her hand on her stomach and was leaning away from the table. “I know I could eat more, but I’m choosing not to,” she said. “But feel free to finish what’s left.”
“How about we save them for later?” he suggested as he came to his feet.
“All two slices?” she teased.
“One for you, one for me,” he reasoned.
Violet stood and started to clean off the table, but he stopped her. “Later. Right now, I want to take you to my room and then…take you.”
“Oh, my,” she replied breathlessly. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “But…I wouldn’t mind if you did a little taking right here in the kitchen too.”
That took him a little off guard.
But not much.
Reaching out, Hunter hauled her into his arms and lifted her. With her legs banded around his waist, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that was full of promise. Maneuvering them across the room, he sat her down on the countertop and realized this was something he’d never done before, and it was more than a little exciting.
Violet pulled back suddenly–effectively ending the kiss–and he watched as she took her top off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. Her bra was black and lacey and looked so delicate he was afraid to touch it.
As if reading his mind, she leaned forward. “Go ahead. You can buy me a new one if you like.”
It was all the motivation he needed.
But rather than use his hands, he bent and kissed his way along the edge–over each glorious swell of her breasts–before using his teeth to get to the skin underneath.
Violet cried out his name as her hands anchored into his hair. Her breath hitched as she moved against him and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was not only buying her some new lingerie, but they also weren’t going to the bedroom any time soon.
And for once, he embraced the chaos.
Eleven
The sun was just starting to come up and Violet was sitting out on the back deck with one-week-old baby Benjamin.
This had sort of become their routine the last few days because poor Katie wasn’t getting enough sleep. Violet would get up with the baby at five a.m., feed him from a bottle Katie prepared the night before, and they’d sit and enjoy the sunrise together. The temperature was already warm at this time of day, and still she kept him swaddled up tight so he wouldn’t get any kind of chill.
It was amazing how much she was embracing this crazy new schedule. There was something to be said about the peacefulness of the early morning and she was seriously in love with this precious baby. He had a sweet temperament and even though she’d never say it to Katie, she thought he cried less for her.
“But we’re not going to tell your mommy that, are we?” she said softly, caressing his cheek. “You and I know the truth. Aunt Violet has the magic touch, but it will be our little secret, right?”
Yeah, she even loved talking to him. They’d had more than one heart-to-heart talk during the morning bottle. She found it made her feel a little less crazy to be speaking out loud to herself when there was a baby in her arms. He had no idea what she was saying, but she kept her tone soothing, and it was helping her work through some of her…issues.
Mainly where Hunter was concerned.
Not that they really had issues, but…she was going to be heading back to Nashville soon, and it wasn’t as appealing as she once thought it would be.
Of course, there wasn’t any real rush for her to leave Magnolia Sound. Brian was coming home, and she had a feeling he and Katie would appreciate not having a houseguest, but…she didn’t have to stay with them. Last night she had gone online to look at some weekly rentals here in town. Since it was tourist season, there weren’t any available, but there was a bed-and-breakfast she found had availability for at least a week.
Ideally, she wished she could just stay with Hunter, but she didn’t want to even suggest it. Eli might only be three, but she felt weird about moving herself in–even temporarily.
So where did that leave her?
“I wish I knew, Ben,” she said, taking the bottle from his mouth and positioning him over her shoulder to rub his tiny back. “Of all the times for me to not want to pick up and go, why did it have