Midnight Remedy (19 page)

She was achingly, vibrantly aware of him, of the fire of his mouth as he took hers, of every taut angle of his body, of each rippling, smooth muscle beneath his clothes. He lifted her up, so that his hardness pressed against the cleft of her thighs. She damned herself for not resisting him when she was angry, yet she locked her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts into his chest. Wrenching her mouth away, she searched his eyes and whispered, “Am I yours?”

“Yes,” he muttered, and ravaged her mouth again. “Yes, dammit, yes.” He slid her leg up around his hip and pulled her even more tightly against him. Found her breast beneath the soft fabric and drew in his breath when his palm settled on the bare skin. One hand roamed urgently over her breast while his other slid beneath the short skirt to caress her thighs, her hips, to feel the telltale moisture.

Waves of pleasure lapped her, making her quiver, making her burn. She couldn’t think, could only feel, as his hands and lips and the hard feel of his body against hers drew a response she was powerless to halt. He let her slide down until her feet were on the floor again. Her knees and legs felt weak, ready to buckle at any moment.

“I can’t go through it again, Piper.” His hands ran over her, urgently, possessively. He stared at her and then he crushed her mouth under his. Unhooking the top of her dress, he dragged it down and buried his face in her breasts. “I need you,” he said, his voice hoarse and muffled against her skin.

“And I need you.” She helped him push down her panties before he pulled them off and flung them against the wall. Her fingers grappled with his to strip his shirt, and throw it aside, to rip her dress all the way down, and off. Her breath came in quick bursts, she heard the thunder of her heartbeat as her hands reached out to him to unbutton, unzip, quickly, desperately.

Over and over, he plundered her mouth, kissing her neck, feasting on her breasts, and then he bore her down on the bed. He molded her skin, racing over her, burning, igniting explosions of sensation that fed on the touch of his hands, the touch of his mouth, the heat of his body. Then he took his hands rapidly down her thighs in a sensuous caress that made her body ripple, straining and eager to be one with him.

His eyes glittered as he looked down at her. She felt the passion as if it were a drug pumping through her blood. Her breath came so unevenly she thought she might faint from the rapid pulsing beat of it, and when she put her hands on his chest, she felt the same raging cadence in him.

When he plunged inside her, his mouth possessed hers, muffling her cry as he entered. He lifted his mouth and watched her as he thrust into her, taking her fast and fierce. She moved with him, her arms and legs tight around him, as wild and reckless as he, until she hung on the razor’s edge of desire. With a last powerful lunge he sent her over and she shattered, his cry of release echoing in her mind as his shudders died away within her body.

Later, much later, her heart wept. Because she loved him, and he would never trust her.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked. “I wasn’t
 . . .
gentle.” His hand moved up to stroke her hair, softly, lightly.

“Neither was I.” She rolled onto her back and turned her head to look at him. “It was
 . . .
” She stopped, realizing she couldn’t describe it without telling him she loved him.

He sighed. “Yeah,” he said, and lowered his mouth to hers.

“What do you mean it works?
Piper’s herbal remedy is a cure for impotence? Why didn’t you tell me this last week, when I was in San Antonio?” That was the last thing Eric had expected to hear when he answered the call from Dave. Eric couldn’t believe he’d heard Dave correctly. Surely the phone lines had crossed.

“We just found out. It appears to boost testosterone production, increasing sperm count,” Dave said. “We’re also trying it as an additive in the new medication.”

“The latest ‘miracle cure,’” Eric said sarcastically. “The new Viagra.” Randy was one of the unlucky people who couldn’t take Viagra. Who knew if this new medication would work for him.

“What does Piper’s remedy have to do with the new medication?”

“We think it will make what we’re working on more effective. It will have to be tested extensively, of course, but there’s a chance for success. You want to tell Piper yourself?”

Eric didn’t think Piper would be pleased. “No, but I guess I’d better. You know how worried she is about publicity. This development just means more chance of word leaking out. Boosting testosterone production is something in itself. If it has an effect on the new medication—”

“Tell her to relax. Nothing will be made public without her permission.” He paused and added, “But there’s a very real possibility that Piper will be involved with the ‘miracle drug’. Hard to avoid publicity in that case.”

Though he debated whether to tell her or to wait until they knew more about its effects, ultimately, Eric decided she should be kept abreast of the news as it developed.

