Capri nodded and let him help her to her feet. “Well, thanks…for the help.”
“Any time.” He pushed a hand through his dark hair while continually raking his light eyes across her. She could barely keep the ties closed over her full chest. When she mercifully left him alone, he reached for the hose and gave himself a quick cold shower.
“Looking good,” Pepper remarked as she strolled into Capri’s kitchen a few days later.
Capri only sipped from her coffee mug and waited for Pepper to continue, knowing remarks on the loveliness of the home weren’t the only thing she was bursting to comment on.
“Had dinner with the good doctor lately?”
“No, I haven’t seen him in a few days actually.”
Now it was Pepper’s turn to wait for further comment.
“Not since he came over to wash my car.”
Folding her arms over her black halter, Pepper nodded in satisfaction. “Now this is conversation worth driving all the way out here for. Dish.”
“Nothing happened…well, nothing much.”
“How much?”
“Pepper…”
“You like him. What’s wrong with that?” Pepper took her place at the table and fixed Capri with confused eyes.
“You know why, you’ve seen him. You’ve met him.”
“Right, not only is he gorgeous, but he’s intelligent and he’s decent.”
Capri topped off her coffee and came to join Pepper at the table. “The only problem is he still strikes me as a playboy.”
Pepper laughed. “Newsflash, hon, but there’s no way a man can look that way and not fall victim to playing that role at least once in his lifetime.”
“Which makes him dangerous.”
“Why? Because he’s got you questioning certain decisions you’ve made about your body and who you’ve decided to give it to?”
“You pretty much hit that one on the head.”
“I’m not a bartender for nothing.”
Capri held her head in her hands. “I’m doing more than questioning, Pep. I’m imagining, daydreaming about…” She winced as a few of those images popped into her mind.
Pepper only leaned across the table to pat the top of her best friend’s head.
Capri had always enjoyed taking time out to plant. She’d often indulged in the activity and her former condo, had resembled a veritable greenhouse before she moved. The pots of gaily colored flowers decorating her condo, however, couldn’t compare to the feel of toiling away in her very own garden. Capri finally managed time to plant some bulbs around her house. She was having a marvelous Saturday morning working in the rich soil, but welcomed the company from Lewey and the friend he brought along.
“Does your dad know you’re over here, miss?” Capri asked Droopey and laughed when the lovely collie bounded over to cover her arm in licks.
“All right, all right I’ll keep quiet!” Capri giggled.
The dogs must have believed her for they left Capri to her gardening and went about their frolicking a short distance away.
“Droop?”
Capri smiled but continued her work when she heard his voice.
“Droopey? Where are you?”
“Looks like the jig’s up, girl,” Capri warned.
“Droop?”
“She’s okay.” Capri waited for Tiberius to emerge around her side of the house.
“She bothering you?” Tiberius asked as he noticed her gardening.
Capri hesitated, taking stock of her work. “Sorry about this, I um…didn’t bother to ask before I started to plant these things.”
Tiberius grinned. “You never had to ask me that anyway.”
“So it’s all right?”
“Very all right. This is your home and you can do whatever you like to put your own mark on it. Well, anything except drawing a big red C on the roof, that is.”
Capri snapped her fingers. “Guess I’ll need to cancel the painting crew that was heading over this afternoon.” Her laughter softened. “Thanks, Tibe.” She watched him shrug and then she took another look at her work. “I hope it’ll be a good mark. I’m really only experimenting here.”
“I think you’ll have positive results.” Tiberius eased a hand into a side pocket of his walnut-brown trousers.
“I’m still a novice at this so I’m afraid my gardening skills are nowhere near as primed as whoever you paid to do your yard.”
“Now I’m really offended.” Tiberius pressed a hand to the front of his crisp mocha shirt and fixed her with a pained look. “Are you saying I couldn’t do that myself?”
“Well I didn’t mean to—” Capri stopped herself when she looked up and noticed him smirking. She slapped his leg in response to his teasing.
“So, what are these?” Tiberius knelt to expect more closely.
“Bulbs. They come in their own special packet. You only need to plant it as is and water it. Then move them out here once the roots grow.”
“Lemme see one of those.”
Capri moved to grab the last packet which was snatched up by Lewey just as her fingers grazed it. “Sorry,” she gasped amidst the laughter that fluttered in response to the dog’s play.
Tiberius couldn’t have cared less. He was far too taken by Capri in that moment. Without a care for his clothes or the meeting he was already late for, he tugged upon the hem of her T-shirt and gently settled her into the grass. A deep kiss followed.
Capri’s response was eager as she met the deep lunges of his tongue with a force of her own. Wantonly, she arched into a soft bow when his fingers plied her firming nipples with merciless manipulation.
“Tibe…” Her voice quivered when he ground his powerful frame against her.
He broke the kiss then, and his mouth journeyed along the satin line of her cheek, jaw, neck…and farther still across the rise of her breasts and beneath the snug fabric covering her chest. She thrust her hips hard, shamelessly erotic beneath him when he rooted his lips against her top and suckled her nipples.
