“My mother brought me up better than to be uncivil. And the old couple three doors down are watching from their car.”
Cherry glanced around and it was enough distraction for Rick to push her through the door. Prudently he left it open and stepped around her, going to the ‘fridge and pulling out the iced coffee. Turning to her, he lifted his eyebrows in silent query.
“You’re an arse,” she stated flatly. “There was no one watching. What are you, five years old?”
“Thirty six, actually.” He poured a glass of iced coffee. “Sure you don’t want one?”
“No.”
“Iced chocolate it is, then.” Returning the iced coffee to the ‘fridge, Rick took out the container of iced chocolate and poured some into a clean glass.
“I don’t want an iced chocolate,” she returned sharply.
“My mother would slap me silly if I didn’t offer a lady a drink.” Rick handed her the glass, amused when she grabbed it and glared up at him. Clinking his glass against hers, he said, “Bottoms up.”
He’d love to see her bent over a kitchen table with her bottom up. Oh yeah.
Taking a sip, he watched her closely.
Cherry took a deep breath and there went that frilly lace across her breasts, rising up enticingly. Looking around to put the glass down, she began again, “Reed, we need to talk—”
“Glad you think so.” Catching her arm, Rick nudged the door shut with his foot and steered her over to the little table. “Let’s get comfortable.”
“Will you let me finish?”
“Of course.” Sitting across from her, Rick laid his ankle across his knee and rested one arm on the table, his fingers slowly running up and down the cold exterior of his glass. “You were saying?”
Cherry pushed the glass of iced chocolate away. “We need to talk.” She paused, obviously expecting him to again interrupt.
Encouragingly, he nodded, fascinated by the faint blush that rose in her cheeks. She was so damned cute it made his heart swell. The lace on her shirt that rested right across her ample bosom rising and falling a little agitatedly made his dick swell, too, but that would have to wait for another time. Hopefully not too far in the near future. Like ten minutes time.
Dragging his thoughts from that delightful contemplation, he focused on her face.
“Reed,” she began, only to scowl when he grinned at her. “Reed, I don’t appreciate you ringing me or knocking on my door. I want you to stay away from me.”
“But you came to me,” he couldn’t help pointing out.
“I thought I better come and straighten you out in person.”
“Always delightful. You can come and straighten me out any time.” She made to stand up and he realized he may have pushed her a little too far. Mentally telling himself off for teasing her, he leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “Wait. Let’s start this again.”
“Let’s not.” She looked pointedly down at his hand on hers.
Knowing this was his one chance to make her listen, he said quietly, “Cherry, I promise to stop teasing, all right? I just want to talk.” For now. Later…
She looked dubiously at him.
“Just sit and talk, Cherry, that’s all.” Releasing her hand, Rick sat back, his gaze holding hers. “Please.”
She chewed that lush bottom lip, making desire shoot straight through him, but he manfully pushed the desire away, tamping it down where his lust simmered, and maintained a friendly façade. Picking up his glass, he took a sip of the iced coffee. “A cold drink after a hard days work. Just spare me a few minutes and tell me what’s on your mind. I promise not to interrupt.”
Slowly she sat down and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Picking up the glass, she took a sip of the iced chocolate and a brief flash of pleasure crossed her face. He vowed then and there to always keep a carton of iced chocolate in his ‘fridge for her.
“Nice.” She took another sip before placing the glass back on the table.
“I think so.” He waited, silently amused when she suddenly didn’t seem to know what to say or how to proceed.
Then she chewed that lush bottom lip again and he thought his dick might explode from behind the jeans zipper. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t far off the truth. Manfully dragging his thoughts from that titillating thought, he took a much bigger mouthful of iced coffee and continued to politely wait for Cherry to start speaking. Personally, he now felt like dragging her off to bed, but he’d made a promise and he prided himself on keeping promises. Afterwards, however…
Cherry cleared her throat and he waited, mentally tamping down yet another surge of desire. Cripes, he should get a medal for all this tamping of his passion.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other,” she finally said.
