Assignment- Baby

by Lynne Marshall

  "I don't know if this is such a good idea," she said, sounding as though she had just run ten miles.

  He stopped the kiss, but didn't let go of her arms. His eyes burned with passion, wild and dark. "Then you shouldn't play with fire," he said, his voice raspy and challenging.

  Amanda felt as though she'd been singed by a backdraft. She had never felt more alive in her life from the danger. Deathly afraid of giving her heart and body to Hunter again, she took refuge in sarcasm. "Give a man a good meal and see what happens?"

  "This isn't about food, sweetheart." He sounded bold, but subtly loosened his grip and let her up. She missed the feel of him immediately.

  Completely confused with herself, and almost timid, she was afraid to spark a new fire. But curiosity won out. "Why'd you get in a fight with a patient?"

  He sat back on his knees and gave her a calculating glance. "I didn't say I got in a fight. I said one of my patients decked me."

  "What for?"

  "Doesn't matter."

  She tugged on his shirt. "Yes, it does."

  "I told a thirty-year-old father of two he had testicular cancer."

  "And he decked you?"

  "He didn't like the diagnosis."

  "Did you press charges?"

  "The guy had cancer!"

  She extracted herself from his grasp and rose up onto her elbows. Of course he wouldn't press charges. Hunter would never do that.

  "How's he doing?"

  "He's still alive and fighting."

  "That's good. Did he ever apologize?"

  Hunter grinned, showing the row of gorgeous teeth that she hadn't seen nearly enough since they'd started working together. "Several times."

  She stared into his darkening eyes and saw the same longing she felt down to her toes. Her breath grew shallow with the realization that she'd encouraged this seduction, and wanted it just as much as Hunter.

  He stood and reached for her hands, his dusky eyes probing her. She took hold, and with Hunter walking backward, followed him down the hall.

  Just outside her room, Amanda reached for Hunter's neck. He swept her up by the waist. A whirlwind of movement followed as they intertwined arms and legs and lips.

  His mouth took control, mapping a warm, moist orbit around her lips, pressing and pulling back, diving in and almost disengaging, but never losing contact. His tongue explored her mouth, thrilling and delighting her. God, she'd missed his taste. For every kiss he offered she kissed him back, hungry and eager for his attention. Her body buzzed so thoroughly with excitement she felt her skin vibrate. He must feel it, too.

  His hands traveled over her bare arms, caressing and kneading the flesh. His palms felt hot, and she wanted him to touch her everywhere. She worked her own hands under his shirt, tested the expanse of his chest and shoulders. Solid. Smooth. She inhaled his scent and burrowed into the warmth of him.

  Moans and sighs escaped their throats as they tortured each other with long, hot kisses. Hunter reached beneath and raised her skirt to the waist, igniting a fireball of heat in her core. He discovered the barely covered flesh and sampled eager helpings of her bottom. Then and only then did he break from their kiss to inspect his surprise encounter with almost bare skin.

  "Yes," she assured him. "It's a thong." Amanda blew the phrase out on a breeze of breath against his cheek.

  He panted, and squeezed his hands tighter on each side of her hips, obviously pleased with her answer. Then he dove back in for another body-tingling kiss. He spread the wealth of his wondrous mouth down the side of her neck, kissing and nuzzling her skin, keeping the waterfall of sensations flowing. His hands lifted and massaged everywhere they touched.

  A cascade of chills found every secret spot of her body, leaving her electrified and wet—a fantastically heady combination.

  "I've waited all day to see you with your dress above your waist." Hot, breathy words brushed over her ear, tickling, taunting. "Do you have any idea how hot you are?"

  She shuddered with pleasure and wrapped one leg around his thigh, pulling him closer. "No. Tell me."

  He pressed into her hips, murmuring incoherent compliments…a sexy thesaurus of words that made her giddy.

  He growled with pleasure while his thumbs slipped under the waist of the thong and worked the elastic down over her hips. She gave her full cooperation. In return, her hands, tense with anticipation, shot to his zipper. She caressed the heat and length of him through his jeans, catching her breath and nibbling on her lower lip in a futile attempt at slowing things down.

