Chapter Forty-Five

The next few weeks went by quickly. While there were a few moments here and there when Mac wanted to evict his sister, he had to admit that Grace’s idea to let Aislyn stay indefinitely was going much better than he had anticipated. She was casually dating Detective Andy Compton and actually doing a decent job of being an aunt to DJ, Mac’s oldest child.

In fact, the longer Aislyn stayed, the more tolerable she got. Admittedly, Mac was enjoying getting to know a side of his sister that he never knew existed.

After a particularly exhausting workday, Mac watched his sexy redhead as she got ready for bed. It had been a grueling day of meetings, but it had been productive, and it reminded him of their early days in Europe.

“You were so hot today, especially during that last meeting,” he said as she climbed into bed. “It was hard to keep my hands to myself.”

Grace laughed. “You’re so cute when you’re horny.”

“I’m always horny. Have you met my wife? She’s fucking gorgeous and wicked smart. How could I not be hot for her all the time?”

Mac pulled her to him and kissed her till she thought she’d melt.

“My husband is the same way, tall, dark, and ridiculously handsome. He makes me want to spread my legs and offer him my…”

Her words were interrupted by a knock at the door. Since they were both still decent, Mac called out, “Come in!”

It was Aislyn, and she looked miserable. “Can I talk to you, Grace?”

Mac was surprised by the intrusion, but even more so that his sister wanted to talk with his wife. Aislyn was not the biggest fan of Grace, although lately, they had a reasonably decent truce going. “I’ll go check on the kids,” he said, suspecting that this was some female-only conversation.

Grace got out of bed and donned her robe, motioning Aislyn to join her on the couch in the sitting room of their suite. “What’s up, Aislyn?”

“I can’t believe I’m coming to you with this, but I don’t have anyone else I can talk to,” Aislyn said reluctantly.

“I’m glad you felt like you could come to me. How can I help?”

“Talk me off the proverbial ledge. I’ve done something really stupid, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Grace frowned. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

Aislyn bit her bottom lip and spent a moment choosing her words carefully. “You know that Andy and I have been having a lot of sex. And it’s been amazing.”

Grace tried not to be obvious about how uncomfortable discussing Aislyn and Andy’s sex life made her, so she simply nodded and said, “Mmm hmm.”

“So, I was supposed to renew my birth control and totally forgot to do so since I was released from the hospital. I’ve been letting Andy cum inside me and, I um, well, fuck! I think I’m pregnant. But I don’t know how to tell.”

Grace bit her tongue and tried hard not to make Aislyn feel dumb.

“I see. Well, have you missed your period?”

“That’s just it. I don’t always have periods. My doctor told me once it wasn’t unusual since I am quite thin. So, it’s hard to know.”

“Aside from realizing you haven’t addressed birth control, are there any signs that make you feel like you might be pregnant?” Grace asked.

“Like what?”

“Like, are you feeling sick to your stomach? Do your boobs hurt?”

“I’m not gonna discuss my tits with you!” Aislyn scoffed.

Grace sighed heavily. “We can get a home pregnancy test and find out quickly. But you’ll want to make an appointment with your gynecologist soon to confirm the results, either way.”

“Where do I buy a test like that?”

Grace looked incredulously at her sister-in-law. “You’ve never taken a home test before?”

“Andy is the first man I’ve ever let ejaculate inside my vagina. Normally, if a guy wants to cum inside me, I let him fuck my ass.”

Grace shook her head. “But discussing your tits was crossing the line?”

Aislyn rolled her eyes. “Fine, yes, my tits hurt, but that could just be because Andy likes to bite…”

“Stop!” Grace said vehemently. “I don’t want to hear about what you and Andy do in bed. I’m pretty sure I still have a pregnancy test in my bathroom. I’ll check the expiration date, and if it’s good, you can take the test now. If not, I’ll have one of the female staff purchase one in the morning.”

“I don’t want the staff knowing my business!”

Grace rolled her eyes. As if the whole house didn’t know she and Andy were fucking like rabbits?

“Grace, what if I am pregnant? What do I do?” Aislyn asked, teary-eyed.

Grace heaved a heavy sigh. “We will cross that bridge when we get there.”

Grace got up and checked the drawers in her bathroom vanity. Sure enough, there was a test that was still well before its expiration date. She called her sister-in-law into the bathroom and explained how to use the test.

