The Doctor She Always Dreamed Of (13 page)

Boy did she like the sound of that. “Take off your shirt.”

He did.

“I didn't get to see you last time.” In the dark, away from the bonfire. She ran her hands over his dark nipples, through the dusting of hair on his chest, down along his ribs. “You obviously make time to work out.” She caressed his muscled abdomen.

“My second favorite type of stress release.” He reached for the hem of her shirt and started to lift it up. “Want to know what my first is? Take this off.”

She did.

“So pretty.” He fingered her black lacy bra. “Please tell me your panties match.”

“You'll have to wait and see,” she teased.

In an instant he had her on her back. “I'm not a big fan of waiting.” He went up on his knees, slid his fingers into the waistband of her leggings and pulled them down to her thighs. Kira loved his urgency...and the way he went still, staring down at her body with a look of awe. “You are...stunning.” He ran his fingers over her matching panties.

He made her feel stunning, and valued, and cared about. Things Kira hadn't felt in a very long time. “So are you,” she said because he was, so big and strong.

He moved to the side so he could slip off her sneakers then her leggings.

While he did, Kira asked, “Remember how earlier you said I could choose the stakes of our bet?”

He nodded.

“Well, I chose loser gets her choice of position.”

He smiled. “Oh, you did, did you?”

She nodded.

“I want to be on top this time.” She waited to see if he'd argue. Surprise, surprise, he didn't.

But he did say, “Lucky for you I like the bottom, too,” as he laid down on his back. “Now get over here.” He reached for her.

“Nuh-uh-uh.” She scooted out of reach. “I'm in charge.”

He went up on his elbows. “No one said anything about you being in charge.”

“Well, I'm saying it now.” God how she wanted to be in charge of him, to bring him to the brink of orgasm again and again before letting him come. “Lay down, big guy.” She pushed on his shoulder. “I think you'll like me being in charge.”

“We'll see. And I get to be in charge next time.”

She tugged on the waistband of his sweats. He lifted his butt so she could pull them down.

She kissed his erection through the fabric of his boxers, looking up at him as she did. “Next time?”

Still up on his elbows, he watched her every move. “Yeah, next time.”

So confident. She reached in through the opening, pulled him out, and took him between her lips. She swirled her tongue around his sensitive tip again and again before taking him deep once, twice, three times, her hand working in tandem with her mouth.

He closed his eyes, dropped his head back and drew in a long, deep breath.

She lifted off of him. “You think you'll have energy left over for a next time?” She cupped his balls, rolled them then squeezed them oh, so gently.

He opened his legs wider then flashed her a sexy grin. “Baby, we've got all afternoon.”

Hours later Kira lay wrapped in Derrick's arms, in his bed, exhausted, but the best kind of exhausted, content, and...happy.

“That makes three next times,” he said groggily and proudly at the same time.

After giving her control the first time, he'd taken control each of the three times after that, and Kira hadn't minded one bit. “You're the man,” she teased.

“Damn right I am.” He hugged her close, his front pressed to her back.

In between rounds two and three they'd cleaned up her office. Between rounds three and four they'd ordered in Chinese food. But now it was getting late. “I've got to go.”

He held her tight. “No.”

“Really.” She tapped his arm.

He didn't budge. “Stay the night. Krissy can bring you clothes tomorrow.”

Kira had already spent too much time away from home over the past week. If Mom's increased agitation was any indication, she'd noticed. “I can't.”

He released her.

Forty minutes later he walked her to the train platform. “I hate the idea of you having to travel back to the city alone at night.”

“I'll be fine.” Appreciating his concern she gave him a big hug.

He nuzzled in close to her ear. “I wish you could have stayed the night with me.”

“In your office?” she teased.

“In my bed.”

She'd already spent too much time in his bed...too much time thinking about all the things she liked about him...wondering... It had to stop. Or she would get her heart broken for sure.

Men didn't stick around, not in Kira's world.

“Next weekend,” he said. “We'll plan ahead. Ask Krissy to watch your mom.”

