Wild One (Summer Rush #5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  She sucked in a breath as she soaked in his words. They infused her with contentment, making her wonder how she’d lived without hearing them before. “I love you too.” And she did. Without a doubt, Dec was the first, and possibly the last, man she’d ever love.

  “Say that again,” he instructed, dragging his hot mouth across her ear. “And again.”

  “I love you, Dec.”

  He groaned, pulling her close until she was wrapped in his arms and they were completely still, just living for the moment. For the first time in forever, she was completely present as he told her without words how much she meant to him.

  Their bodies moved in sync, his eyes locked on hers while they threaded their hands together. Their music was a symphony of soft words, breathless moans, and pleas for more. And when they finally came together, Marika knew she’d never experience another moment quite like the first time Dec told her he loved her.

  ***

  “Hey, there you are,” Dec’s mom said when Marika came down to breakfast the next morning. “Dec left a note saying he had to take Jared to hockey practice because his mama was havin’ trouble with her car and his dad had to work. He didn’t want to wake you.”

  “I never sleep this late,” Marika said, checking her watch. “I’m sorry, I hope you weren’t waiting on me to have breakfast?”

  “No worries, honey. We always have brunch around here on Sundays, so your timing’s perfect. We won’t wait for Dec though. He may be a while.”

  “Okay, can I help with anything?”

  “If you could just set the table?” she asked, gesturing to a cabinet with a drawer below it.

  “Of course.” Marika could feel Dec’s mom watching as she set the table. She sensed his mom wanted to ask her something but was holding back. “I’m so glad we got to come out here. I can’t take much time off work, so this was a real treat for me.”

  “It’s a real treat for me too,” she said, setting a bowl of fresh fruit on the table alongside a stack of pancakes and syrup. “My son doesn’t bring girls home. Well, not since high school anyway.”

  “Really?” Given all the women who’d traveled in and out of Dec’s life, Marika imagined his family would have met an endless parade of women. “I wonder why that is. I know how close you all are. I’d think he’d want you to meet the woman he’s seeing.”

  “I never pressured him about it. I knew when the time was right and he’d found the right woman, we’d get a chance to meet her.”

  Marika blushed at the insinuation that she was the right woman. “We, um, haven’t been seeing each other very long, so we’re just kind of taking it slow.”

  Dec’s mother laughed as she filled two cups with coffee. “You expect me to believe that? I’m not blind, honey. I’ve seen the way my son looks at you, the way you look at him. He can’t keep his hands off you.”

  Marika loved that Dec’s mom was a straight-shooter, but she didn’t know if it was safe to confide in her. She knew Dec and his family were close, but she didn’t want to overstep by talking about things that Dec intended to keep private.

  “He’s a very passionate man.” She dipped her head when she realized she could have chosen a more appropriate word to describe the woman’s son. “That’s not what I meant…”

  “Sure it is.” She laughed, patting Marika’s hand. “Honey, my girls both have kids of their own. I don’t think the stork brought them.” In a stage whisper, her eyes bright with mischief, she said, “I’m pretty sure all my kids are…” She took a deep breath, drawing out the drama. “Not virgins.”

  Marika laughed, thinking about how much fun it would have been to grow up with this lady. She obviously didn’t take anything too seriously, and if the way she’d treated Marika was any indication, Dec’s mom made it her mission to treat strangers like family.

  “I’m sorry, this is all really new for me,” Marika said. “You know, spending time with my boyfriend’s family, trying to figure out what is and isn’t appropriate.”

  Doreen set two pancakes on her Marika’s plate. “You’ve never been married or engaged before?”

  “Not unless you count my job,” she said, adding a pancake to her own plate and topping it with fresh berries.

  “It’s wonderful to be able to do what you love for a living, but it doesn’t fill your life completely, does it? There must be voids, no? The kind that only the love of a good man can fill?”

  Marika’s lips twitched. She practically heard Dec’s voice ringing in her ears, Subtle, Ma. Real subtle. “I don’t know. Were there voids in your life?”

  Doreen smiled, seeming to appreciate the direct question. “No, but I had the love of my children. They were my world.”

  “I can understand that.” She cleared her throat as she prepared her coffee. “If I’m ever lucky enough to have children, I’m sure I’ll feel the same way.”

  “Was there…?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m being nosy.”

  “It’s okay. If you want to ask something, I don’t mind.”

  “The miscarriage,” she said, her eyes filled with sympathy. “Was it just misfortune, or was there another reason? One that might prevent you from conceiving in the future?”

  Marika realized Dec had never asked her that question, and she suddenly wondered why. If he was serious about her, wouldn’t he want to know if they could have kids together? Assuming he wanted that.

  “No, the doctor felt a combination of things caused the miscarriage. Stress…”

  She looked up and saw Dec standing in the doorway and staring at her, his eyes unreadable behind a pair of dark shades, but the tic in his jaw indicated he wasn’t happy.

  “Oh hey,” she said, smiling. “I didn’t even hear you come in.”

