“I like the sound of that,” I say darkly, and in my pants, I know another part of me likes it too. I want my last name on her as soon as possible. Immediately is too long to wait.

  “Oh!” Tiffany exclaims, laughter dancing in her eyes. “I really am going to be Elle’s stepmom. I’ve given her so much shit for that. She’s totally going to call me her stepmonster.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “You do not know your daughter that well. She’ll call me that and much worse,” Tiffany says, then grins. “But then again, I’ll probably be demanding that she clean the kitchen and mop the floors with only the mice for company when she visits.”

  I chuckle, trapping her against the couch between my arms as I look down into her pretty face. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I’d start figuring out what you want Neve to call you.”

  “Neve?” Realization dawns, and she grabs my shoulders, her nails digging into the skin. “I’m going to be a grandma before I’m even a mom.”

  I laugh and nod, agreeing with her. “She calls me Papa D, so maybe Mama T?” I suggest.

  Tiffany wrinkles her nose. “That sounds like amateur porn star names!” She shakes her head, “She already calls me Aunt Tiffy, and I don’t want to change on her. Do you think she’ll be confused by her aunt and her grandpa being married?”

  “She’s a smart girl. I’m sure we can explain it to her,” I assure her. “It’ll be fine.”

  Tiffany sighs happily. “Good.”

  I trace her smile with my thumb. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She looks down at her hand, then at me. Uhm . . . how fast do you want to do this?”

  “If Elle and your family won’t kill us?” I ask. “I’d take you out now, stop by a late-night jeweler, and we’d take care of this tomorrow. If we were in Vegas, I’d say right now.”

  Right now. That’s the key.

  Because right now, I need her.

  I need to feel her all over, remind myself that she’s okay, and help wash away my fear of losing her. I need to bring her pleasure and remind her that I am who she turns to for anything she needs. I’ll be gentle, but I need to hold her, feel her skin against mine, and claim her as she claims me.

  “Drink your juice, baby girl,” I tell her darkly.

  Her eyes sparkle, and she answers teasingly, “Yes, Daddy.”

  I glare at her. “We talked about that.”

  “I know, but now, you’re going to be a daddy again because you put a baby in me.” She takes a healthy drink of her juice, pleased with herself. “I’m just getting you used to that.”

  I groan, squeezing my cock through my sweats. I watch her finish every last drop, licking the rim of the glass clean to drive me crazy. I take the empty glass from her, setting it on the coffee table. I stand, pulling her to her feet and then sweeping her into my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck as I carry her to the bedroom like the lady she is.

  When I set her down, I pull the blankets back. I untie the robe from around Tiffany’s waist, and she shrugs out of it, letting it fall to the floor in a puddle. She’s so fucking beautiful, and as my mind fills with images of her getting more and more round with our baby, my cock starts to throb and ache in response.

  I gesture to the bed. “Lie down.”

  She does as I command, and I drop my sweats to the floor, climbing in with her. I lie on my back, positioning her at my side with her head on my chest and one leg thrown over mine. From here, she can see the evidence of my desire for her, but we can take our time, pressing our bare skin together and letting our need build slowly.

  When I begin gently tracing her skin with my fingertips, her breathing picks up and she rubs her core against my thigh, letting me feel the wet heat gathering there. I ask, “Can you take me?”

  “Dr. Patel said I’m fine. No concussion, no bleeding. One hundred percent healthy as long as I eat, and I had lunch already and a glass of juice.” She smiles.

  I move quickly, flipping over so that she’s on her back with me looming over her. I hold myself up, protecting her belly from any undue weight. “Are you sure?”

  She licks her lips and nods. “We can have sex the whole pregnancy and as many orgasms as I want. Even when I’m big and round with Mini-Me.”

  That is the sexiest thing I think I’ve ever heard. I shift my weight to one side, freeing my right hand to lay a palm on her belly. “I love you, little one. I love your mama too.” I meet Tiffany’s eyes, which are bright and filled with tears again. “I’m going to take such good care of you both.”

