The Family Plan (22 page)

Could wanting be enough, just for one night? And could one night ever be enough between them?

Don’t think,
he had said. Don’t worry about tomorrow. And for once, she wanted nothing more than to follow Nathan’s example and act wholly on impulse.

He rubbed his lips slowly, enticingly over hers. “Caitlin?”

Just this once, she promised herself, and lifted on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck. This time she kissed him, and she held nothing back.

The sound he made held deep satisfaction. Very slowly lifting his mouth from hers, he stepped back and took her hand.

Her decision made, she didn’t hesitate again, but allowed him to lead her out of the kitchen.

Just this once, she promised herself, she wouldn’t think. She would simply enjoy.

Nathan’s bedroom was as carelessly masculine as he was. The single, low-wattage lamp on his nightstand revealed heavy woods, earthy colors and bold textures. The room was as neat as a pin; remembering that he had changed hurriedly for their date, she suspected that Mrs. T. had been in to tidy up while they were gone. She didn’t want to speculate about whether the housekeeper had been doing her chores or had considered herself preparing the room for company.

Had they been in Caitlin’s apartment now, she might have lit candles, maybe turned on some soft music. Since Nathan’s decor didn’t include candles, and his music selection was probably filled with classic rock, he did neither, but simply swept the spread off his bed and tumbled her onto it, barely giving her time to kick off her shoes.

She decided that his unpretentious actions suited her just fine. She didn’t want calculated seduction from Nathan, no careful scene setting or romantic gestures. She simply wanted him.

The flattering tremor was still in his hands when he carefully stripped away her beaded jacket and black sheath, leaving her clad only in black bra, panties, garter belt and stockings. Her face flamed as it occurred to her that her provocative undergarments might lead him to believe she had expected the evening to end this way. Then it burned even hotter when she silently admitted to herself that he would probably be right.

Apparently, she had stopped thinking sensibly before this date had even begun.

Whatever he made of her reasons, it was obvious that he heartily approved her outfit. His hands were all over her, exploring and caressing until she writhed against the sheets, almost desperate to feel him against her. She tugged at his clothing, tangling them both in folds of fabric until he laughed softly and lifted away from her to take care of the task himself.

When he came back to her, he wasn’t wearing a stitch—and Caitlin was quite sure she had never seen anything more appealing in her entire life. Nor felt anything more delectable. She ran her hands slowly over his sinewy arms and sleek chest, down to his narrow waist and lean hips.

An athlete’s physique, she mused, strong and fit and virile. She would find it very hard to believe that a more perfect body had ever existed.

It didn’t take him long to add her undergarments to the piles of clothing on his floor. Caitlin might have been self-conscious about her nudity—she didn’t consider herself to be nearly as close to perfection as Nathan—but his obvious pleasure in her restored her confidence. Whatever imperfections there might be, he didn’t even seem to notice.

He looked at her as though he found her as beautiful, as desirable as she found him. And when he touched his mouth to her, it was with a reverence that brought a lump to her throat.

He nuzzled her neck, lingered at her breasts, kissed his way down to her navel and circled it with his tongue. Her hands fisted in the sheets beneath her when he moved even lower, her back arching instinctively. Her breath caught hard in her throat, then released in a gasp. “Nathan!”

Murmuring something soothing and unintelligible, he kissed her intimately, then made his way slowly back up her body, stopping to revisit places he had discovered before. She could hardly remember her own name by the time he returned to her lips. Yet she couldn’t seem to stop whispering his.

He donned protection swiftly, barely fumbling with the task though his hands were still shaking a bit. And then he returned to her, sliding inside her with a single, smooth thrust that seemed to join them permanently. From this moment on, he would always be a part of her, she realized, even as she drew him nearer. It was the only coherent thought that penetrated the haze of passion she floated in, and it should have terrified her. Instead, it made the experience all the more beautiful.

After all, tonight she wasn’t thinking about the future, she reminded herself dimly. Tonight was all about feelings. And this felt heavenly.

