Pucked Under (Pucked #4.5)

by Helena Hunting

  Miller lets us in, and Sunny’s lying on the couch, wrapped in her favorite blankets with a green bundle cradled in her arms. She’s beaming. She looks beautiful and tired. If there’s anyone who will be good at this mom thing, it’s Sunny. She’s so calm about life, and about how things work out even when they’re unexpected.

  I hug Miller, whose smile mirrors Sunny’s, and then go meet my new surrogate nephew. He’s a tiny miracle. Randy checks the little guy out and gives Sunny the small gift bag he had professionally wrapped.

  “Do you want to hold him while I open it,” she asks.

  “What? Uh, no!” Randy holds his hands up like he’s being robbed at gunpoint with a nuclear weapon. “I mean, Lily will probably want to hold him. He’s like, brand new. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Of course I want to hold him, but I want to see Randy hold him almost as much. I’ll get my turn soon enough.

  “You’ll be fine. Just hold your arms like me,” Sunny says.

  Randy sits down on the couch beside her and mimics Sunny’s position so she can transfer Logan into the generous space.

  “If you’re not comfortable, I can hold him.” Miller extends his arms, glancing nervously at Randy. It’s sweet.

  “He’ll be fine, Miller.” She eases a snuffling Logan into his arms.

  “What do I do now?”

  “You hold him exactly as you are. He’s tired from all the work we just did, so he’s pretty sleepy.”

  Randy’s stiff as he cradles Logan, obviously unsure and uncomfortable. It’s endearing. He looks up at me. “He’s so tiny.”

  “He is. It’s a good thing, too, considering where he came from.”

  “I can’t get over how small he is,” Randy muses.

  Daisy and Skye come out of the kitchen at the sound of Randy’s voice. They ooh and aah over how sweet he looks holding Logan. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him blush.

  I snap a couple of pictures with the Polaroid while Sunny opens the gift. Inside is a tiny jersey with the team logo. On the back is Butterson 04, just like his dad’s.

  “It’s probably too big right now,” Randy says.

  “It’ll be perfect in a few months. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Can I give him back now?”

  Sunny laughs and looks to me. “Do you want to hold him?”

  “Of course.” I take my turn, slipping my pinkie finger under Logan’s tiny hand. I think about all the changes to Sunny’s life now that he’s here, how different it will be, how things will never be the same, and how she’s okay with that. I consider how this will change her relationship with Miller; it’s not just about them anymore. Their number one has changed. Logan will be the most important person in their lives now.

  I’m happy to have Randy as my number one, and I’m happy to be his.

  People start showing up not long after this. Violet and Alex and both of their dads—now grandpas—with Charlene and Darren. We hang out for a short while, then move to the backyard to entertain the dogs. Around lunchtime, Randy and I gather Wiener’s toys and take him back to our place.

  Randy’s quiet on the ride home.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” He stretches his arm across the backseat and threads his fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. Wiener’s curled up alongside his leg. He’d be in Randy’s lap if he wasn’t driving.

  “A little overwhelmed?”

  “I’ve never held a baby that new or that small before.”

  “Me either.”

  He’s silent again for the rest of the trip. I don’t push him to talk, because sometimes words aren’t going to make a difference. He parks the truck in the driveway and taps the wheel for a few seconds while staring at me.

  “Do you want to go in?” I ask.

  “Right. Yeah.”

  We bring all of Wiener’s toys inside. His favorite, ironically, is a stuffed hot dog. He follows Randy around the house with it in his mouth. He’s freaking adorable.

  “Come hang out with me.” Randy pats the cushion next to him on the couch. Wiener jumps up and takes the space before I can, but Randy moves him to the other side so I can snuggle in with him. “Is it wrong that I’m glad I don’t have to share you like Miller’s gonna have to share Sunny now?”

  I shift so I can look at him. “You mean her attention?”

  “Yeah, I guess, but it’s more than that. He’s gonna have to share her love, too. I don’t think I’d like that.”

  “You don’t think her heart has enough room for both of them?”

  “No. I mean, yeah, of course she has enough room. I’m not saying this right. That baby changes everything, and he’s gonna take time away from them. I’m already gone half the year. I don’t think I’d want to come home after being away for a week and have to share you with someone else. Wow, that makes me a selfish asshole, doesn’t it?”

  “I think it makes you human. I’ve thought the same thing. I’ve also thought about how hard it’s going to be for Miller to be away from both of them.”

  “Babies are some scary shit.”

  “That’s why my vote is on dogs. I’d say cats, because they’re easier, but I’m allergic, so they’re out. We could always talk to Sunny about keeping Wiener if we like having him. She told me his other adoption fell through.”

  “I like that idea.” Randy traces the line of my shin. “I’m not saying I’d never want that with you, though—a family, I mean. I think one day, like, a long time in the future, it would be okay.”

