Page 9

"GOOD MORNING, HUSBAND ."

Sleepy green eyes gradually focused on her, taking note of her still-pink cheeks and the telltale quiver in her voice. A moment later, and the sound of his wicked laughter had Bee turning even redder.

"It's just not that easy calling you 'husband'," his wife said defensively.

"It's only a word," he said lazily.

"It is not just a word," she said huffily. "But never mind about that..."

Nicholas arched a brow when she reached for the covers and slowly drew them from his naked body.

Her eyes met his shyly.

"Happy monthsary."

And then she was going down on him, and his already aroused cock slid into the tight, moist warmth of her mouth like it was fucking home.

She held and pleasured him like the novice she was, teeth occasionally scraping painfully against the swollen head of his dick, but because it was her - because it was his wife - none of it made a difference.

She had him tightly gripping her hair in mere fucking moments, had him shoving his cock down her throat with uncool haste, had him goddamn exploding in her mouth with more load than he could ever remember releasing.

And when he felt her throat working to swallow all of his cum, ah, fuck , it just gave his orgasm a second lease of life, and a hoarse groan escaped him as he felt his balls tighten once more.

By the time he finally managed to pull out, her lips were a deep, swollen shade of red, and it was the loveliest, most erotic sight Nicholas had ever fucking seen.

She crawled up between his legs, palms landing on each side of his body, breasts dangling tantalizingly near his mouth as silky waves of her hair fell down one bare shoulder.

He watched her lips form a smile of hopeful expectation. "Did I please you?"

God, she was the fucking sweetest ...

Dragging her head down for a kiss, he whispered against her lips, "Beyond my wildest expectations."

That she almost made him forget none of this could last.

The kiss ended all too shortly, with Tabitha laughingly pulling away with a shake of her head, saying, "We need to shower and change."

"I don't see why we should. We could just stay here and make love the whole day—-"

She shook her head again, a mysterious smile now playing on her lips. "You'll see."

He let her pull him up from the bed, playing along but only until they made it to the glass-enclosed shower.

He waited only until they were both naked and hot water had blasted from the ceiling-mounted shower head before making his move.

She was off his feet in a second, and her stunned gasp had him chuckling.

"Nicholas!" Her legs automatically locked around his waist even as Bee made a grab of Nicholas' broad shoulders for balance. Pulling back, she stammered, "What do you—- ah!" He had lifted her up then pulled her back down, impaling her with one swift stroke.

"Oh my God."

And then he was bouncing her on his thick, throbbing manhood, and all thoughts of protest disappeared under an overwhelming surge of sensations.

"Oh God."

Her head lolled back, and she could only hang on to him for life.

Their lovemaking was fast, furious, and wondrously loud and lurid. It was everything she hadn't even known to fantasize about, and she loved every moment of it.

Or at least she did until they had finally stepped out of their bedroom, and she saw how every member of the cleaning staff was giving her knowing looks.

It was so obvious that they had heard all those noises she made, and her hands flew to cover her face as she let out a muffled moan of embarrassment.

Nicholas, on the other hand, simply took it by stride, and if she hadn't been so busy drowning in mortification, she might have even gone as far as thinking her husband was practically strutting like a man who had just the best sex of his life - and wanted the whole world to know it.

Just as they were about to enter the dining room, Tabitha shook her head and tugged him towards another direction. "We're not eating there."

Nicholas was bemused . They weren't?

Instead, his wife brought him all the way...to the kitchen, and Nicholas' puzzlement only grew when he saw almost all of his ranch hands gathered inside it, along with his kitchen staff and even Thomas.

At the older man's nod, Nicholas' employees took their party poppers out.

What the—-

Pop! Pop! Pop!

And as confetti started to rain, his staff's boisterous cheer rang out.

"Happy monthsary, Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland!"

Nicholas' brows shot up, and then a grinning Tabitha literally jumped into view in front of him. "Surprised?"

"Stunned speechless." And he wasn't lying. Not once had he this kind of celebration with his staff, and most of them had been working for him over a decade.

