Entering Tori’s house, Seth could hear her on her phone in the office, so he headed to the kitchen to start calling about Caleb’s medical bills. The first place told him an anonymous donor had paid off the remaining balance. When the second place essentially told him the same thing, he became curious and asked who it was that had paid the bill. The customer service representative refused to tell him, as did the third billing department he called. By the time he called the hospital’s billing department and confirmed that Caleb’s balance with them had also been paid, he was beyond curious.
Wanting to know if it was a company or a person, he changed his strategy. In a last ditch effort to find out who he could thank for saving him more than a year’s worth of wages, he said, “I can’t believe she did this. I just don’t know how to thank her.”
“I shouldn’t tell you this, but since you already know who it is… I’ve known Tori for about five years. She worked here in the patient billing area before she got her new position. She is like that, just very sweet. I can also tell you that she loves raspberries and a cream cheese dip that I make,” the woman said with a giggle.
After sweet talking the woman out of the recipe for the dip, he hung up. He could only stand at the counter and soak in what he had spent the last couple of hours uncovering. Tori Stewart had paid off every one of Caleb’s medical bills. Why would she do that? How could she do that? It was a lot of money to pay out for a virtual stranger…a lot of money. She had some explaining to do.
When she emerged from her office for lunch, he was ready for her. Having rinsed the raspberries, softened the cream cheese and thawed the whipped cream, he put most of the dip ingredients into the large mixer on the counter. Turning on the mixer, he removed the lid for the tub of whipped cream just as she entered the kitchen. She stopped and looked at him. Knowing he had captured her attention, he set the container aside and held the lid out to her.
“Want to lick the lid?” he asked.
“What are you making?” she asked, looking him in the eye before looking past him to where the raspberries sat in a bowl.
“It’s a dip for fruit. I’ve heard it’s fantastic,” he answered, swiping his finger down the lid before sticking his finger in his mouth. Her eyes followed his movements and then once again her gaze shifted to the bowl of berries behind him. She was going to give him some answers first.
He added the whipped cream to the mixer and then said, “Wow, that even smells good.”
He could feel her as she approached. “Is that for me? I mean for us…for dinner?” she asked.
“Actually, Ian has a fight in Cincinnati this weekend. I was making this up for Saturday night, having a little party with the guys after the fight. Want to go?” he asked innocently.
“No, but I do want some of that,” she replied, pointing to the berries.
“I’ll let you have some of that on one condition. For every raspberry you eat, you have to answer a question I ask you…truthfully,” he said with a grin.
Her eyes met his. How she could look so innocent while hiding a secret so big was a mystery. The question was…would she tell him the truth? Would she tell him why she would do that for Caleb…for him?
She hefted herself up to sit on the counter near the mixer and even closer to the raspberries. She watched as he turned off the mixer and used a spatula to clean off the beater. When he turned to place the beater in the sink, she reached into the mixer and swiped some of the dip with her finger. He tossed the beater in the sink and grabbed her wrist before she could get her finger to her mouth.
“Hey! You didn’t say anything about the dip. You just said I had to answer questions for a berry.” She laughed.
He laughed, as well. She leaned forward as if to bring her mouth to her finger, since she couldn’t break his hold to stick her finger in her mouth, but he quickly sucked her finger into his own mouth instead. What had moments before been teasing amongst friends instantly became something sexual. Her smile faded and she whimpered…just like she had done when… Control.
Picking up a raspberry, he dipped it into the cream cheese mixture inside the mixer. Holding the raspberry out like an offering, he said, “You’ll never guess—someone paid off Caleb’s medical bills. All of them.”
Her eyes moved from where he still held her wrist, to her finger, then to his mouth, to the raspberry and finally to his gaze. Along with the hazy look of arousal she wore, he could see shock at being caught. Rubbing the raspberry on the inside of her tiny wrist, he brought her wrist to his mouth and sucked off the sweetness while she watched him.
“Mmm…that’s really good.” As she continued to watch him, he slowly licked her wrist once more for good measure before saying, “I know that you know who paid those bills, Tori. Who was it?”
Her mouth fell open with a gasp, but he put the raspberry in his own mouth instead and ate it.
He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could stand, how much further he could go. He was already hard as a rock. Her quivering bottom lip and the noises she made were not helping him maintain control. Just as he was about to reconsider this course of action, she said, “I did. I paid the medical bills.”
He dipped another raspberry into the mixture and rubbed it on her opened lips before pushing it gently into her mouth. She ate the fruit and as he watched her suck the last of the cream from her lips, he nearly gave in. Forcing his mind back to the matter at hand, he pushed her knees apart, cupped her bottom, pulled her closer to the edge of counter and stepped between her legs. Then he picked up another raspberry, swirled it around in the dip and held it out to her.
“That’s a lot of money, Tori. I know that we are friends and friends help each other, but I feel like there is something more to this that you aren’t telling me. Why did you pay Caleb’s medical bills for me?” he asked quietly.
She looked away from his gaze. When she finally looked back at him, he bit the tip of the berry and then offered it to her. How badly did she want the fruit? How badly did she want him?