  He held his breath. Carefully, she opened his fly and reached inside to the smooth and firm skin. He froze, and a guttural moan escaped his lips. Thrilled by the sound, she explored the warm flesh with gentle fingertips, held his width and felt him throb.

  Energized with desire, and with him imprinted on her palm, she longed to trace him with her tongue. Heat washed over her body and pulsed in her core. She started to drop to her knees.

  He groaned again, stopped her mid-drop and backed away.

  Her euphoria was replaced by confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

  Hunter held her by the shoulders, stared deeply into her eyes with a feral gaze, and whispered fast and hard into her ear. "If you do that…I'm a dead man." He glanced over his shoulder. "You have no idea how much I want to make love to you, but what about Sophie?"

  She giggled at his absurd and sudden concern. "You are such a dad."

  His eyes widened at the realization. They grew serious and stared at each other for a few seconds. She could only imagine the battling thoughts of denial running through his mind.

  But right now she wanted to get him back on track. "Okay. Take me here. Take me in my bedroom. Take me anywhere…just take me."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  "I'VE missed you, Mandy." Hunter joined her on the bed and gently kissed her forehead. His lips wended their way across her eyes and cheeks, and finally over her mouth.

  Amanda felt his warm breath as he stopped and looked with love-softened eyes straight into her heart. "I've missed you, too."

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

  As crazy as it seemed, she wanted more than anything to be in this moment with Hunter, to pretend that now was all there was and there would be no consequences tomorrow.

  She would have debated more about the aftereffects, but Hunter kissed her long and thoroughly, and she felt it all the way down to her toes. All thoughts vanished from her mind as she grew nearer to the moment and the need. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer. Heat flared between them—surely he felt it, too? His arms tightened around her. Their kiss became more urgent, feeding the flames already coursing through her body. She squirmed and twisted his shirt in her fists to keep him close.

  He pulled the shirt over his head and quickly did the same with her dress. A cool breeze marked the loss. His chest was firm and broad, and lightly dusted with dark hair, and she remembered every muscle and curve. His hand caressed one breast through her bra, while his mouth found the other. Chills sent Amanda spinning with a symphony of sensation. Hungry for his touch, she moved her hips and he pressed down onto her with his own. She savored his weight, pulling him closer, harder against her body, wanting more. And more.

  Frustrated at the barrier between them, she rubbed her hand over the denim-clad bulge in his pants. "Take them off," she gasped.

  As though reluctant to leave her breast, he kissed and suckled one last time, sending a jolt to her belly. He rose up onto his knees to remove his already unzipped jeans, and she helped him slide them down his legs. He was clearly desperate for her, and his penetrating caramel eyes never left her face.

  Alone. Finally together again. She could hardly believe what was happening as she reached for his jaw and caressed it to make sure he was real. His intense stare erased any doubt.

  Frantic to be together, they didn't waste time with any further preamble. He sheathed himself with a condom and entered her quickly. She g
asped at the surge of sensation, then relaxed and welcomed the length of him into her warmth, savoring the fullness. They mated in a nearly forgotten primitive dance of intense, luxurious sensation and hard, frantic rhythm. He clenched his jaw, drove deeper into her, stoking the fire.

  Sensing his hunger, she groaned her approval and encouraged his every move. She bucked her hips, begging for satisfaction. He worked to please her, not having forgotten what she liked. She coiled tighter, drawing him deeper and deeper with each silken stroke. She throbbed with his powerful thrusts, alert and riveted to the sensation of Hunter deep inside. He held her firmly in place, paralyzing her with pleasure.

  Amanda gasped with near unbearable sensation, and heard him groan as they grew ever closer to the brink. He found her perfect spot, filled her completely, and she could barely hold back another second. As though reading her mind, and every inch of her body, Hunter made her thunder and writhe with spasms both overwhelming and exhausting. And finally, when the overload of sensations began to settle down, he let himself go, stirring her up all over again.

