Sex, Not Love

“We have errands to do.”

“They can wait. One kiss.”

I wasn’t sure I could control myself after one kiss with this man. He moved slowly, as if giving me a chance to stop him, which is what I planned to do. Only my body was at total odds with my brain, and while they were busy fighting it out in a massive tug of war, Hunter’s lips sealed over mine.

I’d forgotten how soft his lips were. They directly contradicted the firmness of his touch when he wrapped his arms around me and closed the gap between us. Even though I’d forced myself to forget the way his touch felt, my body had not forgotten how to react. Instinctively, my legs lifted and wrapped around his waist. Hunter walked us back away from the windows, and before I could register where we were going, plush bedding was at my back.

“Hunter,” I feebly attempted to protest.

“Just a kiss,” he growled. “For now.”

It had been years since I’d had a real make-out session. Our bodies were tangled, his hard pressed against my soft. I groped his hair, his back, anything I could get my hands on to bring him closer. Every nerve ending in my body ached for more as I kissed him with more passion than I could remember having with anyone.

I’d been kissed hundreds of times, yet it was as exciting as that first make-out session when I was a teenager—maybe even more so, because no teenage boy’s body felt like Hunter Delucia’s hard one did pressed against me.

I vaguely felt vibration up against my hip, but my entire body was buzzing, so it didn’t register as a cell phone until it stopped and then started again a second time. “Your—”

“Don’t care,” Hunter hissed.

The desperate edge to his voice made the corner of my lips curl even as they remained glued to his. But ten seconds later, my phone started to ring. I wasn’t even sure where I’d dropped the damn thing. Ignoring it worked the first time, though the second time mine sounded, it became impossible.

I extricated myself from beneath Hunter and found my phone on the floor near the window where we’d started kissing. It stopped ringing again before I could swipe to answer. When the missed call registered, Samantha’s name popped up.

“It was Sam.”

Hunter dug his phone out of his pocket and checked his call history. “Same,” he grumbled. “Probably wants to add six more things to my to-do list.”

I took a second to smooth what Hunter’s hands had done to my hair and then hit Call Back.

“Where are you?” Samantha sounded panicked.

“Relax. We already picked up the flowers, and we’re at Hunter’s place getting the wishing well he made. We’ll get everything you need done.”

“No! There isn’t going to be a shower. Anna’s in labor. Forget the errands. We’re going to have a baby instead.”

“Oh my God! But she’s still got six weeks left.” I covered the phone and yelled to Hunter. “Anna’s in labor!”

“The doctor said the baby is big enough, and since her water broke, they aren’t trying to stop it. She’s already four centimeters dilated.”

“What hospital?”

“Cedars-Sinai.”

“We’ll be right there.”

Chapter 8

Natalia

“What? Is the baby here? Did I miss it?”

I woke to a gentle tap after dozing off for a few minutes in the waiting room. Six of us had been here since two this afternoon, and it was now almost two in the morning—and that was California time. For me, it was five a.m.—exactly twenty-four hours after I’d gotten up the day before. The thought that only one day had passed since I’d gotten up for my flight just didn’t seem possible.

Hunter spoke low to avoid waking Anna’s two sisters sitting across from us. “I’m going to go find a coffee machine for Derek’s mom. You were leaning on my shoulder sleeping, and I didn’t want your head to fall when I got up.”

“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” I rubbed at the back of my stiff neck. Looking over at Hunter, I cringed, finding a wet spot where my face had been. I scrunched up my nose. “I think I drooled on you a little. Sorry.”

“You were also snoring. Want a cup of coffee or you gonna go back to working on the puddle on my shirt when I get back?”