  “That old door is so quiet,” Doreen said, gesturing to the screen door leading from the back porch to the kitchen. “The kids used to sneak up on me and scare me witless all the time.” She looked from Dec back to Marika before she stood. “Honey, why don’t you grab yourself a plate and have brunch with Marika? I just remembered I have to run across the street and get my roasting pan back from Marilyn. I thought I’d make roast beef with new potatoes and roasted vegetables for dinner tonight.”

  They remained silent until they heard the front door slam.

  “That’s what caused the miscarriage?” he asked finally. “Stress?”

  “That may have been a factor,” she said, trying to downplay it. She could tell he was on edge and she didn’t want this to erupt into an argument. “He even mentioned excessive caffeine intake. Let’s face it, I was an intern at that time. My whole life consisted of too much coffee, too little sleep, and too much stress. Not exactly ideal for a healthy, full-term pregnancy.”

  He swore softly. “I sure as hell didn’t help matters, claiming the baby wasn’t mine and leaving you alone to deal with all that shit.”

  “We’ve been through all this,” she said, closing her eyes. “I don’t want to rehash it.”

  “Did the doctor indicate whether it was an isolated incident? The miscarriage? Is there a chance you’ll… we’ll have the same problem again?”

  She smiled. “You’re getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you?”

  He walked around the table and crouched in front of her before running his hands up and down her outer thighs. “I told you last night I love you. That means I want a future with you. I hope it means the same to you?”

  “It does.” She laid her hands over his. “But we’re still figuring things out. This thing between us won’t be easy. It’s not like we live in the same city and both work nine-to-five jobs.”

  “You think I like easy?” he teased with a playful grin. “Baby, my whole life I’ve been beating the odds. Tell me the odds are stacked against us and I’ll find a way to show you we can beat them.”

  “I believe you.” He made it easy for her to believe in them because he did.

  He leaned forward, resting his hands on the chair as he kissed her. “You ready to
hit the road soon?”

  She nodded. “You showed me your home. I can’t wait to show you mine.”

  Chapter Twelve

  After spending the day checking out Marika’s family home, the schools she’d attended, and her childhood haunts, they were dining in her favorite restaurant before heading back to the hotel. She hadn’t been able to take a three-day weekend as planned, so they had to fly out in the morning so she could be at work by early afternoon.

  “I could get used to this.” Dec polished off his wine before stealing a bite of her dessert.

  “What’s that?”

  “Having you all to myself like this. I like it.”

  She smiled as she pushed the chocolate fudge cake into the center of the table so he could have the rest, even though he’d claimed he rarely ate dessert. “It’s nice being able to take a little time off and just relax. I’m glad you talked me into it.” Her cell phone buzzed and she winced. “I’m not on call this weekend obviously, but I told Jack to call or text me if there was a problem with one of my patients. You mind if I get this?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Dec knew he’d have to get used to sharing Marika with her patients, but the thought of the good doctor intruding on their time together irked him. When he’d pressed her about it, she had confided Jack had asked her out a few times and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Hopefully now that he knew she had a boyfriend, he’d think differently. Otherwise Dec would have to have a little chat with him about respecting boundaries.

  “Oh, look a picture from Lorna.” She showed Dec. “Matthew’s wearing the new jammies I got him and she wanted me to see. Doesn’t he look adorable?”

  “He sure does.” Dec watched her fawn over the infant, expanding the image so she could tell whether the rash on his cheeks, which she’d prescribed cream for, had cleared up. “You really love kids, don’t you?”

  She laughed as she responded to her friend’s message before slipping the phone back in her purse. “I wouldn’t have chosen pediatrics if I didn’t. There’s something special about being able to make a sick child feel better, you know?” She picked up her coffee mug and drained it. “They just seem to have limitless energy, unlike adults. And when they crash, they crash hard. So being able to get them back out there, running and playing and laughing again, is pretty cool.”

  “I bet it is.” He had a vision of her sitting in a rocking chair in a nursery, soothing their sick or colicky baby, assuring them everything would be fine and they’d feel better soon as she stroked their silky hair.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  She’d caught him staring, so he had no choice but to tell her the truth. “I was just thinking you’ll be a great mom, and I’d like to be there to see that.”

  She dipped her head, trying to hide her smile. “Talking about marriage and kids is supposed to scare guys, isn’t it?”

  “It might have when I was twenty. It doesn’t anymore.” He reached across the table for her hand. “I’m not a kid anymore, Mar. I know what I want now. You.”

  She looked at their joined hands. “I want you too, but I’m not going to lie, this is all a little overwhelming. It’s happening so fast. I just assumed when I fell in love, it would take months, not weeks, to be sure.”

  “It’s not like we just met. We had a pretty powerful connection four years ago. I don’t know about you, but I spent a hell of a lot of time thinking about how different things might have been if you hadn’t miscarried.”

  She withdrew her hand and he could practically see her slipping away, back into her protective bubble. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but any thoughts I had about you over the years weren’t too favorable. I was actually pretty happy when I heard you’d been traded. It eliminated the risk of running into you somewhere.”

