Sealing the Deal Read online

  And she was talented. She knew instinctively how to keep him on the edge without pushing him over it.

  “Stop, B. Please.” Robert gripped her shoulders. “I want to be inside you when I come.”

  “You’re sure? I mean, I wouldn’t mind…”

  “I’m sure.” He tugged gently until she rose over him and straddled his hips again. Grabbing the hem of the nightie, he pulled it over her head.

  She wasn’t wearing any panties.

  Slipping his hand between her thighs, he closed his eyes and fought for control. He’d been right. She had been enjoying herself. She was so damned wet, so ready.

  “Robert?”

  The touch of worry in her voice made him smile and open his eyes.

  She stared at him, her brows drawn together in concern. “You okay?”

  “More than okay.” He set his hands against her full breasts, loving how the hardened nipples drilled into his palms. “I want you so bad.”

  “I want you, too.” Beth raised herself enough to hold his cock to help guide him to her core. Before he could thrust up, she’d pushed down, impaling herself until he filled her completely.

  He almost came. How could he resist her tight heat or her enthusiasm? He could almost believe she loved him.

  * * *

  Beth smiled at the pleasure she saw written all over Robert’s face. It filled her heart to overflowing. All of her courage had been rewarded. Now she wanted a show-stopping finale. “Fuck me.”

  His eyes widened. “Did you just say—”

  “I said fuck me, Robert. Now.” She didn’t wait for him to move, raising her hips up slightly before pushing back down. The feel of his thick cock sliding so deeply into her body made her close her eyes and let out a low moan.

  Robert squeezed her hips and started a rough ride, thrusting up against her hard enough that they bounced on the mattress.

  Her body was wound tight, ready to explode. Going down on him had been one of her fantasies, and she hoped he wasn’t shocked by how generously she’d made love to him with her mouth. The silky feel of his skin over the heated, hard flesh beneath was intoxicating. She’d been so intimate with only one man before, and he made her feel as if she had to because he’d bought her an expensive dinner. Robert was different. She gave him her love freely, and the moment she first took his cock in her mouth had been so arousing, her body had reacted, growing hot and wet.

  “Bethany.” His voice was hoarse. “Come with me.” The rhythm sped, Robert slamming into her again and again, somehow knowing she needed it rough and fast.

  When the tight knot inside her snapped, she threw her head back, her mouth open, although she tried hard to squelch the way she wanted to shout her delight. Riding the waves of bliss, she felt her body detonate again when he thrust into her one last time and let out a shout as the heat of his seed filled her.

  Beth collapsed against his chest, waiting for her rapid heartbeat and breathing to slow. Now that the intimate moment was over, she felt the heat of embarrassment creeping over her face. What would he think of her now? Sweet little Bethany Rogers had just made a snack of Robert’s cock and then ridden him like a bucking bronco. Oh, and the word. That word. She’d actually said it, hoping he’d find it sexy and not slutty.

  His fingers raked through her hair. “Wow.”

  She couldn’t look him in the eye yet, so she kept her face buried against his neck. “A good wow or a bad wow?”

  He nudged her face up. “You are something else, B.”

  Why did all of his attempts at compliments sound double-edged to her, as if they could be interpreted more than one way? Did “something else” mean he’d enjoyed her seduction or had been shocked by it?

  He kissed her nose. “We should clean up before we ruin the clean sheets.”

  Robert. Always so darn practical.

  Without another word, Beth rolled off him, picking up the robe she’d left draped over the end of the bed and quickly donning it. While he grabbed some tissues, she hurried to the bathroom, needing a moment to freshen up and try to discard her awkwardness.

  After a quick cleanup followed by brushing her teeth, she put on her nightshirt and returned to their bedroom.

  Robert was in bed, wearing his typical ratty T-shirt and boxers. “Are you a Gemini?”

  “What an odd question.” One she hadn’t remotely expected. Why wasn’t he asking about what she’d done or what she’d said instead? “I didn’t know you were into astrology.”

