Baby Love Me Page 8

  “Baby?” Hunter’s voice quivered as he hugged her close to his chest.

  He now had tears in his eyes too. A once-renowned Casanova was now nothing but a pathetic partner who couldn’t do anything to aid the woman he loved. What would society say if they saw him reduced to such a state?

  He didn’t care. In fact, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass how others viewed him. Right now the woman in his arms, the woman he loved with all his heart, was crying and all he could bloody do was cuddle her. He was so pathetic.

  “Baby, please don’t cry.” He wiped those tears from her cheeks as he hugged her close to his chest so tight, just to appease his heart that she was here, that he wasn’t leaving her. “I won’t leave. I’ll stay here with you.” And then he pulled her face close to his and kissed her gently on the lips.

  Clarice was overtaken by such strong emotions that the small contact between them was like a lifesaver. She sucked on those lips, forcing herself to believe Hunter wouldn’t leave her and would be with her for all eternity.

  Hunter, in return, took in as much as Clarice offered, savoring that sweet taste, nipping at the corners of those lips, drinking in that sweet scent. God help him, he was drowning right now, drowning in love for the woman bearing his child.

  “Baby, I want you right now. I want to make love to you right now.”

  Clarice was rocked with fierce emotion. A surge of desire like a burst dam flooded her senses. She couldn’t control herself and sobbed right into his shirt. “Then make love to me, Hunter. Please make love to me. Tell me again and again that you love me. I want to hear it.”

  And Hunter did, slowly and carefully, treating her like precious gold. He kissed every inch of her skin and wiped her tear-stricken face.

  “Please don’t cry, baby. I’m so worried.” He held her face and kissed those tears away.

  She kissed him in return. Once sated, she held on to his cheeks, wanting to hear those words so much, just to assuage her heart and remove her fear. “Do you love me, Hunter?”

  “I love you, Clarice,” he confirmed.

  “Say it again. Please,” she begged.

  “I love you. I love you. I love you. Can you hear me, Clarice? I love you,” Hunter sang into her ears.

  There was an emotional need and a struggling downpour of sensation. Clarice was so overjoyed that she hugged Hunter tight. She squeezed her eyes to prevent herself from crying, but those tears wouldn’t stop flowing. This isn’t the time to cry, you ninny. Be brave. Be strong. You have his love. You trust him.

  But her tears wouldn’t stop. Then again, these were tears of joy. Hunter loved her. That was all she needed to hear.

  “Thank you, Hunter, thank you,” she whispered and kissed him just as fiercely, giving him all the love she had.

  And then Hunter took her, long and slow, giving her all the attention she craved. Her world now belonged to him. She was his to take and he was hers. There was no longer any distrust, only love and honesty. And not long after, she climaxed, basking in the glow of their aftermath.

  Once their bearings returned, Clarice lay huddled within Hunter’s arms, now in a calm state. Hunter asked, “Are you feeling better? Do you want me to rub your stomach?”

  “Mmm?” Clarice burrowed deeper against his neck, wondering why he was asking her such an odd question.

  “Are you sure you’re feeling better?” he asked again for confirmation. “I could call the midwife.”

  “I’m fine. Why do you need to call the midwife?”

  “Because you were crying.”

  “I thought you said you were leaving.”

  “Leaving the room to call the midwife. The phone is downstairs, isn’t it?” he asked her innocently.

  It was like something finally clicked in Clarice’s head. Had they been on different pages before?

  “Then why were you packing?” she asked.

  “I want to be prepared for when you give birth. I’ve put all the necessary items in our emergency bag. When the time comes, we’ll just up and leave. I’ve got your clothing in there and some warm socks I just remembered, just in case you get cold feet in the hospital. There’s more, but it’s a work in progress. When I think of something more, I’ll put it in the bag.”

  “So you’re not leaving to go back to that Caroline girl?” Clarice asked so softly Hunter almost couldn’t hear.

  Hunter chuckled once he figured out their misunderstanding. “Oh, baby. Is this what that was all about? Why you were so scared and huddling me like this. You’re afraid I might leave you?”

