Ryan Hunter

to be a Gran come next spring.”
    Instantly, my gaze dropped to Liza’s sexy stomach. I had to turn around to make myself look away and stop thinking about how badly I wanted to tickle her bellybutton with my tongue.
    “No, Mom,” I said into the phone. “If it was that, I swear I wouldn’t be calling.”
    “Thank goodness.” My mother released a deep breath. “All right, I’ll call Rachel and invite her over. See you later, darling.”
    After I said goodbye and rang off, I turned back to Liza and slid a knuckle under her chin, closing her mouth. “We have a date tomorrow evening.”
    “Yeah, I heard that,” she sighed. “So you’re going to throw me in there like a bone in front of a wolf pack?”
    Ah, this girl was so sweet when she was scared. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you and protect you all evening. No one gets to gnaw on you.” Leaning closer, I nibbled her earlobe then whispered, “Apart from me, that is.”
    But this couldn’t convince her that it was okay to meet my folks, and she whined, “If you liked me one bit, you wouldn’t do that.”
    “I even like you two bits, and that’s exactly why we need to do this. Now stop worrying. It can’t be worse than your father asking me if I knew how to use a condom.”
    With a gasp, she pulled back. “He asked you that?”
    Yeah, I had been shocked as she was now. But on another note it was funny, too. “Not exactly. He mentioned something like it to your mother when we were out of the room. Didn’t you hear him whispering?”
    “Oh my God , how embarrassing is that?”
    For her? Not at all. For me? I had felt like a bloody beginner.
    “Calm down,” I told her then. “Your parents are great. And your mom’s blueberry muffins are amazing.” I kissed her brow and pulled her on, smiling to myself about what was at the tip of my tongue. “Maybe you want to assure your dad, that I do know how not to get you pregnant, though.”
    Liza reacted with a blush to my smirk.
    As we arrived at the Audi, she asked, “Can I have my shirt back now, or do you want me to ride half naked in your car?”
    Man, she shouldn’t tempt me like that. “You mean I have a choice?”
    “No!” She swatted my arm then reached around me to fish for her blouse. Her eyes narrowed all of a sudden. “Where is it?”
    What, the blouse? I reached back myself and found my pocket empty. We both pivoted and stared down the way we’d come. Oh fucking crap. The red bundle floated on the water, getting washed up and down the beach with a wave.
    Liza dashed for it, but as she held it up against the sun, it was clear I’d get my way and she’d be riding home half-naked. “Oh, great.”
    “It’s not the end of the world, Liza,” I told her as I walked up to her, laughing about her sweetly scrunched face. Then I had pity in her and unbuttoned my shirt. “You can take mine for the ride home.”
    Liza took a minute to gawk at my necked chest again, and it made me feel unspeakably good. But I also couldn’t resist mocking her and arched one eyebrow. “Okay. If you don’t want it…”
    Before I could slip the shirt on again, she jerked it out of my hands, flung it around her shoulders, then shoved her arms through the short sleeves.
    Damn, she looked hot in my shirt, even though it was way too long for her and covered her hot pants completely. Or maybe just because of that…
    “I like you in my clothes,” I said and pulled her against me, hardly able to suppress an animalistic growl. “You’re way too sexy for your own good, Matthews.”
    I kissed her deeply, satisfying the need to touch her, which stayed with me the entire day. Giving her bottom lip a gentle bite, I eased back. Apparently, my girl wasn’t done kissing me, though, because she threaded her fingers in my hair and held me in place, not intending to let me get away from her just yet. Fine with me. I yanked her hard against me, giving her a kiss she could live on through the rest of the evening.
    After a couple of minutes, I pulled back and reminded her, “You know we have to get you home so you can shower. And if I remember it right, we’re supposed to watch a movie.”
    Gazing at me with dreamy eyes, she stroked my whiskered cheek. “What do I care about a movie, if I have my gorgeous boyfriend all to myself?”
    She made me eat my words? That little witch. “Yeah, right. And afterward you’ll make me pay for making us late. No way. Get your butt into my car, Matthews. Now .”
    With a