Emergency Baby

by Alison Roberts

  Sam’s breath caught. She could feel Alex’s fingers sliding down the front of her chest. They were only touching the zip so how were they managing to leave such a trail of fire behind them?

  Alex flicked his gaze up to meet hers at the sound of her soft gasp. His eyes held Sam’s and she couldn’t look away.

  Clouds of steam were billowing from the shower cubicle now but Alex made no further move to help Sam unzip her boilersuit. He was standing as still as a statue. Just…waiting.

  And still his gaze held Sam’s. It told her very eloquently that he wanted her but that he wasn’t going to make a move unless it was what she wanted as well.

  And Sam had never wanted anything quite as much as she wanted Alex. The thought of conceiving a baby was totally irrelevant. At that moment all Sam wanted was…Alex Henry.

  She made a sound. A kind of low moan of desire that escaped involuntarily. If Alex had been waiting for some kind of signal, that was more than enough. His hands dropped her zip and closed over her shoulders. Then his head lowered and his lips closed over hers.

  This was no gentle first kiss. It was a kiss born of frustration and desire that had been building for weeks. On both sides. Sam found herself backing under the exquisite onslaught until her back connected with the wall beside the paper-towel dispenser. Alex’s hands left her shoulders to cup her face as he tilted her mouth to enable them to deepen their kiss.

  But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Sam could feel the heat of desire in every cell of her body. It reached her fingers and warmed them enough to restore function completely. They pulled at the zip on Alex’s boilersuit and found hard muscle underneath, covered only thinly by a T-shirt.

  Alex followed her lead but went further. He stripped off the top half of Sam’s suit and then her thermal undershirt. His hands, and then his lips, explored her neck and then her breasts.

  ‘I want you, Sam,’ Alex murmured.

  ‘I want you, too.’ Sam’s response was urgent. Maybe part of this was a release of the tension created by the job they had just completed. Or maybe this was what Sam had really wanted all along. The desire was way too strong to resist. ‘Now, Alex,’ she added, her fingers tightening around his neck.

  ‘What, here?’

  ‘Yes. I can’t wait.’

  ‘Neither can I, babe.’

  She might have expected one of Alex’s wolfish grins as he reached past her to flick the lock on the bathroom door but he never looked away from her face and the intent in his eyes made them dark enough to appear black.

  Alex was deadly serious and he wanted this as much as Sam did. Too much to wait for the comfort of a bed. This first meeting of their bodies was going to be in a bathroom, in clouds of steam from an unused shower—against a wall, no less.

  Sam would never have believed she was capable of such wild abandon. She would also never have believed that sex could be that exciting. When Alex finally cupped her buttocks and raised her feet from the floor so that he could enter her, Sam was oblivious to the towel dispenser cutting into one shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and her legs around his waist, giving in totally to the tide of spiralling pleasure.

  The muted cry of fulfilment she made a short time later seemed alien. Sam had never made a sound like that in her life. But, then, she had never experienced such passion, had she? She had been touched and taken in a manner that made her feel like she had just lost her virginity all over again.

  Nothing was ever going to be the same.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  TWO MUGS OF COFFEE were getting cold.

  Sam and Alex sat opposite each other across one end of the mess-room table. They were alone on station, with the crash-fire boys out on a training exercise and the pilot of the back-up helicopter stood down, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Nothing had changed in the mess room either, with dirty dishes cluttering the bench and lopsided stacks of newspapers and magazines covering various other surfaces. Alex’s inability to make a good cup of coffee certainly hadn’t changed, but Sam couldn’t have cared less.

  She smiled at Alex. ‘I should feel embarrassed,’ she confessed.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve never done anything like that in my entire life. It was…’ Sam hesitated. Was that kind of encounter normal for Alex? Was sex with him always that…wild? No wonder his women were keen to hang around as long as possible.

  ‘Fun?’ Alex supplied.

  ‘Um…’ Sam could feel the corners of her mouth lift. ‘That’s one word for it, I guess.’

