Guilty Pleasures (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 3) Read online

  “Achy as in we need to go to the hospital?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I know that my due date is next week, but I don’t think that’s it. I just…I don’t know.” She yawned. “I don’t know.” Slowly, her eyes closed and Cooper watched as she drifted off to sleep. Slowly, not wanting to wake her up, he turned off the light. But for a long time, he couldn’t sleep. He stayed awake, his hands resting on her pregnant belly and ensuring that she slept on her side, not on her back.

  Around midnight, he felt something and jerked slightly, realizing that he’d fallen asleep. His hand moved over her stomach and…he felt it again. This wasn’t the baby moving. Willow groaned, but continued to sleep even as she shifted, as if uncomfortable.

  His hand moved again, feeling…yep! That was it!

  “Willow, wake up,” he said, shaking her slightly.

  Willow groaned and rolled over, blinking sleepily up at him. In the dim light coming in from the moon, he saw the tears.

  “I don’t feel good, Cooper,” she whispered to him.

  He stroked her beautiful hair out of her eyes. “I think you’re in labor, love,” he whispered.

  She cringed and his hand felt the tension in her stomach again. “I don’t think I like this.” And then she curled into a ball as another contraction hit. “Nope! I really don’t like this!”

  He jumped out of bed and pulled on the jeans and shirt that he kept close by every night, for just this exact situation. While he dressed, Cooper kept his eyes on Willow, watching her carefully and glancing at his watch. The contractions were coming…four minutes apart! Damn, how could she have slept through all of those contractions?!

  “Come on, honey. We’re going to the hospital!” He didn’t bother to try and convince her. He simply picked her up and carried her out of the house, placing her carefully into the passenger seat of his new SUV. Her hospital suitcase was already in the back and he raced around to the driver’s seat.

  Less than five minutes later, he pulled up outside of the emergency room doorway. He’d called the doctor who had warned the hospital staff that they were on their way. Moments later, he and Willow were in a delivery room, the efficient staff knowing exactly what to do. Thankfully, Willow’s obstetrician walked in ten minutes after that, looking sleepy but smiling reassuringly.

  “So, you decided to have a baby at night. How original,” he teased.

  Willow would have laughed if she weren’t in the middle of a contraction and biting her lip against the pain that ripped through her body.

  “Is everything okay?” Cooper asked the doctor.

  The doctor examined Willow and nodded. “Yes. She’s ten centimeters dilated, which is fast for a first pregnancy, but…”

  “She might have been in labor all day long. She said that she was achy last night before she fell asleep.”

  The doctor nodded. “Ah! That makes more sense,” he said and his eyes shifted, becoming more alert. He nodded to the nurses and Willow’s legs were put up into the stirrups.

  “Wait!” she gasped, shifting against the delivery table. “What’s going on?”

  Cooper’s heart pounded, but he took her hand. “You’re about to have a baby, love.”

  Willow turned and glared up at him. “Seriously? You’re the one that’s supposed to be in a panic now. Not me! I had this all planned out! I’d be the one reassuring you! I’d be the one telling you to calm down!”

  Cooper didn’t bother to laugh at her outrageous statement. “How about if I panic later? Right now, you need to focus on…”

  He didn’t finish his statement because Willow screamed and squeezed his hand so hard it felt like every bone had shattered. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the contraction to pass. When it was finally over, he carefully extracted his fingers from her grip…he wasn’t sure what to do to help her, but he wasn’t abandoning her now.

  Six hours later, his hand was numb. “Okay, come on, honey, just once more! That’s all you need.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  Cooper pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. “You can. Just once more and…”

  She screamed as another contraction hit her and she pushed, her whole body arching as she brought their child into the world.

  “It’s a boy!” the doctor announced.

  Cooper looked stunned. Willow was exhausted. The nurses moved hurriedly around the delivery room doing…whatever it was that they did after a delivery. One took his son out of the doctor’s arms, wrapped him in a cotton blanket, and turned to Cooper. “Your son, sir,” he said, smiling at Cooper.