The train whistle sounded, signaling its approach.

“I can't.”

The front of the train rumbled past.

“Can't or won't?” he yelled over the noise.

The doors opened. Passengers exited. As soon as she could, Kira boarded, without answering Derrick's question.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

O
N
M
ONDAY
MORNING
Kira arrived at work and greeted Derrick like nothing had happened between them, like she hadn't spent hours in his arms, naked and breathless, the day before. On Tuesday and Wednesday she did her job and looked after him like nothing had changed. But something
had
changed. Derrick wanted more, the intensity of his desire was so strong it was starting to become a dangerous distraction. Seeing her every day and not being able to touch her was pure...torture.

By Thursday, after two patients, one pharmaceutical sales rep, and his old neighbor Jeff, who'd stopped by to borrow his car, all inquired about the availability of his sexy new office manager, Derrick had had enough.

She wasn't available, damn it. If she was, she'd be his—despite all the challenges they'd have to overcome to be together. He'd make it work. He'd compromise. He'd do...anything. A primal urge to claim her raged inside of him. He paced his office, antsy, needing an outlet, a release.

Someone knocked on his door.

He called out, “Come in.”

Kira stuck her head in. “Last patient is out, phones are on answering service, and the front door is locked. We are officially closed for lunch.”

“I need you.”

She looked over her shoulder. “I was going to run to the deli with Krissy. Can it wait?”

In two big strides he reached her, pulled her into his office, and shut the door. “No.” He pushed her up against the wall, his body flush with hers, and kissed her, hard. Needy.

She wouldn't give him more than sex? Fine. He'd take sex. Now.

Hands clamped to her ass he lifted her and carried her to his desk.

“What are you doing?”

He pushed aside papers, his inbox and outbox, and whatever else was in the way to make a clear space for her.

“Derrick.”

He set her down, looked deep into her eyes. “I need you,” he said again. “Now.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He clutched the sides of her head, kissing her again, deeper this time. He slid his leg between her thighs, tried to spread them wide, to let her feel his erection, to show her how much he burned for her, to make her burn for him.

For the first time since he'd seen her in one, he hated the tight, figure hugging skirts she wore.

“Derrick, stop,” she said, so calm while he felt on the verge of losing it.

He didn't want to stop, damn it! But he forced himself to step back, couldn't look at her, didn't want to watch her leave.

She picked up his phone. “Hey, Krissy. Derrick and I need to go over a few things. Would you bring us back two of the specials?”

What? He turned.

She winked at him. “Just put them in the kitchen.” Phone balanced between her shoulder and her ear, she used both hands to start unbuttoning her blouse. “We'll be out in a little bit.”

Derrick ripped off his lab coat like it had caught fire and tossed it onto the couch.

“The door,” she whispered, pointing, as she hung her shirt on the back of his chair. “Honestly,” she said, undoing the back of her skirt. “As if I'd let you get me all wrinkly.” She slipped it off, draped it neatly over the arm of the chair, then stood tall wearing nothing but a satiny light purple bra and pantie set, a pair of killer black heels, and a smile. “I'm guessing you'd like me to keep the heels on.”

Derrick felt about to explode. “You're damn right I would.” He picked her up. “Wrap your legs around me.” She did. He palmed her ass, pulled her close, and thrust his rock hard erection against her. “You feel what you do to me? How much I need you?”

She ran her fingers through his hair, angling his head. Leaning in she whispered, “That's quite a hard-on you've got going there. What do you plan to do with it?”

He laid her down on the desk, ran his hand over her breasts, across her flat abdomen, beneath the waistband of her pretty panties, down between her silky, wet lips. “I'm going to put it right here.” He slid a finger inside of her, finding her hot, wet and ready. His balls tingled with anticipation.

“Do it.” She spread her legs wide. “Now.”

Derrick unbuttoned his pants with shaky hands, letting them fall to the ground so he could kick them off. That's when he remembered. “Do. Not. Move.” He ran to the bathroom, sliding off his underwear with one hand and grabbing a condom from the drawer in the vanity with the other. On his way back he ripped the damn thing open with his teeth and started rolling it on.

