Deep Night (22 page)

Her stomach involuntarily sucked in as his finger wandered through her golden curls until it reached her feminine center. She jumped at his touch, then started squirming as his finger circled the sensitive button. She felt a gush of liquid heat pour from her. He must have felt it too, because his finger slid even lower until it went inside her. He moved it farther into her, sliding in and out oh so slowly, circling, stroking, rubbing and teasing her until she thought she'd scream.

A memory pushed its way into her mind of another man sticking something inside her, but the extreme pleasure Chris's finger was inducing shoved that memory deep into the darkness. In fact, all thoughts were being driven away by that tightening deep in the pit of her stomach. She waited for him to move over her and slip his penis in, but he didn't let up with the gentle seduction of his finger.

She got to a point where she tried to hang on, trying to control her reaction. Suddenly, it sneaked up on her, the building excitement exploding until she cried out, arching her body so his finger thrust all the way in. Fireworks blasted in her brain and her blood felt like it was boiling in her veins. Her limbs went limp and her head lolled to the side as she slowly drifted back to earth.

She tried to speak, but her brain hadn't rebooted yet. Instead, she felt him take her into his arms and pull her against his chest. He stroked her bangs, damp with sweat, off her forehead and made no move to get his pleasure. When finally her wits returned, she pulled back far enough so she could look into his face.

“What was that?” she asked. “I had no idea…”

“That was just lesson two,” he answered with a lazy smile.

She relaxed back against the bed. “Oh, my God, I don't think I'll survive until graduation.” She waited for a minute, then looked back at him. “Aren't you going to…you know?”

“That one was for you. I can wait until you're ready for more.”

Sara snuggled back into the cozy curve of his shoulder and chest. Right now she could barely breathe. But, for the first time in her life, she was ready for more.

They both fell asleep and probably would have been late to work if Riley hadn't jumped on the bed and woke them up. It was after eight o'clock, and they scrambled around to get dressed, take Riley out for a quick potty break, then run to Chris's car so they would be on time.

They were the last ones to arrive, and as luck would have it, the chief had called a meeting. All the paramedics bid on shifts every three months, and it was time to put in their requests. Seniority and qualifications would contribute to the final selection, but Deep Night wasn't the choice of many, so Sara and Chris weren't too worried about losing it. It was critical that they keep it, because if they had to work the day shift, they wouldn't be able to go to school.

The chief made the official announcement that Chris and Rick, another probie, had been promoted to full-fledged paramedics. They both covered their patches, because they'd already received a hardy round of congratulations that had left bruises. The chief went over a few other procedural changes and updates, then three-quarters of the crew headed home while the rest went to the garage to get their buses ready for their shift.

Chris restocked the supplies while Sara checked out their narcotics. He jumped behind the wheel, and they had barely snapped on their seat belts when they got their first call.

“Looks like you're going to get your first OB run,” Sara told him after she acknowledged receipt of the assignment and turned on the lights and siren.

It was just the luck of the draw. Some medics had delivered a dozen babies, while others had never been on an OB call. Chris was both excited and nervous about it. Even though he had gone through the classes, it was well outside his area of experience.

The girl was young and terrified.

“How close are the contractions?” Sara asked as soon as they went inside.

“Every two min—” The girl interrupted her answer to grab her stomach and scream.

“It happened so fast,” the mother tried to explain. “She just started having pains an hour ago. We don't have a car, and I was waiting for my neighbor to get home to take us to the hospital. I thought we'd have enough time.” She rubbed her daughter's shoulders and looked on helplessly.

“What's your name?” Sara knelt next to the girl.

“Lucinda,” the girl panted. It was obvious the contractions were wearing her out.

“I'm Sara, and that's Chris. Let's see if we can get you to the hospital before your baby comes.”

The girl screamed again. “It's…coming…out…NOW!”

Sara removed the girl's panties, did a quick visual check and nodded her confirmation. “We need a clean sheet and some towels,” Sara instructed the mother, who rushed away, delighted to have a mission.

Chris moved the coffee table away from the couch, then opened a special OB kit and took out disinfectant, a bulb syringe, two clamps and a scalpel, and laid them neatly on the sterile packaging. The mother returned with the sheet and towels, then hung back, wringing her hands in concern, wanting to help but not knowing how. Sara spread the sheet on the floor in front of the couch. She and Chris eased the girl off the couch and onto the floor in a partially reclined position with her back braced against the couch. Sara centered herself between the girl's legs and checked on the baby's progress.