  Cooper took the baby in his arms, looking down at the pinched, red face. Moving over to Willow, he watched as she smiled weakly at their newborn son. “What do you think? Will Buddy stop obsessing about the rabbits now that he has a new friend to protect?”

  Willow laughed, but shook her head. “I certainly hope so, but that dog…” She sighed.

  Ten minutes later, Willow was sitting up and one of the nurses was helping her figure out how to nurse.

  Cooper looked on, standing back but watching everything. When their son latched onto Willow’s breast, he could barely speak. Breathing wasn’t too easy either. As he watched his family, he knew that this was the most beautiful image in the world. Willow looked up at him, beaming despite her exhaustion. “Isn’t he beautiful?” she whispered as their son fed hungrily.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he told her. “I love you, Willow.”

  Her smile widened and she laid a hand over their son’s soft head. “I love you too,” she whispered back.

  In that moment, Cooper knew that he had everything he wanted.

  Excerpt to Pregnant with the Tycoon’s Heir

  (Naya’s Story!)

  Coming May 15, 2020

  Click HERE To Get your copy of Naya’s story!

  “I’m not frigid!” the lovely woman mumbled, sliding her adorable, tweed-clad bottom onto the leather barstool.

  Pierce Danilov watched with fascination as the woman whipped her brown tweed jacket off, bundled it into a ball and stuffed it into her enormous leather tote bag. He almost laughed at the way she was trembling with anger. She was cute, but…also a distraction. He wasn’t here in this bar to watch lovely ladies, even if the lady in question was adorable with a very sexy, very enticing derriere.

  Unfortunately, the conversation at his table was much less interesting.

  “A dirty martini,” the beautiful woman snapped to the bartender. The woman’s order caught his attention and he turned, glancing at her profile once again. He would have thought she was more of a sedate, white wine woman, but the fact that she’d ordered such a strong drink made him more intrigued. Her profile was stunning, he thought. Her cute chin looked like it could be stubborn but the effect was diminished by her adorable nose. It was small and cute with almost a curl at the tip. He wanted her to look over at him, needing to see her eyes. He’d wager she had incredible eyes.

  “I’m not frigid,” she asserted again in a furious whisper. “I’m cautious! With my history, caution is important! Smart people learn from their past! Smart people are cautious!” Her spine had been straight when she’d sat down at the bar, but as she muttered, her spine stiffened even more.

  He could hear her words, but they didn’t make a lot of sense, although, obviously, someone had told her that she was frigid. His eyes moved lower, taking in all of her. Frigid? With that body? He doubted it!

  Unfortunately, she only stared down at the drink the bartender placed in front of her so he didn’t get a glimpse of her eyes. He watched, amazed and intrigued. The woman didn’t take a sip of her martini. For long moments she simply stared at the vodka filled glass. If looks could kill, that martini glass would shatter.

  All that trembling energy, he thought, his body reacting and his mind unable to focus on the conversation going on around him. Thankfully, his executive vice president was sitting next to him, doing a capable job of handling the discussion, so Pierce leaned back
, sipping his own scotch, and watching the woman at the bar.

  She looked out of place, he thought. She definitely wasn’t a bar-fly. The women who regularly hung out in bars had a harder edge to them, a look that revealed their disappointment with the world but a desperate hope that things weren’t as bad as their past experience might indicate.

  No, this woman didn’t have any hard edges. She was all soft curves, cute nose and full, enticing breasts pressing against the conservative, cream silk blouse. Her outfit didn’t match the bar-fly persona either. Brown tweed and cream silk screamed “teacher” or something along those lines. It was the kind of suit that every woman wore to a job interview. The look was conservative, implying that the person was steady and dependable. Nothing that screamed daring and adventurous. Everything about the woman was polished and conservative but with no style, nothing to draw the eye.

  Except for her figure. It was glorious. Tiny waist, slender legs, full hips and full breasts. She was amazing.

