Until There Was Us

by Samantha Chase

  It was Sunday.

  She had work in the morning.

  Dammit.

  Alex lifted his head and placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose before resting his forehead against hers. “Where’d you go?” he whispered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “One minute you were right there with me—kissing me like…well…exactly like I remembered. And then the next I could tell you were distracted.”

  Megan didn’t move. “Do you remember the first time we kissed?”

  “The garden at Zach and Gabriella’s wedding. We were in the corner, and there were those little white twinkly lights woven in the greenery. The music was barely a whisper, and it felt like we were cocooned somewhere in a world of our own.”

  So…yes. He remembered.

  “It came to me that when we kissed there, I didn’t even pay attention to where we were. It was all about finding a place to be alone, and that kiss was wild and untamed, and—”

  “It was so damn sexy, Megan,” he said huskily. “God, you have no idea how turned on I was.”

  She smiled and felt herself blush. “I think I have a pretty good idea. We left the reception not too long after that.”

  “And didn’t come out of the room for almost two days,” he added, tucking a finger under her chin so she’d have to look at him. His expression was serious. “I’m not asking for another sex-fueled weekend,” he began and then let out a small laugh. “I wouldn’t say no to one, but that’s not what this is about. I’m enjoying getting to know you. Nothing about our relationship has been…conventional, and I want you to know I’m willing to wait until you’re comfortable taking this to the next level.”

  She swallowed hard. “You mean sleeping together again?”

  Alex shook his head. “Eventually. Right now, Megan, I’d like to know that you see me as someone you want to be with—someone you’ll go to dinner with or sit and watch a movie with on a Thursday night.” He shrugged. “I’d like to think you’ll give us a chance.”

  And that was what she wanted too. She knew that now. It was a bit terrifying because for so long, her work was what defined her and filled all her free time. To be in this new job and trying to meet all the commitments it required while starting a new personal relationship seemed almost too overwhelming to comprehend. Which was what she said to him.

  “We’ll take it slow,” he said. “I know you have a demanding job. I get it. And my schedule isn’t exactly traditional either.” He stood and took her hand in his, gently pulling her to her feet. “What do you say we walk around for a little bit more and then head home and talk about it? Later on, we’ll maybe grill some burgers and watch some TV. Very casual. Nothing crazy.”

  She nibbled her bottom lip as she pretended to consider her options.

  Alex leaned in and kissed the spot her teeth had just worried. “But you should know this,” he said, his voice low and thick and full of promise, “I’m going to want to kiss you again, and I’ll want to hold you close while we watch TV. And with even the slightest bit of encouragement from you, I’d even be willing to skip the dinner and television and feast on you.”

  She gasped softly at the image but didn’t discourage him either.

  He pulled her in close and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “But…the ball is in your court, Megan. We move at your pace. Okay?”

  Right now, her pace was to find a secluded spot and have a throw-down in the garden.

  She kept that idea to herself.

  Clearing her throat, she said, “Let’s finish walking around the gardens and head home and then…take it from there.” Pulling back, she looked at him. “Is that okay?”

  His smile was sweet and sexy and had her knees buckling. “I already told you we’re gonna move at your pace. I’ve waited two years for you, Megan, and I don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”

  Oh God. Two years.

  She hadn’t had sex in two years!

  Seriously, what am I waiting for? she wondered.

  “C’mon,” he said. “Let’s go and walk off this lunch.”

  Personally, she could think of a much better way to work it off, but for now, she opted to behave.

  There’d be plenty of time to misbehave later.

  * * *

  They’d walked.

  They’d talked.

  They’d laughed.

  There was not one damn thing they’d done in the past two hours that should have been considered sexy, and yet…everything about Megan was, and Alex had a feeling she was completely unaware of it. Now as they pulled into his driveway, he had to remind himself to not get too anxious because there was a very real chance they were going to go inside, order a pizza or eat burgers, and simply…watch TV.

  And that would be great.

  It would be fun.

  It would…totally not be his first choice. Or his second. Okay, fine, it would maybe be his fourth or fifth choice, but he’d promised they’d take things at her pace, and he’d meant it.

  At the time he had.

  Now? Not so much.

  The entire drive to his house they had talked about different options to tour next weekend—places that weren’t in the same vicinity of the park. Hell, if it were up to Alex, they’d do some serious hiking, but he knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. They’d tossed out the idea of doing some museums or more touristy locations, but those were things they could do anytime, and maybe they’d save them for a rainy day—literally.

  “How do you feel about waterfalls?” he asked as they stepped into his house.

  Megan put the cooler bag down next to the door and kicked off her shoes. “I don’t think I’ve ever given them much thought. Why?”

  “There’s a great park about an hour south of here in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains called Silver Falls. It’s a state park, but it’s known for—”

  “Its waterfalls?” she finished for him with an arched brow.

  “Exactly. I haven’t been there in years, but it’s a spectacular sight. Lots of walking like we did today, but it’s worth it. If we leave early enough, we can get in before the crowds show up and have some of the spots all to ourselves.”

