Authors: The Hunter
“Hmm,” she said, only half listening. “What man?”
“Over dere,” he said, pointing.
Suzie tried to look in the direction Jared waved one pudgy finger in and caught a glimpse of a man in black walking rapidly away.
“I think you were mistaken, honey. Looks like the man was just running his own errands.”
“He was wooking at uth!” stated Jared stubbornly.
Jessica started crying. “I don wan’ him to wook at me!”
Thankfully, Suzie’s hands were on the wheel or she would have yanked her hair out. “There is no man watching us.” But her claim did little to reduce the rising decibels in the backseat. A chorus of fear that showed no signs of stopping.
“Hey, how about we get some McDonalds?” Okay, call it cheating, bribing, whatever you want to call it, but guess what? The wailing stopped.
“I wanna booger!” said Jared.
“Burger,” Suzie corrected.
“I wan’ noogies,” said the now beaming Jessica.
Suzie didn’t bother trying to correct her. The kids had stopped crying so who cared about a few dropped consonants.
Pulling into the drive-thru, Suzie made a mental vow to give them extra veggies for dinner to compensate for their lunch. Then had to amend her vow to include some extra veggies for herself when she ordered a Big Mac with extra sauce. Hey, she needed to eat, too!
They finally got home with no further meltdowns and stranger sightings. She settled them in front of the television to watch
Franklin
while they munched on their Happy Meals. Okay, so shoot her for being a lazy mother. But the half hour respite she’d get while they boob-tubed and ate was well worth it.
Besides, she’d grown up with television and McDonalds and she’d turned out all right for the most part.
Her mother might have been strict, but when she worked, she often took the lazy way out too.
Once she’d finished eating her sin for the day, she put away the groceries and prepared the ingredients for the kids to make cookies. And thinking of the cookies made her thoughts turn, once again, to her handsome neighbor.
He’d claimed to be single last night. A hot guy like him, he probably had women chasing him constantly, though, and she had no intention of joining the crowd. And besides, she highly doubted slightly chubby, single mothers fell into his usual type. Sure, she had a nice complexion, all pale, unblemished skin. Her hair lacked pizzazz, though, just a thick mass of brown. Not golden highlighted or layered, just straight hanging brown to match her normal brown eyes. Her body since the twins wasn’t exactly the kind that made men drool. How sexy can you be with several extra pounds around the ass and hips, not to mention the stretch marks and not so perky boobs? Breast feeding might be the 20
healthier choice for babies, but they should have mentioned the effect gravity would have on her boobs.
Thank God for super support bras!
Having seen her children interact with Hunter yesterday, though, had made her realize how selfish her decision had been to wall herself completely off from men. The children needed some kind of father figure in their life. But this time, if she did get involved with someone, it would be for the right reasons—mutual respect and affection. Not infatuation, and definitely not lust. Look where that combination had gotten her last time—pregnant with twins and alone. Not that she ever regretted having the twins, she loved them way too much, but a better choice for a father would have helped.
She still couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid and naive. There were no excuses. So what if she’d gone from an all girls school and a strict mother to university, eager to learn and live life? She’d learned, all right. She learned that sometimes life sucked!
A sharp pain broke through her trip to the past. Damn, she’d squeezed the plastic tray she held so tight, she had cut her finger. Running her hand under cold water, she washed away the blood and bandaged the cut. Pity she couldn’t heal her wounds from the past so easily.
But enough of the past. She’d escaped that jerk and made a new life for herself and her precious angels. And besides, he’d been good for one, make that two, things—Jessica and Jared. The twins were her life, and she would protect them from anyone who ever dared to hurt them, even their so-called father.
Arranging the last of the ingredients needed for the cookies, she braced herself and called in the twins to help her create chaos in the kitchen. Whoever said cooking with kids was fun was either lying or insane.
She had flour on her ceiling and dough on the walls to prove it!
* * * *
They’d just finished dinner and were doing a big puzzle on the floor when they heard the sound of Hunter’s motorcycle. The twins flew to the window, squealing.
“Mom! Mom! Bike!” screamed Jared.
“Yes, yes, I know.” Geez, the whole neighborhood probably knew. Jared definitely had good lungs.