  And she still wasn’t drinking her martini.

  Why this particular woman fascinated him so deeply, Pierce couldn’t define exactly, but she did. She was enticing and entrancing.

  But damn it, he wanted to see her eyes!

  Shifting slightly, the movement caught her eye and her head swiveled towards him. That’s when he froze!

  Damn! Her eyes were more amazing than he could have imagined! They were a shocking, crystal green. No, not crystal. Crystal sounded too hard for this woman’s eyes. They were soft, clear and amazing. Like wet moss.

  She was beautiful. Not in an actress or model sort of way. But in a refreshing, natural type of beautiful. She was like springtime. Her eyes reminded him of that first warm day after a miserable, brutally-cold winter, when all of the windows were thrown open and the soft breeze wafted through one’s house, cleaning out all of the dust and mustiness that developed over the harsh winter months.

  Pierce blinked, wondering where the hell he’d gotten all of that romantic poetry. Describing a woman’s eyes as a “fresh breeze” or “moss green”?

  He tried to shake off the feeling, to pull his eyes away from her. He needed to focus on the meeting, not on her stunning, green eyes surrounded by dark, thick lashes.

  Instead, he allowed his eyes to move lower, to take in every luscious, delectable detail about her figure, moving down to her conservative, brown shoes with tiny, two inch heels before moving back up, memorizing every aspect of her figure, including the way her nipples were now pressing against that silk, revealing so much to his hungry eyes.

  He knew he’d rattled her when he looked back at her features. Those red lips were open, forming a small “o” and her eyes were softer, as if his gazing caress had affected her as much as it had affected himself. He wanted to look at her breasts, to rip away the silk, discard the lace bra holding her breasts captive. Pierce wanted to know this woman with a surge of lust so strong and powerful, he was almost reeling with his need.

  Never had lust for a woman hit him so hard and so fast. He wanted her. He wanted to know everything there was about her. The business discussion swirled around him but he ignored all of it. For the first time in his life, business took second place.

  He might have resented the woman for being such a distraction, but at this moment, he couldn’t build up a steam for any kind of resentment. His mind and body were completely focused on the lust, the desire to lift her into his arms and carry her to a private place where he could make love to her for the next twelve hours. Maybe longer.

  Naya had come to the bar to meet with her friends, get over the harsh words of her now-ex-boyfriend. She’d needed a break, a moment out of the craziness that her life had become. Unfortunately, this entire day had gotten out of her control.

  Now she was staring at a man, a man that impacted her on a purely elemental, primal kind of way. Her ex-boyfriend’s harsh, demeaning words were gone from her mind while the dark haired man at the table next to the bar moved his dark eyes down her body, then back up again. With every inch that his eyes traveled, her body reacted more strongly. It was like his eyes had a string and they were pulling her closer, her body tightening, responding. His eyes were a caress. A naughty, wicked caress. In the past, men had looked at her with lust, but they’d been boys. Obnoxious, disgusting humans with no respect for personal boundaries.

  This man wasn’t a boy. His broad shoulders and the innate aura of power surrounding him differentiated this man. He was like a ferocious, teeth-gnashing wolf. The kind of beast one watched with increasing terror while searching for a tree to climb up into for protection. All the other men she’d ever met in her life were more like cocker spaniel puppies who needed their bellies rubbed.

  Naya couldn’t imagine rubbing this man’s belly.

  Well, she could, actually. It would be dangerous. It could be lethal!

  But she’d like to try!

  Naya blinked, gasping as she realized where her mind had gone. She wasn’t the kind of woman who fantasized about having wicked sexual encounters with strangers! She was the conservative type. The kind of woman who flirted with a guy for months before she would even go out on a date with him!

  Good grief, Mike had just broken up with her earlier today because she wouldn’t have sex with him! He’d called her frigid and yet, she was sitting here in a fancy hotel bar, ogling a feral, dangerous stranger. And worse, she was heating up because he was ogling her back!

