Strollers & Stilettos: A Sexy Contemporary Romance (In Stilettos Book 4) (4 page)

Alec hadn’t been aware he’d been holding his breath until she’d renounced the claim on the birth certificate. “You believe—”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course she’s not yours. But this has nothing to do with whether she goes to CPS or not. She’s still a baby and could stand some compassion. Even if her mother is some sort of psycho blackmailer.”

Damn, he loved this woman. His heart swelled. “We still can’t take her, Jai. Let the authorities deal with this. They’ll take good care of her. They know how to deal with this sort of thing.”

Jaya crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t believe this. Alec, I know what you’re trying to do. I know press-wise this is dangerous, but the truth will come out. I’m not worried about it. She’s a baby.”

“Is that what you think? Baby, I could care less what anyone has to say so long as you believe me. But I do care that some woman is coming after this family. I don’t want to give her fuel to her claims. CPS is the best choice.”

“You’re wrong.”

He knew that determined set to her shoulders. He prayed he was doing the right thing.

Chapter Four

He’d done it. Alec had actually handed that helpless baby off to Child Protective Services. It was the first time since they’d been married that he hadn’t even considered what Jaya had to say.

She stewed on the events of the last twenty-four hours as she surveyed the crowd of Ricca’s engagement party. She loved nothing more than when a plan came together. Too bad she was too preoccupied with her argument with Alec to really enjoy the fruits of her labor, or rather, Micha’s labor.

Lucky for Jaya, Ricca had named both her
and
Micha maids of honor because, of course, Jaya had insisted on being the wedding planner, but that meant neglecting some of her maid of honor duties. Luckily, Micha had stepped up.

When Micha strode in with the musicians and directed them to the stage, Jaya sighed with relief. “My, thanks for sorting them out. I can’t believe the other guys cancelled last minute.”

Micha shrugged. “Can’t have a party without music. Besides, these guys owed me a favor. One of my editors mentioned them in a piece last year. It was great publicity for the band, and they’ve been blowing up ever since.” She put a hand on her hip. “Though, I have to say, this errand running had the distinctive feeling of manual labor.”

Jaya bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Micha had a rule about manual labor. She didn’t do it as a general rule. “I’ll make sure you never have to do it again.”

“See to it.”

Jaya surveyed the guests. So far, everything had gone perfectly. All the guests had followed the theme of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
. Ricca had wanted fairytale, and Beckett had wanted whatever Ricca wanted. The same theme would run through to the wedding.

The decorators Jaya had hired had transformed the beautiful grassy courtyard of the Westhorpe into a fairytale land, complete with ivy vines crawling up the wall and wood nymphs peeking out from flowered corners. It could have been too much, but as if she’d known exactly where to stop, the venue was decorated to perfection. Jaya wasn’t much for fairytales, but even she felt transported.

The bride- and groom-to-be even looked the part tonight. Ricca wore a Cavalli paneled dress that hugged each lush curve of her body. Beckett had made the perfect picture of a charming prince in his tuxedo. All six-foot five inches of him in impeccable Tom Ford. He stood talking to Alec and Caleb, the trio making for a smorgasbord of male hotness that had every woman in attendance ogling openly. Not that Jaya could blame them—those guys were impossible to
not
look at.

Her husband especially, with his dark, curling hair and his mischievous eyes. Along with a face that looked like it had been chiseled by the masters, he also possessed the devil’s own grin. Alec Danthers-Westhorpe was walking sex appeal, and he knew it. He’d
always
known it. And, to make matters worse, he didn’t have a damn bit of shame about it. He used it to his full advantage. Like now.

Whenever he had a problem, he preferred to negotiate his way out. He could charm just about anyone. He could talk anyone into almost anything when he was in the mood. When her husband caught her staring at him, he winked at her and smiled. And despite the tight tension between them, her body melted as if answering a call from his. Like his body had sent up a nookie signal. Like: “Hey, you want to let me do all manner of dirty, interesting, and fun things to you later?” And hers responded with an immediate: “What’s wrong with right now?”

It had always been like that with them, from the moment they’d met. Hell, Alec had been so against her type. Where she was meticulous, he was haphazard; where she was deliberate, he followed the changing winds. She planned every detail of her life to precision, and he, well, never let anything or anyone tie him down.

Then everything had changed when she’d been fired from the family business. Alec had been her one impulsive move. Okay, well, him and these gorgeous shoes. She eyed the red and gold, red-soled Louboutins and couldn’t help but feel instantly sexy.

“So, are you going to continue eyeing him like he’s a sexy popsicle on a hot summer’s day, or are you going to go and seduce him?”

Micha’s voice brought Jaya out of her reverie. “Oh, um. I was, uh, overlooking the catering. To make sure everyone received champagne.”

Micha rolled her eyes. “You forget I understand how you work. Stop over-analyzing this, Jai. You merely need to bring him to your way of thinking.”

“I don’t
need
to do anything. He’s wrong, and he should see he’s wrong.”

“Honey, you know I love you, but even I think you’re being a tad unreasonable. He didn’t really have a choice.”

Jaya pursed her lips. “Whose side are you on?”

Micha patted her shoulder. “Yours. Always yours. But in this case, he did what he thought was best. Have you called to check on the baby?”

“Of course.”

“And she’s fine, right?”

Jaya shifted in her shoes. “That is not the point. You should have seen how panicked he was. Like the baby was going to suck the life out of him or something. I mean, he barely even looked at her.”

Micha pursed her lips. “Are you sure this is about this baby? Or about future babies, and you’re worried Alec will never be ready for fatherhood?”

Jaya frowned. “What? No.” Maybe a little. “She was so helpless, and he wouldn’t even listen to alternatives.”

“Give him time. You know him. You’ve always said you can’t push him into a direction.”

