Page 76 of Cherish

“None of that matters now!” Alex says. “Show some respect for your husband and stop acting like the jilted lover, Natalie. It’s unbecoming. Show some respect for the man who’s standing by you.” Alex then turns to Daniel and says, “You’re too good for her.”

Natalie glares at Alex but keeps her mouth shut.

“The baby is due in two months. We’ll stay here until the baby is born, so you won’t need a lawyer in New Jersey. I can work from here and travel back and forth if necessary,” Daniel says. He tells us the rest of their plans, but from what I can glean, they are staying in Boston to hide. He took a paternity test months ago, and it doesn’t appear that anyone in their families know that Natalie is pregnant.

Alex doesn’t say another word for the remainder of the conversation. They agree that Natalie will sign the necessary paperwork once the baby is born. I’ll have the child until the court can approve the terms, at which time, she will have no further access to the baby.

By the time Daniel finishes explaining, Natalie’s face has gone white. I turn to her, waiting for her to speak, to chime in and say that Daniel is out of his goddamn mind and that this isn’t what she wants. I don’t get any of that. She’s silent as she looks at me, almost as if she’s pleading with me to understand.

For the second time, I’m blindsided. I was so concerned with keeping Alex after this came to light, I never thought about Natalie’s family dynamics. Their married daughter having a baby by a black man who is not her husband. The man they never wanted for her. Of course, this child would be a source of shame.

“Is this what you want, Natalie? I need to hear it from you.” Her eyes fill with tears again. She swipes them away as they fall and nods vigorously.

“I need to hear it, Natalie.”

“Yes. It’s for the best.” Daniel rests his hand on top of hers, squeezing it for support. “We’ll let the lawyers handle it from here.” She stands up abruptly, grabbing the table for support once she’s upright. Daniel stands with her, his hands on her hips to steady her. “I need to lie down.” She waddles out of the restaurant and out of our sight.

“I’ll call you when she goes into labor. There’s no need for us to speak again directly. Like my wife said, we’ll speak only through the lawyers going forward.”

He doesn’t give me time to respond before practically running out of the restaurant. I toss some bills on the table and grab Alex’s hand, neither one of us speaking on our way to the garage.

Of all the ways I expected this meeting to go, this was not one of them. I expected a fight, not complete surrender, but I’m relieved at the outcome.

Once we’re situated in the car, I turn to Alex, who still has not spoken. I grab her hand, and she turns in her seat to face me, her face devoid of any color. I squeeze her hand and speak before she has the chance to tell me this is too much for her.

“I know this is not what we talked about. We were supposed to share custody, and I’m sorry I didn’t see this coming, but, Alex—”

She pulls her hand from mine and starts to speak over me. “Jason,” she begins, her voice shaky, “I’m going to sound like the most selfish person on earth.” My stomach drops at her words. This is it. This is when she says she didn’t sign up to raise another woman’s child full time.

“You can never be selfish, Alex. I know Natalie blindsided us in there, but, baby, listen to me—”

“No, Jason. You listen. Let me speak. I am selfish because the minute she said she wanted to hand over the child to you, I was elated. I never had any doubt about being this baby’s stepmother because the child is a part of you, but I’d be lying if I said the Natalie angle didn’t scare me. Not because I doubt how you feel about me because I don’t, but because I was not going to stand by and let her use the child to hurt you. So, I’m so damn relieved that she will be out of the picture. I know it sounds crazy because I’ve never been around kids, they don’t particularly like me, and the bitch has decided for me when I become a mother, but I want this. I want it with you. I want to adopt the baby.”

It takes a few seconds for her words to compute. I open my mouth to speak, but all I do is breathe in relief. Instead of telling her how much I love her, I lean forward and grab the back of her head, capturing her lips into a searing kiss.

“You are as far from selfish as a human being can be. I was right about you,” I say against her mouth. “You’re an angel. My angel.” She deepens the kiss as she puts her hand on my hard cock. Reluctantly, I break the kiss and remove her hand.

“Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER 49

ALEX

There’s a lightness inside the car as Jason navigates through the traffic. The rain falls harder than before, making me eager to get home. I pick up our intertwined hands and kiss Jason’s before I seductively lick the base of his thumb. He does a half moan, half growl sound right before he puts my hand back on his dick, which has turned to stone in his jeans.

Despite the early hour, the rain slows traffic, and it’s almost an hour before he pulls into the detached garage. My feet barely touch the ground before he’s lifting me into his arms. I wrap my legs around him as he runs us to the house. I suck on his ear, and he drops the keys twice before he succeeds in opening the door.

He crosses through the house in a few long strides. I’m dropped on the bed before the bedroom door closes. He pounces, ripping my blouse apart, sending buttons flying everywhere before he tosses it to a corner of the bedroom.

His belt comes off next, followed by his shoes. When he pulls his pants off, he jumps on the bed, laying on my now naked body. I peel his shirt off in one move and I relish in his warm skin against my body. His lips devour mine as I stroke the back of his head, a move I know he enjoys judging by his moans.

“You are the most beautiful, most selfless and loving person I have ever met. Your heart is so big, angel. I knew it the moment I met you that you were special.” He leaves my mouth and kisses the base of my neck as my nails scrape along his spine.

“Look at me, Jay.” He finally leaves my neck and looks into my eyes. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. I don’t care what or who came before me. You’re my person.”

“Oh, angel.”

We don’t speak anymore. He worships my body with gentle touches and kisses that set my soul ablaze. My nipples are stiff peaks by the time he takes one into his mouth, sucking, pulling, and biting. I arch my back into the mattress as his hand finds its way between my legs, teasing my clit before going through my wet entrance. He leans back up and kisses me until I become breathless, filling my mind with nothing but him.

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