Doctor's Delight (10 page)

His parents had
always had animals, so Rick knew exactly what they wanted. Picking
up the carton of cat milk and a can of opened cat fish, he went
back to the sink where the clean cat bowls sat in the draining
board, dished out the food and milk, and placed the bowls on the
floor next to the bowl of water. The big tabby ploughed into the
food like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, but going by his slightly
larger-than-should-be girth it was obvious he was far from
starving. The smaller tabby ate delicately, giving several little
‘merps’ of pleasure.

Leaning back
against the bench, Rick surveyed the kitchen. Café curtains at the
window with bright yellow sunflowers on a white background,
light-blue laminate bench tops created to look like marble, and
white kitchen cupboards. The table was dark wood, the chairs had
blue cushions. The room was bright and cheerful. Not much clutter
on the benches, but a few assorted items that were used regularly
and a vase of roses.

Curious, Rick
crossed the small hall to check out the lounge. Just as he’d
suspected, neat and homely without clutter. He’d bet her bedroom
would be the same.

Her bedroom
where she was getting dressed right now. He could just about
imagine her in the nude, all lush curves. He had images of those
lush curves, but only vague images. He could definitely feel them
under his hands, but seeing them...he sighed inwardly. He hadn’t
been able to see a lot due to the combined effects of whiskey and
the dim lighting.

I’m sure as
hell going to set that to rights.

Now where had
that thought come from?

He returned to
the kitchen. He was here to find out what Cherry had been up to
that night, not pursue her, though… He gazed out the kitchen window
at the plain lawn, paving, and yet more roses in the backyard, his
mind ticking over. He was attracted to Cherry, no doubt about that,
but circumstances being what they were, pursuing her wasn’t on the
cards.

And if that was
so, why was he here? Why didn’t he just forget the whole thing and
walk away?

Because he
wanted to find out what she’d been up to, why she’d given her
virginity to a perfect stranger. Why she’d hired a male prostitute
to do the deed.

Why did it
matter to him?

Frowning, he
poured two cups of coffee, leaving hers black and without milk or
sugar because he didn’t know how she drank it.

He was still
frowning when he heard her enter the room. Turning, he couldn’t
stop his grin at the sight of her. Cherry was obviously in
defensive mode. Dressed in pedal-pushers, a loose t-shirt, flat
ballerina pumps, and her glorious hair pulled back in a ponytail,
she was as mad as hell and embarrassed.

Her cheeks
reddened when she looked at him, and marching across to the bench
beside him, she poured milk into the cup and added two sugars.
Looking at him, she raised her brows challengingly.

The chit might
be embarrassed, but she wasn’t going to back down. Damn, he liked
that about her. Almost as much as he liked her curves.

“What do you
want?’ she asked bluntly.

You. On me,
under me
. Pushing the thoughts aside, Rick replied coolly, “To
talk.”

“There’s
nothing to talk about. The other night was a mistake that I just
want to forget.”

“The other
night left me with some rather decadent memories and your virgin’s
blood on me.”

He could have
sworn those apple cheeks were going to go on fire, they went so
red. But she held her chin up and met his gaze steadily. “Everyone
loses their virginity at some time. Big deal.”

“Not everyone
hires a male prostitute to do it.”

“That’s my
business.”

“It’s become
mine since I was the one who took your virginity.” He could still
remember how tight she was, how slick… Ignoring the flare of heat
in his loins, he took a sip of coffee while watching her over the
brim. “What happened to Damien?”

Almost slamming
the mug down on the bench, Cherry stuck one hand on her hip and
glared at him. “Look, that’s my business and I don’t want to talk
about it. So you got to pop my hymen, big deal. Why the hell do you
care? Why come here?” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you think
I’ll be an easy lay, Reed, or that you can blackmail me.”

“Blackmail?”
Keeping the surprise from his face, Rick continued to gaze steadily
at her. One thing being a doctor in an emergency room had taught
him, staying calm was paramount. “Blackmail is something I
abhor.”

