He laughed at himself, feeling slightly foolish. "Sorry. I still haven't made the transition to a small town, I guess. Good night."
The door clicked behind him, cutting off her goodnight. It took some getting used to the familiarity found within a small town after the anonymity that even a midsized city afforded. That was one of the things that had appealed to him about living in a small town—there were no strangers here. Another aspect of small-town living, he noted with a slight smile, was that everything closed early. It was only seven o'clock but the streets were already deserted.
Niall enjoyed the walk across the street and down the sidewalk in the evening's bracing chill. Christmas decorations adorned every lamppost and lights twinkled among the trees in the town's center.
Although Tammy's waiting room was dark, a lit Christmas tree in her window welcomed him.
He let himself in and locked the door behind him, the jangle of the bell startling in the quiet. An exotic scent hung in the air. A light glimmered beneath the edge of the door across the room. Niall skirted the furniture, crossed the dark waiting room and opened the door. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.
Low soothing music—maybe a South American pan flute—and dim lighting filled the room with tranquility. Tammy, wearing a white lab coat over her clothes, stood on the other side of a sheet-draped table. She looked beautiful and professional and almost as nervous as he felt. His heart did slow somersault inside his chest. For want of something to do besides stare at her like some besotted veterinarian who'd made a deal not to get emotionally involved when it might already be too late to uphold the bargain, he glanced around the small room.
Sand-colored walls. Instructional posters delineating the muscular and nervous system. On one wall a bookshelf held stacks of fresh, folded white towels, candles, a compact disc player and several jars of oils and ointments. "This is very nice. Tranquil."
"Thanks. I'm glad you could make it. Hectic first day?"
Niall shrugged. "It was good. It's a good clinic and the staff is great. Ted took off to play golf."
"I don't want you to dislike him on my behalf. That's not why I told you that. He has a reputation for being a very good vet."
She was a remarkable woman. Schill had treated her like dirt but she seemed genuinely concerned she'd adversely affected Niall and Ted's working relationship. "I understand. But I'll be watching my back until he leaves. A man without honor is a man without honor."
"I've never met a man like you before." The wariness in her eyes reminded him of the stray he'd examined earlier.
"That's just what I say about you. But not the man part."
Tammy laughed. "Are you ready to get started?"
"In a minute. First, I'd like a kiss." Her boldness must be rubbing off.
"That's nice, Dr. Fortson, but I don't mix business and pleasure. You'll just have to wait for that kiss." Her eyes smiled along with her delectable mouth, but she was quite serious. He respected that she didn't mess around when it came to her work. "Now, you can step into the other room and take off your clothes. The underwear is optional."
"You are a wicked woman."
"Do you really think so? Thank you. I try my best. Now, if you'll quit whining and take your clothes off, I'll work your kinks out."
"Oh, honey, I love it when you're assertive. It's very sexy. You don't happen to have black leather on underneath that, do you?" Niall surprised himself at his playfulness.
"That's for me to know and you to find out. Later." She opened the door behind her. "When you're ready, lie down on the table and cover yourself with the sheet. I'll give you a few minutes before I come back in." She closed the door behind her.
Niall stepped into the changing room and undressed. He'd already unwound a great deal flirting with Tammy. He left his boxers on. Given the effect Tammy had on him, he'd prefer to have something extra between him and the sheet if he embarrassed himself with a hard-on.
He stretched out on the warm table and settled between the crisp, fresh sheets with a sigh. Hell, it already felt good and she hadn't even touched him. "I'm ready."
She walked in with a pleasant, businesslike smile. "Let me tell you a little about what we're going to do, so you won't be surprised by anything." While she talked, she placed a warm blanket over him, covering him from his toes to his armpits. Amazing how good soft sheets and a warm blanket felt. "I'm going to start with your head and work my way down. A lot of therapists start with you facedown but I prefer to end the massage that way. If anything feels uncomfortable, let me know. Otherwise, just lie back and enjoy it."
Tammy positioned herself on a stool behind his head and Niall closed his eyes, fully willing to give himself over to the sensations. The unperfumed scent of her skin wafted around him, along with the soothing music as she kneaded the back of his neck and up into his skull.
She paused and he smelled another fragrance. "Is there any particular area that's been uncomfortable or where you've had a problem?" Her disembodied voice floated behind him, low and soothing.
"Not really."
"Good. I'm going to use a menthol, eucalyptus and camphor lotion now." Her hands, warm and slick and fragrant, glided over his shoulders. Gooseflesh prickled along his skin as she rubbed and kneaded.
At first, Niall was aware of every movement. Tammy massaged past his thigh area and he heaved a mental sigh of relief. Now that he'd managed not to embarrass himself with a woody, he relaxed.
Tammy had him roll over to his stomach, facedown on the table. Her touch, the music and the warm table lulled him into a state of total relaxation. He drifted somewhere outside of consciousness.
"Niall," her voice was a distant murmur. "I'm going to leave the room. When you sit up, do it slowly. How do you feel?"
He roused himself from a near-stupor state of relaxation and turned his head to look at her. "Incredible. That's how I feel."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
He rose up slowly and turned over on the table, sitting up, the sheet draping over his lap. He was beyond relaxed but he was still a man and she was still the woman he wanted. "Is the business part over?"
