Happy Holidays - The Pregnancy Negotiation Part 9

"Helena and I are getting married."So there it was, the "official" announcement of Whit's best friend's impending wedlock. Although thefamily applauded, Whit sensed a definite tension in the air. He saw it in Lucy's face, heard it in the lack of gusto in Dermot's toast. And he definitely noticed it in Mallory's expression, illuminated by the lone yard light where she now stood, several yards away from him.

He hung back on the patio, waiting for the congratulatory comments to die down before he connected

with the groom and bride-to-be. Mallory came to his side and murmured, "Well, I was right. I hope they'

re happy, but I have my doubts."

"Logan knows what he's doing, Mallory," Whit said, even though he had his own reservations. Serious reservations.

"I'm not so sure about that," she said. "Seems to me Helena was much more in tune with Kevin tonight.""I noticed that, too," he admitted. "But you know how Kevin is.""Yes, he's a predator. And poor Corri should tell him to clean up his act, or hit the road.""She's a devoted fiancee, I will say that."Mallory nodded toward the newly engaged couple. "Shall we get this over with? I'm ready to leave."So was Whit, for many reasons, the most important being he wanted to get her naked. "Sure. After you."Whit followed behind Mallory, greatly enjoying the gentle sway of her hips in that skirt. For his own sanity, he studied to the stars, hoping he didn't trip on his way to his destination. Once they arrived at thepicnic table, Whit gave Logan the typical male hug-hard, macho and brief."Congrats, you two," he said. "Got any idea when the big event might happen?"Logan smiled and circled his arm around his fiancee. "We haven't decided-""The third week of July," Helena said.

Mallory frowned. "That's not a lot of time to plan."

Helena giggled. "Oh, I've been planning this my whole life. Besides, my mother will insist on taking careof all the details." She raised her hand and flashed a rock of a ring at Mallory. "Did you see it?"Mallory leaned over and studied the multicarat diamond. "Very nice, Logan. You've done a good job picking out the ring." Her tone said he hadn't done so hot picking out his bride."Thanks, sis." He nudged Helena forward. "Now my fiancee would like to ask you a question.""Yes, Helena?" At least Mallory had smiled when she'd said it, but Whit could tell the gesture was forced.

"I would like for you to be my bridesmaid," Helena said. "I have some gorgeous dresses selected."

"Just let me know when and where." Whit decided Mallory had just won the Lack of Enthusiasm award

for the evening.

"And you have to be my best man, Manning," Logan said.

"I'm honored, bud." And Whit was, despite his concerns that Logan could be making a mistake.

At that moment, the mad doctor decided to pay a visit, a stubby cigar poised between his thumb and

forefinger, completing the Marx look. "Logan, I'm mighty proud of you." He grinned at Helena. "I was

the first one to slap his bare a.s.s, you know."

Mallory grabbed Whit by the arm and started tugging him toward the house. "Well, we need to go, everyone. Night, Logan, Helena, Dr. Grote."

"Just a minute, young lady," the doctor said. "I want to have a word with you."

Without breaking stride, Mallory said over one shoulder, "We really have to go now, Dr. Grote. I need to get home since I have to be at work early in the morning."

Mallory picked up the pace as if being chased by Satan's sp.a.w.n. Whit was in a big hurry too, but his

thoughts centered on what they had planned for tonight, not the following day. And just when he'dthought they'd made their escape, he heard one final comment delivered by the dis...o...b..bulated doctor."Logan, is that the young man who's trying to get your sister pregnant?"

Six.

"I cannot believe that just happened."

Mallory removed her hands from her face to gauge Whit's reaction. He hadn't started the car, hadn't even fastened his seatbelt. He just continued to stare at the back end of Logan's ma.s.sive all-terrain vehicle parked in front of the Seville.

"Do you think anyone else heard besides Logan and Helena?" he asked, following a few more moments of silence.

Mallory feigned an optimism she didn't begin to feel. "I don't think so. The rest of the family had gone back into the house."

