by Lori Foster
“What the hell did you think you were doing, busting in here and attacking her?”
Max lifted his brows, eyeing his brother curiously. “I didn’t attack her. Well, not really. And I was only trying to steal a kiss, like I always do.”
Any minute now, Lace expected to see lightning to match the thundercloud of Daniel’s expression. He transferred his glare from Max to her. “Do you have something going on with my little brother?”
“Of course I do.” When Daniel blanched, she added, “It’s called friendship, you idiot.”
His mouth fell open; seconds later he snapped it shut and a red flush ran up his neck. “I’m sorry.”
“Sure you are. Sorry that I’m not proving to be the stereotypical nympho you’ve envisioned?”
Max looked on with interest. “You want Lace to be a nympho? Come to think of it, that’s not a bad—”
They both snapped “Shut up, Max!” at the same time. Max held up his hands in a placating gesture, and his mouth twitched as he fought a smile.
“I can’t believe you honestly thought I’d sleep with your little brother.”
Max stifled a chuckle, then stepped backed when they both glared at him.
Pointing a finger at her, Daniel turned back to Lace. “I never said—”
“You thought it! And what about Guy? Is he safe from my evil, lascivious clutches? As far as that goes, is any male safe? I mean, it’s obvious I have no sense of discrimination, no standards to uphold, no—”
Daniel loomed over her. “That’s enough, Lace.”
“Why? You don’t like having your own nauseating misconceptions thrown in your face?”
Max cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the sudden silence in the room. “Hey, I’ve never been in here before. Nice place, Lace.”
Somehow she couldn’t quite force her gaze away from Daniel’s. They stared at each other, and it was like touching, a physical, tactile thing that left her energized. “I’m glad someone likes it.”
Daniel growled. “I like it, all right? How many times do I need to say it? I like your damned apartment.”
Lace crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Max started backing toward the door. “Look, I think it’s time for me to leave. All this hostility is bad for a man of my young impressionable years. Lace, I hope you’re feeling better soon.” He saluted his brother. “Dan, I hope you shut up before she kills you.” Then he laughed and hurried out the door.
Lace could feel herself heaving, her breath coming too fast, her turbulent emotions boiling near the surface. She felt … vital, alive and invigorated. The way she always felt when she sparred with Daniel.
She’d never before realized how easily she spoke with him, how comfortable she was saying anything at all to him. She held no reserve with him, no boundaries. Even his insults no longer seemed so important, now that she thought she understood him. And as she thought of it, she considered the possibility that he might have been a little jealous of Max. Heaven knew, he could take lessons from his little brother when it came to seduction.
“I’m not going away, Lace, no matter how hard you wish it.”
She turned to him. “I don’t wish any such thing.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “Would it really bother you so badly if I got involved with Max?”
Instead of answering, he went perfectly still and asked, “Are you considering it?”
“No, never.”
He immediately relaxed. “Why?”
“Because he doesn’t know what he wants. He’s unsettled. Max is not who you think he is.”
Daniel stepped closer, encouraged by her casual tone and lack of vehemence. “No? Then who is he?”
“I don’t know yet, mostly because he doesn’t know. I think he’s confused by his role in the family. He’s not the oldest son, the responsible one. And he certainly can’t compete with Annie as the youngest and the only female. Guy has become your best friend, taking over your place in the family company. I think Max is still trying to figure out where he fits in.”
“Max is my brother, my only brother. He doesn’t need to fit in.”
“Of course he does. He’s twenty-seven years old and he needs his own position in the family. Something with more stature than the overachiever’s brother.”
Daniel didn’t deny being an overachiever, but he did frown.
Lace felt encouraged. “That’s why he’s always so outrageous. Because he doesn’t yet know what to do with himself, and being outrageous is a way of covering that up.”
“Lace?”
She stared up at him.
He lifted a hand to her cheek. “I don’t want to talk about Max anymore.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Her skin felt too warm, as if added heat pulsed just beneath. A sweet, tingling sensation swirled low in her belly, pulling tighter with every second that Daniel watched her. Every place his gaze touched on her, she felt it.
“I want to kiss you again. Hell, I want to make love to you and hear you groan.” He cupped her face and his hands trembled. “I want you to whisper my name and scream in pleasure.”
Lace sucked in a breath. Daniel’s brown eyes had softened to a golden glow behind his glasses. She licked her lips and heard him make a small sound of pleasure.
“I … I think I want that, too.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to screw up with you.”
She knew what he meant, and his sexual insecurity removed her own. “I’ll help.”
His nostrils flared and his thick lashes swept down to shield his eyes. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Lace? I don’t want to fumble things. I want this to be good for you.”
“Daniel.” She touched his jaw, the side of his throat, and reveled in the warmth of his flesh. “I know you’re uncertain. But it’ll be okay. I promise.”
“You don’t mind … instructing me?”
His voice dropped, low and husky and aroused, and Lace wondered at his reaction. Was he really so nervous at the prospect of making love to her? Her heart softened.