“Can we—can we—can—” he stuttered in his excitement.
“Yes, you can go see him, but mind your manners and
do not touch
!” said Suzie in a stern, no-nonsense, Mommy voice. At this age you had to remind them at least a dozens time, and even then, it was hit or miss whether they listened.
With an energy that only the young have, they went flying out the front door screaming, “Hunta!
Hunta!”
Suzie followed more slowly, grabbing the plate of cookies first. When she walked out the front door her first thought was,
Oh my God, he’s gotten even sexier.
Picture one hot man in black leather chaps, leather jacket, big black boots and aviator glasses—talk about every girl’s bad-boy dream come true. Suzie felt herself getting aroused just watching him swing his muscled leg off the bike. Maybe she should invest in some personal pleasure toys. Apparently, her body had suddenly discovered it had needs and they needed to be taken care of
now
!
Taking a deep breath, and telling her raging hormones to settle down, she sauntered over to her excited munchkins and their new hero.
“Can we go for a wide?” asked Jared whose eyes were so big they were liable to fall out of his head.
“Maybe when you get a little bigger, buddy.”
Jessica didn’t say a thing. She just hugged a leather-clad leg with a smile.
Lucky girl
, thought Suzie wistfully, wishing she could wrap herself around that hot bod too.
She needed to change the direction of her thoughts. “Um, here,” Suzie said, thrusting the plate of cookies forward. “The kids made these for you as a thank you for your help yesterday.”
21
“They’re chocolate,” whispered Jessica.
“Thank you,” said Hunter, crouching down and giving Jessica a hug. “Chocolate cookies are my favorite.”
Jessica beamed in his arms, and Suzie felt a pang.
Great, now I’m jealous of my own daughter.
Hunter whipped off his sunglasses, and to Jared’s delight, put the glasses on him. Jared crowed in glee and strutted around in them, pretending to be cool. Picking Jessica up with one arm, he finally smiled at Suzie, whose tummy immediately went into a flip-flop routine.
“Hi,” he said.
“Right back at you,” said Suzie. Oh God, she really needed lessons in casual conversation because she sounded like a moron again. “Nice bike.”
Ooh, so smooth, gonna tell him it’s shiny next?
She really needed to get out and talk to grownups more.
“She’s a beauty, all right. Ever since I discovered motorcycles a few years ago, Harleys are my favorite. Ever ride?”
“What? Me? Oh no,” she said, shaking her head vehemently. “Too scary!”
“Scary? No, more like thrilling,” he said with a grin, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “All that power between your legs.”
Mmm, that sounded way dirtier than it should have.
“Maybe I’ll take you for a ride sometime,” he said huskily.
Yes, a ride sounds reallllllly good.
Oh God, she really needed to get her hormones back under control.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “Anyway, hope you like the cookies, and again, thanks. Come on kids, time for your bath.”
To the chorus of “Aw, Mom”, Suzie and the twins walked back over to their house. Unable to resist, she peeked back over her shoulder and saw Hunter watching her. At her look, his lips curved into a cocky, cream your panties grin, which to her chagrin, worked just like a charm, shooting a hot, wet warmth through her suddenly wakened lower parts. And judging by his grin, he knew it too! Shoot, now he’d start thinking she liked him. Which she did, even if he was so definitely wrong for her.
Ushering the kids inside, she ignored her body’s pleading, and instead, prepared for the tsunami also known as bath time. As she washed behind ears and scrubbed little heads, she tried to forget that smile, which ended up being a lot harder than it should have been. Although, the wet washcloth thrown at her face did banish it for a moment.
* * * *
When Suzie turned and looked back at him, Hunter felt a stirring in his groin. By the higher powers, he needed to get laid. His sexy new neighbor went beyond distracting, but getting involved with her was such a bad idea. Not to mention the fact that he had to be careful about not blowing his cover.
The agency didn’t care if he slept with women, but he had strict orders not to become involved with any who were not in on the secret. You know, Realm security and all. So when the itch hit, he usually just found a bar in town and, well, not to be too conceited, with his looks, basically had his pick. He rarely saw the same woman twice and he never, ever brought them home or told them where he worked.
