Bearing My Boss's Baby (An MPreg Romance) Read online

  Bearing My Boss’s Baby

  An MPREG Romance

  Pernilla Oswick

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Also by Pernilla Oswick

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Claude

  The elation the team had been repressing all through the negotiations and the signings and the final handshakes seemed to spill out as the elevator doors closed behind them. Only a few people had come to Seattle with the delegation, and the long nights of paperwork and consultation had bonded them all together beyond their original roles on the team. Besides, in a company this small, the fact that their CEO was the money behind the whole operation was harder to remember than the fact that he was right there in the room with them, making his own share of terrible jokes.

  "My suite!" Kevin announced, as though any of the rest of them had rooms suitable for having this party in. He swung an arm around Claude's shoulders. "You've all been amazing this week. You've earned this."

  Claude nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. Around his shoulders, Kevin's arm was warm and solid. Claude could almost feel him breathing. In all of his months of working for Sunfix, he'd never gotten used to Kevin's random displays of affection. There wasn’t anything inappropriate about them, but even an arm around the shoulders or a pat on the hand felt like a lot when it was coming from one of the hottest guys that Claude had ever seen. He'd thought that at the job interview, and becoming Kevin's assistant and seeing him every day hadn't changed his mind at all.

  Joe's shout of "Group hug!" was a welcome distraction from Claude's rising heart rate, and he let Kevin push him towards Joe's wide embrace squashing the whole team together in the middle of this giant, over-decorated elevator.

  "Sorry," Lydia muttered as she accidentally jabbed her elbow into Claude's side. He shrugged, nudging her back. Their eyes met and they started to laugh, the elation in the room sweeping them all up into another round of giggles that lasted until the doors swept open, spilling them out into the hallway on the penthouse level.

  "This way!" Kevin announced, leading them all past a couple of doors and into his suite. Claude had been here a couple of times before, but it looked very different in the mornings when he sat at the table, blinking in the sunlight and going over the day's schedule. With the floor to ceiling windows a sea of velvety dark sprinkled with the lights of the city, the pool of warmth that spread over the seating area made the apartment seem cozier and more exciting all at once.

  There was also the matter of the cart of champagne that greeted them, the bottles shining in the light, the ice around them glinting gently.

  Carmen whistled through her teeth long and slow.

  "I knew we'd make this happen," Kevin said smugly. "Drink up, guys. You've earned it." He dove for the cart and started passing out flutes, his hands wrapping around the top of the champagne bottle with practiced ease. It hardly bubbled up, only a hint of spray cresting the lip, and Kevin crowed aloud, lifting his thumb to his mouth to lick off the curl of white foam there. Claude found himself staring at Kevin's mouth, even when he'd put his tongue away and was pouring drinks, his dark eyes fixed on the curve of bubbly pouring from the bottle.

  His hand shook as Kevin poured for him, enough that Kevin looked up at him, their eyes meeting, and said, "Careful," his grin bright.

  Claude smiled back, caught by the gleam of light in Kevin's eyes, the thick dark line of his lashes. He was still staring when Joe proposed a toast, barely dragging his gaze away to lift his glass with the rest of them, and downing it in a rush of bubbles and joy.

  The party got a lot rowdier after that point. Maybe it was the relief that the negotiations for the merger were finally over, maybe it was just the drinks, but the mood was giddy, all of them toasting and drinking and clapping each other on the back until Claude felt like he might float away on a cloud of the bubbles that fizzed gently through his veins. He sprawled over his corner of the sectional, one arm over the back, his half-filled champagne flute dangling dangerously from his fingertips.

  Carmen kicked him gently in the ankle, grinning at him from her own lazy lounge. "Penny for your thoughts, man."

  "Uh." Claude stumbled over his tongue, aware in a way that he hadn't been a moment before that he was watching Kevin again. At some point in the party Kevin had unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and it lay askew across his collarbones, revealing a hint of tanned flesh. He sat like a king on his half of the sectional, his thighs splayed wide in a show of dominance all the more effective for its unconsciousness, gesturing with his glass in one huge hand as he said something to Lydia, laughing with all of his teeth.

  Carmen kicked Claude again.

  "How badly did you sucker those guys?" he said in a rush, blurting out the first thing that came into his head. "They thought they had us and then, boom!" He smacked his hand down on the back of the couch. "You were in there like a fucking viper."

  Carmen laughed, tossing her head with pride. "I've always had it, kiddo," she informed him. "I just save it for people who deserve it." She patted his arm, her touch slightly unsteadied by alcohol. "Also, you're too gay to fall for that act."

  Claude flushed, feeling a heat rising through his face that had nothing to do with alcohol.

  "You okay?" Carmen touched his arm again. She squinted at him for a moment. "You know no one cares, right?"

