So why had he just asked Miss Workaholic to dinner when he should be home with his boys? Or trying to find them a mother who could bake cookies and shower them with love?
Logically, he knew he should cancel. Unfortunately, logic had nothing to do with his asking Jennifer to dinner.
“You’re right. I’ll pick you up at her place.”
Despite Jennifer’s reservations about saying yes, dinner went well. Garrett was a great conversationalist and, in addition to medicine, they shared many likes and dislikes. He even let her eat more than half of his chocolate obsession cake when she refrained from ordering dessert.
“That’s good, isn’t it?” he asked, smiling at her sigh of pleasure.
“Very.” She glanced at his empty plate and winced. “I shouldn’t have eaten so much, though. You barely got a bite. Sorry.”
His eyes darkened with temptation much sweeter than the chocolate. “I enjoyed watching you enjoy it.”
Heat burned her cheeks.
Tension had buzzed between them all evening. Tension that plucked at every cell in her body, strumming the electrons into a frenzied jitter.
Feeling self-conscious, Jennifer picked up her napkin and brushed the starched material across her mouth. “I should get back so I can check on Mother.”
“If there had been any changes, the nurse would have contacted me.”
Jennifer nodded. He was right. But she needed the excuse to end their date. Needed time to analyze why her body had suddenly recalled that she was a woman since meeting Garrett.
And why that recollection scared her so much.
CHAPTER SIX
Feeling like a school boy on his first date, Garrett walked Jennifer to her mother’s front door, watched as she fumbled with the keys.
They were both nervous as hell. He’d seen it in her eyes, heard it in her voice while he’d driven her home. The closer they’d gotten to her mother’s, the more chatty she’d become.
He should tell her goodnight and go.
The door pushed open and Jennifer stepped inside. “Do you want to come in for a drink?”
The Sahara seemed a tropical oasis compared to his dry mouth. He needed a drink. Desperately.
Garrett followed her inside, taking in the homey feel of the mismatched furniture, the wall full of photos, mostly of Jennifer at various ages, the knickknacks cluttering every surface.
Behind him, Jennifer closed the front door. Garrett turned.
They gazes met. His heart leapt in his chest, thudding wildly, capturing his breath and leaving him lightheaded.
Like a doe in headlights, Jennifer stared, wordlessly, nervous. Her pulse hammered at her throat. Swallowing, she moistened her lips.
Garrett groaned.
He had to kiss her.
Just one little kiss. Then he’d go home.
Jennifer sighed in pleasure.
Dear sweet heaven, the man could kiss. Her lips, her face, her throat, her breasts.
His hands were just as talented, gliding over her skin in blissful strokes. Where had her shirt gone? Her bra? How had her skirt become bunched at her waist?
What was she doing?
She didn’t do this. Didn’t have sex with men she’d just met. She’d never been with anyone except Jeff. She needed to stop this. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, didn’t want a relationship. Jeff had cured her of that.
“Have I told you how amazing you are?”
Garrett had told her. Several times.
Which surprised her. Jeff had always complained about her body, about her lack of enthusiasm for sex, about the way she touched him. Garrett was consumed with desire, couldn’t seem to not touch her, kiss her, taste her.
She pulled his T-shirt over his head, wanting to touch him the way he was touching her, wanting to taste every delicious inch of him. She fumbled at his waistband, unzipping his pants, grasping him.
He groaned, praising her touch. Not just with his words, but with his eyes, his hands, his body’s reactions.
His desire was a heady aphrodisiac. Perhaps that explained why enthusiasm wasn’t an issue. Not with Garrett.
She wanted him. Enthusiastically.
Enough that even though her brain kept telling her to stop, she didn’t. Not when he slid her panties off and put on a condom, not when he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. Not when she clung to him, her fingers digging into his taut shoulders.
He kissed her hard, his body tense with the control he exerted. “You’re sure?” he breathed, staring into her eyes, his chest heaving, his heart racing next to hers.
Jennifer couldn’t speak, couldn’t do more than nod.
His eyes never leaving hers, Garrett pinned her against the solid wood front door and thrust inside her.
With every thrust he whispered praise into her ears, telling her how good she felt, how amazing her body was, how much he wanted her.
Her belly twisted, her thighs quivered, her head rolled back and forth and her insides melted, wave after spasmodic wave.
Hallelujah, praise Jehovah!
CHAPTER SEVEN
What had she done? Jennifer bit the inside of her cheeks.
When she’d nodded yes to Garrett, she hadn’t considered the consequences.
Like how she’d face him the next day.
He’d left much earlier than she’d wanted. He hadn’t wanted to go, but said he’d had to. He’d probably had a patient at the hospital.
That left her the entire night to relive the hot coupling against the door, to relive the much slower yet no less intense love-making in her bedroom.
“You’ve barely said a word,” her mother said. “You look tired. Didn’t you sleep well?”
“Not particularly.” Thoughts of Garrett haunted her. Not for the first time since her divorce, Jennifer had found sleeping alone a desolate prospect. Last night’s loneliness had been different. Only one man could have eased the ache inside her. The man who’d awakened bits of her she hadn’t known existed until he’d stroked every living cell within her to a heightened sexual frenzy.