He liked sex. He just didn’t want any of the emotional baggage that came with a relationship. The women he slept with knew this, though. Hell, they were looking for the same thing—no commitment sex. It wasn’t like he didn’t intend to settle down one day—a long, long time from now. But till he found the right girl—or dear old Dad chose one for him—he planned on having lots and lots of fun.
Suzie, however, not only lived too close to home, she just wasn’t the type of girl to engage in one night stands. Pity! Her effect on his body, though—a constant ache in his groin—made him realize he was past due for some “relaxation”. Maybe then he’d be able to stop thinking about that luscious ass of hers and how he wanted to smother his face between her . . .
22
By the higher powers! It was definitely time to get some action. Too bad he needed to do some laundry first. He’d run out of underpants, and he couldn’t go without them. It just wasn’t comfortable in jeans. Not to mention his manly parts and his zipper had already had one accident, and he wasn’t keen on another. The pain still made him shudder.
Nope, laundry first, but tomorrow, though, he’d definitely take care of his overdue libido. Maybe twice just to be sure it didn’t start poking its head again whenever he saw Suzie.
23
Suzie resisted an urge to pull her hair out. The bank had called and needed her to go in and sign some paperwork. No big deal unless you had a pair of three-year-olds who were stubbornly refusing to go.
“No wanna go,” said Jessica, arms crossed over her chest.
“Me too,” said Jared, aping his sister.
“It won’t take too long, guys. Mommy’s gotta go sign papers, then we’ll come back.” But the twins were adamant. Why? Who knew! It wasn’t like they had anything exciting planned to do at home, unless you counted cleaning. She couldn’t even bribe them with food. They’d just eaten. But last time she’d looked, her job description said Mommy so, too bad. That meant they didn’t have a choice. Ha, apparently someone need to explain that to them.
Suzie wrestled them into some clothes, emerging victorious, but sweaty. She struggled to hold onto her temper. She really hated yelling, but this was getting ridiculous.
Whoever had coined the phrase terrible two’s forgot to mention the stubborn three’s. By picking one up under each arm, she finally got them outside where they were still kicking up a fuss.
“Enough!” Suzie finally shouted. The kids both looked up at her, and then their lower lips trembled.
A symphony of wailing started that, to her tired ears, had the same effect as nails on chalkboard.
Duct
tape anyone?
A tap on her shoulder had her turning to see Hunter looking as sexy as ever. Not that she cared.
Nope. And that tingling she felt from head to toe, just her imagination.
“Why are the children crying?” he asked, his brows raised at their loud, impromptu concert.
“I need to go to the bank, but they refuse to go. The last time we went, even with my appointment, I was there about two hours, and well, it wasn’t a lot of fun for them, shall we say.” Now there was an understatement. Last time, she’d exhausted every creative bone in her body trying to entertain two active kids in a tiny cubicle.
“I’ll watch them while you’re gone.”
Suzie almost burst out laughing. The idea of Hunter playing nanny for an hour or two was just too incongruous.
Unfortunately, the kids heard him.
“Yay, Hunta play with us,” said Jessica, her eyes glowing with hero worship.
“Bye, Mommy,” said Jared, not even waiting for her reply.
Outvoted by two master manipulators. But Suzie barely knew Hunter. How could she trust her kids with him? Sure, he didn’t seem like a perv, but what did he know about minding kids?
As if he read her mind, he said, “We’ll be fine. I am sure I can manage to entertain two kids for a few hours. How bad could it be?”
At his boast, Suzie made up her mind. She wouldn’t be gone long and a teensy tiny part of her—her naughty side—wanted to see how he’d cope. She only hoped the house would stay intact. As for Hunter’s sanity, well, he had volunteered.
“Fine, you guys can stay here with Hunter. But you’d better behave,” she said sternly at her smiling cherubic-looking children. Or, should she say, imps in disguise?
With a kiss for each and another firm admonishment to behave, she smiled at Hunter and left.
Let’s see how the big, hunky PI likes babysitting
. Suzie giggled all the way to the bank.
* * * *
Hunter almost shook his head, bemused by what had just transpired. He’d volunteered to babysit!