Miss Conception (New Young Adult Version)

By Debbie D Ellis and D D Ellis

Derek Macgregor wants to start a family and enlists the help of his best friend’s sister, Staci Devereaux, California’s leading fertility specialist. Derek just hopes that Staci can forget what happened between them four years ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329576438

Book preview

Miss Conception (New Young Adult Version)

Miss Conception

(New Young Adult Version)

By D. D. Ellis

(a.k.a. Debbie D. Ellis)

Copyright 2012 by Debbie D. Ellis

Lulu Edition

ISBN 978-1-326-42993-5

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.  This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.  If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Steamybooks.com and purchase your own copy.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Any characters or events implied within this book are fictitious and purely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Prologue

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

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Other Books

PROLOGUE:

Derek MacGregor noticed the dark haired girl sitting on the bleachers near the neighborhood soccer field.  She was beautiful.  She had dark hair that reached to just below her shoulders.  Her features were classic French with possibly Italian heritage.  Her long legs were tanned and toned.  She looked to be around 16 or 17 years of age. Derek stopped and stared at her for a few moments until a rugby ball hit him in the face, knocking him back to reality.  The sudden gushing warmth spilling into his left eye was surprising, though.  He swiped a hand across the side of his face to wipe away the wetness and looked down at his hand.  There was blood and lots of it.  Awe, man, Derek grumbled with some trepidation.  Derek turned to see who had thrown the ball at him.  It was Mike Devereaux.  Mike stood in front of Derek now, frowning. 

What did you do that for?  Derek asked as he took his shirt off and applied pressure to his forehead.  He felt the gash.  My dad’s gonna kill me if I have to go to the emergency room, again, Derek grumbled.

"For the way you were staring at my sister," Mike answered flatly.

Derek stiffened.  "She’s your sister?"

"Yes.  My 14 year-old sister," Mike clarified.

Wow.  Sorry man.  I didn’t know.  She looks around 17, Derek mumbled apologetically.

I know, Mike grumbled, directing a frown towards the girl as if it were her fault for being so beautiful.

Why didn’t you say you had a sister? Derek asked, curious.

Look, she’s not even a year older than me; more like 9 months older, Mike paused for a moment at Derek’s incredulous look.  "Yeah, I was really pre-mature, alright? Anyway, she’s been at my Uncle’s house in Germany for the last year or so helping him with his research before we both start public school this year.  I didn’t mention her because I didn’t think it was important at the time, Mike said.  He looked at Derek’s forehead and said, Come on.  I think my dad is home for lunch.  Maybe he can stitch it up for you."

Mike hollered to Staci and when she looked up from her book, Mike shouted, Run home and tell dad I’m bringing someone in for a head gash that needs stitching.

She nodded and ran home.  Derek’s eyes couldn’t help but follow her lean, long-legged figure as she took off.  Mike, punching Derek in the shoulder, reminded him to come back to his present predicament.

As they walked, Derek thought of his own father, who was away on yet another business trip.  This week it was in Switzerland.  Calvin MacGregor was going to be furious if he got called back to the states because his son had gotten hurt again.  Derek remembered the last time and shuddered at how angry his father had been.  That had been when he was 13; a year after his mother had died.

Never mind that it hadn’t been Derek’s fault that someone had hit him while he was riding his bike.  The person driving the car had been texting and wasn’t paying attention.  Derek had been side-swiped and Derek ended up rolling down an embankment causing him to get tangled up in the mangled bike and breaking his ankle and several bones in his foot.  Never mind that Derek had spent several days in the hospital, weeks in a cast and then a few more months in rehabilitation after the cast came off and the pins had come out.

Calvin had been mad because CPS, Child Protective Services, had wondered why Derek was by himself at home and no adult to call for emergencies.  Derek made sure to stay out of trouble and keep his grades up mainly to keep his dad from coming home. 