  He shrugged. “Just trying to understand you.”

  “What’s to understand?”

  “Sometimes you surprise me. Makes me wonder if you’re really two people in one body. You know, a Gemini or something.”

  “Good guess,” she said as she went around the room, blowing out the candles. “I am.”

  He clicked on the nightstand lamp. “You definitely shocked me tonight.”

  Heat bathed her face, spreading down her neck. “Sorry.” She grabbed her e-reader and crawled into bed next to him, hoping she could disappear into a book.

  “Sorry?” Robert cocked his head and stared at her. “Why? That was probably the most intense sex I’ve ever had.”

  “Can we talk about something else?”

  “See? A Gemini. One minute you’re a vixen. The next? A virgin.” He picked up the remote but didn’t turn on the television. Instead, he kept watching her. “I’m just glad you’re not mad at me.”

  “Mad? You mean about Emma?”

  He nodded.

  “Not in the least. Accidents happen. I just wish CPS hadn’t poked their nose in it.” Since he’d brought up the topic of Emma, Beth summoned her courage and spit out the question she’d been unable to ask all evening. “I called the adoption attorney today. She asked whether you, um…”

  No, that wasn’t the right tactic. She didn’t want him to think her offer was prompted by the attorney, which was actually the opposite of what happened. In their discussion, Alexis had cautioned Beth to consider the ramifications of sharing Emma with Robert, explaining the adoption would be much easier if she petitioned by herself.

  In her mind, he’d earned the honor of being Emma’s father. She wasn’t going to deny him the chance simply because the paperwork might be a little trickier. “Um, I was wondering. Do you want to be Emma’s father? I mean, we could both apply for adoption.”

  “You’re serious?” His eyes searched hers.

  “Very serious.”

  “You really want to share custody of Emma with me?”

  She hadn’t thought about it in that way. Custody. That would be exactly what they’d share since they weren’t married. And whenever they ended this relationship—something that even thinking about near to killed her—Emma would still belong to both of them. There would be visitations and child-care orders.

  Didn’t matter. Emma’s happiness was tied to Robert now. Beth would give her the best father, one who already loved her completely.

  “After what happened today,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I figured you’d be madder than a hornet at me. Instead, you’re asking me to be Emma’s real dad.”

  Emma’s real dad. The only scary hurdle in the whole adoption process. Alexis had warned Beth that they would have to take out ads and do a diligent search to find Emma’s biological father and warn him about their petition to adopt her. Not easy tasks considering she didn’t even know the guy’s name.

  One problem at a time.

  “I know how much you love Emma,” Beth said. “She obviously loves you every bit as much.” She tossed him a weak smile. “After all, you’re her first word, Bobber.”

  His chuckle eased her worry. “Bobber and Matka. Quite a pair of parents, eh?”

  “If you don’t like Bobber, we can teach her to say Daddy or Papa or whatever you’d like.”

  “Bobber is wonderful. How many girls have a Bobber to watch over them? Makes me feel special.”

  “Bobber it is.” Beth put her hand over his a
nd squeezed his fingers. “It’s your choice on what to do. If you want to think about it for a while—”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “Just like that? No thought? No talking it over with anyone? This is a big step, Robert. A really big step that will affect the rest of your life.”

  Leaning over, Robert brushed a kiss over her mouth. “The only person I’d want to talk it over with is you. You’re the only one who knows how much this means to me.”

  “I have an appointment for a consultation tomorrow after school. Want to go with me?” she asked.

  “Absolutely. I’ll make sure my niece can take Emma so we can focus on what the lawyer says.”

  He kissed her again, his tongue rubbing against hers in a long, lazy caress. When he ended the kiss, he smiled and then clicked the remote and let the television draw his attention away.

  I love you fought hard to escape her lips, but Beth beat the urge down. She’d saddled him with having her and Emma as roommates and was now adding to his burden by asking him to adopt Emma. She wasn’t about to make him feel as if he had to return the sentiment.

  If anyone was going to say it first, it would be Robert.