  ‘And are you embarrassed?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Good. Neither am I. Which is just as well.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we’ll have to do it again.’

  ‘Oh?’ Sam kept her tone carefully neutral. No way could she let Alex know how eager she was for a repeat performance. She had observed his relationships with other women for long enough to know that Alex liked to do the running. If he felt he was being chased, he always ran in the opposite direction.

  Not that Sam was angling for a relationship of any kind here. She just wanted…more sex.

  ‘I think so,’ Alex said thoughtfully.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, you do still want to get pregnant, don’t you?’

  Sam nodded.

  ‘And you’re going to cancel that appointment at the clinic tomorrow?’

  ‘There doesn’t seem much point in going now.’

  ‘Well, that’s the thing.’ Alex frowned in a concerned manner. ‘I doubt that what we did was enough to get you pregnant, Sam.’

  ‘Really?’ Sam kept an admirably straight face. ‘That’s not what my biology teacher, Miss Rankin, told us in year ten.’

  A familiar grin flashed but was quickly suppressed. Alex shook his head knowingly.

  ‘We were standing up,’ he reminded Sam.

  ‘Mmm.’ Sam had to look away. There was just a tinge of embarrassment to be found after all. ‘So we were.’

  ‘And we had a shower straight afterwards.’

  ‘So we did.’ Sam’s gaze was drawn back to Alex’s of its own accord. Had he enjoyed that shower as much as she had? Almost as much as the sex, in fact? Running their hands over each other’s soapy, slippery bodies. Laughing as they’d congratulated themselves on saving power by sharing a shower. Stealing shampoo-flavoured kisses under the hot rain.

  ‘I think we should look at it as just a practice run,’ Alex said firmly.

  It sounded good to Sam.

  Better than good.

  ‘Mmm,’ she said noncommittally.

  ‘I mean, you have a window of fertility that should last a few days, right?’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘And we have four days off, starting tomorrow.’

  ‘Mmm.’ Sam raised her eyebrows. ‘What have you got in mind, Alex?’

  Silly, silly question! She could see exactly what he had in mind written all over his face. A sex-fest, no less. She could almost imagine he was tempted to rip her clean uniform off right this second and have sex on the mess-room table.

  Sam’s gaze slid sideways. If they cleared that pile of newspapers and moved the coffee-mugs…

  Whoa! Sam hurled a block up in front of that train of thought. Good grief! What on earth was happening to her? Bathroom walls were bad enough but a mess-room table when Terry was due back any minute with their colleagues? Totally insane to even have such a notion.

  But very erotic.

  Alex was grinning. He’d seen the direction of Sam’s gaze.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he murmured. ‘I’d prefer a bit of privacy myself, wouldn’t you?’

  Annoyance at being caught out in that split-second fantasy evaporated at the thought of private time with Alex.

  ‘Mmm,’ Sam said again.

  ‘That way, we could do it properly.’

  Sam couldn’t make a sound for several seconds. What did he mean, ‘do it properly’? Could it actuall
y get better? She swallowed hard.

  ‘OK.’

  ‘You don’t sound too keen.’

  ‘Oh…I’m keen, Alex. Whatever it takes to get pregnant.’

  ‘It might take a few goes.’

  ‘I’m sure I can cope.’ Sam didn’t dare catch Alex’s gaze now.

  ‘And it would be better if you were in bed, I think. Or at least flat on your back.’

  Oh…Lord! Through the window over Alex’s shoulder, Sam could see the helicopter hovering as it came in to land. Thank goodness they wouldn’t be alone much longer. This conversation was making her feel the need for another shower. A much colder one.

  Alex turned as he heard the roar of the helicopter touching down. Then he turned swiftly back to Sam. ‘So, tonight, then?’ he queried briskly. ‘Your place or mine?’

  ‘Mine,’ Sam said decisively. Her body might be only too keen to agree to anything Alex suggested but her brain was fortunately wise enough to know that she had to at least appear to be in control of this new development. ‘Eight o’clock all right for you?’

  ‘Sure. Want to do dinner first?’

