Chapter Ninety-Seven

The snow had mostly melted when Mac and Grace returned to New York after cutting their L.A. trip short. It made it a little easier to accept that they’d had to leave the west coast warmth sooner than planned because of a mild complication with Grace’s pregnancy. The spotting had stopped, and she was fine, but she and Mac had an appointment with her doctor right after lunch. Hopefully, that would help them bridge the growing chasm between them.

They’d had a rough week, with minimal physical contact of any kind, and it was taking its toll on both of them. They didn’t speak much either, as their conversations only made them more cross with each other. They hadn’t seemed this far apart from each other since the very beginning of their tenuous relationship.

Grace wandered into the breakfast room to find Bentley and Avery catching Mac up on what had been happening in New York while they’d been away. The minute she did, they stopped talking.

“I feel like this is a meeting that I should have been invited to,” Grace said as she picked up a blueberry scone and took a bite, waiting for one of the men at the table to respond.

Mac finally spoke. “I was just having some breakfast when Bentley and Avery arrived and asked them if they wanted to join me.”

“Claudette’s scones are hard to turn down,” Avery said, blushing a little.

Grace raised her eyebrows. They all looked guilty as sin, but she wasn’t going to make a fuss. They’d probably decide her hormones were flaring up, and she’d be damned if she was going to let them make her feel like a moody pregnant woman.

“You’re not wrong,” she answered, smiling sweetly. Sitting down, she said, “Don’t stop your discussion on my account.”

Mac exchanged an awkward glance with Bentley and Avery. Then he took Grace’s hands in his and said, “Grace, I think it would be best if you took a break from work for a bit. At least until we’re sure everything is fine with the baby.”

Grace inhaled sharply. “I see. Gentlemen, would you please give me a moment with my husband?”

Bentley and Avery nodded and turned to leave.

“What the fuck, Mac?” Grace shouted testily the second they were alone.

“Look, I understand you’re feeling bitchy, but could you at least wait until those guys are out of hearing range?”

“Bitchy?” Grace fumed.

“I get it; no sex for a week hasn’t put me in the best mood either. But hopefully, we’ll get the all-clear from your doctor this afternoon, and we can celebrate tonight,” Mac said, trying to soothe her.

However, his words were anything but soothing.

“If you think I wanna have sex with you when you treat me like this, you are sadly mistaken,” Grace hissed.

“Treat you like what?” Mac asked, genuinely confused.

Grace was livid.

“Like I’m unable to do my job because I’m pregnant! Like the three of you big, strong men weren’t conspiring on how to get the little woman off her feet for the next few months. Like I have no say in this matter because I’m a bitchy, hormonal, pregnant female!”

Mac stood there, letting Grace rant, mostly because he didn’t have a clue how to handle this version of Grace. He’d never seen her this angry, but he was certain it couldn’t be good for the baby.

“Look, I’m sorry if maybe I overreacted, but this whole spotting thing scared the shit out of me, and I don’t want to do anything that could cause us to lose our baby.”

Grace said nothing; she simply glared at him.

“And, by the way,” he back-pedaled, “I wasn’t talking about having sex when I said celebrating. I thought we could have a nice dinner and snuggle by the fireplace.”

“Snuggle? I’ve gone a week with no sex, and you just want to snuggle tonight?”

“I’ve gone a week without sex, too,” he retorted, missing the doubtful look on his wife’s face.

“You know, Grace, plenty of women wish their husbands wanted to snuggle. Why does being cautious and affectionate make me the bad guy?”

Grace was too furious for words. She turned and stormed out of the room.

Mac was about to follow her when Bentley stepped into the hallway and put a hand on his arm.

“Let her calm down. She’s angry and hurt and feels ganged up on with the three of us discussing her without including her in the conversation. Let her cool off before you talk to her again,” Bentley suggested.

“I haven’t even a clue what to say to her. I don’t know what to do for her or how to act around her. Things have gotten totally fucked,” Mac said exasperatedly, running a hand through his thick black hair. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this past week has been really shitty.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine. Her emotions are running high, and she’s had no outlet for release,” Bentley said gently.

“Oh, and I have?” Mac snapped crossly.

“I’ve worked for you for many years now. May I speak frankly?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I’m willing to bet that you have slipped off to the bathroom and taken matters into your own hands,” Bentley said delicately.

Mac nodded sheepishly.

“I thought maybe I'd handle her better if I wasn’t frustrated. But clearly, I’m no match for a hot-tempered redhead.”