“It's crowning,” she called back to Chris. “Do you want to take this?”

“Sure,” he agreed, and they exchanged places. “Hi, Lucinda, you're doing great. Rest for a minute, then I need you to give a big push.”

The girl's eyes were stretched wide, but she nodded mutely.

Chris put his hand on her stomach and could feel as the next contraction started. “Okay, now push hard.”

She complied, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she strained.

“Push…push…push,” he encouraged. He had one hand under the baby's head as it slipped out and his other hand ready to support the body as soon as it cleared the girl's vagina.

With a final painful scream, the girl obeyed, and the baby slid out into his waiting hands.

“It's a boy,” he announced as proudly as if it were his own. “And he's beautiful.”

Sara rushed forward to wipe the baby's face and suck the mucus out of his mouth and nose with the bulb syringe while Chris snapped the clamps on the umbilical cord. The baby sucked in a lungful of fresh air and started to cry, a tiny, shaky sound. He was very small, probably barely over five pounds, but he looked healthy and was breathing on his own. Sara took one of the clean towels and swaddled it around the baby, then placed him in the girl's arms.

“I know you're exhausted, but I need you to give one more push so we can finish up down here,” Chris told her.

Distracted by her new baby, she helped push out the placenta, which Chris wrapped up in a towel. “Do you have a plastic garbage bag?” he asked the mother, and she tore herself away from looking at her grandchild to go to the kitchen. He cut the umbilical cord, which separated it from the placenta.

“Bring it with us,” Sara reminded him.

“I will.” He dropped the bloody mass into the trash bag and knotted the top.

“Why?” the mother asked with disgust.

“The doctor will probably want to test it. Then it will get disposed of properly,” Sara explained.

Chris set the bag aside as he got off the floor and stretched out his cramped muscles just as the fire department arrived, with Rusty leading the way. “It's about time you guys got here,” Chris teased.

“Busy night,” Rusty told him. “Looks like it was a quick one. You know what they say about always remembering your first time.”

Chris glanced at Lucinda, not wanting her to think he didn't know what he was doing, but she was focused on the tiny infant in her arms.

Minutes later, Lucinda was settled on the stretcher and loaded into the ambulance. Sara took the baby from the grandmother, put him in his mother's arms, then helped the grandmother get inside the back of the ambulance.

Chris shut the doors, and less than an hour after they had arrived, they were speeding to the hospital. Once they passed the girl, her son and the bag of afterbirth off to the doctor, they headed back to the ambulance and loaded the stretcher.

Sara smiled and lifted her hand in a high five. “Congratulations. Now you'll get your stork pin.”

He returned her high five. “It was a whole new view of the female anatomy. I may have to swear off sex for a while to get that image out of my mind.”

“I hope not,” Sara retorted, then blushed at what that implied.

Chris stepped closer until he was only inches away, so close he could feel the heat of her body, but not quite touching. “Just joking. I'm already working on lesson three.”

He stepped away before she could respond. The look of disappointment on her face had reassured him that he was making good headway on getting her past her fears. This afternoon had almost killed him. Even though he had mentally gone through the entire periodic table, he had practically burst out of his shorts, and it had been quite a challenge to keep away from her. No matter how turned on he was, he knew she needed him to go slowly. He had to replace all her bad memories with good, healthy new ones…and take care of himself later.

“Now that you're off probation, you can work with anyone,” Sara commented once they had cleaned out the ambulance and were back in service.

He glanced over at her. “Why would I want to leave you?” It was a deceptively simple sentence. Without their recent history, it might have been taken at face value.

“Everyone always does.”

There was such a profound sadness in her voice that Chris pulled off the road and into a 7-Eleven parking lot. He thrust the gear into
park
and turned to her. “I put in my official bid tonight to stay right here with you.” His hand wrapped around hers. “I'm not going anywhere.” He brought her hand to his lips, turned it over and placed a tender kiss on her palm. “Besides, we're in the middle of a graduate course, and you've still got some lessons left.”

The moment of insecurity melted away when his lips pressed against her sensitive skin. The worry left her eyes, replaced by a touch of curiosity. “Just how many lessons are there?”

“Depends on if you're taking core classes or advanced.” He was inordinately pleased to see that her interest level was greater than her fear. “I'd say to start off, there are probably ten.”

