#1 Muse

by T Gephart

  “A couple of times, but I don’t mind hearing it again. You look pretty delicious yourself.” I licked my lips, running my hands down his strong arms.

  “Easy there, Claire.” He pulled me against his hard body, holding me still with his hands on my hips. “Not a lie, I will take you right here and not give a shit who’s watching.”

  “Oh really?” I grinded against him. “Well that would make an interesting story.”

  His hand moved up my spine and wrapped around the base of my neck. “I love how you think I’m joking.” He kissed me hard.

  Our bodies crashed against each other in a heated mess, the music thumped in the background while flashing lights washed over us in intermittent waves. Deeper he pulled me into the crowd so we were caged in. Arms and legs moved either side of us in time to the music, but in the sea of madness it felt like we were alone. No one could see what he was doing with his hands, his fingers skating against the hem of my dress and inching their way up.

  As they climbed higher, teasing at the edge of my underwear, I held his gaze daring him to keep going. I wasn’t some delicate little wallflower whose reputation needed to be saved, and I wanted to be touched.

  By him.

  Right then.

  His eyes scanned my body like he was reading sacred texts, moving his finger deeper underneath the scant fabric and rubbing against my naked skin. Desperately wanting him to push inside, I moved against his hand as I circled my hips. He continued to tease me, brushing his finger and thumb against my clit as I felt myself get wetter. He felt it too, smiling in satisfaction as his strokes got a little faster.

  My breasts tingled inside my dress, begging for his mouth or his hand but got neither as I rubbed myself against his chest. The friction made my nipples pebble, instantly amplifying what was happening between my legs.

  It didn’t matter we were out in public surrounded by people, I wanted to tear off my clothes and ride his hand, and make him finish by sucking his cock.

  “Do it,” I begged, grazing my teeth against his neck, needing more than what he was giving me.

  He shook his head, seeming to enjoy watching me beg as he smirked. “Uh-uh, not yet.”

  Faster he moved his hand, my body so hot and slick it ached. He circled, teasing my entrance with his fingertips, giving me the tiniest bit before pulling them back.

  “Please,” I panted, legs starting to shake. “Please do it.”

  He didn’t.

  Instead he continued his slow and delicious torture like a sadist, making me feel like I was caught between heaven and hell until I thought I would go insane.

  And then, when he was good and ready, he pushed inside.

  It was like a bomb had detonated.

  My body crumbled, his arm around my waist holding me up as I came hard on his hand. Waves of pleasure ripped through me as I pulsed against his fingers, barely able to keep my legs from going out under me.

  “Yes,” I cried out, my voice eaten up by the noise around us as he steadied me, keeping his hand right where it was until the last of the tremors were done.

  “I did try and warn you.” He slowly slid his fingers out while his other hand stayed locked on my hip. “And I don’t make idle threats.”

  I giggled against his chest as my body continued to tingle. “If you were trying to teach me a lesson, you failed miserably.”

  “You think?” He tilted his head to the side, a sly smile playing on his lips as he lifted the fingers that had been inside of me closer to his mouth. “Or do you think every time you see this hand and my mouth tonight you’re going to think about what I just did to you.” His lips closed around his fingers and sucked them clean.

  His head nodded, pulling his fingers out as he brought his mouth closer to my ear. “Yeah, I’m going to enjoy watching you, knowing you feel the heat between your legs and imagining me there.”

  I had no comeback, with the closest thing to a reply I was able to manage being a noise that sounded more like a wounded animal than a human. I couldn’t even be mad, in awe the man had given me one of the best orgasms of my life and we hadn’t even been having sex.

  He kissed me again, my body melded to his as he guided us off the dance floor. “Want to go to the bathroom and freshen up?” He beamed with pride.

  “Yes, but expect retribution. Lots of dark corners around here.” I gave him a grin over my shoulder and pushed opened the bathroom door.