“I have to pee on the stick?”

“Yes. I’ll step out so you can have some privacy.”

Leaving Aislyn to her task, Grace stepped into the hallway outside the bathroom and met Mac there.

“The kids are sleeping soundly. Where’s my sister?”

“She’s in our bathroom taking a pregnancy test.”

Mac’s face drained of color. “She’s what now?”

“She thinks she might be pregnant. I had a test left over and let her take it. She’s oddly naïve about this whole matter because usually she only lets guys cum in her ass, but she let Andy fuck her pussy without a condom.”

“Dear God, Grace! Why would you share that with me?” Mac asked.

“Because she shared it with me. I’m not suffering alone here, pal.”

“Does Andy know?”

“Nope.”

Mac raked a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I knew things were going too smoothly. So, what do we do if she is?”

“WE don’t do anything. Aislyn is a grown woman; this is her issue.”

“What if she wants to keep the baby and wants to stay here?” Mac asked in a panicky tone. “What if Andy doesn’t want it?”

“McKinley!” Grace said sharply. “You need to take a deep breath and calm down. Let’s find out if she’s actually pregnant or not before we drive ourselves crazy with what-ifs.”

Mac inhaled sharply. “What’s taking so long?”

“This one takes ten minutes.”

The bathroom door opened suddenly.

“It’s negative,” Aislyn announced, bursting into tears.

His sister’s distress dumbfounded Mac. “Wait, I thought you didn’t want to be pregnant. So, isn’t a negative result a good thing?”

Grace shooed Mac away and took a deep breath as she mustered all her energy to deal with the sobbing sibling.

“Wanna talk about it?” Grace asked, figuring that too much or too little empathy would piss off Aislyn, so she aimed for the middle.

“I’m relieved but disappointed. How does that even make sense?” Aislyn wailed.

“Because you’re a woman in her thirties with a ticking biological clock who may be wondering if you’ll ever have the opportunity to become a mother. Or maybe it’s because you’ve been spending so much time with DJ that you’ve allowed yourself to imagine what having your own child would be like. In any event, even though this was the desired outcome at the moment, you’re still allowed to be disappointed,” Grace said compassionately.

Aislyn quieted down and nodded. Sniffling, she grabbed another tissue and dabbed her eyes. “This is all your fault, you know.”

Grace rolled her eyes and braced herself, but was surprised when Aislyn continued.

“I was perfectly happy being a gorgeous, self-centered, entitled bitch until I came to stay here. Your son has some woo-woo magical powers, and now I find myself wondering if I could be happy giving up the glamorous life and settling down to be a cop’s wife.”

Not surprised, stunned.

“You were already thinking about that scenario when you let your guard down with Joel. But I can see where hanging out with Andy and spending time with DJ have you reconsidering your life goals.”

“Do you ever get tired of being right all the time?” Aislyn asked. She’d asked this question before, but this time, it lacked the usual snarky tone.

“I’m not right all the time. I just try to be observant. I see you breaking away from the life that made you wealthy and popular, but not particularly happy.”

“That’s just it. I was happy!”

“You convinced yourself that you were happy, but if you take an honest look at yourself… Well, genuinely happy people aren’t usually that much of a bitch,” Grace said honestly.

“Fuck you, Grace,” Aislyn replied, but her voice revealed that her heart wasn’t entirely in the retort.

“Fuck you, right back, Aislyn,” Grace shot back at her.

“So, the weight gain I’m experiencing is probably just eating more like a normal person?”

“Probably. But you may still want to make an appointment and have a blood test to confirm these results.”

Aislyn nodded. “Umm, thanks for, ah, being cool about all this.”

“You’re welcome. Anything else you need or want to talk about?” Grace asked, trying not to seem impatient.

“Nope, that’s it. I will let you get back to fucking my brother.”

Grace raised an eyebrow and said, “Goodnight, Aislyn.” She shut the door as her sister-in-law turned to head down the stairs.

Chapter Forty-Six

“Is she gone?” Mac asked, poking his head in the bedroom door, hopeful that Grace was still in the mood.

“Yes, so get in here and put your hands on me.”

He grinned. “Is it any wonder that I’m crazy about you?”

“Same goes. But your hands are still not touching me.”