  Clarice didn’t respond. She only clutched Hunter tighter.

  “Don’t worry, baby.” Hunter smoothed her hair in a loving gesture, making her relax against his chest. “I would never do such a thing. I love you with all my heart. Caroline is just someone I met quite recently. I’ve never had anything to do with her. So trust me when I say I love you.”

  Clarice couldn’t say anything. This was just…

  Dear Heaven, this is embarrassing, she thought as she nestled her face deeper into Hunter’s shoulder, trying to prevent him from seeing her cheeks blushing red. She didn’t know how she could sprout those kinds of lines. It was utterly humiliating now that she thought about it. There was absolutely no way, no way on earth she could tell this man that she loved him now. But maybe… maybe after their baby was born.

  Chapter 13

  Clarice was gazing out the window while washing vegetables in the sink, preparing dinner for Hunter when he got home. Thinking about the past, she couldn’t believe the last few months had flown so fast. She couldn’t even catch a breath, let alone believe she was seven months pregnant.

  Her stomach was quite big now, and she felt heavy most of the time. Her feet and back were usually sore from standing too long. Luckily, she was on maternity leave. Hunter was so pleased that he hugged her until she almost turned blue.

  Lucky for him to be so happy. She, on the other hand, was not. More often than not, she was bored stiff out of her mind. Any more alone time and she was sure she would go insane. Luckily, though, she had many visits on most days so her sanity level didn’t have to reach that stage yet. Fern came over to visit with Anton, Clinton came over a few times with Winton, and her friends tended to make it around to her place with all sorts of baby stuff. Thankfully, Caroline never made an appearance again. So this eased her mind a lot. Sometimes she even thought that past event with Caroline was just a figment of her imagination. And as for Max, he was almost living in her place, coming and going as he saw fit, telling her while Hunter was gone to work, he’d be the responsible man that would look after her.

  Clarice smiled at that comment. But she was rather excited about the whole prospect of seeing her baby come into this world, her baby that rascal cousin of hers had concocted in a roundabout way. She’d even ticked away the days that flew past on her calendar.

  She wondered if her baby would be a girl or boy. She didn’t go for a scan yet. The appointment was coming soon. That reminded her. Her parents would be returning from Cambodia soon too. Would they be pleased to see Hunter living with her?

  It was normally not the Asian way to be living with a man before getting married, but life had been too hectic to be thinking about marriage. Plus, Hunter hadn’t proposed, so she obviously couldn’t ask him. She was too shy about it.

  A pair of hands suddenly embraced her from behind. Clarice knew immediately who it was. She relaxed and settled into those arms and closed her eyes, feeling the love seeping from his chest.

  “Back from work already?” she asked.

  “Mmm.” Hunter cooed into her ear. “Are you tired, baby, standing like that? Are your feet sore?”

  “A little,” she said.

  “Here.” Hunter took the carrots from her hands and placed them in the sink. “I’ll make dinner tonight. “Why don’t you go and sit down on the couch? Make yourself look pretty and watch TV.”

  “I don’t what to watch TV. There’s nothing on that’s interes
ting.”

  “Mmm.” Hunter led Clarice to the couch anyway and sat her down. Then he removed her slipper and started massaging her foot. “Does that feel nice?”

  Clarice smiled and nodded. Hunter put more energy into his task. Despite his focus, Clarice could tell he was worn out. Has he been working too hard?

  “Hunter?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Are you all right? You look tired. Maybe you should stop with the massaging.”

  “I’m fine, baby. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy,” Hunter said solemnly.

  What Hunter hadn’t been telling Clarice was since Caroline had visited, she’d come to stalk him at work. He was starting to get worried that Clarice might know, but he had to keep it a secret. Clarice was already seven months pregnant. He didn’t want her to be stressed out because of that little matter. He could resolve it on his own.

