by Marie Force
After a long pause, he cupped her breast and tweaked her nipple. “I don’t want to talk about that. I’d much rather talk about you and this.” He lightly pinched her nipple between his fingers.
While her body reacted instantly to him as it always did, her heart was disappointed that he was unwilling to share more about his past with her.
She ran her hand up his arm and then back down to link her fingers with his. “If I ever ask for more than you’ve got to give, will you tell me?”
“Baby, you’re not made of that kind of stuff. You stand on your own two feet and take care of yourself. It would never occur to you to expect a man to solve all your problems for you.”
His gruffly spoken words made her heart contract with a painful rush of emotion. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“I mean it,” he said, drawing her in tighter against him.
That was when she realized he was once again fully erect and throbbing inside her.
“Hold that thought,” he said with a kiss to her cheek. “I need to get another condom.”
When he would’ve withdrawn from her, she stopped him. “I’m on the pill.”
He went completely still.
“I’ve never been with anyone but Jim, and I had a physical recently. I’m healthy.”
“I have physicals every year for work.”
“In that case…”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Tiffany laughed softly at the amazement she heard in his tone. “That’s what I’m saying.”
“I think my heart just stopped.” He withdrew from her slowly, and when he was finally free, he kissed her shoulder and then her cheek. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
She delighted in watching the flex of his finely sculpted rear as he strode purposefully into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and clean up. She shifted onto her back and stretched her arms and legs, which set off an explosive reaction that rippled from her bottom to her scalp, toes, fingertips and everywhere in between.
He returned and stood by the side of the bed, staring down at her. His erection was tall and proud, nearly reaching the indented navel on his muscular belly.
Tiffany couldn’t believe this strong, sexy, gorgeous man had set his sights on her. She held out a hand to him, but as usual, he had his own ideas about how this would go.
He pointed to the edge of the bed. “Come here.”
She moved carefully until she knelt before him at the edge. She reached out to stroke him and enjoyed the sight of his head thrown back, which exposed the strong column of his throat.
And then his hand was over hers, stopping her. “Lie down.”
She did as he directed and then watched in amazement as he arranged her legs so they were over his shoulders.
“I’ve heard dancers are super limber,” he said as his hands moved seductively over her thighs. “Is that true?”
“You’ll have to find out for yourself.”
His eyes blazed with intensity as he slid his arousal through her slickness.
Remembering the difficult entry the last time had her tensing as she waited to see what he would do.
“Don’t get tense,” he said soothingly. “That only makes it harder.”
“Makes what harder?” she asked with a playful grin that masked her inner turmoil.
“Everything.” Grasping her bottom, he pushed into her one torturous inch at a time. “Stop thinking so much, and just feel. Just feel.” He retreated before surging into her again. “That’s it. Take all of me.” His lips skimmed her inner thigh as he pressed his thumb against her and made her come suddenly—and almost violently.
With a wild groan, he clutched her hips and went with her. He released her legs, came down on top of her and held her tight against him. Then he raised his head, looked deep into her eyes and kissed her. “I want my pizza now.”
Since that was the last thing she’d expected him to say, Tiffany burst into laughter.
David stayed late at the clinic to wade through a mountain of charts that had collected in the last week. They desperately needed some additional administrative help, but the clinic barely had the budget to pay him, Victoria and the receptionist they already had. As it was, he was making far less than he would have in the city, but he had everything he needed. Well, almost everything…
Since he’d lost Janey, he’d walked around with a large, painful hole where his heart had once been. Knowing he had only himself to blame for losing her didn’t help much. Pouring himself into his work—that helped. It left him with little time to think about how badly he’d screwed up his entire life. They should’ve had it all. Instead, he was left to think about how he’d had it all and let it slide through his fingers, like it meant nothing to him.
Forcing himself to focus, he opened a chart and realized it was Daisy’s. He made some final notes about her treatment and follow-up care. In a city hospital, he would close the chart and move on to the next. But here on the island, he started to reach for the phone to check on her, but stopped himself, deciding to see her in person on the way home. That was the beauty of small-town medicine. He knew most of his patients personally and went out of his way to spend as much time with each of them as he could.
Every time he tended to an impoverished young family or a lonely shut-in or a battered woman, he liked to think he was paying back the debt he owed for being such a disappointment to the community that once had such faith in him. The people of Gansett had been so proud to send one of their own off to medical school, and then he’d gone and blown it by cheating on Janey McCarthy. He’d found out the hard way that everyone loved Janey and reviled the man who’d hurt her. Saving her baby niece Hailey at birth had gone a long way toward redeeming him with the McCarthy family, but people still treated him differently than they used to.
