Sam nodded. ‘Sounds good to me. If Ross has a problem with that, he’ll say so.’
There was a problem, one that Laurie hadn’t told Sam about. Ross had said he cared for her, and that he’d take things further if only he could. But maybe she could find a way for them both to do that as well.
* * *
Seduction. That was the way forward. If it didn’t work, she could leave and put it down to experience. But Laurie had thought about this carefully, and it was what she wanted. It was what Ross had said he’d wanted, too.
The only problem was that she’d left the only really nice dress she had at home, along with the high-heeled sandals that went with it. That was a difficulty, but problems were there to be solved. Maybe a less obvious approach would be better anyway. If she made a joke of it, maybe they could laugh their way out of any embarrassment.
She slipped into a pair of thick black leggings, and dark-coloured trainers. A black polo-necked sweater she’d brought, in case the weather turned cold, was ideal and the dark blue woollen hat that she wore for rowing covered her hair.
Laurie slipped out of her apartment, looking up at the balcony. The French doors stood slightly open, as they did most nights, to let fresh air into his bedroom. Further along, a light in the sitting-room window told her where he was. She took the dark blue scarf she’d brought with her and tied it around her face, like a bandana.
Now or never. If she didn’t do this now, she’d have to go tomorrow, because now she knew he wanted her, she couldn’t take another day of wanting him without touching him. Laurie crept silently up the wrought-iron stairs to the balcony, slipping in through the French windows like a shadow.
The bedroom was deserted, as she’d expected. It had a masculine feel about it, with oatmeal-coloured walls and heavy oak furniture. In one corner, a solid free-standing mirror, the kind you saw in gentlemen’s outfitters, and a mass of framed pictures and photographs on the wall. It was somehow cosy and...
It had a bed. That was the only thing that Laurie was really interested in. Maybe she’d find out whether the mattress was as soft as it looked, if things went her way this evening.
She heard footsteps in the hallway. She hadn’t thought she’d made any noise and was wondering how best to attract Ross’s attention, but it seemed he knew she was here. When he reached the open doorway, she saw his smile, and a stab of desire made her legs tremble.
‘What do you want?’
He knew exactly what she wanted. The look on his face told Laurie that. But Ross would always test her, always make her say it. His gaze was fixed on her face and she pulled the bandana down. That had probably been a bad idea because she needed him to see her face and know that she was serious about this. Resolute.
‘You told me that I was free to do as I wanted now. I know you believe that we don’t have any future together and I respect that. But this is what I want, Ross. To be with you tonight.’
‘To talk?’ He took one step forward. Ross knew darned well that they’d done quite enough talking.
‘No.’ She flipped her finger towards the bed. ‘I want you right there.’
Suddenly he grinned. That taste of mischief that made her heart thump in her chest and set her thinking about all the things that she and Ross could do together. Then he pulled his polo shirt over his head, letting it drop onto the carpet.
Beautiful. Ross had the kind of body that was made for pleasure, and a great deal of appreciation. She stepped forward, finding his arms, and then he kissed her.
It was like everything else between them. Two strong characters fighting for dominance, but both wanting the same thing. He left her in no doubt about what he wanted. When she caught her breath, pulling him closer, he smiled down at her and then kissed her again. He was going to make this night perfect.
* * *
Ross had been sitting in the pool of light around a lamp. Plenty of reading matter on the sofa beside him, along with the remote for the TV, but he couldn’t set his mind to any of it. He hadn’t seen Laurie for twenty-four hours, and it already felt as if she’d gone.
He heard a sound. The slight creak as the French windows next door opened and a corresponding one again as they closed. That wasn’t the breeze. Someone was there, and there was only one person it could be.
He tried to walk slowly to the bedroom. Tried not to jump to conclusions about her presence here, but when he saw her there was only one conclusion. Laurie’s sense of humour might be a little wry, but it corresponded with his own. He couldn’t help smiling, because he got the joke. A thief in the night, taking what neither of them could commit to during the day.
And she wanted him. As much maybe as he wanted her. If her words hadn’t made her purpose here indisputable, then her kiss would have convinced him. Taking everything he wanted to give her, and demanding more.
‘You’re sure about this...’ He couldn’t stop himself from asking. ‘One night?’
‘What makes you think I’m not? Although if you’re really good it could be two or three.’ She pushed him against the wall, pressing her hips against his and running her hand across his chest. Sheer desire almost made him fall to his knees.
‘You want it all your own way, do you?’
Mischief lit in her beautiful eyes. Her hand moved down, unbuttoning the waist of his chinos. ‘Try me. Maybe you’ll like doing as you’re told for once.’
Ross was sure that he would. Less sure that it was what Laurie wanted. They’d always confronted each other, and now that seemed like a complicated, drawn-out foreplay that would shape the night ahead.
‘Maybe you’ll like doing as you’re told. You should try that.’
She kissed him, her lips hard and searching on his. ‘If you want it, you’re going to have to take it.’
