Chapter 21 Hunter #2
“Baby, would it be the worst thing?” Wylder asks, smiling against the skin of her neck.
Tate whips around so fast, Wylder stumbles backward, but he catches himself before he trips over a table filled with appetizers.
“If you knocked me up…” she says, poking him in the chest so hard, he flinches.
“Darlin’, I think you were an active participant in the process.”
My mouth forms an O as I gawk at them. I know this isn’t going to go well for him. Poor guy. I might not be the smartest man on earth, but I know that answer isn’t going to win him any brownie points.
Tate rears back and sucker-punches Wylder in the shoulder. “If I’m pregnant again, I’m going to…”
He reaches out and grabs her arm, hauling her toward him. “Think of a little one close to Willow’s age. Maddy and Hazel are so much older than her.”
Tate’s shoulders sag as she stares up at her husband. “That would be nice.”
“And we planned on another. So what if we move up our timeline a little.”
“I guess,” she says, but there’s very little enthusiasm in her voice.
“We’ll grab a test on our way home, but maybe you’re hot because you have on a sweater and a long-sleeved shirt. It doesn’t help that there are dozens of people in here, generating all kinds of heat.”
“I’ve been hot for a week now,” she tells him and then sighs. “I’m pregnant. I know it. I don’t even need a test. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. My tits are never going to recover, though.”
I bite back my laughter because the last thing I need is Tate wanting to poke me right in my wound.
Wylder pulls her into a hug, nuzzling his face against her neck. “Your tits are great.”
“They were,” she mumbles into his shirt.
Zoey pops up out of nowhere. Wylder’s large frame had hidden her until she moved around him, seeming to appear out of thin air.
“Hey,” she says with the biggest smile.
My heart leaps at her nearness. No one’s ever had that effect on me before. It’s the oddest thing.
“Hey,” I hold out a hand, balancing the half-eaten plate on my leg. “You need help with anything?”
I’m sick of sitting around and doing nothing. I’ve never been one to be still for too long, and this healing bullshit got old days ago. I am almost ready to jump out of my own skin if I don’t get my ass moving.
“There’s nothing to do.”
“I can clean up,” I offer, grasping at straws at this point.
“That’s later, and if you want to help, you can do light duty. I’ll be up all night putting this place back together.”
“I’ll stay,” I tell her without a moment’s hesitation.
I’d do anything to spend more time with her and to move my body around.
The more I move, the less sore I find myself the next day.
The worst part of the day is when I wake up.
My body’s been still for far too long, and getting my stomach muscles to move again without hurting takes more than a few minutes.
“I can stay too,” Lizzy offers.
Mason clears his throat and stares at my sister’s profile. “Actually, we have plans. Remember, Lizzy?”
She nods slowly. “Oh, right. We’ll both stay and help for a bit before we head out for the night.”
Mason’s lips flatten. “Sure. We can help for a little bit.”
“Good boy,” Lizzy whispers with a small smirk.
“As you wish, queen,” he replies with a dip of his head.
I draw my eyebrows in as I stare at them. What in the world? When I turn back to Zoey, she’s looking at them the exact same way.
“I don’t know what that is, but alrighty,” she says with a shake of her head. “Thanks.” Those words are meant for them, but they aren’t paying attention to us anymore.
Zoey pitches her thumb over her shoulder to where Tate and Wylder are still in deep conversation. “What’s that about?”
“She thinks she’s pregnant.”
Zoey pales. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah, that was basically Tate’s response too.”
“The first delivery wasn’t easy for her. I don’t think I could do two. Hell, I don’t even want to do one.”
“No?” I ask, surprised.
She shakes her head. “I watched Lulu give birth to Harlow. That experience is burned into my brain forever. I can’t imagine.”
“I won’t lie to you and tell you it isn’t that bad. I don’t have the right body parts to make that statement.”
“Thank you.” Zoey places her hand on my shoulder and leans forward, coming eye-to-eye with me. “Maybe we can do more kissing while we clean up later.” She waggles her eyebrows.
My hand finds her chin, tipping her head so our mouths are lined up. “How about one right now? A quick one before anyone notices.”
She doesn’t even think about it. Her mouth touches mine, soft and gentle, completely unlike last night. But she does it without hesitation in front of her entire family and all her friends.
“Thanks,” I say with a husky voice as soon as her lips leave mine.
She gives me a sweet smile. “There’s more of that to come later.”
I can’t freaking wait to get the okay from the doctor. It doesn’t matter to me if Zoey wants to have sex or not. I want something more than kissing to be an option. I won’t push her, though. Everything will be on her timeline, after what happened to her with Mark.
It’s a miracle she’s even given me the time of day. I know she pushed the boundaries of her comfort zone already by the small amount of kissing we’ve done. Anything else will be a bonus.
“Zoey,” her grandmother calls out from the kitchen island, and somehow her voice can be heard above the music and chatter.
“Got to go. Later,” Zoey says, giving my shoulder a squeeze before she stalks away, giving me the perfect view of her ass.
Later, indeed.