Claim
Page 116
But Ian had never said a word about it to Jordan, or made a scene, mostly because he had no desire to embarrass Tessa or make her feel uncomfortable. He also knew that Jordan might flirt with married women, but that he swore off on having flings with them - “waayy too complicated” - had been his way to sum it up. And lastly, Ian was so completely confident of Tessa’s love for him, so assured of her devotion, that the very last thing he would ever worry about was her being unfaithful to him.
And, if he was being honest, he felt a bit sorry for Jordan. Ian knew exactly how it felt to covet this particular woman, only to realize that someone else had already claimed her. Except now that he was on the other end – the far, far better end – of that deal, he was considerate enough to take pity on anyone who might be on the short end of that particular stick.
Still, Ian made very sure that he always accompanied Tessa to every single appointment she had with Jordan. There was no possible way that Jordan would say or do anything inappropriate in a professional setting like this, especially since a nurse was always present during the exams, but Ian wasn’t about to take any chances. Plus, it didn’t hurt to subtly remind Jordan that Tessa was not only a married woman, but an extremely happy one at that.
He’d considered switching doctors, but knew that would upset Tessa since she liked Jordan and felt comfortable with him. Plus, despite his tomcatting ways, the man was undeniably the best in his field here in San Francisco, and Ian was insistent that his wife and child have only the very best.
“Everything looks great,” Jordan assured both of them after completing a brief pelvic exam. “I got a glimpse of the sonogram image, and the baby is developing perfectly. I’m convinced that you’re going to have a beautiful, healthy little boy in four more months. So whatever you’re doing to take care of yourself, Tessa, just keep it up.”
Ian shook his head. “She’s doing too much, in my opinion. Taking care of Gilly, still taking online college classes, doing all of the shopping and cooking. And when I came home early one day last week, she was having a private yoga session with her teacher, who had her up in a handstand, of all things. Is that really safe, Jordan?”
Jordan winked at Tessa conspiratorially. “It’s absolutely safe,” he assured Ian. “Tessa knows how much she can handle, and she looks perfectly healthy to me. But don’t overdue either, hmm? Be sure you’re taking your pre-natal vitamins, eating enough, and taking a nap every day.”
Tessa glanced over at her husband a bit guiltily. “Well, the first two I can definitely say I’ve been doing religiously. The last one not so much.”
Ian regarded her sternly. “But Tessa assures me that she’s going to start taking care of that immediately. Aren’t you, darling? Perhaps even beginning tomorrow afternoon when Gilly goes down for her nap.”
“Fine.” Tessa sighed. “But I’m not giving up my yoga classes, Ian. I stopped doing the heated classes when you worried that I was sweating too much and getting dehydrated, but Sasha and I don’t crank the heat up too high during our private sessions.”
Jordan grinned. “Still behaving like the overprotective husband, is he? I’ll bet he’s sticking to his guns about the sex, too. Am I right?”
Tessa nodded eagerly. “You have no idea. He’s still convinced that he’s going to hurt me or the baby if we, uh, go at it a little more enthusiastically. Would you please tell him – again - that he doesn’t have to treat me like some Victorian maiden?”
Jordan gave her a thumbs up before bending to whisper in Ian’s ear, “She’s right, Ian. It won’t hurt anything if you loosen up a little. In other words, you can do your gorgeous wife as hard as you like, as often as you like. And if she’s like most pregnant women with all those extra hormones floating around, my guess is that she wants it as often as possible. Am I right?”
Ian glared at the gleeful doctor. “None of your business. Christ, you’re as bad as my younger brother, always wanting to know about my sex life. I suppose you’ve got at least a clinical interest in asking, whereas Colin is just bloody nosy. And I don’t care what either of you say - no overly enthusiastic sex until after the baby is born.”
Jordan gave Tessa another pat on the shoulder. “I tried,” he told her regretfully. “But your husband is awfully pigheaded at times. Guess you’ll have to indulge him until after you give birth.”
He bid them both good-by then, reminding Tessa to be sure and take a nap each day, and to call him if anything came up. As soon as he left the exam room, Tessa stood and began to dress.
Ian reminded himself that he was holding his daughter on his lap at this moment, and that as such he really, really shouldn’t be lusting over her gorgeous, sexy mummy. But it was almost impossible not to drool a bit at the sight of her glowing, naked skin as she pulled on a bra and panty set of cream lace. Her breasts were just a little too full now for the bra to fit her properly, but the sight of them nearly overflowing the sheer lace cups was so erotic that he squirmed a little on the chair, shifting Gilly to sit lower on his leg to keep her out of the way of his growing erection.
“Your body is just magnificent, love,” he rasped as she began to roll on her stockings. “Pregnancy definitely agrees with you.”
Tessa blew him a kiss. “You’re sweet,” she teased. “Telling me something like that when I’m gradually beginning to resemble a whale.”
Ian rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even gained a full ten pounds yet, have you? And even when you were nine months pregnant with Gilly, you looked beautiful.”
She finished dressing, fastening the tie belt on her blue and white diamond patterned wrap front dress - another garment that Ian recognized as something she’d worn during her first pregnancy. He shook his head in amusement, realizing that short of buying Tessa a whole new maternity wardrobe himself that it wasn’t likely she would change her frugal ways.
He fastened Gilly into her car seat securely, then took the keys from Tessa as he slid behind the wheel. She had driven here to the medical building in the Mercedes sedan, while Simon had dropped him off in the town car. It was already past five o’clock by now, but Ian knew this area well enough that he could take side streets to avoid most of the traffic. When he pulled up to a parking space just a few doors down from the little bistro where they were to dine, it was less than twenty minutes from the time they’d departed Jordan’s offices.
