Attainment (The Temptation Series)
Read Attainment (The Temptation Series) Online
Authors: K.M. Golland
ATTAINMENT
A Novella
BY K.M. GOLLAND
Book 3.5 in The Temptation
Series
Cover Design by: Wade
Angelo,
Pauze - Design and
Multimedia
Copyright 2013
Published by K. M. Golland
ISBN: 9780987497734
All rights reserved. This
book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic format without permission from the author. Please do not participate
in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s
rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your
support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed
in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is
coincidental and not intended by the author. Except the original material
written by the author, all songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book
are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
How do you know when you are truly happy, and that your life
is ultimately fulfilled in all aspects imaginable? Is that even
possible...ultimate attainment? Some people measure their happiness on their
level of success, while others measure it on their fortune or ability to live
an unencumbered or uninhibited lifestyle. Some people even fool themselves into
believing that they are truly happy, when in fact, they are just filling a void
with a bullshit pretence.
Not too long ago, I was one of those people; deceiving myself
into believing my life was what it ought to be. But, as I sit here now, looking
out the window of my City Metropol building toward my penthouse apartment at
City Tower, I feel nothing but ultimate attainment. Today, I can finally say
that I have achieved everything I have ever wanted in life. Today, my family
becomes complete. Today, I marry the love of my life—Alexis. It is today, after
setting eyes upon her three years ago, that I will finally be able to call her
my wife.
From that very moment when I first saw her, she stirred
something within me that had lay dormant—happiness. But it wasn’t until our
lips first touched that I knew I would stop at nothing to have her completely.
There was just something in that kiss which told me she was the one, something
in that instant shifted in me—I needed her; I wanted her.
Wholeheartedly knowing at that point that we were both put
on this earth to be together, I realised how I would make that happen. I would
show her what she was missing in life. I would show her how it felt to truly be
desired and loved. I would show her what her life was supposed to be like—I
would show her me...us...forever.
My life has just begun
Glancing ever so slightly toward Alexis who is sitting in
the passenger seat of my car, I notice her discomfort with an awkward shuffle
of her arse. It is obvious she is uncomfortable—again.
Over the past six months, I have watched what she endures on
a daily basis while being pregnant. And during those times, I couldn’t help but
find myself wondering just what it would feel like. You know...to be pregnant;
to carry a small human being inside your abdomen. Would it feel like you’ve
just eaten one huge breakfast? Or would it feel like you constantly want to
squeeze the baby out from between your legs, the same feeling you get when you
can no longer hold onto that shit you’ve been putting off having all day? I
guess it could...it does make sense. Or perhaps it just simply feels like
you’ve swallowed a watermelon...whole...a watermelon with moving limbs...and
hair?
I shudder at the thought.
Speaking of hair on a baby’s head, apparently our little
angel has a decent amount of it. According to Alexis, that is the reason why
she is burping so much, or, as she puts it...‘Indigestion.’ Can hair on your
unborn baby’s head really make you burp? To me, that’s like saying the socks I
chose to wear today make me fart. It’s just ridiculous and completely farfetched.
I don’t understand why Alexis feels she needs an excuse to burp, and even when
she does belch unexpectedly, I still find her sexy as hell. Probably even more
so, because she blushes then comes up with her little pregnancy-fib.
Yes, I’m
not stupid. Hair on a baby’s head cannot make you burp.
Initially, most of the stuff she’d told me about being
pregnant I had put down to being a pregnancy-fib. Some of it resulted in
confusion at first, or it had made me laugh in disbelief, or it had just scared
the absolute shit out of me. Like when she’d said that a father could
experience ‘a sympathetic pregnancy’ or more technically put—
Couvade Syndrome.
What. The. Fuck?
I remember her telling me
while displaying that cocky, fucking adorable smirk on her face. ‘Bryce,’ she’d
said with one eyebrow raised, ‘there’s a very good chance you could experience
morning sickness, weight gain, sore breasts’, she’d rattled on. At that point, I’d
had no choice but to interrupt her, saying ‘I don’t fucking own breasts,
Alexis. How the hell can I get sore ones? You’re yanking my chain, Hunny.’ But
no, she was adamant that it was true, so of course, I Googled it. Well fuck me,
she wasn’t lying. A father could actually experience symptoms of pregnancy.
Now, I’ve said it before and
I will say it again—I will do absolutely anything for Alexis...anything. Because
let’s face it, I worship the ground this woman walks on. But experience sore
breasts, breasts I don’t even have, and labour pain? Screw that. I was born
with a dick, and not experiencing child birth first hand is a perk of owning
said dick.
