by Anne, Melody
“I feel bad,” she whispered as they passed the hostess station.
“They aren’t going out of business because we’re leaving,” Kyle told her. He handed his ticket to the valet and waited for his car.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I know a great pizza place,” he said.
She wanted to kiss him, she was so relieved. And even though she still thought about those pajamas, at least pizza wouldn’t take nearly as long as a five-star restaurant that turned a meal into artwork.
“How about we order it to go and have it on my balcony? We can enjoy a fire and a glass of wine with our meal and talk uninterrupted,” he suggested.
Patsy was a little terrified at being at his place again, but it was as if he was reading her mind with his suggestion. Just because she went back to his place didn’t mean anything would happen. She was stronger than that. She’d have pizza and maybe a couple glasses of wine, and she’d tell him in no uncertain terms this thing between them couldn’t be more than casual acquaintances.
That should be easy peasy.
“I think that sounds great,” she said.
He took her to a small mom and pop pizza joint, and they shared a glass of wine while they waited for their pizza. Kyle kept the conversation casual as he talked about his latest patient who’d lost nearly two hundred pounds and was having excess skin removed. Patsy hadn’t done one of those surgeries, but she wanted to.
She’d met patients after their surgeries and the joy in their expressions told her how important the work was. The body was an amazing thing and truly could heal and bounce back from a lot of damage, but when the skin was stretched too far there was only so much a person could do on their own.
When Patsy had free time, she enjoyed looking at before and after pics of patients. It was satisfying to know she was a part of people’s journeys in their lives. The longer she did this job the less judgmental she felt about any of it.
“What made you decide to go into this field?” she asked.
“I think it’s because I’ve always looked at a person as more of a canvas than an actual human,” he said with a chuckle. “It sounds kind of bad when I say it out loud like that.”
“I don’t think so,” Patsy told him. “I don’t look at people the same way as you, but the world needs all sorts of people in it, and at the end of the day it’s no one’s business what we decide to do with our own bodies. If someone wants to change something about themselves and you’re willing to help them, shame on all of us for having an opinion about that.”
Kyle smiled. “I’ve noticed a lot of change in you since you started this program,” he told her.
“I’ve decided the world doesn’t revolve around me,” she said with a laugh. “And I’m trying to be a better person. I’m trying to live my life the best I can and hope others think the same way. It doesn’t matter what I think of another person, it only matters how they feel about themselves.”
“I agree. Sometimes I forget that basic lesson, and then I meet someone like you who reminds me,” Kyle told her.
“I’ve seen nothing but kindness from you when it comes to your patients,” she said.
“I love my patients,” he said quickly. “But I’m human, and I forget those basic lessons in life. I too want to look at people without any judgment. It’s not easy when we live in a world that is so quick to condemn another for things that have nothing to do with our own life.”
“Why do you think that is?” Patsy asked.
“Why what is?”
“Why are we so harsh toward others?”
He sat back and thought about her question. She appreciated that, appreciated that he wasn’t blowing off her words with a thoughtless reply.
“I honestly don’t know. I wish I could come up with an answer,” he told her. “I think it’s definitely something that’s taught to us somehow because we don’t come out of the womb hating ourselves or anyone else. So if being negative toward others is something taught, we should be able to shift that thinking, don’t you think?”
Now it was her turn to look deep inside. “I think that’s easier said than done. To change a lifelong habit isn’t easy.”
“Nothing worthy of change is ever easy,” he pointed out.
“And nothing easy is ever worth it,” she said.
They smiled at each other, and for the first time Patsy felt completely comfortable with a man, completely in sync with him. And for a moment she wasn’t frightened by that thought.
Their pizza was ready and they left, heading back to their apartment building. It didn’t take them long to arrive.
“I’m going to change,” she told him as they stepped inside, him holding the box that had tempted her the entire car ride. The smell was amazing.
“I’ll wait,” he told her.
“You don’t need to,” she said as they climbed the stairs.
“You might change your mind, and I’ll end up eating this entire pizza myself.”
He stood by her door, making Patsy laugh. “I don’t think there’s any chance of that. The smell is killing me.” She reached for the box, and he held it out of her reach. She frowned at him.
“Hurry and change so we can dive in.”
Rolling her eyes, she left him as she raced to her bedroom. She was in no way trying to impress this man, she assured herself. She refused to look in the mirror and tidy up her face or hair. This was just two co-workers sharing a pizza and getting an understanding of each other.
She put on sweats and her favorite raggedy college T-shirt then met him by the foyer. He looked at her as if she was wearing a skintight black dress and he was ready to strip her. That thought made her skin tingle.
“Let’s go,” she said, unable to look into his eyes for too long. She feared she might ignite if she did.
They were silent as they climbed to the top floor. His place was a little more organized than the last time she’d been there, no boxes in the living room anymore. A few pictures now hung on the walls. She didn’t know when he’d had the time to do any of it.
