Doctor's Delight (23 page)

Embarrassed,
she glanced away. “I better go.”

It’d be a cold
day in hell before he let her go now. “We’re not done talking
yet.”

Miserable, she
looked down at her feet. “I’m such an idiot.”

“No,” he said
gently. “You’re human.” When the seconds kept ticking past and
silence continued, Rick put a finger under her chin and titled her
face back up so he could lock their gazes together.

They looked at
each other steadily, he with quiet determination, she with a
bravado that was trying to hide the hurt that dwelt in her
soul.

Finally, he
asked, “What do you want out of this relationship, Cherry?”

“You want to
call it off—” she immediately began.

“No. Listen to
me. What do you want out of this relationship, love? Think before
you answer, think long and hard, and then be truthful.” He watched
her silently, all the while his heart pounding just a little.

Here was the
moment of truth. Right here and now could be the make or break of
everything, he could be back to square one with her. Square one was
definitely where he didn’t want to be, he wanted this last wall
between them breached.

When he felt
her tremble, he removed his finger from her chin, but he stayed
close, allowing her to feel his body heat. Okay, yes, it was a
cunning way to fight back, but sometimes his father was correct.
Not that he’d ever admit it to him.

Cherry looked
away, her fingers twisting nervously in her blouse. A slight breeze
came in through the kitchen window and stirred the tendrils of hair
at her temple. Her breathing was still a little ragged, but she
seemed calmer.

Patiently, Rick
waited. For the first time in his life he was anxious about a
woman’s decision on their relationship, but no way was he going to
show that to her. One of them had to be strong, and regardless if
it was a caveman attitude or not, Rick saw himself as being the one
that had to be strong enough for both of them, especially in that
moment. Their very future was riding on it and he wasn’t one to
gamble, but right now he knew he was dangerously gambling on her
emotions. On her feelings. On her attraction to him.

On his love for
her.

Cherry
swallowed and glanced up at him almost shyly. “I want to give this
relationship a go.”

“Do you?” He
asked quietly, steadily.

“Yes.”

“How are you
going to do that when you don’t trust me?”

“I do.” She
looked miserable.

“You don’t
trust me.” He kept his tone quiet, letting her feel his patience
and understanding. Sure as hell he wasn’t going to give her a
glimpse of his frustration.

“Rick…”

“My turn.” When
she looked startled, he smiled inwardly. “I want this relationship
to work. I trust you, Cherry. I want to share every aspect of my
life with you. I’m prepared to go wherever it leads. But I can’t be
the only one rowing this boat. This is a two-man boat, and I’m the
only one pulling on the oars.” She looked like she was ready to cry
again, but he pushed on ruthlessly. “A relationship works only when
both people trust each other. I trust you fully, Cherry. I ask that
you trust me.”

“You don’t know
how hard this is for me.”

“Relationships
aren’t easy. It takes work from both people. I’ve made love to you
several times, love.” Reaching out, he gently pushed a lock of hair
behind her ear. “I want to share more than that. I want to look
into your eyes when we make love, I want to see what you’re
feeling, and I want to share the laughter, the amazement, and the
joys. I can’t do that in the dark. It has to be everything.
Everything. There are to be no secrets between us, no awkwardness.
Trust, Cherry.”

She took a
wavering breath, her eyes searching his.

“Trust in every
aspect of our relationship,” he said.

She looked down
to where her fingers were wringing her blouse.

“Give me that
trust.” His words hung between them.

Rick waited.
Outside he could hear birds whistling, a car went past, and in the
distance children laughed and shrieked. A dog barked. But
everything he was interested in was right in his kitchen, standing
before him, wringing the hell out of her blouse and his heart all
at the same time.

Then she looked
up at him and whispered, “Okay.”

His heart
jumped. He felt like leaping around the kitchen and pumping his
fists in the air. Instead, he met her gaze steadily and smiled
slowly. “You won’t regret this, Cherry.”

“I hope
not.”

