Wild One (Summer Rush #5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  She grinned. “But what if I can’t resist you?”

  He stood, kissing her hands as she rewarded him with a contented sigh. “Then maybe I could be talked in to it.”

  She threw her head back laughing, and he knew immediately he had to hear that sound every day from now on. “Get out of here, Madsen. You’re too much of a distraction.”

  “So you’ll let me spoil you a little while I’m waiting for you to finish up here?”

  She bit her lip, considering his proposal. “Fine, as long as you promise not to go overboard.”

  He wasn’t making any promises. The limo had a deep trunk. He let his gaze travel down her legs. “Shoe size?”

  She shook her head, looking amused. “Six, but you are not buying me shoes!”

  “We’ll see about that.” He winked at her on his way out the door. “See you in a couple hours, doc.”

  ***

  Dec wished he could do something to erase the faint circles under Marika’s beautiful brown eyes. It was painfully obvious she was exhausted. He wanted, more than anything, to whisk her away on a tropical vacation where she wouldn’t have to lift a finger for a solid two weeks, but he knew the chances of talking her into that were slim.

  “So here’s the deal,” he said before kissing her hand as their driver navigated through the early evening traffic. “If I’m going to stay here and hang out with you until spring training starts, you have to promise me you’ll take some time off.”

  “I’d love for you to stay here.” She frowned, looking concerned. “But what kind of time are we talking about?”

  “You tell me what you can spare.” He wanted to spend as much time as he possibly could with her, hopefully building a relationship strong enough to endure the long-distance thing when his season started, but he didn’t want to be unreasonable.

  “Um, I can take one day a week off,” she said, seeming to consider it. “Maybe one and a half.”

  “Okay. And what time do you get off most nights?”

  “I like to wrap it up by seven, but it doesn’t always work out that way.”

  “That gives us a few hours in the evening, if you’re willing to spend a few nights a week at the hotel with me.” He wanted her to move right in there with him, but a woman like Marika would never go for an arrangement like that so soon.

  She smiled. “Or you could stay at my place? I’m closer to work and all my stuff is there, so it might be easier for me.”

  “Sure, whatever works.” It had been years since he’d lived in an apartment like hers, but he’d stay in a closet if it meant they’d have more time together. He nuzzled her neck as he drew her into his side. “Besides, if we stayed at your place, I could make you breakfast before work.”

  “You’d cook for me?” she asked, the laughter obvious in her tone.

  “Hey, I made breakfast for you before. Ham and cheese omelets, if you recall?”

  She laughed. “With all the morning-after breakfasts I’m sure you’ve had, I can’t believe you remember what you made for me.”

  “Damn it,” he said, withdrawing. “Don’t do that. Don’t put yourself in the same category as the other women I’ve been with ‘cause you’re not. Not even close.”

  Her smile was soft as her hand covered his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “You’re important to me, okay?” He curled his hand around her face as he drew her in for a kiss. “I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent thinking about you over the past four years, how many times I wished for a do-over. And now that I’m finally getting it, I don’t want to screw it up.”

  She curled her hands around his biceps when he rested his forehead against hers. “You’ve been great to me. But if you think you have anything to make up for, you don’t. I’ve already forgiven you for everything. It’s forgotten.”

  If only that were true. “You’ll never forget, and I don’t expect you to. I just want you to know I’m not the same guy who said those shitty things to you and left you with—”

  She silenced him with a kiss. “I know you’re not that guy, Dec. Enough said.”

  “I know you need to take this slow—”

  “I really do.” Her face tightened as her arched brows drew together. “It’s not that I don’t like you, because you know I do, but my life is—”

  “Busy.” He nodded. “Your career is demanding. Doesn’t leave much time for a relationship.” No one understood that better than he did. It was the reason he was still single. Most women couldn’t understand that baseball came first with him. Or at least it had. He could easily see, given more time, putting Marika first. He didn’t know what it was about her that made him want to take care of her. Maybe it was because she spent her whole life making everyone else a priority and put herself last.

  “Exactly.” Her smile was bemused when she said, “You really do get it, don’t you?”

  “I do.” That was what made them perfect for each other. They wanted the same things but understood that getting them came with extreme sacrifice and compromise. He was willing to do whatever it took. He just hoped in a couple of months, she could say the same.

  “It’s crazy to me that you’re talking about uprooting your whole life to stay here and hang out with me,” she said, reluctantly letting her eyes shift to meet his. “We’re not even, um, intimate yet.”

  He grinned. “Yet being the operative word.”

  When she blushed, he chuckled and kissed her cheek. She was a perfect conundrum. A competent doctor who could maintain her composure under any and all circumstances, yet she blushed when they talked about sex because in that area of her life, she was inexperienced. He loved it.

  “Besides, it’s not like we’ve never been intimate.” He was playing with her curls, loving the texture as they moved through his fingers. “We already know that our chemistry is off the charts.”

  “It was for me,” she said softly. “But I wasn’t sure how you felt. I don’t have a lot of, um, experiences to compare it to. You do. You’ve probably been with women who were a lot more adventurous, who would do just about anything to please you.”