They also blamed him for derailing Janey’s plans to attend veterinary school after college. At the time, he’d thought he was doing the right thing by insisting only one of them attend medical school, reasoning that island practices wouldn’t generate enough income to support them and pay off their school loans. Her parents had violently opposed her decision to forgo veterinary school, and his relationship with his future in-laws had never really recovered from that episode. Now that she was free of him, she was attending veterinary school in Ohio, and everyone was happy—everyone but him.
It had probably been a huge mistake to take the job as the island’s doctor when Cal Maitland returned to Texas to tend to his ailing mother. But it had been the job he’d always planned to have after medical school, so he’d snapped up the opportunity when it was offered to him. Now he had a two-year contract that he would honor before he considered other options. Maybe by then people would’ve forgiven his sins.
He let out a harsh laugh. “As if.”
His grumbling stomach reminded him that he’d skipped lunch—again—and that it was getting late. He turned off the office light and gathered up some of the remaining paperwork to finish at home. On the way out, he switched the phones over to the answering service on the mainland that covered for them at night. They had his cell number and would call him if anything came up overnight. He locked the clinic’s main doors and took a moment to appreciate the soft spring evening on the way to his car.
As he drove into town to Daisy’s house, he let himself pretend he was driving home to Janey and that she was waiting for him with dinner they’d enjoy together before spending a long, sensuous night in bed. The memories of making love with her made him hard and horny. Ironically, he hadn’t had sex since the day she caught him with the oncology nurse he’d foolishly brought home to his apartment, thinking she could take his mind off the Hodgkin’s treatment. In fact, she’d been a momentary distraction that set off a series of events that imploded his life.
Sex had been about the last thing on his mind ever since. Until lately…
Lately, he’d begun to think he might be ready to start over again with
someone else, as daunting a proposition as that might be after spending thirteen years—his entire adult life—with the same woman. He couldn’t imagine ever being in love again like he’d been with Janey, but it would be nice to have someone to spend time with—other than his mother, who loved to fret about how badly he’d messed up his once-promising life.
He parallel parked in front of Daisy’s house and noticed a single light in a room downstairs. Hoping he wasn’t disturbing her, he began to regret not calling before he came. With his medical bag in hand, he rapped lightly on the front door and waited several minutes before he heard the shuffle of feet inside.
“Who is it?”
“David Lawrence.”
A series of locks disengaged, and the door swung open. Daisy seemed surprised to see him. Her face was bruised and swollen, with one eye completely closed. “What’re you doing here?”
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Really?”
He smiled. “Yes, really.”
“That’s so nice of you. Come in.” She shuffled back to the sofa and sat slowly and painfully.
“Are you all by yourself?”
“My friends were here earlier, but they left a little while ago.”
“Would it be okay if I took a look at your ribs?”
She hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
“Why don’t you stretch out on the sofa and try to get comfortable.”
Watching her painful effort to move her body into position made him hurt for her. “Let me help you.” He gently lifted her legs and helped her recline on the threadbare sofa. By the time he had her settled, she was breathing hard and a light sheen of perspiration had appeared on her forehead. “Is it okay to put on another light?”
“Sure.” She closed her one working eye, as if she could no longer make the effort to keep it open.
Moving carefully, David raised her T-shirt to expose the ribs he’d wrapped the night before. In his bag, he found surgical scissors and cut the tape to expose angry-looking bruises. He looked up to check how she was faring and was distressed to see tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s so embarrassing, you know?” Her luminous gray eye swam with new tears when she opened it to look at him. “That the man I supposedly loved could’ve done this to me, and I allowed it.”
“You didn’t allow it, Daisy. This was done to you. It’s not your fault.”
“I keep telling myself that, but still… I let him back in after the other times. That’s on me.”
“Maybe so, but you can’t be faulted for wanting to give someone you love another chance.”
“It’s nice of you to say that and to come here. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing.” His stomach let out an ungodly growl. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.
“Have you had dinner?”
“Not yet, and my stomach is letting me know it’s time.”
“My friends brought a ton of food, but my mouth is too sore to eat anything. My friend Maude makes the most delicious lasagna. You should have some.”
“I couldn’t. They made it for you.” His stomach protested the words with another growl.
“I’d hate for it to go to waste. You’d be doing me a favor, and it’s the least I could do since you were nice enough to check on me.”
David wavered. He was starving and still needed to re-tape her ribs.
“Please,” she said softly. “After all you’ve done for me, let me feed you.”
“All right,” he said, smiling.
“Could I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
She hesitated, studying him intently. “Why is it that even when you smile, your eyes are sad?”
Staggered by the question, David stared at her.
“I’m sorry.” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t mean to pry.”
“I’ve made some mistakes,” he said haltingly. The words were out of his mouth before he could think about whether it was wise to share his personal travails with a patient. “You probably know all about them.”
“I know you used to be engaged to Janey McCarthy, but I don’t know why you broke up.”