"You know, your brother's going to call me in the morning and give me the third degree."

"I know. Just tell him Dr. Grote is senile. I only wish I hadn't made an appointment with him first when Idecided to get pregnant."Whit shot a glance at her. "He's not going to treat you if you get pregnant, is he?"

"No way do I want him delivering my baby."

"Our baby," Whit said. "Which reminds me, we still have to take care of that tonight. Now let's get out of here."

Mallory needed no reminders. Making love with Whit had been on her mind all day and all night. And so

had her plan according to list number two. Now she just had to find the courage to go through with it.

Whit buckled up but when he put the key in the ignition, she asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

When he turned his attention to her, she pointed at her lap. "You said you wanted to take them off next time."

Comprehension dawned in his expression and then surprise. "You want me to do it now?"

"Why not?"

"What if someone comes out?"

Mallory discovered she liked keeping Whit totally off-kilter, instead of the other way around. "Then I

guess you better hurry."

He recovered quickly, apparent when he said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mallory drew in a shaky breath as he took off her black slides, then slid his hands up her skirt, grabbed

the sc.r.a.p of silk and pulled it leisurely down her legs. After he had the thong removed, he tossed it into the backseat. "Anything else?"

A tank of oxygen would be in order. "Not at the moment. How about you?"

He rubbed his chin. "Yeah. Take off your bra."

Make that two tanks of oxygen. "That's going to be difficult unless I take off my blouse."

"I've seen women do it without taking off their tops."She just bet he had. "You know, Manning, we really could get caught." According to one of the tips, thatprospect alone tended to fuel the fire, and Mallory's internal fire was approaching five-alarm status.

He gave her a knockout grin. "Then I guess you better hurry."

She smiled and shrugged. "Okay. After all, my mother complained all night about seeing it through my

s.h.i.+rt." She slipped her hands beneath the back of the blouse, undid the rear closure then worked the straps down her arms. In one quick sweep, she pulled the bra away and handed it to Whit.

After a brief inspection, he tossed it back to join her thong and then powered his seat back. "I need more

room."

Mallory's gaze homed in on his lap, confirming exactly why he needed more room. "Whatever makes you comfortable."

"I'm a long way from comfortable," he muttered, then asked, "Can we go now?" sounding and looking as eager as Mallory felt.

"Just one more thing," she said. "A promise, actually."

Draping one arm over the wheel, he s.h.i.+fted to face her, his expression solemn as if he sensed the importance of her impending request. "Go ahead."

Tip Number Six: Verbally express your needs. "I want you to promise that whatever I request tonight, you'll do it, no questions asked. Stop, go, whatever."

"I won't do anything you don't want to do, Mallory."

"I know." She trusted him, otherwise she could never go through with this. After securing her seat belt and drawing in a shallow breath, she said, "Now we can go."

Following a full-throttle kiss that had Mallory s.h.i.+fting in her seat, Whit started the ignition and peeled out into the street. No doubt he'd disrupted the entire neighborhood, including her own family, who had thankfully remained sequestered inside the house instead of witnessing her little semi-striptease.

Tension hung thick in the car as they left the subdivision, apparent by the lack of conversation and several exchanged glances. Mallory felt brave and bold and deliciously devious, driving her to turn toward Whit as far as the restraint would allow. Whit demonstrated his awareness of the signals she was sending by tracing a random pattern with a fingertip on the inside of her bare knee. She laid her arm over the back of the seat, toyed with the fringe of hair above his collar, curled her right leg beneath her and in turn, brought her hem higher up her legs.

As they curved onto the main thoroughfare leading to the interstate that would take them back downtown, Mallory felt as if her skin might melt right off her bones. She noticed Whit was driving much more slowly than usual, but she didn't really care when, at every stoplight, he kissed her quite meticulously and moved his hand higher up her thigh. In fact, he seemed to be timing the lights where he was forced to stop at every one. At the third light, he palmed her breast through the blouse's sheer fabric, working her nipple into a tight knot as he plied her with another hot kiss. He slid his hand higher, this time beneath the skirt, coming close to the crease of her thigh. She ached to know that if he did touch her, would she finally discover what she'd been missing? Or would she again be disappointed? All signs pointed to the former, and she refused to wait a moment longer to find out.