This he expected. “Why?”
“Because I don’t like being made a fool of.”
“Okay, this he didn’t expect. “I don’t understand. What have I done to make you think that?”
Those blue eyes narrowed a little. “I saw you with Annabelle Forbes.”
“Annabelle? She means nothing to me.”
“Oh, really? I saw you together, her hand on your face, you holding her hand. It didn’t look like nothing to me.” Her chin lifted, which he immediately thought was adorable.
“I can explain that.”
“That’s the corniest line I’ve ever heard.”
Rick actually blanked out for a second. “What?”
“I’m sure that particular line has been in just about every romance book I’ve ever read.”
“You read romance books?” Spicy? Erotic? He was dying to know.
“None of your business.”
“You sure?”
Her lips tightened.
Remembering how flighty his little Cherry was, Rick quickly returned to the original topic. “I met Annabelle in the street and told her that our dinner date was not going to happen. She tried to change my mind, I tried to let her down gently.” He frowned a little at the memory, then shrugged. “She didn’t take it too well, but you obviously didn’t wait around to see that part.”
“What did she do?” Cherry immediately bit her lip. “Forget it, I don’t want to know.”
“She wanted to know why, I told her I had met someone, and she, well, let’s not go into it. Suffice it to say that any hope she had of us getting together is over.”
Her gaze dropping to the glass on the table, Cherry was silent for several long seconds before murmuring, “That someone else you met, that someone you broke up with her over…”
“Is you.” When she remained silent, Rick reached over the table to lay one hand over hers. “We were never an item, love. She wanted it, I didn’t. It was a dinner date she forced on me, so breaking it wasn’t a problem. You, however…” She didn’t look up but when she went to withdraw her hand he tightened his hold, preventing her from sliding away. “You, I’m deadly serious about. I want us to be an item. I want to have dinner with you, I want you to get to know me.” When she didn’t respond, he squeezed her hand gently. “Cherry, look at me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her sigh was accompanied by a slumping of her shoulders, and when she lifted those thick, black lashes so her gaze could meet his, he was struck by the sadness in them. “Don’t play me for a fool, Rick.”
“I’m not playing you for a fool.”
“Men like you don’t go out with girls like me.” Tugging her hand from his, she stood up. “I’m not that desperate that I’d fall for this. Goodbye.” Turning on her heel, she strode for the door.
He was out of his chair and leaping after her in seconds. Catching her arm, he swung her around. Transferring his grasp to her shoulders, he pulled her against him and looked fiercely down at her. “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”
“I’m leaving.”
“No. That crack about men like me don’t go out with girls like you. What’s that about?”
“Come on, Rick,
stop with the innocent routine.” Her eyes flashed fire, colour mounting in her cheeks. “All right, let’s be blunt about this—”
“Oh, please do.”
“Fine. You have women panting after you, I’m just a friend to men.”
“That last part doesn’t even make sense. What are you on about?”
“I’m fat. There, you got me to say it. Happy?”
A small spark of anger flared. “Now who’s acting like she’s five years old?”
“It’s true.”
“And on what grounds do you make such a stupid statement?”
“Experience.”
“You mean those idiot teenagers in the park calling you names? I thought you had better sense than that.” He added as an after-thought, “Though I’d have kicked their arses for them right then and there if I’d been present.”
“Experience in that I’ve stood by and watched men take out the slim, pretty girls on dates. I got the laugh, the shoulder slap, the ‘See you later, Cherry. You’re such a pal.’ Not one man was interested in me when I stood next to a more, shall we say, yummier version of the female variety.”
Rick couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.
That only made her angrier. Humiliated, she shoved him hard. “Laugh it up, you dick! You men are all alike!”
“Wrong.” He chortled. “We’re not all alike. Hell, Cherry, you can’t just say what you did and think I’d not find it funny.”