After Derek’s mother died Calvin MacGregor had retreated into work and neglected his only son who reminded him so much of the wife he’d lost.  Derek remembered venting his grief alone.  It had taken him a while to understand why his father treated him the way he did.  ‘It still didn’t make it right, though,’ Derek thought.

His lips tightened.  ‘I hope Mike’s dad can patch me up,’ Derek thought as they walked quickly to Mike’s house.  His head was starting to throb and the blood was running into his eye again.  He put the edge of his shirt back up to his face and pressed a little harder to try to slow the bleeding.

Derek had met Mike at the beginning of last summer.  Derek, bored out of his mind by being cooped up in the house so much, had heard other kids laughing and shouting so he decided to investigate.  He walked to the end of the street and across the busy road, wondering if he dared his father’s wrath by leaving his own subdivision.

Derek remembered the sounds of people having fun and laughing children. With determination he chose to have a fun summer. He stood for several minutes just looking across the busy road that separated his upper, middle-class neighborhood from the upper-class one.  He crossed the road.

Derek shimmied up the stone wall bordering the other subdivision.  The wall was very high, encouraging those who didn’t belong to stay out.  He ignored the heed.  He stared in wonder at the families hanging out by the pool or standing around chatting.  Derek noticed a lot of kids on the playground and playing rugby or soccer on both of the two large fields.  There were even some people swimming in the neighborhood swimming pool.  Never had he wanted something so bad as to be a part of a loving family again.

He heard a shout and looked in the direction that it came from.  A tall, dark-haired boy had called out to him.  Derek was startled and slipped from the top of the wall to the ground, bumping his chin along the way.  He put his hand to his chin, feeling the gash and seeing the blood on his hand had him running towards home. 

The boy with the dark hair was surprisingly fast and caught up with Derek since he had to wait for traffic to clear before he could cross the road.  Derek watched warily as the boy approached him.  He was not quite as tall as Derek, maybe to his shoulders but he was nearly as muscular.  Derek felt that the boy could hold his own in a fight if it came to that.  Derek hoped not.  It was already going to be hard to explain to his father about the cut on his chin.  Granted, his father wouldn’t be home for a couple of days, but the cut felt pretty deep and Derek knew it wouldn’t be healed by then.  He knew his father would ask him about it.  When the dark-haired boy gave Derek a genuine smile, he relaxed a little.  Mike Devereaux introduced himself and asked if he was all right.

I just need to get home.  My dad can take a look at it when I get there, Derek said.

Mike had seen through his lie. Well my dad’s a doctor and he’s just over there.  Why don’t you let him take a look at it?  It’s bleeding quite a bit, Mike suggested as he tugged on Derek’s free arm and all but dragged Derek back to the pool and asked his dad take care of the slice on Derek’s chin.  Since Derek still had blood trickling down the hand covering his chin, he figured it couldn’t hurt to have it looked at.  He sighed and followed the persistent boy.  Mike’s father had looked at it and asked him a few questions before suggesting that Mike go into the clubhouse and bring the med kit.

Dr. D. had cleaned the cut and applied several butterfly bandages before sending him on his way.  Derek was so relieved that the doctor hadn’t asked any more questions than he had, that Derek immediately relaxed when the man was finished.  Mike suggested they play a round of rugby with the other boys.  When Derek had finally gone home that night, he realized he hadn’t been this happy since before his mother died.  He’d made new friends and he’d been told to come back anytime. And he did.

Mike and Derek became fast friends. By the end of that summer, Derek had spent so much time over at the Devereaux’s that he gave up calling Mike’s mother ‘Mrs. Devereaux’ or ‘Mrs. D’ when Mike insisted Derek just call her ‘Mom’ since he didn’t have one.   Although, Derek never could call Dr. Devereaux by anything but ‘Dr. D’ or ‘Mr. D’, Derek figured someday he’d be able to call him by his given name.  Not anytime soon, though.