  I heard his laugh before it closed, making my cheeks heat. He was a drug, and I was addicted, and there wasn’t a thing I wanted to do to change that.

  Still dizzy from the buzz, I quickly used the facilities and washed my hands. I didn’t even bother looking in the mirror, not caring how I looked when I stepped outside.

  “Hey.” Nick kissed my neck, his hand gravitating to its usual home on my hip. “Let’s go back and see how Luke and Scully are doing. We’ll look for dark corners along the way.”

  My body leaned back into him, enjoying his touch and remembering what he’d done only minutes before. “Sounds like a great plan.”

  Like two lovesick teenagers, we walked back to where we’d left our friends. We were grinning like idiots, probably tipping off everyone who saw us as to what we’d done with our time away.

  Scully was going to have a field day.

  Or maybe not.

  Instead of a smug best friend, a pale and worried one was sitting in her place. Luke was holding her hand and not looking much better.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, racing to her side. “Is it the baby?”

  Her eyes widened as she squeezed my fingers. “I don’t know, I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel really weird.”

  Trying not to panic—fine, I was panicking—I strained to remember everything I’d read in that stupid baby book. Wasn’t it too soon for labor? “Okay, are you having a contraction?” I asked, rubbing her back like Pru had instructed.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what the hell they’re supposed to feel like,” Scully bit back almost taking my hand with her as her eyes filled with fear. “And stop touching me, it’s making it worse.”

  Yeah fuck you, Pru, and your show them love and support.

  “Let’s head to hospital just in case,” I suggested, making sure the only thing I held was her hand. She seemed to be okay with that, so until told otherwise that was the extent of my comforting touching.

  “Oh my God!” Scully let out a scream that was heard even over the music, the fear in her eyes replaced by full-blown terror.

  If she hadn’t been having them before, I was pretty sure she was having a contraction now.

  Her face turned red as she held her breath, my hands grabbing hers as I calmly—okay, it wasn’t calm—told her to, “Breathe, Scully.”

  So maybe Pru wasn’t totally full of shit.

  Good to know.

  Luke and Nick went either side of her, supporting her weight as she tried to stand. She swayed, the seconds feeling more like hours as I waited for it to pass.

  “Fuck that hurt.” She rubbed her belly, slowly straightening. “Now get me the hell out of here before this poor kid is born in a club.”

  WE’D TAKEN TWO CARS TO Lit—Scully had ridden with Luke and his Lexus, and I had gone with Nick and his Mercedes. But that configuration wasn’t going to work again.

  With Scully refusing to let my hand go, and Nick insisting his car was faster, the three of us jumped into the Mercedes, bound for the hospital while Luke followed behind.

  The drive was tense. Nick blew through the speed limit while I tried to make sure Scully didn’t hyperventilate in the backseat. I might have seemed calm, but I didn’t take a full breath until Scully had been admitted.

  Luke gave a hug first to Scully and then to me, tipping his head to the door. “I’ll be in the waiting room. If you need anything, I’ll be right here.”

  “I’ll be there too.” Nick gave Scully a smile before putting his arm around me. “Let me know if there is anything I can do.”


  I nodded not really having the ability to think straight as the nurse closed the door behind them.

  “Okay, sweetie, we’re just going to have a look.” The nurse talked Scully through as she did an internal exam, her voice calming and reassuring as she asked questions.

  “I’m too early, right? We need to wait longer.” Scully shook her head, gripping her belly like she had the ability to stop it.

  The nurse smiled, writing notes on her chart. “Thirty-two weeks isn’t ideal but if this little one wants to come out, we’ll be ready. Best thing you can do is try and relax, and let us see what’s going on.”

  How was that woman so calm? My best friend was about to have a baby early and we hadn’t even packed a hospital bag yet. I hoped that when Scully eventually asked for drugs, she could get some extra for the help. It was going to take a lot more than kind words for me to be able to relax.

