Because ever since that moment I felt like I couldn’t breathe without him in the room. And then, when he was in the room, I still couldn’t breathe because his very presence made my heart race so fast that it was all I could do not to pass out again.
The words that he left me with were burned into my memory. He’d told me that he was going to break up with Thalia. And then… I shuddered in the hospital bed. Then, you’re mine. I heard those words replay in my mind over and over. You’re mine. You’re mine. You’re mine.
It was everything I had always wanted to hear from him. And it was almost impossible to believe that it was real. That it had really happened. That those words had really come from his mouth. That doctor Nate Williamson had spoken them to little old me.
I looked down at the sketchbook and huffed in annoyance. While my thoughts had been filled to the brim with Nate, I’d drawn little hearts all over the page without even realizing it.
“What am I, in junior high? Get a grip on yourself, Poppy.” I muttered the words before tearing the page out yet again, crumpling it into a ball and sending it flying across the room.
“Hey! Watch where you’re throwing those things.”
“Jefferson! I am so happy to see you! You came to save my sanity and bust me out of here, right? Tell me you came with an escape plan. And possibly a rope.” I paused, peering out of the window, “We’re only on the second floor. We could make it.”
“Uh, no. Absolutely not. I am not jumping out of the window with you.”
“Not jumping. Climbing.”
“Nope. Not going to happen.” He gave me a stern look, “The nurse sounded pretty serious the last time I talked to her, Poppy. You have to take care of yourself or you’re just going to end up right back in here and next time it could be even more serious.”
“I’m fine. You know I’m fine.” I started, but stopped at the look Jefferson gave me over the thick dark rim of his glasses.
“You are my favorite boss, Poppy. I’d like to keep you that way.”
“I’m your only boss.” I answered him, then after a moment let out a dramatic sigh, “Alright, alright. Fine. Just put your puppy dog eyes away. You don’t have to use them on me. I hear you loud and clear.”
“I doubt that.” He said with a chuckle, “You have a habit of only hearing what you want to, which is usually that you’re right and everyone else is wrong.”
“You did just say I was your boss, right?”
“Hah! My favorite boss, who is smart enough to know when her assistant is worried about her.”
I gave him smile, “I know you are, Jefferson. I was worried too. But the doc has said that everything is looking good, and he’s told me what I need to make sure I stay healthy and don’t end up back here.”
Actually, he told me I needed to take a break from my stressful career and recommended that I take a vacation. Hah! I hadn’t taken a vacation in the entire eight years that I’d lived in L.A. I’d dedicated all of my time to making it happen, to making sure that I was stronger and better than anyone else, because I had to be.
As a plus sized model in a cut throat industry, I’d had to toughen my skin. But more than that, I was constantly criticized, constantly at a disadvantage because of my curves, even though they were what I loved most about my body.
And then, starting my fashion design company with Thalia had taken up the rest of my time. We had worked on it for a year and a half before it even became close to a reality and after Thalia’s parents funded our start up capital last year, I’d worked even harder because I knew I wanted to pay them back as soon as possible. I didn’t want their money hanging over mine and especially Thalia’s head. They had enough things to hold over her already, the last thing they needed was more ammunition to use against their youngest daughter.
“Hey there, earth to Poppy. Do you copy?”
“Sorry, I was just…I’m here, and I swear to you that I will be good from now on,” I smiled up at him, “Cross my heart.”
“Yeah, I don’t buy that for a minute. But it’s still good to hear you say it.” He said with rueful grin and I was reminded once again that there really was a nice guy underneath his sharp exterior.
“By the way, I heard you might be getting out sometime soon, and I wanted to bring you some clean clothes.” He showed me the bag he had under one arm and I clapped in delight.
“You really are the best, you know that right?”
“I know.” Jefferson said, handing over the bag. “By the way, I’ve been working at the studio the past few days, trying to retag and repair all the designs that came back from the show. Everything is fixable, but that lace from that last gown, I’m not sure if we can repair it.”
“We’ll figure something out. That’s one of my best designs.”
“We will. After you rest up and get back on your feet. We have weeks until the next show and plenty of time to get things in order before then. You just need to worry about yourself a little bit. Maybe take some R and R.”
I snorted at that, rolling my eyes up at him and he threw up his hands.
“I’m just saying, it’s not the worst thing in the world, to take a little break from work.”
“It’s not just work, Jefferson. It’s my life.”
“I think that’s the problem, boss.” He gave me a shrug, “Well, I got to go. I just wanted to drop these off. I don’t want to see you in the studio for at least the rest of the week.”
“Hey, who’s the boss here?” I said with a smile, taking the bag of clothes before Jefferson gave me a tiny two finger salute and turned to leave.
His words stuck with me though, long after he was gone.
My work really was my life, it always had been. Why would that be the problem. I loved creating. I loved designing. I loved seeing my ideas come to life and transform another woman’s beauty right in front of my eyes.
I knew the power that fashion could have, I always had, even as a child. It was more than just the fabrics or the color, so much more than velvet or lace or chiffon or tulle. It was an outward expression of your inner self, and that could be a powerful thing, especially for someone like me who always felt like an outside, the ugly duckling.
