Emergency Delivery (Love Emergency)

by Samanthe Beck

  Could she drive him to his knees? New goal. Her limited repertoire might not be up to the job, but she knew a few tricks. Never letting up with her tongue, she slid two fingers into her mouth, wet them, and reached around to the nerve-packed zone just behind his balls. He stiffened and cursed so bitterly she wondered if she’d accidentally hurt him, but then a single, breathless, “Please,” reached her ears, and reassured her he could take the punishment. She tortured him like that for several moments, keeping her tongue in synch with the movement of her fingers, before she lifted her head and got back to work on the rest of him. Her fingernails still carved patterns on his unprotected ass. She continued stroking and teasing him with her fingers while she took him into her mouth as deep as she could manage.

  The hand in her hair relaxed but didn’t quite let go.

  “Madison, baby, I’m going to come. Fuck it, I’m going to come for days.” He halted the slight thrust of his hips. “If you don’t like to take it in that pretty little mouth, you need to let—”

  She tightened her lips and cut short his noble speech. She didn’t need to do anything except exactly what she was doing right now. She wasn’t a complete novice. She knew how this episode ended, and frankly, she was frantic to go there properly. She wanted the scent and the taste of him. She needed to internalize the moment, make it hers as much as his. That really was the best she could do right now, given her current condition, and they both deserved her best.

  A long, low groan served as her final warning, and then his body stiffened and shuddered. His outstretched arms flexed to support him as he came, releasing hot bursts into the back of her mouth. She kept him cradled there for a few extra moments, coaxing everything he had out of him, until he slid down the wall and gathered her into his arms.

  “Dammit,” he muttered against the side of her neck.

  Dammit, that was amazing, or Dammit, that was out of line? Maybe both. She mentally braced for his reaction, but then he tightened his hold on her and breathed out a highly content sigh. The specter of self-consciousness burned away like mist. Leave it to Hunter to make things easy. No tension. No problems. No awkwardness. She could languish in the pride of reviving her dormant sexual instincts without second-guessing herself. She rained kisses along the angle of his jaw and over the slash of his cheekbone. When she reached his ear, she grinned and whispered, “Sorry about doing the laundry.”

  “Holy shit. You’re almost forgiven.”

  …

  Madison’s laugh tickled his neck. “Almost?”

  He couldn’t hold back his own smile. Sure, he’d just broken his one and only rule regarding his houseguest, but regret was a little hard to come by at the moment. Not with the orgasm-induced mother load of chemical contentment racing through his bloodstream, and her sassy voice in his ear, giving him shit for acting like a jerk about the damn laundry. Maybe his ego needed to take things at face value, but right now, he planned to roll with that.

  “Almost,” he reiterated, and pulled them both to their feet. “I’m not completely easy, you know. When you violate my laundry, you have to work for forgiveness.”

  She braced her hands on his chest for balance and smiled up at him. “Who would have guessed that under your nice guy facade beat the heart of a hard-ass—?”

  He swept her into his arms.

  “Hunter!”

  “Shh. You’ll wake the baby. That would be inconvenient”—he carried her into his bedroom—“’cause you’ve still got groveling to do.”

  “I do?”

  Her question ended in a squeak when he tossed her onto his bed. Light from the hallway danced over her as she bounced once and then came up on her elbows and eyed him warily. “What kind of groveling did you have in mind?”

  “This kind.” He planted a knee by her hip, leaned down, and kissed her. She reached up and buried her fingers in his hair, holding on. All the encouragement he needed. He coaxed her slick tongue into his mouth and offered her a preview of the wicked forms of forgiveness he could demand from every other slick part of her. Her soft sigh tasted like pure, unfiltered anticipation. He moved his lips over hers. At the same time, he brought his hands up her sides, closing in on the swells of her breasts. Just before his fingertips grazed the undersides, she shifted and wrapped her arm across the front of her body.

  Denied.