  There were more questions, more exams and a couple more contractions, Scully crushing my hand through every single one until we finally got to see a doctor.

  “We’re looking good, Scully.” He snapped off his latex glove. “No sign of fetal distress and haven’t dilated too much yet which means we have a chance of trying to slow you down. We’re going to give you some meds to attempt to slow the contractions and also give you a corticosteroid to help the little one’s lungs in case we go early.” He turned to the nurse, giving her instructions as she adjusted Scully’s IV.

  “And that will make it stop?” I asked, hopeful we could keep the little guy in there a little longer.

  He gave us a polite smile. “Hard to say. Sometimes we can slow it down by hours, sometimes days. In other cases, it makes no difference. But even if we need to deliver, we’ve got an outstanding NICU and an amazing team ready to spring into action.”

  Scully thanked him, putting on her best brave face as he walked out the door. “I should call my parents. My mom is going to freak the hell out, you know she isn’t great in a crisis.”

  She wasn’t wrong there. While her parents were great, loving their only child beyond measure, they were also the most high-strung people on the planet. Which was the reason why I was her birth partner and not her mother.

  “Scully, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. We can hold off calling them if you want, the main thing is keeping you calm.” Something we weren’t going to be able to do if her parents were around.

  “Maybe we’ll wait then?” She looked at me, almost as if seeking permission.

  “We can wait, there’s plenty of time.” I glanced at the clock and saw it was almost midnight. “I’m going to go out and send the guys home. Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?”

  She nodded, and after reassuring her I wouldn’t be far, I slipped out of her room.

  “How is she?” Luke and Nick both asked, standing the minute I walked into the waiting room.

  I gave Luke a quick hug before settling into Nick’s arms. “Pretending to be brave but freaking the hell out.”

  “And you?” Nick asked as he kissed the top of my head.

  I laughed. “Pretending to be brave but freaking the hell out.”

  We moved back to the chairs, sitting down while I brought them up to speed. With no real news, there was no reason for them to stay. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t be leaving.

  “Yeah, I’m staying too,” Luke insisted, folding his arms across his chest.

  Nick’s grip around me tightened. “I’m here as well.”

  “It could be days, you can’t camp out here indefinitely.” Not sure when I became the voice of reason, but whether I wanted the job or not, I’d been tasked with it.

  “Fine, we’ll take shifts then.” Nick didn’t leave any room for debate.

  Too tired to argue and knowing it wouldn’t do me any good anyway, I gave them both a gentle shrug. “Well, can someone go get me something else to wear?” I looked down at my fancy dress and heels, not really hospital material. “Maybe pick up some things for Scully?”

  “Make me a list,” Luke offered. “I’ll go to the house, get whatever you need and then stay here tonight. Nick can take over later in the morning.”

  “And I’ll wait with you until Luke gets back, just in case you guys need anything in the meantime,” Nick added, the plan as good as set in stone.

  I mumbled an okay, knowing it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t agree anyway and said a goodbye to Luke with a promise I’d text him a list.

  “Come here.” Nick opened his arms, and I collapsed into them, loving the feel of his arms around me.

  “I love you.”

  I’d mumbled it into his chest, a halfhearted effort to conceal what I was still too nervous to say. Not because I wasn’t sure that was how I felt, but because I was positive the timing wasn’t great. But I’d put it off for as long as my heart would let me, my mouth finally giving into the peer pressure.

  My attempt to fly under the radar sucked, with the minute the words had left my mouth, Nick pulling me away from his chest—where I was perfectly happy to stay—and looking down at me.

  “Did you just tell me that you love me?”

  Was it too late to change it to something else? Pretend I said, “I love shoes” or “I love blue.” It was the color of the dress I was wearing; conceivable it would be something that I love.

  “Yes,” I answered, my mouth and heart deciding to be on the same team.

  His fingers curled around my chin, lifting my head and forcing me to look him in the eyes. “Do you want to say it so I can hear it this time? Kind of jealous my pecs got all the action.” His lips spread into a grin.

