Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Willa
His skin was warm as my nails dug into his back with each satisfying thrust. That was the thing about Damien. He ran hot in every way. His temper was usually like an erupting volcano. The tenderness he showed me caught me off guard. I thought he’d run for the hills when he heard I was pregnant, but he didn’t. He wanted to be a part of his child’s life, and suddenly, my feelings for him grew stronger than ever. I was in love with this handsome man—my husband—a man I accidentally married in Vegas after only knowing him for a few hours.
“God, I’ve missed this,” I whispered.
“You have no idea.” His thrusts became stronger.
I gripped the sheets and moaned as an orgasm tore through me. Damien picked up the pace, grunting my name as he exploded inside me. His body dropped on mine, his warm lips pressing against my neck as our racing hearts began to calm. Rolling off me, he lay on his back, and I snuggled against him, resting my head on his muscular chest.
“I missed you, Willa.” His arm tightened around me.
“I missed you, too.” My finger traced tiny circles across his chest.
I lay there, feeling the beat of his heart against my ear. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, but he was still fragile from the baby news, and I didn’t want to push it. I slept like a baby in his arms the entire night, until morning came and a wave of nausea swept over me.
My eyes flew open as I placed my hand over my mouth and lay there momentarily, hoping it would pass. It didn’t. Jumping out of bed, I ran into the bathroom and hovered over the toilet.
“Are you okay?” Damien walked into the bathroom and held my hair back.
“I would be if I could throw up,” I said. Nothing was coming up, so I stood up, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“Good morning.” His lips pressed against the top of my head.
“Good morning.”
“Why don’t you get back in bed while I shower?” he said.
“That sounds like a good idea.” I smiled, reaching up and kissing his lips.
He started the shower, and I returned to bed. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I stared at all the orders for boxes that came through overnight. Thank God, I moved everything into storage, or it would all probably be ruined from smoke damage. Another fifty orders overnight. It was getting harder and harder to manage this on my own.
“I thought you were sleeping.” Damien smiled, walking into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“I was just checking my phone. Another fifty box orders came through overnight.”
“I want you to do something for me today,” he said. “I want you to print out a report of your expenses and sales.”
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
“Just humor me.” He smiled, walking over to my side of the bed and kissing me. “I have to get ready for work.”
* * *
Damien
I woke up feeling like today was the first day of the rest of my life.
“Good morning, Christine.” I strolled into my office.
“Morning, boss. Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” I set my briefcase down.
Christine set the cup of warm liquid on my desk. “You seem like you’re in a good mood today.” She grinned.
“I am.” I smiled.
Charlie walked into my office and shut the door.
“Morning, my friend. How is Willa doing?”
“She’s good. I brought her back to the penthouse, where she’s staying for good.”
“She’s moving in with you?”
“Yes. But I don’t think she realizes yet that it’s a permanent situation. She’s pregnant, Charlie.”
“What?” He chuckled. “You, Damien Blackwood, are going to be a father?”
“Yes.”
“I love a good joke, but it’s way too early, man.”
“I’m not joking. We found out yesterday when she was at the hospital.”
“My God. You’re serious.” He cocked his head.
“You know me, and you know I would never joke about something like that.”
“How do you feel about it?”
“When the doctor walked in and announced it, it was like the whole world froze. Then I looked at Willa, and at that moment, my carefully constructed walls just crumbled into dust.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
I picked up a pen from my desk and stared at it. “Yeah. I do love her.” I smiled. “I fought it, and I’m done trying to convince myself that I don’t. I love my wife, Charlie, and we’re having a baby.”
“Damn.” He shook his head, smiling. “I never thought I’d see the day. This is awesome. When are you telling everyone?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll talk to Willa and see when she wants to let people know.”
“A little Blackwood running around here is going to be awesome.” Charlie smiled. “Congratulations, Damien. I’m truly happy for you.”
“Thanks, Charlie.”
“So, I guess the annulment is out of the question?”
“I guess it is. I can’t divorce my wife now that she’s pregnant.” I smirked.
“Somehow, I don’t think you were ever going to divorce her.”
Later that afternoon, I left the office, stopped at the florist, and headed to the cemetery to visit my dad. Lying the bouquet of flowers down, I tucked my hands into my pants pockets.
“Hi, Dad. So much has happened since you left us. I’ve got some big news. Willa is pregnant. I’m going to be a father. Can you believe it? I can’t.” I breathed out a laugh. “You taught me many things growing up, and I promise to pass your wisdom along to your grandchild. You were a great father and a role model, and I hope to be the kind of father to my child as you were to me.” I placed my hand on top of the smooth, oversized headstone. “I miss you, Dad.”
When I arrived home from the office, I set my briefcase down and called out Willa’s name.
“In the guestroom,” she shouted.
Walking down the hallway, I found her in one of the guestrooms, trapped between the boxes and products spread throughout the room.
“Wow. Your inventory tripled since I saw it last,” I said.
“I know.” She sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. “I received another thirty orders today. That’s eighty boxes I have to make and send out.”
She looked stressed, and it bothered me. Making my way through all the stuff, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me.
“Don’t stress out. It’s not good for you or the baby.”
“I’m trying not to. I need help, Damien. It’s getting too hard to do all this on my own.”
“Okay. I’ll go change, and we’ll start putting boxes together.” I smiled.
“I’m craving pizza,” she said.
“Pizza for dinner, it is.” I kissed her forehead.
After changing into casual clothes, I ordered the pizza and helped Willa with her boxes.
“Did you get that report ready I asked for?”
“It’s sitting on your desk in your office,” she said. “That’s all for tonight. I’m too tired.”
We made thirty boxes—all ready to be shipped out tomorrow morning.
“Why don’t you go take a nice hot bath and relax?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” She smiled, kissing my lips.
I left the bedroom and turned off the light. Sitting behind my desk in my home office, I picked up the report she printed for her business and studied it.