Martha Kennerson - Tempting The Heiress

Felicia accepted the picture without looking.

She took a deep breath and then lowered her gaze. The round face, a light brown color, complete with gray eyes and topped by a head full of black curls, offered a toothless grin that tugged at Felicia’s heart. She stared at the beautiful image staring back at her through the photo, a miniature version of her father. The eyes were very familiar. This was Griffin’s child.

“Why me?” Felicia asked, keeping her eyes on the photo. “I mean, Valerie had already ruined any opportunity I might have had with Griffin years ago. I still can’t believe I let her convince me to stay away from him.” And it didn’t take much to convince your scared behind, either. “Why bring me into this mess now?”

“She felt like she owed you something.” John took a seat behind his desk.

“What?” Felicia’s eyes widened.

“Let me explain,” he said, sounding anxious. “About three months into the pregnancy, Valerie started feeling tired. Actually, too tired. A doctor confirmed that the cancer had returned and this time it had spread.”

Felicia’s right hand flew to her chest. “Oh, how horrible. She got such news at a time when she should have been celebrating.” No matter how angry she might have been at Valerie’s betrayal, she knew what she had gone through before, coming to grips and fighting the cancer, and Felicia couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

An injured look spread across John’s face. Obviously he’d cared deeply for Valerie. He stood and turned to stare out the window. “Everyone told her that her best option was to terminate the pregnancy. She needed to start fighting for her own life.”

“Everyone?”

“Yes. Her doctors...me,” he whispered. “But she wouldn’t hear of it.” The emotion in his voice was almost visible. “All she cared about was having that baby.” Each word was laced in sadness.

Felicia tilted her head slightly, peering at him through narrowed eyes. “John, just how close were you and Valerie?”

He remained silent so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer. John’s back stayed to Felicia as he stood cracking his knuckles for several moments before his shoulders dropped and he turned to face her. “I loved her, but Valerie never knew it. Our relationship was friendly at best.”

“So you never told her how you felt?”

“No. After the divorce, Valerie was determined to start over...on her own. I figured she just needed time, but before I knew it she was pregnant and dying,” John explained, and it was clear that he was still grieving his loss.

Felicia’s heart sank and her feelings must’ve showed in her expression because John asked, “Are you okay? Do you need some water or anything?”

“No, I’m fine. Really.”

John took his seat behind the extra-wide desk. “Valerie decided she’d have the baby and fight the cancer after giving birth. She figured she’d beaten it before and she could do it again,” he said, shaking his head. “Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the case.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Felicia’s emotions were taking her on a crazy roller-coaster ride between disbelief, anger and sadness.

John offered a quick nod and continued. “After she gave birth to Alyia, she was told she had less than a year, so Valerie set out to do what she thought was right at the time.”

“Which was what exactly?” Felicia frowned and sat straighter in the chair.

John opened his file again, pulled out several documents and handed them to Felicia. She scanned the papers, then she speared John with a look that had him raising his hands in surrender.

“I knew nothing about that until later...much later,” he confessed. “I would’ve tried to convince her to go in another direction, the right direction, much earlier than she did.”

Felicia glanced at the paperwork again. “She actually tried to have Griffin’s baby adopted. Why?”

“Valerie thought about telling both you and Griffin, so she had you both checked out. But she thought your careers would always come first, that neither of you would ever want the responsibility of a child. She certainly didn’t want Alyia to end up alone and in the foster care system...without a family of her own.”

The image of the pretty little girl and the possibility of what could happen to her if she ended up in the system sent a chill down Felicia’s spin.

“So she figured that while she could, she’d do everything in her power to find her the perfect home.”

Felicia stood; she almost went for the whiskey bottle again, an uncharacteristic move for her since she clearly wasn’t much of a drinker. Instead she started pacing the room again. “How dare she make such an assumption? I’d never let Alyia end up in foster care. She did all these crazy things just to have Griffin’s child and now she was prepared to do yet another crazy thing.”

John made his way around his desk and reached out to stop Felicia’s progress. “You have to understand what Valerie was going through. She wasn’t thinking straight. Her emotions were all over the place.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t have to understand any of this.” Felicia could feel her own mixed emotions beginning to boil over to the point she trembled with unspoken rage.

John pulled her into a comforting hug before walking her back to the sofa. “Please sit down. You sure you don’t want anything?”

“No,” she murmured, wiping away tears with her index finger. “Where is she? Where is Alyia right now?”

“She’s being well taken care of, don’t worry,” John reassured her.

“Don’t worry? Are you serious? This child that’s suddenly mine...I’m not supposed to worry about?” she asked. “Who’s taking care of her?”

“Her nanny, Ellen Lewis. She’s been there since the day she was born,” he replied. “Alyia’s in excellent hands.”

“Pardon me if I don’t trust Valerie’s judgment in selecting caregivers. I assume you have information on this Ellen Lewis. I want to see it,” she demanded.

“Yes, of course,” he said, returning to his desk and the documents spread across the top. Felicia followed suit and reclaimed her seat. She accepted the documents he handed her and quickly read through them all.

“Looks like she is well qualified,” Felicia said, perusing the résumé. “Does she know the truth about all this?”

“She does now. In fact, she insisted that we find you right away.”

“Well, that says something,” Felicia said, not intending to sound sarcastic, but with the information overload there was no other way to feel.

“That says a lot,” he countered. “Ms. Ellen had nothing to do with any of this. She was the wonderful nurse that took care of Alyia when she was at the hospital and Valerie hired her to work in a private capacity. The only reason she accepted was because she thought Valerie was a sick new mother that needed her help.”

“Valerie fooled her, too,” she snarled, looking up from the documents.

John offered her a tight smile but remained quiet as there was probably no more defense he could offer.

“I’ve heard enough,” she said. “I want to see Alyia. Now!”

Chapter 4

“Oh...Griffin,” Felicia moaned.

“You like that, baby?” Griffin whispered in Felicia’s ear.

“Yes, Griffin...oh, yes!”

Griffin slid his lips along the side of Felicia’s neck, stopping long enough to kiss her left shoulder. He raised his head, buried his hands in her hair and captured her mouth in a gluttonous kiss.

“You’ve...kept me...waiting,” Felicia managed to say between each sensual kiss.

“Our wait is over,” he declared.

Suddenly they were both naked and Griffin’s tongue exploration of Felicia’s body had her reaching for Griffin’s engorged and throbbing sex...