“Unbelievable,” Andrew said, awe ringing in his voice.
“I know. The first few months I lived with the MacAllisters I put them through hell. I was nasty, refused to carry on a decent conversation with them, stayed in my room when I wasn’t in school. They all just acted as though my behavior was perfectly fine. Little by little, I began to trust them and came to love them all so very very much. They saved my life, they honestly did.”
“Then when you were eighteen, they asked you if you would do them the honor of allowing them to adopt you, make you a MacAllister legally,” Andrew said.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “They put me through medical school, too. I’ve tried and tried to pay them back the money they spent on my education, but each time I attempt that, they shoo me away. They say that Jack and Richard didn’t pay back what had been spent on them for a higher education, so why would they take money from their daughter, when they didn’t get or expect any from their sons?
“Oh, Andrew, do you realize how blessed I am to have the family I do? All the MacAllisters are like that, all of them. They’re open and honest, giving and loving people. If you need it and they have it, it’s yours, no questions asked.
“I know you loved your mother, Andrew, but please remember that you’re a MacAllister, too. That family is yours, just as much as it’s mine, if not more.
“A few years ago I had a new headstone made for Gloria’s grave. It now reads Gloria MacAllister.” Tears filled Kara’s eyes again. “It was a gift I wanted her to have—the MacAllister name. Then she would be a little angel in heaven who knows she would have been loved unconditionally if she had lived, by the finest people I have ever known.”
Andrew pulled Kara close again and held her almost too tightly, wishing he could somehow, somehow, erase the horror of her youth, take her pain into himself to free her of its burden on her. He wanted to protect her from any future heartache, keep her safe here in his arms, out of harm’s way.
Nothing and no one, by God, he vowed fiercely in his mind, would ever hurt Kara MacAllister again.
Kara eased back a bit against Andrew’s hold, making him aware of how tightly his arms were encasing her. He loosened his grip, but kept his arms around her. She met his gaze directly.
“Thank you for listening,” she said. “You have every right to stand in harsh judgment of what I did all those years ago, but I’m hoping you won’t. The MacAllisters taught me how to forgive myself, to believe in myself, to know in my heart, my mind, my very soul, that I do—oh, yes, I do—matter.”
“More than you know,” Andrew said, his voice gritty with emotion, then his mouth captured hers in a searing kiss.
Kara raised her arms to encircle Andrew’s neck, and she leaned into him, receiving his kiss, returning his kiss, savoring the healing power of his kiss.
Then the memories of past pain began to fade, were finally swept into oblivion. There was only the present, the moment, the heated desire that was consuming them with hot flashing flames.
Andrew raised his head a fraction of an inch to speak close to Kara’s lips.
“I want you, Kara,” he said. “I want to make love with you.”
“And I want you, Andrew,” she whispered. “I don’t want to analyze it, think it through, argue with myself about the right or wrong of it. I just want to make love with you in a world we’re creating at this very second, where no one exists but the two of us. Oh, yes, this is our night to be together.”
In one powerful motion Andrew slid an arm beneath Kara’s knees and rose from the sofa with her held in his embrace. She clasped her hands behind his neck and laid her head on his shoulder as he strode down the short hallway to her bedroom.
Chapter 9
Andrew Malone, Kara thought dreamily, was the most magnificent man she had ever seen. He was standing before her, obviously comfortable with his nakedness and with the knowledge that she was visually tracing every masculine inch of him.
His body was perfectly proportioned. He had wide shoulders, long muscular legs, a flat belly and a broad chest, which was covered in curly black hair. He was fully aroused, his body announcing the intensity of his desire for her.
“Oh, Andrew,” Kara said, meeting his heated gaze. “You are everything and more than I imagined you would be. You truly are.”
“So are you,” he said, his voice gritty. “You are beautiful, Kara, exquisite.”
Kara pressed one hand on her flat bare stomach. “I still have faint stretch marks from being pregnant with Gloria. They’re not very visible, I guess, but I know they’re there, and I imagine they always will be.”