And, if he was being honest, he felt a bit sorry for Jordan. Ian knew exactly how it felt to covet this particular woman, only to realize that someone else had already claimed her. Except now that he was on the other end – the far, far better end – of that deal, he was considerate enough to take pity on anyone who might be on the short end of that particular stick.
Still, Ian made very sure that he always accompanied Tessa to every single appointment she had with Jordan. There was no possible way that Jordan would say or do anything inappropriate in a professional setting like this, especially since a nurse was always present during the exams, but Ian wasn’t about to take any chances. Plus, it didn’t hurt to subtly remind Jordan that Tessa was not only a married woman, but an extremely happy one at that.
He’d considered switching doctors, but knew that would upset Tessa since she liked Jordan and felt comfortable with him. Plus, despite his tomcatting ways, the man was undeniably the best in his field here in San Francisco, and Ian was insistent that his wife and child have only the very best.
“Everything looks great,” Jordan assured both of them after completing a brief pelvic exam. “I got a glimpse of the sonogram image, and the baby is developing perfectly. I’m convinced that you’re going to have a beautiful, healthy little boy in four more months. So whatever you’re doing to take care of yourself, Tessa, just keep it up.”
Ian shook his head. “She’s doing too much, in my opinion. Taking care of Gilly, still taking online college classes, doing all of the shopping and cooking. And when I came home early one day last week, she was having a private yoga session with her teacher, who had her up in a handstand, of all things. Is that really safe, Jordan?”
Jordan winked at Tessa conspiratorially. “It’s absolutely safe,” he assured Ian. “Tessa knows how much she can handle, and she looks perfectly healthy to me. But don’t overdue either, hmm? Be sure you’re taking your pre-natal vitamins, eating enough, and taking a nap every day.”
Tessa glanced over at her husband a bit guiltily. “Well, the first two I can definitely say I’ve been doing religiously. The last one not so much.”
Ian regarded her sternly. “But Tessa assures me that she’s going to start taking care of that immediately. Aren’t you, darling? Perhaps even beginning tomorrow afternoon when Gilly goes down for her nap.”
“Fine.” Tessa sighed. “But I’m not giving up my yoga classes, Ian. I stopped doing the heated classes when you worried that I was sweating too much and getting dehydrated, but Sasha and I don’t crank the heat up too high during our private sessions.”
Jordan grinned. “Still behaving like the overprotective husband, is he? I’ll bet he’s sticking to his guns about the sex, too. Am I right?”
Tessa nodded eagerly. “You have no idea. He’s still convinced that he’s going to hurt me or the baby if we, uh, go at it a little more enthusiastically. Would you please tell him – again - that he doesn’t have to treat me like some Victorian maiden?”
Jordan gave her a thumbs up before bending to whisper in Ian’s ear, “She’s right, Ian. It won’t hurt anything if you loosen up a little. In other words, you can do your gorgeous wife as hard as you like, as often as you like. And if she’s like most pregnant women with all those extra hormones floating around, my guess is that she wants it as often as possible. Am I right?”
Ian glared at the gleeful doctor. “None of your business. Christ, you’re as bad as my younger brother, always wanting to know about my sex life. I suppose you’ve got at least a clinical interest in asking, whereas Colin is just bloody nosy. And I don’t care what either of you say - no overly enthusiastic sex until after the baby is born.”
Jordan gave Tessa another pat on the shoulder. “I tried,” he told her regretfully. “But your husband is awfully pigheaded at times. Guess you’ll have to indulge him until after you give birth.”
He bid them both good-by then, reminding Tessa to be sure and take a nap each day, and to call him if anything came up. As soon as he left the exam room, Tessa stood and began to dress.
Ian reminded himself that he was holding his daughter on his lap at this moment, and that as such he really, really shouldn’t be lusting over her gorgeous, sexy mummy. But it was almost impossible not to drool a bit at the sight of her glowing, naked skin as she pulled on a bra and panty set of cream lace. Her breasts were just a little too full now for the bra to fit her properly, but the sight of them nearly overflowing the sheer lace cups was so erotic that he squirmed a little on the chair, shifting Gilly to sit lower on his leg to keep her out of the way of his growing erection.
“Your body is just magnificent, love,” he rasped as she began to roll on her stockings. “Pregnancy definitely agrees with you.”
Tessa blew him a kiss. “You’re sweet,” she teased. “Telling me something like that when I’m gradually beginning to resemble a whale.”
Ian rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even gained a full ten pounds yet, have you? And even when you were nine months pregnant with Gilly, you looked beautiful.”
She finished dressing, fastening the tie belt on her blue and white diamond patterned wrap front dress - another garment that Ian recognized as something she’d worn during her first pregnancy. He shook his head in amusement, realizing that short of buying Tessa a whole new maternity wardrobe himself that it wasn’t likely she would change her frugal ways.
He fastened Gilly into her car seat securely, then took the keys from Tessa as he slid behind the wheel. She had driven here to the medical building in the Mercedes sedan, while Simon had dropped him off in the town car. It was already past five o’clock by now, but Ian knew this area well enough that he could take side streets to avoid most of the traffic. When he pulled up to a parking space just a few doors down from the little bistro where they were to dine, it was less than twenty minutes from the time they’d departed Jordan’s offices.
