Naughty in November (Spring River Valley Book 11) (6 page)

Panicked, Dani
slid the pan to a cold burner, sloshing milk across the stove in her haste. She shut off the first burner, leaving the faint odor of cooking gas and scalded milk wafting through the kitchen. “Ugh, nice work.” She heard Kyle’s voice in her head, the platitudes he’d used to smooth over his own disappointment at her lack of skills. And this was something she actually knew how to do, but she’d screwed it up anyway.

“Hey, how’s it going in here?”

Dani whirled around to face Taylor. “Hi! What?” He’d changed into a clean white T-shirt and a pair of soft looking sweat pants. His towel-dried hair stood up in damp spikes, and the scent of masculine soap replaced the evidence of her misadventure. “Cocoa is coming right up, go sit down and relax.”

She did notice his brief, skeptical glance at the stove, and she chose to ignore it. He wasn’t
Kyle, and she wasn’t Joyce and she wasn’t going to let either one of them repeat their past mistakes.

* * * *

Taylor woke up on the couch, disoriented, his muscles stiff. He lay still for a moment, reviewing the evening from Dani’s unexpected arrival at the clinic and the few stolen kisses before Samantha and Aiden arrived to take over puppy watch to the ride to his place, a hot shower, and a few sips of cocoa before a deep, dreamless sleep took him over.

He didn’t expect to find her still here, but there she was, across the room, curled on the love seat under a knitted blanket.

That double-time heartbeat that had plagued him since that night at the coffee shop quickened his pulse. Had she stayed because she wanted to be with him even if he was too tired to notice, or because it was too late and too cold to venture outside?

She deserved more credit than that. A woman who only wanted a physical fling didn’
t hang around to watch a guy snoring on the couch.

He shook his head. He had to stop analyzing this.
God, I’m starting to think like Evie.
His brother’s girlfriend was a reporter who talked endlessly about motives and unspoken agendas, the stuff people didn’t say even when they were asked a direct question.

He had no business
second-guessing Dani’s reasons for falling asleep on his couch rather than going home. He had no business wanting more from her than she was willing to give.

Banishing serious thoughts, he rose and stretched. His
back creaked, and he groaned. The soft sound woke her, and she blinked sleepily at him. “Hey,” she said, fighting a yawn.

“Hey.” He glanced at the clock on the cable box. “It’s the witching hour. If you spend any more time folded up on that love seat, your muscles will freeze that way.”

She smiled and stretched, and the smile became a slight frown. “Oh, it may be too late.”

“I know what can cure that,” he said, offering his hand
to pull her up from the cushions.

“A hot shower?”

“I was going to say a back rub.”

“Are you offering one?”

“Join me in the bedroom, and I’ll show you everything I’m offering.”

“Hey, Chase, it’s Dani. I won’t be in today. I’m…ah…under the weather?” Dani struggled to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. She wasn’t used to playing hooky. She loved her job at the law firm. Esterhause, Brady and Danziger had always been good to her, but this morning was just too delicious to come to an end right now.

Taylor, lying next to her in his bed, feigned shock at her vague excuse.

She put a finger to her lips to shush him and continued speaking to her coworker. “No, I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll feel better by Monday… Okay, thanks. See you then.” She probably could have told Chase the truth. She was certain he’d have understood completely, but she wasn’t ready to confess her naughty nights to anyone outside of her small inner circle of best friends quite yet.

She bit her lower lip in mock regret and hung up the phone. “I can’t believe how quickly you corrupted me. I was employee of the month in June
, and now I’m lying about being sick so I can take the day off to puppy sit.”

Taylor pouted, his skillful hands mean
dering beneath the blankets they shared. “Puppies? Here I thought you just wanted to stay in bed with me all day.”

She broke into a hopeful grin and snuggled closer to his sleep-warmed body. “Can we? Really?”

He sighed. “Ah…no. Unfortunately, I’ve got to go check on the puppies and relieve Sam and Aiden.”

“Then I’m coming too.”

He kissed her, deeply, and every nerve in her body tingled. Nothing could be better than this.

“Then we’d better get ready. You can borrow some sweats and a T-shirt if you want. How about I start some coffee and we me
et in the shower in ten?”

She grinned wickedly. This stolen day off just kept getting better. “It’s a date.” She slipped out of bed, scooping up the shirt she’d now officially adopted to wear as a robe.

He wolf-whistled as she sauntered toward the bedroom door.

“You’d better hurry,” she tossed over her shoulder with a sensual purr. “I don’t want to get wet without you.”

He moaned and pretended to chase her, prompting her to sprint down the hall, giggling like a teenager. God, this was fun, perfect, amazing…she could think of a million adjectives to describe her mood. She was ebullient, buoyant, completely and utterly in love with—

Whoa. Back up.

The bathroom light flickered on as she closed the door, sobered now by her own uncensored thoughts. She regarded herself in the vanity mirror. “You’re
not
in love,” she whispered to her reflection, trying to see past the sexily mussed hair and the flush in her cheeks. “Don’t get carried away just because you had a great time last night and you’re spending the morning with him. Keep cool, Lennox. Don’t let this get out of hand.”

A knock on the bathroom door startled her. “Can I come in?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

Dani eyed her reflection. They were about to shower together
, and she was telling herself not to let things get out of hand. It was way past too late.

Slowly she opened the bathroom door and peered at him through the narrow crack. He looked amazing with his morning stubble and sleepy eyes, wearing nothing but a pair of briefs
and a knowing smile.

Once again her nagging doubts fled as she pushed the door open and let him inside the small room.