“You must be the only person on the island who doesn’t know why.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re a good person, right?”
There was something honest and unaffected about her that David found refreshing. When she wasn’t bruised and swollen, he realized she’d be very pretty. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? “I haven’t always been.”
“You are now, and that’s what matters.”
“I’m trying.”
“Good,” she said as her eye closed. “Go ahead and get something to eat. Bring it in here to keep me company.”
Watching her drift off, he noted the aura of serenity that surrounded her despite her injuries and was comforted by it. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he didn’t feel lonely or out of sorts. Funny, he thought as he made his way to the kitchen to investigate the lasagna, he’d come to provide care for her, and she’d ended up tending to him. He hoped she’d wake up and talk to him some more. He liked talking to her.
Chapter 13
Carolina buzzed around her small kitchen, preparing her son’s favorite meal of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and stuffing. She kept tripping over Janey’s menagerie of special needs pets, who were waiting around in the hope of snagging some scraps. Riley, the German shepherd, sat in the corner watching her every move. He made her a little nervous with his intensity, but Janey assured her he was gentle as a lamb.
“You might be gentle as a lamb,” Carolina said to the handsome dog, who’d lost his hind legs at some point, “but I bet you’d tear the throat out of anyone who looked at your mama with crossed eyes.”
The dog never blinked as he stared at her.
“I take that as a yes.”
“Are you talking to the dogs, Mom?” Joe asked as he came into the kitchen and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Carolina’s heart soared with love for the son she adored. Despite losing his father at the age of seven, he’d grown into a fine young man who was about to become a father himself. “I was getting to know Riley a little better,” Carolina said as she stirred the gravy.
“Don’t let him intimidate you. He’s a pussycat.”
“So your wife tells me.”
“It smells amazing, and I’m starving.”
“It’s about ready. Want to let Janey know?”
“She’s taking a nap, but I’ll see if I can rouse her.”
Watching him go, tall, handsome and broad shouldered, Carolina was reminded of her late husband, Pete. Joe’s resemblance to his father used to cause her the occasional pang of sorrow, but now she was grateful for the reminder of the man she’d loved and lost so long ago.
She was thrilled that everything had worked out so well for Joe and Janey. She’d once been in love the way they were and knew how all-consuming it could be. In the thirty years since she’d lost her darling Pete, there’d only been one man who’d ever turned her head.
But she couldn’t think about him. She wouldn’t think about him. That was a brief moment of madness, and it was in the past now. Still, telling herself not to think about him and actually not thinking about him were two very different things, as she’d discovered in the months since the moment of madness. And after seeing him the other day, the memories had been sharper and more painful than ever.
Forcing those thoughts from her mind, she put dinner on the table as Joe led a sleepy-eyed Janey into the kitchen. Carolina was delighted they’d chosen to stay with her—as opposed to the McCarthys’ far more spacious home—until Stephanie’s restaurant opening. After that, Grant and Stephanie would be moving out of Janey’s house and into the home of their own they’d recently bought from Ned Saunders. Having the kids underfoot for a few days
would be the highlight of Carolina’s year.
“Good nap?” she asked her daughter-in-law.
Janey rested a hand on her protruding belly and let out a huge yawn. “They’re all good naps these days.”
Joe grinned at his wife. “If you slept any more, I’d never see you.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m such a drag lately.”
“No, you’re not.” He kissed her forehead and settled her into a chair at the table.
Janey’s eyes lit up at the sight of chicken and mashed potatoes. “Oh my God, is that stuffing?”
“You betcha,” Carolina said. “All your husband’s favorites.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Joe said. “It looks so good.”
“Seriously awesome,” Janey added.
Carolina was pleased by their enthusiasm for the meal. “Dig in.”
Over dinner, they talked about island gossip, Janey’s studies, the dogs and their plans to be back in Ohio in plenty of time before the baby’s birth.
“You’ll come out with my parents when the baby is born, won’t you?” Janey asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Carolina assured her.
“Good. I’ll need all the help I can get. The timing is awful with the semester starting a month after the birth. Very poor family planning on our part.”
“If I recall correctly, nothing about this baby was planned.”
“That is so true,” Janey said with a laugh as she scooped a second helping of mashed potatoes onto her plate.
Carolina noticed that Joe was pushing the food around on his plate and seemed a million miles away. “Everything okay, honey?”
Joe startled when he realized she was talking to him. “Oh, yeah, sorry.”
“Where did you go?” Janey asked him.
“Nowhere. Just thinking about some stuff with the business. Nothing to worry about.”
“What stuff?” Carolina asked. Even though he did a marvelous job of running the business her parents had left to them both, she liked to keep up with the goings-on.
Joe shook his head but still seemed troubled. “It’s nothing, really.”
