Page 47 of Tempt Me

“Yesterday was tough, and those pain meds make me groggy.”

“Sure, sure. Indigo said you sleep like a baby normally. The dog is your alarm clock.”

Grinning, I admit, “Sleepy climbs on my head when I don’t wake up to let him out.”

Despite her tired eyes and bruised face, Hunter seems calmer today. I run my fingers over her slightly swollen nose.

“That airbag did a number on you.”

“Better than what the dashboard would have done,” Hunter says and then notices everyone watching us. “I’m having lunch here. Bear said there’s a meeting for you guys soon. But afterward, maybe we could take a nap in your room.”

Something about the way she says the word “nap” makes me think my dick is about to get lucky again.

HUNTER

I’ve never been particularly interested in children, especially after offering to babysit Siobhan’s then eight-week-old twins. Natasha and I had planned to tag team the babies, so our friend could go on a date night with Sync.

When Siobhan left the house, the adorable babies were sleeping. Natasha and I figured we’d eat popcorn and watch a rom-com. Then, Kiera woke up screaming. I was horrified to see how angry a tiny human could become. Soon, Deirdre was howling, too.

Natasha and I did everything on Siobhan’s list. In the end, we could only walk around and bounce the screaming babies while begging for time to move faster so their parents would return home.

During a diaper change, we mixed up the babies when their caps fell off. Natasha began to cry, thinking Siobhan would never know which baby was which.

Siobhan and Sync arrived home around midnight to find us freaking out. I’ve never been laughed at like they did that night.

“Of course, we can tell them apart,” Sync insisted.

Siobhan added, “They have different auras and cowlicks. It’s all good.”

The parents took their screaming babies, did a magical football move to work out gnarly burps, and quickly had the girls in their correct cribs.

“You did your best,” Siobhan said while I sulked and Natasha sniffled. “I used to get overwhelmed with Carys’s kids. It just takes practice to figure out their little quirks.”

I’m thinking about that night while rubbing lotion on Carys’s swollen belly. Studying the kids on the playroom’s security feed, she looks exhausted.

“Ripley’s coming soon,” Carys announces.

Freezing, I ask, “What do you mean by soon?”

“In the next few days.”

“You said that last week,” Siobhan points out and returns to fanning her sister. “Why can’t we just point the fan at you instead of pretending you’re an Egyptian pharaoh?”

“The fan gives me a headache. This doesn’t. Now serve me. I have only a few more days of whining left.”

Still fanning Carys, Siobhan gripes, “No, you’ll whine about other shit once the baby’s born.”

“You’re just jealous,”

I smile at how the O’Malley sisters bicker. Austen and I never had such an angsty relationship. She was always a cool, wild child, younger version of Suzanne. Then, after the attack, she became a fragile creature needing protection. Only since she faced her fears and claimed her sexy biker, have we been able to rebuild our earlier relationship.

“I want a baby,” I announce.

Glancing around, I exhale with relief when I realize I didn’t blurt that shit out while the men were still in the room. Tack, Bear, Sync, and Pork Chop left the house as soon as Zoot and Noble arrived at the farm.

“Well, you’re fucking Tack now, so making a baby shouldn’t be too difficult,” Carys replies. “You’re either going to have the cutest kids together or the weirdest looking.” When I frown at her, she shrugs. “I get overly honest when I’m nearly ready to push a kid out of my clam.”

“I was an ugly baby,” I admit. “Like, goofy looking for the first few months. I own that. But I was cuter than you were at six months.”

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