Читать книгу Dreams & Desires - Kat Cantrell - Страница 14

Seven

Her lips still pressed to Parker’s, Clare climbed on the couch with him, straddling his thighs, her eyes dark with desire. He’d been fantasizing about this for so long, it was almost hard to believe it was really happening. When he first woke up to find her touching him, he thought it really was a dream. But if she wanted to pretend this wasn’t happening who was he to shatter her illusion? If that was what it took to ease her conscience, to keep her in his arms, that was fine by him.

Then she was out of his arms, but only so she would be free to attack the zipper on his pants. She did it with the enthusiasm of someone on a time clock. Or someone trying not to change her mind. If she backed out now, the pain of what he would be missing out on would be excruciating. But it was a risk he was willing to take.

“No one can know about this,” she said breathlessly as she stripped him from the waist down. “And I mean no one.”

Even if he wanted to disagree, there was no way in hell he would risk blowing this. Not now. He’d slept with a fair amount of women over the years. Sometimes the sex was fantastic, sometimes not, but they had all been missing something. The emotional connection he felt with Clare, maybe. He had never been one to chase women. The truth was he’d never had to. They always seemed to come to him. Maybe having to work for it made him appreciate the end result that much more. Because, damn, did he appreciate her right now.

“I promise I won’t say a word to anyone.” He tugged at the tie on her robe until it fell open. Clare whimpered softly. Either she believed him or she didn’t care anymore.

“You’re not worried about your aunt coming home?” he asked her.

“She’s away for the week. She’s always out of town.”

“Good to know.” Sliding his hands inside her robe, he pushed it off her slender shoulders, running his hands down her toned arms, over her soft stomach. She was all pale skin and soft curves, and everything in his being sighed with pleasure. She was perfect. Her dark blond hair hung like spun silk over her shoulders, giving him a peekaboo view of her perfectly shaped, supple breasts.

“You’re amazing,” he said. “I’ve never seen you with your hair down.”

“Was it everything you hoped it would be?” She smiled at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Because flattery will get you everywhere.”

That was what he liked to hear.

“Will it get me here?” he asked her, cupping her firm breasts, testing their weight against his palms, rolling the small pink tips between his fingers.

“Oh, yeah,” she said, covering his hands with her own, showing him what she liked.

“How about here?” He ran his hands up her thighs, using his thumbs to tease the crevice where her legs met. She gasped as he touched her most sensitive spot. She was hot and wet and ready for him, but he wasn’t about to rush this.

Clare had different ideas. She came up on her knees, and with one quick downward thrust he was inside of her. It was so erotic, and so unexpected, he nearly lost it right then. He moaned and his body arched upward to meet her, driving himself as deep as he could go.

Clare hissed with pleasure and threw her head back, her long hair brushing across his knees like the tickle of a feather. He gripped her hips, tried to slow her down as she rode him, but she was so deep in the zone, she didn’t even seem to realize he was there.

Mild-mannered Nurse Clare had a naughty side after all.

She used his body, putting a friction shine on the leather sofa cushion, and he let her. When he was sure he couldn’t take any more he wrapped his hands around her waist and tried to think about baseball, but she took him by the wrists and held them on either side of his head, using her weight to pin them there.

He could have easily gotten free, but why the hell would he want to? She seemed to get off on being in control, and he preferred a shameless and aggressive woman who knew what she liked. She could dominate him whenever and wherever she wanted.

Clare started to moan and ride him faster, and the last shred of his control took a vacation. He never let himself be the first to orgasm, but he beat her to the punch by about thirty seconds. Clare didn’t even seem to notice. She rode out her own release, then collapsed on his chest, breathing hard, her heart pounding in time with his own, and said, “I really needed that.”

“Me, too,” he said, folding his arms around her. Damn, she felt good. Holding her close this way was almost as good as the actual sex.

Almost.

He’d been anticipating this since the moment he’d first seen her, and she didn’t disappoint.

She tucked her face into the crook of his neck, her silky hair catching on his chin stubble. “If I had known it would be this amazing I would have jumped you months ago.”

“If I had any energy left, I would pin you down on the floor and do it again.” He was so relaxed and so completely satisfied that he could barely keep his eyes open. Besides that catnap, which he was guessing by his intense fatigue couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, he hadn’t slept in more than twenty-four hours. As a resident he could function on one or two hours of sleep a night for a week or more, but he was getting too damned old now.

“Sure you won’t change your mind?” she said, nibbling his earlobe.

Oh, man, did he want to. Maybe if he were ten years younger... “I wouldn’t be much good to you like this.”

She frowned, looking disappointed.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because believe me, I’m not, but I have to know, why now?”

She shrugged. “I thought I would give the water jets in my tub a break.”

Oh, damn. “Seriously?”

She grinned. “I shudder to imagine my next water bill.”

The mental picture had his neurons firing and his blood boiling, but exhaustion won out. So he shelved the image for future reference. Not that he believed her. Or maybe he did.

“So,” she said, disentangling herself from his arms to sit up, “I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

Oh, boy, here we go. The Talk. “What? No afterglow?”

“I don’t do afterglow. This isn’t a relationship. This was just sex.”

He’d used that same line on dozens of women and the irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. Because this time, he didn’t want “just sex.” He wanted her, in every way there was to want someone. It felt almost as if the force of the universe was propelling them toward one another. He knew that she felt it, too. She just wasn’t ready to let herself accept it. But she would in her own time, and thankfully he was a very patient man.

“Whatever you want,” he told her, and she looked as if maybe she didn’t believe him.

“No one can know about us. And I mean no one.”

“Be careful, you’re going to bruise my tender ego.”

She laughed and climbed off his lap, grabbing her robe from the floor. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get dressed and get out of here. I’d like to spend some time with Janey before they take her.”

“Maddie,” he reminded her.

“Right. It’s going to be weird calling her by a different name. I also promised I would work a few hours at the free clinic this afternoon.”

“Can I see you later?”

She hesitated, then said, “That’s probably not a good idea.”

“Why?”

She shot him a look as she tugged the robe back on. “You know why.”

“I knew it,” he said, throwing his arm dramatically over his eyes. “You’re ashamed of me.”

She grabbed his shirt off the floor and tossed it to him. “I need you dressed and ready to go by the time I come back down.”

“Sure thing,” he said, but the second she was gone he tossed his shirt on the floor and dropped his head back against the arm of the sofa. He must have drifted off, only to be roused by a loud thud.

He peered out through the slits of his eyes, trying to get his bearings, then saw his clothes in a pile on the floor beside the couch and grinned. Clare must have decided to let him stay, or maybe she had tried to wake him and he hadn’t responded. The house was quiet and the angle of the sunshine filtering through the closed blinds meant it had to be late afternoon. Clare had covered him with one of her quilts before she left, and it smelled like her. He knew he should get dressed and get home for a few more hours of shut-eye, but he was so comfortable...

He looked back over at his clothes and a few feet away sat an unfamiliar pair of shoes. Women’s shoes. He didn’t recall them being there that morning. Clare hadn’t been wearing them. Then one of the shoes started tapping, and he realized that there was an actual person inside of them.

And he had the sinking feeling that it wasn’t Clare.

Parker bolted up on the couch, catching the blanket just before it fell to the floor.

The shoes were on an older, attractive woman, and the noise that roused him must have been the front door closing after she’d come in.

He was assuming she was Clare’s aunt. So much for her being out of town.

Having heard her referred to as an old maid, Parker had formed a specific impression in his head of how Kay probably looked, but reality bore no resemblance to his imagination. Her clothes were casual but neat, fashionable and very expensive. She had long dark blond hair like Clare’s, but hers was peppered with shades of silver and gray, and while Clare’s hair had a sort of wild and free quality to it, this woman’s was smooth and sleek.

Thankfully, she wasn’t holding a gun on him. Because people in Texas loved their guns. And he was guessing she had one or two herself.

“It’s not every day a woman comes home to find a naked man on her couch,” she said with a heavy Texas twang. “This must be my lucky day.” Then she looked him up and down, smiled and added, “Or maybe it’s yours.”

Boy did he hope she was joking. “You must be Aunt Kay.”

“I must be.”

He could only imagine what she was probably thinking, and damn would he like to put some clothes on. The blanket was feeling awfully thin and a little small.

“And who might you be?” she asked.

“Parker,” he said. “Parker Reese. I work with Clare.”

One brow rose slightly. “Among other things?”

No, this wasn’t awkward at all. “Uh...yeah.”

“You’re better looking than I imagined. But that might just be the absence of clothes.”

So she knew who he was? That was interesting. “Has Clare mentioned me?”

She gave him one of those bless your heart looks. “I’m afraid that I’m not at liberty to say.”

Ooookay.

“She was right about one thing,” Kay said. “They would have a field day with you.”

Huh? “They who? And why would they have a field day?”

She flashed him another placating smile. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

Of course she wasn’t. This was too weird. He was the naked stranger in her house, yet he was the one asking all of the questions. Though she seemed to have a pretty good idea of who he was. “Maybe I should call Clare,” he said.

“Maybe you should put your clothes on first.”

Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. He just hoped she wasn’t expecting to watch him.

“Go on up to Clare’s room, and for the love of all that is holy, take the blanket with you. My heart isn’t what it used to be.”

