“We’re not here,” Jonah said. Getting up from the table, he paused only to drop a kiss on top of Natalie’s head before putting Mallory out of his WTF misery. “Tess needs the room.”
“Okay?” A second later, as Parker and Connor got up, too, Mallory’s light bulb went on. “Okaaaaaay. So, we’re taking the little guy out for breakfast, then?”
“Exactly,” Parker said. He moved over to Tess, smiling a good morning and taking Jackson with practiced ease.
Tess’s heart squeezed in gratitude. “Thank you.”
“No sweat,” he replied, turning his attention to Jackson. “You ready to take a walk to Sweetie Pies before going to daycare, my dude?”
“Don’t sugar him up,” Tess warned, and Connor laughed as he took the diaper bag from her.
“Oh, we’re totally sugaring him up. Man cannot live on Cheerios alone.”
They filed out together, leaving Tess with Charlie, Nat, and Harlow, and her girlfriends didn’t even waste a nanosecond with pleasantries.
“Okay, spill,” Natalie said, as Harlow poured Tess a cup of coffee and Charlie nudged the chair next to her in Tess’s direction, gesturing for her to sit down. “What’s so important that you called a morning meet-up, where we have to soak your problem in coffee instead of liquor?”
“Except for Charlie,” Harlow said, pointing to the little paper tab sticking out of Charlie’s travel mug. “She’s drinking tea.”
Charlie’s eyes went wide for the briefest second before she laughed. “Oh, I did an emergency lap-choly in the middle of the night. I’m already so full of coffee that my stomach lining is probably halfway to a labor strike.”
“Ugh, been there,” Natalie said, and Tess had to admit, she had, too. “So, seriously, Michaelson. Start talking.”
“Um, what about Rip Van Winkle over there?” Tess asked, gesturing to the spot where Sofia lay softly snoring on the couch.
“Oh, please,” Charlie scoffed, although not meanly. “Vasquez is an intern. They sleep like the dead. Anyway, she’s been on Mallory’s service for her last two shifts, and he’s been working her phalanges to the bone. Pun intended.”
There had always been some weird tension going on between Mallory and Vasquez that Tess couldn’t quite figure out. But since she had way, way bigger things to worry about right now, like the fake husband who wanted to have suuuuuuper real sex with her, she simply shrugged and said, “Fair enough.”
Tess took the cup of coffee Harlow had slid across the table, cradling it between her hands. “So, I need to ask your advice,” was what she meant to say. She’d rehearsed it a dozen times on the way to the hospital, knew exactly the sort of no-big-deal tone with which she’d deliver the words.
But what actually came out was, “Declan asked me to have scorchingly hot, no-strings-attached sex with him and I really, really, really want to say yes.”
For one excruciatingly long beat, the room went pin-drop quiet as her three closest friends exchanged bug-eyed, open-mouthed stares. But Charlie was the first to break.
“God, it’s about time!” she said over a laugh, and Harlow murmured in agreement.
“Ha! Jonah owes me twenty bucks!” Natalie crowed, clapping her hands together with glee, and okay, seriously?
“You and Jonah had a bet on whether or not I’d sleep with Declan?”
Natalie sobered, reaching across the table to squeeze Tess’s forearm. “Oh, honey, no. Jonah and I both totally knew you and Declan would end up schtupping. We just bet on how long it would take.”
Tess’s jaw fell open, and she turned to look at Harlow and Charlie, whose guilty expressions said everything their mouths didn’t. “Oh, my God. You guys, too?”
“To be fair, he’s a great guy. A little reserved, maybe, but he watched Jackson for you last week. Plus, you’ve had a crush on him for months,” Harlow pointed out.
“I had a crush on the idea of him. From a book cover,” Tess said on redirect. “But I didn’t know him then!”
Charlie traced a finger around the plastic lid of her travel mug. “You know him now, though,” she said thoughtfully. “And you’re married.”
“And living together,” Harlow added.
“And clearly hot for each other, for real,” Natalie finished. “Is it really that big of a deal if you two swap orgasms?”
Tess’s belly filled with dread. “That right there is exactly why it’s a big deal,” she muttered. “Stupid fucking orgasms.”