"Not until you put your clothes back on."
"Damn." He was only half kidding.
"Meet me in my office when you're dressed." She pointed to the room beyond another door. Promise lingered in her sultry smile.
Niall beat a path to the dressing room. He couldn't remember ever feeling this good outside of sex. And that had been with Tammy as well. She just seemed to generate good feelings.
Her massage had left him with an amazing sense of well-being, physically and mentally. It hadn't just felt good, it had a therapeutic quality.
An image flashed through his mind of the shaking, limping stray he'd examined. He wished he could make the poor animal feel as good as he felt.
He buckled his belt, an idea taking hold in his mind. Tammy definitely had a healing, relaxing touch. Not content to wait until he put on his shoes and socks to share his idea with her, he threw open the dressing room door. "Tammy."
"Yes?"
He couldn't offer the greyhound a therapeutic massage, but he certainly knew someone who could.
"There's something I'd really like for you to do for me."
* * *
"I'm telling you, I don't know how to do that." Despite her protest, she followed Niall into the veterinary clinic. While she argued with Niall, she looked around. Gingham curtains hung at the windows and a cat and dog border topped soothing blue walls. Margaret Schill must've decorated the clinic. Her former mother-in-law had been very fond of gingham. Doors flanked each side of the receptionist's desk. One nook of the waiting room displayed a variety of pet foods and products. It was cheery and pleasant, except for the antiseptic smell.
"She's just a dog. Massage her like you did me. It was great and I really think it would help her."
"But I don't know anything about animals."
"Their muscular-skeletal system isn't that different f
rom ours, except they walk on four feet. Come on. Just try it. It can't hurt to try." He caught her hands in his, "There's something special in your touch." Niall's dark-eyed entreaty was hard to resist.
"You're just saying that because—"
"Because it's true."
"And here I was thinking it was because you wanted your own way." She knew a line when she heard one.
He raised her hands to his lips and pressed a light kiss on the back of them. "Please."
Maybe she didn't know a line when she heard one. Or maybe she was just a pushover. But either way, he was right—what could it hurt to try? And it wasn't as if anyone was asking her to take the dog home. She just had to massage it. "Okay. Where is she?"
It was worth agreeing just to see the smile on Niall's face. "Back here. In the kennel." Clasping her hand in his, he pulled her along behind him, through an exam room into a long hall that ran the length of the building.
Before they reached the kennel door, barking assaulted them.
Tammy had never set foot in a veterinary clinic. She'd grown up so poor, veterinary care hadn't been an option. This was all new territory for her. "Are all of the dogs back here sick? They don't sound sick. They just sound noisy."
Niall raised his voice to be heard over the melee.
"They're not all necessarily sick, some are recovering. The really noisy kennel is through the other door where we keep the boarders."
Niall opened the door and the barking, no longer muffled by a door and walls, assaulted her. "Wait here and I'll bring her out."
Niall led out a tall, thin dog with a mottle-colored coat and haunting eyes. Grade's eyes. Despite her obvious half-starved state, she was strikingly elegant. "Let's take her to my office." He nodded his head toward the opposite end of the hall, "Dr. Schill's office is down there."
"You don't share an office?"
"Until he officially retires in three months, it's his office. I believe mine was a supply closet before I came."
Tammy thought Niall was only teasing but his office certainly was small, with a banged-up wood desk which would qualify as an antique in a couple of years, and two chairs, one behind the desk, the other in front of it.
After taking off the leash, Niall stepped away. Tammy looked at the dog, who stood stock still and regarded her with an unblinking, wary stare.
"She won't run away or jump on me?"
"Only if a bunny or some other small furry animal runs past. Then she'd be hell-bent to chase it. But other than that, no." Tammy caught a glint in his eye. Was he laughing at her?
"Will she bite?"
"She won't bite or snap. I doubt if she'll even bark. She'll just stand there."
"What about that shaking?" It was a bit unnerving to see the poor animal trembling so.
"She's scared. I suspect she's been through a lot. That's why I thought you could help."
Tammy drew a deep breath and approached the dog. The dog stared straight ahead, even though she shook harder when Tammy stood by her side. Cautiously, carefully, she ran her hand along the dog's long neck. A shudder passed through the animal.
"It's okay, girl. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to try not to hurt you, anyway." Tammy pitched her voice low. She murmured nonsensical reassurances as she rotated the pads of her fingers against the dog's thick shoulder muscles. Gradually, as Tammy continued to talk and stroke, the dog's shaking subsided. By the time she worked her way to the massive thigh muscles the greyhound leaned against Tammy's leg. The dog wasn't exactly relaxed but she'd stopped her terrible shaking.
"I knew it would work," Niall said.
His voice startled her. "I forgot you were here."
"That's flattering," he said with an elated grin. "I knew you could help her."
She didn't even try to check her answering grin. No one had ever shown or professed such abiding faith in her as Niall. A sense of well-being and accomplishment coursed through her. "She does seem much calmer."
