Page 30 of Dante (Members From Money Season 2. #153)

Chapter 16

Neither of them noticed that Caleb had quietly left the room. They were both so wrapped up in the kiss that nothing else mattered.

He devoured her. When he could not get her on the phone, he had gone into a full-scale panic, thinking that something had happened to her. After several attempts at trying her phone, he had called her brother and cancelled his last two meetings, without hesitation.

Ending the kiss, he brushed back the hair from her forehead with unsteady fingers.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he whispered raggedly.

She was shaken by the look on his handsome face. It was naked and vulnerable, not afraid to show his emotions and the fact that he had been scared.

"I won't," she promised. "I won't." She lifted a hand to rub his neck and shoulder. "I was mad at you and wasn't thinking straight."

"I only want what's best for you. I was willing to hunt you down and tell you that you could continue working." He smiled crookedly. "See what you do to me? I cannot think straight when you're upset. It does something to me and I shouldn't be telling you that. You just might use it against me."

Her smile was tremulous. "I just might."

He kissed her again and she just melted against him. Taking them deeper, he lifted her into his arms and headed out of the room. Without breaking his stride and with unerring accuracy, he found her old bedroom that was still the way she had left it. Kicking the door shut behind them, he laid her on the bed and gently undressed her.

"I thought we were going home."

"Not yet." He kissed each exposed flesh as he peeled off her dress. "I have a monstrous need for you that cannot be contained." Taking her hand, he placed it over his crotch and had her jolting. "I want to sink myself so deep inside you and stay that way for hours." Removing her hand, he continued to undress her.

Rising, he quickly dragged off his clothing and joined her. "I cannot lose you," he whispered thickly.

"You won't," she assured him hastily. "I love you."

"I know. I never dreamed anything could feel this wonderful or this intense." He cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb over the raised flesh. His eyes were on hers as he lifted his finger to his mouth. Sucking it into his mouth, he placed it on the rigid flesh and massaged in the moisture.

"Dante." Her body vibrated with a need that had her reaching for him.

"Not yet. I want you needing me as much as I need you."

"I do."

"You don't, but you will," he predicted. Bending his head, he caught the flesh between his teeth. She cried out as the electric jolt shot through her body. Her fingers curled into his hair and then his shoulder and back. Pulling at the flesh, Dante suckled hungrily. When he cupped her sex, he grazed the sensitive flesh with his thumb and sent shockwaves flooding through her. The climax was violent and shattering.

Tears spilled from her eyes as her body arched against his fingers.

"Now," she whispered. "Oh please, I cannot stand it."

"There's more," he grunted as he transferred to the other nipple. He could not get enough of her. Her taste was inside him, filling him, washing through him like a quiet storm. He would never be able to fully explain what she did to him. He could never put the sensations into words.

He used his mouth and fingers ruthlessly, bringing her to another shattering peak.

Courtney felt as if she was on the brink of a precipice and about to fly off without a safety net. The fire was inside her, burning its way through her body. When he loved her with his mouth, she came again, her body lifting, head thrashing around on the pillows.

It was only then that he came over her and by that time he had lost the tight restraint he had placed on his control. He drove into her and had to stay still, his hands braced on either side of her head as he fought the madness.

Bending his head, he kissed the moisture from her cheeks, sipping at the tears before brushing his lips against hers. Her arms came around his neck, her tongue darting into his mouth. He drove into her, his body shattering. His heart was pounding heavily, his skin slicked with sweat. Emotions tumbled around inside him, and he felt as if his heart was flooding with a love so deep, so intense, he wondered if it would not shatter into tiny pieces.

When she came again, he followed, flooding her with his seed. She was his, his woman, his wife, his lover and his entire world.

It took him several minutes to ease to the side. Not willing to let go of her, he cradled her in his arms, his arms banded around her possessively.

They were silent for a few minutes as they waited to recover. Her face was buried on his chest as she breathed in his scent.

"Growing up, I thought that not having love in my life wasn't such a big deal," he began quietly. His fingers were trailing lazily up and down her back. "I convinced myself that all I needed was riches and that was enough. I hardened my heart when I realized any show of emotion wasn't going to be returned." He shifted his head when she lifted hers to look at him. "Mother blamed me for my father leaving and took it out on me."