“Unfortunately, that baby doesn’t have time.”

“Look, maybe she’ll get placed with a good home. She’s a baby, and let’s face it, from what you say, cute as a button. I’ll be surprised if some family doesn’t want to adopt her within the next couple of weeks.”

“Maybe, but for now, she’s in temp housing with a family that has three other kids. One with special needs.”

“Yeah, okay, so maybe not the best placement, but it’ll work itself out. In the meantime, you guys should try talking, instead of shooting each other Fuck-you-no-fuck-me eyes.

“I am not giving him fuck-me eyes.”

Micha snorted a laugh. “Oh, yes, you are. Maybe you two should try make-up sex, then when your brain is flooded with endorphins, you can talk like rational people.”

“Yeah, he’d like that. Right now, I’m too pissed to talk to him.”

“Good thing that, for what I’m suggesting, you don’t need to talk.” She winked.

Jaya coughed a laugh. Okay, yeah, Micha had a point. “Fine, you’re on champagne duty.”

“Done.” Micha stayed Jaya with a hand though. “Now go and revive your inner bad girl.”

“Who said I have an inner bad girl?”

“I do. I’ve been grooming her for years.”

* * *

Alec watched Jaya as she chatted animatedly with Micha. It had been two days since the night at the hotel, and things at home had been chilly at best.

He’d hoped that Ricca and Beckett’s engagement party would lift her mood a little. He’d also hoped the gnawing guilt would have started to subside a little. He’d called CPS several times already to check on Alexa. She’d been placed temporarily with a family. One that sounded over-taxed by children.

Maybe she was right.
He pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to clear his head.

“You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

Alec plastered a smile he didn’t feel on his face and turned to face Beckett. After a rocky start, the two of them had eventually become friends. Now Beckett worked for Alec at the Westhorpe as one of the directors. “Sorry, man. Just thinking.”

Beckett nodded as if he understood. “This have anything to do with the way your eyes haven’t moved from Jaya since you got here? I’m getting a sense of the arctic in here.”

“Oh, only a little.” He’d filled Beckett in on the basics earlier. “You know Jaya.”

“That I do.” Beckett laughed. “When she’s convinced she’s right, she doesn’t let it go. The bitch of it is, she’s right a lot. I’m still not sure how she does that.”

“Tell me about it.”

Beckett’s eyes widened. “From the looks of it, she has you in her sights. You best formulate a plan quick before she pulls you into one of hers. Then you’ll wake up confused as to how you ended up doing exactly what she wanted you to do in the first place.”

Alec glanced at his wife again. That determined look on her face should not make him as hot as it did. But like some fucked up, internal homing beacon, his dick hardened immediately, and electricity charged his skin, making him feel alive and edgy. Needing to be close to her. Normally, he loved the feeling. Right now, it made him wary.

She glided right up to them with a wide smile for Beckett. At that moment, the music changed to something a little slower, but still with a throbbing, deep reggae beat.

“Beckett, if you’ll excuse me, I need to borrow my husband for a dance.”

Alec narrowed his gaze.
A dance
? With his cock nestled between their bodies as she wound her hips against him? He wouldn’t last two minutes with her. They both knew it.

He hesitated and looked for a good excuse to back out. She pulled him onto the dance floor and molded her body to his. Her form-fitting dress had a deep slit up the thigh, allowing her more freedom of movement. And if possible, making him even harder. His hands tightened involuntarily at her waist.

Through the fabric of his tuxedo pants, the length of his cock nudged her belly. She looped her arms around his neck and slid her hands into the hair at his nape. “Is that an anaconda in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?”

Alec smirked. “So that’s what’s been strangling me all this time? I wondered why I kept tripping on it.” He grinned wide even though he felt like he might choke with need. “Jaya, honey?”

“Hmmm?” She whispered as she scored her nails over the back of his scalp.

He shivered as the synapses in his brain short-circuited, rendering him stupid and incapable of speech for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse and thick. “Are you trying to get me to fuck you right here, because if you keep doing that, I might not give a damn about who can see us.” To prove the point, he pressed tighter to her, his body melding into hers. His cock full and throbbing against her belly.

Jaya slid her hands out of his hair and whispered, “Gosh no.” She blinked wide, honey-brown eyes up at him, innocently.

When she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, his control snapped. He stepped deliberately away from her body but took her hand and yanked her through the crowd.

He dragged them out of the courtyard and suddenly wished he’d planned this better. Now where were they going to go?

As soon as they were out in the hallway, he couldn’t think about anything but getting her naked, beneath him. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply with long leisurely licks into her mouth. He was supposed to be turning her on, but he was the one who felt like lava flowed through his veins.

When he drew back, her gaze was heavy-lidded. “Are you kidnapping me, Alec?”

“Yes. There’ll be a hefty ransom to pay. I know exactly how I plan to collect.”

She tugged on her hand, but he didn’t release her. She frowned, and he had to laugh.

“What? You thought you’d seduce me or at least drive me crazy enough I’d rethink my position?”

“No, I don’t want to manipulate you. I want you to see that I’m right. The sex is meant to get us over being mad, so we can talk.”

He grinned. “I like how you think, so you know. I think we have a lot of anger and annoyance to get over.”

He kissed her deeply again, and she mewled in the back of her throat. The haze of lust had him backing her up against the wall in the hallway, completely oblivious to who could see them. It was only when a passerby cleared their throat quietly that he pulled back. He needed her under him. Now.

He released her to whisper, “Have I told you how fucking hot you look in that dress? I’ve spent half the night trying to figure out how to get you out of it quickly.”

“I can show you. But out here, we’ll have an audience.”

He groaned even as he pushed back from her, then he dragged her into the first door on the left, past the coat check. He paused when he realized it was the stairway to the security observation room.