Pregnant By The CEO by Cassandra Dee

18

Casey

As I slowly wake, it hits me that Pierce and I just had unprotected sex again. He came in me so hard that I swear I’m pregnant already. After all, a man like this is incredibly virile, and I know I’m fertile too. Just look at my body. Big boobs, a big butt, and wide hips. Oh yeah, I’m definitely a baby-making machine.

But as I nestle against his warmth, the alpha male stiffens. Something is obviously eating him up.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, craning to face him. His expression is torn.

“I’ve been wanting to talk with you,” he says gently. Oh no. Is this the break-up talk? My body seizes, heartbeat accelerating. Oh god, oh god. I’m about to be tossed out of bed. Tears are already forming in my eyes.

But Pierce continues, his voice gentle. “My whole life,” he says, “people taught me that gifts were the solution. Things. Objects.”

I look into his eyes. What? What is he talking about? The alpha male sighs and looks up at the ceiling.

“Let me start from the beginning,” he says slowly. I’m utterly confused, so I nod in agreement. What else can I do?

“I was raised by my nanny,” the alpha male says, rolling over to look at me. His eyes are oddly searching and a little melancholy. “A series of nannies in fact. I loved them, but my parents were odd people. Often, the nannies were fired or they quit. I’ll never know what happened. All I know is they would be gone and it would happen just like that. The whole thing would happen when I was asleep and I never got to say goodbye. Often, months later, I would receive a gift or a letter from my old nanny and that always meant the world to me. It meant that they still cared about me, and that I wasn’t the problem. Ah, I’m not making sense,” he says, wiping a hand over his eyes.

“You’re making perfect sense,” I tell him soothingly.

“Yeah? I’m not used to telling people this story.”

I nod with gentle encouragement. “Don’t worry, it’s just me. I know you feel vulnerable, but it’s okay. Keep going if you want.”

He tales a big breath and looks up at the ceiling.

“My parents were always away. My father essentially ignored me. I mean, he was a very busy man so I give him that. He was working hard to put food on the table and had to travel all over the world for his job. So when I was little, whenever he returned, he always had gifts. Wonderful gifts. Shiny toys and exotic candies as a kid. Cars and money when I was older. Watches and airline tickets. When I opened up those presents, I knew they were a stand-in for him. I should have felt like he was trying to “buy” me, but I didn’t feel that way at all. Instead, the gifts let me know knew he still cared about me and thought about me when he was away.”

I nod, silent. The term “airline tickets” echoes in my head. My ex-boyfriend tried to buy me off, and I used those vouchers and don’t regret it one bit.

“Does this have to do with the diamond bracelet?” I ask tentatively.

He nods and looks me right in the eye.

“Do you think I’m a monster?” he asks softly.

I bite my lip, and I can feel the blush creeping down my neck and over my bosom. I grab the sheet closer to my chest, my hands gripping with white knuckles.

“No,” I say softly. “I don’t think that you’re anything of the sort. I know you now, Pierce Lane, and you’re a good man.”

Because hearing his life story puts the entire diamond bracelet fiasco into a different light. Maybe the bracelet meant something completely different to him. Maybe given the context of his life, it represented something precious and good. A remembrance that once upon a time, there was something there. It wasn’t a buyoff or some kind of careless toss-away gift. Instead, it was a meaningful present to celebrate what once had been.

Oh god. Sometimes I hate being an advice columnist because my job forces me to sum up situations on far too little information. I feel terrible right now, and shame makes my cheeks go red.

But Pierce doesn’t seem to mind. He kisses me gently as I lay against that massive male form, feeling his heart beat against my body while trying to get myself together. But before I can say anything, the alpha male speaks once more.

“I have something to tell you,” he says. Softly, he lifts my chin up with his hand. I’m looking right into those dazzling blue eyes that always make me feel so wanted.

“What is it?” I murmur, almost a little scared. I can’t deal with any more drama. He laughs and gives my shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

“Well, the woman who wrote the letter to you, Maria. You know she’s moved on, right?”

I look at him hard.

“No, I didn’t know that. But how do you know that?”

He shoots me a wry smile. “Because she and my assistant are in a relationship now.”

I gasp in disbelief.

“What? Your assistant who dumped her for you? The one who did your dirty work?” Oh my god, it’s almost impossible to believe but Pierce just lets out an amused snort.

“Yes. Him. It’s pretty hard to believe, huh? But I guess they had a connection that very first time, and Mark kept with it. They bonded over shared break-up stories, and who knows?” he says wryly. “Anything can happen.”

I’m so shocked that there are no words at first.

“Wow. So that’s a happy ending for her, then,” I finally manage. It’s a pretty crazy development. Maria had seemed so crushed in her letter to Corner Chat, and yet she ended up dating Pierce’s assistant? Truth is truly stranger than fiction.

“Well, I guess anything can happen,” I add dubiously. “But reading that letter, I really thought her heart was broken. Like she was going to be a spinster and join a convent because things were that bad.”