Bentley continued, “She’s had no such release. So, it’s natural that her emotions feel raw and ragged. You’ve every right to want to take care of her and be cautious. But you also need to consider her feelings.”

“So, you think I’m wrong?”

“I never said that. Perhaps a call to your father would be a wise move at this moment. I’m sure Dominic would be happy that you reached out to him for advice.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Mac pondered the idea for a bit and then shrugged his shoulders. “It couldn’t hurt,” he mumbled to himself.

Dominic picked up the FaceTime call on the second ring. “McKinley! It’s good to hear from you. Are you and Grace back in New York?”

“Yes. We came back a little earlier than we’d planned. Grace started spotting, and we thought it was best to cut things short in L.A. and just come home.”

“Is Grace okay?” Dominic asked, his voice thick with worry.

“Physically, yes. We have an appointment with her doctor this afternoon just to be on the safe side, but everything appears to be fine.”

“I’m guessing she’s feeling a whirlwind of emotions about now. How are you hanging in there?” Dom asked, concerned.

“I’m trying to be a good husband and a good dad-to-be, but I’m on the verge of fucking things up. I know you’ve never had a pregnant wife before, but perhaps you have some sage words of wisdom to share?”

A feeling of warmth flooded Dom’s heart; his son was calling to ask his advice.

“What seems to be the major issue here? Is she still spotting?”

“No, that has stopped, and we heard the baby’s heartbeat in L.A. The doctor suggested three days with no sex once the spotting stopped, but I told Grace I wanted to wait until her own doctor examined her.”

“I see. So, how long has it been since you’ve had sex?”

“Well, we left L.A. early so we could speed things up a bit, but since the doctor wasn’t open yesterday, we couldn’t get in until this afternoon.”

“How long, McKinley?”

“A week.”

“No wonder you are both on edge.”

Dom caught the guilty look in Mac’s eyes.

“Why do I get the feeling that she is more on edge than you?” Dom asked.

The intended meaning was not lost on Mac.

“Okay, yes, I took care of myself a couple of times. But Grace doesn’t know that. I made sure she was sleeping. I’m not a total dick,” Mac protested.

Dom raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve had release, and she hasn’t, and you’re wondering why she’s cranky?”

“Well, Grace was actually handling it pretty well until she walked in on a meeting I was having with Bentley and Avery to discuss having her take a step back from her work responsibilities for a while.”

Dom sighed. “Well, I’m sure that went over well,” he said sarcastically.

“No, it really didn’t. Not at all. It pissed her off, and she started ranting and raving. It got ugly. Then she stormed off before we could discuss it like rational adults.”

Dom shook his head. “Is there a reason that Grace is unable to do her job?”

“Well, the doctor in L.A. said it was fine for Grace to work as long as it didn’t involve manual labor. But I’m scared that she will overdo it, and we will lose the baby.”

Dominic inhaled and blew his breath out slowly. “Find out what Grace’s doctor says and listen to that advice. This is your first child, and your experience is minimal. Grace’s doctor has had many pregnant women as patients and will give the proper advice to follow. Grace loves you and is excited beyond belief about having your child. She won’t do anything to jeopardize the baby’s health. You need to trust your wife, Mac.”

Mac nodded. “You’re right. I should have called you first. I could have saved myself a lot of grief.”

“You’ll find a way to make things right, Mac. You love each other very much. I have great faith in both of you. Give her my best, will you? And please, keep me posted.”

“Of course.”

Chapter Ninety-Eight

When it was time to go to Grace’s appointment, Mac stood in the foyer with her coat. Rather than allowing him to help her put it on, she snatched it away and headed for the door in a huff.

“It’s cold out, Grace. Please, put your coat on,” Mac said gently.

Grace stabbed her arms into the sleeves and headed out front, where Randall waited with the car. He opened the door for her, and she managed a forced smile and a thank you.

Mac went around to get in on the other side and shrugged his shoulders at Randall’s quizzical look. It seemed easier to let it go than to risk pissing Grace off by explaining anything.

The time spent in the waiting room did nothing to help Grace’s mood. Mac sat quietly, unsure of what to say or do. Relief came when the nurse finally called them into the examination room.

As the doctor examined Grace, he asked questions. “Any more spotting?”

“No,” Grace answered.

“Not even after sex?” the doctor asked as he removed the speculum from Grace’s vagina.

“What sex? Mac wouldn’t allow it until we came to see you, even though the doctor in L.A. said it was fine after three days once the spotting stopped,” Grace snapped.

The doctor raised his eyebrows at Mac.

