to be engaged.To marry someone.And that that someone, regardless of Silas’s role in my life or memories, was meant to be Alex.

  Now, though, as Aunt Jane snaps close-ups of my ring and complains about Killian’s overly complicated camera, I feel guilty.This ring doesn’t belong to me.It belongs to the girl Alex thinks he gave it to—the one who would never keep secrets from him, break promises, or hurt him.

  “I have to tell him,” I whisper to Fiona, when Aunt Jane goes into the kitchen for champagne.We listen to her a moment as she yells for Killian to hurry up and get downstairs so we can celebrate properly.

  Fiona grimaces, but nods.“I guess you’re right.This ring’s pretty serious.”She glances at the stones.“I’m guessing several thousand dollars’ worth of ‘serious.’”

  “Besides,” I add, “this guilt is making me sicker than the baby.”

  “Speaking of paternity tests…”

  “I wasn’t.”

  “Well, it’s a fair question, Erin.I mean, when you tell Alex, he’s going to freak, to say the least.But at least you don’t have to track down Silas.”She pauses.“Well…maybe.”

  “I don’t care about vintage!” Aunt Jane shouts.“If it’s got alcohol and bubbles, that’s all that matters!”

  We hear the heavy, slow steps of Killian descending the stairs.He’s got on golf clothes with slippers, and as Fiona jumps up to hug him, I’m caught off-guard by her use of “Daddy.”He looks like her grandfather, not her dad, and I wonder if I’ll ever get used to it.

  “Hi, Uncle K
illian.”I smile and give him a short hug, and he politely asks to see the ring, even though I know men don’t really care about that.

  “Congrats, darlin’,” he says, kissing the top of my head.“He’s a nice guy, what I remember of him.”

  “I know.”I wonder if anyone but me notices how wistful my voice sounds.

  Aunt Jane breezes in from the kitchen with a silver tray of champagne flutes, one filled with sparkling juice.“This stuff is probably disgusting because it looked overpriced,” she announces, cutting a glance at Killian, “but it’ll get the job done.”She grins, raises her glass, and says, with her typical Old Hollywood flourish, “To Erin and Alex!”

  “Hear, hear,” Killian says, clinking his glass to mine and Jane’s.Fiona just gives a sideways smile, half-happy, half-bummed.Like me.Her glass touches ours and we drink, some of us faster than others.

  In mid-March, just as my first trimester ends, Alex proposes.I stare at the tealights set up to spell “Marry me, Erin” in the courtyard of the hotel, then raise an eyebrow at him.

  “Not that it isn’t lovely,” I say, “but did you forget that you already proposed?”

  He rolls his eyes.“Can’t a guy get a redo?That night was special to me, sure—I mean, I’d never had a girl who trusted me enough to…you know.Let me do that.”He blushes, and part of me wants to tear his clothes off and let him do it again, right here on the balcony.

  “So what’s this?” I ask, sweeping my arm out over the scene.People are starting to gather near the candles, looking up at us.Waiting.

  Alex shrugs, sliding his hands into his pockets.“Partially to celebrate my new job, like I said, but mostly to give you the proposal I wanted to give you.I got too excited, last time.”

  I can’t tell if it’s the baby or guilt knocking around my stomach, but I push it down long enough to pull him closer, winding my hands into his hair as we kiss.

  “Hey,” he says after a minute, leaning away, “want to see something awesome?”

  I nod, and he grins before leaning out over the banister, shouting into the courtyard below.“She said yes!”

  The crowd that’s gathered, guests and hotel staff alike, let out a thunderous cheer as Alex pulls me back in for another kiss.

  “Let’s head inside,” he whispers against my mouth.Like so many opportunities to tell him the truth, I let the moment go, stay quiet, and take his hand.

  He bides his time undressing me, even when his own clothes fly off and I can tell the suspense is getting him rock-hard.His mouth moves slowly down my body, kissing a trail along my neck and breasts.I sigh his name as he swirls his tongue around my nipples.He pulls back, admiring my breasts in his hands.

  “They’re getting huge,” he comments.“Not that I didn’t like them before.Just saying.The baby thing’s got a lot of perks.”He smirks, his hand finding my lips and parting them, pushing two fingers inside.“Like this,” he adds.“You’re always so wet.And like…crazy horny.The fact you can’t get enough makes me feel like I can’t, either.I love it.”

  It’s true; for the last few weeks, especially, I’ve been insatiable.Alex’s job search even had to take a rest some days, when I’d sneak up on him in the shower and practically beg him to fuck me, no foreplay or anything.We wouldn’t get out until the shower ran cold and I was satisfied, at least for the time being.

  And now, it’s still true.I’ve never felt so hungry for sex in my life, like I actually might die without it.“Alex,” I beg, squirming under his thoughtful but torturous foreplay, “please fuck me—I can’t wait anymore.I need it.”

  He doesn’t need to be told twice.Within seconds, he’s repositioned himself and put the tip of his cock, glistening with pre-cum, against my pussy.In one strong thrust, he enters, filling me completely.

  I orgasm the second he starts moving, the sensation of his cock and the rhythm of his hips too powerful to fight.When he feels my pussy tighten and tremble, he pushes as deeply as he can, closing his eyes to concentrate on holding back; when I finish, my legs spasming, he picks up the rhythm again.

