Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon

by Christyne Butler

  He faced her again. “I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me and now that your dog therapy sessions are in place, I don’t think— It’s just that my free time is going to be very limited.”

  Barely a heartbeat passed before Annabel offered him a bright smile. “Oh. Well, you’ve obviously given this a lot of thought.” Her cheery tone and calm acceptance were the last things he expected. “I don’t want to make things…difficult for you. I’ll just go and let you get back to work.”

  Thomas wanted to speak, even though he had no idea what else to say. Not that it mattered. His throat was so constricted he could barely breathe.

  A nod was all he managed.

  She quickly backed up until she reached the door. “So, I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

  Then she was gone.

  Thomas stood rooted to the spot, his blood pounding in his temples at he stared at the empty space. Had he really just told a beautiful and fascinating woman he wasn’t interested?

  He waited for the cool detachment that told him he’d done the right thing to bring relief that it was over. It was nowhere to be found. In its place instead was an overwhelming rush of regret and panic that filled every ounce of his being.

  “Dr. North?”

  The sharp tone in Marge’s voice caused his head to snap up.

  How long had she been standing there? How long had he been standing here staring at the doorway like a fool?

  He started to ask, but had to pause and clear his throat first. “Ah, I don’t know how much of that you overheard, but for some reason I think I should—”

  “Go.”

  With one word the despair shifted to hope. “She has no reason to let me—”

  “What she has is a good head start.” Marge folded her hands primly over her stomach. “And you’re without a car today, if memory serves. Go.”

  Thomas automatically reached across his desk for his phone and house keys. “I need to shut down—”

  “Turning off a computer, the lights and locking your door is within my scope of abilities.” She made a show of glancing at her watch. “If you’re not back in fifteen minutes, I’m going home.”

  Sprinting past his secretary, Thomas headed for the stairs. He raced outside and into the parking lot, praying Annabel was a creature of habit and had parked in the same location as before.

  He hoped he hadn’t ruined his chance with her. If he had, he’d have a lot of making up to do.

  Chapter Nine

  Annabel couldn’t believe how much Thomas’s words hurt.

  She’d thought things were going so well between them. They hadn’t run into each other when she popped in to check on Mr. Owens yesterday, and while she’d hoped to see him today at Smiley’s session, it never occurred to her that he’d been avoiding her.

  Obviously it hadn’t come to mind or she’d have never made the effort to seek him out tonight.

  Coming back for Smiley’s toy hadn’t been an urgent issue. The dog hadn’t even noticed it was gone, but Annabel foolishly took it as a sign.

  So she’d changed her clothes, spritzed her wrists and cleavage with her favorite perfume and hopped back in her car, daydreaming about more alone time with Thomas and hoping she’d have the good fortune of finding him still at the hospital.

  Oh, she’d found him all right.

  Shoving the ratty teddy bear in her bag, Annabel marched across the parking lot, proud that she’d at least stayed cool during his little speech and walked away with her head held high.

  Okay, so she walked fast once she left his office, but still she managed to keep it together in the elevator, thankful she hadn’t run into anyone. She still didn’t understand what drove him to say what he did, but the bottom line was the coming days would be empty without him.

  The tears began to well in her eyes.

  “Hey, wait!”

  A voice calling from behind her, followed by hands closing over her shoulders, sent a rush of panic through her. A quick, sharp jab with her elbow was on the mark, punctuated by a male grunt and she was free. Spinning around, keys laced between her fingers, Annabel took a defensive stance ready to scream—

  “Thomas!” She dropped her hands, but not before quickly swiping the remaining moisture from her eyes. “Are you crazy? I could have stabbed you with my keys!”

  “I’m sorry…didn’t mean to scare you.” He puffed out the words while rubbing his hand across his midsection. “That was a stupid…stupid thing to do.”

  At least the man was right about something tonight.

  Annabel folded her arms under her breasts, tried to slow her runaway breathing while telling herself he deserved the hard poke to the gut. “Yes, it was.”

  “No, I don’t mean grabbing you— Well, yes, that was dumb, too.” He dropped his hand, but then propped both on his hips. “I’m talking about what happened in my office. I don’t know what I was saying. I mean, I know what I said. I heard the words coming out of my mouth. It’s just that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past couple of weeks, hell, the past couple of years. Probably too much thinking, but I’ve been that way since I was a kid.”

  Annabel blinked hard and tried to keep up with Thomas’s ramblings. He didn’t mean to scare her, but he did follow her out here. Pretty quickly, too, as she’d only walked out of his office less than ten minutes ago.

  She ignored the sharp thrill that zinged through her.

  “The thing is, I think I was too hasty. It’s just that I’ve been trying to work through some things from the past and what’s been going on between us. You know, weighing the good, the bad, lessons learned, and all that stuff. The next thing I knew you were standing there—”

  “Thomas, stop!”

  Annabel took a leap of faith that she finally understood what this man was trying to say.

  He did as she asked, but the silence only made his words a bigger jumbled mess in her head. She didn’t want to sort through them right now. Not with him standing right there in front of her.