It was chilly that night, but they sat out on her porch swing because it was one of the few places they could talk privately. After Cole went to bed, anyway. Until then no place was private.

“It might work?” she asked when he told her. She shoved her hands through her hair and buried her face in her hands. After a moment she looked at him. “Great. I can see the media in their feeding frenzy now. Is it too late for me to withdraw permission to use it?”

He nodded. “Much too late. Dave could be wrong, you know, it might be just a flash in the pan. Don’t worry yet. They haven’t even begun to experiment with the new medication.”

“I can’t help but worry about it. You don’t understand.”

“And I won’t until you tell me the whole story.” When she started to speak, he covered her lips with his fingers. “I’m not arguing about that again tonight, I know it’s useless.” Which reminded him of another sore subject. “Have you reconsidered telling Cole about his father?”

“No. He’ll learn about him when I decide he’s ready, and he’s not ready.”

“Angel, I know it’s going to be hard to tell him, but you have to eventually.”

“We’ve been through this before and I haven’t changed my mind. Are you trying to start a fight with me?”

“No, I’m attempting to have an adult conversation with you.” Which she was making extremely difficult.

“So now I’m childish because I don’t agree with you?”

Eric threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know why I bother to talk to you when I can see your mind is closed.”

“Me neither.”

He smiled, reluctantly. “Fighting wasn’t what I had in mind when I came over.”

“What did you have in mind, Doc?” she drawled, leaning back in the swing.

“Something a lot more fun.” He slipped an arm around her and nuzzled her neck. They hadn’t been alone together much since returning from San Antonio, which was primarily his fault. The trip—what had happened after their dinner with McKinnley—had exposed an issue he didn’t want to deal with. His reaction to McKinnley’s pursuit of Piper had made it crystal clear that he wasn’t over Dawn’s betrayal. Eric hated that Dawn had the power, even now, to jeopardize his future with Piper. Consequently, rather than think much about it, he’d buried himself in work since returning.

Piper tapped a finger on his chest. “I can read you like tea leaves. What would you say to a guided tour?”

“Depends on what we’re touring.”

“The greenhouse.” Her fingers walked down his chest. “Among other things.”

He sucked in his breath when she reached the waistband of his pants. “I think I might be up for that.”

She smiled. “I’m counting on it.”

“‘Lolita of’
 . . .
” His voice trailed off as he stared down at the paper, then looked at her again. “God, no.”

“Precisely. The Lubbock papers weren’t the only ones to run stories about the hussy who ruined Dr. Roger Griffin’s life.” She tapped her chest. “You’re looking at her.”

He simply stared at her. Piper continued, her words cracking through the air like the lash of a whip. “Seven years. Seven years and now it comes back to haunt me.”

“I don’t believe it,” he said flatly.

Effie knocked on the door and poked her head in. “Doctor, there’s a man out here who says he’s a reporter. He wants to talk to you.”

“So, you didn’t know a thing about it,” Piper said.

Eric stared at Piper incredulously before he remembered Effie’s presence. “Tell him to forget it. And Effie, cancel anything else I’ve got today.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Effie left in a hurry.

“Don’t cancel on my account,” Piper said sarcastically. “The public deserves to know, after all. Five more minutes and I’ll have said everything I want to say to you.”

“Wait just a damn minute.” He grabbed her arm, holding her until she looked at him. “Do you think that I leaked this story to the press?”

“Somebody did.”

Fury surged through him. She must have seen it in his eyes because she took a step back, but she stood with her chin angled, ready for a fight. “If that’s the opinion you have of my ethics,” he asked her, “then why in the hell have you been sleeping with me?”

“Why shouldn’t I? Did you expect anything different from the ‘Lolita of the West’?”

“I asked you a question. Is that what you really think, that I sold the story to the press?”

For a long moment her gaze locked with his, then she dropped her eyes. “No.”

Though his grip relaxed, he still held her. “Piper, talk to me. Tell me what really happened.”

Glancing back up at him, she opened her eyes wide. “Surely you read it. Wasn’t it in the Dallas papers? Or were you in San Antonio then? Well, no matter, I’m sure they ran it too. But let me refresh your memory. I’m the woman who destroyed the famous cardiologist, Dr. Roger Griffin, and drove his wife to attempt murder.”