“Even now?” She barely managed the question. The things he was doing to her sensitive breasts scrambled her brain.
“Especially now. I love watching you feed our son.”
“That’s good, because he likes to eat.”
One of Hunter’s hands slid down her torso. “Is he at Nelle’s?”
“Uh-huh.” His hand was on the move again. She tried not to squirm. “We put Joy on the school bus, waved good-bye, and then I took him over. She’ll pick up Joy after school and keep them both until I get home from work.”
“I’ll get them. I like meeting Joy at the bus, and intimidating that little prick Donny.”
A smile pulled at her mouth even as heat pooled between her thighs. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Fine droplets of water tickled her face. “That ‘little prick’ is named Danny, they’re six years old, and he has a crush on her. It’s adorable. I wanted you to be able to sleep…”
“I’m not particularly interested in sleep right now.” He swept his lips along the side of her neck and splayed his palm over her stomach. “This is another of my favorite parts.”
Not hers. Eight weeks after giving birth to seven pound, twelve ounce Zachary, she still had a little belly. “Baby weight’s even more stubborn the second time around.”
A sharp bite landed at the curve just above her collarbone, followed by the abrasion of his stubbly jaw over the spot. “Shush. The only stubborn thing on this body is right here.” He kissed the top of her head and then turned her around and brushed her hair back from her face. “Now, unless you have any objections, I’m going to say hello to what is, quite possibly, my most favorite part.” With that, her world spun. The next thing she knew, she was a foot off the ground, back braced against the tile, hips pinned to the wall.
Six years together, through a roller coaster of ups and downs—cranky babies, all-nighters, her promotions, his med-school graduation—and being in this man’s arms never failed to thrill her. She wrapped her arms around his head, dug her heels into his calves, and sealed her mouth to his. He slid inside her, filling her, completing her. Their grateful moans bounced off the walls and echoed in the small space.
Then he started to move. In, out, up, down, holding her hips and hitting all the spots he knew turned her into a helpless, desperate mess. The scrape of his chest against her nipples, the thrust of his tongue in her mouth, the relentless stroke of his body dragged her up so fast all she could do was cling to him as pleasure shot through her in hard, powerful spasms.
“That,” he said against her slack lips, while he continued to pump his hips, “is my favorite…fucking…thing…ever. Jesus—”
A flush rose under his five o’clock shadow. His eyelids drifted down and fluttered for an instant while he fought to keep them open. She tunneled her fingers through his hair and kissed him as he emptied himself into her.
“Hope I didn’t make you late for work, Mrs. Knox,” he teased a few moments later, as he carefully set her on her feet. It wasn’t until their bodies slipped apart that a belated thought hit. They’d just done it without a condom. Oops. Baby number three? Last time they’d discussed this, they’d weighed the pros and cons of giving Zach a little brother or sister close to his own age, but agreed the responsible thing would be to hold off on more kids until Hunter finished his residency and they could move to a bigger house. She’d secretly been a bit sad to let logic rule, even though she’d been the one to point out how much sense it made to wait.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled them both under the shower. While they rinsed, she glanced up at him and tried to determine if he realized they’d just rolled the dice, but his lazy smile gave nothing away.
“Um, you know we just did it without—”
“I know.” He shrugged. “Joy wants a little sister. Pass me the soap.”
She passed it to him and then opened the shower door. “And you?”
“I have this philosophy I like to live by.”
“Oh yeah? What’s your philosophy?”
He leaned down and kissed her then flashed her his cocky grin. “I told you the day we met. Think about it. And close the door.”
The day they met? “Hunter.” She stepped out and closed the glass door behind her. “I was kind of distracted the day we met.”
“Think about it,” he repeated. “Oh, by the way, you need to check the back window of your car.”
“What? Why? Oh, no. Please don’t tell me there’s a crack.” Dang it, her beautiful, new white Highlander…
“Just check it,” he called over the patter of the shower.
Great. She rushed through the rest of her morning rituals—drying her hair, dressing, feeding Baxter, the black terrier of undetermined pedigree Joy and Hunter had come home with a year ago, after stumbling across a pet adoption fair at a local park. Finally, she grabbed an apple for herself and headed out to the driveway. Her steps slowed as she approached the SUV. Shoot. Did she really want to see this?
Come on, Madison. It’s just a car. It wasn’t going to stay perfect forever. Drawing in a deep breath, she moved to the trunk…and froze. There, on the back windshield, were a series of stick figure stickers. A tall daddy, a smaller mommy, a girl, a boy, a dog, and three little dots…
“The dots are for whatever comes next.”
She looked toward the house through watering eyes and saw Hunter leaning against the porch rail, watching her. That man. Her man. Everything she’d ever wanted and never imagined actually finding.