“Oh, so then
you must think I’m an easy lay.” Teeth clenched, Cherry pointed a
finger at him. “You might think I’m pathetic, Reed—”

“Rick.” Placing
the mug on the bench, he folded his arms and arched one brow. “Do
go on.”

“Stuff you,
Reed!” She swung away.

Hooking his
hand around her upper arm, Rick swung her right back around,
steadying her with a hand at her waist when she teetered off
balance. “We’re not finished yet.”

She slapped his
hand off her waist and glared at his other hand on her arm. “Let
go.”

“You’re very
touchy about this whole thing,” he drawled, leading her toward the
table.

In vain she
tried to tug away from him. “What do you expect? You come barging
into my home demanding that I tell you things that aren’t your
business.”

It was no
effort to whiz her around and push her gently down into the chair.
“Stay there.”

It wouldn’t
have surprised Rick if she’d bounced right back up, but when he
returned to the table with both coffee mugs and placed one in front
of her, she was just sitting silently, her lips tight and eyes a
darker shade of blue with temper.

Hmmm, he wasn’t
going to get any answers from her by tweaking her temper. Obviously
embarrassment and anger were going hand-in-hand with this whole
reaction, but he wasn’t sure why.

Sitting down in
the chair opposite her, he relaxed back, stretching his legs out
and crossing his ankles. “Let’s start this whole thing again,” he
suggested quietly.

“Let’s not,”
she retorted instantly.

Taking a deep
breath, he rolled the mug between his palms and glanced around the
room, giving her time to compose herself. Two of his ex-girlfriends
had both said his gaze could be unnerving at times. Maybe this was
one of those times.

When he looked
back at Cherry, she was taking a mouthful of coffee and he caught a
faint flicker of her eyes. Surely that wasn’t sadness? A little
startled, he frowned slightly.

Cherry lowered
the mug. “Look, I was supposed to meet Damien the other night, all
right? I hadn’t met him before, I didn’t know what he looked like,
and so when you came to the door I thought you were him. Okay? End
of story.”

“Not quite the
end,” he replied. “When I awoke, you were gone. You left money on
the table, and your virgin’s blood on the sheets and me.’

“Do we have to
go over this all the time?”

“How do you
think I felt?”

“You?” She
blinked.

“Yes, me. This
isn’t only about you, Cherry, it’s about me as well.” He shrugged.
“I don’t usually sleep with women I don’t know.”

“You did that
night,” she said tartly.

“Whiskey will
do that to a man.” When her cheeks paled, he swore silently. “I
don’t mean to hurt you. I was a little inebriated that night and
when I got to what I thought was my room, I thought you were the
little surprise my friend, Tim, had mentioned. I don’t sleep with
women I don’t know, as I already said. You were the exception.” And
a damned nice one, he thought.

Her gaze
dropped to the table as she traced slow circles on the clean top
with the bottom of the mug. She was so quiet that Rick thought she
might just get up and walk away any second, but she surprised
him.

Her voice was
soft, almost inaudible, and she didn’t look at him while she spoke.
“It was my first time, as you know. A male escort seemed…safe. I
thought you were him. You mentioned someone called Tim, but I was
sort of…” Her cheeks flushed again. “Caught up in the moment.
That’s it.” She shook her head. “It won’t happen again, that’s for
sure.”

“No, it won’t,”
he agreed.

She looked up
at him. “I beg your pardon?”

Rick wasn’t
sure who was the most startled, Cherry or himself.

“What did you
just say?” she queried.

Well, hell,
what he was going to say was the truth, so he might as well just
spit it out. “You won’t hire male escorts, Cherry, and you won’t
sleep with men you don’t know.”

“Who are you,
my father?” Outrage shone in her eyes.

“It’s
dangerous.”

“It’s none of
your business.”

“I’m a doctor
in your hospital, so it is my business.”

“Bullshit!”
Surging to her feet, Cherry laid one hand flat on the table and
leaned forward, stabbing her finger in his direction. “This has
nothing to do with our working relationship. This is just you being
a sticky-beak.”

“Our personal
relationship.” He didn’t like fingers pointed at him, but he sure
enjoyed the fire in her eyes.

“Of which we
have none!” She stabbed in his direction again.