“It was money from a trust fund my father set up for me when I started college. It was meant to keep me quiet. It was meant to keep me from telling the world that I am Senator William Stewart’s illegitimate daughter. I never touched it, never wanted it, so it just sat there all these years. Then I got to know you and Caleb and finally the money had a purpose. It could help someone I do care about,” she said on a sob before her mouth found his.
He used his tongue to push the fruit into her mouth and then he kissed her lips before pulling back. Tears pushed past her closed eyes as she ate the berry. He brushed one of his cheeks against hers, wiping the tear from it before kissing her. Then he repeated the movement against her other cheek. When she opened her eyes and met his gaze, he realized that he had been captivated by her from the first time he’d seen her.
It was an astounding revelation. He had wanted her from that very first day, but he’d been unwilling to admit that there was something different about her. Instead, he had fought his reaction to her with every weapon he had…and his words had been effective. They had cut her deeply. Though he had won the battle that day, she had captured his heart in the end and all he could do was wave the white flag.
Pulling her even closer so she could feel the part of him that was always ready for her, he kissed her mouth. Her lips brought out an urgency in him and rather than embarrass himself like last time, he pulled back. He picked up one last piece of fruit and dipped it into the mixing bowl. Offering it to her, he said, “You can feel how badly I want you. I think you want me, too. I also don’t think you want to marry Tim and I can only assume that he doesn’t want to marry you either…at least not for the right reasons. So my question is, am I right, Tori? Do you want me as badly as I want you?”
“Yes, I want you, too,” she whispered.
Holding the piece of fruit out to her, he watched as she sucked it from between his fingers. Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Then why are you sleeping with him, marrying
him, instead of me?”
Chapter Eleven
She nearly choked on the raspberry. Looking at his face, in his eyes, she could tell he wanted an answer to this question as badly as he’d wanted an answer to all the other ones. She felt like a stick of dynamite with the fuse lit. It was only a matter of time before she could no longer resist him at all and to hell with the consequences.
Tori’s body was weeping for him in more ways than one. The only other person in this whole world who knew that her father was a senator, and that he was desperate to keep anyone from knowing that she even existed, was Kayla. William Stewart’s career meant more to him than Tori ever had…and admitting that to Seth had felt so right. His face had lit with recognition at her father’s name, but his eyes, the feel of his hands on her body, the tone of his voice, showed her that he cared more about being with her than who her father was.
Could she be honest with him about Tim, too? It might not change anything but weren’t friends truthful with each other? Maybe once Seth understood why she had said yes to Tim, what she stood to lose if she lost her job, he wouldn’t judge her for her decisions.
“I said yes because I need this job, Seth. Without it, I can’t support Zach. I can’t afford this house or anything else unless I go to my father for money, which I will never do. William Stewart paid a woman to raise me until I was school age, then he shipped me off to a private boarding school where he told them I was his niece. I even believed I was his niece until I graduated from high school and came to live with him and his wife, Kara’s mom. I overheard them arguing about me one night. I heard her yell at him that I looked just like my mother and she refused to be reminded of his transgressions in her own home…that it was her or me,” she said.
After fighting back tears, she continued, “Needless to say, he did not choose me, but he did give me a trust fund and a stern talking to about how he was trying to do the right thing by me and that if I spent that money wisely I would be just fine. Then he helped me get into a college in a different state and I’ve never looked back. The scholarships I earned while in high school and college helped tremendously. The rest I took out in student loans which I paid off with money I earned working. I felt like if I used the money he gave me, it was somehow letting him off the hook. Paying off Caleb’s bills was my own twisted way of flipping off my father. I know that may sound stupid, but that’s how I feel.”
She had been so intent on spilling her guts to Seth that she hadn’t heard the change in Seth’s breathing. He suddenly placed both his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him.
“Did Tim threaten your job to get you to say yes to his proposal?” he asked incredulously, skipping right past the information about her dad. The flash of anger in his eyes made him seem formidable for the first time since she’d met him. She knew he’d been in the Army, but had never really seen him as the aggressive type. The look on his face now had her rethinking that notion.
“No. He said he’s trying to keep them from getting rid of my position. We need to be engaged until after this project is completed and they reallocate funds and jobs. He is hoping that by the time we are both securely situated in our new responsibilities and new assignments and the threat to my position is over that I will…that I will want to marry him,” she said.
His face grew angrier before he kissed her in that way he had of making her whole body come alive. His lower body moved in perfect time to his kisses, which only made her crave him even more. After releasing her lips, he rested his forehead against her cheek and held a raspberry to her mouth. “Do you love him? Are you actually considering marrying him or are you only going along with this for the sake of your job?”
Love…a word that had never really held meaning for her until Zach was born. Zach had introduced her to the emotion and now here, with Seth, she was getting to know the feeling a little better. She had to admit she was falling in love with Seth. She had tried to fight it, fearing she would wind up alone…and maybe even pregnant again. Now she realized she’d never really loved Lucas. She had just been tired of being alone. When that hadn’t worked out, she had tried to use logic to choose someone, only for love to finally show up and drag her around by her hand showing her all that she’d been missing.
