Page 20 of His to Defend

“There you are.” Harper sat on the couch next to her and when she held her arms out, handed the baby to Nina. “Where’ve you been?”

“I’ve been here.” She focused her attentions on the baby so Harper wouldn’t see the lie on her face.

It didn’t work. “Bullshit. Where’ve you been? You took off pretty quickly after we got back from the dress fitting. Is everything okay?”

“I just went out to the woods to do some writing. I really wanted to get some words.” It wasn’t a lie. Nina had been wanting to get outside and away from distractions so she could work on her book ever since she’d arrived at the ridge. Of course, she hadn’t been all that successful in avoiding distractions, at least not one big distraction. Not that she minded.

A shiver ran through her body just remembering what an amazing distraction it had been.

No. She wouldn’t mind being distracted like that again. And again.

“And did you get any?”

Nina looked up sharply. Did Harper know? “No! Why would you say that?”

Harper sat back and shook her head. “Because you just finished telling me that you wanted to go get some words.” She tilted her head and looked at her friend. “So, did you get any?” she asked again.

“Words?”

“That’s what I’m asking.” Harper laughed. “You’re acting super strange and if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were hiding something from me, Nina. What’s going on?”

She didn’t want to lie to her best friend but how could she tell Harper the truth? That she’d just had wild and intense sex in the forest with her fiancée’s cousin who she’d only just met? She couldn’t tell her that.

“I just had sex with Ryker.”

Apparently she could tell her.

Nina shook her head at her own lack of self-control.

“You just did what?”

Nina shifted baby Lily, who had fallen asleep in her arms. “I just had the most…I don’t even know how to describe it…” She closed her eyes for a moment. “The sex, it was…intense.”

“Intense?”

“Very.” Nina nodded. “Like he needed me with almost an animalistic intensity.”

“Is that right?”

She nodded again. “It’s the craziest thing,” Nina continued. “But for a moment, I actually thought he might even bite me.” She laughed at herself. “Isn’t that the craziest thing you’ve ever heard?”

Harper sat back hard in her seat, her eyes wide.

“Harper?”

“Did you just say that you thought he might bite you?”

Nina chuckled and waved her free hand. “It’s not like he was actually going to,” she said. “It was just that kind of intense connection. I know it doesn’t even make sense, but…oh my God. It was so good. I can’t remember ever having an orgasm like that. Not ever. I mean, I screamed so loud I think I scared all the birds out of the trees.”

Harper threw her head back and laughed. “Do you remember me telling you the same thing when I met Axel?”

Nina did remember. Poor Harper had been so sexually repressed for so long that she’d been thrilled when Axel came along and showed her what sex was supposed to be like. But even Nina had no idea that the sex could be so good. She shook her head a little. “I remember. But I had no idea. Really. It’s…”

“So what’s going on with you two then? Are you like a thing?”

Nina shook her head and handed the baby back to Harper. “I’m not looking for anything. Not right now. There is way too much going on to add a man to the mix.” Even a super sexy, amazing lover like Ryker.

Harper’s face twisted into a look of concern. “What’s going on? You didn’t say anything.”