A Matter of Trust (The Boston Five Series #5)

by Poppy J. Anderson

  His eyes searched hers. “Because we had an argument?” He bore no resemblance to the man who had raged like a maniac in the ER earlier. His swollen nose was the only evidence that it had been Kyle who’d gotten into a fight with his patient’s father. “We yelled at each other and said terrible things. You left before I was ready to apologize.”

  She gave him a skeptical look. “You were going to apologize to me? For what?”

  When he took a step toward her, she retreated out of reflex, stopped only by the sturdy door at her back. He could probably see that, with the state she was in, all he’d have to do was reach out his hand and she would huddle closer for comfort. But he thought it better to keep his distance.

  “I wanted to apologize for being so damn insensitive, for disregarding what you told me.”

  She looked up at him in confusion and found worry and compassion in his light-brown eyes. “What … what do you mean?”

  “Jesus, Morgan,” he whispered hoarsely. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you after all the things you told me. I should have comforted you.”

  Morgan chewed her lower lip. “It’s not necessary,” she said without conviction. “I don’t need anyone to comfort me.” That was such a blatant lie even a blind man could have seen it.

  “Everyone needs comfort once in a while,” he protested softly.

  Now the idiot was doing his best to make her burst into tears! He was taking advantage of her emotional mood! She had no choice but to mumble, “I don’t want to talk about this out here. Come inside.”

  She didn’t wait for his answer but unlocked the front door and had to surrender her shopping to him—he was always acting the gentleman. Once in her apartment, he set the bag on her kitchen counter and took a polite step aside. The swollen nose looked incongruous with his otherwise perfect face, so Morgan wrinkled her own nose and opened the freezer door. She fished out a pack of frozen peas and handed it to him.

  “What am I supposed—”

  “They’re for your nose.”

  Obediently, Kyle pressed the pack against his face. “Is that a woman thing, advising men to chill their injured noses?”

  “What makes you think that?” Morgan started unpacking her groceries and putting them away, silently ordering herself not to lose her cool over his presence in her apartment. She needed to just avoid looking at him. But how could you ignore a man as tall as a tree, standing in the middle of her kitchen, making her heart beat faster despite everything they’d been through?

  “My mom told me several times that I needed to put ice on it, too.”

  Morgan cleared her throat. “You went to see your mom? Didn’t you have to finish your shift?”

  His sigh sounded heavy with resignation. “Come on, Morgan. I’m not a complete idiot. Of course I’m taking off, as the lawyer advised. I left right after you.”

  She looked back at him over her shoulder. “The lawyer didn’t just advise you to take some time off, he all but ordered you to.”

  “Do we have to argue about that? I think we have enough we need to talk about.”

  Morgan put a carton of eggs next to the stove and swallowed. “Are you here to convince me to write a recommendation for you after all?”

  She could feel him step behind her.

  “I’m here because I’m worried about you, Morgan,” he whispered and put a gentle hand on her elbow. “And because I want to apologize for the fact that you had to witness me flipping out today.”

  “So I can recommend you as a foster father for Cody.”

  “No,” he objected with the patience of a saint. “So you won’t think badly of me.”

  Morgan turned around to face him. She had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. “Of course you don’t want me to think badly of you, because I make the decision regarding custody of Cody.”

  Despite her harsh words, there wasn’t the tiniest flicker of anger in Kyle’s eyes. He remained calm, unfazed, and shook his head. “You want to know why I don’t want you to think badly of me? It’s because you mean a lot to me, Morgan. A whole lot. That has nothing to do with Cody.”

  She searched his face and cursed the lump forming in her throat. Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. “You don’t need to go on …”

  “Morgan.”

  She took a shaky breath. “I’ve been thinking of handing your case to a colleague.”

  He searched her face. “Why?”

  Morgan rubbed her aching eyes. “You were right, Kyle,” she confessed. “I can’t be objective when you’re involved. Maybe I can’t be objective at all anymore. Maybe I’m not suitable for this kind of job.”

  She heard him draw his breath, but before he could interject, she continued, “I’ve seen too many horrible things recently. I should probably go get a job sorting files in a different department.” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed in resignation. “Someplace I don’t have to work with people.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

  “Do I?” Morgan gave him a look that betrayed her dismay. “My judgment is gone. How am I supposed to go on doing my job?”

  Kyle stepped even closer. “Let me tell you what I saw today. I saw someone who selflessly took care of a little girl and won her trust, Morgan. You managed to take away her fear for a moment, and I know for a fact that few people have that ability.”

  Bitter bile rose in Morgan’s throat. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered, her voice unsteady with tears.

  When he reached out his hand and ran his thumb across her cheek very gently, she flinched at first, but his voice was tender as he whispered, “I may never know how hard your childhood was for you, love, and my heart aches for the girl you once were, but I know that you are a strong woman. I saw that today.”

  “Oh, Kyle …” She pressed her lips together, suppressing a sob.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured. “We don’t have to talk about your father or your stepmother.”

