Hailey moved off with some of the other women so Kane followed Dave in search of the keg. Kane didn’t know him too well since he kept to himself off the ice. He’d already been married when they got to Anchorage and with Renata’s pregnancy, he tended to go right home after practices and games. In fact, Kane was certain this was the first time they’d ever socialized off the ice.
“So when is the baby due?” Kane asked him.
“It’s a boy,” Dave grinned. “He’ll be here in two weeks, give or take.”
“You nervous?” Kane figured if he was going to sound like a pussy, it might as well be with another guy going through the same thing.
“Yeah.” Dave glanced around as if afraid someone would hear him. “Renata’s had a rough pregnancy. Only in the last few weeks has the morning sickness let up. She has gestational diabetes and we’ve had two false labor scares.”
“Really?” Kane wondered if Hailey’s pregnancy was normal or if something was wrong. “Hailey doesn’t get morning sickness as long as she eats right when she gets up. Other than that, she’s been fine.”
“How far along is she?”
“It’ll be fourteen weeks in a few days.”
“So you’re through the first trimester. You know what it is yet?”
Kane shook his head. “Hailey doesn’t want to know.”
Dave grimaced. “That sucks. Makes it hard to shop or decorate the nursery. Have you been house hunting?”
Something sour twisted in Kane’s gut. He hadn’t done a damn thing. He hadn’t even been able to convince Hailey to live with him, much less talk about buying a house or decorating a room for the baby. She was a third of the way through her pregnancy and he’d basically done nothing. They hadn’t even found a local doctor because he’d been trying to go about business as usual since Hailey didn’t demand anything of him.
“We haven’t done much of anything,” he finally admitted. “She’s going to have to take another year off from law school and that’s the last thing she wants to do.”
“Another year?”
Kane glanced up. “Hailey took this past year off to train for the Olympics. She was one of Dani’s teammates.”
“Oh!” Dave hung his head. “Shit, I’ve been so wrapped up in my impending fatherhood, I didn’t put two and two together. Sorry about that. I heard something about you dating someone from the Olympic team, but I’m in my own world sometimes.”
“All good.” Kane shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it much. Hailey’s worried about what people will say.”
Dave sobered. “Yeah, the WAGs can be brutal. Renata says they’re pretty good here, but when we were in Atlanta they were tough. She hated it there.”
“I hope it’s not like that here. I’d hate for Hailey to be unhappy.”
“You think she’d leave?” Dave was obviously more intuitive than he let on.
“God, I hope not.” Kane realized he meant it. Not only did he not want her to leave, he wanted her to move in with him. It was time to show her how serious he was, both about her and the baby. They still had a long way to go as a couple, but what better way to get there than by being together? Why had it taken him so long to figure this out? Sometimes he was dense.
“The look on your face tells me you’ve been struggling with something. Is it her or the baby or some combination of both?”
“Neither,” he said firmly. “She’s amazing and I’m crazy about her. The baby wasn’t planned, so we’ve both had to get used to the idea, but the real issue is that our lives are on opposite sides of the country. I have to be here and she’s supposed to be in Boston going to law school. Instead, she’s answering phones here in Anchorage, putting off school for another year, and having a baby with a guy who has no idea what he’s doing.” He’d never said any of that out loud and it felt good to get it off his chest.
Dave let out a low whistle. “Yeah, that’s a lot to throw at anyone, especially a couple who hasn’t been together long, but sometimes that’s the best way to find out.”
“You and Renata been together a long time?”
Dave laughed. “Nope. We met at her sister’s wedding. She was engaged to the best man and caught him in bed with one of the other bridesmaids during the reception. She came right back down, walked up to me and planted one on me. In front of both families and everyone else—he was her new brother-in-law. Three months later she asked me to marry her.”
Kane chuckled. “That’s a hell of a story.”
“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I thank god every day that her ex cheated on her or she wouldn’t be mine. Maybe this baby was fate’s way of telling you this is who you should be with. She seems like a great girl.” He looked over to where Hailey and Renata were laughing with Dani and Sara. “Renata hasn’t really made friends with any of the wives here and yet…” His voice trailed off as both men watched the four women.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“We never do. Sometimes guys like us need a good swift kick in the ass to see what’s in front of us.”
“You can say that again.”
“Just focus on what’s good between you. Whatever your bond is—whether it’s in the bedroom, on the ice or whatever—make sure you put extra effort into that and everything else will fall into place.”
“You think?”
Dave grinned. “I have faith you’ll figure it out.”
“I’m glad someone does.” Kane wasn’t so sure. He and Hailey did most of their bonding when they were naked, and while their sex life was good, it hadn’t been like it was initially and he didn’t think it was because they liked each other less. In fact, he was almost positive it was his fault. He tended to guide their sexual activities and he’d been trying to be gentle, careful with her pregnancy and anxious not to seem selfish in that department. Maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe upping the ante in the bedroom was exactly what they needed.
