His Unexpected Baby by Jamie Knight

Chapter Three - Ragnar

The wind swept from the east, as it always did, the end of the world stretched out before me, or so it seemed, cold wind blowing in my face. It was summer, but it could be difficult to tell the difference on the coast, the North Atlantic frigidly cold at the best of times.

You just had to dress for it, and you were usually fine. That was part of the reason why knit sweaters were so popular around there, though not some much on the inland cities.

When the winter came, though, and the winds howled like demons outside the door, all bets were off. It was safest to try and stay inside by the hearth. That’s where I’d been that summer. The stones were cold and black from a long lack of use, but it was still a good place to get sunlight.

“Staying long?” came the voice from behind me.

“No, just looking,” I said, the words echoing inside my head.

Light flooded the dark as the world returned. Memories returned as the dream faded.

I had the nagging feeling that someone was trying to tell me something with the dream. It was just the “who” and the “what” that were in question.

There was a movement next to me, the previous day coming to sharper focus. The wedding, the gig, the woman…

I glanced over and Stephanie was still sleeping peacefully beside me. I turned back to stare at the ceiling, my mind wandering and wondering how exactly I’d ended up here.

It had been Varg’s idea to go stateside. Norway was too small, he’d argued, if we wanted to have a proper career, so we needed to go to a bigger market. I didn’t argue at the time but wondered if we’d made the right choice.

Right up until we’d met Seth Black, anyway. If what he said was true, we would just be making music for the rest of our lives. There was also the beauty laying naked beside me to consider.

I remembered most of what happened, but it never hurt to have one’s memory jogged. Slowly lifting the blankets, I took in all that I could see. She was on her side with her back to me, but it was still more than enough.

I moved in and breathed in her scent, a hand going over her hip to stroke her belly. It was like I was under some kind of spell.

I jerked back suddenly. It wasn’t right. She wasn’t awake, and while she might have been fine with it, I didn’t know that. She was basically a stranger to me, even if it didn’t feel that way.

“It’s okay,” she said, shifting slightly.

Taking my hand in hers, she moved my hand back to her soft skin. But rather than resting it on her stomach, where I had been, she dragged it up to her breast and hummed softly as I tenderly fondled her.

“You really like ‘em, huh?”

“Yes,” I admitted, seeing no reason to lie.

“Well, they’re all yours, to do what you want with, I mean.”

I turned her on to her back and did as I truly wanted, suckling each of her delicate nipples until she moaned in exquisite pleasure. I alternated between each breast, making sure they both got the same amount of attention, to stimulate the nipple not in my mouth at any given time with my fingers.

Stephanie loved it— I could tell by her delighted moans, not to mention the sweet smell of her arousal wafting up as her excitement grew ever stronger.

“My pussy is yours too,” she managed between moans, “all of me is, please, help me feel as good as I did last night.”

That request was clear enough. I slowly moved my mouth down between her breasts, kissing every inch of her warm skin on the way down to my final destination.

Stephanie opened her legs in welcome anticipation as I approached. The scent of her excitement only added to my anticipation.

It likely wasn’t strictly necessary. She was already plenty wet, and could no doubt take me without the added licking, but we both enjoyed it, so why not?

I couldn’t get enough of the taste of her.

“Fuck!” she moaned, as my tongue caressed her sweet, pink pussy.

I’d come to tell the difference between her cries of pleasure and distress. I felt I already knew her body so well even after just meeting her. Our chemistry was off the charts hot.

Settling into a good rhythm, I licked and sucked on her clit until she was crying out in orgasm, her hips lifting from the bed as she wailed.

Stephanie fell back onto the bed as I planted tender kisses on her still trembling flesh, taking things lightly, knowing that she would likely still be sensitive so soon after coming.

Kissing my way back up along her body, I made my way to her lips. Stephanie and I made out like horny teenagers. With a slight shift of her hips, she got her pussy lined up with my cock, as she gently stroked me.

“Already?” I asked.

I wasn’t in any way complaining, it was just surprising that she could recover that fast, at least to the point of being ready to fuck. She was unequivocal on the matter however, and within seconds I was inside her.

Stephanie’s breathing grew a little more rapid and labored with each thrust of my cock inside her. It wasn’t too deep. I knew I had to take it easy on her, my cock barely fitting in her tight pussy, but we got through it.

I slid in as deep as she could comfortably take me before I started to pump. Slow at first, but then with increasing urgency.

I hadn’t really fucked her yet. Not properly, like I really wanted to, but I was trying to work her up to it, even though I had no reason to think I would see her again. No logical reason, in any case.

“You’re amazing,” she moaned, as I got up to a steady moderate rhythm. “That feels so fucking good.”