It was only towards the end of summer, when the Devereaux’s had invited him over for Mike’s birthday party, that Derek realized Mike was only 13.  Derek had been shocked.  Mike had told him that when he started high school this year he was going into the 10th grade, the same grade as himself.  Mike was big for his age, nearly as tall as himself and almost as muscular.  Mike also had a maturity level several years beyond most kids his age.  By the time Derek realized their age difference he found that he didn’t particularly care. He and Mike were like brothers and his family had made him feel like he belonged.  After spending so much time with Mike and his family, Derek realized that they were well educated and their intellect was pretty much at genius level.  They never gave him a chance to feel intimidated, though.

Derek thought it unusual that Mike’s family never once mentioned that Staci was their daughter, though.  When he’d heard her name mentioned a few times in passing, he’d thought they were referring to a cousin or something.  Obviously she was more than that.

Derek felt woozy and the pain in his head was causing him to feel a little sick.  He wondered if he had a concussion.  He assumed Dr. D would tell him soon enough.

Mike led Derek around the back of the house to the large sunroom; it was filled with plants that Derek had helped Mrs. D cultivate a few months ago while Mike and Dr. D were on a fishing trip. The plants were along one wall, a long stainless steel workbench on another and a large sitting area at the other end.  There was a small fountain trickling water over some smooth rocks into a small pond, half in and half out of the room.  Derek was sure that if there were ever a time that he would choose to relax it would be here.

He could imagine Mrs. D out here reading a book or messing with the plants.  She was the nicest woman he’d ever met besides his own mother.  She had welcomed Derek into the house numerous times over the last year and a half, mainly to have a good lunch or dinner before he and Mike ran off to the playground.

Not once during the last year and a half had Derek seen Staci Devereaux.  He was sure he would have remembered that experience.  And now Staci was waiting in the room with Dr. D for him.  Derek tried not to stare at her as he walked over to where Mike told him to sit on the stainless steel table.  Dr. Devereaux was watching Derek closely.

Derek felt embarrassed that so much attention was being made over the cut.  He just wished it would stop bleeding.  Dr. D took a pen light out of his pocket and checked Derek’s eyes and then the gash.  He put on a pair of gloves and noticed that Staci was setting out the things he’d asked for earlier.

Mike’s father looked from Derek to Mike and then back again.  Well, you have a slight concussion.  I would tell you not to play for a couple of days but I doubt you’ll listen, Dr. D. said.  When Derek looked at him with an innocent expression, Dr. D. smiled and shook his head.  You’ll just have to be careful for a while on the field.  What happened? Dr. D asked.

I got hit in the head with a rugby ball, Derek replied, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal.

"Really?  I thought you were a pretty good catch.  How did that happen?" Dr. D asked, smiling as he teased him.

Derek made sure to avoid glancing at Staci as he said, I wasn’t watching the ball.

Mike nodded when his father looked at him for confirmation, but glanced at Staci who was concentrating hard on threading a small but wickedly curved needle.  Derek almost rolled his eyes as Mike gave away the reason Derek had not been watching the ball.  He flushed but maintained eye contact as Dr. Devereaux put two and two together. 

I see, he said.  He reached for a small pair of hemostats clamped onto the already threaded needle.

Staci, why don’t you go ahead and clean the wound and help stitch him up, Dr. D said to the girl as he handed her the hemostats.  Derek felt himself tense. ‘He’s going to let her help him?  God, I’m going to end up with a massive scar,’ Derek thought with dread.

Ok, Staci said, her soft voice making Derek go weak in the knees.  Right then Derek could care less about the scar.  The beautiful girl with the long legs was going to be touching him.  Ten seconds later he was back to dreading it.  She’d given him a local anesthetic of lidocaine and it burned like hell.  And he could still feel the slight pulling of her curved needle as it pulled the thread through the torn flesh and pulled it together.  He didn’t dare move, though; he was half afraid that she might poke him in the eye.

Derek had to assume she was doing it correctly since her father was watching her and nodding encouragement.  Very nice, Staci; two more and he’s through, he said.