  “You don’t have to explain. I get exactly what you mean. I like what we have right now. I don’t want to change it.”

  “How are you so perfect?” Randy palms the back of my neck and gives me a soft, lingering kiss.

  I think this means the end of this conversation for now, except he bends me forward. It’s an awkward position. My nose hits my knees.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “Checking for your drone microchip.” His lips touch the top of my spine.

  I’m not exactly in a position designed for retaliation, but I manage to get an arm free so I can pinch him. He releases the back of my neck, and I pop up, but before I can launch a counterattack, he lays me out on the couch. Wiener jumps down and barks twice before running around in a circle.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Randy says over his shoulder, then turns back to me. “No microchip. You’re one-hundred-percent real, and you’re all mine.”

  Wiener paces beside the couch, then puts his paws up beside our heads and whines.

  “Well, maybe not all yours. I think you have to share me with Wiener now.”

  Randy runs his palm up the outside of my thigh and rolls his hips. “I have another wiener that wants a piece of you.”

  I snicker. “You’re ridiculous.”

  “That I am. I’m pretty sure that’s why you love me.”

  “It’s one of many reasons.”

  His smile is beautiful, just like the rest of him.

  There is no end to my love for this man. Randy’s my happily ever after, and I’m his.

  About the Author

  Helena Hunting

  NYT and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She's writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.

  Connect with Helena

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  Other Titles By

  Helena Hunting

  PUCKED SERIES

  Pucked (Pucked #1)

  Pucked Up (Pucked #2)

  Pucked Over (Pucked #3)

  Forever Pucked (Pucked Book #4)

  AREA 51 Deleted Scenes and Outtakes

  Get Inked

  THE CLIPPED WINGS SERIES

  Cupcakes and Ink

  Clipped Wings

  Between the Cracks
>
  Inked Armor

  Cracks in the Armor

  Fractures in Ink(Fall 2016)

  STANDALONE NOVELS

  The Librarian Principle

  Read on for Chapter One of Fractures in Ink

  Hot, wet suction and a discordant chilly tickle across my stomach pulled me from sleep. It took a few seconds to figure out what was going on.

  “Sorry I woke you.”

  Sarah, who I’d been seeing for the past six months, followed her insincere statement with the return of her mouth to my very awake cock.

  The rest of me took a little longer to shake off the haze.

  “Time is it?” I reached out in the dark to touch some part of her. I met damp hair. She must’ve come directly from the shower.

  “Late.” She licked up the shaft, making me groan.

  The clock on the nightstand told me it was three a.m., in glowing red numbers. Sarah’s late arrival wasn’t unusual. She worked long hours as a waitress at a strip club just outside the Chicago Loop. Middle-of-the-night visits were sometimes all we could manage. “Don’t you have an early class?”

  She popped off, but her lips moved against the head as she spoke. “You’re worried about what time my class is right now?”

  I hooked my hands under her arms and pulled her up, then flipped her over.

  “I wasn’t done,” she complained.

  “I think that’s my new favorite alarm clock.”

  Sarah parted her legs so I could fit myself between them. She was so, so naked. I kissed along her neck; her skin was shower-warm and damp. She’d used my body wash, but her hair smelled like the shampoo she kept in my apartment for nights like these—mint and rosemary.

  Sarah linked her legs behind my back and smoothed her hands down my arms, over the ink she couldn’t see in the dark. She made an impatient noise when I brushed my lips over hers but ignored her invitation for tongue.

  “Kiss me.” She nipped at my bottom lip.

  “You don’t want me to rinse with mouthwash? I think I have mints in the nightstand.”

  She gripped the back of my neck, her fingernails digging in as she fused her mouth to mine. I guess she didn’t care about sleep breath.

  Sarah was rarely aggressive when it came to sex. She liked things soft and easy most of the time, and she got off on the teasing almost as much as the actual fucking. But not tonight—or this morning, as it were.

  She shifted against me, lining everything up. I was still half foggy from being woken by a blow job.

  I pulled back, which wasn’t easy with the way she was latched on to my neck and my tongue. “Take it easy, sugar.”

  “I missed you.” Her fingers danced across my cheek. “I want you.”

  “You got me. I’m right here.”

  Sarah couldn’t seem to decide what she wanted to do with her hands. They were in my hair, down my back, grabbing my ass as she lifted her hips and I slid low. She was ready with the condom before I could protest again and slow us down.

  I stopped fighting what she wanted. It’d been a week since we’d seen each other. If she didn’t have to leave too early in the morning, we could have a slower second round.

  When she pushed on my chest, I rolled to the side and lay down beside her. Sarah’s wet hair swept across my neck as she straddled my hips. It was too dark to see the soft, delicate features of her face as she rolled on the condom and took me inside. She braced her palms on my chest as she rode me, swiveling her hips, grinding hard until she came. She was nearly silent, emitting only the faintest moans, barely audible over the sound of the fan running in the corner of my room. I knew she was coming only by the way her rhythm faltered and her nails dug into my skin.