  * * *

  A vague memory worked its way up from the thick soup in Hunter's head. A deliciously warm body lay next to him in the golden early-morning light. Mandy. He snuggled in close and inhaled the scent of her hair. About to nibble her shoulder, he stopped short when he heard Sophie's cry. How long had he been out of it? And how long had Sophie been crying?

  He hopped out of bed and pulled on his jeans as Mandy stirred and looked sleepily over her shoulder at him.

  She heard the cries, too.

  "Oh," she said. "Can I help?"

  "Nah. I've got her." He dashed out of Mandy's room to the other female in his life.

  Sophie sat in her crib, looking more disheveled than Mandy, with wispy hair sticking to her drool-dampened cheeks. Yet she smiled when she saw him, and he couldn't help but do the same. When had he fallen for her?

  The thought of having kids had scared the hell out of him back when he was married. But now, with Sophie, he'd discovered a secret serenity, and he admitted he liked taking care of her. But the responsibility felt monumental at times, and a month of hard work was so much more doable than a lifetime commitment. Although he had to admit that Sophie brought far more pleasure than pain.

  Remembering Mandy's statement in the hall before they'd made love, he winced. "You're such a dad." Those words had almost made him lose his erection! Yet here he was, walking the walk. Hell, maybe he could handle being a dad? Nah, it took a hell of a lot more than changing diapers.

  On autopilot, he lifted Sophie out of the crib, kissed her gooey cheek and put her on the makeshift changing table. He studied the sticky kid carefully and succumbed to a shudder. Nope. He wasn't going down the daddy road. No way.

  A shadow appeared from behind him, and Sophie's face lit up.

  "Hi, sweet pea," Mandy said to the baby. "Want me to get a bottle for her?"

  "That'd be great," he said, acting as though they hadn't just had the most mind-blowing sex since their honeymoon and—well, just about every day after that when they'd been married.

  She'd put on a short Asian-style robe, giving him lots of leg to appreciate. He smiled and recalled her honey-warm skin next to his. It hadn't been a dream.

  Sophie kicked him in the stomach and grabbed a fistful of his arm hair. He flinched and his gaze shot back toward his niece, who was now innocently playing with her toes. He managed to deal with the task at hand—a filled diaper and a hungry baby.

  Sophie gave him a sloppy raspberry.

  "Yeah. Back at ya, kid." He shook his head and grinned. Contentment took root in his heart.

  As if he'd almost slid into a trap, he caught himself and tensed. As far as kids were concerned, he still preferred to keep parenthood a foreign word.

  "Guess who you get to see today," he said. Today was Sunday, the day Jade could have visitors before being released, and he'd promised to bring Sophie with him. "Momma. Can you say Mom-mah?"

  Back in a flash, Mandy handed the bottle to Sophie just as Hunter connected the last snap on her cotton pajamas.

  "May I?" Mandy asked, when Hunter had lifted his niece.

  "Sure," he said, handing the baby over to her.

  She gave her requisite wide-eyed, goofy-grin greeting, which Sophie never grew tired of, and carried the baby to the living room.

  Mandy settled in an overstuffed chair and fed the bottle to Sophie, casually running soothing fingers through the child's hair, looking as natural as any mother. He'd noticed that fact all too often over the last few weeks. Right this minute Hunter stopped to enjoy the sight, but instead of relaxing, he felt tension knot in his chest. Don't get her hopes up. She drew a line in the sand three years ago and you haven't changed your mind.

  How could he have forgotten that important part of the equation when he'd decided he wanted to win her back? He'd been thinking with his other brain again.

  For less than a heartbeat, all of his well-thought-out reasons for never wanting a family escaped him. What if? he wondered. He caught himself, scratched his head and started for the kitchen. "I'll make some decaf."

  With a distant, oblivious, motherly gaze, Mandy said, "Sounds good."

  But it wasn't good. He'd just made love to his ex-wife and now he wanted more. She'd never be completely his again…unless he changed. And could he trust that she wouldn't pull another switcheroo on him?