  Grabbing his already loosened tie, and throwing her concerns—and her mother’s admonitions—to the wind, she wrapped it once around her palm and yanked him up against her. “Are you going to kiss me or what?”

  He blinked owlishly, then relief filled his eyes, his hooded gaze dropping to her lips. “God, yes.”

  She didn’t wait, but instead rose to her toes and covered his mouth with hers before pulling back just enough to gently suck his lower lip between hers.

  His large, capable hands circled her waist, holding her in place as a deep groan rumbled in his chest. He quickly took over, ravishing her mouth with hot, deep skims of his tongue against hers. She boldly matched his every move, surrendering to the craziness of the moment.

  And it was crazy.

  He pressed her up against her car door, his hips brushing in a slow back and forth motion that brought forth a husky moan of her own. A delicious ache for more, much more, filled her, spreading like wildfire until every corner of her body vibrated with need.

  His mouth slipped from hers, his lips trailing across her cheek to her ear. “I know how insane this sounds, but I want you, Annabel.”

  A victorious thrill raced through her and she couldn’t hold back the nervous giggle that escaped. “Well, I would say your place or mine, but I’m afraid my father would be blocking your path, his shotgun firmly in hand.”

  Thomas leaned back, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Then he blinked and it was replaced with an amused gleam. “Then I guess we’d better go to my place. Problem is my car is in the shop.”

  Annabel jiggled her keys in front of him. “You know, I’m not even going to ask how you planned to get home tonight. You want to drive or play navigator?”

  He gave her a crooked grin as he slipped the keys from her hand. �
�We can decide that later, but for now, it’ll be faster if I drive.”

  Less than fifteen minutes later they pulled into his condo’s garage, located in an upscale complex Annabel had never been to before. When he went to shut off the engine, she slipped her fingers from his, smiling at how they’d became entangled in the first place. Seemed a little teasing finger action back and forth across his powerful thigh was too much of a distraction for the sexy doctor.

  But she couldn’t help herself.

  The man drove her quirky little bug as if it was a luxury car, with purpose and speed. What could she say? It was a turn-on.

  “Nice place,” she said, popping out of the passenger side as the garage door slid silently closed behind them.

  “It’s just the garage,” Thomas shot back, taking her hand again as he headed for the stairs. “Wait until you see the master bedroom.”

  At the top of the stairs, he opened a door and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her again. She clung to him as he walked her backward into what she guessed was the front foyer.

  He broke free of their kiss and flipped on the lights. She blinked as everything came into focus. Then she gazed around in curiosity.

  Soft lighting highlighted fine leather furniture and the shiny chrome and glass tables that sat atop an oversize plush Oriental rug her toes itched to dig into. The best “boy toys” money could buy filled the room, as well. An enormous flat-screen TV hung over an empty fireplace while nearby floor-to-ceiling bookshelves held numerous black boxes that must be a high-end stereo system.

  Gleaming hardwood floors stretched the length of the room, including a dining area with a table big enough to seat six. Off to the left, she saw a kitchen.

  His home was beautiful, but her first thought was “professional decorator.” She wondered how much of Thomas was even reflected here.

  “Please don’t tell me you want a tour.” He nuzzled her from behind, his lips warm against her neck, and Annabel was glad she’d secured her hair to one side with a large clip. “If so, let’s start with the second floor.”

  She couldn’t agree more, with one minor change.

  Facing him again, she dropped her purse to the floor and quickly stripped off his tie, tossing it to one side. “Oh, I think we’ll start—and finish—right here.”

  It seemed to take a moment for Thomas to get her meaning, but once he did, he lifted her in his arms and headed straight for the sofa.

  Anticipation flooded her insides as she kicked off her shoes along the way, waiting until he sat, her straddling his lap before she leaned in and captured his mouth again.

  Just like she’d hoped to do in his office.

  While their mouths tasted and nipped, devoured and shared, her fingers went to work on the buttons of his dress shirt, releasing them all the way to his waist. Yanking the material open as far as it would go, she reveled in the feel and heat of his naked chest, at the way he jumped at her touch.

  Time to get serious.

  When she lightly dragged her fingernails over his nipples, his hands gripped her hips, cradling her heated center over the thick ridge of his arousal. The loose swing of her skirt made sure that the only barrier between her nakedness and the silkiness of his slacks were the simple thong panties she wore. Unable to resist, she rotated her hips in a slow circle.

  “Damn, that feels good,” he rasped, breaking free of their kiss. “You feel good.”

  Their eyes met and held as he gently pulled her tank top free from the skirt’s waistband, his hands slowly sliding underneath and up over her belly. He kept going, taking the material with him until she had no choice but to raise her arms as he tugged the top over her head.

  While her hands were raised, she’d reached back and freed her hair, loving the heat in his eyes as her breasts pressed against the bra’s lacy cups. Shaking her head sent loose waves flying over her shoulders, but it was the way his fingertips traced the delicate straps of her bra that sent shivers dancing over her skin.

  “You cold?” His words came out in rough whisper. “The air-conditioning is pretty strong.”