Nathan rolled, shifting her on top of him, giving his hands better access to her breasts and shoulders. Supporting herself on her hands, she leaned her head down to kiss him.

Her hairpins seemed to have disappeared; her hair fell in a soft curtain around their faces. Their mouths fused, their tongues thrusting in a leisurely imitation of their intimate joining.

When their movements became more frantic, Nathan shifted again, crushing her into the mattress as he pounded into her. Just barely remembering that they weren’t alone in his house, she bit her lower lip to hold back her cries and dug her fingers into his shoulders as her entire body shuddered with a mind-shattering release.

A moment later Nathan gave a choked gasp that might have been her name, signaling his own climax. And then he collapsed on top of her, his face buried in her throat.

Still holding him, Caitlin stared blindly at the ceiling above her and wondered how much longer she could simply enjoy this time with him. Sooner or later she was going to have to start asking herself what this night was going to cost her.

Nathan sensed the moment Caitlin’s hyperactive brain kicked into gear. He could almost hear the doubts, the questions, the worries and rationalizations begin.

While he had always admired her practicality and conscientiousness, he wished they could have drifted on sensations a bit longer this evening.

“I should leave,” she murmured.

He wasn’t ready to let her go. Shifting to relieve her of his weight, he tucked her into his shoulder. “Stay a little longer.”

“I don’t want to be here when Isabelle wakes up,” she fretted softly, even as she snuggled her cheek into the curve of his throat. “I don’t even have a change of clothes.”

Smoothing her hair, he brushed a kiss against the top of her head. “Just let me hold you for a little while longer.”

She relaxed slowly against him, one hand resting on his chest. “Just for a little while.”

He would take whatever he could get, he thought, enjoying the feel of her warm, soft body pressed against his. As far as he was concerned, whenever she left would be too soon. He would be perfectly content to keep her here in his bed forever.

Since he knew she was far from ready to hear that, he kept the words to himself. Not saying them didn’t make them any less true, of course. He didn’t know when, exactly, his feelings had progressed from affection to more, but he had no doubt that he was in love with Caitlin Briley.

He had never actually been in love before, but he had no trouble identifying the condition. He’d felt fondness, respect and desire for other women, but he’d never even come close to wanting to make a lifetime commitment with any of them.

He was fully prepared to take that step with Caitlin, just as soon as he thought she was ready to hear the words.

Which, he acknowledged reluctantly, was not going to be tonight. She had taken a huge step by making love with him, despite her concerns about getting personally involved with her business associate. He knew she was worried about how their working relationship would change now and what would happen to the firm if their affair went south.

He also had the uncomfortable suspicion that she was concerned about being tied down, having him—or anything—interfere with her career. For whatever reason, she needed to validate herself through her success at work, and she was extremely leery of anything—or anyone—that resembled a potential stumbling block. It was entirely possible that she saw him as a giant-size block, especially now that he came as a family package.

She shifted against him with a soft sound that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a purr. His arm tightened around her, and he pressed a kiss against her hair.

Whatever he had to do, he would somehow convince Caitlin that they belonged together. And that he would never do anything to interfere with her dreams.

She lifted her head to give him a drowsy smile. “If I stay much longer, I’ll fall asleep. I don’t want to risk having Isabelle find me in your bed.”

He rolled to lean over her. “Trust me,” he murmured, “you aren’t going to fall asleep. Not just yet.”

She looked wide awake when she reached up to welcome him.

Caitlin finally convinced Nathan that she had to leave. Fully dressed again, her hair still down, but brushed out of her face, she lingered just inside the front door for a final good-night.

“Drive carefully,” he said between kisses. “Maybe you should call me when you get there.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You are not my father. I’m quite capable of seeing myself home.”

“Maybe I just want to hear your voice again before I go to sleep.”

Refusing to be swayed by his blarney, she reached for the doorknob. “Good night, Nathan.”

He held the door closed for a moment. “I want to see you again tomorrow. Come spend some time with us. Isabelle loves seeing you.”

