Shattered Dreams (Moonchild) (11 page)

Manon lifted her head. “Maybe I can complete the exam I started the other day.” She pressed his lips to his and unbuttoned his shirt.

He grasped her hand. “I’d enjoy the attention but I have things to say.”

“No talk. Action.” She slid his shirt from his shoulders and tangled her fingers in his chest hair. With her thumbs she teased his nipples into hard peaks.

He groaned. “We’ll play this your way for now. Be warned. I’ll have my way, too.”

She unfastened his belt and slid her hand over his belly. He captured her mouth in an open kiss and stroked her tongue with his.

Sensations stormed her body sending waves to her core. She nearly surrendered.
No.
She had to control. She pulled his trousers and briefs down. “Lie on the table.”

“Witch.” He nipped her lower lip.

“I intend to have my way with you.”

He sat on the edge of the table and removed his boots and socks. His trousers and briefs dropped to the floor. She picked them up and tossed them on the chair.

“We need a condom,” he said.

She smiled. “Or not. There are other ways.”

“There are but not as much fun for both of us. I didn’t come prepared. Condoms aren’t something I take to work.”

“No problem.” She stood beside him. After running her hand over his belly, avoiding his erection, she ran her hand along his thighs and stroked. With one hand she grasped his erection, bent and licked the head.

He growled her name. “Condom.”

She looked up. “I keep a supply for patients who can’t afford them. I’d say an extra large.”

“Do you measure them?”

The hint of jealousy in his voice brought a chuckle. “Some of my patients who need these supplies are women. I accept their word about size.” She moved to a cabinet and returned with a packet. Before opening the foil, she stroked his chest and abdomen. She could swear he purred.

His muscular body and his erection made her hot and wet. He was right. Having him inside while they rose in passion was her desire. She opened the packet, carefully, she sheathed him.

He groaned. ‘You’re making me crazy.”

“Never fear. I’ll have you.” She removed her panties and hitched up her skirt. Using the stool she straddled his thighs. She rose to her knees and brought her lips to his. With one hand she guided him into position.

Slowly she lowered her body until he filled her. She braced her hands above his shoulders. As he fondled her breasts, she moved in a slow rocking motion.

“Lord, that feels good,” she said. ‘Sex is better than talk.”

He slid one hand between them. “My turn will come.”

All thoughts of talk vanished as she rode.

* * *

As Manon rocked against him, the paper beneath Rafe’s body crackled. Heat surged through him. Her tantalizing aroma swirled through him. The soft skin of her breasts as he caressed them filled him with the desire to roll and pin her beneath him. An impossibility since the table was just wide enough for their bodies. Soon the sounds of the paper mingled with the cries, sighs and growls from both of them to drive his thoughts toward a single direction. Satisfaction.

Manon’s inner muscles gripped his cock. He pressed his feet against the table and moved in unison with her. The sounds of her rapid breathing and cries told him she neared the peak. So did he. With a shout, Manon’s body arched. A guttural sound rose from his throat.

His moment arrived. He erupted and pulled her close. Did she understand he would never let her go?

“Magic,” he rasped. Each time seemed more perfect than the last. He felt the pulsing tremors as she descended from the peak.

She slid from him and stood beside the table. Her skirt covered her ass and legs. She picked up her panties and sat on the chair to pull them on. Rafe rose, grabbed his briefs and slacks. He quickly dressed. “How are you going to explain this?” He dropped the condom in the trash.

“I won’t and the cleaning crew won’t ask.” She tore the paper and shoved it in the container before walking toward the door.

He dropped his boots on the floor. “Where are you going?”

“To check the locks, transfer my calls to the answering service. Then I’m going home alone.”

He grasped her shoulder. “Not yet. We’re going to talk.”

“Why don’t you understand I don’t want to talk? I refuse to open myself to pain. I’ll stick to sex.”

“How can we have a relationship if we don’t discuss the lies we were told years ago.”

“Why bother?” She jerked away and reached for the doorknob. “The sex was wonderful but I know how the affair will end. You’ll lose interest in
Fern Lake, yearn for new venues and take off again. I’m staying here. This is my home.”

“You don’t know what I want. I’m here to stay.”

“For now.” She shook her head. “When we were in high school, all you talked about was riding off on your bike and seeing new places.”

“You wanted that, too.”

“I grew up. Found a career I love.”

“I’ve changed. The accident, the recovery, the years in college. I’m not that impatient young man. Went to college in three states. Traveled during the summers. When I came here, I decided to stay.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You should. After rehab, I l
ived here with Gran. Between the hospital and rehab. In January she told me about her plans to retire. I decided to settle here.” He studied her face. “One thing hasn’t changed and that’s what I feel for you.”

The flash of pain in her eyes troubled him. Why didn’t she believe?

“Are you saying you were celibate all those years?”

“I won’t lie, but until I lost track of you, I didn’t date. When all traces of you vanished, I figured you’d found some man, married and forgot me. Sure I saw other women. None lasted. They weren’t you. Did you date?”

“Yes.”

“Any of them serious?”

She shrugged. “Not really. Are you sure you didn’t return to show people how you’ve changed?”

Rafe gulped a breath. “I don’t care what people in town think. You, Gran Ruth and Jay matter. Maybe after time there will be others.” He moved to block the door.

“Let me past.”