  “I love feeling you come,” he says, between his panting.“Every time I see you get off, it puts me right at the edge.Takes everything I have not to let go.”

  Part of me wants to feel him come when I do, even if it means fewer orgasms for me.Besides, I like the challenge.

  “Your cock feels so good, baby,” I purr, smiling as his breath quickens even more.I wriggle down from the headboard a little more, so that my breasts bounce with every thrust.He can barely look away.

  “Alex,” I moan, as he rubs a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, before reaching towards my clit.Another orgasm hits, out of nowhere, and I gasp as my back arches and he catches a nipple in his mouth, still rocking his hips.A third orgasm immediately begins as the last one ends; I can’t speak at all with the explosions going off behind my eyes.My legs shake uncontrollably, even as I come down from the high.

  “Fuck me, baby,” I whimper, “God, yes…harder, Alex, please, harder…”I’ve already forgotten my little game of making him come; his thrusts take on incredible power as he braces one arm against the headboard, and as his cock slams into me, sending shockwaves through my muscles, all I can say is, “Yes, yes, fuck me, Alex, fuck me, fuck me.”My voice is hoarse, but I can’t stop.

  “Erin,” he breathes.Sweat beads on his forehead and chest; his hair hangs in front of his face, just a little, as he stammers, “I’m really close, here….”

  “Don’t stop,” I beg, and raise my hips to meet his when he slows down.“Please, Alex, please…”

  “F-fuck,” he stutters, and lets out a short cry as his orgasm finally hits.The force of his pent-up cum makes him freeze, whimpering as it overtakes him, and I work my muscles to pump him dry.

  “Jesus,” he sighs, falling to his elbows, his mouth barely separate from mine.I lift my head to get a kiss.

  “Thank you,” I tell him, but he shakes his head.

  “I’m not finished,” he says.“I got this hotel room to celebrate, and damn it, we’re going to.Even if it takes all night.”He rests his head on my chest, sighing again as I rake my fingers through his hair.“Just…give me a second to catch my breath,” he says, coughing.We laugh, hearts slowing down as the night sinks deeper.I wonder if our candles are still lit, so many feet below.

  Chapter Four

  “Miss…St. James?”

  I fake a smile as the receptionist, who should know my name by now, but doesn’t, finds me in the crowded waiting room and waves me over.“You’re in Room #3.Dr. Day will be in with you shortly.”

  After a humbling weigh-in—during which the nurse reminds me, “Mamas-to-be have to gain weight, sugar, don’t worry about the numbers”—Dr. Day, a petite woman with silver hair and dream-catcher earrings, comes into the room and smiles.“You know the drill,” she says, and I lie down on the crinkly paper of the exam table.

  “Everything looks good.”Dr. Day finishes the exam, removes her gloves, and looks over her shoulder as she washes her hands.“Next month, you’ll be finding out the baby’s sex.If you want to.”

  I sit up.My mouth is dry; I’ve been putting off my question for too long, but this is my last chance.Alex will be at the next appointment.According to Fiona—and I can’t disagree—finding out if it’s a boy or girl is just going to get Alex even more excited, and dig me into an even deeper hole.

  “Um…I had a question,” I mutter, then speak up and try to act like it’s not a big deal to me.“Can I get a paternity test?”

  Dr. Day looks at me again, setting her clipboard on the sink ledge.“An in-utero test, or post-natal?”

  “Um…the first one.”

  To her credit, the woman doesn’t look disgusted, or with any kind of judgment, for that matter. She takes off her reading glasses, letting them hang from her neck by a thin golden chain.“It’s certainly possible, although we generally like to avoid that kind of test before the child’s born.It increases the risk of miscarriage.And, considering your low
weight upon conception—”

  “That was only because I’d been sick,” I remind her, but she just nods more emphatically.

  “Exactly.Your body wasn’t at its strongest, and while your baby’s growing normally now, its weight is still at the very low end—as is yours, whether you want to believe it or not.And it isn’t exactly easy.You’ll have to get court approval to perform an in-utero test, and that’s difficult to get if the risk is high already.And if your pregnancy’s outcome doesn’t depend on it.”She raises her eyebrows, a question.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Depending on who the father is, would you terminate the pregnancy?”

  “What?”I hold my stomach instinctively, like she’s threatened me.“No!I mean…no, I would keep the baby no matter what.It’s just…I’m not sure who the dad is, and I’d like to know beforehand.”I can’t help the blush that rises to my cheeks, and once again, I’m glad Dr. Day doesn’t judge.I’m sure she’s heard all this and worse; she’s been in practice for over thirty years, after all.

  “It’s up to you, Erin.”She hesitates.“As your doctor, though, I feel I should give you my professional opinion: the risks aren’t worth it, in this case.You had a serious illness, and your body didn't have time to recover from the treatment.So if you can wait until the baby’s born, you should.”

  My heart feels like it’s filled with lead.I don’t try to hide it.“I understand.”

  Dr. Day gives me a sympathetic pat on the knee.“Stress isn’t good for the baby, either,” she reminds me, “so if not knowing is gonna drive you crazy, maybe the test is the right choice.Only you can decide.”

  I think her words—“It’s up to you,” “Only you can decide”—are supposed to comfort me, so I smile and thank her, even though all they do is make me want to cry.I manage to hold it in all the way through the waiting room and parking lot, but once I’m in my car, it becomes too much.