Doug threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt as soon as his door closed behind Eve. It had obviously been too long since he’d had sex from the way his body reacted to its own nudity and her proximity.
He plopped down on the edge of his bed and rubbed his eyes. Doug wasn’t sure how, but the situation had gotten out of his control. He hadn’t expected Eve to come to him demanding action. Doug groaned audibly. She had practically demanded that he get her pregnant.
That thought made his body react again.
“Damn it,” Doug muttered. He rose to his feet and went back into his bathroom. He was going to have to take care of this before he talked to her.
Doug closed the bathroom door, just in case Eve came back to his bedroom looking for him. He kicked off his sweatpants and looked down at his betraying cock.
“You’ve forgotten what she did to us,” he said to his crotch with a scowl.
But Doug knew it wasn’t just his libido that had moved beyond teenage torment. Eve wasn’t the same person she’d been fifteen years ago. She’d been forced to grow up by tragedy and it had made her strong and dependable.
Doug reached down and palmed himself as he allowed images from the last six weeks to filter through his mind. Eve in a short bathrobe making coffee. Eve still damp from a shower, rushing to check on Emma. The movie in his head went further back as he remembered what her bare breasts had looked like when they were adolescents and as they morphed into the mature body he’d slyly studied. With a throaty growl, Doug’s starved body jerked in his hand. His hips pumped furiously as he thrust into his fist and a minute later, it was over.
Doug didn’t look in the mirror as he washed up. Masturbating itself didn’t bother him, but the subject of his thoughts as he did it made him feel guilty. Stepping back into his sweats, he only hoped that it was enough to keep his maintain his control.
Doug left his bedroom and the thirty feet of hallway to the den felt like a march to death row. In the doorway, he stopped to take a deep breath. Eve was already there, waiting by the bar.
“Eve,” Doug said stepping into the room and closing the door. The last thing either of them needed was for the night nurse to overhear the conversation they were about to have.
“I made you a drink,” Eve said extending a glass to him. “I figured we could both use one for this.”
“Thanks,” Doug said with evident relief. He moved into the room and accepted the highball glass and slammed the scotch it held. He held it out and Eve poured him another. Doug took the drink and moved to the sofa.
“So,” he began.
“So,” Eve repeated moving to sit on the opposite end of the sofa, facing him. “What’s going on Doug? You wanted a child so badly. I know Thanksgiving was bad, but I’ve apologized to you and I’m willing to apologize to Mrs. Kline.”
“You don’t owe Camille an apology,” Doug said turning to look at her. “I owe Camille an apology, but you don’t.”
“What do you have to apologize for?” Eve questioned, her eyebrow cocking ever so slightly.
“Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly polite when I talked to her and Thad over the weekend and leave it at that, shall we?” He took a sip of his drink.
“Oh,” Eve said and took a sip of her own drink. “If this isn’t about the way I behaved, then what it is going on? Because I have to admit to being very confused.”
“Eve,” Doug began and slid closer to her on the sofa. He knew it was a risk, but he figured he owed her more than the gaping divide between them. “Do you remember that day in the café? When we were talking about high school?”
Eve’s head snapped up and she met his eyes. “This is because I was a bitch in high school? Doug, I’m not that person anymore. And you knew about that before you ever suggested—”
“It’s not that, not exactly,” he said. The fire in her eyes was turning him on and Doug took a longer drink to avoid meeting her gaze.
“Well then what is it exactly? And don’t give me some bullshit line about high school.” Eve pushed to her feet and started pacing in front of him. “This is something new and that isn’t new.”
“I’ve just come to the realization that it’s wrong of me to force you to have my child,” Doug spit out. The way she was pacing pushed her breasts taut against the front of her thin shirt and made his mouth water slightly.
“It was just as wrong weeks ago when you suggested it,” Eve argued. “But I’ve come to a realization too.” Eve stopped pacing and stood directly in front of him. “I’ve realized that a child couldn’t have a better father than you. The way you are with Emma is incredible. She lights up around you.”