Tiberius’s hands skirted over and under her clothes. They moved to curve about her bottom where he caressed the lush curve visible thanks to the hem of her black shorts. Capri felt him groan into her mouth and knew he’d discovered she wore nothing beneath. She tugged at his bottom lip, relishing the pleasure of his fingers on her bare skin. She whimpered his name when they brushed the petals of her sex.
The sound of her voice brought Tiberius to his senses. He uttered a sharp curse and thought about where they were, sprawled out in her yard where anyone could happen upon them. She deserved better than that. She deserved better than him.
Capri pushed herself up and watched as he called for his dog and left without another word.
Capri stopped second-guessing herself and rang the bell. It had been a few days since she’d seen Tiberius and she admitted to herself that she had missed him.
The bell went unanswered, but the Navigator was parked at its familiar angle in the driveway, so chances were good that he was still here. Setting her head at a determined angle she decided to bite the bullet and push onward.
Success. She found Tiberius on a lounge on his patio. He appeared to be frowning over a folder he held and Capri felt what little courage she’d mustered seep away then. He looked too busy to be bothered, she told herself, and was in the midst of backing away when Droopey caught sight of her and barked happily.
“I didn’t want to disturb you,” she explained with a painful wince when he looked up.
“No, no, you didn’t.” He was already setting aside the folder.
Capri was struck. She could only think of how adorable he was in the gold-rimmed glasses he was wearing.
“Come on over.” Tiberius was more grateful for the interruption than he realized.
Capri raised the basket she carried. “Cookies. I bake a lot for my crew, but this is a new recipe.” She pulled the paisley-print cloth from the basket. “I was hoping you’d tell me what you think before I give any to t
hem.”
“Using me for a guinea pig, eh?”
“Well, a landlord’s gotta be good for something.” She laughed.
“Stay,” Tiberius ordered Droopey, who had already sniffed the incredible aroma of the baked treats. Droopey obeyed, though her eyes were fixed on the braided white basket and her tail thumped the ground in protest.
Tiberius helped himself to one of the warm cookies. Flavors of oatmeal, cinnamon, chocolate and a hint of something he couldn’t identify, all burst to life and then melted on his tongue.
“Unbelievable. You actually made these?”
Capri was beaming. “I did.”
“From scratch?”
“In that very kitchen.” She hooked a thumb across her shoulder in the direction of her home.
Tiberius finished the cookie in record time and reached for another. Washes her own car, gardens, bakes from scratch…what more could you want?
“Thanks, Capri,” he said while silently ordering the voice in his head to stow it. “I’m sure your crew deserves those, but I’ll pay any price to keep the rest.”
“Don’t trouble yourself. They’re yours.” She lifted the basket. “That’s why I came over.” Setting the treats on the glass table near his lounge, she was about to move away when his hand circled her wrist.
“I’m sorry…for the other day. I guess I wasn’t acting much different than those guys you’ve been trying to get away from.”
Capri didn’t bother to tell him that she hadn’t been trying to get away from him. “It’s all right.” She slapped a hand to the side of her denim overalls. “We shouldn’t have tension between us. Not being neighbors and all.”
“I appreciate you saying that.” He blinked then, as if realizing he still wore the glasses. Clearing his throat, he removed them quickly and bowed his head. “Are neighbors, um…allowed to offer invites to retirement parties?”
“Hmm…” Capri folded her arms over her chest. “Yours?”
He chuckled and leaned back on the lounge. “If you’ve discovered a way to retire at thirty-three please let me know.”
“No such luck,” she said once they’d laughed for a solid forty-five seconds.
“It’s for the chief doctor at my hospital. We’re gonna have another event for him at a later time, but this is a shindig that his wife’s putting together at their estate.”
“An estate…does that mean I can dress up outrageously?”
Tiberius stroked his jaw and pretended to consider it. “It’s an elaborate estate on Key Biscayne, so I’d say dressing up outrageously is essential.”
Capri clapped her hands. “In that case, I accept.”
The neighbors spent the rest of the afternoon pigging out on the delicious cookies. Tiberius provided the milk.
Chapter 8
Alan Thomas was a beloved father, husband, friend, doctor and colleague mostly because of his easily approachable and down-to-earth manner. Still, the house he owned in Key Biscayne said anything but “down-to-earth.”
The jaw-dropping estate gave the word palatial a whole new meaning. It was complete with a set of elaborate fountains in both the front and back yards. The stables boasted two Derby winners and there were separate yet equally elaborate quarters for the house staff of twenty-two. It was well known that the Thomases threw a soiree like no other. Since the event that afternoon was in honor of the king of the castle, nothing was spared.
It took Tiberius and Capri at least twenty minutes to cross into the foyer once they’d arrived. Though still early in his career, Tiberius knew and seemed comfortable around a great many of the doctors in attendance. Capri asked him about that.
“My grandmother gave money to almost every hospital in this portion of the state. I’ve known most of these people since long before I ever thought about becoming a doctor.”
“Your grandmother sounds like she was quite a lady,” Capri noted as they followed the slow-moving line through the massive marble-floored foyer.