  "Too much bubbly," Claude lied, trying to make the blush disappear through sheer force of will. It wasn't that he thought anyone would mind, and he knew that everyone knew about it. He just hated to talk about it at work. Mostly because it stopped him from pretending that his giant crush on his boss didn't exist. He tried to watch Kevin with nothing more than regular assistant attentiveness, but in moments like this, when he couldn't distract himself with notes or schedules or email, it was too easy to get lost in looking at the way Kevin's hair curved around the vulnerable shell of his ear, fading as it hit the long line of his neck.

  The next thing he knew, other people were going to notice, and then where would he be.

  "Maybe you should get some air?" Carmen suggested. "A place this nice has got to have a balcony, right?" She looked over at the group on the other couch. "Hey, Kevin! Is there a balcony in this place?"

  "Obviously," Kevin said, his expansive posture managing to look even smugger than before. "Let me show you guys this fucking view."

  It couldn't be that great, Claude thought. The rest of them had had to make do with regular rooms, it was true, but even those were pretty nice. Up high, with the city stretched before them, if they ever had a minute to look out of their windows between the endless rounds of meetings and events that had filled in their whole time in the city.

  But his cynicism was wrong. All five of them trouped out onto the balcony, still holding their glasses, and Claude was struck by the sprawling vista of the city: a pattern of lights, cut into by the dark emptiness of the water in the distance.

  "Beautiful, isn't it?" Kevin said, spreading his arms wide and sending an arc of champagne spraying out over the edge of th
e railing, the liquid caught by the light for one shining second. He looked down at his glass with a puzzled expression for a moment. "Someone should have brought one of the bottles out here, huh?"

  "I'll go," Claude said through his dry mouth. Kevin's easy laugh and the way the light from the patio doors fell on the strong lines of his face were too much for him. He still felt light and happy, pleased with their hard week's work and gleeful from champagne, but his head was starting to spin as he opened the sliding door.

  Chapter 2

  Kevin

  Kevin looked over the city feeling like a conqueror. He hadn't doubted his product or his team, but to sit there through interminable meetings and smile and bring people around to his way of thinking by the slowest, most interminable degrees was torture. He had, however, triumphed, and he breathed the humid air deep into his lungs, feeling like he'd climbed a mountain.

  Behind him, a chorus of raised voices announced Claude's return. Kevin turned, still leaning on the balcony railing to see Claude with a bottle in each hand, passing them out.

  "Here," Joe called to him. "It's still your night, Kev. Do the honors."

  Kevin laughed, taking the bottle passed to him and popping it open with a flourish. It came easily to him. Everything was coming easily to him tonight, his whole body loose and relaxed with the endorphins of success and the effects of champagne.

  "Who wants a top up?" he called out, refilling his own glass and holding the bottle out again. Someone took it from him and Kevin leaned back against the rail, smiling at Claude who came up beside him with his own full glass. The orange glow of streetlights combined with the light coming from the room to play across their faces, outlining every movement of Claude's smile as he raised his glass silently in Kevin's direction.

  "To Claude," Kevin said suddenly, tearing his eyes away from the twitch of Claude's smile as he raised the flute to his lips. "Fetcher of drinks!"

  The group lifted their glasses again at the sound of his voice, starting to laugh as they took in the actual content of his toast. Kevin sipped his drink, letting the bubbles flow across his tongue and up into his brain, watching Claude's face over the lip of the flute as Claude laughed, tipping his head back to show the long slender line of his neck, running his hand through his hair.

  He shouldn't be watching. He'd spent months forcing himself not to watch. But here, with his triumph thrumming through his veins harder than any wine he could ever drink, it felt like he could do anything. And that included watching Claude.

  Claude didn't seem aware of it anyway, his whole attention focused on the story Joe was telling, a triumph of mimed impressions, or at least it would have been if Kevin had been paying attention, instead of letting himself look sideways at the slim lines of Claude's body and the luscious curves of his mouth. Kevin took another slow sip of champagne, allowing himself to dwell on the memory of Claude's body pressed up next to him in a perfectly innocent hug.

  He'd known from the first moment of Claude's interview that it would be difficult for him to work with the cutest Omega he'd ever seen, but he hadn't imagined this kind of pressure. Claude wasn't just cute. He was smart and funny and he'd taken over his job so completely that Kevin honestly could hardly imagine running the company without him. He definitely couldn't have put together this merger without Claude's notes and charts and ability to keep all the personalities involved in line.

  Which only made their chemistry hotter, and far, far worse for Kevin's sanity. He loved Claude's snap, and his willingness to stand up for his own work, unaware of how attractive his green eyes looked when they flashed angry fire.

  Now, on the other hand, Claude looked soft and joyful, his whole body shaking with laughter as the team congratulated themselves again and again with ever more ridiculous toasts. He leaned back on the railing on one elbow, the whole line of his body loose and tempting, the smile on his face more alluring still.

  Damn it, Kevin could look if he wanted to. This was his night. He was king of the hour, and this was his damn party. He threw back his glass of champagne with determination and held it out to be refilled.

