She kissed him, trying to show him not only how much she cared for him, but how much she wanted him too. His want for her became evident as she felt him start to harden.
Not taking her mouth from his, she moved her hand to his crotch. He stiffened further, but pulled back from her almost immediately, giving her a dirty look as he removed her hand.
"Kimber what are you doing?"
She tried to give him a wide eyed innocent stare when she felt anything but innocent, but she could see it wasn't working as his blue eyes turned cold.
"I'm sorry Paul."
"No, you're not."
Kimber let out a sigh full of frustration.
"You know what Paul? I'm not sorry. We're consenting adults and this is far from our first date. The kids are asleep. And you're so damned tense."
"Screwing isn't going to relieve my tension Kimber."
"Then talk to me dammit. And don't make me feel like it's wrong to want you Paul. Sex is a normal, healthy part of a relationship."
"Sex makes everything complicated. My life is complicated enough as it is already."
"It doesn't have to make things complicated. I love you Paul, and to me making love to you would be connecting on a deeper level. If you're serious about being with me, it's going to happen eventually anyway."
"Not tonight Kimber."
He turned away from her as if dismissing her, and she fought an urge to laugh. She had a feeling that she knew how Sierra had felt due to Paul's seeming lack of interest in sex. It didn't feel very good either. She knew she was attractive, but to know that the man she loved didn't want to make love to her made old insecurities surface.
"When Paul? Are you going to save it for our wedding night when I know that you didn't make Sierra wait that long?"
"What the hell is it with women and sex? I thought that men were supposed to be the ones that never stopped thinking about it."
"Wanting to have sex is a normal urge Paul. Are you afraid that it won't be as good as the first time? Don't worry baby. We shared something that night, a deeper connection that we didn't want to admit. And now the connection is stronger. You won't disappoint me."
"I don't want to have sex with you Kimber. And I'm not going to let you bully me into it the way Sierra did."
Kimber snorted. "I know you were aroused Paul."
"So what? I think with my big head."
Kimber rolled her eyes as she drained the rest of the wine in her glass.
"I think about other things besides sex too Paul."
"You certainly can't tell tonight. You're drunk Kimber. I'm going home."
He got up off of the couch and headed to the stairs without another word. She heard Halden's door open. Nathan woke up and protested as his father carried him down the stairs.
"Daddy I was sleeping."
"I know buddy. I'm sorry, but it's time to go home."
Nathan looked at Kimber as his father helped him put his jacket on. "Bye Miss Kimber."
"Bye sweetheart."
Paul didn't look at her as he opened the door, nor did he bother to say goodbye. As she heard his car start, Kimber wondered if she had messed things up irreversibly with Paul. But then again she thought as she locked the door with a sigh, if he didn't start opening up to her again, she had a sinking feeling that her happiness with Paul was doomed to end.
Paul
It took Paul an hour to get Nathan back to sleep after they returned home. He loved being with Kimber and the kids and Kimber treated Nathan exactly as she did her children. Paul had found himself fantasizing about what it would be like to be married to Kimber, especially after his uncomfortable attendance of Sierra and Luke's wedding.
But now he wandered if he and Kimber would last. He hadn't meant to show his irritation, and he hadn't originally been irritated with her. But when she had tried to make a sexual move, he had freaked out a little and ended up saying things he hadn't meant.
He had wanted her. He always wanted her and his body seemed to be forever reminding him of it. But his desire to make love to the beautiful woman he had fallen so hard for only seemed to further cloud his already confused mind.
He knew that he had to talk to Kimber if they had any chance of staying together, but it wasn't something he looked forward to. As he settled into bed he wondered if she would want to talk to him at all.
Sierra
Sierra had been looking forward to her honeymoon since Luke had proposed, and as usual her man didn't disappoint.
When Luke made love to her for the first time as her husband, she thought that she had been transported to another planet. Their sex life had always been good, but it was so good that day that Sierra almost wanted a cigarette afterwards.
Luke gave her an amused smile. "Was it good for you Mrs. Stone?"
Sierra shook her head at him. "As if you had to ask Mr. Stone."
He kissed her. "That's my girl."
"Your wife."
"Yes. My beautiful wife. So Mrs. Stone would you prefer our first child to be a girl or a boy?"
Sierra raised an eyebrow. "Our first child huh? Exactly how many kids do you think we need?"
Luke grinned. "Six sounds like a good number to me."
"That had better include the three we already have. Wait, what am I saying? I don't want six kids Luke."
"I was kidding Sie. We have plenty of time to decide how many kids we really want."
"I bet Paul is going to talk Kimber into having a bunch of kids."
Luke shrugged. "She's content now that she's working from home and has more time with Alexis and Halden."
"Yeah. I'm glad you got over your jealousy."
"It wasn't jealously."
Sierra gave him a look.
"Okay, so maybe I was a little jealous at first, but mostly it was worry that he would hurt her. I hurt her enough to last a lifetime."
