Jill Shalvis - Storm Watch

“Rules?” he asked a little unsteadily.

“You have to take off everything.”

“Far be it for me to break the rules.” Lending a helping hand, he made quick work of the T-shirt and tugged down her pants, leaving her in only her bra and panties as he kicked off his own shoes. “Christ, you are beautiful.”

And with him looking at her like that, she felt it, but suddenly, without the clothes, she got even colder, and her shivering became violent and involuntary.

Jason saw the change and immediately the sense of play left his face. He pulled her to him. “Okay, now we’re getting serious. Warming you up, and then sleep. Sleep before anything.”

“I just don’t think I can.”

He scooped her up. “Sure you can. It’ll be dark in a few minutes.” He set her on the bed. “With the power out, it’ll be pitch-black. We can’t do anything more until daylight anyway.” He yanked down the covers and nudged her onto the mattress.

“K-kay,” she said through her chattering teeth. “But only for a few minutes.”

“A few hours,” he corrected, stripping off his pants, getting into the bed with her, tugging the blankets over both of them. Then he pulled her in, deliciously warm and strong. “Sleep,” he commanded.

She opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t follow orders, but he felt so toasty that she sighed instead, and snuggled in.

And, shockingly, slept.

CECE WAS DOING her damnedest to pretend she was anywhere else other than in the storm of the century, in the back of a stranger’s Hummer.

In labor.

“On a beach,” she muttered to herself. “In the South Pacific. It’s hot and dry and there’s a cute cabana boy serving me a fruity drink-”

She broke off at the choked laugh from the man in the driver’s seat taking her through the craziness toward the hospital.

Hunter. He of the tall, dark and quietly strong persuasion, with the badass ’tude.

“I’m pretending I’m not here,” she told him.

“Good. Keep pretending. And when this is over, I’ll get you that fruity drink.”

“No can do. I’m done with badasses. No offense intended.”

“None taken.”

“Oh, and on my beach, I’m not as fat as a whale. Just so you know.”

He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Are you seriously comparing yourself to a whale?”

“Well, look at me.”

“I am. I have been. I just see a pretty woman, scared half to death and trying to be strong.”

Her breath caught. And then again as the familiar tightening began. “Oh, God. Oh, shit,” she gasped as another contraction took her, tunneling to her very core. She tried to ride through the pain, but the storm swirling outside the windows scared her. What if they couldn’t get to the hospital?

She could see Hunter’s broad shoulders, flexing as he shifted the Hummer. They were wide shoulders, strong and capable. God, she hoped he was capable.

And, damn, but this contraction was different.

Harder.

“Close your eyes,” he directed from the front seat. “You’re on that beach, Cece. You’re warm. Hot even, in your favorite bathing suit. And your favorite people are with you. Who are your favorite people?”

She was writhing on the seat, dying, and he wanted her to discuss her favorite people. “Anyone not talking to me in the middle of a contraction.”

“I’m trying to distract you.”

“I’d rather you do something more useful-like have this baby for me.”

“Yeah, no can do, sorry.”

“No, I’m the sorry one. I’m sorry my parents died when I was a teen, which made me angry and stupid. I’m sorry that all the men I wasted my time dating in that stupidity only wanted in my pants, and I let them because that’s how I measured my worth-by how many men wanted me. I’m sorry you’re just the poor schmuck who had the misfortune of finding the preggo chick. The really pissy preggo chick.”

He said nothing to that and, into the awkward silence, as her contraction eased, she bit her lower lip and fought tears. God, she was so tired of herself. “I’m just sorry,” she whispered.

“Contraction over?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “And also the pity party for one, though I might backslide at the next contraction.”

“Fair enough. And for what it’s worth, anyone who doesn’t value you is the stupid one.”

She was quiet a moment. “You’re different.”

“I thought I was just another badass.”

“Okay, I’m sorry about that, too. You look like my usual asshole type, but since you’re still here, you’re already so much more.”

Their eyes met in the mirror again, and it was the oddest thing, but she couldn’t look away. “You asked about my favorite people. It’s my sister,” she admitted, since he’d given her so much and she’d given him nothing but trouble. She gripped her belly and tried to rub out the pain. “Lizzy’s all I have.”

“What about the baby’s father?”

“He’s not interested in being a dad. Or a boyfriend. Or anything, not with me anyway.”

Hunter didn’t say anything for a long moment, and when he spoke, she got the impression it was difficult for him to speak evenly. “His loss then. Hang on.” The Hummer jerked and spun, and she let out a surprised cry, bracing herself for a crash, but instead they came to a sudden, rather easy stop. “What is it? What happened?”

“Road’s getting tough.”

She had a feeling that was the understatement of the century, but another contraction hit, and it felt as if she was being ripped apart like a wishbone. She cried out, then screamed, and when she opened her eyes, Hunter was unhooking his seat belt.

“Road’s washed out.”

She stared into his face, panting. “Oh, God, oh, God, I’m going to have this baby in a Hummer.”

He climbed into the backseat with her and reached for her hand. “I’ll go for help.”

“No! You can’t leave me.”

“Look, you don’t want me to have to-” He shot a glance at her protruding belly, then just below, and she’d have sworn he actually blushed. “I’ll run.”

She might have laughed at the fact that he clearly didn’t want to deliver her baby any more than she wanted him to, but panic had taken hold of her. Still, looking into his steady gaze, a resignation came over her, even a peace. “Hunter?”

He shifted closer, squishing his big body farther into the tiny floor space, pulling her in for a hug. “Yeah?”