“You think it’s funny no man was interested in me?” She tried to pull from his grasp but he refused to release her.
“No, I think your ‘yummier version of the female variety’ is funny.” Seeing the humiliation still making her cheeks red, he sobered. “You’re not kidding. You really believe that shit?”
“What, you don’t?”
“No.”
“Come on, Rick. When faced with two women, one fat and the other slim, you’d take the slim woman.”
“To argue this, I could say something that’ll get my face slapped.”
“Don’t stop now. You’ve got a whole lot of slaps coming your way.”
“That’s not very encouraging.”
“But truthful.”
“Then let’s go for it. I’d choose you.”
“The fat one?” Her tone was filled with derision.
“The one who caught my attention.” He gave her a little shake. “You stubborn little chit. I’m not interested in other women, regardless of their shape. I’m interested in you, regardless of your shape.”
“Pfft.”
He sighed. “What’ll it take to convince you?”
“Nothing you can say.”
Gazing down at her, he arched one brow. “Really?”
She lifted her chin.
A slow smile curved his mouth.
Her eyes narrowed.
She was so warm against him. Every breath she took he felt, that magnificent bosom pressing against his chest, and her faint, sweet scent stole through him. Heat flickered inside him, starting low in his loins and spreading out in rapid warmth.
Rick lowered his head towards her. “So nothing I say will convince you?”
Her eyes widened.
Sliding one hand from her shoulder to lie across her lower back, he cupped his other hand around her nape. “Maybe you trust actions more than words, my sweet little Cherry.”
“Oh no.” She started to back away, only to stop when his muscles locked and she found herself unable to move without struggling. “Rick, don’t you do this. Don’t you—”
He caught her mouth, muffling her words, and proceeded to kiss her. Deeply. Hotly.
Christ, she was so soft. So soft and warm and sweet. Her lips were soft, her skin soft, her hair tickling his hand soft. Her curves were soft. She was just so damned soft he wanted to sink into her and never again come up for air.
Her struggle was brief, her surrender fast. Her lips opened to his marauding mouth, and she moaned when he swept inside to taste her. The flavour of hot honey, decadent and sweet all at once, she burst upon his tongue and he wanted so much more.
His shaft thickened, hardened, pressing demandingly against the soft swell of her stomach, and he couldn’t stop his hand from sliding down from her waist to cup one generous buttock, his fingers spreading to flex and squeeze the globe.
Heat flared through him and he swore her curvaceous body was forever imprinted on his harder flesh. Her scent, her flavour, her softness, it seeped into him and fed his desire until it was so hot he could barely think, and he grabbed the hem of her blouse and started to tug it up.
When her hands gripped his wrists and her protests finally penetrated his haze of heat, he stopped, his hands unwilling to still but his mind taking control. Sluggishly, true, but taking control nevertheless.
Cherry’s eyes were dark with desire, but wariness warred there as well. “No.”
“No?”
“No.” Her hands on his trembled as she fought the desire that burned between them.
“Why?” Taking a deep breath, he lowered his forehead to rest against hers and gazed directly into her eyes. “You feel this passion between us, Cherry, why do you deny it?”
“I…” She licked her lips, so swollen from his kisses, so red from his mouth, and it made him want to taste her again. “I don’t believe…”
Shit. He closed his eyes. “You don’t believe I want you.”
“No. Yes. I mean, no, I don’t believe you want me.”
“Even with this boner I have?”
“That’s crude.”
“But true.”
He could feel her trembling against him and he cursed every twisted idea of beauty that taunted larger women every day, from every media article both in magazines and the television.
“Let me go.” Her voice shook.
Taking another deep breath – any more deep breaths and he was certainly going to start hyperventilating – Rick opened his eyes and lifted his head. Sliding his hand slowly up her back, he felt her tremble under his touch and it made him even more determined.