All three of her friends frowned in confusion, but Charlie was the first to give it voice. “Sorry, I don’t follow. Aren’t the orgasms the fun part?”
Tess exhaled, low and slow. There was no point in holding this part back. After all, she’d come here seeking advice. “Sure. If you can have them.”
Charlie, Nat, and Harlow knew her well enough to give her the room to continue, and fuck it. Here we go. “Alec and I got married when I was twenty-seven, and we were together for two years before that. I haven’t been with anyone other than him in pretty much a decade, so he’s my only barometer.” The dozen-ish bed partners she’d had before that were little more than a dim memory. Most of them had been in college. It might as well have been a century ago.
“I’m guessing the sex with Alec wasn’t, um, great?” Natalie ventured, and Tess had to laugh.
“You’re so glass-half-full, Nat.”
“So, the sex was awful,” Harlow said, countering with her trademark brass tacks.
“I don’t know.” Tess stared down into her coffee cup, her stomach twisting too hard to let her drink any. “Alec always seemed happy enough. Probably because we always did whatever he wanted in bed, but…”
She trailed off on a shrug, and Charlie—being Charlie—muttered a curse. “Seriously, I know I shouldn’t be shocked that Alec was selfish in the sack, but it still makes me want to punch him right in the doodads.”
“Okay, but what if it wasn’t him?” Although she’d asked it quietly, Tess’s question went off in the room like a gunshot, stilling all three of her friends into silence. “I mean, yeah, he was selfish. But the sex was always completely consensual—it wasn’t like I didn’t want to be there. God, I really wanted to be there,” she said. “I just couldn’t enjoy it most of the time. What if that’s not on Alec, though? What if that’s my fault?”
“That’s pure bullshit.”
It wasn’t Charlie who’d broken the silence, or Harlow, or even Natalie. Nope. It was a sleep-mussed, yet totally serious, Sofia Vasquez who’d pushed up to sitting on the couch to look directly at Tess.
“Sorry,” she said with a shrug that diluted the apology. “But you guys are kind of hard to miss. And the whole thing with your ex’s lack of bedroom skills being your fault, really is crap.”
For a second, Tess was tempted to sling on her sarcasm-armor and make a smartass comment that would encourage Vasquez to relocate. It was bad enough that Tess had just voiced her uncertainty to her best friends. Getting all squishy in front of an intern? So not on her list of Oh, Yeah, Sign Me Up for That! Then again, Charlie, Natalie, and Harlow were her best friends, which meant they were pretty much co-captains of #TeamTess. Vasquez, on the other hand, was brutally straightforward.
AKA, exactly what Tess needed right now, pride be damned.
“Care to elaborate on your reasoning?”
Vasquez didn’t blink. “Do you have a health condition that would preclude your ability to climax?”
A bark of laughter shot out of Tess’s mouth. Good thing she’d checked her fucking pride. “Way to dive right into the deep end, there, rookie.”
“Hey, you’re the one who brought up the Big O. I might have been sleeping, but I’m not deaf,” Vasquez pointed out. “Plus, aren’t you always telling us to take complete health histories in order to examine every angle?”
Damn it, the intern had a point. Also, balls of solid granite, which just so happened to go in Tess’s plus column. “Fine. No, no health conditions.”
Vasquez nodded, her
disheveled ponytail swishing over the shoulders of her light green scrubs. “Are you taking any medications that might have adverse side effects on that same ability?”
Natalie and Harlow looked on encouragingly, while a look of pride flashed over Charlie’s face. Of course, Vasquez was her protégé.
Tess sighed. “No.”
“And you’re able to bring yourself to orgasm when you masturbate?”
“There’s more dignity involved in a pelvic exam when you’re in labor, I swear…” Tess muttered. “Yes, Vasquez. I’ve got a perfectly trusty vibrator.” Actually, she had three, but she was pretty sure admitting it would be overkill.