She squeezed his hand. "Kimber is strong babe. They looked happy together at the wedding."
"Yeah. How about we stop worrying about Kimber and Paul and try for an encore?"
Sierra smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
Luke
Luke Stone was a very happy man. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told Sierra he would happily have six kids, but he knew that her job was important to her and that more children could wait.
He was very much looking forward to Sierra carrying his child though, and he knew that she'd never have to worry about her husband not wanting to make love to her while she was pregnant again.
Kimber
Kimber wanted to call Paul, especially since they had made plans for the kids to get together that afternoon. But it didn't feel like the right thing to do since he had been the one that had left without saying goodbye.
She knew that they had both said things they hadn't meant the night before, and she wanted to apologize to him. But she felt that he owed her an apology too. She certainly didn't think her desires were unreasonable.
As the hours ticked by, Kimber wondered if Paul would show up or if she was going to have to explain to her children why they couldn't play with their stepbrother that day.
Paul
Paul wasn't sure that Kimber would want to see him that day, but he had made a promise to his son that they would go to the zoo with Kimber and the kids and he didn't want to let his son down yet again.
He was working so much that Kimber had Nathan half the time on his weekends with his son as it was. While his girlfriend was wonderful with his son and they got along very well, Paul wanted to feel like a real father.
He knew that he had hard decisions to make in his life and he was beginning to wonder if anything would turn out the way he had planned.
Nathan was cranky when he woke up and didn't want to take a bath. Paul wasn't in the mood to argue with his young son, but the child had managed to get something in his hair that they'd overlooked the night before, and he badly needed his hair washed.
Nathan wasn't happy when he was told he couldn't go to the zoo
if he didn't take a bath, but it was the only thing Paul could think of to get his irritable son into the bathtub.
He thought that Nathan was warm when he dried him off, but he was a little distracted and the possibility that his son had a fever didn't enter his mind.
"Daddy."
"Yes son?"
It was then that Nathan started to convulse in his arms. Paul fought panic as the seizure shook his son's small body, feeling tears sting his eyes.
He wished more than anything that Kimber were with him right then, sure that she would know what to do. But she wasn't, and Paul fought back the panic as he rushed to find his phone. Nathan's body had stilled, but he was terrified and unsure of what the right thing to do was.
He found his cell phone on the couch and still holding onto his son for dear life, he dialed 911.
He explained what had happened as he headed for the door, and had the presence of mind to grab Nathan's pajamas on the way by, since his son was still wrapped in his bath towel.
He didn't think he heard half of what the 911 operator was saying as he drove what felt like the never ending distance to the nearest emergency room that luckily was only a short drive away.
Nathan was awake, but only seemed semicoherent as he handed him off to a nurse and followed them to an examination room.
Paul explained what had happened. The nurse took Nathan's temperature and checked his other vital signs. His son looked up at him with naked fear in his eyes. Paul blinked back tears as he squeezed his son's small hand.
Nathan had a high fever. When the doctor explained to Paul that his son had had a febrile seizure, he felt terrible for ignoring the fact that his son had felt warm earlier.
He wanted to bury his head in his hands and cry, but the medicine they had given Nathan seemed to be working. His fever had gone down.
When things settled down enough for Paul to wonder what time it was, he pulled out his cell phone and saw that he was supposed to have met Kimber and the kids half an hour before.
Since Nathan was sleeping peacefully and a nurse was still in the room to observe him, Paul excused himself to make a phone call. He knew he should call Sierra, but it was Kimber's number he dialed as he walked out of the hospital.
"Hello."
Her voice was wary and Paul worried he had messed things up even worse than he'd thought.
"Kimber, I know we were supposed to be there to pick you and the kids up a while ago, but Nathan is in the hospital."
"Oh no. What's wrong babe?"
"He had a high fever and I didn't realize, so he ended up having a febrile seizure. I feel like such an ass. I should have been paying better attention to him."
"It wasn't your fault baby. You're a good father. We all miss things. How is he?"
"His fever is going down, but they want to keep him a while for observation. I was so scared. I couldn't help but think that if you had been there you would have known just what to do. Even worse, I started to believe that it would have never happened if you'd been there. Oh Kimber, why do I always have to screw everything up?"
Paul felt tears sting his eyes again, and he was glad no one was around to see.
"You don't Paul. You're human just like everyone else. Do you want me to come up to the hospital to be with you?"
In that moment, Paul knew without a doubt that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Kimber. But he knew that he had a lot of work to do before he could make such a pledge to her. He was going to make damned sure that he could be there for her and the kids, really be there.
"I love you Kimber. They said as long as his fever breaks he should be able to go home by early evening. If you'd like I can cook dinner at my house. We can rent movies for the kids. I'm sorry about the zoo."
"No worries. We can always go another day. I'll let the kids pick out the movies and they'll be happy again. I love you too Paul. Call me if you need anything."
"I will. Bye Kimber."
"Bye Paul. Give Nathan a hug and a kiss for us."