  With extreme effort, Naya pulled her eyes away from the man and glanced down at her phone. Where were her friends? Ella and Cassy should be here! They should be right here next to her. The three of them should be talking, laughing about their day and moving off to a safe, isolated corner of the bar to discuss each of their days. If they were here, she wouldn’t be ogling a stranger and she definitely wouldn’t be feeling this strange heat surging through her.

  Naya looked in front of her, surprised to find the martini she’d ordered. Why had she ordered a martini? Oh yeah, because Mike had said she was frigid and she was trying to break out of her uber conservative demeanor. No more white wine for her, she reminded herself.

  She lifted her hand, surprised to find that her fingers were shaking. She glanced over at the man again, stuffing her hand back onto her lap, not wanting him to know how much his gaze had affected her.

  But he was still staring at her!

  She pulled her eyes away again and glanced at her cell phone, praying that Ella and Cassy would arrive quickly. She needed them!

  Unfortunately, the screen revealed no messages. Nothing! No text or even an e-mail from either of her tardy friends. Nothing!

  She was going to tear into them when she finally talked to them. They never should have left her here alone.

  Well, if she were being perfectly honest, she hadn’t anticipated a terrifying wolf to be staring at her as if she would most likely be his next dinner.

  The idea perked up her interest and she looked over at the man again. Sure enough, he was still watching her. His eyes barely blinked as he looked at her and she wasn’t sure how to handle a man like that. Especially when he looked at her with…interest. Naya didn’t think of herself as the kind of woman who would attract the interest of a man like that! But…her body warmed at this man’s look.

  Now, why did the idea of this man doing things to her…wicked, naughty, lusty things...not make her run away or cringe with revulsion? Just the opposite, in fact. Her whole body was tingling with awareness as her mind remembered all of those wicked, naughty and lusty options she’d read about in her books over the years.

  Goodness, was it hot in here?

  She looked around, wondering if the air conditioning was broken. Where were her friends?!

  Of course, if she hadn’t told them to meet her here and if they weren’t probably still in transit, then she would just pay for her drink and get out of here. That man scared her in ways that she didn’t fully understand. He was so completely out of her league, they were probably not even playing th
e same game!

  Why hadn’t she suggested their usual hangout?

  Oh yeah, the “grumpy leprechauns” were there now. Her company had hired five new college hires and Naya had been assigned to train them on the marketing systems. As a junior member of the marketing team, she’d initially been excited about the assignment, thinking it would be a good way to showcase her skills, get a good raise this year. Or maybe even a promotion!

  But she hadn’t anticipated the new batch of college hires to be short, obnoxious men masquerading in adult bodies. The group of new marketing “experts” were annoying men who thought they had all of the answers, preferred leaning back in their chairs during marketing meetings so that they could scoff at everyone else’s ideas, but not offering any ideas themselves.

  Her eyes glanced over at the man, then she shivered when she found him still watching her. Naya could tell that the man over at that table wouldn’t be short. No, his long, muscular legs were stretched out in front of him, indicating that he was a tall man. With broad shoulders and eyes that conveyed silent, delicious messages.

  She definitely wasn’t going to translate those messages, she told herself.

  Glancing down at her phone, there still weren’t any messages from either Ella or Cassy. She wasn’t surprised. Ella was a reporter that tended to get lost in her world of mysterious wrong-doings who normally traveled the globe, ferreting out breaking news and conveying everything to her loyal readership. She was a bouncy, energetic woman with short, dark curls and eyes that seemed to see everything. Cassy was the opposite. She was a serious lawyer with long, dark, straight hair and could sit still for hours, listening to people drone on about complicated legal issues, always with a stern expression on her beautiful features. Naya knew her own personality was sort of in between the two of her friends. She wasn’t tall or short. She wasn’t fat or skinny. She was just an average woman working at an average job. All she wanted from life was a cozy house, a gentle husband and a house filled with kids and laughter. Things she hadn’t had growing up.