“What’s the deal with Sara and Aaron?” Hailey asked Dani a few hours later as the sun got lower in the sky and they sat on chairs next to each other, overlooking the pool. Sara and Aaron had been in the water for hours playing “keep away” with an inflatable ball, laughing and carrying on like the best of friends.
“I’m not sure,” Dani admitted. “She says they’re just friends but I think he’s into her.”
“She’s not into him?”
“I don’t think she’s into Alaska, to be honest. She came here to help Sergei when I left to train for the Olympics last September. She stayed because I was starting a new job and I wanted her to help me plan the wedding and all that, but I think she’s ready to move on.”
“Look at how he looks at her.”
“Yeah.” Dani and Hailey both let out little sighs before bursting out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Kane asked, sliding up behind them and resting his chin on Hailey’s shoulder. He followed her eyes to where Aaron and Sara were now wrestling for the ball and raised his eyebrows. “Anything I should know about?”
“No!” Dani playfully smacked him. “Sara would kill all of us if she heard us talking about them.”
“I don’t know anything.” Kane tugged at Hailey’s hand. “Want to go swimming?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t bring my suit.”
“Why?”
“It’s a little chilly.”
“The pool is heated.”
“You can swim if you want.”
“I want to spend time with you,” he said softly. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to get drunk and go skinny-dipping and have wild monkey sex behind that shed over there.” She made a face. “But I can’t do any of it.”
“You can’t get drunk, but you can swim and we’ve been having wild monkey sex a few times a week for the last month.”
“I’m self-conscious.”
“About your body?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not exactly. Just—” He cut her off with a sweep of his mouth, plunging his tongue against hers and kissing her so soundly she forgot what she’d been about to say or even what they’d been talking about. By the time he lifted his head the ache between her legs was like a ticking bomb about to go off.
“Wh-what was that?” she whispered in surprise, her heart beating triple time.
“I think I’ve been far too patient lately,” he growled against her ear. “You’re pregnant, not made of glass, and it seems to me you’re the kind of girl who needs to fuck more often than not.”
“Kane!” She let out a little squeak of protest as he lifted her bride-style and stalked off the deck towards the pool. “You better not throw me in that water.”
He laughed. “You already nixed that idea so we’re moving on to plan B.”
“Plan B?” She tried to twist around to see where they were going but she couldn’t see around his massive shoulders.
He rounded the corner and set her down on a chaise lounge in the farthest corner of the bottom level of the deck. Straddling the chaise as he faced her, he took her by the chin and kissed her. It was strong, demanding, possessive. He was doing things he’d done a hundred times but in a completely different way. She didn’t know what to think as he ravaged her mouth, taking everything she had to give until she was unable to form a coherent thought. All she could do was feel, and lord, was she feeling things. Her body hummed with need, but Kane didn’t let it go any further, continuing to stroke his tongue against hers, his lips firm but tender, torturing her in the most erotic way possible. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move, could barely breathe as he pillaged her mouth. What was going on with her? They were at a party, for heaven’s sake.
“You have a naughty streak, don’t you?” he whispered against her mouth.
She blinked as she struggled to come back to reality, frustrated that he’d broken contact.
“You need a touch of naughty, don’t you, baby?” He cupped one breast right through her bra and T-shirt, his thumb finding her nipple even with two layers of fabric between them. “All this sweetness isn’t doing it for you…and I sensed that, but I was trying to be a nice guy, thinking we needed to slow down because of the baby. I think that was a mistake, though. You want me to fuck you, honey?”
“Here?” Her voice sounded a little hoarse, even to her own ears.
“That’s what makes it naughty.”
“I don’t think—”
“Mr. Caldwell left,” he said, leaning forward and sucking on one side of her collarbone. “And no one else cares.”
“But—”
With one sweep of his hand he’d tugged her T-shirt and bra up over her breasts and had one nipple in his mouth before she could finish her thought. She moaned deep in her throat when he bit down, liquid fire shooting through her veins. Her fingers dug into his soft dark hair, pulling him closer, her head falling back as he nipped and bit, soothing the burn with his tongue.
“You like it rough,” he chuckled against her chest. “And I haven’t been giving you what you need, have I? I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I’m about to make it up to you.”
“Wh-what?” Her eyes rounded in surprise.
“Shh.” He put a finger over her lips and then slowly slid it into her mouth. She immediately closed her lips around it, sucking it deep. “There’s my naughty girl. Forget everything else and trust me to give you what you need.”
She sighed heavily, letting her eyes close as she surrendered to what he was making her feel. “Yes. Please.”