Gage smiled and waved her in as Duke closed the door behind her. In a quiet, deep voice, he said, “Hi, Emma. It was a nice surprise to find out you’re our new neighbor.”
Emma gave him a little wave, feeling self-conscious as she overlapped the edges of her doctor’s coat in front of her and held it closed with her forearms across her chest. Her nipples perked up and throbbed with excitement as he continued to gaze at her.
Duke placed a hand at her waist and said, “Come on in. We were just watching a movie.”
“I asked for one hair from her golden head…she gave me three,” said the familiar voice of Gimli the dwarf.
She cocked her head and smiled as she peered at the television screen. “You’re watching The Fellowship of the Ring, aren’t you? Extended Edition?”
Smiles broke out on both men’s faces as if they were impressed, and Duke said, “Of course. I take it you’re a fan?”
Emma nodded, thinking that was an understatement. She’d recognized the dialogue from the extended version of the movie. The ability to quote dialogue made her slightly more than just a fan. “You could say that.”
Gage patted the couch beside him and said, “Why don’t you join us?”
Emma wanted to in the worst way but squelched the thought. “I wish I could, guys, but I’ve been up since five o’clock this morning and I still have stuff to do before I go to bed. Maybe another time?” she asked, hoping they didn’t think she was just making excuses. A little voice in her head asked her if that wasn’t exactly what she was doing.
Duke smiled and said, “Sure. Let me get your mail.” He strode off to the kitchen. Emma stood there fidgeting, overlapping the front edges of her doctor’s coat again, and rewrapped her arms over her chest as she waited for Duke. She glanced up and caught Gage watching her.
“Is the arrow wound healing well?” she asked, noting that he sat on a pillow. It was second nature to her to reach for her life as a doctor as a means to make conversation. She’d always felt inept at small talk.
“It’s much better. My doctor said you did a good job and prescribed an antibiotic.”
“I noticed that you were both gone the following morning. Was the pain severe?”
Gage nodded and looked a little sheepish. “Yeah. We’d brought sleeping bags and I could never get comfortable so we left.” He searched her eyes and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to—” He was interrupted by a chime emitting from his open laptop, which seemed to annoy him greatly.
“Everything okay?”
Gage nodded and looked a little disgusted. “It seems I have an online admirer-slash-stalker.”
“Oh, that’s not good.”
“It’s a hazard of getting to know people online. Sorry to bore you with my issues.”
“It’s okay.”
“Here you go,” Duke said as he returned to the living room and placed her thick stack of mail in her hands. “You sure you can’t stay for a little while?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I need to get a little more unpacking done and I have an early morning. I wish I could, because I love The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
Duke said, “I’ll walk you down.”
She was a little surprised he wanted to do that. She didn’t have far to go, and the stairway was well lit. Looking back at his friend, she said, “Good night, Gage. Feel better.”
“Thank you, Emma. I will.” His deep tone and the sleepy look in his eyes sent a thrill right through her core, and she smiled back.
“And good luck with your stalker. I’ll bring the popcorn next time I visit, okay?”
Gage smiled and said, “It’s a date.”
Duke walked her downstairs as she pondered Gage’s last words. A date? She wasn’t his doctor. Would she date him? In a heartbeat!
She asked, “So, are the two of you roommates?”
Duke nodded. “We’re also cousins, but we were raised together like brothers. We’ve lived together for about a year, since we made the move from San Angelo.”
San Angelo. Who do I know from San Angelo? “Hey! You’re friends with Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier, aren’t you?”
Duke smiled and nodded. “Yeah, we work with them on occasion. We helped with Summer’s security issues at Discretion.”
Emma hoped Duke couldn’t see her blush as she remembered her latest purchase at Discretion. She didn’t recall seeing him there. “That was a pretty hair-raising situation. Have you done work at the hospital recently?”
“Yes, they needed a consultation and upgrade on their video surveillance system.”