No matter what the circumstances of our meeting, or what the future held, I was glad to have met her. If nothing else, we would always have the experience of last night and this morning after.

I drove into her again and again, making her cum once, then twice, before I started to feel the overwhelming pleasure drawing up in me. I tugged my cock out and Stephanie eagerly parted her lips so I could shoot my load between them.

She swallowed every last drop, and I realized I wasn’t sure what was hotter: watching her take it all or seeing some of it spill down her breasts and belly as it had the night before.

“Shit, is that the time?’ Stephanie asked suddenly, looking over at the bedside clock.

“Appears to be,” I said, laying down beside her.

“Damn it! I’m so sorry, but you have to go, and I have to get to work.”

“Oh, right, it’s Monday.”

“Yeah, and I’m going to be late.”

“Not if I can help it.”

Working together, we got Stephanie ready for work in no time. I was a bit surprised how sleek and professional she looked in her business clothes. It seemed like she could look good in almost anything, though it did make me wonder what she did.

She looked like she could be a lawyer, or some kind of executive.

If so, how old was she?

She looked young, maybe not even twenty. Then again, if Jonna was her younger sister, that didn’t seem likely.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Old enough to know better, and you need to get dressed, stat.”

“I’m serious,” I pressed, hopping into my jeans.

“I’m 23,” she said, with a slight sigh. “Shocked?”

“A bit,” I answered honestly, raising my eyebrows.

She honestly only looked a year or two older than her sister, who was much younger, but in her work clothes and professional daytime demeanor, I could kind of see it.

“I hope it doesn’t bother you that I’m quite a bit older,” I added. “Ten years, to be exact.”

She snorted and said, “No, it doesn’t bother me at all.”

“You’re beautiful, no matter how old you are.”

I took her in my arms and lifted her until we were eye to eye, and gave her a deep, passionate kiss to show her I wasn’t just blowing smoke up her ass.

“Thank you,” she whispered breathlessly when we parted.

“I mean it.”

“I know. Now put me down and finish getting dressed, okay?”

“Okay.”

I did as she asked, and soon enough we were out in the hall as she locked up. She seemed to be glancing around to see if anyone was coming. It wasn’t clear which had the potential for most embarrassment, having a one-night stand or sleeping with a metal head.

Even though I wasn’t too obvious about it, keeping clean-shaven and my hair short, most people still knew. Except for Stephanie, of course. She’d seen me in a suit, playing an acoustic set. Still, she probably guessed, since every other band at the wedding also on Seth’s label.

We stayed together, cuddling on the elevator, neither of us really seeming to want to really pull ourselves away from each other— at least until the bell dinged, and then Stephanie was off.

I kept pace, which wasn’t hard with my long-legged stride, and we made it to the street about the same time. With another glance around, just to be sure, Stephanie got up onto her tiptoes and kissed me.

“Goodbye,” she whispered, before disappearing into the bustling crowd. “Sorry I have to rush off to work!”

I didn’t have too long to ponder whether her goodbye had been forever or just for then. There were also places I had to be, like The Sanctuary recording studio, to start recording our first official Suspicious Activity Records release. One for which we were contracted, with a possibility for renewal at the end of the initial period.

Stig usually handled the legal stuff. He was the smartest of all of us, which was probably his way of compensating for being a bass player. Still, we all got a look at the contract, and agreed that Seth likely wasn’t trying to rip us off.

The only downside was that it would be at least four years before we could go home. I’d always thought it was a cliché, too long for the fjords, but there I was.

I was going to have to walk or maybe take a bus or an Uber. We had taken Stephanie’s car to get to her apartment, and she was long gone by now. I didn’t have a motor stateside, my truck still parked outside my house in Bergen.

It had been Stig’s bright idea to take the train into Norway and fly to the States. Never mind that there away no way in hell my drums were going to fit.

The clever bastard had thought of that too, putting together a private fund over the last few local gigs to get me a new kit when we got to the States. It turned out to be a used kit with new heads, but same difference.

One of the first things we did when we got the advance from Seth was to go hit the music store and get all new equipment. It didn’t even cut into the main amount, new equipment being one of the allowances he’d made for us.

Varg and Stig got the guitars and amps they’d always wanted but could never afford. I got as close as I could to the set I had had at home. It was what I grew up with and was most used to.

Most non-drummers really didn’t appreciate the importance of touch. Most players could get used to most sets, but it usually took some time. I sold the first American kit, figuring I only needed one per country.

The morning traffic picked up as I walked, hoping to get off the street before the real mayhem could start. Seattle had roughly twice the population of Bergen, and I was still getting used to the hustle and crowds.