"I will."
Paul ended the call and wondered how pissed Sierra was going to be that he'd interrupted her honeymoon.
Sierra
When Sierra heard Paul's ringtone come from her phone, she almost didn't want to answer. He sometimes drove her crazy with silly questions when he doubted his parenting skills, but he had gotten much better since he'd hooked up with Kimber. So she knew Paul wouldn't be calling without good reason.
Luke raised an eyebrow at her as she reached for her phone. She shrugged.
"It's hard to tell what he wants, but I think that if he second guesses himself on something with Nathan now, he usually asks Kimber, so it must be serious."
Luke squeezed her hand as she answered the phone.
"Hello."
"I'm sorry to call you when you're on your honeymoon Sierra."
"I know Paul. What's going on? Is Nathan okay?"
Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she waited for him to answer.
"He's in the hospital."
"Oh no. What happened?"
Luke put his arms around her. She leaned back into their strength.
"He had a seizure."
"A seizure?"
Luke's arms tightened around her.
"He had a high fever and I didn't notice, and he ended up having a febrile seizure. It was terrible. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry Sierra."
Sierra could tell that he was close to tears, but she was tired of Paul's insecurities when it came to parenting.
"Enough Paul. You are a good father and this wasn't your fault. How is he? Should we head home?"
"I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off. I don't care what my boss says. I don't want to ruin your honeymoon."
"This is our son we're talking about. Don't be an ass Paul."
Sierra took a deep breath and let it out, knowing that the last thing Paul needed right then was to deal with her bitchiness.
"I'm sorry Paul. It must have been terrible for you."
"It was. I felt so helpless and it made me realize even more that I need to make changes in my life."
"There is more to life than making money Paul. I know that your job is important to you, but lately it doesn't seem to be doing much besides making you miserable. Change sounds like it would be good for you."
Paul sighed. "I know. I guess I should probably get back to Nathan. His fever has gone down, but they want to keep him a while for observation. We should be home by tonight though."
"Good. Is he awake? I know you probably can't use your cell in the room, but I could call the hospital."
Sierra wanted very much to hear her son's voice.
"He was sleeping. I'll get the number and text it to you."
"Okay. Let me know if he's sleeping."
"I will. Thank you Sierra."
"For what?"
"For being such a wonderful mother and for not blaming me."
"There's no need for blame Paul and I know it wasn't your fault. You are a good father and you'd be an even better one if you stopped worrying so damned much. Thank you for letting me know what's going on. Please keep me updated."
"I will. Bye Sierra."
"Bye Paul."
Sierra hung up the phone and turned more fully into Luke's arms. She wanted to cry a little herself, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good. Luke held her for several minutes and then pulled back and gave her a soft kiss.
"A seizure huh?"
She sighed. "A febrile seizure. Paul didn't realize he had a fever until it was too late. He blames himself of course."
"It must have been pretty scary for him Sie. Sarah had a diabetic seizure one year at Christmas. It’s different of course, but it was scary for everyone."
"Yeah. I know it must have been scary, but he acts sometimes like he's the only one that makes mistakes. It could have happened just as easily when Nathan was with us. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a cranky kid and a sick kid."
"I know baby. I've
dealt with sick kids plenty of times myself."
"But at least you know that you're a good father. Paul honestly doesn't seem to know that he is. He drives me crazy."
"Let him drive Kimber crazy. I'm supposed to be the one that's driving you crazy now."
Sierra laughed. "So they finally have your blessing then?"
Luke shrugged. "We'll see."
She started to answer him, but her phone chimed a text message. It was from Paul, giving her the number to the hospital. It also said that Nathan was awake, so she gave Luke a quick kiss and then dialed her phone, impatient to hear her baby's voice.
Nathan's voice sounded small and far away, but he seemed cheerful, telling her that they had made plans to go to the zoo another day since he was sick.
Sierra spent several minutes talking to her son to still her maternal worries. But by the end of the conversation she was sure that he would be fine and she was confident that her son was in good hands, whether his father seemed to think so or not.
Luke
Luke knew that it was hard for Sierra to hear that her son was in the hospital. He was worried about his stepson himself, but he was confident that Nathan was well taken care of, especially since he knew that Kimber would be there to help.
After Sierra had spoken to her son, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Luke knew that she would have ended their honeymoon immediately if there would have been a need for it. She was such a wonderful mother.
Luke offered her a massage to clear her remaining tension. They talked about planning a vacation with the kids down the road a bit. Sierra teased him that they might as well wait to make plans until Kimber and Paul's honeymoon. While the thought that his ex-wife would end up married to Sierra's ex-husband sat more easily with him than it had before, he still didn't think it was anywhere near as humorous as Sierra did.
Paul
Paul was relieved that Nathan's fever had gone down and that his son seemed to be feeling better. He still seemed worn out, but he had been cheerful on the phone with his mother, telling her about his upcoming trip to the zoo.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 35