  Once she had what she needed, she let me take over. I moved her onto her back, rolling my hips without urgency. My eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. The blackout shades kept the glow of the streetlights outside and residents of the neighboring apartment building from seeing things they shouldn’t.

  “Give me your mouth, baby,” I murmured in her ear.

  Her nose brushed across my cheek, lips following the same trail until I caught her mouth with mine again. I stroked against her tongue and she arched, arms and legs wrapped tightly around me again. I followed the long, toned line of her left thigh until I reached her knee. Pulling it higher, I tucked her leg against my ribs so I could go deeper without changing the tempo.

  “Chris.” Sarah’s whimper was followed by a shudder. Her fingertips dragged soft down the side of my face, close to our touching lips.

  “You coming again?”

  She nodded and pressed her face into my neck, her soft moan muffled by my skin. It didn’t take me long to come after that.

  Afterward, Sarah snuggled into my side and stayed there, which was also unusual. Typically I’d get a couple minutes of closeness out of her, and then she’d complain about being hot and move away. But not tonight. She kept her head on my chest and traced the lines of my sleeve until I fell asleep.

  I woke a few hours later to the feel of fingers tickling my arm. I turned to find Sarah lying on her side, her pale blond hair fanned out across the pillow. She snatched her hand away and pressed her knuckles to her mouth. Her sea blue eyes were red rimmed, like she needed more sleep. She closed them and inched closer, her whole body pressing against me before her lips connected with the ink on my shoulder.

  I pushed unruly blond away from her forehead, then traced the heart shape of her face. Sarah nuzzled her cheek against my arm for a few seconds, a shuddery sigh warming my skin.

  “You got time for some morning lovin’?” I rasped, my voice less awake than the rest of me, just like it had been last night, or much earlier this morning.

  “I need the bathroom.” She rolled away and threw off the covers. The room was still mostly dark, but I could make out her willowy silhouette as she tiptoed across the room, naked, and slipped out the bedroom door.

  I checked the time. It was only seven. She had to be exhausted, but I assumed her going to the bathroom meant morning sex was on the menu. Priorities and all.

  Except when she returned ten minutes later, she was fully dressed. Her white blouse was crisp and buttoned almost to her throat. She’d pulled her long hair up into a bun, the style too severe for her pretty face.

  I folded an arm behind my head. “Not getting back into bed with me?”

  She traced the edge of the footboard, her head bowed. “I can’t. I have class.”

  “Wanna come give me a kiss goodbye?”

  Her voice was a whisper I had to strain to hear. “I think we need to take a break.”

  I hit the light on the nightstand so I could see her better. “What kinda break you talking about?”

  “My internship starts soon. I’ll be working a lot of hours. At both jobs. I’m exhausted, and I think something’s got to give.” Her voice wavered, as if she were on the verge of tears.

  The conversation wasn’t unexpected. Of course I’d be the something she was ready to give up. I’d known this day was coming, eventually, since the moment she’d agreed to go out with me. Still, I stared at her for a few long seconds, trying to see the motivation that pushed her to this decision now.

  Maybe she’d finally realized she was too good for me—that she was out of my league and could find someone better, someone who could give her the things I couldn’t. Sarah deserved a nice life with a pretty house and a fancy car she didn’t have to worry about. I wasn’t that guy.

  For her, it seemed I was mostly a middle-of-the-night booty call, which was ironic because for years I’d been the one to pull that move. I guess it was about time I experienced it from the other side.

  “You want to call it quits?” I asked.

  She lifted one slight shoulder, still tracing imaginary lines on the footboard.

  “So last night was the goodbye fuck and the see-you-later blow job?” That would definitely explain the aggression.

  “We barely see each other.” She swiped at her ey
e with her pinkie before she lifted her head, but her gaze didn’t quite meet mine. “It’s not going to get better once I start my internship.”

  As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she had a point. We’d been treading water for months now; it was only a matter of time before we sank. “You’re right. It probably won’t.”

  “I’m sorry, Chris. I need to stay focused on school. Maybe after it’s over, when things settle down again…”

  “Yeah. I don’t know about that.” I had my doubts that Sarah would want to keep doing this with me once she’d had a break. One of the guys in her program would jump all over her being single, and she’d see me for the mistake I’d been all along. Sarah and I weren’t meant to be permanent, and this was exactly the reminder I needed. “You gotta do you, sugar.”

  She bowed her head, fingers fluttering up to cover her eyes. Her back expanded in a deep inhale. On the exhale she dropped her hands and squared her shoulders, but her next statement still came out a question. “I’ll leave your key on the counter.”

  “Sure. If that’s what you want to do.”

  She gave one final nod before she left.

  The emptiness was a lot bigger than I’d expected it to be.