Love Regardless: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance (3 page)

“
Kal?”
My voice was raspy and hoarse. I looked around. The TV was still on
the music channel – great 90’s hits - but Kally was lying
on her side, sound asleep on the rug.

I groaned and used the couch to
help me up despite my numb legs. I tried my best to read the time on
the TV but the LED numbers swam before my eyes. The skylight over the
kitchen showed the stars. I stumbled to the kitchen, leaning heavily
against the counter before stumbling to the sink. I pulled my hair
out from around my neck and took a long slug of the cold tap.

“
Oh man.”
I whispered to myself. I needed to go to bed and I needed to set an
alarm for the morning or I would miss my personal trainer coming over
at noon.

I was in bed before I felt the lump
in my pocket reminded me to check my phone and set an alarm. The
bright light from switching it on, blinded me momentarily and my
stomach lurched.

Waiting in my inbox was another
message from Elliot.

Are
u okay? – E.

I dropped my
phone on my stomach and rubbed my eyes. My brain was working at a
slower level than usual and I couldn’t even comprehend what
Elliot was asking. Actually,
why
was
he asking? It was not within his rights to ask. I was Clara Greyson –
and I was able to look after myself. I’d only met him today for
crying out loud! With renewed vigor, I picked up my phone and hit
call.

“
Clara?”
His voice was like a cool mint over my warm body. I couldn’t
ignore that he sounded concerned.

“
What do
you mean am I okay?” I demanded – my voice was slurred.
Oh no.

“
Well, are
you?” His tone was impertinent, and I pouted.

“
Obvioussssly.”

“
Have you
been drinking?” The judgment in his tone could not be ignored.

“
I’m
twenty-six. I can drink.” Now it was my turn to be insolent.

“
Go to
sleep Clara, rest yourself.”

The line went dead and I frowned.
Elliot was moody.

“
Moody
boy.” I whispered to myself.

That was my final thought before my
eyes closed of their own accord and I drifted away from the world.

*****

Elliot’s arm muscles tensed
as he crawled into bed beside me dressed in low hung jeans and no
shirt.

“
Hello,
kitten.” His voice was succulent as he crept closer to me and
nibbled my ear with his warm tongue. I moved my arm so I was lying on
my side, curling into his taut stomach muscles.

His mouth found mine with ease and
his tongue was the comforting warmth I needed. He was gentle at first
– hands moving in caresses over my waist, until his fingers
grew tense of my silk night gown. Almost without thought, I moved my
legs to overlap his. One large hand crept over my thigh, squeezing
gently at first, but then changing pace. He moved in the perfect
rhythm of pushing and pulling.

I moaned into his mouth.

It was from
that first moan that Elliot’s gentle caresses seemed to break.
His tongue moved with increased vigor until his mouth was at the base
of my throat, kissing – sucking and licking.

I was encased by the many physical
wants I was feeling at once, and so I lay stunned as Elliot’s
hands moved over the plains of my skin. No touch seemed long enough.

His hands found my breasts with an
eager squeeze and it was not long until he pulled himself closer to
me, his manhood pressed against me.

“
Oh
Elliot.” I moaned, sighing his name as he caught one of my
nipples in his warm mouth, kissing and moving his tongue around my
stiff nipples in a way which made me act rashly. I wanted him so
badly that I stretched out my hand to grip his crotch. He was hard –
and oh - so big! But before I could fully squeeze, my eyes flashed
open as Elliot grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away from my his
member.

I could see my confusion reflected
in his eyes as his mouth pulled up into a sideways smirk.

“
Wait your
turn.” His voice was the cool mint I relished, as his whisper
tickled my ear.

Before I could respond, Elliot
changed position and was perched over me, as I lay beneath him with
both breasts peeking out of the top of my nightdress. My breath
caught as I noticed how his jeans were hung low on his hips,
perfectly revealing the V of his abs.

Almost subconsciously, I
outstretched both hands to touch him – to rub him there.
Grinning, he caught both of my wrists and pinned them up over my
head. Both of my small hands fitted neatly in one of his. With his
spare hand, never breaking eye contact, he stroked my warm inner
thighs with his cool touch.

When he touched my sex I exploded
around him, convulsing.

*****

“
Clara!
Wake up!” Something soft hit my face and I stifled a scream, my
eyes bursting open. Daylight was pouring into the room and Kally was
standing in the doorway, looking rough but smirking nonetheless. A
pillow was resting on my stomach, evidently what Kally had used to
wake me.

I was sweating and my sheets were
damp, but my bed was empty except for me. I looked around, confused.

“
What time
is it?” I gasped, sitting up. My head was pounding and my
throat felt like sandpaper.

“
Ten”
Kally said. “There’s a delivery for you.”

She turned and left as I threw my
legs over the side of the bed, slipping on some socks.

“
From
who?” I called after her as I strolled through the painfully
bright light towards the kitchen. She didn’t bother responding
and I rolled my eyes, still trying to shake off that most vivid dream
with Elliot.

There was no point in trying.

On the counter was a bunch of white
lilies next to a picnic basket full of strawberries, blueberries and
lavender macaroons. All of which are my favorites.

On a crisp white card next to the
golden embossed initials E.C. was a message written in perfect
cursive.

Feel better, Miss
Greyson. – E.

The aftermath of receiving Elliot’s note and flowers seemed to
awaken the part of me which knew that I needed to be professional.
Despite his beautifully sculpted face and expert way with words, I
needed to remember that I was his lawyer – not just an admirer.
I would have to make that clear with him too.

