They were somewhat secluded in the far corner of the deck. The pool was at least fifty feet away and now that the sun was getting lower in the sky, it would be hard for anyone to see what they were doing. And if they figured it out, it wasn’t anything any of them hadn’t done. Many of the guests had left, including Mr. Caldwell, who was the only person he might have worried about. Getting it on in public wasn’t really his thing, especially not with his pregnant girlfriend, but there was room for compromise if it helped them get closer.
Hailey shifted restlessly and he reached for the towel he’d spotted on his way to this chair. He draped it across her shoulders and then bent his head to her breasts again. They’d been sensitive before but now he barely had to touch her before she shivered, and it was hotter than hell. Tracing her areola with his tongue, he watched the bumps rise and pucker against his lips. She liked tenderness too, and for a moment he wondered if he was making a mistake, another one in a long line of them with her. He’d begun to feel a little inept with Hailey because she never behaved the way he was expecting her to. He usually knew what made a woman tick within a couple of days, but that hadn’t happened this time. Except in the bedroom. That was one place he’d finally begun to understand her on a level that didn’t exist the rest of the time.
He lightly pinched and rolled a nipple between his fingertips, watching as she gasped from both pleasure and pain. He did it over and over, capturing her mouth once again and loving the way she moaned into their kiss. He was so hard it hurt but she needed more. She tensed whenever voices from the party got louder or appeared to be coming closer, but he kept her distracted with his mouth and hands.
“You gonna ride my cock, baby?”
She mumbled something under her breath but the scent of her perfume wafted up to his nose as he leaned closer and it was so inherently specific to her, he spontaneously sunk his teeth into her shoulder. It was a nip, just enough to get her attention, but when she leaned into the bite, he increased the pressure until she cried out.
“Kane!” The way she whispered his name made his dick twitch painfully against the zipper of his shorts.
He slid his hands down her still-flat stomach, soft skin quivering at his touch. Slipping inside the waist of her jeans and past the panties beneath, he stroked her soft, wet folds with two fingers. The scent of her arousal mingled with her perfume and the faint aroma of sweat, resulting in a veritable smorgasbord of everything delicious about their intimacy.
“Unbutton your jeans,” he whispered against her lips.
Her hands shook a little but she didn’t hesitate, immediately giving him more access to her. She was already so wet and ready, there was no doubt the idea of getting caught by their friends turned her on. Her hips rose, pushing his fingers deeper, until they slipped inside of her and her breath escaped in a tiny whoosh of pleasure.
“You like that, huh?” He pressed his lips to the side of her face, letting her rock against him.
“Mmm. You get me, Kane.” Her body was moving against his, rhythmically, until his cock nearly burst out of his shorts.
“I know.” He used his free hand to open his zipper and release the erection straining to get out.
“God, I fucking need you so bad.” Her mouth sought his this time, devouring him hungrily, refusing to stop when he tried to slow down.
He shimmied her jeans down to her knees and she grudgingly pulled away long enough for him to yank them off one leg. She was on his lap an instant later, lips fastening greedily, like fiery tips of passion. He nudged the slick lips between her legs with his cock, the memory of being inside her bare that one other time rushing over him. They hadn’t talked about continuing to use protection and he hesitated.
“Way too late to worry about protection now, don’tcha think?” she murmured with a snicker.
He thrust up and they both groaned low and deep as everything stood still. If they could stay like this forever, he’d be perfectly happy. Nothing else mattered but how this felt, and as their eyes locked, he saw something there he’d never seen before. He didn’t know what it was but it made him need to move, fill her like he’d never filled anyone before.
He started to glide in and out, watching her face. She mewled with every stroke, her body straining against his, nails digging into the skin of his shoulders.
“Harder,” she whispered.
“Say it,” he growled. “Say my name and ask me for what you want.”
“Harder, Kane. Fuck me harder.”
Oh, she was fucking everything to him right now. Her long, beautiful torso, those round tits, and that sweet, tight pussy. All fucking mine, he thought in surprise. The sounds she was making brought him back to reality and he picked up the pace, unwilling to let his thoughts take him out of the moment.
“Do you want to come, baby?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Please.”
“Louder, baby.” He paused, chuckling as she whimpered.
“Kane…”
He licked his thumb and slowly brought it down to the swollen nub between her legs. She shuddered against him, her pussy convulsing with each thrust inside of her. She was close, but the notion of getting caught wasn’t quite enough to push her over the edge, so he reached behind her head and gripped her hair firmly in his fist, tugging just enough to make her gasp.
“Like that?”
“Fuck, yes!” Her breath was coming in harsh wheezes now as she bounced up and down in time to the movement of his hips.
He stopped moving abruptly and she cried out with shock and disappointment.
“Kane.”
“You feel so fucking good, I don’t want to rush.”
Her eyes narrowed but he just chuckled, slowly starting up again. He gradually picked up the pace, tugging her hair and slamming into her as hard as he dared. He knew the moment she started to come because everything seemed to stand still. For a couple of seconds her body froze, sweat glistening on her skin, a rosy blush covering her cheeks, her eyes squeezed shut just as her mouth fell open. His orgasm ripped through him just as her wail cut through the twilight. Neither of them could stop moving, bodies perfectly in sync, milking every aftershock until there was nothing. She collapsed onto his chest and he released her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly.
“Fuck, that felt so good,” she sighed, nestling into his chest.
He didn’t answer and simply pressed light kisses on the top of her head. He never would have thought a little down-and-dirty sex was what she needed to get closer to him, but if that’s what it would take, he was up to the task. In more ways than one. If this was what worked for them, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more.
