by Dorie Graham
“What are you talking about?”
“I went to see Sophie after Brad dumped me…you know, after we finally— Anyway, I was upset that I couldn’t seem to keep a man until morning.”
“And?”
“And she had an unusual explanation.” She paused. How could she ease Erin into this?
“Which was?”
“Well, she said the women in our family all share a gift and apparently it manifests a little differently in each of us.” She took a breath and faced her sister. “We have the gift of sexual healing.”
Erin laughed. “Sexual healing? You have got to be kidding me.”
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m thinking there might be something to this.”
“You mean healing men by having sex with them?”
Nikki nodded. “It does sound unbelievable. Believe me, I know.”
“And we’re all supposed to have this gift?”
“Right, according to Sophie.”
“Well, that is ridiculous. I can guarantee I don’t have any such gift.”
“How can you be so sure? I never see the guys I sleep with again. For all I know, they really are out conquering the world.”
Erin pushed her glass away. “Nikki, you can’t believe this.”
A vision of Dylan came to Nikki. Peace softened his expression and calmed the turbulence of his psyche. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“And you think this excuses Maggie’s and Tess’s behavior?”
“I think it’s a possible explanation.”
“If you say so.” Erin stood, her mouth quirked in a half smile. “Sounds like foolishness to me.”
“Just consider it for a moment. What if it is true? Is it such a bad thing?”
“You are losing it. Look, I’ve got some errands to run.” With a shake of her head Erin strode from the room.
Nikki stared after her. Maybe she hadn’t expected her sister to accept Sophie’s theory off the bat, but she hadn’t expected her to completely discount it, either. Somehow it had made Erin…nervous. What would make her have such an odd reaction?
NIKKI PUSHED ASIDE HER worries over her sister as she stood on Dylan’s doorstep later that evening. Her stomach clenched with a combination of anticipation and dread. What if he’d been angered by her refusal to go to dinner? What if he’d finally been struck with the need to run off and conquer the world?
Only one way to find out. She pressed the doorbell.
It seemed odd that in a few short weeks this would be her doorbell, her house. Her heart lightened as footsteps sounded from inside.
She tamped down on the joy bubbling in her, but when Dylan stood before her it seemed the floodgates opened. All her relief and happiness spilled out and she was unable to form a coherent thought.
He stared at her for the briefest heartbeat, then his hand cupped the back of her head and tugged her to him. His mouth covered hers, his lips parting and his tongue seeking, probing.
She wrapped her arms around him and melted into the kiss, savoring the heat of it, the excitement emanating from him. He wanted her.
He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Want to come in?”
“Sure.”
He took her hand and led her straight into his bedroom, nodding toward a table laden with delicious smelling take-out boxes. “I ordered Chinese. It’s not quite the dinner I envisioned when I called this afternoon, but I hope that’s okay.”
A twinge of disappointment stung her. It would have been nice to let him take her out on a real date, but she shook off the thought. They’d made a deal. And it was very sweet of him to provide a meal. “Sure. Chinese is fine. It smells heavenly.”
He pulled her close again. “You’re okay with staying in? I know we agreed no frills—”
“I am absolutely okay with staying in.” She let her gaze wander over him. He seemed to look better each time she saw him. No, staying in definitely wouldn’t be a problem.
“Good, I really didn’t feel like going back out. Besides…” he ran his hand up her arm “…I like the idea of having you all to myself—my secret indulgence.”
She smiled. “I like it with just the two of us, too. I’m all for secret indulgences.”
“Perfect. That’s the way we’ll keep it.”
She leaned over and sniffed the closest container. “Is that sweet-and-sour shrimp?”
“Uh-huh.” He nuzzled her neck while he cupped her bottom. “But maybe we should skip to dessert.”
“Here, sit.” She gently pushed him into one of the chairs, lifted shrimp and a pair of chopsticks, then straddled his lap. “Maybe we can combine the two.”
His eyes lit with excitement. “Sounds like my kind of meal.”
She gripped a fat shrimp with the chopsticks, then dangled the morsel over his lips. He smiled and seated her more securely in his lap, anchoring her by her hips. “No teasing.”
“No teasing.” She lowered the shrimp and he bit it into his mouth.
“Mmm.” His eyes closed as he savored the bite. Then he fed her a shrimp from his fingertips.
The sweet-and-sour flavor rolled over her tongue as she chewed slowly, her gaze never leaving his. She’d barely swallowed before he pulled her into another breathtaking kiss. The heat of his mouth—of his desire—rolled over her as she savored the feel of his tongue on hers.
When he stood, she wrapped her legs around him, clinging to him as he carried her to the bed. His mouth never left hers as he settled on the mattress with her. For long moments she lost herself in the kiss, in the hungry wandering of his hands over her back, breasts and buttocks. He caressed her through her clothes and she touched him in like, her fingers tracing the curve of his shoulder, the cut of his biceps and his chest, hard beneath the soft cotton shirt.
“I need to touch you.” She tugged his shirt over his head, feasting her gaze on the muscled contours of his torso.