She nodded. “I’ll bet that’s why you’re familiar to me. I must’ve seen you while I was checking on a patient.” At her door, she inserted her key and turned to Duke as she pushed it open. “Thank you for walking me down.”
Duke leaned against her doorframe and crossed his lean, muscular arms over his chest, mirroring her posture, only he seemed ruggedly comfortable doing it, and she only felt vulnerable and awkward.
The snug black T-shirt he was wearing stretched tautly over his biceps, and she longed to reach out and stroke the tanned expanse of his arm. He smiled at her, and she was held captive by the mischievous twinkle in his slate-gray eyes. The color was not steely and intimidating. It was softer, more earthy, and appealing to her.
His smile lifted at the right corner of his mouth, and he licked his lip a second before he spoke. “We’d like to take you out sometime.”
“We as in three friends going out?” she asked as her heart raced in her chest. Is this how Grace felt the first time her men asked her out?
“We as in the three of us going out on a date, if you’re not opposed to that idea. Gage would’ve walked you down with me but it’s a lot tougher than he likes to admit to get up and down.”
“Oh. Um—well…sure. I guess that would be all right. But my hours are kind of strange.”
Duke’s ever-ready smile reappeared as he looked into her eyes. “We keep strange hours at times too, Emma. Could I have your phone number?”
“S–Sure,” she stammered. She reached for a business card in her pocket. After writing her private number on it, she gave it to him. “Wait. Why the sudden interest? I got the impression last weekend that you weren’t…”
“Weren’t what?”
“Interested in me. I saw you cut Gage off when he—”
“Almost became your patient?” Duke’s smile was wide and confident as he said, “We’re not interested in you as a doctor, Emma. We are, however, interested in you.”
It was a good thing she was leaning against the doorframe, otherwise she might’ve fallen over. “Oh.” That’s all you can think of to say, dimwit?
He smiled as he tapped her card against his palm. “I’ll call you.” Instead of backing off to return upstairs, Duke surprised her by closing in on her. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
His lips pressed lightly to hers for barely a second before he turned and walked away. She stood there in shock. He glanced back for a second, a big smile on his face, and waved at her. She grinned, probably looking like a total idiot, and waved back at him. Still feeling his warm lips pressed to hers, she stayed at her door until she could no longer see his feet and then went inside and locked the door behind her.
Pressing her fingertips to her lips, she whispered, “Wow.”
A date? Hell yeah. How long had it been since she’d been on a date? Forever.
* * * *
Friday evening, Emma grinned as she pulled in to the parking spot designated for her vehicle next to her apartment building. She’d gotten home while the sun was still up. She grabbed her grocery bags and juggled them as she checked her mail then headed inside. The dark apartment was blissfully cool as she closed the door behind her. She wondered again if the smell of the previous occupant’s cat litter box would ever dissipate and added scented candles to her shopping list on the refrigerator.
After changing into a tank top and snug, stretchy pants, she set to work un
loading her groceries on the kitchen counter. A growling rumble sounded from her stomach, and she pondered what to make herself for supper. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
She peered through the peephole and gasped in delight at what she saw. It was her handsome neighbors, with a pizza box and a bottle of wine in hand. A thrill raced through her as she whispered, “Awesome.”
She opened the door and immediately wished she’d stayed in her scrubs when they both looked her up and down and smiled. Duke said, “Hey, pretty neighbor! We saw you were home early and thought you’d like to share our supper with us.”
Self-consciously, she braced her forearm against the door to cover her nipples which had peaked at the sight of them. Dressed in her sports bra and a tank top, there was no doubt they’d be able to see them. “Sure! Um—Let me go change real quick, though. I was about to start supper and then unpack some boxes—”
“No!” Gage interrupted, then clamped his lips together before continuing. “I mean…don’t change on our account. What you have on is…just fine with us.” His cheeks turned a little ruddy as he spoke.
