Ready for Marriage? (6 page)

‘‘—are both very aware that Mollie needs to grow up in a family atmosphere,’’ she finished when he hesitated. ‘‘Her mother died just months after she was born, remember?’’

He nodded. ‘‘Yes. So would you like to—’’

‘‘Rusty,’’ she said, ‘‘I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go out with someone who’s employing me.’’

‘‘So that means I’d better hurry up and find a permanent executive director, I guess,’’ he said. ‘‘Unless I can talk you into accepting the position on a permanent basis. You’ve stepped in like you’ve always
done the job and I know you’d be an asset to the sanctuary.’’

‘‘Not a chance,’’ she said, smiling at him. ‘‘I’ve got plans for myself and they don’t include the AAS. Even if it was my father’s dream come true.’’

‘‘Everyone should have the chance to pursue their own dreams.’’ He gave her his most charming smile and not for the first time, she wondered why she couldn’t be head-over-heels for someone like Rusty. He was good-looking and athletic and he liked animals. He had his own business that apparently did quite well, judging from the sleek sports car he drove and his membership at the local country club. He had flirted with her since the first time they’d met, but she’d never been interested. She’d never been able to see beyond her feelings for Derek.

Cathie, on the other hand, hadn’t liked Rusty at all. He’d asked her out several times when she’d first come to town, but she’d brushed him off consistently. Rusty was a player, she’d always said. And she didn’t want a man she’d have to watch for the rest of her life. All she wanted was a good guy who would treat her like precious china and give her children.

‘‘I still can’t believe Cathie’s gone sometimes,’’ she said.

Rusty sobered immediately. ‘‘I can’t, either. She was terrific in that position.’’

‘‘She was a lovely person,’’ Kristin said quietly.

‘‘Well, sure, that goes without saying,’’ Rusty said.

She hated to have to tell him what she’d found but
she had no choice. ‘‘Rusty,’’ she said, ‘‘I’ve found a serious problem in the sanctuary’s financial statements.’’

‘‘Oh?’’ His gaze sharpened. ‘‘We’re in pretty good shape, thanks to the income from that anonymous trust that came in just before your dad passed away.’’

‘‘It’s not that.’’ Now that she had his attention, she went on to explain about the missing funds.

Rusty looked shocked. ‘‘Are you sure?’’ he asked several times. ‘‘Cathie couldn’t have done that. Could she?’’ But there was a kernel of doubt in his tone.

‘‘I can’t believe it, either,’’ Kristin said.

‘‘Jeez.’’ He smoothed a hand over his thick, wavy copper hair. ‘‘Have you told the police?’’

‘‘Not yet.’’

‘‘So you haven’t told anyone else. That’s probably a good thing.’’ His tone assumed she hadn’t, and she didn’t correct him. It hadn’t really been a question. Derek was the only other person who knew, and since he was going to be sitting on the board, he would have to know soon anyway.

‘‘I brought a summary of the information along.’’ She handed the folder across the table.

Rusty stashed it in his briefcase as though it might contain illegal drugs. ‘‘God, Kristin, be careful with that. The last thing we need is negative publicity for the sanctuary. Can you imagine what would happen to donations if this gets out?’’

She shuddered. ‘‘I don’t even want to think about it. I’ve been having nightmares already.’’

‘‘I don’t think we should tell anyone yet,’’ he said. ‘‘You haven’t found anything linking her to this?’’

‘‘Not yet,’’ she said.

‘‘Could you possibly be wrong? Could it just be a clerical error with transposed numbers or something?’’

She shook her head. ‘‘That was the first thing I was hoping for, too.’’

Rusty sighed and plunged both hands into his hair, resting his elbows on the table. ‘‘God, it makes no sense. Why would she have done it? Was she having financial problems?’’

‘‘Not that I know of.’’ She shrugged helplessly. She knew how he was feeling. She’d been through all of these thoughts a million times.

