Allison could think of nothing but what Joe was doing to her. She was beyond caring they were on a beach, their bodies silvered by moonlight.
The pleasure when he licked the areola around her nipple was so intense she gasped. When he took the nipple in his mouth, caressing it with his tongue, she thought she would faint with ecstasy. A warmth ignited deep in the pit of her belly and flamed into desire that burned through her body, concentrating between her legs and making her forget everything but Joe and how much she wanted him.
He lifted her head and she thrilled to the answering desire she saw in his eyes. “Ally,” he murmured. He bent his head to attend to her other breast.
Allison twined her fingers through his hair as he suckled her breast, flicking it and teasing it with his tongue. She felt herself opening and melting for him and she tilted her hips toward him.
He groaned at her sensuous movement and lifted his mouth from her breast to kiss her again. His kiss was fierce, demanding, and Allison kissed him back with equal hunger. His heart pounded against her breast.
He pulled her tighter, lifting her and cupping her bottom in his strong hands. The excitement levels that had been growing with every kiss became almost unbearable. His hands slid down to the top of her garter belt. She gasped at the sensation of Joe’s hands on her heated skin. His fingers were excitingly rough from the calluses worn by the steel strings of his guitar.
She could feel his arousal pressing insistently against her and knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
She’d told him that night at her house it was too soon to make love. That seemed an age ago. Now it seemed like Joe had been a part of her life forever.
She wanted him and she loved him. She loved him. The thought was a revelation.
Joe was beyond thinking about the consequences of making love to Allison. He just wanted her—and he wanted her now. He’d want her tomorrow, too. This woman was special.
He lifted her back along the beach, deep into the shelter of the tree shadows. Then he laid her down on the sand so she was lying on her back, his leather jacket cushioning her from the hardness of the ground. She made no protest when he undid the single hook that fastened her dress and untied the tie so the silky fabric slid away from her, falling on either side, revealing the full length of her body to his hungry eyes.
Her breasts swelled over her bra, the nipples hard and erect; her curvy hips covered by only her garter belt and the briefest triangle of white lace. He groaned at the sight of her creamy thighs, bare where the silky stocking ended. Garters. The stairways to heaven.
It was agony not to take her right now. But he wanted to take his time, give her as much pleasure as he could, bring her to a fever pitch of excitement. She’d been so reluctant to make love, she needed gentle handling.
He unfastened the front clasp of her bra and her magnificent breasts sprang free. He fondled them, kneading the hard nipples between his fingers until she moaned.
He bent to kiss her again but, to his surprise, Allison impatiently unbuttoned his jacket and roughly pushed it off his shoulders, then unbuttoned his shirt so his chest was bared.
She rubbed his nipples and caressed his chest and he growled as her hands slid down his belly to unbuckle his belt. How could she expect him to hold himself back when she incited him like that?
He pulled down her lace panties and she lifted her hips to make it easier for him. Her triangle of hair was a tangle of palest blond curls and he gently pulled and played with it before sliding down to explore the secrets of her womanhood.
Allison’s breathing was ragged, her face flushed, her eyes dark with desire. She shuddered and trembled and bucked her pelvis urgently toward his fingers. Joe realized with a shock she was on the edge of coming. Forget being patient and gentle. Allison was as hot for him as he was for her.
She reached for his zipper and yanked it down, the rasping of it loud in the silence of the night. With fingers that trembled with urgency, she tugged off his pants and his boxer shorts.
With hands only slightly more steady, Joe reached for the protection from his jacket pocket.
Desire had become a fever and Allison opened her thighs, her hips undulating in a rhythm as old as time, urging Joe to take her. She could feel him nudging her entrance with his warm, hard erection and anticipation of what was to come almost made her faint. He thrust into her warmth, invading her, filling her. She gasped her pleasure and gripped him in welcome. He was hard and strong and his rhythm answered her desperate need of him.
