Being a registered nurse, she knew that due to an imbalance in hormone levels, during the second trimester some expectant mothers felt more sensual and sexy than they’d ever felt in their lives. She’d naturally assumed that was the reason she’d given in to desire and passion when she’d made love with Hunter. But now? Could she actually be falling for him?
No, that wasn’t possible. She’d only known him a short time, and although her attraction to him was stronger than anything she’d ever felt, that didn’t mean she loved him.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it.
Thinking quickly, she smiled. “I was contemplating whether to keep my last name, hyphenate it or change it to yours.”
He nodded. “I did an Internet search this morning and found a Web site with a list of things that a bride needs to do after the wedding. Changing her personal documents and identification was on the list.” He gave her a seductive smile. “It’s up to you, darlin’. But I think Callie Marshall-O’Banyon or just Callie O’Banyon sounds pretty good.”
“Since our marriage is only temporary, I suppose it would make more sense to hyphenate.”
“Then Callie Marshall-O’Banyon it is.”
“For now.”
“Right. For now.”
As they rode in relative silence on the way back to Devil’s Fork, Callie couldn’t help but wonder why the thought that her name change wasn’t going to be permanent caused her to feel a deep sadness. She’d known up front that they were only getting married in order to thwart Craig’s efforts to take her baby away from her. So why was she feeling so darned melancholy?
But as she analyzed her reaction, she supposed it was only natural to feel a bit depressed. She’d always thought that once she got married and took her husband’s name it would be for the rest of her life. Of course, that had been when she’d been idealistic and thought the only reason she would ever marry was for love.
Glancing over at Hunter, she couldn’t help but think that he had all the qualities she’d ever dreamed of in a husband. He was kind, considerate and, above all, caring. Very few men would have cared enough about an unwed mother keeping her baby to give up their freedom indefinitely.
Sighing, she stared out the windshield of the truck. She wasn’t sure what lay ahead of them once they returned to Devil’s Fork or how long they’d be husband and wife. But there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that no matter what happened, she could count on Hunter being right there beside her to face whatever Craig Culbertson tried to do.
When Callie and Hunter walked into the Life Medevac dispatch room, Mary Lou and the on-duty crew gave them a standing ovation. “Congratulations!”
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Mary Lou stepped forward. “We’ve all talked it over and we’re giving you two the night off.”
“Yeah, we decided you couldn’t have a decent wedding night here at the hangar with all of us hanging around,” Corey chimed in. His knowing smile made Callie’s cheeks heat with embarrassment.
“I’m taking over for you, Hunter,” George said. “And Mark, the Evac III paramedic, is coming in to take over for Callie.”
“What about standby?” Hunter asked. “We have to have a crew on call in case we have overlapping runs.”
“We’ve got that covered,” Mary Lou said, stepping between them. She slipped her arms through theirs and started walking them toward the door. “The rest of the guys are going to take care of that. Now I think you should go back to Callie’s place and spend the rest of the night having a little honeymoon fun.”
Callie felt as if the heat in her cheeks would burst into flames at any moment. She might have known that Mary Lou would cut to the chase and tell them exactly how she thought they should be spending the evening.
“Hunter?” She felt bad about everyone giving up their day off to cover for them. The least he could do was put up a token protest.
But his sexy grin sent a streak of heat thrumming through her veins and spoke volumes of what an excellent idea he thought the Life Medevac staff had come up with. “Sounds good to me,” he said, nodding. He took her hand in his and led her through the door, then, turning back, added, “We’ll be back at eight tomorrow morning to finish out our shift.”
When they walked into her house several minutes later, Callie took a deep breath and turned to face Hunter. “I don’t feel right about this.”
He frowned as he reached to take her into his arms. “We’re married, darlin’. Making love is something husbands and wives do.”
She shook her head and tried to remember what she’d been about to say. With him holding her close, it seemed to short-circuit her thought process. “I was talking about our coworkers giving up their day off.”
“Why?” He bent his head to nibble at the sensitive skin along the column of her neck. “I thought it was a nice gesture.”
“It…is.” A shiver of excitement slid up her spine when he kissed his way to the wildly fluttering pulse at the base of her throat. “But they have no idea…that we aren’t making…a lifetime commitment.”
Raising his head, he held her gaze with his as he cupped her cheek with his large palm. “Don’t worry about it, Callie. We’re committed to each other now and for as long as it takes to make sure Culbertson never bothers you again.”
“But—”
“Giving us the night off was something they wanted to do, and they know we’ll do the same thing for them when they need time off.”
His deep, smooth voice and the look in his dark green eyes quickly had her forgetting her guilt or the reason for it. The feel of his hands sliding the length of her back sent shivers of delight coursing through her, and it suddenly didn’t matter why they’d gotten married or that it wasn’t forever. God help her, but she wanted to spend the night in Hunter’s arms again, wanted to feel his hands on her and the sense of being cherished as he made their bodies one.
She would have told him, but when his mouth settled over hers, the contact was so tender it caused tears to flood her eyes and robbed her of the ability to speak. He deepened the kiss, and as his tongue stroked hers, the mating was filled with promises of things to come. He wanted her and he was letting her know in no uncertain terms how much.
When he swung her up into his arms and walked into the bedroom, their lips never broke contact, and as he gently lowered them both to the bed, Callie’s heart skipped several beats. With his legs tangling with hers, the strength of his arousal pressed against her thigh and had her own body responding with wanton pulses of need.