‘‘All right.’’ He sighed. ‘‘Tell you what. You keep looking to see if there’s anything you haven’t found yet. I’ll make some very discreet inquiries of my banking friends and run a credit check to see if she was spending any odd amounts of money.’’ He shook his head. ‘‘There’s no point in blackening her good name if she really wasn’t involved.’’

‘‘But who else could it be?’’ she asked. ‘‘You and Walker are the only other two people who could access sanctuary funds, right?’’

‘‘Unless,’’ Rusty said slowly, ‘‘someone was forging signatures or something.’’

That hadn’t occurred to her and she felt better immediately. Maybe Cathie really hadn’t had anything to do with embezzling the money.

She refused dessert on the grounds that she had a
lot of work waiting, and parted company with Rusty soon afterward. As she drove back to the sanctuary, her mind was whirling with thoughts. She’d have to look at some of those cancelled checks again. If it had been done electronically, it would be much more difficult to find.

Kristin’s date that evening was fun. Rod, the man she’d met when he came to do some electrical work with the shelter, had told her to dress casually. She was glad she’d heeded his advice and worn a pair of her new denim shorts.

He took her miniature golfing, then to dinner at a Mexican restaurant where they sat outside on a small stone terrace and drank margaritas while their dinners were made. Rod’s partner in his business joined them with a date of his own, and although Kristin had never met either of them before, they were pleasant and amusing dinner companions.

He drove a small, modern sports car with a convertible top and he’d folded it down at her request. Rod was unquestionably attractive. He was in great shape, his sense of humor was wicked yet not unkind and his friends were as nice as he was.

And yet she felt a little deflated at the end of the evening when he walked her to her door. She caught herself comparing him to Derek at least five times that evening and she was thoroughly annoyed that she couldn’t even go out on a date without thoughts of the wretched man intruding.

Rod, unaware of her mood, slid an arm around her
waist as they walked toward her stoop. At the door, he brought her to a halt, turning to face her. ‘‘I had a great time this evening, Kristin.’’

‘‘So did I,’’ she forced herself to say lightly.

‘‘I’d like to see you again.’’

‘‘It was fun,’’ she said without committing herself. ‘‘I enjoyed meeting Kevin and Leslie.’’

‘‘How about if I call you next week and we see if we can schedule another get-together?’’

‘‘All right.’’ She hadn’t actually said she’d go out with him, she told herself. All she’d agreed to was receiving his phone call.

He looked down at her, then put his hands on her shoulders and drew her near. She lifted her face for his kiss, allowing the gentle pressure for a moment before drawing back a fraction, and with a last warm smile, Rod said, ‘‘Good night.’’

‘‘Good night.’’ She waved him off and stood on the stoop for a moment before she turned and unlocked her door.
Rats
. What had she been hoping for? Fireworks? Rod’s kiss had been pleasant, but there was no
zing
. At least, not on her part.

She went inside and shut her door, then leaned back against it, thinking. It hadn’t left her breathless and shaking, the way she’d felt after that first night Derek had kissed her. It hadn’t left her wanting more, wanting to press herself against every hard inch of him, wanting his hands to touch all the secret, throbbing parts of her that quivered with desire.

A knock on the door scared her so badly she actually gave a small scream as she leaped away from
the cool surface against which she’d been lingering. One hand flew to the base of her throat. ‘‘Who is it?’’ she called cautiously, pushing the small button that illuminated her watch face. Good grief. It was after eleven. Who in the world—

‘‘It’s Derek. Let me in, Kris.’’

K
ristin turned and stared at the closed door. Derek? How could that be? Then she realized that it must be his Friday night on call. He and another local vet took turns covering weekends to give each other a break. But—

‘‘Where’s Mollie?’’ she asked as she pulled the door open.

‘‘Faye’s daughter Sissy is keeping her overnight since I’m on call,’’ he said tersely. ‘‘Who was that? And didn’t you ever learn you shouldn’t kiss a guy after a first date?’’

She fought back twin surges of jealousy and irritation. Mollie had never had a baby-sitter other than Kristin or Faye before. And what was he doing questioning her?