  “Did I ever tell you you’re beautiful, baby?” He changed the subject, not wanting his partner to dwell on something so trivial. Then he did something so unexpected. He put her foot down and rested his head on her lap, his ear pressed against her round stomach.

  “What are you doing, Hunter?” Clarice asked in surprise.

  “I’m listening to our baby,” he said, looking up at her. Then he set his gaze on her stomach. “What name shall we give our baby?” he asked. After a minute of thought, he said, “How about this? If it’s a boy, we’ll call him Conrad. If it’s a girl, we’ll call her Cassandra. Do you like that?”

  “Do I have a choice, Hunter?” Clarice giggled.

  “You do have a choice, baby.” Hunter started dropping kisses along her stomach. “You chose to trust me; hence, I’m the happiest man alive.”

  “I do trust you, Hunter.” Clarice smiled gently and fondled his hair. “You’ve shown me, throughout this whole time you’ve lived with me that you’re a changed man. I don’t trust people that easy, but you proved me wrong. Again and again.” She spoke, running her fingers through his short blond hair, trying to comfort the man she loved. “You know if you’re not happy about anything, I’m more than willing to listen to you too.”

  Hunter remained silent, feeling only the comfort of his partner’s soft fingers brushing through his hair. He loved this feeling of being loved and being wanted. Then he shook his head. This isn’t the time to dwell on Caroline. This is our time. I want to spend every waking minute with the woman I love.

  “Conrad or Cassandra,” he said instead, looking at Clarice’s stomach. “I can’t wait to welcome you into this world. Daddy will be the best father ever.”

  Hunter pressed his cheek against Clarice’s stomach. “I can feel our baby kicking me.” He smiled up at her. “I think our baby just kicked me in the face.”

  “Hunter, how could our baby kick you?” Clarice laughed, and her musical voice drove him crazy again.

  That night after dinner, Hunter carried Clarice into their bedroom and made love to her, all thoughts about Caroline and his dilemma buried in the far recesses of his mind.

  Hunter really wished he didn’t have to go to work today. He didn’t want to see Caroline’s face again. But since the date for the merger was only a few weeks away, he had to make sure he was in the office to help his father and Anton. God really wasn’t on his side this morning because the first person he saw was Caroline.

  “Hunter.” Caroline came running into the elevator just as the door was about to close.

  “What do you want now?” he said coldly. “Stop harassing me. I have a life now. I’m not interested in you. I have a partner I want to look after. If you don’t stop, I’ll have to involve the police, and I’m sure you won’t be happy with the result.” He barked out all of his threats all at once.

  “Okay, I’m sorry,” Caroline said in a passively apologetic tone. “But please, I just want to see you one last time. If it’s okay with you, could we have dinner together?”

  Hunter was about to refuse outright when Caroline interrupted him.

  “I promise you this will be the last time. Plus, the others are invited too. So please don’t fret. It’s my farewell dinner. After the merger, I’m going away,” Caroline said, twiddling her fingers. “And I want to take that time to apologize for my previous behavior too.”

  Hunter looked really annoyed. He didn’t care if she was going away or not. That was the least of his concerns. But he knew if he said no, she would annoy him even more. So with gritted teeth, he said, “For dinner only, and then I don’t ever want to talk to you again.”

  “Okay.” Caroline smiled. “For dinner only. And then I won’t ever interfere with your life again.”

  Hunter went into the office, thinking about the farewell dinner. Did he really make a wise decision to end all this nonsense? Should he discuss the issue with Clarice first, as she suggested last night?

  Hunter shook his head, coming to the conclusion that he’d made the right choice. It was his own fault for being a playboy in the past. He didn’t want Clarice to worry about his behavior. He was a changed man. No amount of tempting from Caroline could get him to look at her. All he could see was his partner.

  That reminded him. He needed to call her to tell her he would be back late. Damn stupid dinner party.

  “Baby,” he said as she picked up the phone. “I won’t be home ‘til late. So could you keep dinner for me?”

  “I will,” she cooed into his ear.

  “Love you,” he responded, then shut the phone.