“My sassy, greedy redhead,” he mused as he picked her up and carted her to the bed. Dumping her playfully, he pounced. His hands roamed her body while his mouth helped itself to her shoulders and neck. He kissed his way down her collarbone and unbuttoned her nightgown to free her breasts. Cupping one, he took the nipple of the other between his teeth. Grace tried hard not to imagine Andy doing something similar to Aislyn and made an uncomfortable noise.

Mac stopped abruptly. “Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head and whispered, “No. Don’t stop. God, I want you!”

Reassured, Mac continued his erotic assault on her nipples and moved a hand down to tease her soft, bare mound.

“God, touch me already! I need your fingers…”

“Shhh. Be patient, my love. I know what you need.”

When his hand finally made its way between her legs, she moaned. Finding her labia slick and swollen, he dipped inside to draw out her nectar. With his fingers well lubricated, he teased her clit until her hips rocked.

“Oh, fuck! That feels so good, Mac! Don’t stop. Oh, God, yes!” Grace cried as her back arched and her body convulsed in the first of many orgasms.

Mac repeated this delightful act repeatedly, until she was bucking wildly.

“Please! Fuck me, baby! I need you inside me, Mac!”

“First, get my cock wet with that pretty little mouth of yours, darling.”

Grace moved into position to eagerly worship his stiff manhood. With her talented tongue, she teased him from base to tip, all while holding him captive in her mouth.

“Ahh, fuck, Gracie! Nobody sucks cock like you. I’m the luckiest fuckin’ man on Earth!”

She continued to enjoy his impressive dick until he pulled out suddenly, flipped her on her hands and knees, and plunged into her drenched pussy from behind.

“Oh, God, Mac! You feel so fuckin’ good inside of me!”

“Your pussy is so tight and wet!” he said, hammering into his wife relentlessly.

Each thrust brought them closer to orgasm. They mated like animals, raw and rough, until they climaxed together. Collapsing on the bed, panting heavily and hearts beating wildly, Mac pulled Grace into his arms and spooned her.

They snuggled quietly for a while until Mac broke the silence. “My God, I love you, Grace. You’re my everything. You make me so incredibly happy, both in and out of bed.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Grace mused. “I won the lottery the day I walked into your office.”

“A day I will always be grateful for, my love,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “Even if it took me a bit to get my footing with you."

Grace giggled. “That’s putting it mildly. Fate seemed destined to keep us at odds in those early days. As much as we wanted each other, you kept finding new ways to sabotage the relationship.”

“Me? I don’t know that it’s fair to put it all on me. As I recall…” He paused and let his mind wander to a few years earlier, then sighed. “Well, actually, you could be right, now that I think back. Yes, it was definitely me. I was terrified of letting my guard down.”

“Even after we were sleeping together, you called me your companion and had this ridiculous notion that we were 'just two people enjoying each other between business pursuits,'” she said, remembering what he’d said in Paris during their acquisitions trip.

“What an ass I was, huh? I’m lucky you didn’t give me the boot right then and there.”

“The sex was too good, and the accommodations beat the hell out of that crappy Woodspring Suites I was staying at when I answered your ad for an escort,” she teased.

“I didn’t plan to fall in love with you, Grace, but I’m damn glad I did and that you found me worthy of your time.”

“Wake me up early tomorrow and show me again how worthy you are of my time.”

“What a fabulous idea,” he replied.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Mac did, indeed, wake his wife up early using his tongue to tease her to a delightful morning orgasm. It reminded her of the first time she’d spread her legs for him, when he’d discovered that delightful little gold piercing that, for reasons unknown, made him hard as a rock.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that he’d never asked her why she’d gotten her most intimate area pierced, or even when. Not that it mattered; it was sexy as fuck. But it was one of those little mysteries about his wife that would have bothered him in the past. These days, he realized that a little bit of mystery was not a bad thing. Their Copenhagen driver and friend, Bjorn, had convinced him that always having something new to discover about his wife helped to keep things exciting. With that in mind, he tucked that question away for another day.

After treating her to his oral talents, he let her return the favor. How could he resist that tongue of hers? But rather than finishing in her mouth, he pulled out and made sweet, tender love to his wife. The feeling of her tight, silky walls gripping his cock was beyond exquisite and had him cumming far sooner than he’d planned. But his hot little redhead came along with him and curled up into him, satisfied and sated.

As he cuddled with Grace, Mac felt the arrival of their furry little Merlin, rubbing against their feet.

