“Ride me, baby.”

I move up and down, my hips countering his movements, and it pushes me over.  I grind down on him as I’m overwhelmed by my intense climax, and he cries out as he convulses and finds his own release.

“Did I hurt you?” He pulls out of me and turns me around in his arms, cradling me close, pushing my hair off my face.

“No, why?” We’re both still panting.

“I hit you.”  His gray eyes are wide and regretful, and if I didn’t love him before, I would have fallen, just then.

“You spanked me, honey.  There’s a difference.”

“I’m sorry, I was caught up in the moment.  I know I’m strong. I could hurt you.”

“Hey,” I take his face in my hands and kiss him, soothing him.  “You didn’t hurt me.  It was fucking hot.”

“It was?”

“Oh yeah.  Spank me any time, hot stuff.”

“Really?”

“Yes, please.”  I nibble his lips and smile at him, loving the way he’s running his hands up and down my back.

He places a kiss on my forehead and takes a deep breath.  “I love you, Julianne.”

Chapter Nineteen

“You bought Olivia Christian Louboutin shoes?” Natalie asks incredulously.  It’s Friday evening and Nate and I are at Luke and Natalie’s place for dinner.  The rest of our work week was way too busy to manage a trip to the hospital, so Luke called and invited us over for the evening.

Nate and Luke are in the kitchen, cooking up something that smells delicious, and Natalie and I are settled on the couch with the baby, watching our men.

“Of course.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, but I can’t stop the huge grin that comes when I look at the tiny red-soled leopard print shoes.  “They’ll fit her in a few months.”

“Yeah, for about a week.  Jules, these are too expensive for her to wear for such a short time.”

“But you can’t stop looking at them, can you?  Natalie, with you as her mom, and me as her aunt, this baby is going to love shoes.”

“God help me,” I hear Luke mutter in the kitchen and I laugh.

“Just give into it, man.” Nate mutters back to him and I am so taken back by these two incredibly sexy men moving effortlessly about the kitchen.

“Men cooking is sexy,” I whisper to Natalie and she grins.

“I know.”

“Okay, my turn with the baby.”  Natalie passes Olivia to me and I cuddle her close, kissing her dark-haired head.  “Hello, little love bug.  Did you miss me?”  I kiss her cheek and run my fingers through her soft, fine hair.

“You’re already spoiling her too much,” Natalie murmurs and watches me with happy green eyes.  She looks fantastic for having had a baby this week.  Her dark hair is up in a haphazard bun, and she’s in jeans and a t-shirt.  She’s already out of her maternity clothes.  Maybe there is something to be said for yoga.

“Never.  Us girls have to stick together, don’t we Livie?  Oh my, you’re so pretty.” This baby is beautiful.  Of course, Natalie is a knock out, and Luke is a freaking movie star, so the gene pool in this room is pretty fantastic.  “Can I walk with her?”

“Of course.”

I stand and wander to the windows, bouncing lightly and swaying back and forth, so in love with the sweet baby in my arms.

“You are wonderful,” I whisper to her.  “And you are smart and strong and important.  I’m going to tell you that every single day, so you never forget it.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Nate murmurs from behind me.  I turn at his voice and I can see that he heard me, but he doesn’t say anything, he smiles at me and looks down at the baby, his face softening just a bit.

“Here,” I place the baby in his arms and kiss her head.

“Christ, she’s little.”

“Don’t swear in front of the baby,” I admonish him.

Nate laughs and we walk to the dining room off the kitchen.  “Right.  I’ll be reminding you of that, dirty mouth.”

Natalie takes the baby from Nate and places her in a bouncy seat at the end of the table.

“So, any weekend plans?” Natalie asks.

“No,” I respond at the same time as Nate says, “Yes.”

“We do?” I look over at him in surprise and he smiles smugly.

“We do.”

“What are they?” I ask as Natalie passes me the salmon.  Mmm… poached salmon with a garlic and cilantro sour cream sauce, roasted baby reds and green salad.

Our men can cook.

“It’s a surprise.” Nate responds and feeds me a bite of salmon off his plate.

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Yes, you do.”

Okay, I do.

Natalie laughs across from me and I glare at her.  “What are you laughing at?”

“You.”

“Why?”

“It’s just fun to see you like this.”  She takes a sip of wine and winks at me and I can’t help but grin.  I know what she means.  She’s never seen me with a man either.

“So, Luke,” Nate smoothly changes the subject.  “When is that new Hugh Jackman movie coming out?”

“In two weeks,” Luke responds and grins.  “It’s gonna be a good one.  Lots of action.”