No! Not her heart. She would not get emotionally involved with Daniel Sawyers. Their worlds were too different for them to ever harmonize for any length of time. She would not be drawn in by him, by his vulnerability and need. He was just a man, as flawed as any man. As a therapist, she could help him, and take her own pleasure in the bargain, but she wouldn’t let him confuse the issues.
“Daniel, do you think you can accept a brief affair with me?”
He stiffened, and Lace thought he might balk. He hesitated, the intensity of his gaze boring into hers. After a long, nerve-stretching moment, he leaned down and kissed her. Another brief, unsatisfying kiss. But she intended to change all that very soon.
“I don’t want an involvement any more than you do, Lace.”
She swallowed her hurt, insisting to herself that it was exactly the reply she’d wanted. “Good. Then we’re agreed.”
Daniel touched the tip of her nose. “There’s just one thing. As your doctor, I insist you wait awhile before embarking on any amorous adventures. No, don’t frown at me. I know what I’m saying. You need to let yourself heal, Lace, to let the stitches do their work.”
“And until then? Do we just go on as usual, baiting and sniping at each other?”
“No. I’m not sure I could, in any case. You’ll take it easy, I’ll check on you occasionally, and you’ll come to my house for Christmas. It’ll give us both a chance to get used to the idea of being together.”
Lace didn’t need to get used to the idea, but she supposed Daniel might. This was all new to him. Not that she was the experienced expert he thought. She’d no more hopped in and out of beds than a tadpole hopped from lily pad to lily pad. But that was her own business, not Daniel’s. And in the way of understanding sexual drives and urges, she certainly was the expert.
She stuck out her hand and waited for him to take it. “So, we have a deal?”
Daniel
shook her hand. “Deal.”
Lace wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to her own. “I think we should seal this particular bargain with a kiss.” This time she didn’t give Daniel the chance to pull away. She took her time and exploited every trick she knew to make him crazy with need.
When she finally released him, his glasses were fogged and his face was dark with lust.
“You’re an evil woman, Lace.”
She accepted the insult with a grin, then patted his cheek. “Don’t worry, Danny. When the time comes, I’ll be gentle with you.”
His eyes flashed, and he said in a whisper, “I can hardly wait.”
*
Lace was seriously considering writing a book on extended verbal foreplay. Her experiences with Daniel would serve as the perfect data.
It had been a week since the conception of their plan, and Daniel had utilized his time well. He’d managed to insinuate himself so deeply into her thoughts, not a moment passed that he didn’t in some way interrupt her work or her routine. She’d find herself smiling for the most absurd reasons, but try as she might, she couldn’t banish him from her brain.
She remembered when he’d stopped by to check up on her because she’d refused to let him remove her stitches. He’d complained endlessly about her defection to another physician. That same day, she’d found him looking through her collection of books. Not fiction for entertainment, but what she considered her texts, books on sexuality, on various other cultures and condoned behaviors.
She’d thought to tease him. “Find one with a lot of pictures, did you?”
He’d looked down at her, his eyes warm with desire, and shown her the book. “Yes, this picture.” She’d blushed at the intriguing position of the couple and felt Daniel’s gaze on her, watchful. “I’d like to try this with you, Lace.”
She shook, just imagining such a thing. And then he’d whispered, “I bet you taste so damn good…”
Lace had refrained from teasing him further.
Now she was tired, having worn herself out with her first full day out of the apartment. Daniel had gotten the day off work and chauffeured her around, and she hadn’t bothered to deny him. She liked being with him too much, and she still wasn’t comfortable enough to drive herself.
“You look exhausted. Let’s call it quits.”
“Not yet. One more stop, okay?” They’d been to the radio studio, where she’d checked to make certain everything was ready for her next show. She presented her producer with the letters she’d share on the air and the topic she wanted to cover, and they went over the format. Daniel had watched, looking uncomfortable.
Next they’d had lunch in the mall and Lace had managed to get some of her Christmas shopping done with Daniel’s help. She found it wasn’t nearly the chore she’d anticipated, in fact, it was almost fun. She bought Guy several ridiculously expensive fishing lures that Daniel swore he’d love. For Max, she bought the newest jazz CD. When Daniel asked how she knew Max liked jazz, Lace only winked at him, earning a scowl.
She even bought her mother a gift, a beautiful crystal vase, though they hadn’t even acknowledged a holiday in too many years to count. Daniel stayed by her side, teasing and suggesting the most outrageous things. But when she bought a very sexy teddy for Annie, he’d stomped away, telling her he’d meet her at the food court. Lace used the private moment to buy Daniel’s gifts, then fretted the rest of the afternoon over whether or not he’d like them.
“I need to stop at the post office. It’s on the way to my place.”
Daniel slanted her a quick glance. “I thought we’d go back to my place for a while.”
It wasn’t what he said, but how he said it, that caused her weariness to vanish, replaced by acute interest. She swallowed, then turned her head on the headrest to stare at him. “Oh? And what do we need to go there for?”
His hands flexed on the wheel, tightening, and she could see the movement of his jaw, the subtle way he shifted in his seat. “You’re almost healed. Another few days and you’ll be … fine.”