In a slow move,
he stood and leaned across the table, meeting her halfway. She
glared at him, and he arched one brow.

“Stop doing
that,” she snarled, “Or I’ll slap it right off your face.”

“I wouldn’t try
it,” he returned quietly. “Or I’ll return the slap, but it’ll be
where you’ll feel it every time you sit down.”

Her lips parted
in shock, her eyes widened.

“Oh yes,” he
murmured, his gaze dropping to those cupid lips. “Don’t threaten me
unless you mean to take the consequences, love.”

She was
speechless for several seconds before stammering, “Don’t call me
love.”

Rick looked
deeply into her eyes. The blue irises were so clear, the lashes
surrounding them naturally long and thick. Her scent flowed through
his senses, warming him, and he could again feel those luscious
curves beneath his palms, the silk of her skin beneath his stroking
fingers.

And right then
something happened to him. A feeling wove through him, an
intuition. This woman was more than just a surprise, more than just
a luscious female.

This woman is
mine.

Hard on that
knowledge came action.

Rick closed the
small distance between them to capture her mouth, his lips hard on
hers as he instinctively sought to brand himself on her, to brand
her for every other man to know to whom she belonged.

She jerked
back, but his hand reaching up to cup the back of her head
prevented it.

Taking his
mouth from hers, he looked her directly in the eyes. “I’ll call you
Cherry, love, sweetheart, anything I like.”

“How dare you
try to take advantage of me?” Her eyes showed twin flashes of panic
and fear. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m your
lover.” Oh yes, that statement just made the satisfaction curl
right through him.

“My lover?”
Shock wiped out all her panic.

“Your lover.”
He couldn’t help it, he just knew his smile was a touch arrogant.
“Your only lover.”

“Are you mad?”
She jerked back from him and this time he allowed it, straightening
up as she backed away.

“Some would
think so,” he drawled. “But I’m known to follow my own instincts,
and they’ve never steered me wrong so far.”

“What the hell?
Did you drink whiskey before you came here?” She sniffed the air,
her stance cautious, poised for flight. “Are you drunk?”

“You know
better than that.”

“No, I don’t. I
don’t know you, Reed—”

“Rick.”

“
Reed
. I
don’t know you, I don’t want to, and I want you to leave.” She
pointed to the doorway. “Right now.”

Smiling
confidently, Rick moved around the table and strolled to the door.
As he drew level, he stopped and looked down at her. “You’ll get to
know me more, Cherry, and you’ll want to. I’m only leaving so you
have time to digest those little facts.” Knowing he’d dropped
enough bombshells for one day, Rick left the kitchen, walked down
the hallway, and out through the front door.

Walking down
the short pathway, he grinned. God, he felt good, better than he
had for a long time. His work had occupied all his time, but now
there was something – someone – more, and that was his future wife.
He just had to convince her of that, and he would, because failure
wasn’t an option.

And he wanted
one more taste of her.

Wheeling
around, he strode back up the pathway, onto the veranda, and
knocked on the door.

Cherry yanked
it open, her eyes flashing a warning. “What do you want now, you
egotistical maniac?”

“A kiss from my
lover.”

Grabbing her
around the waist, Rick jerked her up into his arms and fastened his
mouth to hers. One quick, hard kiss, a fast plunder of her mouth to
fill himself with her taste, and then he released her, still
floundering and trying to work out what the hell had just
happened.

While she was
still gaping up at him, he allowed a carnal growl to seep through
his tone. “And we’re going to get intimately acquainted, Cherry.
I’m going to feast my eyes on your delectable curves, I’m going to
taste every inch of you, and I’m going to claim you in every way I
can.” Placing his finger beneath her chin, her closed her mouth
gently. “Get ready to be ravished, sweetheart. I’ll be back.”

He left her
staring after him, and as he got into his car he heard her door
slam shut.

God, he felt so
good. Rick thrived on challenges, and Cherry was the biggest
challenge in his life, and the reward of her at the end was
just…God, he felt so
good
.

Chapter
Five

Pacing around
the house wasn’t helping put her scattered thoughts into any order,
so Cherry headed out for a walk.