They went back to his place after the party and she slept soundly in his arms. They spent most of Sunday in bed, venturing out only to shower and eat, since she was hungry all the time lately.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she admitted the next night at dinner. “I know I’m pregnant and eating for two, but it went from a slightly bigger appetite a week ago to wanting a side of beef at each meal.”
“You’re in the second trimester now, right? Maybe that kicks things off?”
“Not for another two days, but even so, I don’t think it’s supposed to be like a switch. Shouldn’t it be gradual?”
“Honey…”
“I know.” She was a little sheepish as she smiled. “My health insurance kicks in Wednesday and I have two numbers to call on Tuesday to see about an appointment so we can ask all these questions. Do you want to go with me?”
“Of course.”
“Okay.”
Something had shifted between them after their tryst at the party. Part of her wanted to be embarrassed, but she couldn’t quite muster up the energy. The people who’d been left at the party when it happened were all either the people Kane knew best or people he wasn’t worried about. Sergei and Dani had lightheartedly teased them a little while later, but other than that, either no one else noticed or didn’t care enough to say anything. She’d always been a little on the wild side with sex, but she’d never done anything like that, and she marveled at her trust in him. She never trusted anyone completely, but out there on the deck she’d trusted him to know what she needed, what she wanted, and that he’d take care of her. It didn’t make sense—what did nearly getting caught having sex at a party have to do with anything?—but there it was. She’d liked it and wanted more of it, more of everything that happened when they were together.
Kane’s phone rang and he reached for it lazily. “Hey, man… What? Oh yeah, sure… I’ll talk to Hailey and we’ll at least swing by… Thanks.” He disconnected and looked at her. “Renata Price is in labor. Jake thought some of us should hang at the hospital, in case Dave needs anything, and as a show of solidarity for the first baby born to the Blizzard. Would you want to go?”
She sat up. “Of course! We should absolutely go.”
By the time they got to the maternity ward, Sergei, Dani, Jake, Aaron and Gage Caldwell were all there. Logan came loping in a few minutes later, to everyone’s surprise. He was only twenty, the youngest player on the team, and usually full of mischief, but tonight he seemed more subdued than usual, his dark eyes taking in the group of them.
“This is it?” he demanded. “No one else showed up?”
Jake gave a little shrug. “People are busy with their own lives.”
Logan scowled. “I was balls-deep in—” He cut off abruptly, his face turning bright red. “I mean, I was, um, out with friends but made excuses and hightailed it out of there so I could get here.”
Jake laughed. “You’re a good kid, Pelletier. We might let you stay.”
The younger man rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”
“How long has she been in labor?” Sergei asked, sinking into a chair with Dani at his side.
“Dave called me about two hours ago,” Jake responded. “They’d just gotten here and they were prepping her. He said her water broke about an hour before that but her contractions were still about eight minutes apart.”
“Tatiana was only in labor about three hours from the time we got to the hospital until Niko was born,” Sergei said, referring to his late wife, “but the doctor said that was fast for a first baby.”
“Tiff pushed out Savannah in thirty minutes,” Dani said. Tiff was her brother’s fiancée. “But I think that’s rare too.”
“On TV, labor usually lasts for, like, three days,” Logan added. “So it’s probably fair to say this will be somewhere in the middle.”
“They won’t let her labor that long,” Sergei said. “If it goes on too long they’ll probably do a C-section.”
“I’m having huge second thoughts about ever getting pregnant.” Dani shuddered. She realized what she’d said a second too late and her eyes snapped to Hailey apologetically. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Hailey shrugged. “Too late now. I’ll be going through this in about six months.”
Kane squeezed her hand, pulling her against his side. “And I’ll be right there beside you.”
She gazed at him gratefully, whispering her appreciation before the subject changed.
They waited for hours. By midnight, Hailey was dozing against Kane’s shoulder and Logan had ordered pizza—for the second time. Jake paced as if he was the baby’s father and Aaron was busy on his phone texting someone. Just after midnight another teammate showed up, his red hair wind-tousled and his cheeks ruddy, as if he’d been doing something physical. Mikka Laasonen, the only Finnish player on the team, all but skidded into the room, his eyes wide.
“Is there baby? What’s happening?” His accent was heavy but his English was easy to understand, if not a bit broken.
“Easy, Turbo,” Jake laughed. “No baby yet. Did you run here or something?”
“Yes. Twelve miles from my apartment. Is good exercise.”
“You ran here?” Sergei shook his head. “Would you stop making the rest of us look bad? How old are you? Fifteen?”
Mikka puffed out his chest slightly, frowning. “I am not fifteen! I will close twenty-four years in August.”
Sergei chuckled. “I’m joking, Mikka.”
Mikka frowned. “Why is the baby not come yet?”
“It can take a while,” Sergei said.
“Maybe I run home and take shower,” he said.
“Relax, dude.”
The doors opened and Dave came out, his face tight with what had to be worry.
“What’s going on?” Jake was the first to approach him.
“Baby’s in distress. They’re prepping her for an emergency C-section.”
“They won’t let you stay?”
He shook his head and sank into the nearest chair. “No. Jesus, how did this happen? Everything was great until about thirty minutes ago. The cord wrapped around the baby’s neck; that’s why he couldn’t come out.”
“They know what they’re doing,” Dani said gently, sitting beside him and running her hand along his back in a soothing motion. “I’m sure she’s getting the best care possible.”
“If something happens to her…” His voice faded and he buried his face in his hands.