“I just thought it would be safer if we refrained from sex,” Mac replied.

“Oh, yes, but that didn’t stop him from jacking off in the bathroom while he thought I was sleeping, which I tried hard to be understanding about. But now we are home, and he’s having a meeting behind my back with our house manager and our admin about how I should stop working. And now I’m the unreasonable one!” Grace fumed, her words spilling out like Olympic runners racing toward the finish line.

“Honey, you should relax. Think about the baby,” Mac said, trying to sound soothing.

She turned on him. “Relax? It got to the point this past week that you wouldn’t even touch me or hold me, McKinley! How is that supposed to make me feel?”

The doctor shook his head. “Let’s get you set up in the ultrasound room and get a sonogram. I’d like to see what’s going on, and you were due to come in next week for one anyway.”

Grace put her slacks back on and moved silently to where the ultrasound technician waited for her. When Mac asked if it was okay for him to come in too, Grace nearly said no. Instead, she shrugged and didn’t argue when he followed her.

Once in the room, Grace allowed Mac to hold her hand while the technician moved the screen so that they could see their baby.

“Here’s the head. And it looks like the arms, legs, fingers, and toes are all present and accounted for,” she said. It wasn’t her place to interpret if something looked wrong. But it was her style to explain things as long as things looked normal.

“Heart is beating rapidly, as it should. Did you want to know the gender?” she asked.

Grace nodded.

Mac asked, “You can tell already?”

The technician smiled. “Yes, especially since your baby is clearly a boy.”

Grace and Mac both laughed.

“It’s a boy? I’m having a boy?”

“We’re having a son, Gracie!” Mac said excitedly.

“And from what I can see here, a nice healthy boy. Good strong heartbeat, everything looks just as it should.”

Tears leaked from Grace’s eyes, and Mac reached down to wipe them away.

“I love you so much. I’m so excited to be having a son with you. I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot,” Mac said gently.

“I love you too. I need you to promise me that you’ll abide by whatever advice the doctor gives us regarding work and sex,” Grace said.

“I will if you will.”

“First-time parents, right?” The technician asked.

Mac and Grace nodded.

“Then I definitely suggest following the doctor’s advice,” she said, winking at Grace. She thought it was lovely that this dad-to-be was willing to be so cautious but figured that mom-to-be had about enough of his overprotectiveness.

After the doctor looked at the sonogram printouts, he told them there was no reason that sex or work should be excluded from Grace’s schedule unless she wasn’t feeling up to these activities.

“Just be smart. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.”

The ride home started off quietly. Then Mac broke the silence. “I expected you to gloat about being right. I’m sorry I put you through a few days of misery and that I jumped off the deep end a bit this morning regarding work. I just can’t imagine what I would do if I were the cause of us losing our child.”

Grace pondered his words for a moment. How could she fault his intentions even if his logic was flawed? It would be easy to rub it in that she was right about pretty much everything. But no one likes a know-it-all.

She chose her words carefully. “I appreciate what you were trying to do. But I didn’t appreciate the way you went about it. If you thought it was a good idea for me to take some time off, you needed to consult with me, not Bentley and Avery.”

“I realize that now. And I’m sorry I denied you sex and then took care of myself in the bathroom when I thought you were sleeping. I understand how that doesn’t seem like I was being very supportive.”

“You think?” Grace asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow.

“How do I make things up to you, Grace? How do I make things right? I feel like we should be celebrating, but there’s an underlying current of being at odds with each other.”

There was a war raging in Grace’s mind and heart. She was delighted that everything was okay and finding out they were having a boy was terrific news. But she had this residual irritation that refused to let go inside her.

“It’s fine. I’m fine; we’re fine,” she said softly. “I think being so angry has just exhausted me. If it’s all the same with you, I think I would like to take a nap when we get home. You weren’t apparently counting on me to get any work done today, so I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

Chapter Ninety-Nine

When they got home, they got on the elevator together. Grace pushed both the second and sixth-floor buttons.

“I was going to come up and tuck you in,” Mac said.

“I’d rather have an hour or two alone if that’s okay,” Grace said. She looked so tired, and it occurred to Mac that he’d been responsible for some of that when he had provoked her anger this morning.

“Whatever you need, baby,” he said. When the doors opened on two, he kissed her forehead and said, “I’ll be up to check on you in an hour or so. If you need me before then, just text me.”