Without losing a stroke, Joe hooked her feet up behind his neck so he leaned over her. “I want to watch your face,” he murmured, as he thrust into her, caressing her with his fingers at the same time so she became almost delirious with excitement. She didn’t know where her body ended and his began.
His mouth was twisted with desire and his eyes dark with passion and she found the look of sensual concentration on his face unbearably sexy.
She moved her hips to meet his rhythm, faster and faster until the pleasure became so fierce she exploded into orgasm. She called out his name over and over. This was passion like she had never dreamed possible.
But there was no respite from the pleasure, no rest, no lull. He reared above her like a dark deity, pumping his life force into her, his head flung back as he growled his ultimate pleasure. The sight and sensations of his release, and the knowledge she had given him this ecstasy, excited her unbearably and set her off into another shuddering spasm of delight.
Their limbs still entwined Joe turned her to him and lay next to her on the sand, his breath as ragged as hers. She could feel his heart pounding against her breast, smell the marvelous salty smell of him. She felt exhilarated, high, as well as exhausted and deeply, fulfillingly satisfied. She laughed with the sheer joy of it.
“What was that for?” Joe asked, tenderly stroking damp tendrils of hair back from her face.
Allison laughed again, overwhelmed by happiness. “What we did was just so wonderful. You’re so wonderful.”
She kissed him. She’d wanted him so much for what seemed like so long, fantasized over him and here he was, this perfect male—her lover. But he wasn’t just a sexy, mind-blowingly handsome body. This was Joe, the man she loved. She turned this new realization over in her mind. Should she tell him she loved him? She ached to share her feelings with him. To tell him how much he meant to her. How much she hoped—
Her cell phone rang, its strident tones rending the silence of the night.
For a disbelieving second she just stared at Joe, unable to comprehend the interruption. Then she sat up and fumbled for her purse, carelessly discarded on the sand nearby.
She answered it. It was Katie, her voice pitched high with worry.
“Allison, Mitchell’s got a very high fever. He’s not responding to paracetamol and I’m worried.” It took Allison a second to remember that acetaminophen or Tylenol was known as paracetamol in Australia. Whatever, this was bad news.
“I’ll be home as soon as I can. Call the hospital, ask them for advice.”
Allison turned to Joe. “It’s Mitchell—he’s sick. I need to get home. Now.”
With clumsy fingers, Allison pulled her clothes back into order, cursing as she hunted in the sand for her panties, frantic with worry, twisted with guilt.
Thank heaven for the speed of the Harley—within fifteen minutes they were drawing up in front of her house.
Allison tugged off her helmet and thrust it at Joe. She ran to her front door and pounded on it, too anxious to waste time fumbling for her key. Katie answered the door immediately, as if she’d been pacing near the door waiting for her.
The girl looked distraught, her face pale. “Thank heaven you’re here. Mitchell’s getting worse,” she gabbled. “He was fine earlier in the evening. Just the little cough he’s been unable to shake off. But now—”
By this time Allison was running up the stairs, Joe following her, Katie breathlessly telling her what had happened as sh
e climbed the stairs after them. “The hospital told me to give him paracetamol, and to sponge him down but it’s made no difference. I was just about to phone them again.”
Allison rushed to the cot, to find Mitchell lying there in just his diaper. His little face was burning scarlet, his hair all damp and standing up in spikes. He was whimpering deliriously. Suddenly his little body went completely rigid and arched, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he convulsed into a fit, his limbs flailing out of control.
“Mitchell!” Allison cried, her voice shrill with terror, reaching for him. “What’s wrong?”
CHAPTER NINE
“Let me help,” said Joe, pushing his way past Katie to get to Mitchell’s cot. “I think he’s had a febrile convulsion. We’ve got to get him to the ER.”
Allison was holding Mitchell to her. “Come on, sweetie,” she crooned, her voice breaking.
Joe put his hand on Mitchell’s forehead—it was burning.
“Don’t wrap him in anything—keep him cool,” Joe ordered. “Katie, you said you’d sponged him down, we need to do it again.” Katie ran toward the bathroom.