When they approached the next stoplight, Mallory pointed toward the side street leading to a recreational area. "Turn here."

Whit shot her a look of confusion. "I hope like h.e.l.l you're not suggesting we get out and play soccer."

"Not hardly. If you'll just do it, you'll find a nice little place in the back of the park where we can park."

"We only have twenty minutes before we're home and in bed."

Tip Number Ten: Beds can be boring. Try different locations.

Mallory's favorite tip. She couldn't be lousy in bed if she wasn't in a bed. Kind of skewed logic, but it worked for her at the moment. "You promised me anything, Whit." She ran her hand up his leg and brushed a fingertip over his distended fly. "I really don't think you would object to a little in-transit foreplay, would you?"

Without issuing another protest, Whit whirled onto the street and didn't slow down until he came to the secluded parking lot at the farthest point from the entrance road. He pulled the sedan in the corner of the lot beneath a huge oak, positioning the car parallel to the parking stops. Before turning off the ignition, he reached up and pressed the b.u.t.ton that controlled the sunroof, opening it to reveal the star-covered sky. A slight breeze filtered into the car, but it didn't alleviate the heat flowing through Mallory when Whit shut off the engine and unsnapped his seat belt. After she released her own restraint, Mallory expected him to swoop down on her, kiss her senseless and touch her without mercy. Instead, he leaned back against the driver's door and trained his dark eyes on her. "Okay, Mallory, you're calling all the shots. Tell me what you want me to do."

Oh, how she'd imagined this all during dinner and the drive. "Take off your s.h.i.+rt," she told him, her voice little more than a breathy whisper.

Without speaking, he tugged the polo from the jeans' waistband, pulled it over his head and then added it to the pile of clothing in the back. "All done."

Mallory was close to coming undone when she surveyed his gorgeous chest cast in the rays of the full moon above and the halogen light to the right of the car. She wanted to touch him, was dying to touch him, from his pale brown nipples to his ridged belly. She planned to do that shortly. "Now recline your seat."

For a moment Mallory thought he might question her, but he simply said, "Okay" and faced forward again, setting the seat into motion, sending it back and reclining it simultaneously as far as the control would allow, almost horizontal to the sunroof. He leaned back, hands laced behind his head, a cute and somewhat c.o.c.ky smile on his face. "This is pretty comfortable. Anything else you want me to do?"

She could tell him, or she could show him. After a brief mental pep talk, Mallory hiked up her skirt and climbed onto his lap to straddle his thighs, exactly as she'd done when he'd agreed to have a baby. Except tonight, things were just a tad bit different. If Whit was at all shocked by her boldness, she certainly couldn't tell from his face. In fact, he looked rather pleased, and he felt incredibly hard beneath her bare bottom, all of him. He remained silent, his hands still propped behind his head, watching her with an unwavering gaze, waiting for to make the next move, she surmised. And she did by attempting to undo her blouse with fumbling fingers. Whit took over then, raising up to release each b.u.t.ton with deft precision, and much more speed than she thought possible. But then he'd had quite a bit of experience, something she really didn't want to consider at the moment.

She didn't completely remove the blouse, just let it hang open to reveal her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Yet he didn't make a move to touch her. In fact, he dropped back against the seat again and continued to survey the scene. That definitely would not do, and Mallory decided she needed to do something to get him going. When she circled a fingertip around his nipple, only then did she see the c.h.i.n.k in Whit's composure, verified by the hard set of his jaw when he traced a path down the cleft between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "I want to touch you, too, Mallory."

"I want you to touch me." Did she ever.

"With my mouth."

And she didn't think she could get any hotter. "Be my guest."