  At some point he remembered that the fridge had been stocked with catering and they all ate finger food out on the balcony, sitting around the small table and looking up at the haze of the night sky. It was kind of a challenge to eat canapes after all the drinking they'd been doing, or maybe that was just Kevin's problem as he tried not to miss his mouth while staring intently at Claude's mouth as he raised his thumb to his lips to swipe away a creamy smear of brie, the tip of his tongue flicking out for just an instant. It was satisfying and frustrating all at once, a feeling deep in the pit of his belly that this warmth in his chest was his right, an instinct he didn't need to suppress anymore, and the knowledge that all he could do was appreciate.

  Still, in this moment he was a king and that would do for now.

  Chapter 3

  Claude

  Eventually some of the euphoria started to wear off, or at least be smothered over by exhaustion. Lydia got to her feet saying that she should head to bed, staggering as she pushed her chair away from the table, which led Carmen to follow her out to make sure that she didn't fall over somewhere in the hall.

  Claude found himself in the kitchen, bent over the sink and chugging a glass of water. When he returned to the balcony, Kevin was there alone, looking out over the city.

  "Joe gone?" Claude said, more to alert Kevin to his presence than because he thought Joe might be hiding somewhere, possibly in the flower arrangements.

  "Yeah." Kevin turned to look at him, his posture reeking of submerged power as he leaned against the balcony rail. "Apparently it's 'late' and we have 'things to do tomorrow' and he 'can't stay up forever anymore.'" He laughed, throwing his head back, his throat long and pale in the light.

  Claude joined him at the rail, their laughter loud over the faint hum of the city at night. "But not you?"

  "Nah." Kevin grinned lazily. "I made this fucking deal. I can do whatever the hell I want."

  "True." Claude grinned back at him, caught once again in the web of Kevin's charisma. Their arms were almost brushing where they leaned on the rail, Kevin's warmth bleeding through their shirts until Claude could almost feel him. "You can do anything tonight."

  "Is that so?" There was an edge now to Kevin's voice, some quality there that made a pleasant shiver travel the whole length of Claude's spine.

  "It's your night." Claude spread his arms wide. "Who's going to tell you what to do today?" He looked up. Had Kevin always been that close? Claude's knees felt weak, his whole body aware of Kevin's presence, of the chemistry that sizzled between them.

  It was still a surprise when Kevin leaned in to close the distance, his hands sliding around Claude's hips as he pulled Claude into a wet, dirty kiss. Up close, breathing in each other's air, he smelled amazing, like everything Claude had ever wanted wrapped up in a single package, their bodies melding against each other as the kiss went on and on.

  Head spinning, Claude pulled away a fraction, his chest heaving for air as he stared into Kevin's eyes, dark and unreadable in the dim light. This wasn't something Claude had planned on: this was something he never thought he'd have. But now, with Kevin's hands hot and hard on his hips and Kevin's broad chest firm against his own, Claude felt like he was too close to the edge not to jump.

  He tipped his head back again, letting Kevin capture his mouth and plunder it, his tongue flicking against Claude's in a display of dominance that made Claude cling tighter to Kevin's shirt, a groan welling up from deep in his chest. Kevin pressed forward, his hands sliding to cup the curve of Claude's ass as he dipped Claude backwards.

  Claude rose up onto his toes as they kissed, off-balance except for the support of Kevin's thick, strong arms, letting himself be kissed and kissed until he was desperate for more, every touch a spark of electricity along his nerves. Kevin's thigh pressed between Claude's legs and his cock twitched against it, pushing upwards against the solidity and fr
iction.

  Breath catching in his throat, Claude let himself melt against Kevin's support, groaning as Kevin's kisses trailed along his jaw and down to the sensitive spot on his neck. He squeaked, clutching at Kevin's shirt as he felt teeth scrape across his jugular, leaving a line of tingling flesh in their wake.

  "You said anything," Kevin purred into his ear, his voice a rumble in Claude's chest. "Did you mean it?"

  His tongue trailed gently along the shell of Claude's ear, and Claude groaned, "Yes," low in his throat, the final sibilant dragged out to nothing as his air failed him.

  In the blink of an eye, he was no longer even balanced on the ground, lifted in one jerk of Kevin's arms. He made an embarrassing noise, wrapping his legs around Kevin's hips and clutching tighter to Kevin's shoulders. Kevin kissed him again, dipping him down to reach his mouth and Claude shivered, the drop he knew lay behind him adding a spike of terror to the heat of Kevin's kiss.

  "I'm not going to drop you," Kevin said with a hint of a laugh. His thumb ran softly over the curve of Claude's ass. Claude hadn't thought they could get any closer without getting naked, but Kevin pulled him in tighter anyway, their two bodies almost melded together. "We're up high, it's dark." He chuckled softly. "I could probably fuck you out here."

  "Oh my god," Claude groaned. "Absolutely not. Take me inside and fuck me there." He flushed right down his chest as the impact of those words hit his actual brain, the admission of the desires he'd been repressing since he had first set eyes on Kevin.