"That was cruel and heartless."

He brushed the moisture off her cheek. "Now I have all this love that's threatening to burst and spill over." He touched the sides of her lips. "All for you."

Her eyes welled up again.

"Hormones?" he teased.

"Absolutely." She sniffed. "For me, there was my brother, and I knew he loved me. He spent his life looking out for me when we were in that dreadful group home. He was big and mean when required and very soon, people knew not to mess with me." She touched his face gently. "I always secretly wanted to find love and never dreamed it could be this all-consuming."

"Does it bother you?"

She propped her elbow on his chest and her chin in her palm.

"No." She shook her head in dazed wonder. "I feel superior. Wonderful actually. And on top of the world. I want to shout it to the world that I am in love with the most amazing man in the world."

"Even when I'm threatening to fire you?"

"Even then." She toyed with the hair on his chest. "Did you mean it?"

Tucking his fingers under her chin, he brought her face up. "Absolutely. You know I'm right darling. I cannot be in that office worried that you're going to have some sort of complication. You have two weeks and that's it. Be mad at me all you want, but my decision is final."

"I'm going to be out of a job, one that I love very much."

"You'll have our daughter to raise and there are a million things you could be doing. We have a charity arm of the company that needs fine-tuning. And I promise to set up an office for you here." He brushed his lips against hers. "I'll always value your input. The Penn Street project for instance, I need you on it. You have some very good ideas, ones I would like to implement. For instance, you suggested keeping the old warehouse and turning it into a community center."

"I think it's a way to keep the teenage boys off the street and give them a purpose. Caleb has this mentorship program going on at the precinct. I could ask him to have an input." The excitement sounded in her voice and her eyes sparkled with it. "That could work."

"Good." He kissed her again, relieved they had sorted it out to her satisfaction. Stunned, he also realized that this was the first time he had given in to a woman. But aside from loving her to distraction, he also respected her sharp mind and creative thinking. Not to mention the fact that he would do anything for her.

He trailed a finger down her cheek. "You've given me a sense of purpose," his deep voice was soft and intense. "Before you came into my life, I was just existing." He had to swallow the lump in his throat. "Now I'm living and loving in ways I never imagined."

"Dante." Emotions raged inside her. "My love," she whispered. "It's the same thing for me."

"Now enough of the mushy stuff. Why don't we go on home?"

"Not yet." Her eyes bright with mischief, she rolled on top of him.

He found her in the nursery again, folding the tiny clothes and putting them away. The room had been transformed into what he thought of as a cloud of pink and lilac. There were sprigs of pink roses and lilac on the pale gray wallpaper she had chosen for the walls. The cot was an antique she had found at a store several miles away and it had been polished to a high sheen.

"You're supposed to be resting." He came up behind her and rubbed her belly. He was amazed at the changes in her body. She was round and soft. Even though she complained that she was getting fat, she glowed. Her hair had grown since her pregnancy, and she had not bothered to cut it. Now it just lay in soft and curly waves around her face. The dressing gown she had on was the color of aged whiskey and brought out the color of her eyes.

Her belly bumped his middle when she wrapped her hands around his neck and leaned in for the kiss.

"I'm fine. The episode which I specifically ordered Ms. Hughes not to report to you has come and gone. She's completely loyal to you," she complained.

"As she should be." He looked around the room, loving the feel of comfort and happiness. The wives had surprised her by throwing her a baby shower and the women at his company had thrown her one as well. She was overwhelmed with gifts. And no longer complaining about not being at the office.

"How's our daughter?" He placed a hand over her bump, jolting as the movements beneath his fingers.

"Happy that her daddy is home."

"And her mother?"

"Even happier. Why don't I show you how much?"

His eyes darkened at that. "Why don't you?" Linking their fingers, he guided her from the room and opened the door connecting their suite.

"I have not had a shower yet," she told him.

"Yeah?" His eyes glittered. "Why don't we have one together?"

"Just what I was about to suggest."