He returned to find her naked, her body absolute perfection.

The condom securely on, he pushed between her legs then inside of her, fast and deep, knowing she was ready, unable to take it slow. “God help me you feel good.” In and out, in and out, over and over.

She reached down between her legs and fondled herself. He watched, seeing what she liked before pushing her hands away and taking over.

“Yes,” she said, clamping her legs around him. “Like that.”

He moved his fingers and hips, his body a machine, programmed to give pleasure and receive pleasure. Right now those were the only two things that mattered.

His orgasm started to build. He could feel it, wanted it,
needed
it.

“Come on, baby.” He moved his hips and fingers faster. “Come for me.”

Her breathing heavy, Kira rocked up and down, bit her lip and moved her head from side to side.

In and out, in and out, again and again.

When she arched her back, stiffened and let out the most gratifying of groans, Derrick let go, pouring himself into her, wishing she could feel it, that there was no barrier between them.

His heart pounding, his body spent, he laid his upper body on top of her, his elbows taking most of his weight, still buried deep inside of her. He kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

“Did something happen?” she asked, running her fingernails up and down his back.

He didn't want to talk about it.

“Hey.” She bucked her hips. “Look at me.”

He lifted his head.

She studied his face. “Something upset you.”

“I don't like other men asking about you.” He leaned down to tongue her ear. “I want to tell them you're mine.” He moved down to kiss her neck. “I want you to actually
be
mine.”

With a hand on each side of his head she lifted him. “If you want me, I can be yours between the hours of nine to five, Monday through Friday. That's the best I can do.”

It wasn't enough, but he'd take it, for now. “I want you.”

Usually Derrick didn't settle, he identified what he wanted—in this case Kira—then went after it with unbridled determination. But that approach wouldn't work with Kira. So he'd be patient, bide his time until he could figure out a way to get more. He had no doubt the wait would be worth it.

For the next two and a half weeks he and Kira ‘ate lunch' in his office, most every day. The staff probably had a good idea of what they were really doing, but they had too much respect for Kira, and maybe for him too, to say anything about it. At night and on the weekends, he and Kira talked for hours, about so many different things, some funny, some sad, everything but the future. Every time he brought it up she stopped talking.

And he began to wonder if agreeing to her terms was a good idea. He wasn't any closer to figuring out a way for them to be together than he'd been two and a half weeks ago. Every request to see more of her, denied. Every suggestion for change, shot down. And while, with each passing day, Derrick fell more in love, Kira showed him nothing more than a hot sexual attraction, which, with another woman, would have been great. But he wanted Kira long term. A man of his age and experience knew when he'd found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Only he could feel himself running out of time, and he didn't like that feeling one bit.

Late on Thursday afternoon, when he couldn't find Kira anywhere, he searched out Krissy. “Did Kira run out for something?”

“Shoot.” Krissy shifted the blood-draw carry-all into one hand and her laptop into the other. “You were in with a patient. Then I got crazy busy. She told me to tell you she had to run home. The aide called. Mom spiked a temperature or something and was acting all crazy.”

Jeez. “How did she get to the train?”

“Sara took her.”

Good. “Do you need to go, too? We can manage—”

Krissy shook her head. “Don't look so worried. Kira will handle it.”

For as much as he liked Krissy and appreciated all of her hard work on the job, he hated that her laissez-faire attitude let responsibility for their mother fall solely on Kira's shoulders, part of the reason he and Kira couldn't be together like a normal couple. “I get that Kira will handle it, but she shouldn't have to do it all alone.”

Krissy looked up at him. “I've got dinner plans. Kira said—”

“Let me guess. She said, “Don't worry. I'll handle it.” Like she always does. And you let her, because that's what
you
always do.”