Was that it?
The explanation for her mixture of happiness and anxiety? She couldn’t have a relationship. How could she when no man would want her after he discovered what she’d done? That her sweet baby had died. That she’d never have more children. Never again would she put some innocent child in that position.
“Maybe you should set up an appointment with Dr. Wright.”
Speaking of the devil.
A knock sounded on her mother’s open door. Garrett walked in, looking wonderful in khaki slacks and a green polo that matched his eyes. A black stethoscope was draped around his neck.
“How are you feeling today, Bridget?” he asked, brief ly smiling at his patient before making eye contact with Jennifer. His smile dug dimples into his cheeks, put a sparkle in his eyes. A sparkle that said he’d thought about her non-stop.
A thousand butterflies emerged from their cocoons at once and f luttered to life in her belly.
She’d had the hottest sex of her life with this man. Two times.
She wanted number three. Right now. On the f loor. Against the wall. Whatever. She wanted Garrett with all her being.
Whatever qualms she’d battled paled next to the fire blazing through her veins. She burned. From the inside out.
“Good morning.” Innocent enough words, but his confident look dripped with innuendo. He knew what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing. Wanting the same thing.
Against the wall. On the f loor. Whatever.
She whimpered, causing her mother’s head to whip toward her.
“See,” Bridget huffed. “You sound as if you’re catching a cold. You should make an appointment. I’m sure Dr. Wright could make you feel better.”
“I’m sure I could.” Garrett’s lips twitched as he examined her mother’s leg. “Are you feeling poorly, Dr. Castillo?”
“No,” Jennifer began, knowing Dr. Delicious really could
make her feel better. Lots better. Actually, just seeing him accomplished that. She hadn’t dreamed how much he’d wanted her or how good it had been between them. Garrett had been as affected by what they’d done as she had.
“Look at those shadows beneath her eyes,” Bridget pointed out. “Apparently she didn’t sleep a wink.”
Bedevilment flickered in Garrett’s eyes. “Jennifer?”
“I’m fine,” she mouthed, glaring at her mother. Fine, except for her mother’s delighted smile when Garrett called her Jennifer instead of Dr. Castillo.
CHAPTER EIGHT
His gaze never leaving Jennifer, Garrett slipped on his stethoscope and listened to Bridget’s heart and lungs. Although she still had a few crackles, her lungs were much improved.
Thank goodness. Garrett was unbelievably distracted by his patient’s sexy daughter.
In her black pants and silk button down blouse, she looked amazing. Simply, irrevocably amazing.
She had been the most amazing experience of his life.
“What’s the verdict?” Bridget asked.
Garrett cleared his throat and explained what he’d heard through the stethoscope before returning his attention to the woman quietly watching him.
He pulled out his wallet, withdrew a business card and scribbled a message on the back. “Here. Just in case your mother is right and you need me.”
Taking the card, Jennifer’s eyes widened at what he’d written. Swallowing, she nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. Should I need you.”
Knowing her mother was watching, Garrett didn’t push for a response to his written request.
But that didn’t keep him from pacing like a damned fool an hour later. Asking Jennifer to meet him at his office was pushy. Pushy as hell. Something he’d never been.
He never mixed business with pleasure.
“Garrett?”
His heart tip-toed a funny beat in his chest. She’d come.
He turned, soaked in her lovely appearance. Uncertainty shone in her eyes.
“Are we going to lunch?” she asked, her tongue darting out to moisten her pretty pink lips.
Lunch? There was only one thing he was hungry for. Starved for. Her.
A week later, Garrett smiled at the woman curled in his arms.
Each day that passed, her mother grew healthier, stronger. He’d transferred Bridget back to the rehabilitation center. In a week or two she’d return home. Soon thereafter Jennifer would leave.
He didn’t want her to go.
Ever.
But there were so many things they didn’t know about each other. Like the fact that he’d been married and had twin sons. Why hadn’t he told her about the most important part of his life?
Because he’d never believed Jennifer and he had a future. That no matter how good they were together, they were destined to be lovers, but nothing more.
Quelling his frustration, he kissed the top of her head. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever met. Sensual, giving, but she was a dedicated physician. He heard it in her voice when she talked about Madison. He understood that dedication. Admired it even.
But what about the boys? They needed a mother. Their well-being was his number one priority, even if he’d left them in his mother’s care too often as of late so he could spend time with Jennifer.
He should have told her about them. That very first night they’d gone to dinner. He should have told her.
He hugged her to him, breathed in her warm vanilla scent. How had she so quickly come to mean so much to him? Was it even possible that she wanted a family? That she’d find room in her heart for him and two lost little boys?
“How do you feel about kids?”
She tensed.
“Kids?” Panic turned her brown eyes a fearful shade of black. “Don’t you think that question is too personal when I’m leaving in a few weeks?”
They were in bed, naked, and he’d tasted every inch of her delectable body, knew every curve, every indention by heart. Asking her how she felt about kids was too personal?