His eyes closed as she stroked her hand over him. Warmth swirled in the pit of her stomach. Pleasure. Touching him gave her so much pleasure. She brushed her lips over him, trailing kisses to his male nipple. He moaned and threaded his fingers in her hair as she laved him. He let her have her way with him for several long moments.
Then he growled softly and rolled her to her back. “I need to touch you, too…everywhere.”
He peeled her clothes from her with sure movements, his gaze tracing each exposed inch of her. He sat back. “Let me look at you.”
She lay still, his need lifting hers, sending that ache deep inside her until she pulsed with it. “Touch me, Dylan.”
Something dark and intense flashed through his eyes. He reached out to cup her breast with a tenderness that nearly brought tears to her eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her nipple, brushing his lips lightly over her until her flesh beaded. He took her into his mouth and she cried out as the heat arrowed through her.
Her sex swelled and moistened. She tugged at his waistband. He moved away long enough to rid himself of the rest of his clothes.
“Hurry,” she urged as he rolled on a condom.
His lips quirked in a half smile as he seated himself deep inside her. He held her gaze for a long moment before he moved, and when he did, her cry of pleasure matched his.
She couldn’t tell if this incredible joy was his or hers or something combined that existed only in this moment of joining.
His image blurred and she blinked uncalled-for tears from her eyes. The tenderness in his gaze brought an ache to her throat. He kissed her, a light touch of his lips to hers, as he thrust again and she came, the orgasm rippling out and gripping him in its power, so that he cried out and joined her.
“HUNGRY?” NIKKI’S SISTER, Tess, called from the kitchen as Nikki straggled into the apartment late that night. She tiptoed past Clark, another of her sister’s past loves, who lay snoring on the living room sofa, to step into the well-lit kitchen.
Tess wore an apron ov
er a nightie. She hefted a wooden spoon as her current boyfriend, Ramon, dressed in a pair of low-riding shorts, stirred something in a big pot on the stove. He snaked his arm around Tess and pulled her in for a quick kiss. The scent of garlic permeated the air.
Nikki’s stomach tightened at the easy affection. Even though the brief dinner with Dylan had been most exciting and their after-dinner romp had been even more satisfactory, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of gloom that had settled over her as he’d drifted to sleep beside her. The incredible high of their lovemaking had been too fleeting.
She could have stayed with him through the night as she was in the habit of doing. They probably would have enjoyed another tumble or two during the night. But as his arm had grown heavy across her waist and his breathing had leveled into the steady rhythm of sleep, the urge to flee had gripped her.
And even though she’d eaten very little of their dinner, her appetite for once eluded her.
“No, thanks.” She squinted at the kitchen clock. “It’s after one in the morning and you two are cooking?”
“This one has sapped me. A man needs to keep his strength up.” Ramon ran a possessive hand over Tess’s hip.
She laughed and snuggled in closer to him. “Ramon is taking me to meet his family tomorrow and he insists we bring them food that I helped prepare so I can win them over.”
“They’d love her no matter what,” he said. “Why wouldn’t they? I can’t get enough of her.”
“Of course you can’t, but could I just borrow her for a minute?” Nikki asked.
Both Ramon and Tess turned to her, eyebrows raised in question.
“I won’t keep her long. It’s late and I have to work in the morning.”
“Sure.” Tess extricated herself, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Don’t let your sauces cool.”
“Mmm, you keep me hot. Don’t keep me waiting too long, or I’ll come after you.”
Nikki rolled her eyes and dragged her sister down the hall to her bedroom. She plopped on her bed, and Tess sank into the big cushioned chair that had been Nikki’s first furniture purchase when she’d gotten the apartment.
It was wide and deep with cushions a body could get lost in. It had taken two of Tess’s bulkiest minions to move it into the room. To Nikki it represented permanence. She’d always have this chair and she meant to always have a home in which to house it.
“So you’ve got a new guy?” Tess tossed her mass of red waves, her crystal-blue eyes round with curiosity.
Not for the first time, Nikki marveled at how much her sister favored Maggie. She and Erin both had their respective fathers’ coloring. Tess had their mother’s fiery looks and carefree attitude.
“That’s not what I want to talk about.”
“No?”
“No.” She shifted on the bed, hugging a pillow with a ruffled trim to her front. “I went over this with Erin earlier and it didn’t go too well.”
“What’s with her?”
“She’s been a little…moody lately.”
“Moody? That’s a nice way of putting it. I walk into the room and she leaves like I’m stinking up the place.”
“I think part of it might be that she values her privacy.”
“I’m hardly ever here. She gets plenty of privacy.”
“But, Tess, your minions are always around, whether you’re here or not.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “I don’t ask them to do things for me. They just do. I didn’t hear her complaining when Alex came over to fix the garbage disposal or Ben brought in all those live plants or Jeffrey steam-cleaned the furniture and carpets.”
“No, but maybe it bothers her to see you crook your little finger and a dozen guys come running.”
“If she ever gave any of them half a chance, she’d get the same reaction.”
“Perhaps.” Nikki squished the pillow down and sat straighter. “I had this talk with Sophie the other day. It was…illuminating.”
“Sophie’s talks are always illuminating.”
“Well, this one was more so. It was about the women of our family…about us.”