“I’m getting used to seeing you in my shirt,” he said, casting a feral gaze down her body. “But I still like it better on the floor.”

Dani accepted the not-so-subtle invitation without question and shrugged out of the shirt, meeting his dark eyes with a bold look. She sighed when he gathered her in his arms, and she melted into his hot embrace, forgetting everything outside this cozy, sexy little corner of their world.

“We may need a cold shower before we leave this room,” he whispered while his lips traveled over the tingling skin of her shoulder.

Meeting her own guilty gaze in the mirror, she moaned.
Oh, Dani, you’re about to be a very bad girl again.

* * * *

The morning flew by. Despite several cups of coffee, Taylor had a hard time focusing on office paperwork knowing Dani occupied the exam room in which Bella and her puppies were resting. She’d volunteered enthusiastically to help Gillian clean their box and feed them.

The few regular patients scheduled for today were all routine visits, and by noon he was considering rearranging some afternoon appointments so he and Dani could sneak away together for a long, romantic lunch.

He broke into a wide grin when she popped her head into his office. “Hey.”

“Hey. Are you enjoying your job for the day?”

She sighed dreamily. “Loving every minute of it, but I really should go home. I’ve got a ton of things to do before Colette’s tonight.”

He groaned, his plans for some afternoon delight dashed. “I forgot about the gig.” An early rehearsal meant no romantic dinner either. He rose from his desk and crossed the room to meet her at the door. “Anything you need help with?”

She kissed him, a sweet, promising taste of bliss. “Nope. Just domestic chores, which I’m not very good at. Food shopping and cleaning and laundry. How about I meet you back at your place around five?”

That left no alone time, but at least it meant after their last set at the pub, they’d end up back at his place. “Sounds perfect.” He ran a finger over the neckline of
the T-shirt she’d borrowed from him this morning. “And I’ll be expecting my clothes back.” He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “Even if I have to peel them off you myself.”

She blushed. “You just might have to.”

“I’ll see you later, then.” One more kiss led to two more, which led to an impromptu make-out session interrupted by his receptionist.

“The Great Da
ne with the hip sprain is here,” Gillian told him.

“Ah. Okay.” Taylor tore himself away from Dani. “Gotta go. See you later.”

She waved and hurried down the corridor toward the back door, looking over her shoulder before she left.

Once she’d gone,
Gillian planted herself in front of Taylor and tilted her back so she could look him in the eye despite their sizable difference in height. “I’d say it’s very serious.”

“The Dane? Not really—he’s coming along nicely.”

“Not the dog. The girl.”

“Dani? No…it’s…” He shrugged.

Gillian reached up to pat his cheek in a motherly fashion. “I’ve seen that look before. Never on you, though. Trust me. It’s very, very serious, doc.” She turned and walked away, leaving him nodding to himself. Who was he kidding? Waking up this morning with Dani in his arms had been heaven, compounded by the joy of sitting in his kitchen sipping coffee together, bustling around making toast and slicing fresh fruit for breakfast. Showering together before heading off to work, well, that had been been sublime.

The whole morning had felt like a glimpse into a fantasy world, one that he could turn into reality if he wanted to.

The logical side of his brain told him step one was playing it cool, but the rest of him wanted to charge full speed ahead and make this woman his one hundred percent of the time.

Gillian was right. No matter how much he wanted to ignore it, this thing with Dani was serious, which meant it was probably doomed.

“Here’s to skipping rehearsal!” Taylor raised his beer in a toast, and all around the table glasses clinked in agreement.

“Once in a while,” Owen added with a half smile. He’d been the most nervous about the band’s performance tonight, considering their plan to meet early for a quick rehearsal had fallen through.

Despite a last-minute patient at the clinic, horrendous traffic on West Denton
Ave, and some missing sheet music, Love Notes had taken the stage as scheduled, played to a packed house, and drawn thunderous applause.

Last call found Taylor, Dani, Owen
, and Claudia sharing a round of drinks with Tanner and Evie, along with Tanner’s partner Quinn and his girlfriend Lily.

At one
a.m., the crowd at Colette’s had thinned considerably, allowing for quieter conversation and a mellow mood to settle over everyone.

Under the table
, Taylor held hands with Dani. It felt right. He wanted to tell everyone the reason their sets had gone so well tonight was because no one could make better music than two people in love. Owen and Claudia had proven that with their sexy duets, and he and Dani had proven it with their spicy up-tempo dance tunes. He thought they made a perfect pair, and he would have challenged anyone who dared disagree.

“I know we’re always the first to leave, but it’s way past my bedtime.” Evie set her empty glass on the table and rose. “I’m off to the little girls
’ room before we go.”

“Oh, me too,” Lily chimed in
, and Dani disengaged her fingers from Taylor’s and whispered in his ear, “Me too. I overdid the herbal tea Claudia recommended.”

He kissed her before she left with the other women, the trio giggling as they crossed the room and disappeared into the corridor leading to the restrooms.

Owen nudged Claudia once they’d gone. “You don’t want to miss out on the bathroom gossip, do you?”

“Wow, what a sexist remark.” Claudia regarded him with brows lowered, but her smile reached her eyes. “Do you think women only go to the ladies
’ room to gossip?”

“Don’t they?” Tanner asked, feigning innocence
—or ignorance. Taylor wasn’t sure which.

He collected a handful of empty glasses and rose. “On that note, I’m going to help clean up so I don’t accidentally put my foot in my mouth.” He headed toward the bar while Owen and Tanner staged a mock argument about women and gossip. He figured Claudia would remain at the table to school her boyfriend and his brother, but when he turned around,
he found her standing behind him, an expectant look on her face.