She followed him to the patio doors she’d missed the last time she’d been there, and she was filled with jealousy as she stepped out on a large open balcony with a great view of the city and a large gas fire pit.
“I don’t even have a small balcony,” she said with a pout.
“You can use mine anytime you like,” he told her.
“Tempting,” she said. “There’s nothing I like more than sitting outside watching the sun go down.”
“Want a key?” he offered.
“Of course not,” she said. This wasn’t the way she’d wanted this conversation to go. Not at all.
“It’s yours anytime you change your mind,” he told her. She wasn’t sure if he was serious or not, but she didn’t want to push the issue.
They sat by the fire and finished a bottle of wine as they polished off the pizza. Sometimes she skipped an entire day of meals, grabbing snacks when she could. When she actually did slow down, she was always starving.
They continued chatting about work and life and learning a little more about each other. It grew later and as it came time to leave Patsy knew she was in trouble.
They didn’t talk about the fact that their night together was a one-time thing. And as she looked at him she realized that wasn’t at all what she wanted. She hated dating, she reminded herself. But this non-date had been about the most perfect night she’d experienced in a very long time.
She didn’t want it to end.
From the look in his eyes, he felt the exact same way.
She had a decision to make, and she knew she had to make it quick.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Patsy flashed awake, this time knowing exactly where she was and who she was with. Her head was clear, and she felt tingles travel through h
er body at what she and Kyle had done the night before.
She’d had every intention of leaving his apartment with her head held high and her clothes firmly in place. But the second she’d stood he had too, and the instant their mouths had touched, it was all over.
The protests in her head had been drowned out by the raw need filtering through her. She wanted this man, wanted what he could do to her and with her. She hadn’t argued, not even once.
And they’d fallen back into his big, beautiful bed, and made love for at least two hours straight, and then once more she’d fallen asleep in the comfort of his arms.
As she lay trapped beneath the weight of his arm and leg, she tried telling herself she was glad it happened, but it certainly couldn’t happen again. However, feeling his hard body next to hers, she knew she wanted it over and over again.
“Stupid. This is stupid,” she muttered quietly.
He stirred and Patsy froze. If he so much as rubbed a finger across her skin she was going to explode. Kyle had awoken something in her she couldn’t seem to turn off, no matter how much she tried telling herself she needed to.
When he didn’t move again after a full five minutes that felt like an hour with her body on fire and her heart racing, Patsy slowly pushed his arm off her and began climbing out from beneath him.
She knew he was going to be furious with her for sneaking off again, but she was left with little choice when she kept falling into his bed. This way that awkward morning after never needed to happen. It wasn’t wise to have pizza and wine with him on a romantic balcony, especially when she was very short on sleep.
She got completely untangled and was about to rise from the bed when his hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her down on her back with him on top of her in record time.
His eyes were alert, making her realize he’d been awake the entire time she’d been attempting her escape.
“Going somewhere?” he asked, humor in his voice.
“Bathroom,” she said, her voice husky as his hardness pressed between her very sensitive thighs.
“Why are you so slow and cautious if you’re just using the bathroom?” he asked with a chuckle that told her he knew she was lying through her teeth.
“I didn’t want to wake you,” she said. “I was being considerate.”
He began to gently rotate his hips, and she quickly forgot anything other than the way he made her feel.
“That’s very considerate of you,” he told her as he leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, his tongue hot on her skin.
“I thought so,” she huskily replied.
Her legs spread beneath him without any thought on her part, and he sank fully against her, the tip of his arousal dipping inside her heat. She shook beneath him. All thoughts of fleeing vanished.
“Are you on protection?” he asked, his teasing voice gone as arousal overtook them both.
“Yes,” she replied. She was a surgical resident, and there was no way she was going to have a pregnancy scare. Condoms broke. Not that she had sex often, but life happened.
“I’m clean,” he told her. “Do you trust me?” The fact that he was asking softened her more than anything else they’d done together. He took her at her word. That meant a lot.
“Yes,” she said, realizing she did trust him.
He smiled before dropping his head and taking her mouth in a heated kiss and at the same time he sank fully within her hot folds. She sighed into his mouth as she reached up and took his head in her hands, needing to be as close to him as possible.
Moments ago she’d been trying to run from this man, and now she couldn’t get close enough to satisfy the raging hunger burning throughout her body. He gave her something she’d never had before. She feared what would happen to her when it was taken away.
For now it didn’t matter because she was right where she wanted to be and with exactly who she wanted to be with. He made slow and steady love to her, and then he carried her into the bathroom for a nice hot shower that she hoped he’d join her in.
She was falling fast, and it might not be a good thing, but it didn’t matter. Because no matter how much she tried to fight it, she kept falling into his arms. Maybe it was exactly where she was meant to be.