Alexis’ voice slowly becomes
audible, tearing me away from my nightmarish thoughts of Couvade Syndrome.
“Bryce, earth to Bryce,” she
says in a sing-song tone.
“Yeah?” I ask a little stunned,
before gathering my bearings.
“Are you with me?”
“Sorry, I was miles away.”
“It would appear so. Where is
miles away?”
I take off my belt and turn
to face her, noticing her concerned expression. “Never mind, I’m here now,
Hunny. And it appears that we are here now, too,” I say as I glance around the
underground car park of Dr. Rainer’s consulting rooms.
“Yes, we are,” Alexis
murmurs, still displaying an expression of concern. “You sure you’re alright?”
“Really, I’m fine. And...,” I
say, now directing the conversation to my baby while leaning over to press my
lips to Alexis’ stomach. “...today we are going to find out if you need a blue
room or a pink room—“
“Oh no, we are not!” she
interrupts, and gently pushes my head back.
I move against her shove,
returning to her stomach. “Yes, we are.”
“Bryce, I want it to be a
secret.”
“Fine, I’ll keep it a secret
from you.”
“You can’t,” she pleads.
“Yes, I can.”
“No, I mean you can’t do this
to me. It’s not fair that you will know the sex and I won’t.”
I take her hands in mine and
smile at her beautifully distraught face. “Hunny, I’m not waiting to find out
what we are having. I want to know. I want to be prepared. If you want it to be
a surprise, I promise I won’t tell you. In fact, I think I will enjoy not
telling you.”
Alexis abruptly removes her
hands from mine and shoves me back over to my side of the car. “I hate you,” she
grumbles.
I laugh. “No, you don’t.”
“Grrrr,” she growls as she
quickly tries to exit the car.
Hurrying out of my side, I
meet her and hold her door open as she steps out. “You fucking love me and you
know it,” I say, leaning against it with my ankles crossed while pretending to
brush something off my shoulder in a show of cockiness. I really shouldn’t bait
her, it’s just...I can’t help myself. Her little fight-backs are always such a
turn-on.
She slowly stands to her
feet, giving me a little Alexis-attitude. “Yeah, well that can change.”
Like
fuck it can change.
I waste no time and bend
down, gently sweeping her off her feet and placing her upon the bonnet of the
car. “No. It. Can’t. Change,” I reaffirm, before taking her head in my hands
and pressing my mouth to hers.
The remnants of her
toothpaste coat my tongue as I thrust it into her mouth, possessing it like
it’s mine. Well...it kind of is mine; she is mine.
My possession of her tongue
forces a moan to escape her which brings a smile to my face. I love it how she
reacts to my touch.
Sliding one hand to the back
of her head, I pull her closer, prompting her tongue to delve deeper.
Fuck!
I want to take her here...now...on the Lexus. I know how much she loves being
fucked in, on, and against my cars.
My cock springs to life,
encouraging my thoughts of making love to her before our appointment. But I
know we can’t, we shouldn’t. Well, not here, anyway. The thought of anyone
seeing her in the throes of passion does not sit well with me. Only I get that
privilege.
I reluctantly separate our
adjoined mouths and rest my forehead against hers. “Come on, we need to leave
before I strip you naked and run my tongue right down your centre. Believe me,
the thought is crossing my mind.”
Her mouth drops open, but she
then shuts it again and smiles, refusing to budge and displaying a cheeky grin
on her face.
“I’m serious. Come on,” I say,
taking hold of her hand and shaking my head in amusement. Alexis, when pregnant,
is insatiable...horny as fuck...as randy as a rabbit. Hell, she almost wears me
out...almost!
***
Not before long, we are in
Dr. Rainer’s office, Alexis lying flat on the examination table and the
ultrasound image of our baby swirling around on the monitor. Her hand is
gripping mine with an intense clasp as we wait for the sound of a heartbeat.
She won’t admit it, but I
know this is hard for her. How could it not be? It wasn’t long ago that we were
both here staring at a similar image, that image being Bianca. If fate hadn't
decided to be cruel and malicious during that time, Bianca would now be approximately
four months old.
I take a deep breath, push
aside my sad thoughts and smile at my fiancé. I have to be strong for her,
because God knows she is forever putting on a brave face. What Alexis has
experienced in the past eighteen months is more than most would experience in a
lifetime. Her continuous strength and resilience blows me away, together with
her ability to take on life’s ruthless challenges and not only meet them head
on but to somehow find a way to conquer them. When all is said and done, Alexis
is simply amazing, and I thank my lucky stars every day that she has agreed to
become my wife. Not only that, but she is carrying my second child, and her two
children—Nate and Charlie—have accepted me as their stepfather. I couldn’t be
more proud.