  Morgan had to hold on to something, so she clutched at his shirt and fixed her gaze on the small hollow at the base of his tan throat. Her voice sounded warped when she revealed her greatest pain. “It’s not about me, Kyle. I … I made peace with my childhood a while ago. It’s about … about Sandy Jackson and what she did … what she did to her children. It’s about what I didn’t prevent.”

  She couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing in her ears, and she didn’t want to look up either, didn’t dare look into his face. Instead, she clung to him, staring at his throat. She struggled to keep her voice under control.

  “I was assigned to her case. A mother of three, freshly separated from her husband, who’d left her for another woman … The youngest girl’s teacher had called us. The youngest … the youngest was showing obvious signs of neglect.” Her intake of breath sounded like another sob. “Sandy and I had … had several conversations. I referred her to a psychologist and … and got her help for the household. The children began to do better at school, and Sandy got … got a new job. And then …” Morgan’s eyes widened with the recollection. “And then the police called.”

  Kyle’s chest inflated with tension. “Morgan, you don’t have to—”

  “She killed the children, Kyle.” The horror invaded her limbs again. It felt just as terrible as it had weeks ago, when she’d been sitting in her office and had received the call from the police department. “She put her kids in the car, got in, and left the engine running. The … the neighbors saw the fumes coming from the garage.”

  She heard him draw in a hissing breath, and she sank against his chest. “Why did she have to put the children in the car?” she asked helplessly. “Bella was only six. Sue had just had her first ballet recital a week earlier. And Paul had just won the spelling bee at his school. I … I don’t understand it.”

  With a loud sob, she finally began to cry, pressing her face against his shoulder.

  It took her a while to even feel that he was holding the back of her head, kissing
her forehead and stroking her back. His comforting hands felt so good that words were unnecessary. And when, after a while, he picked her up as if she were light as a feather and carried her to her bed, Morgan held on to his hand so he wouldn’t get the idea he should leave. She was satisfied only when he lay down beside her—as fully dressed as she was—and she could nestle into his soothing embrace.

  Chapter 13

  When Morgan woke, she looked up at the ceiling, feeling disoriented and tired. She realized it was still pitch dark, so it had to be the dead of night. She closed her eyes again, wondering what might have woken her. Turning over on her side to find her favorite position, she pushed against a warm body next to her.

  For a brief moment, she was startled that there was someone in her bed. But then a familiar, concerned voice asked, “Did I wake you up?”

  Remembering how she wouldn’t let Kyle leave, she relaxed and retreated to her side so she could look toward him in the darkness. “Were you trying to sneak out of my apartment in the middle of the night?” she joked.

  Kyle rolled over onto his side to face her. “I was actually trying to take off my shoes—and yours, too. Otherwise we’ll wake up with our feet all numb in the morning.”

  Never before had Morgan felt this wonderfully sheltered upon waking up. Lying here in her bed looking into Kyle’s face, feeling his warm body so close to hers, it felt as if they were in a warm bubble of their own, where the outer world could not reach. All their problems, all sorrowful or sinister thoughts, were gone, and all that mattered was that she was here with the man who touched her heart.

  “Admit it,” she whispered. “You were going to undress and savage me.”

  Kyle leaned forward until the tip of his nose met hers. “Do you really think a gentleman like me would do such a thing?”

  She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Gentlemen are great, but pediatricians with swollen noses aren’t bad either.”

  His chuckle did strange things to her stomach. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to choose. You either want the gentleman or the pediatrician.”

  “Aw, no.” Morgan scooted even closer, onto his side of the mattress. “Why do I have to choose? I liked the paramedic, but I thought the gentleman was extremely charming, and the pediatrician …” She paused and interlaced her fingers with his.

  “What about the pediatrician?”

  Even though she could only vaguely see his face in the dark room, which was only barely illumined by the weak light of the streetlamps outside, she looked into his eyes and tentatively licked her lips. “The pediatrician managed to sneak his way into my heart. That’s cheesy, isn’t it?”

  “Not at all,” he murmured, raising their interlaced hands to his lips to press a kiss to her wrist. “I think it’s very reassuring.”

  Of all the things he could have said, he’d declared her feelings for him reassuring?

  Her head jerked up. “What? You think it’s reassuring that I’ve fallen in love with you?”

  “Absolutely,” he confirmed in his deep voice. “Mainly because I was wondering if you would think I’m an idiot if I confessed that I love you, Morgan. So, it reassures me to no end that you seem to feel the same.”

  “That’s …” She smiled at him, the butterflies in her stomach spreading again and a pure, unadulterated feeling of bliss flooding her. “Reassuring.”

  Kyle chuckled and leaned over to give her what was most likely the sweetest kiss of her life. Morgan literally swooned and pressed her body against his, while her head felt as if she were floating.

  When he wrapped his arms around her, pulled his lips from hers, and pressed them against her forehead instead, Morgan breathed in his scent and put her free hand on his chest, her palm on the spot where she could feel his heartbeat.

  “Kyle?” she whispered.

  “Mm-hm?”

  She hid her smile against his shoulder. “Don’t you think it’s a bit weird?”

  “What’s weird, love?”