Tammy sat in the worn chair in front of Niall's desk. The dog followed, much less wary, and stood before her. The greyhound nudged Tammy with her long nose and eyed her expectantly. "What?" Tammy looked at Niall for help. "What does she want?"
"Maybe more of the same?" he suggested with a smile. "It looks as if she liked your massage." Niall reattached the dog's leash. He paused in the doorway. "Let me put her in the kennel and I'll be right back."
The dog looked back at her. For an instant Tammy glimpsed something familiar in the dog's eyes. "Night, girl."
The dog whined in response.
"You seem to have an addictive touch. I may be suffering from withdrawal myself."
Warmth flooded her. When he used that low, sexy tone, he could report on the weather and it would still turn her insides to mush. It wasn't so much what he said as the way he said it. "Hmm. I hate to hear of anyone suffering, especially if I can help."
"Ah, you're in a unique position. You're the cause and the cure. Are you through with business for the day?"
"I believe I am. Why do you ask?" She knew exactly what he had in mind.
"Because I'm definitely ready to move on to pleasure."
* * *
8
« ^ »
Tammy waited for Niall with a surprise she knew he'd appreciate. She'd hovered on the brink of sexual arousal all day, anticipating his touch, his smell, his taste.
His footfall sounded in the hallway and she canted her legs open, giving him an unencumbered view beneath her short skirt.
Niall stopped in the doorway.
"I took them off at my office, while you were getting dressed, to make the transition from business to pleasure."
"I wholly approve of your methodology." He leaned against the door frame with a nonchalance belied by his heavy-lidded gaze.
"I thought you might."
"Have you ever made love in a veterinarian's office?" He could've been asking if she preferred peas or broccoli.
"No. It's at the top of my to-do list tonight. What about you? Have you ever made love in a veterinarian's office?" She shouldn't have asked, but the answer was suddenly terribly important to her. Even though it went against her philosophy of not getting too involved, she didn't want to be just another "sex-at-the-office" experience for him.
"No. I was never interested until now, but it's suddenly come up. Maybe we can help one another reach our goals."
"I'm counting on it." Tension mounted inside her and coiled between them in the small office.
"Open your legs wider. I just want to look at you."
The hard edge to his command further inflamed her. She felt ripe. Swollen. Wet.
"I read an article that says men are visually stimulated, but I wasn't sure so I thought I'd conduct my own study. Since you have a scientific background…"
"If it's in the name of science, I could be persuaded to help."
She unbuttoned her blouse. The cool air glided over her breasts, a stark contrast to his hot gaze. "Do you find this stimulating?"
"Moderately so."
She skimmed her hands over her breasts, and without unhooking her bra, lifted them over the edge. She cupped them in her hands and brushed her thumbs against her nipples. "Purely from a scientific view, how do you find this?"
"Stimulating. Definitely stimulating."
She slid her hands down her sides, across the tops of her thighs. With her fingers splayed against her inner thighs, she slid her legs further apart.
"Yes," Niall uttered, down to one-word affirmations.
Tammy wasn't sure how much speech she was capable of, either. She rubbed slow, tight circles against the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, delighting in the increasing heat in his eyes. With tantalizing deliberation she touched herself, slipping her finger inside, between her hot, slick folds.
Her eyes never leaving his, she brought her finger to her lips and slid it into her mouth.
His gasp echoed the rigid lines of his body. He crossed the room in two strides, his eyes glowing
with intent. "From a purely scientific point of view, I'm stimulated off the chart. And I've got hard evidence to prove it."
"So I see."
He pulled her to her feet and she willingly met him more than halfway, their mouths melding together in a frenzy of anticipation and passion. His lips were hot and eager and she strained against him, welcoming the hard lines of his body, the thrust of his arousal against her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slid his hands up the backs of her thighs, then beneath her skirt. He kneaded her bare bottom with his large hands, pulling her more firmly against his erection while his lips marauded hers. She moaned into his mouth with need.
She was on fire for him and him alone. Being with Niall was unlike any other experience. It was as if she'd found what she didn't even know she'd been searching for. He tapped into and aroused her to depths of passion she'd never known before, but beneath it all was a sense of security, of safety, she'd never felt with anyone. And not only did he want her—lots of men had—but he seemed to admire and respect her, and that was a new experience.
Lost in the sensations of his taste and touch and heat, she didn't realize they'd moved until she felt the press of the wood desk against her bare thighs. Niall wrenched his mouth away from hers and shoved aside the papers, then lifted her to sit on the desktop. The battered wood was cool beneath her bare thighs and buttocks, an arousing contrast to the heat consuming her.
Niall dropped to his knees before her and whispered his hands across the back of her thighs. Anticipation gripped her. She curled her fingers around the desk's edge. Bracing his hands against her thighs, he parted her with his thumbs and gazed at her. "You are exquisite. Absolutely beautiful."
Her breath hitched in her throat and her muscles clenched.
Dipping his dark head, he kissed her, intimately, deeply. Waves of pleasure rippled through her. Already aroused, she gave in to the orgasm that seemed to start at her core. Niall gripped her thighs as she thrashed, his mouth bringing pleasure so relentless, so piercing, she felt as if she were shattering into a million pieces.
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