For other women who had ever felt like I had because the world told them their waist size was too big or they had too many curves to ever be beautiful.
That was bullshit, and I had proved it every day as a plus sized model. And I was proving it now, creating exquisite high end fashion so that every woman could express themselves the way they truly wanted, regardless of their measurements or what it said on a scale.
I looked down at the sweats I had been wearing for the last day and a half and suddenly felt the need to change. I grabbed the clothes that Jefferson had brought me and nearly sighed in relief at the feel of soft lace.
“Thank you!” I whispered vehemently as I climbed out of the hospital bed and stripped off the sweats, tossing them carelessly over the chair. I was more than ready to feel like myself again, instead of a prisoner of this hospital bed.
My bra came off next and I let out a sigh of relief as I pulled on the tiny scrap of lace briefs, and reached down to extract the matching bra out of the pile of clothes. I was so lost in the pleasure of putting on the fresh, sexy undergarments that I didn’t hear the door open. Or close again.
“Hey, Poppy, I’m here to…” The deep, masculine, all too familiar voice washed over me and I jumped around in pure shock to see Nate standing there, staring at my nearly nude body. My mouth opened and closed like a fish as I struggled to get any words out but there was only one word that I could say, and it tore from my throat in surprise.
“Nate!”
5
Nate
“Hey, Poppy, I’m here to…” I froze as I walked into the room, the door slowly shutting behind me with a soft thud. I didn’t notice. I didn’t notice anything at all except the miles of skin on sudden display in front of me.
“Nate!” Poppy jerked in surprise, ju
mping around and trying to cover her lush curves with a pitifully small scrap of black lace that made my mouth instantly water. “What are you doing here?”
“I work here, remember?” I had to clear my throat three times before I could I could get the words out. “Me, doctor. Here, hospital.”
“Oh, right. Um, well…I…” She trailed off, her cheeks turning the most delightful shade of deep ruby red and I was fascinated as the rosy blush traveled down her body, highlighting her creamy curves and drawing my attention to the way her breasts plumped up above her arm and her thighs rounded so temptingly, her hips slanted this way and that, just begging for the touch of my hand.
My body went as hard as stone and I couldn’t walk I wanted her so bad. It was painful, just how much I needed her. How much my body needed hers.
The release forms I’d been bringing her to sign so that she could finally get the freedom she so wanted slipped forgotten from my fingertips to land on the floor as I stalked towards her. I couldn’t stay away. All logical thought, all of my good sense, had disappeared the moment I walked through that door and saw Poppy standing there, flaunting every delicious curve. Taunting me. Tempting me beyond sanity.
“You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen,” I muttered the words as I swept her into my arms.
“I’m sure you say that to all of your patients,” She answered back, her blue eyes going wide, but she didn’t resist the pull of my arms or the pressure of my hands to pull her hips firmly against mine.
“Funny enough, you’re the first.”
“I don’t know if I believe that, Doctor Williamson,” Poppy said, her voice going all breathy and low and I could feel her heart pounding erratically against my chest.
“Please, I think under the circumstances, you can call me Nate.”
“Hmm, Nate. I know if I believe that.”
“Believe what?”
“I…I don’t know. I don’t remember what we were talking about,” Her words were soft and dreamy as her gaze dipped from mine, to my lips and back up again. They were like twin flames, burning the brightest, darkest blue. An ocean of fire all for me. Only for me.
“I’m going to kiss you,” I whispered the words roughly as my mouth hovered just an inch above hers. My whole body was tense and on edge, waiting for her to push me away, waiting for her to stop me.
She didn’t do either of those things. She melted against me, her body as soft as silk and just as luxurious. I wanted to wrap her around me, to lose myself inside her.
“Yes.”
The word was barely past her lips before I claimed them for my own.
This was what I wanted. This is what I’d been dreaming about and fantasizing about for the last three days. Hell, the last year, if I was being honest with myself.
This was what I needed, more than I needed anything else in the world.
I speared my fingers through her hair and pulled her even closer until we were pressed as tightly as possibly with all my clothes still on.
The kiss was hard and fast, wiping everything else from my mind except for her. I forgot where I was at. I forgot that a nurse could walk in on us at any moment. I forgot everything but the need to touch her, to taste all of her. To feel all of her.
I kissed her mouth, biting and licking at her lower lip until she opened on a gasp and I could sweep my tongue inside to tangle with hers. Only when I needed to breathe did I leave the haven of her mouth, leaving a trail of hot kissed across her cheek, down her neck. Moving lower still, tasting every delicious inch of bare skin I could reach.
I loved the way she trembled and came apart in my arms just from that light touch. It drove me wild, wondering how she would react to more. I wanted to see. I was desperate to see.
My senses were on fire with her. The way she felt like silk in my arms, the way she smelled like midnight and tasted like pure unadulterated sin. Everything swirled around inside me until I was mindless with need and out of control in a way I’d never been before. Not with Thalia, not with anyone. Poppy had me coming undone at the seems. She did this to me. No one else, and for a for a moment I thought she was the only one who ever would.