“Wait just a minute—”

No. He would not wait just a minute. Enough was enough. “If you think going out to dinner with your friends is more important than helping your sister take care of your mother, fine. That's your decision. But you won't be going out to dinner until after you help me with something, and you can't help me until after we finish with our patients, so back to work.” He turned and left without giving her a chance to respond. But for the rest of the day he couldn't shake the feeling something bad was about to happen.

* * *

Around six thirty, Kira looked down at her cell phone, expecting to see Derrick's number come up—after talking with him briefly earlier, he'd promised to call back after work. But she was equally happy to see Connie's smiling face on her screen, something her old assistant had programmed to happen every time she called.

Of course Kira accepted the call. “Hey, Connie.”

“Hey, hon. How's it going?”

“Not so good.” She looked over to where Mom sat in her recliner chair, watching television. “Mom's sick.”

“That sucks. Then you won't be able to meet up with me to celebrate?”

“Celebrate what?”

“Mr. Jeffries got fired today,” Connie said. “I heard they threatened him with legal action if he didn't leave quietly.”

What? Kira had received a call from her old boss, Mr. Regis, the CEO prior to Mr. Jeffries, who'd agreed to come out of retirement, along with Kira's predecessor, April Weir, to perform a covert audit based on the documentation she'd sent to the board of directors. He'd asked her dozens of questions, which she'd answered honestly, and then...nothing.

“What happened?”

“Word is...”

Kira smiled. Of course Connie had the inside scoop.

“...was in the process of forming alliances or something with the heads of home health care agencies around the state. Apparently he offered to make them preferred providers so they'd get first dibs on WCHC referrals along with kickbacks in return for limiting home health care services and medical equipment referrals wherever they could.”

The bastard. “What about Sheila?”

“At first she claimed she didn't know anything about it, the skeezeball. Then Richie told me that Michael told him that while he was doing some random computer stuff next door to the conference room he overheard Mr. Regis confront Sheila about a bunch of statements from patients who said they'd filed complaints and appeals with her and then heard nothing back. Mr. Regis pointed out he couldn't find any of those complaints or appeals. Well, knowing she was caught, Sheila turned on Mr. Jeffries like the rat that she is, claiming he used sex to manipulate her and she felt her job would be in jeopardy if she didn't go along. You have no idea how much I hate her. Anyway, now she's sucking up to anyone in power who will listen, vowing to clean up the case management department, blah, blah, blah, make me sick.”

Needing to move, Kira walked out of the living room and started to pace up and down the hallway. “Do you think they'd honestly promote her?” For some reason, Mr. Jeffries hadn't given Sheila the Director of Case Management position.

“No way in hell. Mr. Regis agreed to serve as interim CEO until a replacement can be found. Richie says they probably want to handle things internally, keep it from going public.”

Kira's phone buzzed. She moved it from her ear to look at the screen, her heart skipping a beat. “Connie, I've got to go. Mr. Regis is calling me.”

An hour later, Kira sat in the chair beside her mom's recliner, reeling over what her old boss had told her. And what he'd offered her.

The house phone rang. Kira got up and hurried into the kitchen to answer it, expecting Derrick. But why would he be calling on her house phone? “Hello?”

“Miss Peniglatt? This is Harold downstairs at the desk. A Dr. Limone is here to see you.”

Derrick? Here? She glanced at Mom, finally calm. Krissy had gone to dinner with friends straight from work. Kira couldn't leave. “Please tell him—”

“Don't you mean her?” Harold asked.

“Her?”

“Yes, Miss. This here Dr. Limone is a she.”

Kira smiled as she remembered.

“I'll throw in free medical care for you, your mom and your sister.”

“My mom needs a female doctor.”

“I'll wear a dress.”

Her eyes filled with tears. He'd come. Just like he'd said he would. Without her even asking. “Please.” She sniffled. “Send her up.” She loved him so much her heart actually hurt. Although she couldn't be quite certain whether the hurt was caused by so much love or the pain of knowing nothing would ever come of it. The closer they got, the more she knew she needed to put a stop to their lunchtime trysts and intimate phone calls. It wasn't fair to him...or to her.