Without saying
another word, Rick took her hand and led her from the kitchen, down
the hallway and into his bedroom. At the side of the bed he turned
to face her.

Cherry was
shaking with nerves. Her hand trembled in his and her eyes were
filled with fear.

Not exactly
what he wanted to see in them, but at least she wasn’t running from
him screaming. His job now was to prove how much she turned him on,
voluptuous curves and all.

Framing her
cheeks in his palms, he leaned down and gently kissed her, keeping
it light. He trailed his kisses across her lips, nibbled at the
corners, then moved down to the side of her throat.

He felt her
response in the way she sighed and angled her head for him.

Moving to her
ear, he breathed warmly, “You’re safe in my hands, love.”

And then he
swept the world out from under her feet.

He stormed her
defences with his kisses and caresses, teasing her, drawing her
into responding. He played with her senses, trailing his fingertips
down her arms and up her sides, first over the blouse, then
slipping his fingers beneath to simply trail up her sides, invoking
shivers from her.

And he
continued to kiss her, glorying in it when she swayed and leaned
against him, her mouth seeking his, her hands creeping under his
shirt to splay out over the muscles in his back.

Keeping her
thoughts off what was happening, he undid the buttons of her blouse
while kissing her neck, pushing it off her shoulders in a move that
had his fingertips trailing once more down her arms.

Quickly
shrugging out of his own shirt, he returned to kissing her, his
hands now cupping the fullness of her breasts through the lace bra.
Slipping his hands behind her, he kneaded down her spine, loving
the way she arched into him, and slowly he slid his hands down
further until they pushed beneath the waistband of her pants. When
he started to push them down, she froze.

He stopped, his
breathing heavier as he waited for her. His mouth was near her ear,
his every breath stirring the loose strands of her hair, the scent
of her strawberry shampoo assaulting his senses. In that moment he
knew he loomed over her, her forehead level with his shoulders, and
he deliberately leaned over her a little more, letting her feel his
greater height, wanting her to feel smaller.

When she didn’t
protest, he slid her pants down a little more, and though she
remained stiff, she didn’t stop him. The pants slid the rest of the
way down her legs and now all that separated her skin from his
hands were the cotton panties and the lace bra. Every other warm,
soft curve was pressed against him.

So he couldn’t
see her body.

Rick didn’t say
a word, just returned his hands to her waist and his lips to her
mouth, kissing her deeply, ravishing her mouth a little more
roughly, taking a little more strongly, demanding a little more of
her, taking control once again.

It didn’t take
long before she was again kissing him, her palms resting on his
shoulders, and he unsnapped her bra without her even noticing and
slid the straps down her arms. Still holding her mouth prisoner, he
took her hands from his shoulders and brought them down to her
sides, and the bra straps slid down over her wrists. He released
her hands only long enough to allow the bra to slip free and fall
off. Then those breasts, so bountiful and mouth-watering, were
against his abdomen. He could feel the little hard nipples pressing
against him, and his shaft, already stiff with arousal, grew
unbelievably harder.

Again his hands
headed south, his palms flat to her body, running over the hills
and valleys of her waist and hips, down further into the small of
her back and over the sweet rise of her derriere, his hands taking
her panties down further and further, and then they fell to the
floor and his hands were pressed against her bare bottom.

Her lips left
his and her forehead pressed against his shoulder. Naked in his
arms, her body trembled, and he could feel the combined fear,
embarrassment, and arousal that filled her.

Time to deal
with the embarrassment, but on more equal terms.

Dropping a
light kiss onto the fragrant tresses below his chin, Rick brushed
his lips lower until his mouth was against her ear. “Let’s even
this up a bit, love.” Sliding his hands between them, her breasts
brushing his arms, he reached for the buttons on his jeans and
unsnapped them easily. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband, he
shucked his jeans, taking his boxers with them.

Now they were
both naked.

Cupping her
face between his palms, he titled her head back again and looked
deeply into her eyes. “Together, Cherry.” His voice was husky.
“Always.”