My phone pinged with a notice. Taking a nearby bench, I paused to see what the telecom overlords had in store for me. The message was from Seth.

Seth: Hey, man, where did you get off to last night?

Me: Someone’s apartment.

Seth: You have wheels?

Me; No, got a ride here.

Seth: Stranded, huh?

Me: A bit, yeah.

Seth: Give me the cross street, and I’ll pick you up.

As the fates would have it, I was near a cross street, so I could just put in the street signs as I saw them.

I’d heard that Seth used to drive a motorcycle, back before little Casey was born. It was hard to put a baby seat on a bike, though, so he’d gone for a more appropriate family sedan, keeping the Ducati in the garage for special occasions.

It was the sedan that pulled up to the curb in front of the bench, much to my delight. I’d developed a bit of a prejudice in favor of four-wheeled vehicles; it was a matter of balance.

“Stig and Varg are already there,” he told me, once I got in. “Sven is setting things up.”

“Sorry about this.”

“Don’t be. I know how it is.”

He probably did. Seth was older than any of us and had a reputation as a sort of big brother figure to most of the bands the label released. If anyone understood what had happened with Stephanie, he would.

Except that she was his sister-in-law, and that could get a bit thorny—hence my hesitation to tell him whose apartment I had ended up at last night when he had asked over text.

Despite the burning urge to tell someone about what had happened, if nothing else to process that it had actually happened, I kept it tamped down. It wasn’t my first one-night stand, but I had this nagging feeling it might be my last.

There was a round of applause when we showed up at The Sanctuary. It was led by Sven, the main producer, and head engineer, who shot me a glare that could crack glass. Then again, he usually looked that way anyway, so I tried not to take it personally.

“The returning hero,” Varg said.

“If not conquering,” Stig added.

“Both, I would wager,” Sven said, getting in on the action.

“How much?” Varg asked.

“Oh, at least twenty.”

I sat down behind my kit, trying to ignore them, as hard as that could be once they really got going.

“You talking dollars or age of the girl?” Varg asked.

“Girl? The person I saw him talking to was definitely a woman,” Stig observed. “With curves for miles.”

“That she was,” I affirmed.

“Ah, going for the plus-sized ladies now, are ya?” Varg asked.

I snorted.

“Please. Her weight is none of your concern,” I told him. “And she happens to be absolutely gorgeous.”

“Agreed,” Stig said, which was enough to make me throw him a glance that clearly said, “back off; she’s mine.”

It wasn’t the hill I planned to die on, but they’d started going after Stephanie. They could break my balls all they wanted, I could take it, but she had nothing to do with it, really.

“All right, guys, let’s do ‘In the Embrace’ from the top,” Seth said from the booth.

We all jumped to attention, and then we started to play. I knew there would probably be more teasing to come, but I really didn’t care. My night with Stephanie was beautiful and, while it made no logical sense, I wanted a whole lot more.

It could have been love, or it could have been greed. All I knew was that I wanted to see her again. Even if she was a bit posh.

I accepted all sorts of personalities into my life, or at least I tried to. It was how the band had stayed together for so long, that was for damn sure. Stig was okay, but I sometimes thought we were friends with Varg just because no one else would be.

It had just gone on so long that none of us really noticed anymore. Going through lawsuits together can do that.

A church had burned down near a venue we’d played, and people had accused us of arson, likening it to some similar incidents back in the 90s where some black metal bands went on a rampage wrecking old churches.

The century had changed, but most minds hadn’t. Not when it came to subcultures. We weren’t even the same kind of band, and pyrotechnics definitely weren’t our thing, but that mattered little to the prosecutors, intent on getting the blood the public was baying for.

In the end, it was revealed that the church had burned down because of faulty wiring. We were still said to have gotten off on a technicality.

I could understand the anger, honestly, and held no ill will against the locals hurting for the loss. My ire was reserved for the slanting media and pragmatist courts. We could have written a song about it.

Or a series of online articles, as Stig suggested, though that wouldn’t really have done anything. We decided the best way to punish those who would rather we didn’t exist, to the point of nearly locking us up, was to go on doing just that.

Our continued existence as the band became a monument to their failure. The fact that we were about to have three albums on international release was just the icing on the cake. We planned to send an autographed copy, in both CD and vinyl, to every news editor, station manager and prosecutor who gave us shit during the trial.

But for now, we were just enjoying making our music. And I was enjoying the sweet memory of being with Stephanie last night— and already hoping to be with her again soon.

That wasn’t my normal style— I usually moved on after a one-night-stand— but something about her was different.

I was determined to keep her in my life as long as I could. And my next goal was to see her again, which couldn’t be that hard, considering that Seth had just married her sister