Page 220
“Such a shame,” Michio’s husky voice whispered from the bed behind me.
I turned to face him. “What?”
“It’s a sin to cover those perfect curves.” His sleepy gaze wandered over me. Along my bare legs. The huge hillock of my belly. My bared, swollen breasts. My parted lips. For a long, unhurried moment, he just stared. “Turn around.”
The chill in the air tightened my nipples as I gave him my back. Or maybe it was the heat of his eyes roaming my body.
“Damn, Evie. I love the round O-shape of your ass, and the way it sits high when I look at you from the side. Must be all the jogging, because the firmness of your cheeks and your tiny, little waist…you don’t even look pregnant from behind. It’s all—”
“Right here?” I pivoted back, palming my stomach. I’d carried each of my pregnancies this way, front and center, all in the belly.
His pupils dilated. “Come here.”
A blanket covered his lower half, but his nude torso was enough to visually feast on. All those deep cuts and sharp ridges made my fingers tingle. He’d gained his weight back over the past six months, and his olive skin positively glowed with health. He claimed my blood had brought him back to life, which he took in sips several times a week. I often wondered what would happen to his cravings when he no longer had me to quench them.
I strode toward the bed, stopping in front of him, a quick glance confirming Jesse and Roark hadn't woken.
Michio propped up on an elbow and cupped a hand around my stomach. “You’ve never looked more beautiful.”
His compliment sifted through me like a caress, stirring up my overloaded energy.
“I’ve never felt so hyperactive.” I stared down into his brown eyes. “I can really feel her this morning, the way I sense you, but it’s crazy rambunctious.”
“I hope I’ll be able to sense her like that someday,” he said thoughtfully. Leaning closer, he trailed the tip of his nose around my belly button. “She’s going to keep us busy.”
“And test your patience.”
“And make us proud.”
A feeling of fullness expanded my ribs. There was so much energy and emotion and life inside me, I didn’t think I could contain it all. “I love you.”
He kissed my naval. “Love you.” Another kiss, and his eyes lifted, the warmth there emulating his words. “Do you want me to jog with you?”
“I have Darwin. Go back to sleep.”
He watched me as I pulled on a t-shirt and headed to the door, but a deeply accented voice stopped me.
“Ye forgot something.”
I grinned and returned to the bed, where Roark grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me toward him. He kissed the spot beneath my ear, the juncture of my shoulder and neck, a light peck on my lips, and released me to kiss my belly button.
Then he dropped on his back and closed his eyes. “Carry on.”
With a shake of my head, I slid around the bed to Jesse. He lay face up, his head near the edge of the mattress, eyes closed. I angled over his lips, staring at him upside down, inches away.
His mouth twitched into a smile a second before he cracked his eyelids. “Morning, darlin’.”
Oh, I would never grow tired of that deep, groggy rasp. “Morning.”
I kissed him upside down, the scruff on his chin tickling my nose. His lips were full and warm, his tongue a delicious invasion as he rubbed it lazily against mine. It was an unassuming kiss, his lips gliding along mine for no reason other than to show me affection. It made me feel loved, cherished, wanted.
When I leaned back, he trailed his knuckles across my cheek and jaw. “We’ll take you to the surface after lunch. We have some things to do this morning.”
I straightened and ruffled his sexy hair. “What kind of things?”
“Man things.” Roark rolled away, fluffing a pillow beneath his head. “Now be off with ye. I’m sleeping.”
Darwin and I left them to it, our feet echoing through the tunnels as we worked off our energy. After several sweaty miles, I ate tomatoes, spinach, and grits with Eddie and Shea in the kitchen. Leaving Darwin to finish his chow of meat, I showered, jotted down a list of supplies on a notepad, then wandered the corridors in search of Hunter.
I caught him at the elevator that led to the surface. “Here’s the rest of my list.”
He accepted the paper, his eyes moving over my scrawl, his hand repeatedly pushing his long hair from his face.
“If you ever want a haircut, I know a couple guys.”
Jesse and Roark still cut each other’s hair, and now Michio’s as well.
The corner of Hunter’s mouth tipped up. “Roark offered last week. Said I don’t need to keep my ears warm in this heat.” He looked up from the paper. “There’s a girl…”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220 (Reading here)
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235
- Page 236
- Page 237