AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Between the lack of suitable bachelors and the lack of time in my schedule, it seemed like having a baby would never happen.
But if I accepted Chase’s offer, on top of the fantastic sex, I would get both of the most precious gifts I could ever ask for. His baby and the Peppertree.
I looked around the gorgeous Colorado forest, admiring the trails where I spent my childhood, running free and happy. It brought tears to my eyes to imagine bringing my own kid here, teaching him to climb a tree or ride a horse. I could show them the clearing where I used to build a whole family of snowmen. I could repair the old treehouse in the woods behind the stable. I could push my child on the swing my father attached to the magnificent, ancient bur oak in the courtyard. In the winter, there was ice skating, sledding, and skiing to be done. It was an unconventional childhood, of course, but growing up at the Peppertree was a truly amazing experience for me. I wanted to pass that experience to my own children.
After returning Valentine to the stables, I headed to my room, took a quick shower, dried my hair, put on different clothes, and then went next door to my parents’ old suite. I knocked on the door and Chase opened it to let me in, with a serious look on his face.
“Okay,” I announced. “It’s time to talk business.”
15
Chase
There was no way she was going to come.
The clock was ticking slowly but steadily, and I had watched it get closer to 5:00 PM as the hour marched on while I tended to business on my laptop. I was communicating with my attorney to finish up a few details that we didn’t sort out in the conference, but really, I was just keeping myself busy so I didn’t brood.
By the time 4:30 PM rolled around, I gave up on the emails and took my shirt off to start working out in the bedroom. I didn’t want to leave the room, so I just did basic calisthenics on the floor while occasionally glancing at the clock.
Honestly, I was surprised she didn’t storm off as soon as I’d given her the offer.
I didn’t regret making it. I had meant what I said. Her body, her personality, her everything was all I could want in the mother of my heir.
Just thinking about her like that stirred something primal in me. I couldn’t let those thoughts grow too strong, or this arrangement would lose any hint of being professional.
But I saw the way she looked at me, and I remembered her orgasms on my cock as if we’d just fucked ourselves senseless a few minutes ago. She wanted me almost as badly as she wanted to keep Peppertree.
But she was unique and willful, so whether she would agree to something this over the top would be a real test of her desires.
After nearly the whole half hour had passed, I stood up from my workout, muscles swollen and feeling great. I checked the clock and rolled my eyes. Just a minute left. Waiting longer was nonsense.
I went to pick up my shirt when there was a knock at the door. I froze. A smile crossed my face. I hadn’t ordered room service.
I made my way to the door and opened it, and sure enough, I was greeted by the face of Haley Simmons, her steely gaze looking up at me defiantly.
“Are you lost?” I teased.
“Fuck you,” she retorted. “I’ll do it.”
My eyebrow went up, and my smile broadened. “You’ll do what, exactly?”
She took a breath, fluttering her eyelashes and maintaining a serious face. “Chase Hawthorne, I’ll marry you.”
“And?”
She swallowed. “And...I’ll have an heir with you.”
Maybe it was a little cruel to drag it out that long, but as soon as she said it, my heart roared in triumph, and my smile split into a glowing grin.
I seized her by the hips and picked her up before she could protest, and I swung her around into the room as she gasped and kicked her legs, putting her hands on my shoulders for support.
Laughing, I brought her in for a kiss, running my hands through her long, black hair, and after a moment of shock, her body relaxed and melted into me.
“Fuck you,” she whispered when the kiss ended. I tightened my grip in her hair, tilting her head back just a little and letting out a low murmur of approval. “This is just business, remember? Not personal.”
“Is that any way to talk to your husband?” I teased her. Her eyes narrowed angrily at me, but her hands were feeling up the muscles on my shoulders, and there was color growing in her cheeks. Finally, she smirked.
“We’re not married yet,” she pointed out.