Staci was concentrating so hard that she didn’t notice Derek staring at her chest.  Derek closed his eyes and tried to control his hormones.  He took a deep breath but that was a mistake.  As he breathed in her scent of lavender mixed with coconut oil sunscreen, he thought, ‘God, she smells good.’

Derek winced.  He needed to get away from her before he totally embarrassed himself.  Derek flushed, his voice coming out as a squeak when he asked, Are you about done?  He opened his eyes and tried to focus.  He was feeling a little dizzy but it wasn’t from his injury. 

Yes.  One more and I’ll be done, Staci said as she bit her lip and concentrated on her task. 

Derek blew out a breath, causing Staci to jerk slightly.  She finished the last stitch, dabbed the blood away gently with a clean moist cloth and put a swab of ointment across the wound.  She looked down at Derek then, as if she were just noticing him for the first time.  Her lips parted but no sound came out. 

Derek finally worked up the courage to look into her beautiful brown eyes.  He was lost.  Although it had taken him a moment before realizing that Dr. Devereaux was talking to him, Derek nodded.  When her father looked as if he were expecting an answer to something he’d said.  Derek didn’t have a clue as to what he said,  he just nodded dumbly and said, Yes, Sir.  Derek stood up quickly, shook Dr. D’s hand and headed towards the door, Thanks for fixing me up, Derek said quickly, glancing from Dr. D to Staci while moving towards the door.  Mike ran to catch up with him.

They headed to the field together and Derek noticed that a few other guys had joined the group.  There were enough to actually form two teams.  By the time Mike and Derek got on the same team, Derek noticed that Staci had assumed her previous position on the bleachers; however, she was looking straight at him.  Derek froze for a moment, staring at her and she looked away, sticking her nose in her book again.

‘It figures,’ Derek thought, heaving a mental sigh.  The one girl he could possibly be interested in would be off limits.  Staci was his best friends’ sister.  Not only that, but Mike’s family had welcomed him as one of their own which was more than he could say for his own father.   Derek MacGregor was not going to mess up a good thing. He would just have to think of Staci as a sister.  But as Derek looked back at her a moment longer, he felt odd again, weak in the knees, a tightening in his chest and a little queasiness in his stomach.  He doubted if he would ever see her in that light.  Derek turned back towards his team thinking, ‘Sister? Riiight…Not.’ He was sure it was going to be a very long summer.

Chapter 1

College graduation was earlier that afternoon and the beach party was in full swing when Derek MacGregor looked up from the petite blonde he’d been flirting with and inhaled deeply as he noticed the beautiful brunette who had just walked onto the back deck of his friends’ beach house.  He saw her glide over to retrieve a Sprite from one of the brightly colored bins, set to the side of the bar, filled with ice and non-alcoholic beverages.  Derek watched her for a moment longer, still not believing the dark-haired woman was Staci Devereaux, his best friend’s sister.

The blonde noticing that his attention was diverted for the time being, drifted over to another group of friends.  Derek made his way over to Staci, just as one of his teammates staggered past her.  Derek quickly stepped between them, preventing her from being knocked over but couldn’t help coming up flush against her backside.  He wrapped a protective arm about her waist to steady her as she wobbled slightly on her high heels.  Staci immediately started to pull away but Derek held her there for a moment longer.

I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get run over.  Are you alright? Derek asked, feeling a shiver run through her body.

When Staci nodded, he released her.  The feel of her body moving away from his was an instant loss. He pushed the feeling aside as she turned to face him.  She was stunning.  He could tell Staci had taken the time to apply her makeup and fix her hair and the result made her even more beautiful than usual.  He took a step back in surprise at his body’s instant reaction to her. 