  “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. Naturally my feelings about you would have been different than your feelings about me. I respected you. I admired you. I was still crazy attracted to you. You thought I was a self-centered, egotistical deadbeat who was trying to shirk his responsibilities.”

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “There were times when I…” She blushed. “Never mind.”

  “Now you have to tell me.”

  She shook her head as she covered her face with her hands. “I can’t. It’s too embarrassing.”

  “Hey,” he said, leaning over the table to grip her wrist as the waiter discreetly dropped off their bill. “You don’t have to be shy with me. Tell me.”

  “Fine.” She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath as she looked him in the eye. “I may have resented you, but that doesn’t mean that night we spent together was erased from my memory.” She bit her lip. “How could it have been? It was the hottest night of my life.”

  His eyes barely left hers while he took his black card out of his wallet and slipped it into the leather case to pay the bill. “How about we make that the second hottest night of your life?”

  She grinned. “I’m game.”

  ***

  They’d barely made it through the door before Dec pressed her against it and kissed her. They’d had sex plenty of times, but something about this already felt more emotionally charged. He’d confessed he was in love with her and she’d let her guard down and admitted the same. They were in love. They were talking about the future. He could be the man she spent the rest of her life with… the father of her children.

  And she realized with sudden clarity how much she wanted that. She knew it would involve sacrifice, but she was ready and willing.

  His hands caressed her body through her clothes, but she needed more. She needed skin-on-skin contact. Pushing him a step back, she tugged her sweater dress over her head and watched his eyes widen in appreciation. She was wearing a white push-up bra, matching thong, and high-heeled over-the-knee boots. Apparently he liked what he saw because he licked his lips, reaching for her.

  “You’re still wearing too many clothes,” she said, tipping her head back when he kissed her neck.

  “I can fix that,” he murmured, his lips never leaving her neck while he unbuttoned his dark gray shirt.

  She pushed the shirt off his shoulders, wedging her thigh between his legs as he pressed her into the wall. He was so big and strong. So masculine. He made the men she’d been with before seem like little boys in comparison.

  She undid his belt and pushed his black dress pants over his hips before raising her arms above her head and thrusting her breasts into his hands. He made her feel free and totally uninhibited, and she’d never felt that way outside of his arms. It was a feeling she wanted to hold on to. To the rest of the world she could be a competent professional, but with him, she wanted to be a sexy siren who made his mouth water.

  “You’re so damn sexy,” he whispered. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  The feel of his hands on her body was becoming an addiction for her too. The heights he took her to were unparalleled, underscoring all she’d been missing out on by not having a man like Dec in her life.

  She walked him back toward the bed, pushing him back when his legs hit the edge of the mattress. He was a dominant man who loved being in control, but for tonight, she wanted to shift the balance of power and have him at her mercy for a change.

  “Lie back,” she whispered, pushing on his chest.

  “What’ve you got in mind?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow before easing back on the mattress. He was supporting his weight on his elbows, watching, waiting for her to make her next move.

  She dragged his boxers off and tossed them aside before sliding down to her knees. The look of hunger in his eyes urged her on when she wrapped her hand around his hard shaft. He grabbed a couple of pillows and stacked them under his head, obviously intent on watching the show, which only turned her on more.

  She wanted him to employ all of his senses while she worked him over. She wanted his hands tugging her hair, guiding her mouth. She wanted him
to inhale the scent of arousal while he watched her struggle to take him deeper. She wanted him to want her so badly, he could practically taste her essence—the same way he filled her mouth with his while her moans of enjoyment rang in his ears.

  And she got all she wanted and more as he surrendered, taking her as close to bliss as she could be without freefalling.

  She stood before him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as his glazed eyes stared at her, his chest heaving. He was as lost in her as she was in him. Nothing and no one existed outside of their room, and nothing mattered beyond the exploration of pleasure that lay before them.

  He’d awakened her sensual side four years ago, one she hadn’t known existed. It had vanished, along with his touch, the next day, but she’d never stopped hungering for that inexplicable sensation that made her feel so alive. The one he still brought to life every time he touched her.

  She guided his hand over her panties so he could feel how wet she was, how desperate she was for his touch. With any other man, she may have felt shame and embarrassment from being so turned on, but with Dec, she was willing to expose herself in a way she never had before.

  He slipped his finger inside the elastic, watching with satisfaction when she widened her stance, welcoming more. And he didn’t disappoint. He leaned forward and kissed her stomach while he pleasured her, his fingers coasting over her with ease, the tempo making her heart beat faster as she clamored for release.

  She gripped his broad shoulders as dots danced behind her closed eyes while her entire body trembled, her toes curling in her boots. He pulled her forward until her body was draped over his.

  “I don’t want this to end,” he whispered in her ear. “Being with you like this, seeing you like this, I can’t lose it.”

  “You won’t lose it.” I can’t lose it either.

  “Promise me?”

  Her lips curved as she supported her weight on her hands, holding her body over his. “Talk is cheap. I’d much rather show you how much I need you.”