  “I love you too. And so will he. Or she.”

  We seal the words with a sweet, tender kiss, our hearts open and flooding with love. And as she squirms beneath me, the kiss ignites when her nails score into the flesh of my back.

  “Daniel,” she breathes, “please.”

  I’m right there with her—needy and lust-addled. But I hold onto my sanity enough to maintain control as I slip into her. Every inch of my cock filling her, her body stretching to accommodate me, and her liquid heat engulfing me is a promise.

  To us, to our future, to our love.

  I stroke into her gradually, her deep moan of pleasure rumbling through her body and making me shiver, in danger of losing the tight grip on my restraint. But I won’t do that, not now. There will be time enough for hard and fast. This time, I want her unrushed. I want her luxuriating on my cock and me enjoying every clench of her walls.

  I lean down and kiss her, our lips joined as I pull back again and start thrusting slowly. She wraps her legs around my waist, holding me tightly as we move together.

  “Daniel . . . so good.” She grunts quietly when I speed up slightly, testing harder thrusts until my thighs slap against her hips with each deep stroke. “Yes . . . yes . . . fuck me, Husband.”

  The word triggers something inside me, and I grind inside her, fighting off the climax that immediately threatens. My cock pulses with the need to claim her, to fill her. But I hold it off, waiting for her. Needing her to come first.

  “Don’t stop . . . please,” she begs, her breasts mashed against my hard chest and her lips opening wider and wider with each stroke as I start moving again.

  “Who do you belong to?” I grunt, tilting her head with a gentle tug on her hair so that she’s looking me squarely in the eye. “Say it.”

  “Da–Daniel Stryker!” Tiffany calls out in joy as a small mini-orgasm sweeps through her. “Oh, God, I’m yours! Fuck me, Daniel, now!”

  Her fingernails score my back, urging me on, and I give her my all, my breath coming in deep animal grunts. I pound her, my cock plunging in long strokes to hit deep inside her, and she bucks beneath me, fucking me back and demanding more and more from me.

  She tenses underneath me, her mouth open in a silent scream, on the edge of her release. “Do it, Tiffany. Come on my cock like a good girl.”

  Her inhale is audible even among the wet sounds of my slipping in and out of her tight walls. And then she explodes, her cry loud, her juices flowing, and her body spasming. In response, my balls tighten, and finally, I let go of my control, howling my own climax as my cock jerks inside her.

  I don’t know how long it takes me to become aware again. It’s long enough that my arms are shaking from overuse, and I think I might need to up my plank time so I can hover over Tiffany for as long as I want. But I’m not giving in to muscle strain yet. Still buried inside her, I feel the last quivers of her orgasm getting slower and gentler as she relaxes in bliss.

  Even if she weren’t pregnant before . . . well, I’m pretty sure she would be now.

  The thought makes me laugh softly, and I lean down, kissing Tiffany. Her eyes pop open even though we’re kissing, and against my lips, she asks, “What’s so funny? My scream?”

  “No . . . I was thinking that if you didn’t have a baby before . . . pretty sure I’ve given you one now.” If being a proud peacock had a tone of voice, I just gave a perfect demonstration. I might as well stand up and strut around the room, cock bouncing and dripping with proof of my prowess.

  “Ah,” she says, giggling. “The idea of getting me pregnant and breeding me turns you on. I saw how you reacted when I said you put a baby in me.”

  My cock, which at this point would normally have started to deflate, twitches inside her in reply, and we both laugh.

  But the jolt of the laugh is game over for my arms. I roll over, still inside her as I bring her with me so that she’s lying on top of me with my arms wrapped around her waist.

  “I can honestly say that particular idea has never held any specific appeal to me. Until today, until you. But I’m not gonna argue with results.”

  “So maybe I can call you Daddy in the bedroom?” she asks, a teasing light in her eyes. I lift a brow in warning, and she giggles. “Just kidding.”

  “Well, maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll consider it.”

