Page 50 of Hot in the City
Sinead couldn’t remember the last time it had been so intense between them. Maybe that first night of the very first day, when they collided in mutual need. It was like that again. Her heart contracted as she heard Gabriel’s breath hitch, his body surging. She gripped his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his back. Holding onto him.
Because he was her husband, her heart, her partner in life. The only man she’d ever truly loved. Now they would be so much more.
She squealed as Gabriel reached down and pressed his hand between them, where she was slick and wanting. He stroked her to a fever of thrashing, panting and all together delicious arousal. “Now, Gabriel. Now.”
With a final few thrusts, her world coalesced into a single, bright point of light. She threw her head back and gasped, “Gabriel!”
He groaned, “I love you, Irish.”
They held each other tight as the warmth, the love, circled them just as Gabriel held Sinead encircled in his strong arms.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
She smiled against his skin where she rested on his broad chest. Content. Exhausted. Ever so slightly hungry. Who knew twins demanded so much food? Probably everyone, but never mind. Gabriel would look after her. He’d look after them.
Now they were a forever family. And babies made four.
Epilogue
The next day dawned clear and bright, the turquoise waters and golden sand shimmering, as if there had never been any rain. A slate wiped clean, the storm a distant memory. Gabriel yawned into his sweatshirt’s sleeve as he jogged along the beach. He had to shake off the tiredness, for Sinead’s sake. They had one more day left of this mini break, and he intended to make the most of it.
He stopped by the café in the hotel’s foyer on the way back upstairs and grabbed Sinead a breakfast snack of sorts. She’d woken up hungry, as well as nauseous, and he hoped to help her out of her fugue state.
When he entered the room, she was rolled up like a donut in the hotel room’s giant bed, wrapped in a blanket he’d thrown over her when he went out. She stirred, stretching, making the cutest little sighing sound. When her eyelids flicked open she spied him hovering by her side of the bed and hit him with an angelic smile. His heart stuttered. So goddamn beautiful.
“Hello, gorgeous.” He kissed her lips, lingering when she reached for the back of his head and pressed him towards her. He broke the kiss to place the brown bag containing her breakfast on the bedside table.
One cheese sandwich on multigrain bread (hard cheddar, none of the soft cheeses for pregnant women), a fruit salad, yoghurt and a large drink in a reusable mug.
“Ooooh, what have we here? Is that coffee?”
“Umm...”
Sinead took a sip from the mug and squinted, her face screwing up in an adorable imitation of an angry pug. Not that he’d mention it. “Is this...juice?”
“Ah, yeah. Combination of mango, melon and guava with some orange and other stuff mixed in. Lots of vitamins and good stuff.”
“Oh. Um. Thank you?” She took another wary sip, closing one eye suspiciously.
He laughed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t want to stress you out. We can get a coffee on the way down to the beach if you like.”
“Ah, thanks. Now you’re talking.” She took a bite of her sandwich and blinked at it, as if she’d never seen such a thing before. “Calcium? Vitamins? Are you nesting, Mr Anderson?”
He shook his head, his face heating. “Haha, something like that. I woke up early and read some pregnancy articles online. I want to look after you, Irish.”
She nodded, and the combination of the glow of her skin, her cheeky half smile and the way the blanket only half covered her was almost irresistible. She’d have him naked again in no time if he didn’t make her get up. Not that he was against naked time. Definitely not. But he wanted to show her something, and they were running short of time.
“Come on, get dressed in your bathers and something on top. I’ve got a surprise waiting.”
He didn’t have long to wait, before Sinead was bursting with energy and dressed in the most stunning combination of royal blue bikini and sarong skirt he’d ever seen. Maybe it was the way it emphasised all the newly lush curves of her body, or the way the colour made her eyes stand out. He couldn’t stop staring at her.
When they got down to the beach, coffees in hand, Sinead leaned into him and whispered, “Where’s my surprise then, you big tease?”
He kissed her cheek and grabbed her hand, leading her along the boardwalk back from the beach, towards a hillside covered in eucalyptus trees. A few cockatoos flew overhead.
They walked for a few minutes, and he was just enjoying the peace and quiet. Walking together, holding his wife’s hand. The cool breeze whipped through the trees and sent the white-blonde ends of her hair flying.
“Where are you taking me?” Sinead asked, stopping to lean on a wooden railing along the coastal path. The incline had increased and she was puffing. He hadn’t meant to wear her out.