“Good morning, my sweet little furball,” Grace cooed, patting the bed next to her to encourage the purring feline to come closer for a petting.

“At least he waited for us to finish,” Mac quipped.

“He is a very considerate cat,” Grace agreed.

Mac smacked Grace’s butt playfully. “I suppose we should get moving before the littles awaken. We have a busy schedule again today, unfortunately. I wish we could blow it off and do something fun.”

“I’ve really reformed you, haven’t I?” Grace teased as she headed to the shower. “You were Mr. All-work-and-no-play when we first met. Now you look forward to days off and fun stuff. I’m a good influence on you, Mr. Stewart.”

“You most certainly are, Mrs. Stewart. Want me to wash your back in the shower?”

“That will just lead to more sex.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Raincheck. I want to have breakfast with the littles before we start our grueling day. It makes the day brighter for me.”

“For me, too.”

After breakfast, Mac and Grace headed up to their second-floor offices and were greeted by Avery, their executive admin extraordinaire.

“I didn’t hear you come in, Avery,” Grace remarked as she passed his desk. “You must have gotten here quite early.”

“I’ve been here since 6:00 am. I wanted to get a jump on the day to keep ahead of you two since the schedule is jam-packed today.”

“And Nials is out of town, and you don’t sleep well when he’s gone,” Grace added.

Avery chuckled. “You know me so well. But I figured if I wasn’t sleeping, I might as well be productive.”

“You’re the best, Avery. Will you order lunch in today from Royal Greens?”

“Sure thing; the usual?”

“Yes, please, and thank you!”

“My pleasure.”

“And get some of those Baked By Melissa cupcakes you like so well.”

Avery tilted his head and asked, “What kind is my favorite?”

Without hesitation, Grace said, “You like the Red Velvet. But get an assortment so there are some for the staff. Your uncle Bentley likes the Cookies & Cream, so be sure there are some of those, and some Tie-Dye for Sophia.”

He shook his head and raised his eyebrows as Grace left his desk and went into her office. Mac noticed Avery’s gesture and asked, “Something wrong?”

“Wrong?” Avery parroted. “No, Sir. It just amazes me how well Grace knows all of us. We aren’t just staff to her; we matter.”

Mac smiled. “My wife cares deeply about people. She gives zero fucks about how much money our company is worth, but she knows when everyone’s birthdays are, what kind of carry-out food is their favorite, and what genre of music they prefer. She never ceases to amaze me. I’m a lucky man.”

“We are all very fortunate to work for you both. I’ve worked other places where employees grumble behind the boss's back. But there isn’t a hint of that here. Everyone is happy in their jobs; everyone feels respected and appreciated,” Avery said sincerely.

Mac felt the swell of pride. He knew that Grace had a lot to do with that. Sure, his employees had seemed content enough before he married Grace and brought her home to Stewart House to help him run Stewart Enterprises. But the house and the business thrived with her here. She breathed life into everything she touched. She was a fabulous partner both in the boardroom and the bedroom, or boudoir, as she had once corrected him.

He put in an hour’s worth of work before ducking his head into Grace’s office. Noticing that she was on the phone, he was about to leave when she waved him in and motioned for him to sit. He smiled as she prattled on in fluent French, most of which he didn’t understand, and surmised that she was speaking to André Boivin, the head of the Paris office.

Since her tone was friendly, he assumed that all was going well, which was a testament to her canny business acumen. Mac had been ready to fire André’s ass when he started fucking up and letting things slide in France. But Grace saw something in the philanderer and made it her goal to fix things by putting Brendan Sullivan, their traveling consultant, in charge of overseeing things until André got his shit together.

“Merci, André; bonne journée,” Grace said as she ended the call.

“Everything copacetic in Paris?” Mac asked.

“Absolument, ma chère,” she answered, smiling. “André called to tell me that he has secured a new account from a company in St.-Denis and discovered that the reason they are switching is because another local tech firm is closing its doors. He wanted to know if he could reach out to Brendan and see about picking up some additional new clients from the area, or if we wanted to go there ourselves.”

“And you said…”

“I said that as much as I’d love to run off to Paris, now probably isn’t the best time for us to take a trip. With Aislyn here indefinitely, it just seems better if we stay put. So, I made his day when I said that I trusted him and Brendan to get the job done. I said if they needed, one of us could fly over, but that, unless there were issues, I felt he could handle things.”

“And you trust him to handle things?”