  Or it would never be said at all.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Beth tossed Robert a weak smile when he took her hand. He always seemed to know exactly when she needed his strength, and right now was one of those moments.

  They sat side by side in Alexis Comer’s waiting room. The office wasn’t at all what Beth expected. No three-year-old magazines. No boring, backbreaking furniture. No canned music from the 1960s. Instead, the walls were papered in vibrant colors. She and Robert sat on a leather sofa that was every bit as comfortable as the one they had at home. A flat-screen television was tuned to a news channel.

  “You okay?” he whispered.

  “Yeah. I just want to get this done.” She had a case of nerves, but the best thing for the future was to tackle the mountain of legal paperwork required to adopt Emma. She hoped this lawyer would be the right person to guide them through the process. The phone conversation Beth shared with Alexis had been promising.

  “We’ll go pick up Emma when we’re done,” Robert whispered. “Then we can all go get some supper. Okay?”

  “That would be great,” she replied.

  Beth was still a little surprised Robert had agreed to being a part of the adoption so quickly. Not that she doubted his commitment to Emma. She’d just figured he’d want to muddy the waters by talking about marriage as a way to make the adoption less difficult. But he hadn’t said a word about anything except being Emma’s dad, claiming the adoption would ensure that Emma would always be a part of his life, implying he and Beth could eventually go their separate ways.

  Perhaps his affection for her wasn’t as deep as she’d believed. Or perhaps it was her own insecurity whispering in her ear. She loved him with every ounce of her being, more each passing day, but he might always be more concerned about Emma than he’d ever be about her.

  Maybe he didn’t like the idea of marrying. Maybe he didn’t want to tie himself down. Maybe he didn’t care to be bound to her for the rest of his life.

  Beth tried to shake off that depressing thought by reminding herself he still reached for her almost every night, to the point she spent a good part of her days yawning. Even if he didn’t love her, he desired her.

  It would have to be enough.

  The receptionist sitting at the desk right outside the big oak door answered the buzz of her phone and then called to them. “Ms. Comer will see you now.” She swept her hand toward the door to her right.

  After a deep, fortifying breath, Beth got to her feet. Keeping a tight grip on Robert’s hand, she led him into the lawyer’s inner sanctum.

  Exactly like her office surprised Beth, so did Alexis Comer. Despite the woman’s rather eccentric business cards, Beth figured Alexis would still dress and act like a stereotypical lawyer, like the attorneys she saw in movies and on television. A no-nonsense suit. Hair pulled into a tight bun. Minimal jewelry.

  Alexis Comer was anything but a stereotype. The African American woman wore her dark brown hair, lightly tinted with enough gray to hint at her age, in long dreadlocks pulled away from her round face by a headband with brightly colored flowers. The earrings dangling from her ears were silver with a kaleidoscope of beads that brushed against her shoulders. Her gauzy skirt was the same floral pattern as the headband, and it swirled around her ankles when she rose and came around her desk to greet them.

  She shook each of their hands. “Welcome. Come in, come in.” She smiled as she gestured at the two chairs opposite her glass-and-chrome desk. “So glad to finally meet you.” After sitting back in her chair, she pulled closer to her desk and picked up a forest green file. “Let’s get down to business. The good news is the adoption petition should be relatively easy. As I told you, Beth, the only concern is the biological father.”

  Robert cocked his head. “Since we don’t know who he is, why’s he a problem?”

  “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. We have to make an effort to find him.”

  “Really?” he asked, his tone curious.

  “Absolutely,” she replied. “We have to show due diligence to notify the biological father that an adoption is being petitioned.” Alexis shuffled through the papers in the file. “We’ll have to take out ads in the Legal Notice sections of the newspapers in the places Tiffany lived.” Plucking out a paper, she laid it on top of the file, a small frown bowing her lips. “Beth, I have something I need you to do that might make this somewhat easier.”

  Beth nodded. “Anything I can do to help.”