And maybe it was time to turn off her brain.
Chapter Twenty-Three
There was no better place for Kyle than right where he was. His world had seemed to be constantly spinning out of control until he felt the touch of this one woman. He’d given up a prestigious career, moved back home, and had still felt restless, as if he was missing something.
And then Patsy Lander stepped into his life.
He was done fighting it, done questioning it. He had to make her his. He didn’t think he could let her go. Once certainly wasn’t enough, and twice had only whetted his appetite.
The shower heated quickly, and he stood back as the hot water slid over Patsy’s lush body. She was sheer perfection, and he couldn’t get enough of her. She gazed at him as he watched her internal battle.
She was fighting her feelings for him, but he wasn’t worried about the outcome. What they had was special. He knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. They could fight it as much as they wanted, but at the end of the day they’d be together because they couldn’t manage to stay apart.
He couldn’t stand not to touch her for a second longer so he moved close, pulling her into his arms. The feel of her there reminded him how very much alive he was. She tried not looking at him, but it was magical when her head lifted, and her eyes connected with his. There was a struggle in her deep beautiful dark depths, but she was submitting to him, submitting to them.
He lowered his head, kissing her softly, easily, as if he had all the time in the world. He wanted to erase her doubts and fears. He took his time, and it didn’t take long for her to reach up and cup his face, pulling him tighter as she fiercely kissed him back.
“I need you,” he told her. He would hand over his power, give her anything she wanted. A shudder passed through her and he knew there was no fight left in her.
“Then take me,” she said, her body melting against his. He’d had her fifteen minutes earlier but his body responded to her request as if he hadn’t had sex in years. He was hard and throbbing and ready to push her against the wall and take her over and over again.
Kyle stepped back and grabbed the soap, running his fingers over every beautiful surface of her silky skin. She returned the favor, her touch unsure at first then growing more confident as her fingers circled his throbbing erection and pumped it a few times.
“Enough,” he growled in a low voice as he let the water run over them long enough to rinse the suds away. Then he lifted her, kissing her hard before walking from the shower, their bodies wet, leaving a trail of water from the bathroom to the bedroom.
He took her to the fireplace and set her down in front of it, grabbed a blanket and laid it on the floor before looking at her with hunger ravishing his entire body. Her body, wet and ready, was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Lie down,” he told her. Her immediate compliance made him harden even more. He clenched his fingers in an effort to calm his raging hormones.
She gazed at the fire and the glow from the embers made him want to grab his camera. Everything about this moment was perfect.
“Look at me,” he told her, and she slowly turned her head, her eyes heated, her skin damp and pink. “Spread your legs.” She did so immediately. He stepped closer.
As much as he liked looking at her, tasting her was even better. Their eyes never breaking the connection, he dropped to his knees in front of her spread legs. He ran his fingers over her thighs, enjoying the tremble in them.
Only then did he look away from her beautiful face so he could trace his gaze over the rest of her. He bent over and ran his tongue along the smooth skin of her i
nner thigh, loving how open she was to him. She squirmed beneath him and moaned.
He wanted to bring her so much pleasure she’d never think of any other man but him. He wanted to own her, body, soul, and spirit. He wanted to consume her just as she was consuming him. He was falling for her so deeply he should run in the other direction.
But his feelings for her ensured he’d never do that.
Reaching down, he ran a finger along her sweet pink folds and her hips arched off the floor as she silently begged for more than a light touch. He wanted to tease her, draw it out, but he didn’t know how long he could. Slipping his finger inside her, she clenched around him, and all he could think about was how good it felt when her body grabbed his thickness like that.
He added another finger and began pumping in and out of her body as he lowered his head, needing the taste of her on his tongue. He sucked her swollen flesh as he moved his fingers in and out of her faster and faster.
Her pleasure sounded in the room as his erection pulsed in time to her moans. She exploded around his fingers, and he tasted her orgasm on his tongue. It nearly caused him to lose it right there.
He took a deep breath, but that only made him inhale her scent. He knew he had to take her, knew foreplay had to end. Still, he drew out her orgasm, waiting for every ounce of pleasure to be wrung from her before he slowly made his way up her body, tasting her hips, her stomach, and the undersides of her full breasts.
She was quivering again, her fire stoked once more by the time he was lying against her, their mouths mere centimeters apart. She was panting beneath him, her eyes wild, her mouth parted.
“Tell me exactly what you want,” he demanded as the tip of his arousal rested against her hot, wet folds.
“I need you inside me,” she said, her voice barely recognizable. It was the sweetest sound ever.
He leaned down and kissed her hard, the time for talking, for games, far over. She kissed him back, their tongues tangling, their mouths fitting together perfectly. Slowly, he dipped into her hot folds a couple of inches then pulled out. The feeling was both excruciating and pleasurable.