“His wife wants to have another baby and is demanding a great deal of sex, apparently. A well-fucked André is a productive André. I think he’ll be just fine. Plus, he was smart enough to suggest bringing Brendan in without my having to bring it up. I think he and I finally have an understanding. Feels good.”

“And is he fucking around behind his wife’s back?”

Grace shook her head. “No, apparently, he took some advice from a certain redhead about how to spend time getting his wife in the mood, and voila, his marital problems disappeared.”

“Darling, you are a genius.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

When the last meeting of the day was clearly running overtime, Grace texted Claudette and asked if she could stay late.

Mais non, Grace. I’m sorry, but I have an appointment. Perhaps Aislyn could watch the children for a while after I leave?

Grace heaved a heavy sigh. She could ask Bentley. But that hardly seemed right. So, she texted her sister-in-law, hoping that she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

Hey, I hate to bother you, but our meetings are running over, and Claudette can’t stay late. Any chance you could watch the kids for a bit when she leaves?

After she pressed send, she waited for Aislyn’s response. The three dots blinked for what seemed like forever. When the return text finally showed up on her screen, it simply said, Fine.

Thanks, I appreciate it. You can order pizza if you want for dinner. The kids love it, and if you cut it up, they can feed themselves.

Sure.

Grace’s insides twisted a little. In what universe was it really a thing that she was asking a woman who was a notorious stone-cold bitch to watch her kids? She inhaled sharply. She wasn’t so worried about how Aislyn would handle DJ, as Auntie Aisy seemed to be his new best bud. But she was a little concerned about Mimi.

She shot a quick text to Mac, who sat across the conference room table from her.

Claudette can’t stay late. I asked Aislyn to watch the kids. Am I crazy?

No, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry.

I’m not worried about DJ, but what about Mimi?

Aislyn thought for a hot minute that she was pregnant, then seemed disappointed when she wasn’t. She might actually enjoy the baby.

When the meetings concluded, Mac stayed behind in the conference room to see everyone out so Grace could make sure his sister didn’t have their children running wild in traffic.

Grace checked the Media Room/Daycare Area first and found it empty. She bounded down the stairs two at a time and made her way to the breakfast nook to find Andy cutting up pizza for DJ while Aislyn held Mimi on her hip, about to put her in her highchair. The scene looked surreal to her, but she stopped short to take it in for a moment before she was noticed until DJ spotted her.

“Mama! We havin’ pizza wif Aunty Aisy and Unco Andy!”

“Are you now? Well, that’s exciting!”

Andy looked up at Grace and grinned. “Hey, Grace, you’re just in time for pizza. I got a bunch, cuz I didn’t know if you and Mac would need to eat.”

“I’m famished. Thanks for thinking of us. Let me know what I owe you.”

“Aislyn bought the pizza. I just picked it up on my way here.”

Grace turned to thank Aislyn and was touched by how sweetly the normally standoffish aunt was talking to her niece.

“Yes, little Miss Mimi, we need to put a bib on you so you don’t fu--, mess up your pretty dress. You don’t want to get pizza sauce on it.”

Mac walked in to witness the scene and was just as stupefied. Aislyn didn’t turn away from Mimi, but spoke to Mac without looking.

“I can feel your judgey eyes boring holes into the back of my head, brother,” she said, her tone snarky and defensive.

“On the contrary, I was just thinking that you’ll make a helluva better mother than ours someday,” he said gently.

Then, before things got weird or uncomfortable, Mac said, “I’m starving; let’s eat!”

Later, in bed, Mac kissed Grace and said, “Any chance we can end the day the way we started?”

“I’m definitely down for that. But first, did I imagine it, or did we actually enjoy the evening with Andy and Aislyn?”

“I feel like we entered the Twilight Zone, or the Fifth Dimension. But, yeah, it was…”

“Surreal. I’m not counting on it lasting.”

“Me neither.”

“Okay, well, my pussy’s not gonna eat itself, so you’d best get to feasting before I’m too tired to return the favor.”

“That’s my Grace. Never afraid to ask for what she wants. But since we are both exhausted…”

“If you say raincheck, I’m gonna deck you.”

Mac laughed. “No, darling, I was simply going to suggest we get right to the part where you ride my cock like a wild cowgirl, with your tits bouncin’ and your hair flowin’.”

“Oh, well, when you put it that way, yee-haw!”