"Mrs. Livingston!" The quartet of perky receptionists came to attention the minute she waddled into the building. It still gave her a definite jolt to be called by her married name, one she had yet to get used to.

"Good morning."

"Your husband is not in the building. He left a few minutes ago."

She already knew that but gave no indication she did.

"Oh? That's disappointing. I'm assuming Ms. Carstairs is in the office."

"She is."

"I'll just go on up then."

"Your pregnancy becomes you." The one called Maxine was obviously the mouthpiece for the other three.

"Why, thank you. I feel fat and awkward, but that's just my opinion."

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you." With a wave, she crossed towards the elevator and could not help but wonder if she was just saying that because Courtney was the wife of the CEO. With a laugh, she rode the elevator to the top floor. As soon as the doors opened, the feeling of nostalgia hit her. And memories assailed her. She had come to work here, pregnant and frightened of the future, never dreaming that she would fall in love with the contrary man who ran the company.

"Mrs. Livingston!" The surprise and obvious pleasure warred on Ellen Carstairs' face as she jumped from her seat and came forward to greet her. "How lovely you look. And how pregnant."

"Eight and a half weeks and feeling every bit of it." She hugged the woman. "And it's time you revert to calling me by my first name. It feels weird you are calling me by my married name."

Tucking her hand through Courtney's arm, she guided her towards the desk.

"You're after all the wife of the CEO and I still call him by his surname. Sit please and let me make you some tea."

"I don't want to disturb your work or take you seat," she protested.

"Nonsense. It was your desk for a while. Chamomile okay?"

"Perfect." She turned her eyes to the screen. "Oh, you're working on the Bosely project."

"Yes. Your husband has big plans for that place." She brought the tea over and sat on a chair next to the one Courtney occupied and did not mind her going over the report. "What do you think?"

"He ran his idea by me last night and I told him that I love the fact that he's keeping the original structure. That hotel has been a fixture in the community for almost a hundred years."

"Precisely. Prewar building with a lot of history." Her sharp eyes noticed as the young woman rubbed a hand over her back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." Courtney forced a smile and tried not to grimace when she felt the shimmer of pain across her back. "Braxton Hicks."

"Mrs. Livingston. Courtney. I think it's wise if you go on home and put your feet up." She rushed forward in alarm when Courtney shoved back the chair and rose a little unsteadily. "It's just..."

The rest of the words died inside her throat. Both women stared at the man striding through the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here, Courtney?"

"I was just leaving..."

He turned to pin the poor hapless Ms. Carstairs with a look that could bend steel. "You accommodated her?"

"I was..."

"I'm not a child." Courtney tried to appear dignified and affronted, but the pain that struck left her speechless and had her bending over.

"Courtney?" Forgetting his anger, he crossed to her in an instant. "Baby?"

"I'm sorry." She grabbed his jacket and took a deep breath. "I think the baby is coming."

"What?" Scooping her into his arms, he started for the door.

"Should I call the ambulance?"

"No time," he told his assistant tightly. "It's quicker if I get one of the drivers to take us. Call St. Joseph's and have them page Dr. Sutherland and tell her we're on our way. And have John meet us out front with the car."

Without waiting to see if his orders were being obeyed, he practically ran towards the elevator and shoved at the button.

"I'm sorry."

His expression softened as he stared down into her face. Her expression was drawn, her mouth tight.

"I'll argue with you after our daughter is born."

People turned to gape as the CEO of the company rushed towards the glass doors with his wife in his arms. The driver was already waiting and had the engine running.

"St. Joseph's. Now."

Slamming the door shut as soon as they entered, the driver dove into the driver's seat and gunned the engine.

"Okay?" He still had her on his lap, hands massaging the small of her back.

"Yes. Just a little frightened. I guess she could not wait. My go bag."

"I will have Ms. Carstairs send someone by the house to pick it up." Kissing her on the lips, he lifted his head when he noticed they weren't moving. Pressing the button, he slid the glass down. "What's the problem?"

"Accident on I-20 sir," John reported.