‘‘You’re getting really tiresome,’’ she told him. ‘‘How do you know that was our first date? As I know I’ve said before, I have no intention of telling you about the men in my life.’’ She lifted her chin and started to close the door in his face. ‘‘Now if that’s all you came by for, I’d like you to leave.’’

Derek slapped his palm flat against the door, easily preventing her from closing it. ‘‘Wait.’’ She heard him inhale a deep breath, then slowly release it. ‘‘Kris, just wait a minute.’’ He took a deep breath. ‘‘Can I come in?’’

She let a tense silence fall while she debated the wisdom of allowing him to enter. But finally, her desire for his company won out over common sense. ‘‘All right.’’ She stepped back and opened the door. ‘‘But one more question about
anything
that’s none of your business, and you’re history, buddy.’’

She hadn’t even turned on any lights yet, and the room was barely illuminated by a small crystal lamp whose base she had switched on before she left. She started to move away from him, but Derek caught her hand. ‘‘Kris?’’

‘‘What?’’ She avoided looking up at him. Her whole body was tingling with a vivid awareness of how close he was, her breathing coming ridiculously fast, her pulse hammering. Why couldn’t she have had this reaction when Rod kissed her? Derek had barely touched her and already he’d gotten more of a physical response from her than poor Rod had the entire evening.

It was a joke, she decided. A great big cosmic
trick, that she would have such intense, serious hots for the one guy who absolutely didn’t want her.

Well, perhaps he wanted her, she thought, recalling that heated kiss in his kitchen, but he didn’t
want
to, which might be even worse.

Then Derek took her other hand and turned her toward him, and she forgot about everything else. ‘‘I’m sorry,’’ he said, and his voice rang with sincerity. ‘‘I didn’t come over here to fight with you.’’

She nodded once. ‘‘Apology accepted.’’ She hesitated. ‘‘So why
did
you come here tonight? It’s not exactly a prime visiting hour.’’

He smiled, clearly recognizing the conversational olive branch she was extending. ‘‘I was called in for an emergency this evening and I just finished. I don’t really know why I’m here. I just…came by.’’

He sounded as baffled as she felt. ‘‘All right.’’ She strove for normalcy despite the fact that he was still holding both her hands. ‘‘Would you like some iced tea? I made decaf yesterday.’’

He shook his head. ‘‘No tea.’’ His hands tightened as he pulled her closer. ‘‘Did you enjoy his kiss?’’

She stiffened immediately, averting her face, but he ignored her struggles, folding her against him and holding her there with disgusting ease.

‘‘I hope not.’’ His breath was warm in her ear, his voice a rough velvet rope twining around her and inexorably drawing her closer. ‘‘The first time I kissed you, you enjoyed it. So did I. I haven’t been able to think about anything but kissing you since then.’’ He cupped her cheek in one big hand and
tipped up her chin with his thumb, and his eyes were dark and intense. ‘‘I didn’t come here for tea or talk, Kris. I came for your kiss.’’

Dear God. How was she supposed to resist an admission like that? She felt her resistance melt away as if it had never been, and she relaxed against him as he drew her even closer. She grazed the hard line of his jaw with her lips, loving the feel of his haven’t-shaved-since-morning stubble. ‘‘Then what are you waiting for?’’ she murmured.

His belly heaved with a silent laugh as he pulled her more securely into his arms and lowered his head. And then his lips found hers, and just like the first time, her whole body exploded into a sizzling, crackling whirl of heat.

This time, she was ready. This time, she lifted herself on tiptoe so that the hard ridge of his arousal fit snugly into the vee where her thighs met, and they both gasped at the exquisite sensation. Lightning exploded through her body, unerringly striking the sensitive flesh between her legs. Without thinking, she twisted against him, increasing the sweet pleasure.

Derek rolled his hips against her and his tongue echoed the thrust as he sought her response. He deepened the kiss, his powerful arms cradling her, one hand sliding down to cup her bottom and pull her even harder against him. She tore her mouth from his, gasping as her head fell back. He barely paused, simply transferred his attention to the slender line of her throat, and she felt his hot mouth tracing a fiery trail down over the slope of her breast. He cupped
her breast in one hand and she cried out, arching in his arms as he rubbed a thumb roughly back and forth across her nipple.