He shook his head. “Why didn’t you remain in
Europe? Your concerts had rave reviews.”

She crossed her arms. “I didn’t want that life. Surely you recall how I always talked about becoming a doctor.”

A fragment of lost memory clicked into place. “Now I do. That’s another piece of the past remembered.”

“I’m glad.” She sat on the chair beside the examining table. “You should leave.”

“I have things to tell you.”

Her hands clenched. “What? About how good we are together
? I know that the sex is great.”

“That’s a given. Always was. There are other things.”

She scowled. “If you want to talk about why you left, don’t bother. I know the reason.”

“How could you?”

“Maybe the accident and the amnesia blocked what you did other than standing me up.” She pushed to her feet.

Rafe fisted his hands. He wanted to shake her until she listened. “Your father threatened me.” He clenched his jaw.

“Wrong. He gave you money. You took twenty-five thousand dollars from him and rode away. You didn’t love me. You used me.”

Rafe stepped toward her. “He never gave me a cent. He threatened to have me arrested for rape as soon as I turned nineteen.”

“How medieval.” Manon pushed past him. “That must be a false memory pulled from your unconscious by some psychologist.”

“Just a minute.”

She continued forward. “Our affair is over. See yourself out. Don’t bother me again. Between you and Tom I want to smash something or someone.”

“Don’t equate me with him.”

Her office door slammed. Rafe stared at the wall. What now? There had to be a way to prove what he said was right.

Chapter
8

Manon locked her office door and leaned against the wood surface. How dare Rafe lie to her about the money? She had heard his name and the amount mentioned so often, what could she think other than he had accepted a bribe? Except Tom had been the one who had constantly reminded her and has also asked why she clung to the memory of a dead man. Maybe Tom had lied. She didn’t know what to believe.

Her hands clenched. She fought dark memories of the time when she’s felt helpless and hopeless.

“He’s not coming.”

Her father’s words had brought anger and tears.

Rafe’s dead.

Her father hadn’t said that. At that moment she felt sure another voice had said those words. Had the same person told her about the money?

She drew a deep breath. The news of the bribe had come at a later time. She couldn’t remember when. Her body shook. Had Tom lied? Rafe wasn’t dead. Maybe there’d been no money given or received. Who would know the truth?

She pushed away from the door. Her hands trembled like willow leaves in the wind. She left the door and sank on the chair behind the desk.

Rafe’s hints about her father were worse than the story of the money. Would her father have planned to create a scandal just so she would tour with him? Had he been sure Rafe would leave rather than see her in trouble?

Her hands clenched as memories of those three years in
Europe rose. The crowds, the applause, the attention had left her cold. Not her father. He had preened and strutted, animated by the fawning attention.

A truth rose from those bitter thoughts. Her father would have done the things Rafe had hinted. Selfish and egotistical had been her father’s nature.

When she heard the outer door close, she went to the window and watched Rafe ride away. Her hands and face pressed against the cold glass. Had he sped away tonight, just like he had the night of the accident? If he was hurt this time, would the fault be hers?

Gloom shrouded her thoughts. Had sending him away been the right decision? Would she see him again? Why couldn’t he be satisfied with a physical relationship? He said he wanted a future. Having one would lead to heartache. She had to protect herself.

She pulled her purse from the drawer, checked the examining room and walked to the door. Her shoulders slumped. She paused to straighten her spine. She was in control.

As she stepped outside, she groaned. Tom stood on the sidewalk. What now? She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. What was his goal today?

He strode toward her. “You were with him. Haven’t you learned he’s trouble?” He snorted. “Something must have happened between you.”

“If it has, it’s not your business.”

“He rode off like a man who’d won the lottery.”

Manon’s jaw locked on the words she wanted to scream. She threaded the keys between her fingers with the points out and prepared to attack. Tom’s persistent pursuit had grown intense since Rafe’s return. “Why would you think that/”

“He flipped me off.”

“That’s not unusual.’

Tom stepped closer. “I don’t like you being with him.”

Manon raised her hand and flashed the keys. “That’s not your concern. What I do and who I’m with isn’t your business.”

“Did you ask him about the twenty-five grand your father gave him?”

She sucked in a breath of the rose fragrant air. “You’re the one.” She hadn’t heard about the money on the night of the prom, but after her return from
Europe and had begun med school. She edged past him and hurried to her car.

“That sum would have bought a lot of booze and women.”

Manon whirled. “You lied then and you’re lying now. Did my father pay you to start false rumors?”

“I didn’t need his money. My parents have plenty.”

“So what’s your point?”

“Rafe had nothing but that old woman who pushed him into our school.”

Manon reached the car. “What happened in the past should stay there. Do not say another word about Rafe. Stop stalking me.”

“Your father liked me. He favored me. When he learned Rafe was gone, he told me I could have you. He even suggested I go to law school after obtaining my business degree. Then I could manage your career when he couldn’t.”

Manon drew a deep breath. Her father could have told Tom those things. “Wouldn’t have happened.” She fumbled to hit the button to unlock the car door.

Tom grasped her arm and turned her around. He ground his mouth against hers. Without a second thought, she jammed the keys into his belly. The heel of her hand connected with his nose. Blood spurted on her silk blouse. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t come near me. I’ll get a restraining order.” She slid into the car, locked the doors and fished her phone from her purse.

Tom rose from the ground. Manon waved the phone. He scurried away.