  * * *

  An inkling of the night before filtered back into Amanda's brain. Had it been a dream, or had she actually done what she thought? She remembered seeing Hunter over her, under her…beside her. Oh, God. Her cheeks grew hot with the memory.

  They might have had one incredible night together, but Amanda knew instinctively that that was as far as they could go. "Friends with benefits" wasn't her style.

  She could try to pretend there was no harm in sleeping with Hunter, but Amanda wouldn't buy the rationalization. Been there, done that. It hurt. Time to move on.

  She watched him in the kitchen, making coffee, and brick by brick she began to rebuild the wall that needed to stand between them. By the time the coffee was ready, and he'd brought her a cup exactly the way she liked it, her fortress was complete.

  * * *

  They didn't speak another word about what had happened between them Saturday night—as though they both knew it had been a mistake and were being extra careful not to repeat it.

  Hunter dashed off with Sophie for Jade's visit, and Amanda spent her Sunday as she always did, routine being her best friend and her survival plan.

  On the Monday of their fifth week of cohabitation, thankful she had daily data from the Mending Hearts Club to input, Amanda worked diligently on the computer in her room.

  Somehow she and Hunter had managed to work together on the project without letting on that anything had changed in their relationship. Erring on the side of safety, Amanda decided to pick up more shifts in the Urgent Care clinic, in one last futile attempt to avoid him and keep things less complicated.

  * * *

  The news came that Jade was to be discharged from her in-patient treatment program, and Hunter was ecstatic…until he realized he'd no longer have a reason to live with Mandy.

  When he told her, Mandy was genuinely happy for Jade, but Hunter thought he saw disappointment at the back of her deep-sea eyes. Maybe he was projecting his own feelings.

  "When will she be home?" Mandy asked.

  "Tomorrow night."

  She chewed on her bottom lip, and instinctively he grasped her arms and looked closer at her.

  "Anything wrong?" he asked, unsure if the gleam in her eyes was happiness or an early sign of tears.

  "I'm thrilled for Sophie and Jade to be together again. The sweet pea deserves her mother." She looked away from him. "It's just that having the two of you living here has drummed up all sorts of mixed feelings."

  "I know what you mean." It was time to admit to the truth. "I keep wishing we could go back and fix things."


  She looked into his eyes with a steady, sincere gaze. "I didn't lie to you when we got married. I really was totally committed to my career. No one was more surprised than me when I went all maternal at the first sign of a missed period."

  He tightened his grip, remembering to his horror how excited she'd been about possibly being pregnant. Immediately he'd questioned her ability to be both a professional and a mother, citing his own mother as evidence. He never wanted children because of what he and his sister had had to endure. In the end, that immovable stand had proved to be the key downfall of their marriage.

  "You gave me an ultimatum because I didn't jump on the parenthood bandwagon. I had a knee-jerk reaction." He shook his head, seeing the demise of their marriage so much more clearly now. "That was exactly the way my father handled things all my life, without care for my feelings or thoughts. He'd just steamroller through with his decisions. You gave me no choice, as if you didn't care what any of it meant to me, and I couldn't live like that."

  "I'm sorry, Hunter."

  "So am I."

  They studied the truth in each other's eyes for several moments.

  Sophie didn't have a clue about their sincere confessions, or minutes on the clock, or waiting for her mother to come home. She shrieked, demanding their sudden and undivided attention. Bouncing up and down in her playpen, it was obvious she wanted to be lifted up and not ignored.

  Obviously thankful for the distraction, and breaking from his hold, Mandy rushed over and reached for her. She let Sophie test out her legs by holding her hands and walking her around the living room. Soon the baby got brave. Mandy gently let go of one hand, but continued to walk with the child, who had one hand flapping in the air. As the baby's confidence and balance grew, Mandy let go of her other hand. To their amazement, at only just over ten months old, Sophie took two steps on her own before she realized she'd lost her support and plopped onto her bottom.