Pierce shoots me another wry grin.

“I think she was more interested in the idea of dating me than actually knowing me,” says Pierce. “That does happen sometimes, you know.”

I nod, thinking of the Eligible Bachelor lists he frequents. The billionaire must have a lot of women after him for his fame and fortune, rather than his personality. I can see how that would happen.

Pierce merely sighs again. “Maria and I were far from being a couple, Casey. We only met three or four times ever, so there was never a relationship really. It was just an overly dramatic letter with lots of hyperbole.”

Wow. I process this. I think about all the hurtful things I wrote about Pierce without fully understanding the situation.

“Based on what she said….I mean, I just assumed…” are my awkward words.

“I know. You wanted to stand up for what was right, and the way she wrote that letter made it sound like I really did something awful. I know it wasn’t great. But it also was never malicious. I didn’t want to hurt her and in fact, I was trying to do to right by her.”

I am well and truly ashamed.

“I know that now. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the things I said in my column.”

But he merely tips my chin up, blue eyes gentle.

“I understand, Casey. I forgive you for them.” The billionaire looks into my eyes and presses his forehead gently to mine. A sizzle runs down my spine. “It’s part of your job to care about people, so you were doing the right thing in your book.”

“It’s hard sometimes,” I say with a sniffle. “You can’t define a person by the few hundred words they send me. I forget that sometimes, and I guess in your case, it kind of all went awry.”

He merely nods. “I get it, and it’s okay. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to put the bracelet incident behind us, now, forever. For real this time.”

I shoot him a teary smile.

“I can agree to that.”

“Good, and actually,” he says, leaning back for a moment to seize my hand. God, this man is gorgeous, all bronzed skin and broad shoulders. My mouth waters and I smile back. “While we’re making things official…” he drawls slowly.

“Yes?” I ask, my question dangling in the air.

He gives me a cocky smile.

“Well, I thought maybe you might want to be my girlfriend? I mean, officially. I know it’s early, but the truth of the matter is that I think I’m in love with you. I should also probably mention that I’ve never said that to a woman before, at least in person. You’ve changed the way I think, Casey Henderson, and that’s that.”

Shocked, I’m unable to move. What? Is he joking? I never expected the alpha male to ask me this so soon, and I stare at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, wow,” he says. “That was way too much too fast, wasn’t it?”

I look at him dumbly because it feels like a dream. In slow motion, I imagine life as Pierce Lane’s girlfriend. I think of nights out with him, dancing and drinking in the best restaurants and clubs. I imagine countless sessions of wild, uninhibited sex in every room of this magnificent penthouse.

But my thoughts also include daily life. I imagine coming home from work and making dinner plans, catching up about our days, and having a laugh about something a coworker said. I imagine us doing simple, everyday things in this mind-blowing penthouse: watching Netflix in our pajamas or making a grocery list. I imagine us getting a pet, having a baby, or moving to the country. It’s all within reach.

Of course, I want to be his girlfriend. There is nothing I want more in life because I love him too. I love him so much and it’s only the beginning. My heart surges with excitement for the future.

“No, Pierce. It was not too much in the slightest,” I tell him as lean in for a devastating kiss. “I’d be happy to be your loving girlfriend.”

Laughing, we get back under the covers. I roll over and he slides his hands around my waist, letting them rest on my round, soft belly. I’ve never felt comfortable letting a man do that because it’s so huge and poochy. Pierce, however, gives it an affectionate little pat and rub. I’m suddenly flooded with relief and joy that this complicated man stormed his way into my life, even if we didn’t get along at first.

I nestle against into him, letting the CEO’s warmth seep into my every cell. I can feel his body relax into mine, growing heavy. His breathing is slow and even.

“I sleep so well next to you,” he murmurs. “I’ve never been this way before.”

“You mean, you’ve never slept this well before?” I ask teasingly. “Maybe it’s the good sex. It knocks us both out.”

Pierce chuckles lazily, but then he pulls me back against that big frame before speaking seriously.

“No, it’s not that sweetheart. I mean, it is the sex, but it’s also more than that. I feel comfortable with you. I feel like I can let go and really relax, which is rare for an alpha male who’s used to controlling everything and everyone around him. With you, Casey Henderson, everything’s different,” he whispers in my ear. “And that’s why I love you.”

With those words, my life takes off. Because sure, our initial meeting was pretty disastrous. I lambasted him for ditching a woman, and then paying her off with a gift. But again, my job is based on reader letters, and there is no letter that can give both sides of the story. Because once placed within the greater context of Pierce’s experiences, the gift lost its negative connotations and instead became a remembrance of a shared past.

But we’re not celebrating the past. Given the fireworks between us, Pierce and I are now celebrating the future because we’ve discovered an inherent compatibility. His alpha male exterior melded with my feisty nature. His gruff words contrasted with my teasing sentences. His hardness, my softness, and everything in between. And maybe a baby soon, who knows? Because it seems that dreams do come true … with this handsome CEO by my side.