Even though the snow continued to fall and the temperature was in the twenties, Lace felt too warm. She opened her dark cape and concentrated on breathing.
Daniel glanced at her again, and then continued. “I thought we could use today to … practice a little.”
“To prepare for our nefarious plan?”
He reached across the seat and took her hand. “It’s not nefarious. It’s… Hell, I don’t know what it is. I’m only a man, Lace. I can’t take much more of this.”
“Well, I’m a woman, and it hasn’t exactly been easy on me.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “I think about you all the time.”
“When you’re trying to work?” She nodded and he said, “Me, too. When you’re eating?”
“Yes.”
His fingers tightened on hers. “When you’re in bed?”
Her heart pounded, shaking her. “Especially then.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“Misery loves company?”
“I haven’t been miserable. I’ve been on pins and needles and grouchy and not at all myself. And to top it all off, the nurses at the hospital are acting so damn strange. Suddenly they’re coming on to me in force. I can’t go into the dining room without practically getting attacked. It’s bizarre.”
Uh-oh. Lace remembered prodding the nurse in the emergency room to be more aggressive in her pursuit. Thinking of it now, she realized what a petty, childish thing she had done. Not that she’d admit it to Daniel. “Hmm. Maybe your new sexuality is showing through, inspiring them all to greater daring.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been friendlier with me, easier to be around.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but you’re the only one I ever wasn’t friendly to.”
“Gosh, that makes me feel so special.”
His laughter stopped. He pulled her hand to his thigh and pressed his own over it. “You are special, Lace. I think that’s why I had such a hard time understanding you. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“You mean someone so brazen and unashamed?”
To her surprise, he seemed to seriously consider her words. “I’m afraid you’ll take this the wrong way, so please let me finish.” He paused, and she could see him visibly gather his thoughts. “You are brazen, but not in a bad way. You believe in what you say, in the work you do. I think that probably makes you more effective. And I know you’re stronger than anyone I know, male or female. I’ve enjoyed helping you out while you were recuperating, but I have no doubt you’d have managed just as well on your own. Even without family or a hoard of friends.”
She’d never in her life heard so many compliments, not aimed at herself. He was wrong, of course. She wasn’t strong, and her brazenness hid an insecurity, a fear of never finding love, of going through her entire life alone. Of being like her mother.
She didn’t rely on friends because she’d never been comfortable enough with the natural intrusion of friends. People got close, and they wanted to share your life, invade your thoughts and dreams. His sister Annie, in her open, careless, honest way, had wheedled her way into her heart. She loved Annie as she’d love a sister if she had one. If she wasn’t careful, she might begin to love the whole family.
“What are you thinking? You’re so quiet.”
Lace quickly censored her thoughts, and decided which ones were safe to share. “I was remembering how Annie and I met.”
“At Annie’s bookstore?”
“Yes.” Lace smiled, thinking of the quaint, conservative little bookstore Annie owned. It was located in a very exclusive neighborhood, on the same strip with several other specialty shops. “She’d ordered a shipment of my last book. She saw in my bio that I lived in the area, so she wrote to my publisher, and they forwarded her letter.” Lace grinned, giving Daniel’s thigh a squeeze. “She was most impressed with my prose.”
“She’s in love.”
He almost drove the car off the road. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You didn’t know? You haven’t seen the signs? What do you do? Walk around with blinders on?”
They still tended to insult each other with great regularity, but neither one took the verbal assaults seriously. Not anymore. “Annie is only stretching her wings. She’s not in love.” He scoffed at the mere idea.
“Yes, she is. And that’s why she wrote me. She read my book, and knew I’d understand her predicament.”
“What predicament?”
“Being sandwiched between a serious older brother who pretends she’s still a child, and an aggressive middle brother who growls if men even look her way.”
“Max does that?”
“Max is as protective as you are, only in a different way. He’s determined to browbeat any suitors away. And if that doesn’t work, he’ll just get physical.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “I hadn’t realized. About Max, I mean. Though I can picture him doing just that.” He flashed her an unreadable look. “I still don’t think Annie’s in love.”
“Think what you like. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“Okay, smartie. So, who’s she in love with?”
Lace grinned. “I can’t tell. It’s a secret.”
“Ha. You just don’t have a name.”
Caressing his thigh just enough to distract him, Lace leaned close and whispered, “Wait and see. I imagine the truth will come out soon enough.”
As she’d hoped, he ignored her words and concentrated on her touch. “Will you come home with me, Lace?”
“What will you do to me?”
His jaw clenched and he shook. “Whatever you want me to.”
She closed her eyes against the impact of his words. “What if I want to do things to you?”
He took his eyes off the road long enough to pull her up close and kiss her hard. Then he gently pushed her back to her own seat. “We can iron out the particulars when we get there. But in the meantime, do me a huge favor and withhold all further provocation. It’s not necessary, believe me, and I have no idea how to perform CPR on myself. Much more of this and I’ll expire with a heart attack.”