And then Poppy was kissing me back, just as hard, just as needy, and all thoughts were gone. There was only one thing I wanted and that was to have way less clothes separating her skin from mine.
I started tearing at the white lab coat I was wearing and tossed it to the floor before stripping off my shirt.
“Wait…wait, Nate.” Her words were so quiet I barely heard them but they froze me where I was, my hands on the waistband of my scrubs and halfway down my hips. I stared at her, trembling with need and desire.
“Wait?” I repeated dumbly, not understanding the word, or why we stopped.
“I can’t. I’m sorry, I can’t do this. Not while you’re still dating Thalia.”
I let out a huff of breath in relief.
“Poppy, I broke things off with Thalia last night. We’re done. And I think we’re both happier because of it.”
“You aren’t dating anymore?”
“Nope. I am officially single.” I looked down at her, trying to be patient, to give her the time she needed to decide what was right for her. It was the longest thirty seconds of my life.
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Poppy said with a sinful grin, “Get over here.”
* * *
Poppy
I was gasping for air, I could hardly breathe as Nate’s kiss set me on fire. My whole body felt like an inferno, burning out of control. And I loved every moment of it.
I wanted him, I had wanted him for so long, never believing that I would ever actually have him and now here he was, with his perfectly side swept black hair and those eyes of his burning a dark, burnished amber as they lit with lust and desire so intense it sent actual shivers down my spine to land in between my thighs.
I grew wetter with every kiss and every touch drew me closer to some invisible shining delicate edge.
“I’ve wanted you for so long.” I gasped as the words popped out of my mouth unbidden and I covered my eyes in embarrassment. Nate’s fingers slowly pried my hand away, cupping my cheek and tilting my face up so that my gaze had to meet his.
“I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you, Poppy.”
His husky words shattered through me, leaving electrical currents buzzing in their wake. When we kissed again, it was deeper somehow than last time, and even more sensual as if he was dipping inside some well of pleasure hidden within me, drawing up every last drop of need and desire he could find and coating my body with it until I could hardly stand.
“Nate, I want you now.”
“Me too.” He whispered the words against my lips, “I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”
“Then don’t. I’m tired of waiting Nate. I want you now.”
He growled at hurried words, his hands moving suddenly so fast they were a blur as he stripped off the rest of his clothes, and then tore at the tiny scrap of black lace, the last thing that was barring my body from his.
“Damn, Poppy. You are gorgeous.”
His punctuation was his fingers sliding down between my thighs. I parted them eagerly for him. I wanted everything he had to give me. Every sensation. Every drop of pleasure. And as his fingers found me, already wet and ready for him, we both froze for a moment, shuddering at the intense feeling rushing through us.
Slowly, he teased me with one finger at first, until I was rocking my hips to some ancient rhythm but it still wasn’t enough. I moaned out a little cry of need and his hands slid across my hips, adding another finger, stretching me until I was nearly crying out in his arms.
He kept me there like that, riding the edge of pleasure until it was almost too much to take.
He seemed to know when I was at my breaking point because suddenly he stepped back, grabbed my hips and leaned me against the edge of the hospital bed.
“Fuck.”
I looked back in concern to see
Nate’s brows furrowed and his eyes gleaming in lust.
“What is it?”
“I don’t have a condom.” His jaw was clenched so tight he could barely get the words out. Despite the need running painfully through my body I let out a little laugh.
“You think I would rely solely on someone else to protect my body?”
He gave me a quizzical look and I shook my head.
“I’m on birth control, Nate.”
“Oh, thank god.” He said in relief, his expression transformed once more by pure passion as he stared down at me. The way he had positioned my body, I was completely exposed to his gaze but I’d never felt more sexy, more alive, or more cherished in my life.
He grabbed my hips hard with both hands, and then he claimed me. It was the only way I could describe it as he filled me with his thick, hard erection.
He took me, thrusting deep inside me hard and fast and it felt so good, I couldn’t even believe it was real. I could hardly believe he was real. I had imagined this so many times, and it was so much better than my mind could have ever possibly conjured.
Buried deep inside me, I was overwhelmed with pleasure, and even more by the connection I felt with him. It was like a field of light surrounding both of us, a connection I could feel all the way to my soul.
I hitched my hips so he could pound even deeper, hitting that spot that made my legs shake beneath me and my whole world narrow down to that moment when our bodies were merged together as closely as two bodies could be.
He moved faster and faster, and my fingers fisted tightly in sheets on the bed, hanging on until I couldn’t hang on any more.
With a cry of pure pleasure, I arched my back as wave after wave of electric ecstasy arched through me like lightning, licking across my nerve endings until I saw flashes behind my closed eyelids.
I heard Nate’s moan behind me as I collapsed breathlessly onto the edge of the bed, my lungs working like bellows as sweat slicked my body in a fine sheen.
Best Friend's Boyfriend (Be My Boyfriend Book 2) Page 4