Grace nodded and smiled weakly. When the doors closed, she was instantly pissed at herself for not giving in to her wants and needs. Yes, she was tired. But she needed Mac to make love to her more than she needed a stupid nap! She had been stubborn and thought he would insist on coming upstairs with her. Now she was irritated that he didn’t, but it was nobody’s fault but her own.

Mac checked on her after an hour and found her sound asleep. He decided to give her another hour before he roused her. Surely all that anger had wiped her out, and she needed the rest.

An hour later, Mac ended his workday early and instructed Bentley to make sure no one bothered him. He decided to take the stairs to the sixth floor to give him time to figure out how to best approach Grace. He hoped to God she was done being angry with him.

When he entered the bedroom, he saw her sitting up and looking at the sonograms of their son. He thought she hadn’t heard him, but without turning around, she said, “I want to name him Dominic Jordan, after both of our fathers.”

Mac stopped in his tracks as she turned to him. When their eyes met, he saw only love there, not anger.

She spoke again, softly. “We can call him D.J. if that’s okay with you.”

“I’d love that,” he said as he sat beside her on the bed. He looked at the sonogram in her hand. “How can you tell what part is what yet?”

Grace laughed. “I honestly don’t know. But I will need to go back in two weeks for an anatomy scan. We can ask the technician to help us figure out what’s what.”

He smiled. “I’ve sent everyone home for the day. Bentley is on call if we need anything; otherwise, it’s just you and me.”

“I see. So, what did you have in mind?” Grace asked, throwing the ball back in his court to decide how to get beyond this wall between them.

“I think we should celebrate. We can heat up the lovely meal Claudette left for us, and then I can rub your feet, brush your hair, and figure out how to get back into your bed.”

Grace smiled. “You’ve done it before, Mac. You can do it again. I have great faith in you.”

After dinner, they watched TV while Mac brushed Grace’s hair. Then he got her peppermint foot cream and gave her a foot rub that elicited moans that sounded orgasmic.

Grace waited for Mac to make the first move and was frustrated when he suggested another episode of the show they’d been watching. So much for him wanting to take her to bed!

When the hour grew late, Mac finally suggested dessert and was more than a little disappointed that Grace said she was tired and wanted to go to bed.

Disappointment turned to hurt when she said, “I’d like to sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight…by myself.”

“Oh. Um, sure. Whatever you want, Grace. But you should have our bed. Let me sleep in the guest room.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

Mac kissed her goodnight and headed down to the fifth floor, trying not to get pissed off.

Mac stewed about the situation in bed for about twenty minutes when his phone buzzed.

You awake?

Yeah, I’m awake. What do you need?

Grace couldn’t tell from his reply if he was grumpy or not. But she continued.

I enjoyed tonight very much. I guess I thought there might be dessert on the menu. But when you didn’t make a move, I got annoyed and pretended to be tired. Who knew it would backfire and you would give up so easily?

Grace, I’m not in the mood for games. If you want me, just tell me.

I was trying to recreate the feeling of when you were trying to earn your way back into my bed in Amsterdam. But I guess I mucked it up.

Mac shook his head. Sometimes he could be really daft. He felt his irritation slip away.

If I recall, what finally got me there was some especially outstanding phone sex. Ball’s in your court, Gracie.

His cock twitched when the phone rang.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“So, to be honest, we’ve never gone this long without sex since that night. I’m not entirely sure how to fix what’s broken,” Grace admitted.

“It’s not broken, Gracie. It’s just a little dented.” He paused. “What are you wearing?”

Her laughter was music to his ears. “Who says I’m wearing anything?”

Mac felt his erection growing. “Fuck, that’s hot. Flick that little gold ball for me, Gracie.”

Grace reached between her legs. “Mmm, feels so good. Although I imagine it would feel even better if it were your tongue doing the flicking.”

“Gracie?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that an invitation?”

“Fuck yeah, it is.”

Mac took the stairs two at a time, slowing down only when he saw her lying on their bed with her legs spread open. Her fingers dipped inside her glistening wetness and flicked playfully at the little gold ball he found so wickedly erotic.

“Guess that’s gonna have to come out before D.J. is born, huh?”

“Yes. Doc suggested that it come out before the third trimester unless the pressure bothers me before then. So far, it’s all good. You can continue to enjoy it for a while longer.”

“I remember when I found it, the first night I did this to you. If memory serves me correctly, you called it Grace’s amazing pussy piercing.”

Mac got down on his knees and pulled Grace closer to the edge of the bed. He tugged at the little gold ball with his teeth before teasing her inner thighs with his tongue, slowly eliciting those same moans that he heard earlier when he massaged her feet.