Tess cocked her head in question, her face taking on the exact same expression their mother’s did when she focused on something that interested her.
Nikki inhaled, then blew out her breath. She could just say this to Tess. She would understand. “We’re sexual healers.”
Her sister’s eyes rounded in a moment of surprise, then her lips curled into a slow smile. “Sure, that makes sense.”
Just like that. Total acceptance.
Nikki shook her head. “Somehow I knew you’d be okay with it.”
“Well, why not?” Her smile brightened to show straight white teeth. “We’re like the Halliwell sisters, only… Hey, are we witches?”
“No! At least I don’t think so. Wouldn’t that throw Erin into a tizzy?”
“So our baby sister didn’t go for the sexual-healing thing?”
“Not really. I think it…I don’t know…disturbed her? I haven’t had a chance to talk to her more.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Maybe you should let me do that.”
Tess shrugged. “So all of us? All the women of our family? Like Maggie? Aunt Sophie?”
“All the women.”
“We heal men by loving them.”
“That’s the word.”
“You know, that explains why I fall in love with every single one of them.”
“You do?”
“Oh, yes, with all my heart. Don’t you?”
Nikki sank back against the headboard. Did she fall in love each time? She thought about her former lovers, and with each image her chest filled with warmth until her heart seemed to expand and the warm feeling flowed over her. At the memory of Dylan sleeping, his face softened with peace, the warmth expanded, blurring the room. “Maybe so.”
“Exactly. Why didn’t I figure this out sooner? Let’s call Sophie.” Tess reached for the phone on Nikki’s nightstand.
“It’s nearly two in the morning.”
“You don’t think she’ll be up?”
“No.”
“Guess if she is, she might not be alone. Wouldn’t want to interrupt anything,” Tess said.
“Sophie?”
“Well, yeah. She’s got the gift, right?”
“Theoretically.”
“So don’t you think she uses it?”
“I don’t want to think about that,” Nikki said.
“Hey, those old geezers need healing, too.”
“Sophie’s not old.”
“She wears her age well, just like Maggie. Sure she’s not a witch?”
“This conversation is getting a little out of control.”
“It’s all straight. I thought you were loosening up.” Tess reached over and thumped Nikki on the arm. “So you using your gift on your new guy?”
“I’m not sure how I feel about this…this gift.”
“What’s there to feel? It is, so you accept it.” She hopped up suddenly. “Speaking of which, I’ve got a hungry man waiting for me.”
“Wait…there’s something else I need to tell you about.”
Tess perched on the edge of the bed, her body tense. Her mind had already shifted gears and she was obviously anxious to be off.
Nikki tossed the pillow aside. Truth time. She hadn’t stopped to think how her sister would respond to her news about the house.
Her heart thudded. Tess might take this as an opportunity to run off with her lovers, the way Maggie had done. The prospect disheartened her. As crazy as Tess could be, life just wouldn’t be the same without her.
“I’m buying a house,” Nikki said.
Tess nodded. “Cool. I know you’ve wanted that for a while. Good for you.”
“Thanks. I’m hoping you and Erin will move in with me. It’s got plenty of room. We’d have lots of privacy. And there’s this courtyard area… Well, it’s really nice.” She paused, unsure of what else
to say. “So maybe you could go see it with me sometime.”
“Of course I’d like to see it.”
“Great. I’ll arrange it. Maybe we can get Erin to come with us, too.” The thought of showing her sisters the house didn’t unnerve Nikki nearly as much as the thought of introducing them to Dylan. Maybe they could see it while he was at work.
“Okay, just let me know what works with your schedule. I’m not anchored to the nursery these days. Maybe we can go tomorrow afternoon. Isn’t that your half day at the clinic?”
“I’ll call my agent in the morning.”
Tess turned in the door. “I do want to hear about this guy sometime.”
“Sure. Soon.”
Talking to her sisters about Dylan somehow seemed an infringement on her deal with him. Maybe later, when her time with him had ended, she’d tell Tess and Erin about him…and find a way to heal herself.
7
THE SKIES OPENED THE NEXT morning, pouring down rain, soaking the earth and relieving some of the ever-present humidity. Dylan frowned out his office window, damning the gray day for no particular reason. He’d gone to sleep with an angel in his arms, then awakened alone, his air conditioner blasting, fogging the windows and doors, chilling him to the bone. He’d reached for his phone to call her to demand she return to warm his bed, bringing her beautiful face and body over to distract him from the demons. But he’d stopped mid-dial.
He shouldn’t need her like this.
He closed his eyes. He hated the rain. Memories of that night two years ago descended on him—the screeching tires, the horrific boom of the car as it collided with the pole, his heart pounding in the subsequent stillness before the power lines fell in a fury of fire.
He squeezed his eyes closed against the memory, as if he could blot out the events that had followed. The heaviness shrouded him, choked him. He reached for the phone. If he could just hear Nikki’s voice. She could reach across the line and touch him—connect with him—bestowing her soothing magic on him. What kind of woman was she that just the hint of a smile from her brightened his day beyond reason and loving her…
The phone rang as he gripped the handset. Swallowing hard, he whipped the receiver from its cradle. “Cain here.”