Of course he was. Neither of them would have it any other way. She was strong, but his bulk was a match for her. He lifted her off her feet and carried her over to the mirror. Turning her as he set her down again, so that her back was pressed against his chest.
‘Watch.’
‘You are such a bad man. That’s a nice surprise.’
Her obvious enjoyment gave him purpose. Pinning her against him, he removed the scarf around her neck with his free hand. Then pulled her sweater over her head, cupping her breast with one hand, holding her against him with the other. Laurie wriggled a bit, but made no effort to get free. The movement was just a little sweet friction, and looking over her shoulder into the mirror he could see that she liked that as much as he did.
‘That feels nice.’ She smiled at him in the mirror. ‘Not nice enough...’
Ross unhooked her bra, letting it slip over her shoulders. ‘Better?’
‘Much...’ She only just got the word out before his fingers reached her breast and she groaned.
He kissed her neck, his fingers exploring the way she wanted to be aroused. Keeping her gaze locked in his in the mirror, watching carefully for every emotion.
Ross told her everything, whispering in her ear. There would be no mistake about how much he wanted her, and no mistake about how beautiful she was. Flaming hair and a body that was so strong and yet so soft. When she reached behind her, her fingers searching for the zip of his jeans, he gasped. Seeing his own face and hers, their gazes locked together in binding passion, and feeling what she was doing to him was taking him way beyond anything he’d thought that sex might be able to offer them both.
Suddenly she turned in his arms, stretching up to kiss him. ‘You don’t get this all your own way, Ross. However much I might like it.’
Laurie backed him towards the bed, and he sat down suddenly when he felt the backs of his legs touch the mattress. He reached for her, but she batted his hands away, slipping her trainers off along with her leggings. Ross followed suit, sliding out of his chinos and shoes. Waiting...
She got up onto the bed, crouchi
ng over him, her eyes flickering with the fire that he loved so very much. Laurie was in control now, and the feeling of where that might take him was all-consuming and more delicious than he could ever have imagined.
* * *
This was...insanely wonderful. Crazily passionate and yet full of the trust they’d built up over the last few weeks. He was watching her every move, shifting back on the bed when she flipped her finger towards the pillows. When she moved his searching hands away from her body, he resisted just enough to allow her to push against him, but not enough to make any difference.
There was so much to admire about his body. When she did so with her tongue, running it across his chest and teasing his nipples, he groaned. This was payback time for all the delicious things he’d done to her. The way he’d held her in front of the mirror and made her watch, which made it all even more delicious because she could see the gentle mischief in his eyes.
‘You’re killing me, Laurie.’ He choked out the words as her fingers gently worked their way downwards. Slowly, because she liked the response it prompted in him so much.
‘You want me to stop?’ She allowed her hand to brush lightly against his erection.
‘No. I just want you to...’ He groaned, his head snapping back as she went back again, this time with a more substantial caress.
‘That?’
‘Yeah. That.’
This was so much fun. Laurie had always reckoned that there were guys who were great friends and other guys who were great in bed. Ross was both, and they were just the same now as they always were. Pushing each other, challenging each other for control. Working it out, because he had the same sense of humour as she did, and he wasn’t afraid to use it.
‘Are you ready for me?’ She grinned down at him.
‘Are you quite mad? What do you think?’
‘I think...not quite.’ She bent down, kissing the overwhelming evidence that he was ready, hearing the sharp hiss of breath escaping his lungs.
‘Uh... Yeah, you’re right. Now I’m definitely ready.’ He caught her hand as she slid away from him. ‘Where are you going now?’
‘Condoms. In my pocket.’ Her leggings were...somewhere. Breaking away from him to find them was such a waste of those moments when she couldn’t touch him. But she knew that it was important to Ross that the one in a thousand chance became no chance at all. He had to be free of those worries.
He reached out, flipping open the drawer of the cabinet beside the bed. ‘There are some in there.’
Finding them was the ultimate pleasure, because Ross’s hands on her body made her fight to keep from forgetting about the contents of the drawer. Tearing the packet open was an exercise in trying to focus while he caressed her breasts.
‘Stop that, Ross. You know how many people rip holes in condoms in just this situation?’ She gritted her teeth, trying to think about the article she’d read about that recently, and failing miserably.
‘I couldn’t give you an exact figure right now.’
He took the condom from her shaking fingers, and she watched as he rolled it into place. As she straddled him, lowering herself slowly down to take him inside her, his gaze held hers captive.
Two deep sighs, hers and his, which might have been one because they were simultaneous. When she twisted her hips, the feeling made her cry out and a groan escaped his lips. And when she bent to kiss him, he was ready and waiting with kisses of his own.
They were together. No more vying for control, each trying to please the other. Everything was shared, every pleasure she felt found its way onto his lips as well. She melted into his arms and he whispered her name, shifting her gently onto her back. When he slid inside her again, the idea that they were just having sex exploded into smithereens. This was making love.