“Ten? I can't imagine…” Her eyes widened at the possibilities.

Chris's lips stretched into a grin. “Looking forward to the next one?”

“No!” she retorted quickly, then slid him a flirtatious look out of the corner of her eyes. “Maybe,” she admitted.

The radio broke into the moment with a heart attack call, and Chris and Sara switched immediately back into their professional modes.

The rest of the shift was charged with an undercurrent of sexual tension that faded into the background when they were with a patient, but somehow managed to fill the small cab when they were sitting quietly at their post.

Nothing was actually said or done, but the level of anticipation had definitely heightened. By the time they arrived home later that morning, sleep was the last thing on their minds.

“How about pork chops?” she asked. “I'll get them started.”

“I'll take Riley out. But I'll help you when I get back.”

She went into the apartment while he got Riley's leash. The dog was cooperative, and they were back within minutes. The chops were marinating in olive oil and she had already put together a tossed salad.

They made small talk throughout the meal. Several times he caught her looking at him, but her gaze quickly skittered away. They loaded the dishes in the dishwasher. Sara cleaned the top of the stove and the countertop, meticulously spraying each spot, then rubbing it clean.

“You're going to rub a hole in that granite,” he commented as he leaned against the bar and watched her with a sardonic grin.

“I didn't want to leave a mess,” she said without pausing from her scrubbing.

“You wouldn't be putting off going to bed, would you?”

“I'm not tired.”

“Good.” He gently pulled the rag and spray bottle out of her hands and turned her around so she had to face him. “Neither am I.”

He bent down, swept her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom.

She didn't protest at all. In fact, little tingles of excitement had been running through her ever since he walked back into the apartment. She had always thought he was the cutest boy in school. Now that he was a man, she realized there was a lot more to him than good looks. He was kind and patient and sexy as hell.

He sat her on the edge of the bed. “Lesson three…” He took off his T-shirt, giving her a full view of his impressive chest. Broad and muscular, there was no element about his physique that reminded her of her father. This was the body of a young, virile man…a man who wanted her enough to teach her the proper way to make love.

“Now you take off your shirt,” he instructed.

Suddenly shy, she hesitated. But she was curious and committed to finding the truth about genuine man/woman relationships. She couldn't ask for a better teacher or one she was more attracted to.

She picked up the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head.

Chris took off his jeans and stood in front of her in his boxer briefs. They were form-fitting enough for her to see the outline of his manhood, full and hard, pressing against the fabric. It both excited and scared her.

“Your turn,” he prompted.

She unfastened her slacks and stood to take them off. That movement brought her closer to him, but she felt less vulnerable standing than sitting. They had both left their shoes by the front door, so there was nothing left except their underwear. She hoped he didn't notice that she was shaking, anticipating his next move but not sure how it would affect her.

He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts, pulled them down and kicked them off to the side, followed quickly by his socks.

Sara kept her eyes focused on his chest.

“Look at me.” His voice was gentle but forceful. He was taking his role of teacher very seriously.

She had seen a lot of penises in the course of her job, but never in a sexual moment. With her father it had always been dark and she had kept her eyes closed. She kept reminding herself that this was a whole different ball game. Slowly, she let her gaze drop down, bumping over the ridges of his abs, then following the light dusting of dark hair to the impressive swell of masculinity. The size made her wonder how that could possibly fit inside her, but obviously it fit quite well. While it still sort of terrified her, it also added fuel to the fire already burning inside her.

“Your turn,” he reminded her.

Her hands fumbled with the clasp of her bra until it released. For just a second, she held it against her chest, but the total openness of him standing naked in front of her emboldened her, and she released it. Resisting the urge to cover herself, she reached down, pulled her panties down and stepped out of them.

She had never felt so vulnerable…or so sexual. There was no censure or shame in his eyes. Instead, they caressed and adored her. She had always been glad her breasts weren't overly large so they didn't attract attention, but now she felt them swell under his appreciative gaze.

“God, you're gorgeous,” he whispered, his voice husky.

“I'm not…” she started to protest, but he pressed his fingers against her lips to silence her.

“You're not seeing what I'm seeing,” he replied.

Tingles of excitement zipped through her. She wondered how lesson three ended. The throbbing between her legs was making them weak.

“What's next?” she asked against his fingers. Somehow they had slipped inside her mouth and she automatically licked them.