She waited until he’d surrounded her with his arms, because she was a weak woman and his arms were so very comforting. “It’s too late to run for help,” she whispered, and, accepting that sometimes Karma had to have the last laugh-like putting her in this situation with him, a man who looked like her usual guy but wasn’t anything even close-she buried her face into the crook of his neck and held on.

WHEN JASON WOKE UP, it was pitch-dark. He didn’t need the light to appreciate several facts. One, that they hadn’t found Cece meant she’d evacuated, which in turn meant he had no reason to immediately get out of bed.

And two…the warm, nearly naked woman sleeping in his arms. She was snuggled in against him, her back to his chest, legs entwined, her hands holding one of his between her breasts. His arm, the one she was using as a pillow, was numb, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she might have even been drooling on his biceps. Smiling, he dipped his head to the crook of her neck.

Still asleep, she hummed in pleasure and wriggled her butt, which caused a predictable reaction in him.

“Mmm,” she murmured in her sleep.

Yeah. Mmm. He loved how she made him feel, and he kissed the back of her neck, then an inch lower, making his way to her shoulder, nudging the covers out of the way as he went. She was hot, and sweet, and still sleepy enough to drop some of her guardedness. That, or somewhere along the way, through all of the crazy long hours they’d spent together, she’d come to trust him.

He’d take that, because for some reason, this woman mattered. Having her trust him mattered. He could hear the storm still beating the hell out of the building, but also knew there was nothing they could do about it, about anything, until daylight.

Right now, right here, it was just them. “Lizzy.”

“Mmm,” she said again with a soft sigh, still out cold.

He shifted to get even closer, and so did she, and her silk-covered breast filled his hand. Her nipple hardened through her bra against his palm, and she made that “mmm” again, and then-

Went utterly still.

“Jase?” she whispered.

There she was. “Expecting someone else?” He lightly sank his teeth into her shoulder, then kissed the spot.

“Oh, God.”

He really hoped that was oh, God, you feel so good and not an oh, God, this isn’t happening, but then she sat straight up, cracking him in the chin as she did.

“Ow,” he said.

“Is it morning?”

“No. It’s only…” He peered at his watch. “Two. Come here.” Instead of waiting, he reached up, slid his arms around her sweet bod and tugged her back in.

“Oh,” she breathed, rocking her ass into him, wrenching a groan from his chest. “We’re not dressed.”

“We are not,” he said.

“The danger of hypothermia is gone,” she whispered.

“Yes, since I’m hot as hell.” He grazed his thumb over her nipple. “And, God, Lizzy, so are you. So damn hot.”

She turned her head and peered through the dark up at him. She didn’t shove him away or try to move. She reached up and touched his face, open to him in a way she hadn’t shown before now.

Not realizing how much he’d needed that from her, he let out a breath and felt the last of his blood drain from his brain, heading south for the winter.

“We slept together,” she murmured.

There was a blue glow to the night, washing over her face, casting them in contrasting shadows even as it highlighted the shine of her eyes, the curve of a breast, the arch of her hips. He skimmed his hand down her side, over her thigh and back up again, stopping short of her panties, letting just the tips of his fingers play beneath the silky material. He’d once felt things for her that he didn’t understand. He still felt those things, only he understood them now, not that that made them any less terrifying. “Not slept slept.”

“The rules of hyperthermia don’t say anything about not having sex.”

“No.”

“I’ve always been one for following the rules.” And she wriggled again.

He groaned, but no words came out of his mouth because, with no blood left in his brain, he couldn’t talk. Could only feel as she pulled his head down to hers, her mouth sweet and eager.

God, he wanted this, wanted to connect as he hadn’t managed to do all those years ago, as he hadn’t managed to do at all lately because these days, thanks to his profession, his life was always on the edge.

No softness.

But here she was, warm and naked and very, very soft. It made him ache, ache to change the way he’d been dreading the future, ache to have hope instead. Hope that he could find peace, happiness.

Love.

It’d been a damn long time for him, and that it was Lizzy, the girl who’d once stolen his heart without even knowing it, made it all the sweeter. Lizzy all grown-up and dancing a hand down his thigh, squeezing the muscles there as she rocked that sweet ass into him.

She was killing him. Killing him. He unhooked her bra at the same time that he dipped his head and kissed her shoulder again, skimming his hand up to cup her now bare breasts.

A low, hungry sound escaped her as she clutched his wrist as if to hold his hand to her.

He didn’t need the encouragement. Her breasts were perfect handfuls and he could spend all day touching them.

“I’ve always wondered,” she murmured.

“Wondered what?”

She hesitated. “If you’re as good at the rest of this as you are at the kissing.”

He huffed out a low laugh against her skin as he rasped his thumbs over her nipples, back and forth, making her stretch and let out a shuddery moan, shifting her hips restlessly. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

“Thank you-” She broke off with a soft gasp as he hooked a finger in the edge of her panties.

“I do my best work without these.” He tugged them off, then slid a hand between her thighs, where he found her creamy wet and hot.

God, so hot.

He played there, his fingers gently opening her, finding what he sought, dragging a callused finger over slick flesh as he nibbled on her shoulder, the back of her neck, her ear…

“Okay,” she managed. “You are good-” She let out a shuddery breath as he slid a finger into her. “Really good…”

“Shh.” He had a plan. Tear at her defenses until she let him in. And maybe, just maybe, she’d do the same for him. To that end, he kissed her neck, and with every glide in and out of his finger, scraped his thumb over her center. She arched, holding him to her, and when her breathing changed into quick, desperate pants, he knew that she was close, so very close. As she tightened around him, he added another finger, and she burst with a soft cry, coming apart in his arms.