He was so tender, so exquisitely passionate. Their bodies moved together in the same rhythm, making the very most of the intimate connection they shared. It was no longer a matter of holding back, making this last, but of relishing the feeling that was growing inside her. She could do nothing but allow him to take her, knowing that he too was in her thrall.
When she came, it was a long fall into mindless pleasure. She knew she was pulling him with her, and as aftershocks tingled through her body, his hardened suddenly. He let out a cry, and she held onto him, knowing that he needed her touch as much as she had needed his.
‘That was...’ What they’d done defied description.
‘Crazy?’ He grinned down at her, lifting his weight and rolling onto his side to hold her close.
‘Complete madness.’ She kissed him. If this was madness then every day could be this insane as far as Laurie was concerned.
‘It was beautiful.’ He murmured the words, tenderness in his face.
‘Yes. Beautiful is the word I was searching for.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
THEY’D DOZED FOR a long time, happy to just be in each other’s arms. Then Laurie felt Ross shift against her as he leaned around to kiss her.
‘Are you really going to leave at dawn?’ His finger caressed her shoulder.
‘Yes.’ If what they had together was going to survive, it needed to be separate. Away from the limitations that practicality put on their relationship. ‘I’ll see you later, though? At the clinic?’
Ross grinned. ‘So you’re not going very far.’
‘Not so far that I can’t come back again, tomorrow night. Or be at the clinic during the day. If that’s okay with you.’
He shot her a reproachful look. ‘I always wanted you to stay. Are you seriously in any doubt about that?’
‘If I had been, I probably wouldn’t have crept up the stairs onto your balcony. I’d have knocked on your front door in order to preserve deniability.’
He chuckled quietly. ‘I prefer the balcony.’ He rolled onto his back, putting his hands behind his head.
‘Me too. Maybe I can try swarming up it dressed as a pirate. With a cutlass between my teeth.’
‘Absolutely not. That’s my fantasy, so you can keep your hands off it.’
‘Your fantasy? Really? You mean finding me up here in one of those floaty nightgowns, and popping the buttons with the tip of your sword? I’d have to keep pretty still...’
‘I’d anchor you to the spot with my dangerous gaze.’ He chuckled. ‘And then...’ He leaned over, whispering into her ear, and Laurie started to shiver from the exquisite pictures he was planting in her imagination.
‘Stop!’ Finally she called a halt to it. ‘Stop it, Ross. You’re not allowed to say that to me unless you’re willing to come up with the goods. Straight away.’
‘I’m more than happy to do that.’ He grinned at her.
‘In that case...’ She reached across him, hooking another condom out of the drawer and pressing it into his hand. ‘I have a few fantasies of my own you might like. Only you don’t get to hear them until you give me a bit of encouragement.’
He chuckled softly then tore the packet open.
‘I’ll give you all the encouragement you want...’
* * *
Ross was exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that came from staying awake half the night, talking and making love, and then being woken at four o’ clock for one of the best good mornings he’d ever had. The best, actually.
He’d caught Laurie yawning as she’d got back into her clothes and had called after her as she’d slipped through the French doors. She’d nodded, agreeing that there was still time to get some sleep before they were due at work at nine.
Laurie had the best poker face he’d ever seen. He already knew that, but it was still a little unsettling. She greeted him with her usual smile, nothing in her face reflecting what they’d been doing together last night. He wondered if she’d somehow managed to forget, and decided that wasn’t possible.
She knocked on his open office door at
eleven, and he looked up and beckoned her in. Laurie closed the door behind her, which was the generally accepted signal that he was in conference with someone and not available. Maybe now her impressive composure would crack.
‘I’ve got an idea. There’s a games convention at a hotel thirty miles from here, and I want to take Adam. He really wants to go.’
‘Right. Well, I’m sure it would be a nice day out for him.’ Ross wondered how that was going to help Adam’s foot.
‘It’s not just that, Ross. Adam’s our model patient, you know that. He does all his exercises in the gym, he’s made friends, he’s eaten well and slept when he’s supposed to.’
‘But he’s not getting out of the wheelchair, is he?’ Ross had noticed that Adam spent most of his free time playing video games.
‘No, he isn’t. He isn’t confident about his recovery, and it’s as if he’s putting off the bad news. That he’ll get better and still not be able to run again.’
‘And a games convention’s going to solve that?’ If Laurie thought it would then Ross was willing to give it a go.
‘I want to try. I gave Ann a call and she thinks it’s a really good idea, if we don’t mind taking him. Will you come?’
‘Okay. I can get Mum to pop in and cover for me and take a day out.’
‘Thanks, Ross. I really think this might be a turning point for him.’
Ross leaned back in his chair. ‘So how long are you going to be able to keep this up, then?’
She grinned at him suddenly, her cheeks flushing. The kind of look you gave a guy when you’d just spent the night with him, and Ross was surprised at how much it meant to him.
‘Stop! I thought I was doing so well!’
‘You were. I’d never have known what you were up to last night, and I was there. It’s actually quite unnerving. I was beginning to wonder if you were suffering from a memory lapse.’
Falling for the Brooding Doc Page 12