  She smiled, and he saw she was seriously thinking about it.

  “We’ll pack a lunch like we did today, and on the way home we’ll stop someplace for dinner and make it a full day. What do you think?”

  He’d thought talking about parks and walking around would distract him. But as Megan began to walk toward him, he saw how the look in her eyes had nothing to do with waterfalls and everything to do with him. Them.

  Yes.

  When they were toe to toe, she looped her arms around his shoulders and pressed herself close. “I think I like the sound of that,” she said softly.

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “And I like the sound of that,” he said gruffly, gently banding his arms around her waist.

  “The sound of what?” she whispered, her voice a little breathless and dazed.

  “You saying yes.” He dipped his head toward hers and captured her lips with his. For a split second, Alex cursed himself for acting so quickly—especially when he’d sworn they were going to take things at Megan’s pace—but judging by how quickly she seemed to be on board, he felt confident that this pace was her pace.

  His hands moved to her bottom and squeezed right before he lifted her. Megan’s legs wrapped around his waist, and he had to make the decision to move them either to the sofa—which was close—or to his bed—which was all the way upstairs. She moaned his name as she moved her lips from his and nipped at his ear and his jaw, and the decision was made.

  The sofa.

  Walking them over, he laid her down and stretched out on top of her.

  Yes.

  This was what he’d b
een dreaming about—fantasizing about—for too damn long. The feel of her underneath him, her lush curves, the sound of her moaning as they fit their bodies together? Yeah, it was sexy as hell and had him harder than granite.

  Don’t rush, savor, he mentally told himself, but Megan’s movements were making that hard to do. With her legs wrapped around him, her hands raking up his back and then into his hair, and then her lips claiming his again…um, yeah. Hard.

  Her hands moved from his hair to the hem of his T-shirt, and he smiled against her lips when she began pulling it up. Rather than fight the movement, he pushed himself up and finished the job for her. Before he dove in for another taste, he watched the look on her face—the heat and desire as she looked at his chest and then reached out to touch it.

  Skin on skin.

  Megan’s hands on his abs, his chest, were like hitting the launch button.

  He was about to move, to close the distance between them, when Megan crossed her arms in front of her and pulled her own shirt off, tossing it to the floor beside his.

  And then Alex simply forgot how to breathe. She was perfect. The pale-pink lace against her skin looked almost too delicate to touch, and yet that’s exactly what he did—slowly, reverently. At the first touch of his hands, Megan’s eyes drifted closed. His fingers skimmed, caressed, and trembled as they did so. Then he grew bold, he cupped, he kneaded, and her back arched as she pressed herself more firmly against his hands. She was so responsive to his touch—just like he remembered.

  “Megan,” he whispered and then groaned when she licked her lips, her slumberous eyes looking at him. And then he forgot what he was going to say—words escaped him. There wasn’t anything he could say that would even begin to describe the way he was feeling or how much he wanted her.

  She gave him a knowing smile as she skimmed her hand around his neck and slowly guided him down to her.

  He inhaled her perfume, felt the heat of her skin, and as his chest pressed gently to hers, they both sighed in unison. It felt so good. So right.

  “Alex?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Kiss me.”

  And he did. And he kept kissing her, stroking her, caressing her, until he thought he’d go mad. He cursed his decision on the couch because there simply wasn’t enough room. He wanted to see her sprawled out on his bed—her hair fanned out on his pillow as she panted his name. They were adults, and they could have the patience and restraint to wait until they made it up a flight of stairs, couldn’t they?

  He moved before he could question himself but not before Megan could. “Where are you going?” she asked, almost frantic as she tried to pull him back.

  Alex took her hand in his and quickly pulled her to her feet.

  “I want you in my bed,” he said gruffly. “I’ve fantasized about it for two damn years, and now that you’re here, that’s where I want you.”

  “Oh…” she said breathlessly, her dark-brown eyes slowly raising to meet his gaze. “I want that too.”

  Satisfied, he began to lead her toward the stairs when her phone rang. They both stopped in their tracks, and his heart beat wildly in his chest because the moment had been so perfect that he was afraid of any distractions.

  “Ignore it,” she finally said, and Alex felt himself relax. They had gone all of two feet when his phone began to ring. Megan looked at him. “It’s a coincidence, right?”

  It could be, but a strange one. His head dropped forward, and both phones stopped. He waited a minute, and sure enough, they both started again. Looking over at her, he said, “I think we need to answer those.”

  Megan readily agreed, and as she reached for hers, Alex saw Ethan’s number on his screen. He immediately answered. “Hey, Ethan, what’s up?”

  Beside him, Megan answered her phone, and he heard her gasp.

  “Dude, did you hear me?” Ethan said.

  Dammit, he hadn’t. “Sorry…um, what?”

  “They’re taking Gabriella to the hospital now,” Ethan was saying. “Zach’s a mess, and Summer and I are two hours away. Can you get over there and stay with him until we get there? Summer’s on the phone with Megan, so hopefully she’ll go over too.”

