Page 182 of Dirty Grovel

“Don’t!” I say. “I’m sweaty and disgusting. You don’t want to touch me.”

“Actually, I do,” he says easily, picking up my hand and holding it to his heart. “I’m not afraid of a little sweat.”

I let out a gritted scream as another contraction wracks my body. They seem to be getting more and more painful, and closer and closer together.

“How many minutes between contractions?” I ask my sister.

Sydney bites her bottom lip. “Eh…”

“You were supposed to be keeping time!” I cry, ready to throw a full-on hissy fit.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted,” she says apologetically, backing away from me like I’ll bite if she’s too close.

Good move—I might.

“Where are you going?”

Her gaze darts to Oleg. “To… erm… check on things.”

“Things?” I say. “What things? Everything is happening in here!”

“I think Jesse’s back with a bag of your clothes,” she says, pretending to have heard something from outside my suite. “Lemme go check.”

“Liar!” I yell at her retreating back.

As the door swings shut again, I turn to the last man standing. The beautiful man who hasn’t left my side since they wheeled me in here hours ago.

“Did I just clear the whole damn room?”

He gently sidesteps the question. “How about I take over the massaging?”

I sigh noisily. “I’m being a bitch, aren’t I?”

He doesn’t so much as crack a smile. “You’re allowed.” Wincing, I grab his hand, another contraction scouring through my insides. “What does it feel like?”

My eyes open. He’s blurry for a moment and only then, do I realize there are tears in my eyes.

Tears of pain.

“It feels like someone’s taking a curling iron to my ovaries.”

He gets in behind me and supports my back with his chest. Then he grips both my hands. “Squeeze as hard as you want. I’ve got you.”

I’ve gotta admit, those words do lessen the pain. “Aaargh!” I scream, the tears dripping down the sides of my face. “Oleg!”

“It’s okay, baby, you’ve got this. Your contractions are coming close together now. Only thirty seconds apart. It’s almost time.”

“The d-doctor,” I stammer. “Where is the?—?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already paged the nurses. They’re coming.”

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door bursts open and the doctor appears, accompanied by a trio of nurses, all of whom have their game faces on.

I crane my head back against Oleg’s chest. “I’m scared…”

“Me, too,” he whispers back.

And again, that makes me feel infinitely better.

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