His eyes swept over her in approval.  He noticed her dark, almost-black hair fell in thick waves down her back and slightly to the side.  His gaze followed the long waves, noticing how they hugged her curves along with the wrap-around halter dress she wore over what looked to be a bikini.  The dress settled over her waist and hips to drape all the way down to her feet that were encased in wedged sandals.  Staci was pretty tall anyway at five-feet-eleven and in those shoes she was nearly eye level with his Six-foot-five.  The green of her dress brought out the bright flecks of green in her brown eyes.  He inhaled deeply at the look she gave him, sultry and slightly... hopeful?  Derek’s nostrils flared as he noticed how wonderful she smelled.  A mixture of the body oil she regularly used and a slightly musky fragrance and Staci.  Derek felt heat pool in his groin as he thought again of how well she had fit against him a moment ago.

He took another step back.  God, Staci, you look... Derek started, huskily.  He cleared his throat, slightly and finished, reluctantly, Amazing.

He frowned slightly as he wondered how he was going to keep his best friend’s sister from not being hit on at this party when she looked this beautiful.  Just the thought of someone actually trying to had his possessive...’No, protective,’ instincts kicking in. Derek shook his head.  ‘This is your best friend’s sister.  You should be looking out for her, not wanting to hide her away for yourself,’ Derek berated, silently.

Staci frowned slightly, but then pasted a smile on her face. Um, thank you. She glanced around nervously before looking back at Derek.  I think I’ll go say ‘Hi’ to a few people. I guess I’ll talk to you later, Staci said turning away.

Derek thought he caught a flash of disappointment in her eyes.  He wasn’t sure, because Staci was pretty good at hiding what she was feeling most of the time.  Derek watched her walk away, noticing the gentle sway of fabric swishing slightly over her the sweet curve of her hips and butt.  He groaned as he noticed that one side of the dress was slit from foot to mid-thigh, giving a teasing glimpse of a long, shapely tanned leg underneath.  Staci had always had great legs and he could never seem to stop staring at them, when they were bare.

Derek remembered the first time Staci’s brother, Mike Devereaux, had caught him staring at her.  Mike wasn’t here now to prevent Derek from looking.  He was at some undisclosed government research installation.  No one had heard from him since he’d left months’ ago.

Derek was shaken from his revere as one of his teammates came up to him and slapped him on the shoulder.  They conversed for a while, but Derek kept an eye on Staci as she circulated among their mutual friends.  When she stepped out onto the back deck, he waited a few minutes before following her outside.  When Derek stepped out onto the deck, he saw that Staci had made her way down the boardwalk and was already near the shore. 

Derek called to her, but the sound of his voice was drowned out by the noise of the incoming tide.  He picked up his pace as he saw her pause to remove her sandals.  When he caught up to her, he could tell he’d startled her.  ‘Good, that should teach her not to wander away from a party at night especially when there was no one around to hear her scream if need be.’  The sudden thought had his pulse pounding and his stomach clenched with momentary fear for her.  ‘She’s fine,’ Derek thought.

Staci let out a breath of relief when she realized it was Derek.  You scared me, she said.

You shouldn’t be out here alone.  You couldn’t even hear me calling you, could you? Derek said, in reprimand.  He frowned for a moment and then took her hand.  Come on, we can walk together.  Staci stiffened beside him and then let him lead her down the beach. 

To the Rock? Staci suggested.  Derek shrugged. 

They walked in silence before they finally relaxed in each other’s company.  They had been friends for too long.  Derek thought he should let go of her hand, but he didn’t.  Her hand felt good in his.  He could feel the tingling warmth flowing from his hand all the way through his chest, warming his heart as it spread throughout his system.  He enjoyed being with her, even though she brought out the protective instincts he disliked.  Why did he have to like her so much?  Derek told Mike he’d look out for her while he was away at his research job with the government.  Mike had already been gone six months.  Staci had accomplished so much in the last year and now they were graduating college together.