  “Not a problem. I’m on my way,” Alex said.

  Chapter 6

  They raced into the ER entrance and immediately went to the desk to inquire about Gabriella. The woman at the desk asked them to take a seat and said she’d see what she could find out. Megan paced away from the desk but didn’t want to sit. She was too revved up and nervous for her cousin and his wife.

  Pulling out her phone, she texted Summer to let her know they were at the hospital and waiting to talk to Zach. Beside her, she noticed Alex texting. “Are you texting Ethan? I texted Summer.”

  “No, I texted Zach and let him know we’re out here if he needs us,” he replied, raking a hand through his hair. “You doing okay?”

  Megan nodded. “Just scared for them. It’s too soon for the baby to come, and I can’t even believe it might be a possibility. Gabriella’s the picture of good health and the perfect pregnancy.”

  “Sometimes that has nothing to do with it,” he said. “Unless something traumatic happens, no one knows why some babies want to come out and meet the world sooner than they should.”

  She paced a bit more. “But…a baby born right now at this stage of the pregnancy could survive, right?” Alex might be a physical therapist and not an obstetrician, but she knew he had way more medical knowledge than she did.

  He nodded. “Unless there’s something wrong—”

  Megan held up a hand to stop him. “I can’t. I don’t even want to think about it. I wish—”

  “Here comes Zach,” he said, and they both turned to wait for her cousin. He looked stressed and tired and so unlike himself. “How is she?”

  Zach let out a weary breath and sat. They followed and did the same.

  “She’s resting right now. The contractions have slowed, so the doctors are going to observe her for a little while.”

  “What happened?” Megan asked. “Was it sudden? Did her water break?”

  Zach shook his head. “Last night Gabriella was saying her back hurt. We didn’t think anything of it because…you know…she’s pregnant, and with the weight of the baby, we were told that sort of thing would be normal.”

  “O-kay…”

  “Then she woke up around seven and said the pain wasn’t getting any better. I knew she hadn’t slept well because she’d tossed and turned and couldn’t seem to get comfortable. So we looked up how to do some safe massages and things that can help with pregnancy muscle aches, and we tried them. It seemed to help a bit, and she slept for about three hours.” He let out a mirthless laugh. “So did I. I wasn’t exactly compassionate at that point because I was exhausted.”

  “Understandable,” Alex said. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come over and brought one of the massage chairs and helped her out.”

  Zach rested his head back on the chair. “We didn’t think it was a big deal. When we woke up, we had something to eat, and she said the baby was being aggressive—kicking hard, moving a lot, but it wasn’t like anything she’d felt before. So we called her OB and told her what was going on, and they suggested we start timing the pain and movement. Three hours later they told us to get to the hospital, and…here we are.”

  “If the contractions slowed down, that’s a good thing, right?” Megan asked.

  “It is, but it’s only because they gave her something to slow them down. After doing a full exam, it isn’t like she’s in active labor—there’s no dilation or anything like that, but the force of the contractions was a little too strong for them to be Braxton-Hicks.”

  “Are they going to keep her overnight?” Alex asked.

  “We don’t know. For right now they’re going to monitor her for a couple of hours and take it from
there.” He sighed, and for a moment it looked like he was about to fall asleep. But he sat himself up and looked at the two of them. “I appreciate you coming and hanging out. I hate that I bothered anyone. I just…I didn’t know…”

  “Do you want me to call anyone?” Megan asked. “Your parents? Gabriella’s parents?”

  “No, but thank you. I’m hoping we’re going to get the okay to go home, and then we’ll chill. I’ll pick up dinner on the way and see about changing my schedule at work tomorrow and—”

  “Okay, okay,” Megan gently interrupted. “How about this—if you get the okay to take her home, Alex and I will leave ahead of you, get dinner, and bring it to your house. You focus on getting Gabriella home. And tomorrow—because I know you’re going to be freaked out about leaving her alone—I’ll stay with her. The computer stuff can wait a day, and then we’ll take it from there. One day at a time.”

  “I don’t know if I want to leave her. I’d feel better if I was there—”

  “And you’ll hover and make her crazy. Trust me,” she said. “Let’s wait and hear what the doctor has to say, okay?”

  Zach stayed out in the waiting room with them for about an hour before going to check on his wife. Not long after, Summer and Ethan arrived with a sleeping baby Amber. When Zach came out again and gave them an update, he told them that the doctors felt it was safe for Gabriella to go home. She needed to rest until her regular OB could see her.

  “Okay, so that’s good news,” Summer said. “Whew! I am so relieved. If you’re okay, Zach, we’re going to head home and get Amber fed and to bed, and I’ll call Gabs and check on her later.”

  “Sounds good,” Zach said, kissing his sister on the cheek. “I appreciate you coming and waiting with us.”

  “Please, I hate how we weren’t here earlier, but if you need anything, call,” she added.