  Fine. They’d go about this from another angle. He leaned into the kiss and slowly lowered her to the pillow. When he had her fully reclined, he hitched a hand under her knee and slid his palm along the outside of her thigh. Her kisses turned increasingly frantic as he glided over the curve of her hip, but when he snagged his fingers under the waist of her leggings, she broke away and tried to sit up.

  “Oh God. Don’t. Things might still be kind of crazy down there.”

  “I’ll be careful.” Okay, you persuasive son-of-a-bitch. Be persuasive. He ran his teeth over her earlobe but kept his hand at her waist. “I specialize in careful. Trust me.”

  She flopped back onto the bed and closed her eyes. “I do. It’s just”—pink spread from her chest to her cheeks—“What if I’m not ready…”

  “Really?” The hollow of her throat worked as she swallowed. He nuzzled the spot. “You seemed pretty ready a few minutes ago in the hall. Hell, girl, I’m still catching my breath over how ready you were.”

  Those eyes opened and leveled on him. “Hunter, a woman would have to be dead not to feel a lick of lust at the sight of…all this.” She gestured in his general direction. “You’re a freaking work of art come to life. Me, on the other hand”—she turned the gesture on herself—“I’m in the worst shape of my life. My breasts are, well, they’re udders. They’re not the gravity-defying tits I had nine months ago, and they probably never will be again.” She flattened a hand against her barely rounded midsection. “This belly doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and my bikini zone hasn’t seen a razor in months. So trust me, there is not an ounce of sexy to be had here.”

  Self-conscious. He’d known that about her from the start, but in his haste to make her feel as good as she’d made him feel, he’d forgotten. Shame on him. He braced himself on his arms and dug up a grin.

  “Stop smirking at me. I’m serious. What is so blasted funny?”

  “You are.”

  “I’m glad you’re amused.” She shoved a hand against his chest. “Get off me.”

  Knowing damn well he risked bodily harm, he leaned in and kissed her again. She stonewalled him for a second or two, but when he dragged his tongue along the stubborn line of her lips, she melted. He enjoyed that little victory for a moment and then eased back and let his gaze roam over her face, from the delicate arch of her forehead, to her wide-set eyes. The graceful slope of her small nose led him to the curvy cupid’s bow of her upper lip and ripe pout of her lower. Finally, he looked her square in the eye. “You don’t see what I see.”

  Uncertainty crept in to her expression. “What do you see?”

  “I see big eyes that turn summer-sky blue when you’re happy, and a storm-warning gray when you’re worried or pissed. And they go dark and smoky when you’re turned on.” He placed a kiss next to her right eye and then her left. “They’re dark and smoky right now.”

  She licked her lips. “W-what else do you see?”

  “Your sweet, expressive mouth. It’s like another mood gauge. But even when you’re frowning your stubborn, don’t-bullshit-me frown—yeah, that’s the one—I think about how that mouth feels on me. And after this evening, I’ll be thinking about it a whole lot more.”

  He paused to drop a quick, hard kiss on said mouth and then moved down to her cleavage. “As for the breasts, well, Madison, I don’t know how you got so far in life without learning this fundamental truth, but I’m going to give it to you straight. Men like tits. Big, small, pale, tan, full, sloping…they’re all good.” He kissed the swell of one breast and then the other. And then he snuck his hand under the hem of her top and worked it up.

  She gave hi
m the big-eyed look when he prepared to push it over her breasts. “What about swollen and sore?”

  “I’m careful, remember?”

  Her fatalistic expression nearly made him laugh. She closed her eyes and exhaled. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  He swept her top up and off and then cupped those full, heavy curves, avoiding her dark pink nipples, but supporting the weight of her in his palms. “Beautiful.” He breathed the word against her skin.

  She shivered but didn’t open her eyes. Very gently, he kissed the outer curve of one, lingering to rub his lips against the warm, silky skin. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and covered his hands with hers.

  “Too rough?”

  “Uh-uh.” A shake of her head underscored the murmur. “Feels good.” She pushed against his hands, initiating a cautious massage. He took the cue and repeated the action while he roamed his mouth over the upper swell. A soft sigh vibrated under his lips.