The anguish on Allison’s face tore at Joe’s heart. “Joe, how do you know what this is?”
“Lissa had febrile convulsions when she was a baby. And I studied it in first aid. The fit is caused by the child’s temperature soaring so quickly his body can’t cope, and kind of goes into overdrive.”
Katie handed him a cool, damp washcloth and gently he smoothed it over Mitchell’s fever-racked body. Mitchell didn’t protest. “That’s it, little guy, we’re just cooling you down,” Joe murmured.
The baby’s limpness and vacant gaze was more alarming than the actual fit. Joe’s eyes met Allison’s—hers wide with a terror he knew was reflected in his own.
He was anxious to reassure her—and himself. He spoke rapidly but as calmly as he could. “A febrile convulsion isn’t usually dangerous. Lissa was fine after hers—no side effects at all. But he should be in hospital if he has another fit.”
“Let’s go. Hurry,” Allison cried.
Katie stuffed a few diapers and some pajamas into a bag and followed them out of the room, snatching up both her purse and Allison’s as she went, and slamming the door behind them.
In Allison’s car, Joe drove as fast as he legally could the short distance to the hospital. Allison and Katie sat in the back seat with Mitchell, who fell asleep.
Joe slid into the parking bay in front of Accident and Emergency. Mitchell awoke and started crying as Allison got out of the car with him in her arms. His cry was reassuringly loud. “Don’t run with him,” Joe cautioned Allison. “You might drop him and then we’ll have a real problem.”
She managed a watery smile and her eyes were warm with unspoken thanks.
Joe followed her into the hospital. Thank heaven he’d been there with her tonight. He couldn’t bear the thought of her having to cope on her own. She’d struggled too long without any help.
The waiting room was half full of people. But the triage nurse in charge of assessing patient priorities saw them immediately. She took Mitchell’s temperature and then asked for some details from Allison.
As Allison shakily gave details of Mitchell’s date of birth and health record, Joe realized how much he didn’t know about this little family.
And how much more he wanted to know.
The nurse smiled reassuringly at Allison. “Mrs. Bradley, we have one of the best pediatric emergency units in Sydney here. Mitchell is in good hands. You can take him in straight away.”
She turned to Joe. “Mr. Bradley, you can take your wife and son through there,” she said, pointing to a double door to the right of her desk.
“I’m not Mr. Bradley.” Joe blurted out the words without realizing the possible consequences.
“Oh,” she said. “You’re not Mitchell’s father?”
Was she going to try and stop him? He wasn’t family. He had no rights to be with Allison and Mitchell. But they needed him. There was no way he was going to pace the waiting room.
“He’s a good friend,” explained Allison, “and so is Katie.”
The sister looked them over. “Fine. Go on in then.”
The pediatrician saw them immediately. She took Mitchell’s temperature again. Thankfully, it had gone down a few points since Katie had taken it at home. The doctor lay Mitchell on a hospital cot and examined him thoroughly as she listened to Allison, Joe and Katie explain what had happened. When the doctor had finished her examination, Allison stood by the cot, stroking Mitchell’s cheek until he fell asleep again.
“It sounds like a febrile convulsion, all right,” the doctor said, in a reassuringly matter-of-fact tone. “It’s frightening, but not uncommon in children of this age.”
Joe was relieved his diagnosis had been right. Allison shot him a grateful glance.
The doctor looked at Katie, “You did the right thing giving him the paracetamol,” she said. “Bringing his temperature down as quickly as possible is most important. It’s on its way down which is a good sign.”
She turned to Allison. “I want to keep Mitchell under observation for a few hours. We’ll give him antibiotics for the chest infection that’s brought the fever on. I think he’ll be fine now, but we can’t let him go home until his temperature is normal.”
Allison’s eyes were swimming with tears. “Are you sure he’ll be all right?” she said, moving away from the cot.