Duke chuckled as he glanced at Gage and said, “Yeah. Don’t go to any trouble because of us. After a long day, you’re allowed to get comfortable. Why don’t we eat, and then if you’d like we can help you unpack some boxes.” His gray eyes seemed hopeful and a little hungry as he glanced at her clothing again. Emma bit her lip as her nipples responded with another wave of throbbing awareness.
Emma beckoned them into the kitchen. “Sure. I hope you don’t mind eating on paper plates. I still haven’t unpacked everything in the kitchen. But I do know where my corkscrew is. You’re sure you don’t mind helping me?”
Gage replied, “Not at all.” He looked around, and his eyes rested on the boxes in the living room next to her couch.
Gesturing to the stack, she said, “Those are all my books, music, and DVD collection.”
Gage grinned and said, “This should be fun and a great way to get to know you.”
Emma thought she might enjoy this evening, until she remembered what was in some of those boxes Gage had eyed.
She got paper plates and plastic cups from the pantry as she pointed at the drawer that she knew contained the corkscrew. Duke and Gage quizzed her about her day as they consumed the pizza and the bottle of wine. By the time she’d finished her first glass of Barbera d’Alba, she’d decided that having their help unpacking would be a fantastic idea. They set to work in the kitchen first, as Duke and Gage put away the groceries she’d been unloading before they arrived. Duke pulled the produce from a bag and held up a rather large cucumber, and Gage followed suit.
“Mine’s bigger,” Duke said with a chuckle.
Gage smirked and replied, “Mine’s thicker.”
Emma let loose a giggle that ended with a snort and said, “That’s okay, they’ll both get devoured.” Did I just say that out loud? Both men groaned as they put them in the produce drawer and helped get everything else put away. Duke unpacked a box that contained her limited supply of alcohol and other odds and ends.
He pulled the long, skinny bottle of Galliano liqueur from the box and said, “You don’t strike me as the ‘liquor cabinet’ type.”
“I’m not. I wound up with it in a white elephant gift exchange one year while I was in medical school.”
Duke grinned when he saw the liqueur bottle and said, “I can make you a mean Harvey Wallbanger with that.” Duke winked at her as Gage pulled her bottle of Southern Comfort from the box.
“Or I could make her a Sloe Comfortable Screw with this.”
Emma slammed her mouth closed on the response right before it popped from her lips. How about we do both? Instead, she pointed at the Southern Comfort and said, “I have that for medicinal purposes.”
They kidded with her a bit over that response and had the kitchen unpacked and put away in no time at all. They teased her with perverted, alternative uses for her kitchen gadgetry, and she’d felt heat steal into her cheeks a number of times. The wine relaxed her and sang a sweet, sensual song in her blood as they moved to the living room, taking their refilled glasses of Barbera d’Alba with them.
She tore open the first box and breathed a sigh of relief that she’d found this box of books first so she could get them stuck on their shelf and out of sight as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Duke and Gage must have picked up on her facial expression, because they both peered into the box as she turned to put the books on a low shelf.
“The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A. N. Roquelaure. Hot damn,” Gage said as he lifted it and the other two titles in the trilogy from the box. He glanced knowingly at her, and the naughty little grin she now recognized as his trademark stole across his lips.
Emma simply said, “I like to read all kinds of books.” She wanted to go splash cold water on her cheeks, grateful at least that she’d gotten her copy of The Story of O put away before they’d seen it. It was a little early for them to learn of her interest in BDSM in erotic fiction.
They must have noted her flustered state and said no more as they removed her erotic romance collection from the box and stacked them for her to place wherever she wanted them. She turned from the bookshelf in time to catch Duke as he held up a hardback copy of The Kama Sutra for Gage to see.
She gulped when she noticed the thickening ridges at their groins as she lifted a stack of books from the table. She bit her lip and busied herself with the books as she grouped them with care based on size. It might just have been the wine, but the tension sizzled in the air.
Duke brought an opened box and squatted beside her as he placed books on her shelves. He glanced at one and read the cover. “The Boy Scout Handbook. Handy for camping?”