Placing his palms each side of her throat, he rubbed his thumbs against her cheeks. “You want the truth, Cherry?”
Silently she looked up and the pain in her eyes clawed at him. The stubborn chit was waiting for a nasty remark. She was in for a surprise.
Always one to believe in blunt honesty, Rick wasted no time. He spoke quietly, authority in his voice as he looked her directly in the eyes. “Do you remember that night when I said Tim knew just what I needed?”
She stiffened.
“Don’t.” He allowed the thread of steel to seep into his tone. “I said that because I love voluptuous women. Tim knows that. He knows I love a woman with curves, with softness. I love the rubenesque figure. It’s womanly. Sweet. Seductive. I thought he’d sent you to my room because he knows my preference. However, Cherry, you are more than that, more than a preference. I love your full body, your curves, your figure. But it’s you I find intriguing. Your fire, your stubbornness, your sweetness, your shyness, your nature. You. Does that say it all?”
Having bared his innermost thoughts, he waited.
Cherry licked her lips.
Jesus, she was going to be the death of him. Baring his innermost thoughts was one thing, but when she did things like that his male drive wanted to take over and throw her on the bed so he could pound into her and revel in that softness. Knowing that wasn’t what she wanted or needed right now, he kept his steely resolve.
Heaven surely had a place for him. He’d racked up enough points around her to last him at least the week.
“Cherry,” he prompted quietly.
She glanced away.
“Look at me,” he insisted. “You owe me that.”
Her gaze flashed up to his. “I owe you nothing.”
“Wrong. I told you exactly how I feel. You owe me the same.”
She was silent for so long that he thought she wasn’t going to answer, but suddenly she sighed and all the
fight seemed to go out of her. “I can’t believe you. How do I know you aren’t playing me? How do I know this isn’t just some game for you to amuse yourself?”
A flicker of anger was squashed beneath the understanding of how much she’d been hurt in the past. “How do I prove myself to you?”
“I don’t know.”
It was his turn to sigh as he dropped his hands to her shoulders.
She looked up at him in resignation. “It’s all right, Rick. I’ll go and we’ll forget this ever happened.”
Every dominate male instinct he had sprang to life. “Like hell!”
The chit had the gall to blink in surprise.
“I shouldn’t have to prove myself to you, Cherry, just as you shouldn’t have to do the same to me.” Yeah, that took the wind right out of her sails, so he forged ahead. “But it looks like I’ll have to. Fine.”
Looking suddenly guilty, she began tentatively, “We can be friends.”
“Friends?” He couldn’t believe he was hearing this. “I don’t bloody think so. My interest in you as a friend only is just not happening. I want you in my bed, in my life, and being friends only is not going to cut it. If I had my way, we’d be in my bed and I’d be inside you right now.”
The look on her face was priceless. Her mouth was open, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes wide with surprise and – oh ho! – a touch of heat.
“Yeah, love, you heard right.” Enjoying the expression on her face immensely, Rick continued, “I’d have your luscious body naked for my hands and mouth, but as you seem to find that a little hard to contemplate with me right now, we’ll tread slowly. For awhile.” Like a day. Or a couple of hours. “I’m going to court you.”
“Court me?”
“Flowers. Chocolates. Movies. Dinners.”
“I don’t want…”
“What?” Catching her chin between thumb and forefinger, Rick tilted her head back and lowered his head so that his mouth hovered inches above her own. Manfully ignoring her sweet scent and the lure of lush lips, he said with a touch of steel, “What do you want, Cherry? What will you settle for? Who will you settle for? Maybe it’s me you don’t like, is that it? Maybe it’s me you don’t want touching you. Maybe I sicken you?”
Okay, pushing her wasn’t nice, but it was the only way Rick could think of to make her succumb. As it was, she’d stopped her slightly panicked words and looked thoughtful. He watched as she studied him solemnly, her blue gaze sweeping slowly across his face.
Doctor's Delight Page 10