  Ugh. He had been with too many women like that. That was what was so refreshing about Marika. She wasn’t afraid to be herself or say no if she wasn’t into something. She showed him what she liked every time he touched her and she never faked it or held back. She was real. And that was what he’d always wanted—a woman who wasn’t afraid to be real with him.

  “You pleased me,” he murmured against her lips. “In every way. Why do you think I’m back here? Why do you think I called your brother and asked him to include me in the fund-raiser?”

  “Oh my God!” She slapped his leg. “That reminds me. When I went back into the fund-raiser, I learned about your donation. A hundred grand? Seriously?”

  “It was a great cause. I was happy to do it.”

  “That was so incredibly generous. Thank you.”

  He hoped she’d be as accepting of his gift to her. The donation wasn’t as much as the zero balance receipt he had to give her tonight, the one making him so nervous he could barely swallow past the lump in his throat when he thought about it. He didn’t want her to be mad or think he’d taken liberties he had no business taking.

  “My pleasure, sweetheart.”

  They pulled up to the hotel, and the chauffeur got out to help them out.

  “Do you always have a driver?” she asked as Dec ushered them inside.

  “God, no. I’m not crazy about it, to be honest. But it beats taking a cab or an Uber.”

  After greeting the doorman, they crossed the posh lobby and Marika slipped her hand in his, making him smile. He brought her hand to his lips, thinking how good it felt to touch her. They were alone on the elevator when he backed her into the mirrored wall and kissed her. Her hands fisted in his shirt and the kiss took a desperate turn as she moaned into his mouth while he boosted her up on the rail running the width of the elevator.


  “Damn, girl.” She could turn him on with just a kiss, tempting him to hit the stop button and strip her down so he could watch her release in the mirrors. “You have no idea how much I want you right now.”

  The elevator dinged, and thankfully no one was waiting in the hall while she inched off the railing and righted her clothes. “For the record,” she whispered, as they hurried down the hall, “the feeling’s mutual.”

  That was all he needed, just the slightest indication she was ready to hit the gas. It took him two tries to get the damn key card to work, but once it did, he threw the door open and slammed it behind them before pushing her against it.

  He wasn’t gentle or considerate this time. He was rough and demanding, taking what he wanted as he pulled off her light sweater and unclasped her bra. Seeming as anxious as he was, she tugged open his belt before working on his jeans. Clothes were flying as their kisses progressed to sucking, biting, and hungry moans.

  She was still pinned to the door, but she didn’t seem to mind as she wrapped her legs around his waist and grinded against him. She fisted her hands in his hair and kissed him like he’d never been kissed before. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so turned on. Yes, he could. Four years ago when he was anticipating being inside her for the first time. He felt just like that now. Wound tight. Desperate. Needy. Like if he didn’t sink inside her soon, he’d lose his mind.

  “I need to get a condom, baby.” His voice was hoarse and raspy as she dragged her lips across his neck.

  She nodded, reluctantly releasing him.

  “Bed?” That was all he could manage. One single word.

  “Here.”

  Apparently he wasn’t the only one who’d lost the ability to speak.

  As she watched him roll on the condom, she whispered, “I’m on the pill now too, so no surprises.”

  Damn. That look in her eye, the trace of hurt and sadness, he needed to wipe that away. She was already naked, and as he slid his hands between her legs, he found her hot and wet.

  “You are so sexy,” he muttered, sliding his finger back and forth over her sex. “So hot.”

  She flattened her back against the door and raised her arms over her head when he entered her with two fingers, making her mouth slip open. “Dec… that feels so… good.”

  He was fascinated, watching her. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was open. Her cheeks were flushed as her body moved in time with his hand. She was seeking and taking her pleasure, completely open to everything he offered, and he loved that.

  Dec wanted to make her forget everything. To help her escape her problems for a while and get lost in ecstasy. To enjoy the wave of erotic sensations, letting it carry her higher as he drove deeper. It was obvious when she was about to climax because she gasped and her entire body tightened before it shuddered with the echoes of her cry. He was in love with that sound.

  “I can’t,” she whispered, sinking against his shoulder. “I can’t move.”

  He chuckled as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He’d planned to take her right there against the door, but it was obvious her entire body felt boneless. He was gratified to see her so relaxed.

  “I love watching you like this,” he whispered, sweeping her curls off her face after lying down beside her. “So relaxed.”

  “I never get like this with anyone else. I don’t know what it is about you. You make me feel so safe. So comfortable.” She pulled back to look him in the eye, wrinkling her nose. “That probably sounds weird, doesn’t it? Like I—”

  He cut her off with a kiss. It didn’t sound weird at all. She was echoing his thoughts. It felt right. So damn right. It had been four years ago too. That was the reason he’d come back—he’d never been able to recapture that feeling with anyone else.

  “Dec…” She ran her hand down his chest, over his hip and thigh before circling his shaft. “I need you. Now.”