And then, with no warning, he froze. His whole big body went rigid against her.

‘‘Derek?’’

In response, he lifted his head. One hand still held her clasped against him but the other fumbled at the back pocket of his pants until he’d extracted—

His pager. He peered at the number displayed, and she felt him heave a sigh.

Above her head, he said, ‘‘May I use your phone?’’

‘‘Sure.’’ Her legs were trembling as she stepped back, but he didn’t let go of her hand as he crossed the room, and she nearly stumbled as he towed her behind him.

He picked up the handset and punched in the number with his thumb, then leaned against the doorframe and pulled her to him again.

Bemused, she slipped her arms around his lean waist and put her head on his chest.

‘‘This is Dr. Mahoney,’’ he said into the phone, the deep tones of his voice rumbling in her ear. As he listened, he slowly straightened. ‘‘All right. I’ll be there in five minutes.’’

He set down the receiver and she felt him sigh again as he put his arm back around her. He rested his chin atop her head. ‘‘I have to go. Dog hit by car.’’

‘‘Anyone I know?’’ She strove for a normal tone,
but inside her entire body was quivering with pleasure and happiness.

‘‘Doubt it,’’ he said. ‘‘New clients a month ago.’’ He leaned back and looked down at her, and even in the dim light she could see his serious expression. ‘‘Tonight changes things.’’

She regarded him soberly. ‘‘Does it?’’ She’d thought that after the first time he’d kissed her and look where that had left her.

‘‘Have lunch with me tomorrow? We can order in if you like.’’

‘‘How about I bring lunch?’’ she offered. ‘‘Would you like me to pick up Mollie or will you have time?’’

His expression changed, a small, private smile slipping over his features, and she felt something low in her abdomen contract sharply in response. ‘‘I’m not inviting Mollie,’’ he said. ‘‘She can join us for dinner like we planned. It’s about time you and I had the occasional meeting without a pint-size chaperone.’’

‘‘Oh.’’ It was hard to take a deep breath, and she hoped he couldn’t hear her heart pounding as if she’d just run a five-minute mile. She was very conscious of his hard, lean frame pressed against her, and she wondered why he seemed to be taking this all so in stride. ‘‘All right, then. I’ll meet you at the clinic.’’

‘‘Sounds good.’’ He dipped his head and pressed one short, hard kiss against her mouth, withdrawing and releasing her before she could respond. ‘‘Noon tomorrow. See you then.’’

‘‘See you then,’’ she echoed as he turned and strode to the door.

‘‘Lock it behind me,’’ he instructed before he pulled it shut behind him.

She rolled her eyes fondly as she crossed to the door. Then the full impact of his visit hit her, and her hands began to shake. She locked the door and sank down on the first step of the small landing that led to her second floor.

Had she dreamed what had just happened? Slowly she lifted her hand and touched her fingers to her lips. Derek had kissed her.

Again.

And it hadn’t been an impulse that he’d regretted the instant it had ended, either. He’d admitted as much.

A bubble of nervous laughter rolled up and slipped out before she could catch it. Good grief. If one little kiss did this to her…

Only it hadn’t been one
little
kiss. It had been several, and anything but small if the solid feel of Derek’s body pressed against hers was any indication. Her stomach fluttered as she relived the way he’d ground himself against her, the rasp of his thumb stimulating her nipple.

That page was probably the only reason she wasn’t lying naked on her living room rug right this very moment! The thought made her shiver again with helpless anticipation. She’d been practically mindless, responding completely to his touch and taste, overpowered by the reality that exceeded her girlish
dreams of making love with Derek. In another minute, she’d have yanked her shirt up and out of the way and offered herself to him.

She dropped her face into her hands and blew out a frustrated breath. Her whole body was humming with arousal. It was a good thing she’d never known exactly how he could make her feel or she might have jumped him months ago.

No. She sobered immediately. Derek hadn’t been ready for her months ago. In fact, he hadn’t been ready for her a few weeks ago, when she’d first brought up the notion of changing their relationship.