“Haven’t you figured out the truth?” He just had. He wanted to see what the future would hold if they were given a real shot.
“I don’t want you to leave.” He laced their fingers, pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her. “Stay with me.”
CHAPTER NINE
Stay with him? What was he asking?
Tears threatened to rain down, f looding Jennifer’s heart, drowning her in deeply embedded sorrow. “Asking me if I want kids isn’t the kind of question a man asks a f ling.”
Kids were the one thing she’d never have.
“I’m asking you to stay because you’re more than a f ling.”
She took a deep breath. “No, Garrett, I’m not.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His brows furrowed angrily.
“As soon as my mother can look after herself, I’ll return to Madison.”
He pulled back. “You’re really going to leave? Just like that? As if we never happened?”
“I don’t understand. You’ve known that’s what would happen all along. Nothing could convince me to move back to Huntsville.”
Hadn’t she only earlier today run into one of Jeff’s cousins? Did she know that Jeff’s new wife had given birth to their second child? A perfect little girl to go with the perfect son Jeff had conceived while still married to Jennifer. Did she know what a great mother Jeff’s new wife was?
“I like my life,” she assured. Sharp pain zig-zagged across her chest. “I’m a career girl.”
Maybe if she said it often enough she’d seal the cracks in her heart.
According to the OB-GYN who’d delivered Carrie, Jennifer had as much chance of getting pregnant again as she did of winning the lottery. Until Garrett she hadn’t even been buying tickets.
Jennifer was so caught up in her own misery, she didn’t notice how stiff Garrett had gone. Not until she saw the disappointment in his eyes.
Hating the tension, she touched his cheek.
He f lexed his jaw beneath her fingers. “You don’t want children? To someday have a family?”
Her heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Unable to speak, she shook her head, eyes closed, chest gaping. “Medicine is my life.”
Garrett should go. Jennifer didn’t want children.
He had two.
Not that she’d said she’d stay. She’d said nothing could convince her to stay in Huntsville.
That included him.
He blew out a long breath.
He needed to go home.
He wanted to be a family with his boys. To see them laughing and smiling like the rambunctious four-year-olds they were.
That’s where he should have been the past week. Not burning up the bed sheets with a woman who planned to leave and never look back.
“Garrett, this is crazy.” Jennifer rolled on top of him, staring down. “You’re acting as if you wanted more than an affair.”
He did. Lots more. But what was the point in telling Jennifer? She’d made her views clear. He was someone to pass the time with while she was in Huntsville. Nothing more. She’d go home and forget about him.
He’d find someone who’d be a good mother to his boys, a good wife to him, and he’d forget about the woman who set him on fire.
At least, he hoped he’d forget Jennifer. No way did he want to measure every woman to the standard she’d set.
It wasn’t just sex.
He liked her. Really, really liked her. She made him smile, made him feel alive.
“Garrett?”
“I know you’re leaving.” He smiled up at her, knowing he should end things. Knowing he couldn’t. “But we still have a few weeks before you go.”
CHAPTER TEN
In preparation for her discharge the following day, Bridget had an appointment with the orthopedist and physical therapist, leaving Jennifer free. She was meeting Garret for lunch.
His SUV was parked in her mother’s driveway when she pu
lled in.
“Hey you,” he called, grinning.
“Hey yourself.” She wanted to throw her arms around him and hold on tight, but they were in her mother’s driveway in broad daylight. So she restrained herself.
As did Garrett.
Until the moment the front door closed.
He pushed her against the wood, kissing her hard. “I’ve missed you.”
She refused to acknowledge that his words meant anything. “You saw me last night.”
He didn’t answer, just ran his hands beneath her blouse, cupping her breasts, grinding his hips against her. “Too damned long.”
She laughed at his husky response, but her laughs quickly turned to moans as his fingers worked their magic.
“You like that?”
“You know I do.” She wiggled, pressing against his straining f ly. Wet heat dampened her panties. Panties she’d gone shopping for yesterday. She’d wanted something more tantalizing than her usual dull granny whites.
He tugged her shirt over her head, trailing kisses along the f lesh he exposed. “You smell so sweet, like fresh-baked cookies.”
His brows rose in appreciation of her silky black push-up bra that really did work miracles. When he revealed the high cut black triangles covering her femininity he smiled. God, he had a scrumptious smile.
“You’re beautiful.”
Had she said it or had he?
Their touches grew in fervor, each more heated. He thrust inside her, deep and possessive.
They clung to each other, determined to make the moment last, determined to hang on to the illusion of the past few weeks as long as possible.
Her fingers clung to him, clawing into his back, his neck, pulling him closer, closer still.
His lips claimed hers in a feral kiss, a kiss so potent she slipped over the edge.
“Jennifer,” he cried, her response toppling him over with her. With a mighty series of thrusts, he came deep, dropped his head to her shoulder. “You’re fantastic.”
Medical Single Plus Bonus Novella / Doctor Daddy / Single Doctor, Single Dad! Page 19