“Well, then, there’s your diagnosis,” Vasquez said, as clinically as if she were telling Tess she had a common cold. “The only thing wrong with you is that your ex was an inattentive prick who, by the sound of things, couldn’t find a clitoris with color-illustrated step-by-step instructions. But it sounds like your new husband’s going to take care of your orgasm drought ASAP, so, I guess, just use contraception if you’re not looking to get pregnant and go get you some. Although, I have to admit”—Vasquez’s dark brows tugged into a V—“I’m a little shocked you haven’t already. Most people married to a guy that hot never even bother putting on pants.”
Annnnnd just like that, they were done here. “Thanks, Vasquez. I think that’s all for now,” Tess said. “And since you gave me a diagnosis, let’s just file all of this under doctor-patient privilege, okay?”
The intern frowned as she stood and walked to the door. “I wouldn’t tell anyone anyway. Your private life is private. Not that it matters, because this conversation never happened, and I was never here.”
The second the door closed behind her, Charlie said, “Just for that, I’m letting her scrub in on my next five surgeries.”
“Me, too,” Natalie said, and Harlow nodded to make the approval unanimous.
“That was great advice,” she said.
“Look”—Charlie reached out to give Tess’s forearm a squeeze—“Vasquez is right. Alec’s shortcomings are his own, Tess. You might have married Declan for less than traditional reasons, but if you’re both attracted to each other—”
“Which it sounds like you are,” Natalie piped up.
“And you both want a casual fling—”
“Which it sounds like you do,” Harlow interjected.
“Then, really, don’t let something as dumb as Alec get in the way,” Charlie finished.
The old, stubborn defenses that had been worn into Tess over time bubbled up, all of their buts and what ifs locked and loaded and ready to roll off her tongue. But Charlie was right. Alec had already done enough damage to her sex life, and Tess had been over him damn near before she’d even left him. God knew things had fallen irreversibly apart well before that. Getting past all the not-good-enough messages he’d subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, stuck her with during their marriage might take time.
She could start with this, though. She could believe just this one thing.
Declan wanted her. Her. With her too-loud opinions and her affinity for Pop-Tarts and the F-bomb.
And even if it was just for one scorchingly hot night, she wanted him back.
17
Tess made it through her shift by the grace of God and a whoooole lot of Olympic-level fidgeting. The steady stream of patients with varying degrees of illness and injury helped calm her nerves (she understood the weird-factor of the fact that blood and broken bones soothed her, but hey, she was a doctor. Sue her for wanting to care for people). Her adrenaline had perked again when she’d arrived at home—acting business as usual with the super-hot fake husband who had promised you an orgasm extravaganza as soon as you said the word was kind of unnerving, even for the toughest of women, a.k.a., her. But business as usual was exactly how Declan had acted, greeting her and Jackson in that quiet way that most people would probably call gruff, but Tess had learned was simply him.
They had a pretty good routine down, from the time they spent with Jackson before dinner, to their casual mealtime conversation—tonight’s about how Declan had found a new gym to frequent, and how the only curls Tess was interested in were of the cheese variety—right down to the way he offered to do dish duty while she bathed the baby, just so she could spend a few minutes more with her son. Finally, Jackson was clean and full and so sleepy that he didn’t even squawk when she put him in his crib with King Henry, and once again, her pulse flared faster as she made her way down the hall and back to the kitchen.
“Hey.” Tess took a deep breath to counter the thud-thud-thud-thud of her heartbeat. Of course, Declan’s unassumingly sexy half-smile in reply didn’t freaking help.
“Oh, hey. Is the lad asleep, then?”
Tess briefly wondered if it was possible to spontaneously combust by way of another person’s accent. “Yep. Daycare must have worn him out.”
“You don’t think all that extra splashing and singing in the bath did the trick?”
“You heard that?” Ugh, her attempts to sing usually ended up sounding like cats mating in a dumpster.
Declan’s laugh said he knew it, too. “I’m pretty sure the neighbors heard it. But Jackson thought it was grand. Clearly.”
Tess looked down at the damp spots on her T-shirt, knowing she had a few strands of hair that matched. “Yeah, he did have fun.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” Declan turned back to the sink to finish the last of the dishes. She stepped in beside him to help, her shoulder close enough to his bigger, broader one that it would only take the slightest shift of her weight and they’d be touching.
Oh, God, she wanted to be touching.