“You’re so easy to please. No matter how I touch you, you shiver with pleasure.”

He continued the erotic onslaught, teasing circles around her mound before kissing his way up to her lusciously full breasts.

“Look at those nipples standing at attention for me, begging me to play with them. Aching for my touch. God, you’re beautiful, Grace!”

“I need you, Mac. I need you inside me,” Grace whimpered.

“Not yet, darling,” he whispered as he gave her nipples the attention they demanded. He kissed his way back down her body until his tongue found her sweet nectar again. He licked, nibbled, and sucked until he had her writhing on the bed, begging and pleading.

“I need to cum!” she cried out.

He shot her a wicked grin. “How badly do you need to cum, Grace?”

“Please, Mac. I’ve waited so long.”

Mac slid a single finger inside her as he devoured her pussy. Her hips bucked and her back arched before she cried out, “Mac! Oh, fuck yes!”

She alternated calling out for him and God, erupting in waves of orgasm as he drank her nectar.

“Do you want me to fuck your sweet little pussy now, Grace?” he teased.

“Fuck, yeah! I need your cock in me!” she demanded.

Wasting no time, he moved between her legs and rubbed his cock against her throbbing clit.

“Is this what you want, Grace? Is this what you need?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Fuck me, Mac! I need you inside me! Please don’t make me wait any longer!”

Mac eased into her and moved in slow, deliberate strokes. He wanted to take her hard and fast but knew that would have to wait. She needed the slow and sweet first.

His hips moved in rhythm with hers as he watched her eyes glass over right before the next orgasm struck.

“Do you want more, Grace? Do you need more?”

“God, yes! I need more! Please! Take me, Mac!”

He picked up his pace as she came yet again. Tears streamed down her face, causing him a moment of alarm. But she put her hands on his hips and guided his movements, crying out, “Faster!”

There was no turning back; he put his faith in the fact that the doctor said this was alright and gave Grace what she needed.

“Take my cock, Grace! Take it hard and fast!” he practically growled as his lust took over while he pounded into his hot, sexy, pregnant wife.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she answered back as she came in intense waves.

Finally, when he saw that she was panting wildly while her body bucked and her pussy sprayed, he allowed himself his own release and filled her with his seed.

Panting as if he’d run a marathon, he pulled out and collapsed on the bed next to her. Their hearts were beating like African djembe drums as he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you so much! I’m sorry I was an idiot,” Mac said when he could finally speak.

Grace shook her head. “I wasn’t exactly blameless in this whole mess. It just felt like the more time went without us connecting like this, the farther apart I felt from you. And it made me angry.”

“Looking back over the past week, it occurs to me that things would have been better if we had at least had some form of intimate contact. But I was afraid if I touched you, I wouldn’t be able to rein it in. I was wrong. I wasn’t thrilled when you said you wanted to sleep in separate beds tonight, but the evening was still pretty damned magical up to that point, touching you in nonsexual ways that made you happy. I wasted a whole week being afraid and making you angry,” Mac said.

“Well, the make-up sex was fucking amazing, so maybe it was worth it,” Grace shrugged.

Mac pushed himself up on his elbows and looked into her eyes. “It was pretty fucking awesome!” he said, sounding giddy.

“I was afraid too, but it was easier to blame it all on you, Mac. I’m really sorry.”

“We forgot to communicate with each other; let’s not do that again. As amazing as that make-up sex was, it was a really crappy week.”

Mac held Grace in silence for a bit.

“We should go to bed. Am I staying?”

Grace put her hand on his chest. “Yes, you’re staying.”

She got up to use the bathroom before climbing back into bed and was relieved to see the wetness between her legs was just the combination of her juices and his cum.

He didn't even need to ask when she curled up next to him. He could tell she was relaxed and happy. He turned off the light and pulled her in close. God, he’d missed this! Never again would he be foolish enough to deny either of them this closeness, this skin-to-skin intimacy.

“Turn your brain off, Mac. It’s keeping me awake.”

He laughed. “But I’m thinking about how much I enjoy holding you.”

“Oh, well,” she smiled in the darkness, “carry on then.”

Mac had worried once that he wouldn’t be a good father because Marcus, the man whose name appeared on his birth certificate as his father, was such a shitty role model. Knowing that the man he’d called Uncle Dominic all those years was his true father gave him confidence that he’d be a good dad too.

He put his hand on her abdomen and felt the swell of his son inside her. He’d initially wished for a girl but was thrilled that a healthy baby boy grew in Grace’s womb. Dominic Jordan, D.J. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad.