Close To Home (Westen Series) (17 page)

“Clint Preston,” she said. Her don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-the-mom voice stopped him before he could get out the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Emma, I need to get out of these wet clothes.”

“That’s right you do. Now strip.”

“What?”

“You heard me, doctor. Take off your clothes. As soon as the boys are done, it’ll be your turn in the shower.”

Snickering sounded behind the shower curtain.

Her eyes never left Clint’s. “Benjamin and Brian Lewis, you’re already in trouble with me. Get washed young men. Then get out and get ready for bed. There will be no TV for either of you tonight.”

“As for you, doctor, get out of those clothes. You’re next for the shower.” She stepped out the door and eyed him seriously. “There’s no one at your house to take care of you if you get sick, and I’m going to need Harriett’s help here. You’re staying here where I can keep an eye on you. That’s all there is to it.”

“But, Emma...” Clint started to protest.

“No, buts about it. I’ll be back with the boys’ pajamas in a minute. If you don’t get out of those clothes by the time I return, I’ll do it for you.”

Before he could say another word, she closed the door.

For a moment, Clint stood staring at the closed door. He knew he should leave. Emma didn’t need him complicating her life or adding to her responsibilities right now.

Yet, as he stood there thinking about her, hunger shot through him. Hunger for her caring, for her touch. With Emma’s presence in his life, the emptiness that had plagued him for months disappeared. His cold, tired body shivered. Maybe it would be okay to let Emma take care of him. Just this once.

He sat on the toilet seat, pulled off his soaked tennis shoes and socks and listened to the boys giggle in the shower. Then he began unbuttoning his flannel shirt. His fingers were fumbling with the last two buttons when Emma returned.

She gave him a quick appraisal. For a moment, only a moment, her no-nonsense expression changed to the hot look of a woman in serious lust. Just as quickly it returned to the more clinical one of the professional whose orders were being followed. The whole thing took less than a second. If he’d blinked, he would’ve missed it.

He was glad he hadn’t blinked.

“Okay guys, save some hot water for Clint.” She leaned over to turn off the shower, bringing her nice round bottom nearly eye level with Clint.

He bit back a groan, and thanked God he still had on his jeans. It took great willpower not to reach out and caress her. He forced his hands to grip the toilet seat instead.

With the deftness of a long practiced habit, Emma extracted both boys from the shower, wrapped them in towels and herded them out the door, all while Clint fought his own desires.

“What about their arms? They need to be reset.”

“Harriet brought some soft splints. I’m sure she and I can wrap the boys up for the night. You can reset them in the morning.” Emma stopped in the doorway to give him a pointed look. “Hurry up, Clint. If I don’t hear running water in two minutes, I’ll be back.”

Clint couldn’t resist teasing. “Promise?”

A delightful blush crept up her neck and face. Then, her face broke out in a mischievous grin that almost undid him right there in the bathroom. “Oh, believe me. I’ll be back.”

* * *

When Clint stepped out of the shower, a large fluffy towel lay folded and awaiting him on the counter. He buffed out his hair, wiped down his body, then wrapped the towel around his hips. To move his hair off his face he ran his fingers through it.

A quick glance at the floor told him that sometime during his shower, Emma had sneaked in and taken his wet clothes. Probably to dry them. The idea of the little redhead being in the room while he showered warmed him more than the hot water had.

A tap sounded on the door. Clint reached for the doorknob, prepared to tease Emma more. When the door popped open and Harriett stood before him, his hands made sure the towel remained secure about his hips.

“Harriett! What’re you still doing here?”

“Emma sent me to check on you while she gets the boys tucked in. She said to get you into her bed, by force if necessary.” His nurse pulled him through the bathroom door and ushered him into Emma’s room.

He stopped in the middle of the room, closing his eyes, as Emma’s scent filled his senses. He took slow, shallow breaths, willing himself not to react to this need for her that seemed to fill his days more and more.

“Here you go, Doc. Just what you need.”

His eyes snapped open. No way could Harriett mean what he thought. Then he chuckled. His nurse held out a pair of his sweat pants.

“Now you get under those covers as quick as possible, Doc. Neither one of us wants to face Emma’s wrath when she gets her temper going.”

As soon as the door closed behind Harriett, Clint quickly slipped out of the towel and into the sweats, afraid any of the women would barge in and find him buck-naked. It might not be too bad if Emma walked in, but he hadn’t shown Harriett his naked backside since the last penicillin shot she gave him as a kid and he didn’t plan to do so today. And the Lord knew with his luck, Isabelle would just wander in without any advanced warning.

A deep sigh escaped him as he crawled into Emma’s queen-sized bed, settled into the mattress and pulled the quilt up.

Damn, the only thing that could make this bed feel better would be if Emma crawled in with him.

The picture of Emma and the boys caught his attention as he reached for the light on the bedside table. His heart swelled with need. Deep in his soul he wanted them, Emma and her sons. They’d become as important to him as his own family. Yes, that’s what they’d become.

His family.

The problem lay in convincing Emma. He slowly smiled as he curled around her pillow, inhaling the scent of her once more.

What fun that was going to be.

* * *

A cool hand touched his head and then the side of his face, awakening Clint from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes to see Emma’s cornflower-blue gaze watching him with concern. He gently grasped her hand. With a small tug he brought her fingers to his lips, kissing the tips and holding her near.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” A light blush colored her cheeks.

“Oh, but you did,” he teased. “I think you’ll need some sort of punishment for your transgression, young lady.”

Emma’s eyes twinkled. “Punishment? What kind of punishment did you have in mind, Doctor?” she teased right back.

He pulled on her hand, drawing her slowly closer. “Perhaps a forfeit of some kind?”

“A forfeit?” A hesitancy filled her voice, but Clint noticed she let herself be drawn in beside him.

“A kiss?” He wrapped her in his arms, his lips hovering above hers.

She smiled, touching his face with her free hand as he turned her onto her back. “Such a small price to pay for such a grievous offense.”

“Mmm,” he murmured, his lips brushing hers softly. “Ah, it was intentional awakening, was it?”

“Oh, yes. It was.” She echoed his kiss with the softest of touches.

“Then perhaps a larger forfeit would be in order.” With that he pressed her into the mattress and deepened the kiss. Suddenly the light, teasing banter between them disappeared. Desire took its place. Hot. Molten. Scorch-you-to-your-toes desire. Clint knew he couldn’t get enough of the sweet, musky taste and womanly feel of her. He also knew if he didn’t stop now, there would be no turning back.

With great determination he forced himself to pull away. He rested his forehead against hers, his hand stroking slowly up and down on the soft sensitive skin of her inner arm.

“Emma,” he whispered. “I want to make love to you, not because of a game or a challenge, but because I want you. If you only want to rest here in my arms for a while, tell me now. It may kill me, but I’m willing to wait for you and be content to hold you tonight.”

Emma took a deep breath. She lifted one finger to rub softly across his lower lip, her azure gaze never wavering, never leaving his. “Make love to me, Clint. I’m tired of waiting.”

He hesitated another fraction of a second. Groaning, he gathered her into his arms and claimed her mouth. With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting the fingers of one hand thread into his hair. He took advantage of her parted lips to slip his tongue inside and explore her warm, wet, sweetness.

Need for him consumed her. Arching her back, she parted her legs and thrust her hips against his hard muscular thigh.

Clint slid a hand beneath her T-shirt to cup her breast, his thumb caressing the hard nipple back and forth.

Desire coursed through her blood. Suddenly her clothes were too confining. Her skin needed to feel his against it. She needed to melt into him. She just needed him.

Their fingers met and fumbled as they both worked to pull off her shirt. Another moan escaped Emma as Clint settled back down and the soft hairs of his chest caressed her breasts. Then he gripped her hips, crushing her to him.

His lips left hers to trail down her chin, over her neck to suckle at the pulse against her collarbone. She arched her body, offering him more. He took the invitation, letting his lips travel across her smooth skin to capture one tight bud in his mouth.

Yes.
White-hot need shot through her.

Clint fumbled at the buttons on her jeans then she felt the zipper scrape lower. Two pairs of hands pulled and tugged, shoving the material off her hips and legs. With a gasp, she surged her hips to the warm hand that settled between her thighs.

“Emma,” he whispered against her lips.

“Yes?” she mumbled through the fog in her brain. Desire coursed through her body.

“The boys?”

“Asleep.”

He nibbled a trail to her ear. “Your mother?”

“The Miller sisters brought her home while you were showering.” Her fingers crept into his hair, pulling him closer. “She went to sleep over an hour ago.”

“Harriett?”

“Gone home.”

He gently pulled on her ear lobe with his teeth. “The door?”

“Locked.”

He pulled away to study her. “Locked?”

“Mm-hmm.” She grinned at him then tried to recapture his lips with hers.

“You locked the door?”

A slow, hot blush crept over Emma’s beautiful body. He’d bet his life she’d never done something this brazen in her whole life.

She wanted this as much as he did. That knowledge humbled and thrilled him.

When she nodded and bit down on her lower lip, he let out a groan.

“Oh, God, Em...” he said just before his lips dropped down to claim hers once again in another searing kiss, both hot and gentle, caring and demanding, promising her everything including the moon and the stars.

Clint wanted to take her hard and fast. At the same time he wanted to be gentle.

Her simple act of locking the door overwhelmed him. It told him she wanted him as much as he wanted her. It also spoke of the trust between them that had formed during the last few weeks. He had to make this night special for her—as special as she’d become to him.

The world melted away. All that was left was Emma and the things he wanted to do to her body. He worshiped her with his hands and lips, wanting to blaze a trail across her and touch her in places he knew she hadn’t been touched in years.

Then he remembered the condom he’d left in his soaking wet pants in the bathroom. The one he’d started carrying with him, just in case a night like this happened.

“Emma, my pants,” he murmured against her lips. Her hands went to the waistband of his sweat pants. A deep chuckle rumbled through him. “No, Emma, not yet. I need...”

“I need you, too,” she mumbled, kissing him and trying to lower his sweats.

He knew she didn’t understand.

“No, sweetheart. I need the condom in my jeans. You took them earlier.”

“Bedside table.”

Again, he leaned back to gaze at her. “The bedside table?”

“Clint.” Frustration edged her voice. “I took it out of the pocket when I picked up your jeans for the laundry. It’s on the damn bedside table.”

This time when he pulled away, he stood at the side of the bed, pushing off his sweat pants and reaching for the foil packet in one motion. A soft feminine purr came from the bed. Clint grinned at the approval behind that sound.

Even still, his determination to make this special for her had his fingers shaking as he opened the packet and covered his erection. Then he slipped the silk panties off her hips, settling himself between her parted thighs. He entered her in one slow motion, filling her completely.

A deep moan escaped Emma and she closed her eyes.

For a moment, he held still inside her, memorizing the joy in her eyes just before they closed and the way the she-cat smile spread across her face. Then her body arched beneath him, drawing him in deeper still. To prevent ending things before they began, Clint closed his eyes and concentrated.

“God, Em,” he mumbled against her mouth. “I want to go slow with this.”

“Please...”

“Please go slow?” He’d die before he’d hurt her.

“Please don’t.”

His control snapped. With each thrust he claimed her. Taking her with him higher and faster.

Emma felt the old familiar tightening in her body. She tensed, hesitated. This was the place where Dwayne always left her hanging, just at the edge of the precipice—unfulfilled and wanting—finishing before her.

Her hesitation cut through the passion driving Clint. “Em, come with me,” he whispered in her ear. He reached between them to stroke the core of her desire.

Suddenly her world split. Spasms wracked her body. Her arms clung to his shoulders, clawing at his skin. Gripping muscles, she squeezed him tighter, pulling him deeper. Suspended in pleasure, she felt him fill her and join her as they tumbled into oblivion.

A wondrous lassitude filled her body. Her arms and legs, every muscle, felt like jelly.

Dazed, she reveled in the weight of Clint’s body, his heart pounding against hers. His breathing slowed as it caressed her sweat-dampened skin.

A deep rumble started low, shaking his whole body. With great effort, he lifted himself to support his weight on his arms. A slow, sexy smile spread across his face.