She smiled
tremulously, and he smiled right back at her.

And kissed her
again. Deeply, hotly, intimately, and as soon as she melted into
his arms again, he walked her backwards until her knees bumped the
side of the bed. He didn’t hesitate, pushing her downwards with the
movement of his own body, crowding her back until she sat and he
leaned over her, and then in one swift movement he hooked one arm
beneath her knees and swung her around so that she lay back on the
bed.

Her eyes were
huge, she was so amazed.

He laughed
softly, swinging up and over her before she could remember that she
was naked before him and it was broad daylight. Using her surprise
against her, he lay down atop her and rested his weight on his
forearms each side of her on the mattress. Lazily he contemplated
her face, enjoying the softness of her body beneath him.

“You can tell
me if you admire any move I make,” he said.

Cherry laughed,
the genuine amusement in her face wiping away both the trepidation
and amazement. “You and your ego.”

“I can live up
to my ego.”

“I don’t doubt
it for a second.”

“No room for
disappointment then.” He swooped down and pattered light kisses
across her lips and cheeks, making her squeal with laughter as he
continued down to her throat, deliberately tickling her with his
tongue and mouth, making loud smacking sounds as he moved down to
her shoulders.

He got as far
down as her breasts before he felt her stiffen. Glancing up, he saw
the shadows in her eyes.

“Trust,” he
reminded her softly. “I’ll never hurt you, Cherry.”

“I know.” She
swallowed.

“Then relax,
love, and let me take us to paradise.” The words might have been a
little clichéd, but they seemed to steady her, and he’d have given
her the very stars if he could have just to see that trust, however
fragile, in her eyes when she looked at him.

That fragile
trust that touched him straight to the heart. His heart that
swelled with love, blossomed with warmth, and filled him with the
desire to protect and cherish.

And cherish her
he did, tasting her, taking the little nipples one at a time deep
into his mouth and sucking firmly, feeling her body undulate
beneath his mouth and hands, her thighs shift against his as her
knees bent, allowing his lean hips to slide between her silken
thighs. Feeling the heat of her secrets against him.

His shaft
thickened, lengthened, growing and throbbing now with the desire to
bury itself inside her wet heat.

Rick lifted his
head and looked his full of her breasts, seeing them in the light
of day for the very first time, and they were everything he’d
fantasized. The globes were full, rounded, the nipples dark pink
and budding, begging for his mouth. His gaze lifted and he looked
into her eyes, seeing the heat simmering within them, along with
the faint uncertainty.

“You’re so
beautiful.” His words seemed to almost shimmer in the air between
them, and he slowly swept his gaze down over her shoulders and
breasts, to the sweet indent of her waist as he shifted lower, and
lower still. The swell of her stomach, the curve of her hips, all
so womanly and what a man needed to cradle his harder body.

So much woman.
So much softness, so much beckoning temptation.

And she was all
his.

Rick moved
lower, and then her curls were there, the sheltering strands that
guarded her secrets. The curls were as silky as the tresses on her
head, and he blew on them, delighting as they danced a little
beneath his breath.

Her thighs were
at his sides now, and he felt the tension in her. This time when he
looked up at her, over the sweet swell of her belly and the heavy
globes of her breasts, he saw the faintest flicker of embarrassment
in her eyes, but heat also swirled within, and it was this heat he
needed to keep banked to get her through the next few moments. Just
until he had her mindless with pleasure.

“You are
temptation personified.” His voice sounded almost gravelly even to
his own ears, but the desire he felt was threaded within it. “You
are my temptation, Cherry.”

Her eyes
darkened a little, a sparkle lit within, and then she smiled, just
a little, but the shy sweetness of it took his breath away.

He had to taste
her, and if he couldn’t have the lips that smiled so sweetly above
him, he could have the lips that sheltered below.

Moving with
deliberate determination, not wanting to startle her, he hooked his
upper arms beneath her thighs, bending her knees further up with
ease and lifting them out, holding them to his satisfaction.