Worth Waiting For (6 page)

CHAPTER 7

He would make it good for her. So good. It was exciting just thinking about it.

Her bathroom was old-fashioned but sparkling clean, the tub separate from the tiled shower stall. She cranked on the shower and turned to him, peering at him from beneath her lashes, teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

He slid the robe off her and hung it on the hook on the back of the door. Seeing her standing in front of him, completely naked for him, was like a fantasy. Only better.

“God, you’re beautiful.” He looked her over, admiring everything about her, from her tangled hair to her perfect breasts, her smooth skin tanned a light toasty gold, the paler shape of her bikini over her breasts and a small triangle lower down. He ran his hands over her smooth waist and hips, down to silky legs until he noticed steam billowing from the shower.

“In you get.” He pulled back the curtain and nudged her into the steam. He dropped his jeans and stepped in after her, yanking the curtain closed. “A small shower. But it’ll do.”

“I haven’t redone the bathroom yet.” She shoved her wet hair back from her face.

“Business first.” He reached for the shampoo. True to his word, he shampooed her hair, digging his fingers into the thick lather right to her scalp until she moaned with pleasure. Then he held her head while she leaned back against him and rinsed it out. He slicked conditioner through and rinsed that, too.

“I need to wash my face.” She grabbed a bottle of some kind of soapy stuff. She washed the last of her makeup off, then stood before him, bare-faced and beautiful, hair slicked back, water running down over her face and shoulders and breasts.
God.

“I said I’d wash your back.” His voice came out sounding choked. He grabbed a pink poufy sponge and poured body wash onto it. The fragrance of mango and citrus wafted up in the steamy enclosure as he rubbed the puff over her body, turning her to do her back. Then he abandoned the puff and used his hands, washing her everywhere, over the curve of her ass, down lower between her legs.

She opened for him, leaning forward and putting her hands on the wall as he explored her with slick, soapy fingers. He slid through her folds, found her clit and stroked there. His other hand slid around her front, covered one breast, tugging slickly at her nipple. She pushed her forehead against the wall with a groan and thrust her butt out a little more. “God, Griff.”

He moved his fingers in a more concentrated circle and it was only seconds until she was convulsing against him, moaning through her release as she leaned against the wall. He felt her softening as if her legs couldn’t support her and withdrew his fingers to hold her up.

“How was that?” He shook water out of his eyes. He turned her in his arms and moved closer, pressing her against the wall while he kissed her. The water beat down warmly on his back and he took her mouth, opening her to him, tasting her. She clutched at his shoulders, holding herself up, almost boneless. Heat prickled over his skin, tightened his balls, throbbed in his cock.

“Hold on tighter, honey,” he said roughly. “And put your legs around my waist.”

“I…can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” He slid his hands beneath her ass, one hand lifting a thigh, hauling her easily up against him. Then he took her there, against the wall, in the shower, pushing into her while mango- and citrus-scented steam rolled around them and water rained down on his back.

Knees bent, he thrust into her hard, again and again, supporting her with his hands, kissing her hard. She held onto him for dear life, giving little cries of enjoyment. He adjusted the angle, drove into her, and she came again, shuddering in his arms. He recalled just in time that he had no condom on and pulled out. With one hand, he held her up, appreciating in the far back of his mind how small she was. Pleasure slammed through his as he finished himself off with his other hand, semen spurting hotly over his hand and onto Ainslie’s wet belly, and he groaned.

Her head was against the wall, eyes closed. She held on to him, and he leaned forward and put his own forehead against the wall above her, holding her pinned there as they both gasped for air. His heart pounded.

“Jesus,” she panted, “you weren’t kidding.”

“Mmm?”

“You said it would be nice. That was a bit of an understatement.”

He grinned, eyes still closed, then kissed the top of her wet head. “Can you stand up if I let you down?”

“I’m not sure.” He lowered her slowly and she let her legs slide down until her feet touched the floor. “Thank God for that non-slip mat.”

He laughed.

“You washed me, but I didn’t get to wash you.” And she proceeded to shampoo his hair and wash his entire body. Warm heat cascaded over his body at her sliding touch, and his dick jumped when she slicked over the head, so sensitive from his orgasm.

The shower was starting to run cool when they finished, and they wrapped each other in towels and went into the bedroom.

He eyed the unmade bed, the duvet tossed in a heap, and then looked at Ainslie. Despite the fact he’d come just moments ago, he found the idea of taking her back to bed incredibly tempting.

“No way.” She grinned at him. He smiled back. She was so appealing standing there with a towel wrapped around her, all bare, clean and wet.

“Later,” he agreed reluctantly. He found his clothes, some of which were still in the living room, while she dressed.

“You’ll have to direct me to this Farmers Market.” He watched her with interest as she brushed her long hair.

“It’s just outside town. Keep going on Ocean Boulevard past the Botanical Gardens.”

He lowered the top on the Lamborghini so they could enjoy the bright azure day, the clear sky above them, the soft wind on their faces as he drove.

“Tell me about the games you design,” she asked him.

He shrugged and smiled. “You don’t even have a player. No Xbox, PlayStation…no FunPack.” He glanced sideways at her.

“I wouldn’t even know what those are,” she admitted.

“You’ve never even tried one?” He was incredulous.

She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m kind of against video games, actually. I think they have a bad influence on kids.”

“What! I can’t believe you said that!”

She turned in her seat to face him. “There’s a lot of literature supporting that viewpoint.”