And she was tired of second-guessing herself.
“So, I’ve been thinking about what you said last night. About the, um, orgasms,” Tess added, as if there could be a doubt.
Declan’s only show of surprise came by the microscopic lift of his shoulders, one she probably wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been…well, so focused on his shoulders. “Okay.”
He gave her room to keep talking, so she took it. “And I’m still a yes. If you’re still a yes?” Shit! What if he’d changed his mind?
The stare he slid in her direction ended that possibility in less than a breath. “I’m not going to stop wanting you, Tess.”
“Right,” she murmured, her face heating. Focus. Focus. “So, there are maybe a couple of things we should talk about first?”
“Alright. Shoot.”
“I have an IUD, so the chances of me getting pregnant are close to none.” She bit her lip. “Sorry, I know this isn’t exactly the sexiest part of the conversation.”
Declan shook his head. “Necessary, though. And good to know.”
He was right on both counts. This might be a one-and-done, but she wasn’t about to get careless. “As far as everything else, I was tested when I was pregnant with Jackson, and I’m clean. I haven’t slept with anyone since he was born.”
“I’ve been tested for everything under the sun in the last few months,” Declan said. “Which I’m sure you know, as you’ve seen my chart.”
“It’s a very impressive chart,” Tess said in a lame attempt to lighten the topic.
Funny, it worked. “My kidney’s been misbehaving just ta hear you say that.” Declan wiped his hands on a dishtowel, hooking a finger beneath her chin just in time to capture her laugh. “We can still use condoms if it’ll make you feel better, though.”
“Oh.” Yep. She’d sighed that riiiiight out, schoolgirl-style. “I don’t think that’s medically necessary.”
Declan chuckled. “Alright, doctor. Is there anythin’ else on your mind? With regard to the orgasms,” he clarified.
Her laughter spilled out softly, feeling so good she laughed again. “Not really. I think the health disclaimer pretty much covers it since we’ve already talked about the rest.”
“Okay, then. Come here.”
Whoa. “Right now?”
&
nbsp; Declan didn’t move except to nod. “Jackson’s asleep, yeah?”
“Well, yes,” Tess said, scrambling to remember what pair of panties she’d yanked on this morning and whether or not they were even remotely sexy.
“And you’re still a yes?”
Heat bloomed between her thighs, heady and insistent as he looked at her, and suddenly, the only thing she could think about her panties was that she wanted them off her body. “Definitely, yes.”
He still didn’t move, although his stare grew dark, almost forest green in the low kitchen light. “Then yes, right now. I don’t want to wait another second to have you.”
They crashed together all at once, Tess pressing up just as Declan’s arms circled around her, pulling her close. His mouth was perfect, his lips surprisingly soft even as he kissed her hard. One of his hands slid up to her hair as the other arm snaked low around her rib cage, creating the perfect grip for holding her in place. For one, lust-hazy minute, Tess surrendered to the feel of him, letting him part her lips with his tongue, letting him push deep to taste and tease and take.
Then, she took back.
Arching up, she knotted her arms around Declan’s body, mirroring his hold with one hand high around his shoulder and the other below his waist. His chest was hard and hot and completely unyielding, but that didn’t stop Tess from crushing herself against him.
“On second thought, right now is good.” Her fingers tightened around the denim at his hip as he broke off to kiss her neck. Sweet, sweet Jesus, she was going to die right here in her kitchen. “I like right now very much.”
Declan placed a dark and wicked smile on her skin. “If you think right now is good, you’re going to fucking love what happens in twenty minutes.”
Swinging her around so her back was to the counter, he kissed an open-mouthed path from her ear to the hollow at her throat. Her T-shirt quickly limited his access to bare skin, though, and he let out a growl of displeasure.
“I want this off.” He grasped the hem of her shirt with his low hand. Tess fully expected him to whip the thing to the hinterlands of her kitchen—God knew she wanted him to. But his hand remained still over the fabric, his gaze intense as he connected it with hers, and she realized in that moment that he wasn’t just taking what he wanted.
Beyond Just Us (Remington Medical Book 4): A Single Parent Marriage of Convenience Romance Page 14