  “Jesus.” He closed his eyes when she pushed him on his back and straddled him. “Let me…”

  “No.” She leaned over to kiss him, her breasts and hair brushing his chest. “I love it like this.”

  She inched down slowly as he grit his teeth at how tight she was. Even if she hadn’t confessed she hadn’t been with anyone since him, he would have guessed. It felt exactly like it did their first time together. Like nothing he’d ever experienced.

  “I need a minute.” He gripped her hips, letting air slowly seep through his lips. “You’re so…” He drew a deep breath, trying to get it together. Damn. He wanted to make this last, to make it good for her, but he was already ready to blow.

  “It’s okay to let go, tough guy,” she said with a saucy smile as she planted her hands on his chest. “You have all night to make it up to me.”

  “Is that right?” he asked, filling his hands with her breasts. He teased her nipples between his fingers, watching with satisfaction as her head rolled back and her hips rocked back and forth of their own volition. “All night, huh?”

  She must he exhausted, yet she was willing to do all the work while she offered him her body again. This woman was a goddess. His goddess. He felt a fierce wave of possession as he watched her move, taking her pleasure as she rubbed against him. He wanted this woman like he’d never wanted anyone. And not just for tonight. Or the next two months. He wanted to take her home with him. He wanted to be the only man she made love to like this.

  “I love to watch you like this,” he hissed, trying to control his reaction when she picked up her pace. “So uninhibited and free.”

  She licked her lips as she pushed his hands out of the way before claiming her own breasts. Her look was pure seduction as she moved over him, touching herself and driving him slowly out of his mind.

  He gripped her hips, slowing her pace, before his thumb brushed her core, making her inhale sharply as her eyes locked with his. He teased her with his fingers, his movements slow enough to get her to the peak but not fast enough to drive her over the edge. He knew exactly what he was doing. Making her crave it. Crave him. Maybe it made him a selfish bastard, but he wanted to hear her beg, to know that he was the only one who could give her what she needed.

  “You like that?” he asked, her eyes still boring into his.

  “You know I do.”

  “You want to come for me, don’t you?”

  She nodded slowly as she inched up then back down on his shaft, time after time. She was issuing a challenge, letting him know that he may think he had her right where he wanted her, but she wasn’t powerless.

  He groaned when she clenched him in her tight heat and he had to admit defeat. He picked up the tempo, gliding his finger over her at a furious pace, needing her to surrender so he could.

  “Oh…” Her body slumped forward as she dug her nails into his chest.

  Feeling the intense pulsing as she exploded was all it took for him to let go. He palmed her lower back, holding her still so she could take all of him. He didn’t want the condom between them. He wanted to empty inside her. He wanted… To get her pregnant again, idiot? Maybe that was exactly what he wanted. The chance to man up the way he should have the first time she told him she was carrying his baby.

  He was still reeling from that thought when she kissed his jaw and shifted back to her side of the bed. “Hey, you okay?”

  “Uh, yeah.” He smiled as he shook off the idea, knowing it wouldn’t be the last time he thought about getting her pregnant. “I just need to take care of this, baby. Be right back.”

  Chapter Six

  Marika couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt… so content. Wrapped in his strong arms, all of her problems melted away. She wasn’t thinking about the toddler who’d come in with croup that morning or the six-year-old presenting with disturbing symptoms that required follow-up tests. She wasn’t even thinking about the eight-year-old who’d been diagnosed with leukemia last week. She’d closed her office door and cried when she got that diagnosis.

  It wasn’t the f
irst time one of her patients had faced a life-threatening illness, but every time she got the news, she grieved in private and put on her brave face for the patient and their parents. Because that was what she had to do. She was a doctor. She compartmentalized her feelings. But it was so damn hard to do that sometimes. Being with Dec made it a little easier because he gave her something she’d never had before. Balance. Something to look forward to at the end of a long day. A toe-curling distraction like the one she’d just experienced.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking, beautiful.” He was drawing lazy circles on her back, making her sleepy.

  “I was thinking about work… and the fact that I don’t think about work when I’m with you.”

  He sounded amused when he asked, “And that’s a good thing?”

  “You have no idea, Dec. I’ve never been able to leave my work at the office, though every doctor I know says you have to if you want to survive in this business. But… I don’t know. I have a hard time with that. I hate to see kids suffer. I want to help if I can, and I hate that I can’t always help. It eats away at me.”

  He brushed his lips across her forehead. “You know how amazing I think you are? Not just what you do, but who you are? You don’t just practice medicine, Mar. You bring everything you have to it. Those kids are lucky. They get the very best of you. That’s not the case with all doctors, you know.”

  She knew that. For some doctors, it was a career. For her, it was a calling. It was the only thing she’d ever wanted to do and she loved it with her whole heart, but she knew she’d have to find a healthy balance sooner or later or risk burnout.

  “Well, you got the best of me tonight,” she said, skimming her hand over his cut abs. God, she loved his muscular body. She could alternate between admiring and experiencing it all day every day. But that was a dangerous thought. She only had him for a couple more months, at most.