  God, he missed her. He just wished 4:00 p.m. could roll around sooner. But first he had to go on that stupid farewell dinner. Well, he’d make it fast. A quick chat with Caroline and everyone, and then he was out of there.

  Four o’clock rolled around fairly fast. He met Caroline at the designated place. It was a dark place. The room was elegantly designed with very expensive furnishings. But what was strange about the whole setting was no one else was there. He asked the waiter if he was at the right place, and the waiter did confirm it was really here. Perhaps everyone else was running late. Even Caroline wasn’t here.

  After a few minutes of idle waiting, Caroline showed her face. She walked in offering him an apologetic smile. He wasn’t fooled. He got down to the point.

  “Where—”

  “Hunter, please.” She interrupted. “Since this will be our last time, please have a toast with me. I want you to congratulate me on my new venture.”

  Hunter didn’t want to toast Caroline on her new life. He didn’t know what kind of life she would be leading, and truthfully, he didn’t care. What he wanted to know was where the hell was everyone else? Didn’t she say this was supposed to be a farewell dinner?

  “Where are the others?” he barked at her.

  “The others?” Caroline looked perplexed for a second, then fixed her facial expression. “Oh, the others. They said they’ll be running a little late. We should drink something first. They should be arriving soon.”

  Hunter didn’t care. He just wanted to get this whole thing over with so he could get back to work. He picked up his glass and took a sip. Suddenly, he felt a bright flash blinding his eyesight for a second, and then it disappeared again.

  “What was that?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. Slowly, his vision returned to normal.

  “It must be the bright light in here,” Caroline said. Then she settled into conversation. “I’m sorry about what I did to Clarice before. Could you please send her my apologies?” She extended a less-than-genuine smile. “I’m moving to America. Daddy wants me to study further in business. I’ll be going soon. So I won’t be seeing much of you anymore. And I’m sorry I’ve been a real hassle to you. Could you please forgive me?”

  “If you promise not to interfere in my life anymore. You know I love Clarice, and I won’t allow anything to happen to her.” Hunter warned her.

  “I know.” She smiled.

  “If there’s nothing else, then I’m leaving,” Hunter said, getting up after he finished his drink, but then he felt his body b
ecoming weak. God, what was wrong with him? Had he been too stressed out with this matter that he’d suddenly gone weak?

  “Hunter!” Caroline came to support him. “You should eat your dinner before leaving.” Weirdly, he felt her fingers twirling around his hair. Was this all his imagination? He was so tired and sleepy, his mind becoming so unfocused that he wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t anymore. But all too suddenly, she was leaning her face forward and kissing him on his lips.

  Hunter felt disgusted with her action. What was she doing? This was definitely no imagination of his. He wanted to push her away, but every tiny movement was a struggle and he could barely keep his eyes opened. His legs gave in and his arm muscles weakened. And then… he felt his consciousness fading away too. He turned to stare at Caroline in his last moment of coherence. There was something there that just didn’t sit right. Caroline had a snarl on her lips, and before he blacked out altogether, her voice penetrated his thoughts.

  “Hunter, if I can’t steal you from that woman, then this is the only way.”

  Chapter 14

  Hunter woke slowly from his drug-induced sleep, his eyes panning out to stare at the chandelier lighting that was never there when he woke up with Clarice.

  Where am I? he groggily asked himself.

  Then he felt long arms wrapping themselves around him.

  Hunter turned to his right and jumped out of bed, his heart in his throat.

  God, no, what have I done! Hunter yelled at himself. No, what did that woman do to me?

  Caroline, who was pretending to sleep, got up and hugged her naked form to him. She looked up at Hunter and pretended to rub her eyes.

  “Oh, Hunter, you were so energetic last night. I couldn’t get to sleep at all until almost dawn.”

  “Shut up!” Hunter yelled at her in fright and anger as he took in his surroundings. “What the hell did you give me to drink? I don’t remember sleeping with you.” Then Hunter felt an oncoming truckload of headache about to collide with his skull and he sat back down and groaned in pain.