  Her eyes pop wide open, her mouth turns into an ‘O’ of surprise, and I feel the response of her pussy around my cock.

  I grind up into her, pulling her hips down against me. “Seems you like that.” One more grind for us both, and then I still. “You need to rest. I meant to go easy on you, be gentle after everything.”

  She reaches to cup my face. “I’ll let you know if I need gentle. Or if I need rough. I promise to always tell you the truth.”

  She’s not only talking about our lovemaking but about so much more. She’s vowing to let me in, even when she wants to be the strong person who can solve all the world’s problems. She’ll let me help in her moments of need and take care of her.

  “The truth is . . . I love you, Tiffany Stryker.”

  “Ooh!” she squeals in excitement, wiggling against me. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this. If I’m asleep or still unconscious, I will murder the person who wakes me up. Go stabby, stabby on them and then toss them in the river at the park.”

  "That's oddly specific. Should I be concerned?” I tease.

  “Not if you don’t wake me up from this dream,” she says, settling in with her head on my shoulder.

  We stay like that, not sleeping but not awake, just enjoying each other.

  After a while, a question comes to my mind. “What made you take a pregnancy test? Were you having symptoms?” I’m thinking now about her cracker eating and her telling her mom that her stomach was upset.

  Tiffany doesn’t lift her head but starts rubbing my chest. “You’re not going to believe this, but I didn’t figure it out at all. Ricky and Billy told me before I even took a test.”

  “No shit?” I ask, and she nods. “Those guys don’t miss anything.”

  “You have no idea. I think you might have to give them a raise.”

  Chapter 31

  Tiffany

  “You ready?” Daniel asks, and I swallow my fear, giving him a confident smile. We are going to cross this particular road together.

  Half to send a message and half because dammit, I want to, I kiss him. I mean for it to be a simple peck right outside the door, but when he pulls me in tighter, I go to him. Before I know what’s happening, his hand is in my hair while I pull on the lapels of his jacket, and we’re putting on quite the show.

  I don’t know how long we’re there, but when the doors open and we step inside, it’s pretty damn clear that our message was sent and received. The lobby, which at this time of the morning is usually filled with people heading in or stopping to chat with friends who work in other departments, is nearly silent as Daniel walks with me to the front desk.

  Megan and Stephanie are both looking at us in utter surprise. Megan is holding a pen limply in her fingers, and Stephanie looks like she’s about to shimmy herself right out of her chair and is only waiting for the right opportunity to pepper me with a million questions. They knew in a vague way about Daniel and me, but this is different. This is more… public proclamation.

  Conversation starts up again, maybe a bit too loud as people try to cover up for their staring, but I do what I told Daniel I’ll do. I put my shoulders back, look fabulous, and remind myself that if they don’t like it, fuck ’em.

  “You good?” Daniel asks me, and I nod. “Okay, I’ll see you tonight?” He’s not yelling it, but with the acoustics in here, there’s no doubt that everyone heard him.

  “You read my mind.”

  We give each other secret smiles despite everyone watching, having a bit of fun with the whole thing. I mean, love is beautiful and everyone should be happy for us.

  “I don’t get it,” a voice says, and I look over to see Shaun coming closer. As the lone survivor of the TRE massacre, he’s still getting the shaft a little bit since the contract was ditched and he’s basically out months of work on the bonus . . . but at least he still has his job and has been reassigned to another acquisitions project.

  “Did you have something you wanted to say, Shaun?” Daniel asks the man directly, subtly placing me behind him protectively. Ricky and Billy are crossing the lobby but holding steadfast.

  “Well, Mark and Brandon get fired for who they’re dating, but you can screw around with the secretaries?” Shaun looks me up and down like I’m a piece of meat. “At least you’ve got good taste, not that I’d expect you to totally slum it.”

  The lobby is moving now, but everything stops at Shaun’s comments. Nobody moves, nobody says a word. Stephanie looks like she’s about to kill in my defense, while sweet Megan looks like she might actually help Stephanie bury the body afterward.