“No, I don’t love him. He’s not the man I want,” she replied.
As she ate the berry, he wrapped her legs around his waist, picked her up, carried her over to the empty breakfast counter and sat her on the edge of it. Then he ran his thumb along her upper lip and then down her chin, tipping her whole head back. He slid his other hand around her waist and laid her back on the counter.
She felt him remove her shoes and unzip her pants, but she was unprepared for the feel of his hands as he skimmed her jeans and panties down her legs. The sound of her jeans hitting the floor brought her out of her daze. Was he planning to make love to her right here? In the kitchen? On the counter?
“Seth?” she questioned.
His hands pushed her shirt up to bare her stomach to his gaze. Wedging himself between her splayed legs, he kissed her stomach as his hands guided her shirt all the way up and off. Her bra soon followed, and when she was finally naked and on display atop the counter, he stepped back from her. His eyes roamed her body while he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it.
After adding his shirt to the pile of clothes on the floor, he walked back over to the other counter and grabbed the dip and the bowl of raspberries. Her body was on fire both from anticipation and the look of desire on his face. Setting the bowls within reaching distance, he grabbed a berry and looked at her.
“I don’t want any more raspberries, Seth,” she begged. What could he possibly want to ask her now with her sprawled naked in front of him? Why wasn’t he just having sex with her?
“These aren’t for you. They are for me,” he replied, pushing her legs further apart.
Before she could ask what he meant, she felt the coldness of the fruit as he touched it to the very center of her. As he rubbed it along her cleft and around her swollen nub, she heard herself whimper. Her stomach quivered and her lower body clenched. She fought to keep the ecstasy of his touch from making her so wet this time. Just as she was about to beg him to stop, he voluntarily pulled the berry away, raised it to his lips and sucked it inside his mouth.
Her entire body responded to the heat in his eyes. Leaning across her, he got yet another berry from the bowl. Placing a kiss on her mouth, he said, “I think that tastes even better than the dip. You should try it.”
Then he lowered his hand between her legs. Knowing she was close to the kind of pleasure she’d experienced a week ago, she said, “Seth, you shouldn’t do that.”
He gently bit one of her bent knees. “Why not?”
She couldn’t even look at him for fear her body would betray her and leave her lying in a liquid pool of lust. Then she felt the fruit against her again. The tension built even more as he used the cool berry to torture her until she cried out, “Please, Seth, don’t make me do this. Last time was…and I don’t want that to happen again. I made a mess, is that what you want?”
Pulling the fruit away from her, he held it up to her lips. “Open your mouth.” She could taste herself mixed with the juices of the fruit. Never again would she be able to eat this favorite dessert without thinking of him.
“Yes, that is what I want. I want that very badly. When it does happen, then I am going to make love to you and show you how good it feels to really make a mess,” he replied, reaching for another piece of fruit. His eyes watched her while his lips and teeth skimmed the inside of her knee and his fingers picked up where the torture of the fruit had left off.
She felt the first brutal wave of pleasure crash through her. Her entire body arched off the counter and her legs clamped together. The waves continued on and on until his hands pulled her knees apart so he could again wedge himself between them.
This time she felt the tip of his swollen shaft encased in a condom as it nu
dged her sensitive cleft. Glancing down, she realized he had managed to strip out of his clothes while she’d been writhing in ecstasy. He rested at her entrance and watched her face as she fought against the incredible sensations. When the shocks of electricity traveling through her finally subsided, he laid his open hand on her lower stomach and slid inside her in one swift movement. Then he held her down against the counter as his hips rocked into her and his thumb stroked the moist center of her.
He watched her as the pleasure hit her yet again. This time she gave up fighting him and let the feeling overtake her. His eyes never left hers. As he pushed into her, she came apart. He lunged into her once more with a cry of his own. Then he whispered, “Yes, that is exactly what I wanted…and I want that to happen again and again.”
Oh, God…could she take that? Would she survive it? She laid there, her back sticking to the countertop as he withdrew from her and disposed of the condom. Then he grabbed his wallet from the pile of clothes and pulled out another foil packet. He helped her sit up and wrap her legs around his waist. Then he carried her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.
Sometime later, when it was getting close to time for her to leave to get Zach, Seth rolled over to face her and propped his head on his hand. His eyes were bright and his ever-present grin touched her in a way that left her breathless and emotional. Much like dancing, his brand of lovemaking was a form of art. He put his whole body into it and though her body was drained, her heart was full.
“I want you to go with me to Ian’s fight on Saturday. We can’t take Zach because the fights get kind of brutal, but Ronnie and Kayla are going so maybe I can talk to Caleb and Addie about watching Zach until we get back,” he said.
How could she deny him anything when she was so completely…satisfied? Every nerve in her body was singing from the pleasure he’d given her. She should be working to get even further ahead of schedule in an effort to impress the powers that be in hopes of keeping her job. The afternoon hadn’t been a complete waste, though. It had definitely helped her to decide that marrying Tim was no longer an option…ever.
Harlequin E Contemporary Romance Box Set Volume 2: Maid to CraveAll I HaveThe Last First DateLight My Fire Page 14
