Midwives On Call: From Babies To Bride. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ to receive a high five or a kiss from a girlfriend. Still holding Sophia’s hand, Aiden pulled her towards the front row as a chair rolled directly towards them. Nathan got a kiss from the girl with the spiky black hair and then a fist bump and a one-armed hug from his brother.

      ‘You made it. Didn’t see you up there, bro.’

      ‘Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. You rocked it, man.’

      Sophia nodded her agreement, unable to wipe the grin off her face. ‘Most exciting game I’ve ever watched,’ she said. ‘Of anything.’

      Nathan Harrison’s eyes were the same unusual shade of brown as Aiden’s and they had the same ability to focus with instant intensity. The slow grin was eerily familiar as well.

      ‘You have to be Sophia,’ he said.

      She nodded again but didn’t miss the glance that flicked between the brothers. Or the disconcerting way Nathan was shaking his head as he looked back, still grinning.

      He must have seen her confusion. ‘Sorry. It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve met one of Aiden’s girlfriends. He doesn’t usually give me the honour.’

      Because a three-dates rule didn’t allow for inclusion in a private part of his life? She hadn’t imagined that hesitation in inviting her, had she? Or underplayed the significance? But she had no idea whether it meant anything. Or whether she even wanted it to mean anything.

      The moment could have been incredibly awkward but it was the girl beside Nathan who saved it.

      ‘There’s a first time for everything,’ she declared. ‘Otherwise nothing would ever change.’ She grinned at Sophia. ‘I’m Sam,’ she said. ‘And I’m delighted to meet you—which is what Nate’s really trying to say.’

      ‘I knew that.’ It was impossible to miss the significance in the glance Sam shared with Nathan. Their love for each other was blindingly obvious.

      So was the bond between the brothers. Aiden declined the invitation to join the team and supporters at a local bar, saying he had a horribly early start the next day, but she could hear the fierce pride in his voice when they took their leave.

      ‘You did good, man. Can’t wait for the next game.’

      Aiden could feel the remnants of a ridiculously proud smile he’d been suppressing as he started up the old van he’d used to collect Sophia that evening. He could also feel the way she was looking at him. The intensity was almost palpable.

      ‘Aiden?’

      ‘Yeah?’

      ‘That call you got at the beach the other day.’

      ‘Yeah?’ Oh, help. He’d hoped that had been forgotten by now. That he’d put things right. It had needed something special and inviting her into a part of his life he’d never shared with a woman had seemed like the way to go, but maybe he’d been wrong.

      Maybe he was still in the dog box.

      ‘Was it a call from Nathan?’

      ‘Um … yeah …’ He turned his head, the query of why she was asking on the tip of his tongue but the word never escaped.

      He didn’t need to ask why.

      She understood.

      She might not have any idea why the bond was so strong between him and Nathan but she knew it was there and how important it was.

      Weirdly, he could feel something inside his chest crack and something warm seeped out.

      Something really nice.

      He did have a really early start tomorrow but that hadn’t been the real reason for declining the after-game social occasion with the team. He’d known he wanted to take Sophia home and be alone with her.

      And the desire to do that had just leapt right off the scale.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      THIS WAS THE way the last date should have ended.

      Once again, Sophia was pressed against her front door the moment it shut behind her but she wasn’t standing there with her head bowed, listening to the sound of a fading engine.

      This time, it was her back against the door. And her arms, as she lifted them in a helpless gesture, unable to think of anything else to do with them as she met the intensity of the kiss she was receiving.

      Who knew that you could actually taste desire? Was it her own or Aiden’s or the chemical reaction of mixing them that made this so incredibly delicious?

      For the longest time, that was enough. The silky glide of tongue against tongue. The endless variations of pressure in lips that was a conversation all by itself. But then Aiden’s hands left her neck, where they’d been cradling her head, and they trailed down to cup her breasts. His lips left hers to touch the soft skin below her ear where she could feel her own pulse pounding and suddenly it wasn’t enough.

      Not nearly enough.

      And she knew what to do with her arms, now, too. She could wrap them around his neck and run her fingers through the softness of that closely cropped hair. Press her lips against that vulnerable spot on his temple.

      She couldn’t say who started moving first. If it hadn’t been her, Aiden didn’t seem to have any problem finding her bedroom, but it was a tiny house. The interruption of removing clothes felt like a nuisance and Sophia hastily stripped off her sweater at the same time Aiden peeled off his leather jacket. They both kicked off their shoes but then they looked at each other and abandoned undressing to kiss again.

      And time seemed to stop. Taking their clothes off was no longer a nuisance. It was a game to be savoured. A slow reveal of buttons coming undone and zips being separated. Exposed skin that needed exploring. Touching and kissing with murmurs of appreciation and the odd whimper of escalating desire.

      Too soon—and not nearly soon enough—they were in her bed and now there were no limits on the touching. No stopping the roller-coaster of sensation that was pushing them towards ecstasy. The interruption of Aiden leaning over the side of the bed to find his discarded jeans and fish in the pocket for a foil packet was unbearable.

      There’s no need, Sophia wanted to say. Don’t stop.

      But, of course, she didn’t say it. And it wasn’t entirely true, anyway. Okay, there was no way she could get pregnant but there were other reasons to use protection …

      And maybe that was why she found the interruption unbearable. She didn’t want to have to think about anything like that—even for the few seconds it took.

      Easy to forget about it again, though. To cry out with the pleasure of feeling him inside her and then to simply surrender to the mounting tension that was taking them both to that place like no other. Where the world could stop turning for as long as it took.

      It took quite a while for either of them СКАЧАТЬ