Tiberius’s handsome features softened with the memory. “She was incredible. My grandfather’s construction business put in him league with most of the big wigs down here.” He checked the inside pocket of his three-quarter-length, mushroom-colored suit coat and withdrew their invitation. “She refused to be a piece of arm jewelry and got busy making a name for herself as well. An invitation to a party by Tiberius and Janice Evans was as coveted as one to Alan and Felicity Thomas.”
Capri was riveted as she listened to the story. Clearly, the man loved and missed his grandparents. “You were very close to them, huh?”
“They were like my parents.” Tiberius pressed a hand to the small of Capri’s back, left bare by the cut of her dress. The floor-length frock was stunning, to say the very least. The oval keyhole cut in the bodice offered fleeting yet tantalizing glimpses of the curve of her full breasts. Tiberius blinked away and focused on the conversation at hand. “My actual parents were usually off somewhere traveling for business. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized all those business trips were just excuses to stay away from each other.”
Capri didn’t expect to hear the dark edge suddenly coloring his voice, and was thankful that they were approaching their hosts.
Whether or not Tiberius had grown up around most of the big shots in attendance, she had to admit there was a natural ease in the way he handled them. He was a man confident in his abilities and the accomplishments made in his still-budding career.
Capri would’ve been more surprised to discover that she added a great deal of oomph to Tiberius’s popularity that day. Of course he was well-known and well-liked. Most everyone had taken him under their wing at one time or another. But Tiberius knew from the interest in his male colleagues’ gazes that they had ulterior motives for calling him over to chat. And how could he blame them for wanting to speak to the beauty on his arm? It was a wonder he’d even made it out the front door with her when he picked her up.
The chic designer dress she wore clung to her petite curvaceous form like a second skin. The coral material held a shimmer that accentuated the healthy gleam of her honey-colored skin. The bodice kept his stare from straying and kept him praying for just a glimpse of the full, perfectly rounded breasts beneath.
His every hormone had been crying out for her since the first day he saw her sitting in that restaurant. That seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then. Now they were neighbors, landlord and tenant. Friends? That was the one relationship that he truly wished could thrive between them. Ironically, it was the one relationship he couldn’t handle.
Of course his undying hope for setting the foundation for such a relationship was the main reason he’d asked her to join him that day. Inviting Capri instead of one of his many other friends would protect against mixed signals and waking up to a strange bedfellow the next morning.
At least that was his hope. Capri, however, was making that…well…hard, for lack of a better word. That dress of hers was certainly no help. While elegant and appropriate it was also chic and daring. The lovely cut of the frock was simply another form of torture.
“Tiberius, are you okay?” Capri couldn’t help but ask when she noticed the drawn-tight look on his face yet again.
“How ’bout a drink?” He was patting her hand where it rested through the crook of his arm
Capri reciprocated with a hand pat of her own and nodded toward the group of older gentlemen waving at them. “Doctors?” she guessed.
“What else?” Tiberius decided to put off the much-needed drink for a bit more socializing. He squeezed Capri’s hand, urging her to stop for a second. “I…um…I wanted to thank you for coming with me today.”
“It was a pretty tough offer to refuse.”
He remained serious. “Thank you anyway. Your company was very much appreciated.”
Capri was silent, her mind going blank at the honesty she glimpsed in his words, in his light eyes. She simply nodded and managed a soft smile before they moved onward.
<
br /> Later, as they swayed along the edge of the polished hardwood dance floor on the second-level balcony of the posh mansion, Capri rested her head against Tiberius’s broad chest and let herself be lulled by the beat of his heart. She believed she could have danced against him forever. Even in the midst of a party, she felt as if they were in their own private escape with only the waving palms and a view of the Atlantic for company.
“You asleep?” Tiberius angled his head and tried to get a look at her face.
Capri nuzzled her head into his chest. “Not yet.”
“Bored?”
“Not even.” She looked up at him. “Thank you for bringing me with you. Today has been like a dream. The atmosphere, the food, even your colleagues have been fantastic.”
A playful light gleamed in Tiberius’s eyes. “You know Dr. Prentiss was staring at your chest from the time he started that stale conversation with you about slipped discs.”
“I know.” She laughed. “I think it’s cute that a man his age still has an eye for the ladies.”
“Cute, huh?” Tiberius nodded, his deep-set gaze scanning the crowd. “I’ll remember that when I’m an eighty-two-year-old doctor.”
“If you’ve got half his spunk, look me up.”
The teasing moment gradually segued into something that hinted at being erotic. The fact was evident in Tiberius’s gaze. He needed something to rid himself of the urge to damn the consequences and sample what he yearned for.
“Dr. Thomas’s yacht.” He tilted his head toward the cove where the vessel was docked. “Sometimes, he takes friends all the way out to Cuba.” He nodded at the interest on Capri’s face. “Word is, he worked on some huge political figures in his day.”
“How huge?” Capri asked, her eyes wide. They grew wider still as Tiberius began to share.
Capri leaned against her front doorjamb and watched Tiberius as he called out for Droopey. They’d just returned from the party, and she’d promised coffee to take the chill off the evening, which had suddenly turned cool.
“Lewey’s gone, too,” she noted when Tiberius gave up his search and walked up to her door.
The Doctor's Private Visit Page 8