Even tonight, he hadn’t sounded sure of his course of action. Even if his body knew exactly what it wanted, Derek was still trying to cope with the sudden shift of reality around him.

She knew it was hard for him to let go of Deb. But she couldn’t help hoping. Especially after tonight! She couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he soon would be ready to live again.

She’d known and loved Deb, too. They’d spent hours together, as close as the sisters neither of them had ever had. And she was positive that Deb wouldn’t have wanted Derek to be alone forever. Maybe it was just rationalizing her feelings, but she believed that Deb would be happy that she loved Derek so much. That she would want them to marry and give Mollie the family she would have had if Deb had lived.

And whether or not he was ready to admit it, he wanted to move on, too. In an about-face that still
stole her breath when she thought about it, he’d come to her tonight. He’d admitted he couldn’t stop thinking about her. That he wanted to kiss her. That was a huge step forward.

And tomorrow would be another. He’d asked her to come and have lunch with him.

Oh, she’d taken sandwiches by, had actually packed him a lunch, many times in the past. And she and Mollie had run by to visit at lunch countless times as well.

But he hadn’t asked her to pack him a lunch, or to bring Mollie. He wanted to see
her
. Just her. She flopped backward onto the landing and kicked her legs into the air in a ridiculous moment of joyous anticipation.

‘‘Hi, everyone.’’ She closed the back door of the veterinary clinic behind her the following day at noon.

She was answered by a chorus of greetings from the receptionists and technicians buzzing around the front desk area.

Sandy glanced up with a smile. ‘‘No Mollie?’’

‘‘No Mollie,’’ Kristin confirmed.

‘‘Hey, Kristin.’’ Faye waved at her, then pointed toward the hallway. ‘‘Derek said to tell you to go on into his office and he’d be in when he could get away. Someone just came by with Chinese takeout.’’ She checked her watch. ‘‘He’s not running far behind today. Just give him a few minutes.’’ She grinned at
Kristin, then silently lifted her right hand in a fist with the thumb extended upward.

Kristin smiled in return, hoping the rest of the staff hadn’t interpreted Faye’s meaning, then walked back along the hallway to the door of Derek’s office.

The bags of Chinese food were parked on the edge of his desk, so she opened them and began taking the lids off things, tearing open the bags of plastic utensils and laying out the containers of different items.

When the door opened, she spun around. Her heart leaped into her throat and hung there, pounding, while Derek closed the door with a quiet click. ‘‘Hi.’’

‘‘H-hi.’’ She had to clear her throat. ‘‘I, ah, I brought several résumés along. The board hasn’t advertised the position yet but some of them have invited people they thought might be qualified for the executive director’s position to apply. Anyway, they wanted your opinion.’’

He hung his lab coat on a hook and started across the room. There was a warm, intent expression in his eyes that scattered her thoughts and she felt her pulse began to increase its rhythm.

‘‘My opinion?’’ As he reached her, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her to him, lowering his head. ‘‘My opinion is that if I don’t kiss you again soon I’m going to go crazy.’’

She wasn’t ready!
Automatically she lifted her arms, palms out in a futile and halfhearted attempt to stop him. It seemed silly, given the way she’d pined for him for so long. But she felt self-conscious and
uncomfortable in his arms. They were right here in his office. Anyone could walk in.

Then his lips touched hers and she knew that self-conscious or not, she wasn’t going to be able to control her response to him, wasn’t going to be able to moderate the need that welled up from deep inside her. Rather than holding him stiffly at arm’s length, her hands smoothed up over his shoulders to clasp the back of his neck and slide deep into his hair. She pressed her body urgently against his, shuddering at the feel of his hard, steely frame imprinting itself on her softer one.

His lips were urgent, persuasive, and she opened her mouth helplessly, letting him deepen the kiss in an erotic harbinger of lovemaking. It felt, somehow, as if she’d never really lived before these past few days in his arms. As if she’d been asleep in a walled tower like a fairy-tale princess, waiting for the right kiss to bring her to life.