  His caress sent warm shivers over her skin. “Don’t you think it’s weird that we’ve confessed our love for each other even though we haven’t slept together yet?”

  He seemed to think for a moment. “Don’t blame me,” he said, “you were the one who wanted a gentleman.”

  With a snort, she pinched his side and then found herself on her back, with Kyle above her, studying her face, exploring every inch of it with his gaze. He didn’t say a word, merely looked at her for such a long time that she began to get nervous. Then he finally lowered his head and kissed her.

  She returned the deep kiss with abandon. Sensing she might lose herself in it, she moaned his name and ran her hands up his arms and shoulders. He tasted incredible, his lips felt perfect on hers, and his moan was so sweet in her ears that she replied with a sigh that came straight from her core. His tongue began to explore her mouth. Even if she’d wanted to protest—which she didn’t—she couldn’t have done it. His enthusiastic kiss, his taste, his scent, and his warm, tempting body, which Morgan wanted to rub herself against, conspired to make her forget the world around her.

  Instead, she dug her fingers into his shoulders and kissed him back, oblivious and floating on a cloud of bliss. She couldn’t get enough of him. There was something about the man that attracted her so strongly it almost felt as if she were mesmerized.

  And when he took her hands in his and placed them next to her head, while continuing to kiss her deeply, she thought she couldn’t bear it any longer.

  Morgan squirmed beneath him, cursed her clothes, and arched her body against his.

  She broke the kiss, panting, her head falling back on her pillow. His breath came heavy, and his blond hair fell into his face. God, he drove her absolutely wild. He was still holding her wrists, but Morgan didn’t feel captive or at his mercy at all. She trusted him completely.

  “Take off your clothes already,” she panted pleadingly.

  When he laughed, she wanted to swat his aching nose for it. “Is that an order?”

  “Take it as an order, yes.” Morgan exhaled on a sigh. “Drop your pants, Kyle. Now.”

  He didn’t seem to take her order too seriously, because he kissed her again—while his shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter. Morgan returned the kiss, but she nipped his lower lip to get back at him, using his brief moment of alarm to wiggle out from under him. They jousted playfully for the upper position, until they were both lying on their backs, next to each other, gasping for breath.

  Morgan peeked to his side, met his squint, and burst into snorting laughter. One minute later, they were undressing frantically.

  And then Morgan wanted to feel him, wanted to do nothing but feel.

  His large hands explored her heated body, then his mouth followed suit, sending tiny explosions along her nerve endings. Morgan moaned as he left a wet trail on her skin, and she grabbed his hair. Her eyes glazed over when she took in his naked body, which was just as perfect as the man himself. She saw then why she always felt safe and protected in his presence, for the tender-hearted pediatrician had strong arms, broad shoulders, and a muscular chest covered in blond hair that tapered down across his abs.

  When his warm lips pressed against her shoulder and gentle fingertips stroked her sternum, she shifted in his arms and pressed her naked breasts against his athletic chest. Her mouth explored his throat, and she licked his warm skin.

  His voice trembled when he moaned her name, while his warm hands glided over her rib cage, before cupping her breasts.

  She felt close to fainting as she reacted to his touch and pressed her lips against his collarbone. His fingers were exploring every inch of her body. She slowly started doing the same, letting her fingertips roam his muscled back as she buried her nose in his neck and pressed herself against the erection she could feel at her belly.

  She gasped for air and dug her fingernails into his shoulders. Rubbing her thighs together, she moaned his name just as his right thumb circled her nipple. When he started
sucking lightly on her throat, she was lost completely.

  She hardly registered that he put her on her back before resuming his torturous caresses.

  As soon as his mouth started to move further down, she sighed his name imploringly and took his face in her hands to kiss him. She wanted to be closer to him, so close, and she moaned when he came back on top of her and kissed her so deeply that she felt dizzy.

  In a daze, she noticed him taking a condom from his wallet, and when he finally entered her, she bit her lip with pleasure.

  Her heart beat a wild staccato as Kyle began to move within her, his belly rubbing against hers. He continued to kiss her in such a sensual, overpowering way that she felt like dissolving into a million little pieces. She lifted her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, aroused and impassioned. At the same time, she felt a heat rise within her that threatened to devour and burn up everything. She moaned his name with longing, thrilled to hear him moan hers in return.

  When the sensations were drowning her with their intensity, she held on to Kyle and screamed. He uttered a deep moan and pressed himself tightly against her.

  And then there was nothing save her and him in this bed.

  ***

  “Kyle? How long have you been awake?”

  He rubbed his hair dry with a towel and studied the bewitching woman lying naked in her bed, her red hair all tousled. She was looking up at him tiredly, and the fact that she could hardly keep her eyes open made him pat himself on the shoulder with satisfaction—metaphorically, of course. His loud-mouthed twin brother liked to brag that a Fitzpatrick knew how to exhaust a woman in bed, and today Kyle thought the high-handed statement described him to a tee. Looking at the amazing woman, who now presented her perfect ass to him as she turned to stare at her alarm clock, and who groaned when she finally processed the digits, made him recall all the things he’d done with her last night.