She bit her lip as she tried to decide how to reply. This was one of the very things she worried about in getting involved with Nathan. She didn’t want to become too much a part of Isabelle’s life and risk hurting her later. Isabelle had already lost too many people she cared about. “I really should do some work tomorrow.”

“Bring your files with you. It will be a good time for us to catch up on our consultations. Everything has been so hectic at the office lately that we haven’t had much time to talk.”

He had, of course, chosen the one argument she couldn’t easily counter. They did need to spend some time discussing business, especially the malpractice case, which was starting to get expensive. And it
was
difficult to find uninterrupted time at the office.

“I suppose I could come by for a little while. Do you think we’ll be able to talk about work with Isabelle here?”

“Sure. Give her a drawing pad and some markers and she’s happy for hours. Why don’t you plan to have lunch with us? I make a better-than-decent spaghetti sauce.”

It was a big step from an impromptu business meeting to a cozy family lunch. But the look on Nathan’s face told her he was prepared to charm her into accepting if she tried to decline. Just to save time and trouble, she said, “Fine. Thank you, I would be delighted to join you for lunch.”

His smile let her know he suspected her reason for conceding so easily, but he merely nodded. “About twelve-thirty, then?”

“I’ll be here. Good night, Nathan.”

He leaned over to give her one last, lingering kiss. “Good night, Caitlin.”

She didn’t sleep well that night, though she should have been exhausted. Her bed seemed too empty and her head too full of second thoughts and self-recriminations. And memories she knew would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Looking disarrayed in a frayed gray sweatshirt and faded jeans, Nathan jerked opened his front door almost before Caitlin took her finger off the doorbell. She hadn’t exactly dressed up for the casual visit, having selected a forest-green sweater and a pair of loose khakis, but he looked as though he had just crawled out of bed.

She had expected to be greeted with a warm smile, perhaps a kiss, but she was totally unprepared for him to reach out, grab her wrist and tug her inside so roughly she thought he might pull her arm out of its socket. “What in the—”

“Something’s wrong with Isabelle,” he broke in urgently, slamming the door closed behind her. “I don’t know what to do.”

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with Isabelle?”

He took the heavy briefcase and tossed it aside. Though she gave a fleeting thought to the computer inside it, she was more concerned about Isabelle. Nathan almost dragged her to the den, where Isabelle was lying on the couch. “I think she’s sick,” he told Caitlin in a low, tense voice.

Extricating herself from his grip, Caitlin knelt beside the couch. Still wearing wrinkled yellow cotton pajamas, Isabelle seemed to be dozing, though fitfully. Her little face was flushed, her hair damp and limp. Her breathing seemed to be a bit wheezy.

Though she hadn’t the foggiest clue what she was doing, Caitlin reached out to rest a hand lightly on Isabelle’s forehead. Her skin felt as hot as it looked. “I think she has a fever.”

“Yeah, I think so, too. Does it feel very high to you?”

“I have no idea. Don’t you have a thermometer?”

“No.”

Isabelle gave a soft little moan and shifted restlessly on the couch cushions.

Caitlin looked anxiously up at Nathan, who hovered behind her, his face taut. “Maybe you should take her to a doctor.”

“She won’t—”

“No,” Isabelle whimpered, proving she wasn’t sleeping, after all. “No doctor.”

“She gets practically hysterical every time I even suggest seeing a doctor,” Nathan muttered, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. “I don’t even know if she’s sick enough to call a—well, you know.”

Caitlin looked doubtfully at the little girl. What constituted “sick enough” to call a doctor?

“I don’t know, Nathan. Isn’t there someone else you can call? What about Mrs. T.? Surely she would know what to do. She seems to know pretty much everything.”

“I tried calling her just before you got here. When I didn’t get an answer, I remembered she said something about visiting some friends out of town with Irene after church. I don’t know how to reach her.”

“Surely you know someone with children you can ask. If not, you’re simply going to have to call a…you know.”