  Sam shook her head. She gave Alex a very stern glance. ‘This isn’t a date, Alex. It’s just sex.’

  Just sex?

  Not likely.

  Alex Henry had had plenty of ‘just sex’ in his time, and what he was having with Sam was on a different planet.

  He should have known she’d be something special. Sam was an extraordinary woman all round. He’d known she was one in a million as far as a partner at work went, but who would have guessed she was so amazing in bed?

  The taste of her…The feel of her skin…The way she followed so willingly to whatever heights he wanted to take her to. Or rather take them both. The way she made him feel as though it was her, in fact, taking the lead.

  Now, that was disconcerting. A very unusual occurrence that put Alex at a distinct disadvantage. But what did it matter when this was such a temporary interlude? A few days of his life.

  Unless, of course, Sam failed to conceive this first time round.

  By the end of their fourth session together, Alex found himself hoping that Sam wouldn’t conceive this time. That way, they’d have to do it all again in a month’s time, wouldn’t they?

  Yes!

  He sat on the edge of Sam’s bed, pulling on his shoes. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to stay the night?’

  ‘I don’t want to sleep with you, Alex. That would be getting a bit too personal.’

  ‘Oh, right.’A flare of something like anger heated Alex’s blood. ‘And what we just did wasn’t personal?’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Alex stalked across the room to find his shirt. How on earth had it ended up being caught on the top of the wardrobe door? His fingers fumbled a little in his haste to do up the buttons.

  ‘Hey, don’t get mad.’ Sam was peeping over the top of a very rumpled duvet. ‘We don’t want this to get any more complicated than it already is, do we?’

  ‘Hell, no.’ Alex stuffed his shirt into his jeans and zipped himself up.

  He glanced at Sam again. This was every bloke’s dream, wasn’t it? Sex with the world’s most desirable woman and being able to just walk away and not feel guilty?

  Not having to indulge her with all that cuddling and pillow talk afterwards or to wake up with an arm or shoulder totally numb because it had cushioned a possessive female head all night?

  All those excuses he’d always had readily available about early shift starts or assignments that needed finishing so he didn’t have to stay all night, and here he was feeling miffed because he was being sent home to his own bed?

  It was ludicrous enough to make Alex smile and his annoyance faded.

  ‘See you at the gym tomorrow, then?’

  ‘You bet. I intend to keep myself at a peak of physical fitness.’

  ‘Want to grab some lunch afterwards or is that getting too personal?’ Alex softened his jibe with another smile, and to his relief Sam smiled back.

  ‘Lunch would be cool. There’s some stuff we need to talk about.’

  ‘So, fire away! What did you want to say?’

  Sam swallowed the last bite of the panini stuffed with roasted capsicums, bacon and Camembert cheese.

  ‘That was delicious.’

  ‘Not about lunch,’Alex said impatiently. ‘What was the “stuff” you wanted to talk about?’

  ‘Oh, you know. Baby stuff.’

  ‘Like, do you want me to be present at the birth?’

  ‘No!’ Sam was horrified. ‘I definitely do not want you present at the birth.’

  ‘Who’s going to be with you, then?’

  Sam hadn’t thought that far ahead. There’d be antenatal classes and then hours in some delivery suite. Most women would have the father of their baby present. Rubbing their backs, reminding them when to pant, holding their hands when things got tough.

  ‘I’ll manage by myself, thanks.’ Sam dismissed the issue. It only represented a few hours of her lifetime so it was no big deal. ‘What I thought we should discuss is legal stuff, like access or changing our wills.’

  ‘Changing our wills?’

  ‘You might want to factor in a dependant.’

  Alex looked alarmed. ‘I thought this kid was going to be your dependant, not mine.’

  ‘It is. But what if I got squashed by a bus or something? You’d want to take over as guardian, wouldn’t you? To your own child?’

  ‘I hadn’t thought about it. I guess so.’ Alex still looked worried. ‘You’d better not get squashed by a bus, Sam.’

  ‘I don’t intend to.’