“That’s true,” Doug said slowly, looking anywhere but at Eve. Her breasts were eye level and Doug knew that if he looked at her, he would be staring. “But that doesn’t make it any less wrong now that I’ve come to my senses. And how can I be a great father when I’m blackmailing my child’s mother into having it?”
“It’s not blackmail,” Eve ground out. She put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. “Would you at least look at me!”
“Manipulation then,” Doug said, carefully fixing his gaze on her nose. “At the very least I have manipulated you into this.”
“Maybe in the beginning,” Eve conceded. She spun away from him and stalked to the bar. Grabbing the scotch, she moved back to him and refilled his glass. “But Doug, I’ve gotten to know you. I want to give you what you want.”
“How can you say that?” he asked incredulously. He tipped the cup and drained it. “What kind of woman does that make you? This isn’t just some surrogacy situation like I tried to make it out to be. This child would have half of your DNA and you’re willing to just give it up.”
“I never said it was ideal,” Eve told him, sitting back down. “In fact, it’s pretty shitty and I don’t feel great about that part of the deal.”
“You see—”
“But,” Eve cut Doug off. “I know that you will love a baby like no other person I’ve ever met. Financially, you can provide for it. Emotionally, you will nurture it. It’s not about me, it can’t be about me.”
Eve slid closer to him on the sofa and took his hand in hers. She looked up into Doug’s eyes and licked her lips nervously. Doug was enthralled.
“You aren’t manipulating me now,” Eve said softly. “We both know that even though you came in here to end our agreement, there is no way you would let Emma go back to the way she was living before.”
“Not just Emma.” Doug’s voice was husky. “You were killing yourself.”
“I won’t accept charity,” Eve looked at him through her eyelashes. “Let me give you what you need.”
“What I need?” Doug swallowed hard. What he needed at that moment, while could result in a pregnancy, had little to do with the desire to reproduce.
“Yes,” Eve slid closer still until their knees were touching. “I want to give you this. Please let me.”
“You want to give me—” Doug swallowed again and his eyes dropped to her glistening lips.
“Yes,” Eve whispered and softly pressed her lips to his. She pulled back until just a breath of space was between them. “I want.”
Doug’s restraint broke. In one swift motion, he pulled Eve to him and claimed her mouth. He groaned as his tongue swept her mouth and he tasted the bitter whiskey she’d sipped.
“Are you drunk?” he asked pulling away briefly.
“No,” Eve responded meeting his eyes.
Doug scanned her eyes for signs of inebriation or clouded thoughts. Seeing none, he kissed her again. When Eve opened her lips, he plunged his tongue into her mouth. She sucked lightly on his tongue and Doug was lost. Disconnecting their lips, he grasped the bottom of her shirt and jerked it over her head. Eve reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra. She let the straps fall down her arms and tossed the bra away.
“Even better than I had imagined,” Doug whispered before pushing Eve back on the sofa.
Doug pulled his tee-shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He hovered over Eve for a moment and then pushed his bare chest against her bare breasts. Her nipples peaked against him as he attached his lips to the side of her neck. It only took seconds before he trailed a moist path down her shoulder and latched onto a breast.
“You taste…so good.” Doug’s tone was guttural and primal.
Eve shifted her legs to make room for him and Doug took the opening. He ground his cock into the cradle of her thighs and groaned at the contact. A minute later he pulled back and stripped her jeans and panties from her body. He took in her nudity and could feel the blood rushing to his groin. Doug didn’t think he’d ever been this hard.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I’ll make it good for you next time,” he swore as he shoved his sweatpants to his knees.
“Please, Doug,” Eve cried.
With fluidity, Doug fell on Eve and pushed inside of her. Her body resisted his invasion, but she was ready as well. Two hard thrust buried him until they couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. They moved together as one in a rhythm older than time.
“Eve!” Doug cried out suddenly as his body stiffened. Then he collapsed on top of her, sated.