“They’re badges of honor that only a woman can earn,” Andrew said, smiling. “Don’t cover them up.” He opened his arms to her. “Come here…please.”
Kara closed the distance between them and sighed with pleasure as she melted into Andrew’s embrace. The small lamp on the nightstand next to the double bed cast a soft glow over the room, encasing them in a golden hue of subdued light.
Andrew kissed Kara deeply, then they tumbled onto the mint-green sheets on the bed. When he broke the kiss, he lay beside her, propped on one forearm, his other hand splayed on her stomach. He looked directly into her eyes for a heart-stopping moment, then lowered his head to claim her lips once more.
They were on fire, burning with want and need that seemed to have been tormenting them forever. At last, at long last, the moment had come, the time to share this most intimate act that had somehow, surely, been created just for them.
Andrew shifted his mouth to one of Kara’s breasts, drawing the nipple deep inside to lave it with his tongue. She closed her eyes to fully savor the sensations sweeping through her. He moved to her other breast, and a soft smile formed on her lips as she gloried in the pleasure being given to her by this magnificent man.
Kara opened her eyes again as her hands fluttered over Andrew’s moist strong back. She could feel his muscles bunch and move beneath her feathery touch, and marveled at the pure masculinity of him. There had been very few men in her life, but Andrew was far and beyond anyone she had ever known.
On this night, she thought hazily, Andrew was hers. He would bring to her all that he was, and she would receive him into her body, giving of herself in total abandon. She knew, just somehow knew, that their joining would be like nothing she had ever experienced before.
Andrew trailed a ribbon of kisses down Kara’s stomach, then lower, and lower yet. She tossed her head restlessly on the pillow as the heat within her threatened to consume her, dissolve her.
“Andrew,” she whispered, “please. I…Oh, please, come to me.”
Never, Andrew thought. Never in his entire life had he wanted a woman as much as he did Kara. And never before had he felt such a driving need to assure a woman’s pleasure. But then, never before had there been Kara.
He traveled upward again to claim her mouth in a searing kiss, then spoke close to her lips.
“I’ll protect you,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” Kara said, then flicked her tongue across his lips.
Andrew left the bed to retrieve a foil packet from his wallet. Moments later, an eternity later, he returned to Kara’s outstretched arms, which were welcoming him back into her embrace.
He moved over her, catching his weight on his forearms and looking directly into her eyes, which shone with a smoky hue of desire.
“This means more to me than I can begin to tell you, Kara,” he said. “I have to know…I just have to be certain that you won’t have any regrets that this happened.”
Kara framed Andrew’s face in her hands and smiled. She drank in the very sight of him, filled her senses with his male aroma, savored the taste of him that lingered on her lips.
“No regrets, Andrew,” she said. “I promise you that. This is our night, and I’ll cherish every precious memory of it.”
“Ah, Kara,” he said, a groan rumbling deep in his chest.
He kissed her, then entered her, filling her, encasing himself in the dark heat of her femininity. He began to move, slowly at first, then increasing the tempo, his body nearly beyond his control as he took them both higher and higher in a pounding rhythm.
Kara matched him beat for thundering beat, raising her hips to meet him, clinging tightly to his shoulders. She felt his muscles tremble beneath her hands and realized that he was holding himself back, being certain of her pleasure before seeking his own release.
She had never felt so special, so cared for. Oh, yes, yes, it was true—to Andrew Malone, she mattered.
The tension built within her, coiling tighter, taking her nearer to the place she sought. Close now…so very close…
“Oh, Andrew,” she said, digging her fingers into his shoulders. “Be with me. Together. Andrew!”
Andrew granted her plea as he threw back his head and joined her in ecstasy. It was an explosion of senses. It was rich and real, honest and earthy. It was theirs.