  “I think it’s more about what you’re doing to me than artificial cooling.” He proved her point when he caught the lobe of her ear gently between his teeth and another shudder rolled through her. “Oh, see what I mean?”

  “Here, let’s get you warm.” In one swift move, he had her flat on her back against the cool, soft leather of his sofa as he stretched out over her.

  Soft except for the object pressing into her lower back.

  “What the—” Annabel reached beneath her and pulled out a large rectangular object covered in buttons of all shapes, sizes and colors.

  He took the device from her and tossed it to the side. “It’s just my remote.”

  She gave a half laugh, lowering her voice to a purr. “A remote for what?”

  Thomas deftly pulled down the zipper of her skirt while his lips left behind a trail of wet kisses over her collar bone. He then returned his focus to the lace edging of her bra, his tongue dipping inside the delicate border to wet the skin beneath. “Everything.”

  As sinfully wonderful as his focus was, Annabel persisted. “Everything?”

  He groaned and lifted his head, bracing himself on one elbow. “Don’t tell me you really want to know?”

  Annabel shifted, his erection now in perfect alignment between her thighs. “Mmm, impress me.”

  “I thought I was.”

  She laughed, and he joined her, his deep chuckle vibrating the length of her body and at that moment, as sure as if her heart had flipped over and displayed the words I Belong to Thomas North etched in a pretty scrolled font, she knew.

  She was in love with this crazy, wonderful man.

  It wasn’t a sentiment she had a lot of experience with, but the pure joy and elation pouring from her heart was something she planned to embrace with both hands and never let go of.

  He surprised her when he reached over, picked the remote up and placed it back in her hand. “Press the numbers 3-1-7-3 on the bottom keypad.”

  Annabel did as instructed, focusing on the device. The last thing she wanted was Thomas to see the newfound emotion going off like skyrockets inside her before she had a chance to examine the feeling.

  In private.

  As soon as she pressed the last number, a fire blazed to life in the fireplace, blanketing the room with dancing shards of light and a warm glow.

  “Oh!”

  His lips nibbled up the side of her neck. “Now enter 6-8-7-4-2.”

  Her fingers shook as she pushed the correct buttons and seconds later a faint beep filled the air, before it was replaced with the smooth strains of classic jazz flowing from the stereo.

  “Okay, I’m officially impressed.” Annabel blinked hard, refusing to allow her head, or her heart, to even imagine Thomas showing these tricks to someone else. Mentally shaking off that thought, she playfully pointed the remote at him. “Now, what’s the magic combination that works on you?”

  A smile tipped one corner of his sensual mouth as he took the device from her hand and tossed it farther away this time in the direction of the closest chair. “I think you already know what buttons to press.”

  He pushed up to his knees and peeled off his shirt. Annabel found herself thankful for the fire’s glow that showed off his wide shoulders and washboard abs to perfection. Next was his belt and darn if he didn’t take his time letting the strip of leather slide from his belt loops.

  Loosening the button at his waist, he reached for the zipper, but she brushed his hand away and slowly lowered the zipper.

  She only caught a glimpse of dark boxer briefs and the length of him pressing against the material before he reached for her, tugging gently at her skirt. Raising her hips, he eased the material down over
her legs, leaving her in nothing but her bra and matching panties.

  “You are perfection, Annabel.”

  The naked desire in his gaze called to her. She crooked her finger in a come-hither motion and he quickly complied, molding his hard planes with her curves.

  He took her mouth again as his fingers nimbly opened the front clash of her bra, his warm hand cupping her breast. His thumb rasped over the hardened bud, drawing it even tighter until he ended the kiss and drew the peak into the moist heat of his mouth.

  A blast of shameless need flared deep inside her. Annabel arched, offering him more, and he took, moving his mouth from one breast to the other, leaving behind a shimmering wetness that tingled in the cool night air.

  She reached low, her fingers brushing across his stomach as the need to touch him overpowered her. He shuddered when she slipped beneath the cotton waistband and curled around him. She stroked him once, twice, before he pulled her hand away.

  “Don’t,” he rasped. “It’s been…a while since I’ve done this.”

  His words made her heart soar. He released her wrist and she clutched at his shoulders as his fingers easily moved aside the damp material covering the most imitate part of her before slipping into her wet heat.

  “Oh, for me, too. Thomas, please…”

  Moments later, the rest of their clothes disappeared and Thomas paused only to sheathe himself with a condom he grabbed from his wallet. Then he was back between her legs, cupping her bottom and tilting her hips. He entered her with a long, slow thrust, capturing her gasp with his mouth.

  Their bodies moved together in a natural, instinctive rhythm. A burning caught fire deep inside her, growing stronger and stronger, taking her higher with each demanding stroke.

  Those same fireworks she’d felt deep inside from the moment they met threatened to explode, shattering her heart and soul in a million colorful pieces.

  His lips moved to her neck, whispering words against her skin, pushing her even higher as she dragged her nails over his back, demanding the sweet release only he could give.

  Then the fuse of her passion ignited, sending her spiraling into the heavens. She clung to him, crying out his name, loving the moment when he gave up his last remnant of control, buried himself deep inside her, joining her.