  Her breath hitched when he blew on her nipple. He traced the dark outline with the tip of his tongue and her fingernails sank into his scalp.

  “Oooh.”

  “I need a taste now.”

  “I don’t…I’m not sure—”

  He dragged the flat of his tongue over the beaded crest.

  “Oh, mercy.” Her whole body contracted against his.

  Saliva flooded his mouth, along with a sugary residue. He licked again, just to feel her knees clamp his hips again, and then moved on to the other breast. By the time he finished there her breath came in quick, hard pants.

  He kissed his way back to her mouth and let his fingers drift in a meandering line down to where the high waistband of her leggings rode just below her navel. He wanted to tug them down but feared pulling her out of the moment. Her breath hitched when he slipped his hand inside. She drew her thighs together. “You shouldn’t—”

  “Madison, I’m going to touch you now, and you’re going to let me.” He said the words against her lips as he eased into her panties. She gripped his wrist but didn’t stop him. Fair enough.

  Warm velvet greeted him. Between kisses he whispered, “That’s it. That’s so good. You feel like heaven.” He didn’t stray too low—he didn’t want to freak her out—but concentrated on drawing slow circles around her throbbing clit. After a few passes, her leg muscles surrendered and her thighs splayed apart for him. Her hips lifted. Perfect. He danced a finger over the sweet spot and let the rest trail a little lower.

  Her eyelids drifted shut and her hand tightened on his wrist. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs. “Oh, God, Hunter—”

  He swirled over the pressure point again, a little more firmly, and she practically levitated off the mattress, rocking her hips all the while. “Hunterrrrr!”

  Her mouth dropped open, her body shook, and she went over.

  Chapter Ten

  A sharp cry echoed through the shockwaves of Madison’s orgasm. For a second she thought the noise had come from her, and that she’d cried out her gratitude at the moment of truth. The cry came again though—definitely not a grateful, I-just-had-my-first-orgasm-in-half-a-year kind of cry. It was more of an aggrieved, some-loud-woman-just-woke-me-up kind of cry. She dragged her eyes open, and started to haul her still-quivering body out of the bed.

  Hunter’s hand landed on her shoulder and held her back. “Stay put. I’ll get her.” Before she had a chance to reply he was up, treating her to one last glimpse of his truly mouthwatering ass before pulling on a pair of black boxer briefs from the top of the neat stack of clean clothes she’d left on his dresser. He tossed her a grin over his shoulder. “Bet you’re sorry you did my laundry now.” With that smug comment, he strode out the door.

  Cocky son-of-a-gun. But apparently cocky worked for her, because she knew without looking she wore a stupid smile. It only broadened as she listened to him talk to Joy.

  “Hey there, pretty girl. What’s your fuss? You need some attention?”

  Joy’s cries quieted a bit, and Madison imagined he’d picked her up.

  “Oh, hell, you sure do. No problem. I’m on it.”

  Uh-oh. Dirty diaper. Full of intentions to go rescue Hunter, she pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around for her top.

  He kept up his monologue. “Let’s see here, we need this, and one of these, and probably a bunch of these.”

  She could picture him tossing the changing mat on the daybed, followed by one of Joy’s small, folded diapers, and the container of baby wipes. She paused, and listened.

  “All right. Down you go. No…don’t be rolling up like that. There, that’s more like it. Hey now, no kicking. No kicking me, at least. Any other guy tries to get near you, you bust out the Kung Fu. Deal?”

  She didn’t hear the baby’s response, but Hunter said, “Awesome. And we’re gonna keep that rule in effect until you’re thirty.”

  Joy replied with an irritated whine, and Madison bit her cheek to stop from laughing, but the sound of his footfalls in the hall had her scrambling for her shirt. She hadn’t even managed to get it halfway on when he came in.

  “She says don’t bother, Mama. She’s hungry again.”

  “Oh.” Her face went hot, but she managed to keep her hands steady as she reached for her daughter. Hunter settled Joy in her arms, and then stretched out beside them on the bed.