Rising on her toes, Tabitha placed a kiss on his nose and pulled back with a beam, saying, "And this, Mr. Sutherland, is just the beginning."

His men filed out, and for some reason, she had the two of them following behind the twenty or so men as they went out through the back door. They walked all the way to the other side of the house, and the first thing he saw were festive party streamers hanging over the landscaped garden.

"Happy monthsary!"

Nicholas shook his head in good-natured surprise when he saw that Tabitha had actually invited just about every person working at his ranch, alongside their friends and families.

"Nicholas?"

He pulled her close as he gazed down at her. "What is it, baby?"

"I thought it would be nice if we could celebrate our first week together with your staff." She looked up at him uncertainly. "It's okay, right?"

"It's the perfect idea, Mrs. Sutherland." He smiled down at her. "Thank you for preparing for this."

And indeed, Nicholas couldn't imagine the last time he had this much fun on his own, and without him having to live vicariously through his son.

As he laughed and clapped when Thomas and Tabitha started hosting a series of games, which his men gamely joined and competed in, thoughts began to form in the back of his mind.

Thoughts that would never have occurred if she hadn't come to his life. ..

For so long, he had been punishing himself, and he hadn't even known it.

While he had continued to meet with his childhood friends, Nicholas realized that those meetings in itself were far and between.

He had only shown up if either work or a major milestone was involved, such as when Devon and Sean had gotten married.

And he had been the same with his staff , Nicholas brooded, without realizing it as well .

He watched his wife circulate among his employees, laughing and chatting with them, and it was if as she was the one who had known them her entire life.

He heard her congratulate the head gardener for finally finding the courage to ask his dream girl out, someone who apparently worked as one of the cleaners over at Devon's ranch.

He watched her move on to another table, and this time she was speaking with his head cook, who was in turn thanking Tabitha for the herbal remedy she had personally brewed for her son's cough.

Just watching her, seeing her dole out smiles like she had never tasted hardship, was more than enough to take his breath away.

Compared to how she had looked the first time he saw her, Tabitha had filled up quite nicely, no doubt due to Thomas and Nicholas alternately doing their best to get her to eat.

While neither of them had spoken about it out loud, he had a feeling the older man was paranoid about his wife's seeming frailty and what could happen if she ever fell sick.

He looked at her, and he could only think of one damn thing.

Beautiful.

She was so damn beautiful, he had long stopped counting the number of times he only had to look at his wife, and she would have his heart banging against his chest.

Standing at the opposite of the garden, he saw her suddenly stiffen and begin looking around searchingly. A moment later, her gaze locked with his, and he saw the way she patently relaxed, in a way that made it seem like she didn't feel right until she saw him.

He raised a brow. Missed me?

She made a face. You're so full of yourself. But then her lips curved. Although you're right as always. Shaking her head, Tabitha mouthed, I miss you, husband.

Inclining his head, Nicholas mouthed with mock gravity, I miss you, too, wife.

The first few notes of live music suddenly struck, and his surprised gaze whipped towards its direction.

So that was why there had been a makeshift stage set up, Nicholas realized.

Tabitha had actually invited his favorite band, and in moments, she was standing right in front of him, her cheeks once again a becoming shade of rose.

"Did I manage to surprise you again?" she asked with an excited grin.

"You did," he acknowledged. "And as a reward—-" He took hold of her hand. "May I have this dance, wife ?"

The word seemed to have caught her in surprise, causing Tabitha to literally squeal out loud, and Nicholas laughed.

Bee realized then what she had inadvertently let slip and was instantly mortified. "I'm sorry! I was just—- oh! "

She found herself being literally whirled into the grassy dance floor, and in the next moment, he had her bent backwards in a graceful dip. A breathless, choked laugh escaped Bee, and Nicholas smirked at the sound.

Oh, dear God, how can this exquisite man be her husband again?

Nicholas' lips twitched at the now familiar dazed look on Tabitha's face. "That pedestal you have me on seems to be getting alarmingly higher," he murmured with sardonic humor. "I have a feeling it's going to be hell when I inevitably fall from it."