Andrew collapsed against Kara, spent, sated. Mustering his last ounce of energy, he rolled off her to keep from crushing her, then nestled her close to his side. She trembled and he stroked her back until she fully returned from the glorious place they had gone to—together.
Neither spoke. Hearts slowed and bodies cooled. Andrew reached for the blankets and covered them, tucking the soft material around Kara with exacting care. He laid his head on the pillow again, his lips resting lightly on Kara’s forehead.
“I’m not a man who is great with words,” he said finally, breaking the silence in the room. “Even if I was, this was beyond description in its beauty, its importance, its…All I can say to you is…thank you.”
“And I thank you,” Kara said softly. “I’ve never…What I mean is…it was all so beautiful, so…well, words are failing me, too. But that’s all right, because we both know how…how rare and wonderful this was, what we shared. We know.”
“Yes.” Andrew paused. “No regrets?”
“I promised and I meant it. No regrets.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“I’m so sleepy, Andrew.”
“Then sleep, lovely Kara. I’ll hold you right here in my arms. You’re safe from harm. Nothing can hurt you, not while you’re with me.”
“Just like when you held the baby in the nursery,” she said, her lashes drifting down. “He was safe in your arms, too. I want to tell you about the baby, about my hope to…” Kara’s voice trailed off as sleep claimed her.
Andrew sifted his fingers through her silky curls as he listened to Kara’s even breathing.
She wanted to tell him what about the baby? he thought. She hoped to what? Forget it. He was beyond the capability of thinking. He was going to go to sleep, right here, with Kara in his embrace.
He was at peace, contented, and that warmth, that foreign warmth, was filling him to overflowing. No, this wasn’t the time to think. All he was going to do was savor, then sleep.
Andrew allowed the hovering somnolence to float over him and claim him. He slept, his head resting on the same pillow as Kara’s.
Andrew stirred, inhaled the enticing aroma of coffee, then in the next instant realized he didn’t have a clue where he was. He sat bolt upright in the bed, blinked, then sank back against the pillow.
Kara, he thought, glancing at the empty expanse of bed next to him. Beautiful, giving, sensual Kara. What an incredible night it had been. Their lovemaking was sensational, unbelievable, had been…Well, there he was again, unable to find the words to describe it.
Andrew laced his hands beneath his head and stared up at the ceiling, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Oh, the lovely Dr. MacAllister was something. She’d woken him in the night with feathery kisses on his lips, then down his chest. She slid on top of him, feeling like heaven itself as she wriggled against him.
Then…oh, man, then she’d settled over him, taking him fully inside her, and they’d ridden the sensuous wild waves until they exploded, seconds apart, flung into mindless oblivion.
Andrew cleared his throat and shifted on the bed as his body began to respond to the lovemaking he was vividly reliving in his mind.
A moment later the subject of those mental pictures entered the bedroom.
“Coffee delivery,” Kara said, smiling as she approached the side of the bed.
Andrew bunched the pillow behind him and sat up, allowing the sheet to fall across his hips. He accepted the coffee mug from Kara, then she sat down on the bed next to him.
“Thank you,” he said, then took a sip of the hot coffee. “Mmm. Perfect. This is what I call service. I could get used to being spoiled rotten.” He paused and frowned. “You’re all dressed. You look very pretty, but I get the distinct impression that it means you’re about to go somewhere.”
“I have patients to see at my office,” Kara said. “Remember?”
Andrew nodded, then met her gaze directly.
“Kara, are you all right? I mean, this being the ever-famous morning after, you know.”
Kara placed one hand on Andrew’s beard-roughened face.
“I’m fine, Andrew. More than fine,” she said. “It was a beautiful night. I have no regrets, if that’s what you’re worrying about. None at all.”
“Good,” he said. “That’s good. And, yes, it was a beautiful night.”
Kara dropped her hand from Andrew’s face, then leaned forward and kissed him deeply. When she finally broke the kiss, her cheeks were flushed.
“What time is the first patient due at your office?” Andrew said, his voice husky with desire.