  Man, that smile did it to me every single time.

  It was a shot right between the eyes, blinding me and making me stupid all at once.

  “Well, I think you heard it pretty good the first time, and I quite liked saying it to your pecs. Maybe they’re the real ones that I love.”

  I was such a liar.

  He knew it too, shooting down my bullshit with another one of his blinding smiles. “That would be a shame since I’m very much in love with you.”

  Whoa.

  What?

  “Say it again.”

  Unlike me, he hadn’t mumbled, saying the words with conviction as he looked at me without flinching. But even though I’d heard him clearly the first time, I needed him to say it again.

  “I love you.” He said it again without hesitation, his lips curling on the last word.

  “I love you too.” It came out so fast that I was positive he was going to ask me to repeat it.

  “I know, my pecs told me.” He laughed, leaning in while he stage-whispered. “Don’t trust the bastards, they’re only out for their own interests.”

  It was such a relief, the weight lifting off my shoulders in finally admitting how I felt. And had we not been in a hospital, with my best friend in preterm labor, it might have been perfect. But the reason I’d been unable to stop myself from saying it was because he was here.

  Right beside me, even though things weren’t perfect.

  “I should go.” I cringed, knowing it was probably the least romantic thing I could have said.

  Hey there, I love you, and now I have to go, and to think I wrote for a living. I really could have found some better words.

  He brushed his mouth against mine. “I know, go back and be with Scully and don’t forget to let Luke know what you need. I’ll come get you when he gets back.”

  If I could have split myself in two, I’d have happily done it. Wanting to stay right there in that room and go be with Scully. But that wasn’t a choice, which meant I had to go.

  “I love you.” I wanted to say it a million more times before I left. I figured now I had broken the seal, it made sense to get more mileage.

  “You need to go.” He gave me another kiss, this time deeper, his tongue and mouth saying everything that he wasn’t.

  That he wished we had more time, but he loved me anyway.

&
nbsp; I laughed, this time it was me who pulled back. “Okay, we both suck at this game. I’ll see you soon.”

  This time I meant it, turning around and walking out the door.

  And sure, I looked back over my shoulder, giving him a smile before I disappeared around the corner. I didn’t even care how cheesy it seemed.

  “You’re back.” Scully yawned, her eyes struggling to stay open.

  “We gave her a sedative as well, figured if she can get some sleep it would be good for everyone.” The nurse gave me a warm smile, checking the printout on the fetal monitor attached to Scully’s belly. “You’ve got a strong one in there.” She nodded, approving of the peaks and valleys that snaked on the page. “Just like his or her momma.”

  Scully yawned again, this time her eyes losing their battling and closing. “Thank you,” she mumbled, resting her head against the pillow. Her breathing slowed as she seemed to relax.

  The nurse went to the chart and added some notes, looking at me as I continued to stand.

  “Why don’t you take a seat in the recliner? See if you can’t get some sleep too while she’s resting.”

  I didn’t think sleep was even a possibility even though I was exhausted, but I loved the idea of getting off my feet.

  “Thanks.”

  I waited until she left the room and then pushed the recliner as close to the hospital bed as I could get it. It wasn’t easy—the thing weighed a ton—but once I had positioned exactly how I wanted it, I let myself fall into its lofty cushions. It was actually really comfortable; maybe sleep wasn’t as impossible as I’d thought.

  Scully was either asleep or very close to it. The lines on her face smoothed with each steady breath, the swishing noise from the fetal monitor becoming louder in the silence.

  I leaned closer to her belly, using the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with my little niece or nephew—Scully had never wanted to find out—and make sure they knew what was going on.

  “Hey, you haven’t met me yet, but I’m your Aunt Claire.” I glanced up at Scully, looking for any movement. She hadn’t even blinked since she closed her eyes so I figured it was safe to continue.