  ‘That’s all right, then. While we’re on the subject, I’m happy to make a contribution. While you’re still alive, that is.’

  ‘I told you that won’t be necessary.’

  Alex looked disgruntled now. ‘Am I allowed to buy the kid a birthday present?’

  ‘Of course.’ Sam smiled reassuringly. ‘You can buy it its very first birthday present if you like. For the day it’s born.’

  ‘Yeah? Great. How ’bout a pony? Or a bike?’

  ‘I was thinking more along the lines of a teddy bear.’ Sam laughed. ‘Look, there’s a baby shop down the road near where I parked my car. Want to take a look?’

  ‘Bit premature, isn’t it?’

  Sam patted her tummy. ‘I’d see it as more of a good-luck charm. I’m hoping there’s more in here than my panini right now.’

  ‘There should be.’ Alex grinned. ‘We’ve been trying hard enough.’

  Sam chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. ‘Um…Alex?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘If it hasn’t worked, do you think you could be bothered trying again next month?’

  He seemed to find it a little difficult to give her an answer. Sam saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed carefully.

  ‘I reckon,’ Alex said eventually. His smile seemed a little frayed around the edges. ‘Anything to help a mate out, you know?’

  ‘Mmm.’ Sam couldn’t be sure but she had the distinct impression she was being teased. Whatever. She gave up any notion of confessing that she might be sorry when their appointments were no longer necessary.

  Helping out a mate, indeed. Alex enjoyed the sex as much as she did.

  Almost as much, anyway. He couldn’t be as astonished at the revelation of just how good sex could be as Sam was, because he had encounters like this at regular intervals, didn’t he?

  Sam stood up with a small sigh. Her fertile period was probably over for this cycle. Then she caught Alex’s gaze and smiled.

  It wouldn’t hurt to have just one more try, surely.

  The timing had been perfect really. The last ‘appointment’ was over on the last of their four days off so it was back to work and back to normal. There was nothing for anyone else to notice.

  ‘What would Angus say, do you think?’ Sam asked, when they took over the ambulance from the previous watc
h. ‘If he knew what we’d been doing with our days off?’

  ‘He’d be dead jealous,’ Alex responded.

  It was just as well Angus had vanished into the locker room, Sam thought. If anyone had seen the smile Alex had just given her, they would know that something had changed between them. It was a smile that could only belong to someone who thought they knew all there was to know about her. An almost possessive kind of smile.

  ‘Doubt it,’ Sam said lightly. ‘I don’t think Angus is into casual sex.’

  She didn’t get a smile this time. It was more of a deadpan stare but that was OK. Anything too personal intruding into their work space needed to be nipped in the bud. It was business as usual from now on.

  It was a fairly routine day. The helicopter was despatched to collect a skier who had broken his leg on Mount Hutt, then to a car crash on State Highway One, where two people had minor to moderate injuries, and the ambulance was sent to an elderly man who had tripped and hit his head on a luggage trolley at the airport.

  They caught up on news of Steve, who had been discharged from hospital a couple of weeks after Bruce and was almost recovered from his fractured ribs and other injuries. He phoned to invite Sam and Alex to the christening of his baby and to say he hadn’t forgotten about the invitation to join them on a caving expedition in the not-too-distant future. They also heard about the latest in the series of operations Dimitri had undergone on his almost severed lower leg. The prognosis was now excellent and he would soon be well enough to go home to Russia to recuperate.

  ‘What have you got on tonight?’ Alex asked as they packed up for the day.

  ‘Not much.’ The evening advertised only bleak solitude, in fact. There was no reason to ask Alex to visit. And lots of reasons why she shouldn’t. ‘I might go and visit Dad or Phil.’

  ‘Are you going to tell them?’

  ‘About us? No. Not until I know whether it worked.’

  ‘It’ seemed a totally inappropriate way to describe the cumulation of experiences she had shared with Alex over the last few days. The time had been so good. Too good. Good enough for Sam to actually start thinking that it might not be so bad to have a man in her life on a permanent basis.