The rhythmic sound of popping
filters through my ears, bringing my gaze back up to the screen. It really is
such a wonderful tone, a reassuring one.
Hearing our baby’s heartbeat,
Alexis lets out the breath she has been holding and tilts her head to flash me
one of her earth-shattering smiles.
I lean down to give her a
quick kiss. “Everything is fine, my love.”
She nods.
Dr. Rainer records a few
measurements on the screen then turns to me and Alexis. “Baby’s heart beat is
still strong at 140 beats per minute. And his or her measurements are
consistent with gestation—“
“His? Or hers?” I ask,
probably a bit too eagerly.
“Do you really want to find
out?” she questions with a curious smile, seemingly to know that I do and
Alexis does not.
“Yes, although Mummy here,” I
gesture to my not so happy looking fiancé, “does not. So you can whisper it in
my—“
“Alright! Alright!” Alexis
blurts out, clearly frustrated. “I want to know, too.” She crosses her arms
over her chest in a show of reluctant surrender.
I can’t help but smile. She
looks so damn adorable, and I knew that she would eventually cave in. She hates
secrets with a passion, especially when I’m the holder of the secret in
question.
Gently grazing my knuckles
down the side of her face, I smile at her triumphantly. “You know, you really
don’t have to find out. I promise I won’t tell.”
“Screw you, Bryce Edward
Clark. I’m finding out the sex of our baby.”
I laugh out loud. “Well,
there you go, Dr. Rainer. We both want to find out.”
“Very well. I’m fairly
certain I know baby Clark’s gender already. However, I want a better angle just
to be sure. Alexis, I’m going to move the ultrasound wand further down and
apply a firm pressure. This will help get a better view of baby’s genitals,”
she explains.
Dr. Rainer does as she has
just informed and pushes into Alexis’ lower abdomen, causing her to wince.
“Are you alright?” I say with
concern, glaring at Dr. Rainer.
Alexis squeezes my hand. “Yes,
I’m fine. I just need to pee...desperately.”
I let out a sigh of relief
and am thankful Dr. Rainer didn’t see my unwarranted look of displeasure.
“I’m sorry, Alexis, I know
this is uncomfortable for you.”
“Yeah, you can say that
again.”
“Okay, nearly done. You do
know this is not 100% accurate, don’t you?” Dr. Rainer informs us, her eyebrow
raised.
“Yes,” we both answer
simultaneously.
“Good, okay. There we go.”
She presses a few buttons which freezes the image on the screen. “Say hello to
your son. You’re having a little boy.”
Alexis gets up on her elbows
while I lean in closer to the screen.
Fuckin’ oath that’s a boy. Check him
out!
“There,” I point to the
screen. “He sure is, and he takes after his father.”
“Bryce, that’s your son’s leg,”
Dr. Rainer states with a condescending tone.
Bullshit! He doesn’t have
three legs...
I quickly recount.
One
leg. Two legs
...
that’s definitely not a third leg. He most certainly
takes after me.
I smile proudly with a knowing nod of my head.
“Bryce,” Alexis says,
grabbing my attention while choking on her words and trying to push back her
tears. “We are having a boy. That’s our son. Look at him.”
I glance back at the screen.
My
son! That’s my fucking son! That little blurry image is my living, breathing, little
baby boy.
I turn back to lay eyes on Alexis’ beautiful face and realise
that life doesn’t get much better than this.
***
On our way back to City
Towers, I start to think about all the things I can organise, change, and get
ready...like our son’s room. The renovations and re-build of the penthouse are
not far from completion, there being probably only a few more weeks before we
can move back in. After our ordeal with Gareth, I’d tried to convince Alexis to
consider moving into a house by the bay, or in the suburbs—wherever she wanted.
But she’d wanted to remain at City Towers, assuring me that it just ‘felt right’,
that it was ‘home’; our home. Not wanting to argue with her decision—because
let’s face it, it was a fucking brave one—I instigated repairs, renovations and
a re-build almost instantly. In the meantime though, we have been residing in
the presidential villa.
Sadly, pretty much everything
on the first floor of the apartment was ruined by the explosion and subsequent
fire. The upstairs bedrooms had sustained water damage but no clear structural
impairment. Mainly, the devastation was only cosmetic, although, Charli was
absolutely shattered that her 4Life memorabilia was destroyed. Little does she
know that I have arranged replacements and plan to surprise her with them when
the refurbished apartment is unveiled.