"Can we turn around?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Dante felt when she stiffened and made a split decision. Tugging out his phone, he called Caleb. "Your sister is in labor, and we're stuck on the I-20," he explained tersely. "Terrible accident involving a trailer and several cars."

"Do something."

"I'll be right there. Hang tight."

"I'm fine." She tried to sound brave, but just then, the pain came again. "I'm sorry." She breathed it out and buried her face on his chest.

"Soon, baby." His face was white with strain as he wondered desperately if he was going to deliver the baby in the vehicle. Thankfully, he heard the sounds of siren and felt relief pouring through his body. "Thank God."

The police screeched to a halt and Caleb hopped out and came to the window.

"Hey sis, how's it going?"

"Not great. Your niece is coming."

"Impatient little twerp. Okay." He glanced at Dante and shook his head at the look of abject fear on the man's face. This was a man who had conquered poverty and risen to the top of the financial ladder, a man whom the paper had classified as ruthless and unstoppable. He wondered what they would say if they saw him now. "We've cleared a path for you and will be giving you support all the way to the hospital." Turning away from the window, he shouted. "Let's move on out!"

"She's absolutely gorgeous." An exhausted Courtney remarked four hours later as she stared at her daughter.

"You would not believe the trouble she caused earlier, just by looking at her." Her brother touched his finger to the tightly clenched fingers as his niece stared up at him with eyes too big for her tiny face. "And thank God, she's the spitting image of you." He touched the cheek in wonder. "Where's the proud daddy?"

"He had to go out and take a call. I thought it was too early, and something would happen to her. Something would be missing. Oh Caleb, I'm so happy, I just want to dance a jig."

"You did great honey. Ah, here comes your husband." He grinned as Dante stepped into the room and reached for the baby.

"Hey sweetie." His throat constricted as he stared into the beautiful face that was the tiny version of her mother. "Welcome to the world." He looked over at his wife and felt his heart twisting. "How's the new mother?"

"Tired, but happy." She patted the edge of the bed and Caleb took the cue that it was time to give them some privacy.

"My work here is done. I'll swing by when you are home."

"Thanks." Dante shifted the baby to his left arm and clasped Caleb's hand. "You saved the day."

"Anything for my sis." Blowing her a kiss, he touched his niece's fist again, before leaving the room.

Dante settled on the bed next to his wife and wrapped his arm around her neck. She certainly did not look like a woman who went through four hours of excruciating labor.

"I'm so proud of you," he whispered in her hair.

"Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?" she asked softly.

"There might still be some mad left in me, but I cannot seem to find it." Turning his head, he stared at the miracle she had brought into the world. The baby was fast asleep, lashes making shadows on her coffee and cream complexion, her little rosebud lips pursed. "She's the most beautiful baby in the world," he whispered huskily.

"You're biased."

"Absolutely. I don't want to put her down."

"She's sleeping, and the nurse is... ah here she comes now."

The matron bustled in with a smile. "Mrs. Livingston, I'm going to take this bundle of beauty from your husband and insist on you getting some rest. Your blood pressure is a little elevated and we want you to sleep."

Dante handed over his daughter reluctantly.

"I'll be by to see her in a few minutes."

As soon as the woman had left with the baby, he turned to his wife and found her in tears. "Darling, are you hurting? Should I get the doctor?"

"No." She shook her head and tried to stem the tears. "It's just that, I love you so much. You love her."

"Of course I do. Was there any doubt?" He wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

"I wondered several times if you really did." She gripped his wrist. "You fell in love with me, but you accepted the fact that I was carrying another man's baby. I wondered to myself if you could really accept her. I never expected you to love her. To make her yours."

"She's mine in everything except blood." He framed her face with his hands. "Her name is Chloe Amber Livingston. No matter how many children we have after her, she will be our first child and will always hold a special place in my heart. I love her to pieces and warn you right now that she's going to be incredibly spoiled. I also know that no man alive will ever be good enough for her."

"Dante." Burying her face on his chest, she allowed the tears free rein. Words failed her as she clung to the man who had inadvertently changed her life. Lifting her face to his, she crushed her mouth to his and let him transport her to paradise.

The end…