Being the loyal creature she was, his wife simply laughed. "That's never going to happen."

' Because you're perfect' were the silently implied words to end the argument, and a wry expression crossed Nicholas' handsome face as he swirled and whirled her around.

So damn sweet , he thought.

But at the same time, she was also so damn na?ve, he just knew it was going to be the death of him one day.

"Are you happy?"

Her sudden question quickly drew his attention back to her, and Nicholas frowned at the wistful note in her voice. "Of course I'm happy. Why would you even ask?"

"I just think it would be better if Danny were here with us," Bee confessed.

Nicholas managed to keep his face expressionless at the mention of his son's name. "When was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Yesterday. He knew about today's surprise, and I've tried my best to convince him that we really want him home with us, but—-" She gave him an apologetic look. "He's so annoyingly pigheaded. He really thinks he's going to be a third wheel between us."

"Has he mentioned when he plans on coming back?" Nicholas asked with deceptive casualness.

She shook her head. "Have you tried asking him? He says he was able to speak to you yesterday, too."

"Yes, we did get to talk," Nicholas lied without missing a beat. "But it was only for a short while, and I wasn't able to bring it up." The music changed into something slower, and Nicholas pulled his wife close, her head fitting perfectly under his chin.

His wife was damn right about his son being pigheaded, Nicholas thought. He had been sending the boy messages every damn day, but not once had Daniel answered him back. And until his son returned, it was left to Nicholas and Joe to figure a way out of the mess Daniel had created.

The thought of this had Nicholas' lips tightening as it dredged up memories he didn't want to revisit. His last conversation with his lawyer had been frustrating to say the least, and it had left an unsavory taste on his tongue that lingered to this day.

"I've been hearing good things about your new wife," Joe commented over the phone.

"There's no need for you to call her that." Nicholas' tone was brusque. "You know the real score between us."

"I guess I do. But do you?"

"Just get to the fucking point," Nicholas said curtly, "if you have something to say."

"Hey, now—-" The lawyer's tone turned conciliatory. "I'm not your enemy here. And all I'm saying is that from what I hear and from what I know...she's a nice girl." Joe paused. "So would it be really that bad if we let the marriage—-"

"Carly was someone I had known since I was a kid," Nicholas cut in harshly. "She was supposed to be a good girl. And you know how that went down."

Joe cursed in his mind. He had forgotten about that bitch.

"You need to stop letting the past control your life, Nick. Daniel's found the perfect woman for you, and because he knew you would never have given her the time of the day, he went as far as pulling off this unbelievably elaborate scheme just to give you a chance at happiness."

"He's an idiot," Nicholas said shortly, "to risk our entire fortune—-"

"Just give it a damn chance, Nick."

"It was nice talking to you, Joe. Call me when you've found a loophole."

"Nick?" Bee's brows furrowed in concern when her husband gazed down at her unseeingly for a moment. "You've been miles away. Is something wrong?"

His expression instantly cleared, and even as his lips curved as he told her it was nothing, Bee couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying.

"I know this party was over the top," she began anxiously. "But—-"

"Stop worrying." Nicholas cupped her face. "This party was perfect ." He bent his head. " You're perfect." And in full view of his entire staff, he covered her mouth with his in a long, deep kiss.

By the time he lifted his head, she was on her toes, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly, body melting against his lean, hard form. She looked up at him, and her heart just couldn't take it anymore.

"You make me so happy," she whispered tremulously. "Just so happy I'm scared I'd wake up and this is all a dream—-"

"It's not, baby."

Tears suddenly stung her eyes. "Nicholas." She had planned to keep it a secret for a little bit longer, but him saying that...

The sudden distress darkening her eyes had him asking sharply, "What is it?"

"I have something to tell you." A smile wobbled over her lips. "Just three words, really—-"

Not those three goddamn words, Nicholas thought. Because that would be fucking awkward.

And it wasn't.

It was worse.

" Congratulations - I'm pregnant. "