  Before I can reply, Daniel steps forward, getting right up in Shaun’s face. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are full of cold fury. His hands fist at his sides, but I’m not scared Daniel’s going to punch him. Daniel doesn’t lose control like that.

  Daniel’s voice is hard as he clips out, “Tiffany is not a secretary. She’s the head of the front desk staff and admin department.” He raises his voice, clearly intending to say this one time only. “She is also my fiancée. Both of those roles require you to respect her, as you should every person in this company. If you’ve got a problem with that, I’ve got a problem with you.”

  Shaun’s face pales, and I think he’s starting to realize how badly he’s fucked up. What led him to this suicidal commentary is beyond me. All I can think is he must have pre-spent that bonus before it evaporated on him.

  “Mr. Stryker, I—”

  “And Mark and Brandon were not fired for who they were dating,” Daniel declares in a voice so loud that it echoes off the ceiling, ensuring that the gathered crowd on the upper floors can hear every word too, “but rather, why they were dating.”

  “What? They said it was a conflict of interest. Some bullshit you fabricated to get out of paying our bonus.”

  I appreciate that Daniel defended me, and us. And especially the speed with which he cut that shit off, showing that he’s definitely learned from the incident at the restaurant.

  But I’ve learned too. Daniel prioritizes business and is smart about what moves he makes. He can’t say too much about former employees. It’s not professional, possibly not legal, and most of all, it’s not his style. I am not nearly as classy, though.

  And I know all the dirt.

  “Those two were getting led around by their balls by someone at TRE. The same someone, and she was using them both for intel so they could all buy stocks in TRE before the buyout and make bank off Fox’s back. Might have gotten away with it too if they didn’t get so greedy and add stupid shit to the contract. Dumbasses didn’t even realize they were being used by her.”

  Shaun blinks, and his head drops. “Fuck.” Horror stricken, he looks around at the crowd of people he just royally messed up in front of. “I didn’t . . . I didn’t know—”

  “Exactly,” I snap. “You didn’t know. You were on the same team, in case you don’t remember. So perhaps you should go upstairs and be thankful that you’ve still got a job because Daniel took the time to look into the whole issue and not slice and dice the whole team. And also, shut the hell up about what you don’t know.”

  Daniel takes a deep breath, putting a calming hand on my lower back. “Tiffany.”

  It’s just my name on his lips, but it stops me in my tracks.

  Okay, so maybe I said too much. Or maybe it was a bit too aggressive. But I’m not going to let anyone talk shit about Daniel or about his business.

  He takes my hand, the warmth grounding me as we present a united front, shoulder to shoulder and daring anyone to have an issue with us.

  Daniel dips his chin, finishing the scene, and leads me to my office door. Behind me, I hear Billy and Ricky talking, and Shaun says something about updating his resume. I ignore it, focusing on Daniel instead. Along the way, I whisper, “You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.”

  “Tiffany, I won’t let anyone speak badly about you, ever. Not in front of me, not in my building, not anytime I can stop it.”

  “Thank you. But . . .”

  I trail off, not sure if I should say what I’m thinking. Daniel gives me a pointed look, reminding me of what we’ve vowed. The truth, always.

  “What?” he asks, and we stop at my door.

  “Every person here should get the same respect,” I tell him softly. “You have no idea how much it sucks to be invisible in your own company.”

  Daniel blinks, obviously thinking about my words. He clears his throat before saying, “You’re right. I’ve overlooked too many good people. Too many of us do.”

  “But we can change that,” I remind him. “Together.”

  He gives me a grateful smile. “Together,” he repeats. “And thank you for saying what I couldn’t. That mouth of yours is something else.” He looks at my lips, and though I desperately want to kiss him, I refrain because of where we are and the audience we have. I think we’ve done enough for one day. “Instead of tonight, can I see you for lunch? I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

  “Yep, can’t say no when the big boss man asks you to lunch,” I tease, emphasizing big just a little for his benefit.