His lips twitched. “I’ve read all the studies. The results are variable, inconsistent, and ambiguous. I don’t see how you can draw any real conclusions from what’s been done.”

“But some of the studies do seem to make a link between violent video games and violent behavior.”

“The studies don’t always distinguish aggressive behavior from aggressive play. There’s a difference. Confusing aggressive play with aggressive behavior can lead to faulty conclusions. Kids have always played aggressively with no intent to injure anyone.”

“Uh…okay, yeah.”

“And not only that, games are really not that different than the film industry: action movies, thrillers and horror movies. There’s always been violence in fiction, whether it’s literature or movies or what have you. Video games are no different.”

“Okay, but in video games, the kids are participating in the action. They’re the ones that are actually…well, killing people, I guess.”

“That’s true, but, like many movies, the games generally contain an element of exaggeration, which children recognize. Doing those things in the context of a game actually makes kids aware that their actions take place in a fictitious world. They totally know the same rules don’t apply outside of the game.”

“You’re pretty convincing.” She smiled and arched an eyebrow at him. “But I just finished reading a couple of those studies myself. One study showed that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to repeated exposure to violent games. And another study suggests even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants.

“They studied college students and found those who reported playing more violent video games in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior, and the amount of time spent playing video games was associated with lower grades in college.”

Holy shit.
Ainslie was arguing with him. And about something pretty important to him. He was impressed. “What? You’re grinning like a loon.” She looked amused herself as they arrived at the Farmers Market and got out of the vehicle.

He clasped her hand and they walked toward the vendors. “You were pretty convincing about the video games. I may have to change my whole career because of you.”

“Yeah, right.”

He swung her hand in a carefree move while a feeling of something warm unfurled in his chest.

They wandered around the various stalls. They picked out beautiful produce together, agreeing on peppers that were shiny and red, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes in various colors of red, orange and yellow, and bunches of fresh herbs. They chose some fresh pasta and a bag of field greens.

“I’ll make a dressing for the salad that you’ll die for,” Griff promised her. “Have you got balsamic vinegar? Honey?”

She nodded, smiling curiously at him, and they moved on. He bought a massive bunch of sunflowers, bright yellow, orange and mahogany, even though she told him not to. Then they found some locally made sausages. “These are so good.”

“Turkey?” he asked. “Are they lean?”

She looked at him. “Yes, Mr. Healthy, they are. They’re good for you and they taste good. Let’s get some and we’ll put them in the pasta sauce.”

He agreed and they added those to their purchases.

“Dr. Patterson!” a quavery voice called from behind them.

They turned and saw a white-haired lady leaning on a cane. She smiled warmly at Ainslie.

“Mrs. Markham, how are you?” Ainslie’s response was just as affectionate.

“I’m just great, thanks to you. That new medication you gave me last week is doing wonders for me. I haven’t been this pain-free in years.”

“I knew we’d find the right one for you eventually,” Ainslie murmured. “When are you back in my office? Next week?”

“Thursday.” The lady peered at Griff with undisguised interest. He smiled back. “Is this your young man?”

“Um…” At a bit of a loss, Ainslie said, “This is Griffin Campbell. Mrs. Markham is one of my patients.”

Griff reached out and shook a frail hand, still smiling.

“You know, Dr. Patterson, I was talking to my sister the other day about you. She was so impressed about how much weight you’ve helped my grandson lose. I told her what a great doctor you are and you know, her doctor just moved away and she’s looking for a new one. I said I’d ask if you’d take her on as a patient.”

Griff was curious about the grandson who’d lost weight and he waited for Ainslie, ever the softie, to agree to take on Mrs. Markham’s sister as a patient.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Markham, but you know I’m not taking any new patients,” Ainslie replied, gently but firmly. “I just can’t. However, Dr. Dillon, one of my partners, is taking patients. And I can tell you she’s a very good doctor, too. Very patient.”

Disappointment dimmed Mrs. Markham’s smile. “I’ll tell her that. Thank you.” She glanced at Griff and her smile returned. She winked at Ainslie. “He’s…what do you young girls say…a hottie.”

Pink flooded Ainslie’s cheeks and she shot Griff an apologetic glance. He grinned.

“Thanks,” he told Mrs. Markham.

She turned with a wave, moving a bit stiffly.

He looked at Ainslie. “You turned her down.”

She raised a brow. “Do you think I’m a big meanie?”

“No. I think you’re assertive and caring. Even though you turned her down, you gave her another option.” She gave him a puzzled look and he shrugged. “You stood up for yourself.”

“Well, yeah. I can’t just keep taking patients. I’ve got more than I can handle already.”

“It’s good that you know it, too, though. You might have, at one time, tended to let people take advantage of you.”

She started walking and he fell in beside her.

“Are you mad?” Her silence made his muscles tighten.

She shook her head.

“What’s wrong?”

She stopped and faced him. “You’re right. At one time I would have. At one time I
did
. I don’t any more. I don’t do anything unless
I
want to. Get it?”

He was startled. “Uh…we’re not talking about patients any more, are we?”

“No.”

He looked at her. “Yeah. I get it. You’ve changed, Ainslie.”

“I’m sorry.”

“God, don’t apologize! I loved you the way you were…but now…” He choked. “It’s not a bad thing,” he amended.
Shit.
“You’re incredible.” Activity and noise surrounded them, people brushing past them, arms full of fruits and vegetables and flowers. Something expanded in his chest and he took a deep breath. “Let’s find some wine to go with dinner.”

“Excellent idea.”

“So what was she saying about how you helped her grandson lose weight?”