“Oh, very,” she said with a smile and a nod, grateful they’d moved on from the erotica. She had a feeling that there were more of them in another box somewhere in that stack, though. “My dad gave me his copy. I used to take it with me when I went camping. Great reading, too.”
“Is there a chapter on arrow removal in there?” Gage asked with a chuckle as he brought a box and knelt carefully on her other side, still favoring his injury. She unpacked the medical textbooks she’d held on to after she’d graduated and her other medical references.
“Bartending 101: The Basics of Mixology?” Duke said as he held it up.
Emma chuckled and replied, “It came with the bottle of Galliano.”
“You also have the biographies of Golda Meir and Winston Churchill. This is quite a varied library you have here, Doctor Guthrie. What’s this—hey! Tom Clancy’s Net Force!”
“Seriously?” Gage asked in surprise. Duke held up the copy of one of her Tom Clancy novels.
Gage nudged Emma’s arm and said, “I knew there was a reason I liked you, Doc.”
Duke laughed out loud as he held up her copy of 101 Aggie Jokes and Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible. “Your tastes are certainly eclectic, Emma.”
Gage opened the lid on a box filled with compact discs. “Florence + the Machine, Three Doors Down, and Elton John.”
Duke sat back on his heels and said, “You are a mystery, Emma.”
Emma lifted the CDs from Gage’s gentle hands and placed them on a shelf as they pulled more from the box.
“The soundtrack from Rocky Horror Picture Show, Taylor Swift, and Mediaeval Baebes. Wow. Wait a minute—no Gaga?”
Emma nearly choked, she laughed so suddenly. “No. Sorry. Although that one song is kinda catchy.”
During the course of the evening they helped her organize her book, music, and DVD collections. When she found out that they were both fans of it, she put on Shaun of the Dead. While they watched the movie, Emma discovered that Gage was every bit the neat freak that she was, as he organized her movies alphabetically and by genre. She laughed as Duke and Gage debated whether Caddy Shack and 10 Things I Hate About You deserved to be on the same shelf as Firefly, Farscape, and the first three seasons of Fringe.
It was past her bedtime when Gage finally said, “I suppose we should leave you to get some rest, huh, Emma?”
Honestly, Emma was tired, but she could have talked with them for several more hours. Even though they’d mostly just talked about her collection of books and entertainment, they’d learned a lot about each other. The other box of erotica and erotic romances had finally been discovered, but they’d said hardly anything about it as they helped her put them on the shelf space she’d reserved with the others.
Duke got up and sat on the sturdy coffee table so that he faced her with Gage sitting beside her. He leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs and caressed her knees with both hands. He glanced at Gage and then said, “Emma, we’d like to invite you out on a date tomorrow night. The three of us.”
“Re—Really?” she asked, clearing the frog from her throat. “You both…”
Duke and Gage nodded together. Duke’s thumbs stroking her knees were hypnotic as little tingling rivulets of heat travelled up her thighs to her center. “We’d like to take you to supper, then…maybe…I don’t know—for a drive or a movie?” His uncharacteristic uncertainty somehow made her feel more at home with him. More comfortable. She understood how he felt and didn’t hesitate.
“I’d love to, Duke, Gage. I have a wedding to attend in the afternoon, but I’ll be free after that. I’d like it very much. Of course, that’s provided I don’t get called in, since this is my on-call weekend.” She hadn’t planned to stay for very much of the reception since she was going alone and didn’t dance.
“Fair enough. We know how that goes,” Gage said as he rose from the couch. She walked them to the door and came to a sudden stop when they both turned to her and, one at a time, leaned toward her for a soft, sweet smooch. No tongues, no arms flung around each other, or bodies pressed tightly together. Just simple, affectionate gestures that inexplicably shot her libido through the roof as though they had done all those things to her.
“We’ll talk to you tomorrow?” Duke opened the door, and the humid evening air surrounded them. The scent of someone grilling steaks for a late supper nearby lingered in the air.
Rainier, Heather - Their Divine Doctor, A Holiday Ménage [Divine Creek Ranch 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3