  “I’d like you to talk to your mother again. When I spoke to her yesterday, she sounded a bit… hesitant when I asked about Emma’s father.”

  “Hesitant? What’s to hesitate about? Tiffany never told us his name.”

  Alexis leveled a hard stare. “May I be frank?”

  “Of course,” Beth replied.

  Robert took her hand again, as though he expected Alexis to say something that might hurt her.

  Alexis clasped her hands together, rested them on the paperwork, and leaned closer. “I’ve been a lawyer for more than twenty years. After all that time, I’ve developed very good instincts. I usually know when someone’s lying.”

  “Lying?” Beth knit her brows. “Who’s lying?”

  “I think your mother knows who Emma’s father is.”

  For a moment, all Beth could do was sit dumbly and blink.

  “What did she say?” Robert asked, saving her from trying to spit out the words and sounding as befuddled as she felt.

  “It wasn’t what she said exactly,” Alexis replied. “It was her tone and how so much went unsaid.” Her gaze found Beth’s. “I could be wrong, which is why I was hoping you could get your mother to open up to you. She might be able to make our job a lot easier.”

  “And the adoption a lot harder,” Robert grumbled.

  Beth’s relationship with her mother had always been a bit… distant. While a part of the blame was Beth’s, the larger share went to Carol.

  Who was she trying to kid? Carol Rogers was the most judgmental, pessimistic, and critical woman Beth had ever known. To grow up constantly hearing how much about her was lacking in her mother’s opinion, Beth had developed an inferiority complex as large as the Grand Canyon. Until she became a teacher and began to hear how good she was at her job and to feel the affection her students held for her, she’d lived life thinking she wasn’t worth too darn much.

  The Ladies Who Lunch had zeroed in on her insecurity early in their relationship and gone to great lengths to help Beth learn to appreciate herself. Dani especially went out of her way to compliment Beth, to make her feel as though she had value. She’d made great strides in learning to love herself, but somewhere deep inside would always be the timid little girl who was never quite good enough for her mother.

  An A minus? I suppose that’s a good grade. Not
quite an A, but…

  Class salutatorian? That’s nice. A little more effort and you could’ve been valedictorian, but…

  A teacher? That’s a decent job if you don’t mind being poor, but…

  With Carol, there was always a “but.”

  “I-I’ll try,” Beth promised. “Mom and I, well, we don’t get along.”

  The knowing smile on Alexis’s face eased some of the hurt that had crept over Beth. “Just remember you’re doing it for Emma.” Leaning back, she tilted her head. “Now, one more thing. What’s up with the two of you?”

  “Pardon?”

  “You’re living in the same house, correct?”

  Both Beth and Robert nodded.

  “And Robert owns it outright,” Alexis said rather than asked. “That actually works both for and against you in an adoption.”

  “Why against us?” Robert asked. “I’d think the fact that I own the place shows financial security and stability.”

  “It does,” Alexis said. “For you. Not for Beth.” When Alexis smiled, she was downright beautiful. “I suppose my next obvious question is why aren’t the two of you married? The house is an asset if both of you own it. If it’s only Robert, a judge might worry that Emma and Beth could be stranded if he leaves the relationship.”

  Beth’s heart froze before suddenly leaping back to life to pound furiously. This wasn’t a topic she wanted broached, especially not in front of someone they barely knew. Everything about what was supposed to be an easy adoption was turning complicated, and Beth felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Robert to feel obligated to do something he simply wasn’t ready to do.

  Alexis pushed her chair back and stood. “Well, it appears from the way you’re both speechless that I’ve given you some food for thought. I’ll be in touch in the next few days, and in the meantime, you get with your mother, Beth. See if you can get her to open up.”

  * * *

  Robert glanced over at Beth, wishing he knew the right thing to say.

  Ever since they’d left Alexis Comer’s office, Beth had been as silent as a stone. He’d expected her to be thinking aloud like she always did, asking and then answering questions about the adoption paperwork or about Alexis’s assertion that Beth’s mother knew who Emma’s father was.