Over the next few days, I made certain adjustments to my life to
convince both myself and Kally that there was nothing but
professional feelings between me and Elliot – hereafter called
Mr. Cresham. I took the lilies he gave me and gave them to Kally for
her bedroom and began working on his case only during my office
hours. In addition, I made the wise decision to only send
advancements in his case to his secretary Jeanine via email.

Harder to forget was the dream. The feeling of his hands on me seemed
to be burned into my skin. The feeling was hardest to ignore when I
was alone in bed at night. I had since taken up the rather unwise
behavior of taking two table spoons of cough medicine before bed, so
I would fall asleep as fast as possible. Normally I wouldn’t
condone this kind of behavior, but when it came to Elliot Cresham
extreme actions needed to be taken.

“
You’re kidding yourself. I hope you
know that.” Kally said over her third mug of coffee one
morning. She viewed me cynically from the breakfast bar as I did the
final touches to my makeup in the oval mirror in the hallway.

“
I don’t know what you mean.” I
said, already coaxing myself to not engage in Kally’s whims
about myself and Mr. Cresham.

“
You’ve been ignoring his texts for a
week.” Kally said eyebrows raised.

“
They haven’t been relevant to the
case.” I realized that now was probably the best time to leave
for work – before Kally got into a full blown rant about
Elliot’s chiseled jaw and muscular arms. I swooped up my black,
leather Michael Kors bag and waved to Kally, who rolled her eyes as I
swept towards the door.

Looking from my car window as Charlie drove; I noticed that for what
seemed like the first time in years, it wasn’t raining. The New
York skyline was a clear line of blue sky and crisp air – very
autumnal. I glanced down at the time on my phone and realized that I
had left very early to escape Kally’s stares.

“
Charlie, could you let me off at the next
block, please?” I asked and Charlie nodded in ascent. It was
not often that I had time to get my own coffee from my favorite
coffee shop, two blocks from my building.

Wrapping my woolen scarf around my neck, I thanked
Charlie as he held my door open and I slid onto the street. Happily,
I watched the early morning bustle happen around me. At the corner of
the street was my favorite coffee shop and bookstore,
“McRae
and Dreams”
– a wonderful
mixture of both with three stories of second-hand books and lumpy
couches. The coffee shop at the bottom floor offered my favorite chai
latte in extra-large mugs.

I stepped inside, relishing in the smell of coca
beans and old parchment. I had to admit that a lot of the regulars
here were triple my age, but the silence inside the coffee shop had
always appealed to me. I ordered my latte, and took a seat in a
corner lumpy brown couch. It was so worn from use that I sank into it
happily. Withdrawing my old, rather tattered copy of
King
Lear
from my bag and opened it on the
third act – my favorite – relaxing into a place of utter
contentment.

I was only several monologues along before the sound of a clinking
glass on wood shook me from my reverie. One glance upward had me
frowning.

“
What are you doing here?” I demanded
as Elliot Cresham, sat down on the puffy chair opposite me with a
glass of sparkling water and a scone in front of him.

“
Having a quick breakfast before a long day
at the office, what else would I be doing?” He feigned
innocence, eyes-wide. I swiftly looked away from his gaze, reminding
myself that this was Mr. Cresham, and not in any way sexy, Elliot.

I was a goner – I knew it. I liked him too much and so much
more than he would ever like me. Heartbreak was inevitable.

I crisply tucked away
King
Lear
, dog-earring the page to mark my
spot. I took a sip of my latte, eyebrows raised to Elliot –
clearly indicating that I didn’t believe him.

“
Well no, to be truthful I don’t
particularly frequent this place a lot.” He smiled, and leaned
toward me before whispering, “It smells of old people.” I
kept his gaze for another minute before he chuckled and I looked
away, blushing.

“
How did you know I was here?” I
asked, uncrossing my legs. I saw his gaze linger on my thighs and I
was once again grateful that my dark-skin hid my embarrassment.

“
Lucky guess?” He said, before taking
his knife and spreading a thin line of mustard over his scone. I was
immediately distracted – mustard is
vile
.

“
You know they do jam and cream here?”
I couldn’t hide my disgust as the smell of mustard snuck under
my nose.

“
I’m incredibly partial towards
mustard actually. I have it on everything.” He looked up and
smiled a very genuine smile. I felt my heart stop for a second and I
quickly looked away. Learning to stay calm in his gaze was going to
be difficult – immensely difficult.

Elliot took advantage of my frazzled look by asking; “So why
have you been ignoring my messages?” He was frowning, dead
serious.

“
What?” I said, vaguely – still
dazed by the crinkly lines around his eyes from smiling.

“
My texts? Or my message with the flowers?”

I snapped back to reality at the mention of the
flowers. I needed to remember that just because he sent me flowers,
it did not mean that he was
interested
in me.

“
I’ve been busy – working on
your case.” I spoke a little harshly, noting the hurt around
Elliot’s eyes I continued – my callous behavior wasn’t
necessary to stay away from him, so I softened as best I could. “But
thank you for the flowers. They were beautiful.”

I refrained from being rude enough to ask how he
knew that white lilies were my favorite – along with
McRae
and Dreams.
But I make a mental note to
ask him later, trying to put it out of my mind for now.

“
Oh?” He sounded disbelieving toward
my busy schedule. “And how is the case going?” He asked
seemingly nonplussed by the state of his public reputation which was
held so precariously in my hands.

Before answering, a noise behind the counter caught my eye. Elliot
followed my gaze and we watched at one of the barista girls squealed
with her co-worker, pointing and whispering at Elliot. His public
face was everywhere these days. I shrugged off their annoying
behavior before becoming professional again.