“Too soon,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’ve got to go. Where will you be later so I can report to you the results of Uncle Robert’s surgery?” Kara looked at her watch. “His operation is scheduled for an hour from now. I imagine the whole family is already at the hospital.”
Andrew sighed. “Skulking in the shadows at that place is getting old, but I don’t want to upset the applecart by coming face-to-face with a MacAllister. Maybe I’ll go back to my hotel and wait there to hear from you.”
“Or you could…” Kara laughed and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m being so forward. This isn’t like me at all.” She shrugged. “What can I say? Nothing I’ve done in regard to you is remotely close to familiar. I was going to suggest that you just stay here and wait for my call if you wanted to.”
“Whew.” Andrew grinned at her. “Racy lady. I like your plan, but I need to shower, shave, put on fresh clothes.”
“Okay. Give me your hotel number and I’ll contact you there.”
“I’d like to see you later,” Andrew said.
“Let’s wait until we see how Uncle Robert’s surgery goes,” Kara said. “I have no idea what this day will bring. I just pray that my uncle will come through the surgery with flying colors. If only he’d had a complete physical months ago so his heart condition could have been discovered early on and…Well, that’s a bunch of useless thinking.”
“Hey, I’m an expert on the ‘if only’ trip. All it does is wear out your brain.” Andrew paused. “I’ll be thinking about you today, Kara, and about Robert.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him warmly. “Now I really must dash.”
Andrew gave Kara the name of his hotel and his room number. They kissed goodbye—once, twice, three times—then she hurried from the room, calling over her shoulder that the door to her apartment would lock automatically when Andrew left.
As Andrew sipped the remaining coffee, he swept his gaze over the bedroom.
Nice, he thought. Admittedly he hadn’t paid the least bit of attention to the bedroom decor last night. The room was fairly large, done in mint green and pale yellow, and looked…well, nice. It was very feminine and pretty—like Kara.
He drained the mug, set it on the nightstand, then began to drum the fingers of one hand restlessly on the sheet.
The morning after, he thought. He had been assured by Kara th
at she was emotionally fine about what had taken place between them. But for the first time in his life he felt the niggling need to ask himself the same question.
How did he feel about the previous night’s chain of events in the light of the new day?
Like a man who was skating on very thin ice, he thought dryly. He was moving at breakneck speed into territory where danger signals were flashing like neon signs.
Kara was becoming so important to him so quickly and with such intensity it was overwhelming, and very very unsettling.
When she’d told him the history of her childhood, then the tragic story of the death of her baby daughter, he’d wanted to make a list of everyone who had hurt her, then seek them out, deliver a very physical message that they were paying up for what they had done.
His heart had ached, actually hurt, when he’d envisioned Kara as the confused and sorrowful teenager who had only held her baby once before she died. She had been a scared lonely sixteen-year-old girl who didn’t believe that life was worth living, didn’t believe that she mattered.
When he’d held Kara as she wept for that infant daughter of long ago, he’d been consumed with protectiveness, possessiveness, had silently vowed that no one would ever hurt Kara again because, by damn, she was his now.
“Oh, hell,” Andrew said, dragging both hands down his face.
That was crazy thinking. Ridiculous, too. Kara wasn’t his, because to entertain ideas like that spelled commitment, meant falling in love, meant forever and ever, for Pete’s sake.
Marriage. Babies. A mortgage on a house that had a lawn to mow and trash cans to take to the curb on the designated day.
And trees. Trees with leaves that would fall off in autumn and have to be raked and stuffed into plastic bags. Big piles of leaves that a kid would have a helluva fun time running and jumping into, scattering, burrowing deep into, then jumping up with a laugh of pure innocent joy.
The dog would follow the kid into the piles of leaves, barking, wiggling with excitement and wagging its tail, and licking the face of the little boy when he suddenly reappeared.
The Baby Bet: His Secret Son (The Baby Bet #5) Page 11