Somehow he doubted that. Despite her age, she looked strong as an ox. Sturdy, yet refined. And as much as he appreciated the offer of privacy—and oh, did he appreciate it—he wasn’t so sure Clare would appreciate him using her bedroom. He’d gone up there the other night to tease her, but this was different. It felt like an invasion of privacy to be in there when she wasn’t around. If he was going to make this relationship work, he had to respect Clare’s boundaries. “Would it be all right if I just use a bathroom down here? I don’t want to invade Clare’s space.”

His request seemed to surprise Kay, and he was betting it earned him a few brownie points, too.

“That’s awfully thoughtful of you. There’s a half bath just off the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed his clothes and his phone and with the blanket tucked firmly around his midsection, he hightailed it to the bathroom. Once he was in there, there was no hurry, but he threw his clothes on as quickly as possible. So fast he was pretty sure he put his boxers and socks on inside out.

When he was dressed he checked his phone, surprised to find that it was almost four o’clock. He’d slept for nearly eight hours. Far more than his typical five or six. And it was a deep restful kind of sleep that usually evaded him.

Must have been the sex.

He dialed Clare, and she answered her phone saying, “You had better not be snooping.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Houston, we have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You know how you thought your aunt was still out of town?”

“Uh-oh.”

Uh-oh was right. “Yeah, well, she’s not. She’s here.”

He could feel her cringe over the phone line. “Tell me you weren’t still on the couch.”

“I wish I could.”

“Naked?”

“As the day I was born.”

She made a noise and it took a second for him to realize what he was hearing. “Oh, my God, are you laughing?”

“No, of course not,” she said, clearing her throat. “She’s not holding you at gunpoint, is she?”

He knew she had guns! “Not yet, and frankly, she’s scary enough without one.”

“Yeah, she can be,” Clare said, and he could hear the mirth in her voice. Was she enjoying this?

“This isn’t funny. Stop laughing.”

“I’m sorry, but the mental picture...”

Okay, maybe it was a little funny. “I take it my name has come up before.”

There was a slight pause, as if she were choosing her words carefully. “A time or two, yes.”

“You don’t seem too upset that our secret is out.”

“Aunt Kay won’t tell anyone. I trust her absolutely.”

“She said that you were right, they would have a field day. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Long story,” she said. “And I’m sorry she walked in on you like that. I really had no idea she would be home early.”

“Are you coming back?”

“Not for another hour or so. I’m volunteering at the free clinic.”

“So basically I’m on my own?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“You promise she’s not going to hurt me?”

“If it makes you feel better, she’s never actually shot anyone.”

Oh, yeah, that made him feel so much better.

“However...” she said.

“What?”

“She might give you a hard time.”

“Might? She already did!”

“Well, it’s probably not over yet. Aunt Kay is very protective of me.”

Swell.

“Did you see Ja—I mean Maddie?” he asked her. “I didn’t get a page so I’m assuming things are good.”

“I did see her, and she’s doing really well. Logan and Hadley were there with Maggie. She’s so much bigger and healthier, it’s hard to imagine that they’re the same age.”

“Maddie will catch up.”

“I’m going to miss her, but I know this is for the best. And I’m so glad to know that she has family.”

“Did Logan say if he was able to contact his brother?”

“They left messages for him but so far they haven’t heard back. Won’t he be surprised to find out that not only is he a father, but to twins no less.”

“And one with special needs. He’ll have his hands full.”

“Hold on a sec,” Clare said, and he heard her talking to someone, then she was back. “Parker, I have to go. Can I call you later?”

He was hoping she would. “Of course.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you then. And, Parker?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.”

She seemed to be enjoying this a little too much.

He hung up and stuck his phone in his pocket, then folded the blanket he’d been wearing and opened the door. Clare’s aunt was standing in the kitchen, sipping on a bottle of beer. She gestured to an open bottle in front of a bar stool at the kitchen island and said, “Have a seat, Parker.”

“I should really get going,” he said.

One brow rose slightly, and she gave him a look that said compliance was not optional.

Wow. She was tough. And a little scary.

No, she was a lot scary.

He handed her the blanket and did as he was told, feeling like a teenager meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. “I guess I can spare a few minutes.”

“What are your intentions with my niece?”

Talk about getting right to the point. But who knew, maybe he would glean some insight on what made Clare tick. “I find her utterly fascinating,” he said. “From the minute we were introduced I was drawn to her, and though she won’t admit it, I think the feeling is mutual.”

Kay neither confirmed nor denied it. “Clare is not as tough as she likes people to think.”

“I know.”

“She’s a little broken.”

“Who isn’t?”

His answer seemed to satisfy her. “You’re a smart man, but I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

No surprise there, and he couldn’t help but respect her for it. “Aunt Kay,” he said, “I would expect no less.”