Joe put his arm around her. He was filled with a fierce yearning to protect her and her child from any hardship or pain. The anxiety contorting her lovely face wrenched at his heart.
“I’m pretty sure,” the doctor said. “I just want to keep an eye on Mitchell. You can stay with him; there’s room for you all as we’re very quiet tonight. Just call a nurse if you need any help,” she said, as she moved away.
Allison thanked the doctor and then fell silent for a second, looking uncertainly around her.
“I’ll stay with you,” Joe said, holding her a little tighter.
“Me, too,” chimed in Katie.
Allison squeezed Joe’s arm in gratitude before she turned away from him. She gave Katie a hug. “It’s nearly midnight, I want you to go home.”
“But—”
“We don’t all need to be here. I’m going to call you a cab.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Katie asked, a worried look on her pretty young face.
Allison smiled and looked at Joe, and his heart did a somersault at the expression in her eyes. “Joe’s here,” she said, “we’ll be fine.”
Joe left Allison with Mitchell and walked Katie out to her taxi. She still looked anxious. “I keep blaming myself,” she blurted out. “Maybe there was something else I could have done.”
Poor kid, she really had done her best. Allison was fortunate—Katie was an excellent nanny. “You heard the doctor, you did great,” he reassured her. “You couldn’t have done any more. But now you need to go home and get some sleep.”
He waved her off and turned back toward the ward. He should be grateful to Katie. If she hadn’t left Allison in the first place he wouldn’t have had the chance of becoming Mitchell’s nanny—and Allison’s lover.
Making love with Allison had been mind-blowing. He’d never felt like that with any other woman. But what now?
Allison wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of woman. And he wanted to make love with her at every opportunity. Yet he had no intention of settling down. So why was he letting himself get involved? Was he allowing desire for her beautiful body to completely stifle those warning bells in his head?
He thought about it as he walked back into the ward. He thought about the triage sister’s assumption he was Allison’s husband and Mitchell’s father, and the change in her expression when she realized he was not. He’d never felt more like family to Allison and her son and yet he was nothing to them. A good friend, Allison had described him to the nurse. Is that all he wanted to be to her and Mitche
ll?
Allison was standing by Mitchell’s cot, looking down into his face. “He’s still asleep but a little restless,” she said, her face drawn with worry, her eyes still glistening with tears. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Cold?” he asked.
“A little. Though your jacket helps.”
“Keep it for as long as you like,” he said.
“But aren’t you cold?”
“I’m tough.”
Allison looked adorable in his too-big jacket. And just as well she had it on—in her haste she hadn’t fastened her dress properly and it gaped open revealing a creamy, voluptuous swell of breast.
She noticed the direction his eyes had taken. “That was wonderful tonight, wasn’t it?” she whispered, moving into his arms. “I can’t wait to do it again.”
Then she became serious as she looked up at him. “It means so much, you being here with me and Mitchell tonight. I don’t know how I can thank you.”
Her sensuous mouth trembled and Joe stilled it with a finger as he gently traced her lips. She shivered again, though this time he doubted it was from cold.
“I’m glad I’m here for you,” he murmured, before he gently kissed her, holding her close to him, her breasts soft against his chest. Never had it felt so right to be with her.
A discreet cough caused him to pull away from Allison. A nurse stood near the cot. “I’ve brought an extra chair,” she said. “Shall I put it here?”
“Yes,” he said at the same time Allison did and they both smiled.
The nurse left them alone again. Allison pulled his jacket closely around her. She checked on Mitchell again. “I really need coffee,” she said. “How about you? I saw a vending machine out near the waiting room.”
“That would be great,” Joe said. A strong, hot coffee was just what he wanted.
“Can you keep an eye on Mitchell?”
“Sure,” he said.
Joe watched her as she walked away from him, his black jacket covering her shapely bottom, her long silky dress flowing incongruously beneath it. Allison Bradley, the right woman at the wrong time. What was he going to do about it?
Something About Joe Page 13