  Oblivious to the onlooker, Joy latched on and began to nurse with her usual gusto. The same sense of abandon eluded Madison. Sitting there, half-naked, feeding her child in front of Hunter struck her as more intimate than anything they’d just done together. Exchanging orgasms could be written off as a diverting recreational activity. This? Not so much. She was incredibly conscious of his attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she tracked his gaze from the baby nursing at her breast, to her feverish face. His scrutiny unnerved her.

  He reached out and brushed his fingertips over her cheek. “You’re blushing.”

  “I’m not used to having an audience.”

  “Just pretend I’m not here.”

  The suggestion made her laugh, despite feeling uncomfortably exposed. “Pretend six plus feet of hard-packed, sharp-eyed man isn’t there? That takes more pretending than I can manage.” She adjusted her position on the pillows, attempting to relieve the tension in her back.

  “You doing okay?”

  The man didn’t miss a thing. “I’m fine.” She planted the soles of her feet on the mattress and pushed herself up a fraction higher on the bed. “I may have overdone it a little today. I’m trying to spend more time on my feet.”

  He slid an arm behind her and rubbed the heel of his hand along the small of her back. She almost moaned out loud.

  “What’s your hurry?” His hand continued working tiny miracles on the tight muscles.

  “I’m not hurried, exactly, but I scheduled an appointment with my doctor next week, and I’m hoping she’ll sign off on me returning to work. The quicker I get back on the job, the quicker I can get my own place.”

  His hand stilled. “I don’t remember posting an eviction notice on your door.”

  “And I don’t remember receiving one, but come on, we both know the sooner Joy and I get set up in our own place, the better.”

  “I’m more concerned about the where and how than the when.”

  “Hunter, I knocked a file off your desk the other day and had to put it back in order. I know you’ve applied to med schools and you’ll no doubt start somewhere in the fall. This is your second chance. The last thing you need is another roommate with a baby.” All those words came out in a rush, but now she held her breath for his reply, because some stupid part of her wanted to hear him disagree with her.

  He scowled. “Okay, yes, I’ll need to minimize distractions come fall, but last time I checked my calendar I counted quite a few months between February and September.”

  Sweet of him not to hurry her along, but even the stupid part of her recognized they were fundamentally in agreement. He didn’t need them putting
down roots in his life. He had lots to accomplish before he’d be ready to take on major distractions. She had lots to accomplish, too, which brought her to yet another reason why she couldn’t just languish in his hospitality for months. “This may be hard for you to understand, but I need to get my feet under me and stand up on my own. I need to do that soon, so I don’t lose confidence in my ability to pull it off. I know a lot of people might not think a low-end job riding a register and mixing lattes is much of a goal, but earning my way, and providing for my daughter mean a lot to me. I was raised by that kind of woman, and that’s the kind of woman I want to be.”

  “No, I know what you’re saying. But you don’t have to rush. You’ll get there.”

  She shrugged, and aimed for a casualness she was far from feeling. “If my doctor tells me I have to adjust my timeline, then I’ll adjust.” Or find a new doctor. “But there’s nothing wrong with my goal. I have to be able to look myself in the mirror and see a person I respect.”

  “And right now you don’t?”

  “Right now I don’t.”

  “Maybe you need a new mirror?”

  “I need my own mirror.”

  “Well, whatever mirror you’re using, I hope it shows you you’re beautiful.” He cupped the back of Joy’s head in his big palm. “Both of you.”

  Her face turned hot enough to melt glass. “She is.”

  “She looks just like her mama. Same forehead.” He ran one blunt-tipped finger down the baby’s forehead. “Same nose.” His finger traced the outline of Joy’s upper lip. “Same mouth.” Without warning, he reached out and pinched Madison’s chin. “Same stubborn chin.”

  She’d also noticed those similarities, but she had other features as a reference, and couldn’t help seeing some of them in Joy. Cody’s straight brows. His smile. “She’s got some of her daddy in her, too.”

  “I’ll have to take your word.” He moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “Does it bother you?”

  “No. I figure I got the best of him when I got her.”

  “Not planning to send him a baby picture, and let him see what he’s missing?”