Derek had been taking classes towards his Master’s Degree but had decided that having his Bachelor’s degree in business and mechanical engineering was sufficient for what he wanted to do.  He’d had enough of school.  He wanted to invent things and move on in life.  He wanted to have his own business. He wanted to design and build propulsion engines; the kind that could be used for bullet trains and launching people into space.

Derek was amazed at how intelligent Staci and her family was.  Mike had mentioned a few of his relatives names and curious, Derek had Googled them.  Mike and Staci came from a long line of genius’ that seemed to get smarter with each generation.  He’d known her family for over 7 years and had met several other relatives.  All of them seemed to excel at whatever their profession was.  And no one on her dad’s side of the family tree seemed to forget, anything.  It was uncanny.

Staci had accelerated through high school and college at nearly the same rate as her younger genius brother, Mike.  Staci now had her Doctorate and she was leaving this weekend to become an intern and work with her grandfather who was a geneticist and fertility specialist in the San Bernardino area.

Derek would miss her.  He would never ask her to stay, though.  She deserved a better life than what he could give her.  He cared about her, more than he wanted to admit.  Besides, he didn’t want to betray Mike’s trust by getting involved with her. 

Mike had told him once that Derek didn’t deserve her. You don’t have a career.  You’re too much of a Romeo, Derek. You still don’t know what you want, Mike said.  "I won’t have you hurting her.  She deserves a husband that will return her love and take care of her."

At the time, Derek had shuddered at the mention of the word ‘husband’.  He could not see himself marrying anyone.  Even before his mother had died when he was 12, Derek’s father had not been the most ideal of husbands or a father.  Derek couldn’t fathom how he might be a good one himself, someday.

Derek’s father had spent most of his life travelling.  Derek was never quite certain what his father actually did for a living; something to do with microchips and ‘sales’.  He knew his father flew his own plane for most of his traveling but would sometimes take a private jet to go to any other countries.  Derek only saw his father a few days a week if he was in the States and then Derek was pretty much on his own.  He’d spent more time at school and on the playground in the neighborhood across the street than at home or with his father.

Staci and Mike’s parents lived in harmony for the most part.   Since Derek had spent so much time at their house, he’d had a glimpse of what a normal family life could be.  He just didn’t know how to get there.  He could wait, though.  He had plenty of time.  He was only twenty-two years old. 

They reached the outcropping, and jumped onto a boulder that was about the size of three charter buses put together, otherwise known to the college kids as ‘The Rock’. Derek and Staci sat on the large boulder and watched the sky turn from an orange-pink to purple and finally black as the sun settled past the horizon.  The waves kept pushing towards the shore and Derek leaned back and looked up at the night sky above them.  The stars were already visible and the moon shone brightly. 

The sounds of the surf lulled the senses somewhat. The night was peaceful.  It was quiet; too quiet.  Derek looked over at Staci to find her watching him, chewing on her full bottom lip.  He felt himself harden with the thought of tasting that lip; her mouth; her ...  His pulse increased for a moment and he looked back up at the sky trying to figure out what the stars had lined up for him in life.  He wondered if there was ever going to be a day when Staci would be his.  He ran a hand through his hair.  The wind had ruffled it already and the breeze felt good.  He needed a haircut.

He looked over at Staci.  She looked tense.  Her hands were clenched into small fists and her shoulders were hunched.  She looked at him and the heat in her gaze made Derek shift a little on the rock.  When she licked her lips, Derek almost moaned.

We should probably get back to the party, Staci, he said.

Not yet, Derek, please? Staci asked, quietly.

Derek sighed and nodded his head.  He looked back out to the water, trying to take his mind off of the beautiful woman next to him.  That was difficult to do when she suddenly leaned over him and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down against the boulder.  She slanted her lips across his.

Derek’s mouth opened in surprise and Staci’s tongue darted between his lips.  Derek moaned and tasted heaven.  God she was sweet. Derek returned her kiss.  He was like a man trapped in the desert and had finally found the oasis.  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.  Staci moaned in encouragement and sighed against his lips.

Derek ran his hands along her