by Tory Baker
“Well I had to, didn’t I? It’s very bad form, by the way, not to tell your boyfriend where you live.”
“Will you stop! You might find this very entertaining, but it’s really not. And you’ve made it worse!”
“How did I make it worse?”
“I’ve been trying to tell my sister that we’re not dating and she won’t believe me!” she huffs. “And it’s all your fault!”
“My fault?” I ask, wondering why the fact she’s mad at me is turning me on.
“You went along with everything and now she won’t believe me when I try to tell her the truth!”
“Wait. Are you saying you’re mad at me because I lied to cover up your lie, so you wouldn’t get in trouble?”
“You had no right,” she mumbles, but she looks down avoiding my eyes.
“Then, I’ll go in and admit that you lied and I was just covering for you.”
“You can’t do that—not now.”
“But I thought that was what you said you were trying to do?” I ask, wondering if there’s a limit to the number of circles a woman can spin you in, because Tabitha definitely has me going in circles here.
“I was. It’s different if I do it, if you do it I’ll just look pathetic,” she mumbles.
“Why did you lie?” I ask, because I really do want to know. I’ve thought it over all day and there has to be a reason that she told her sister my name specifically.
Does Nurse Riley fantasize about me like I have her?
That thought intrigues me more than it should, but it’s too late to stop thinking about it now. It’s in my head. She’s in my head.
“You wouldn’t understand,” she says with a shrug.
“Try me,” I dare her. She finally looks up at me and I stare into her eyes. A man could lose himself in those beauties. They’re a mixture of colors, green, brown and even some yellow flecks and I can’t make myself look away.
“My family has never understood my drive to have a career. They think that’s all I have in life.”
“Is it?”
“See? I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Hey, it was a legitimate question,” I defend, because it’s clear that asking it pissed her off.
“No it’s not. I should have known you’d think that though. Since you think anyone can do my job,” she responds and she shakes her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to do this. I’ll deal with my sister and you and I will just forget this ever happened.”
“What if we didn’t?” I suggest, and then try to gage her response.
“What are you saying?”
“What if we keep up the pretense and I take you to this wedding?”
“Why would you do that?”
“Why not?” I ask instead of answering.
“Because it’s crazy?”
“You obviously have a reason for telling your family that we were dating—”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Brody. My sister caught me by surprise telling me she was marrying my old boyfriend and she was worried I would be upset,” she says. She’s muttering her words in a low whisper and I have to strain to hear them, but I’m starting to get the picture here. “I’m not by the way,” she announces, but I’m too busy thinking over what she said to understand at first.
“Not?”
“I’m not upset. Robbie and I broke up a very long time ago. But, I don’t want my sister to even worry about that. She should have her dream wedding and be happy—not worried if she’s causing me pain. Her wedding day should be all about her.”
“Then the best thing to do is to let her keep believing that you and I are together.”
“No, it’s not. Why would you say that?”
“Because if your sister thinks you’re with me and we’re happy together, she’ll relax and concentrate on her wedding and being happy, not on wondering if she’s hurting you,” I explain, only being partially truthful. I don’t want to dive into the real reason I’m suggesting we keep up the lie.
I’m not ready to admit why.
“You’d really be willing to do this? Why?”
“Because you need help and I can help. So what do you say Nurse Riley?”
She stands there and looks me over for a few minutes. Then she sighs. I expect her to turn me down and maybe there’s part of me hoping she will. That doesn’t happen however.
“If we’re going to do this then we should probably start calling each other by our first names. You should call me Tabitha or Tab,” she sighs.
“Not Tabby?” I ask her, curious because that’s what her sister kept calling her.
“I hate that name. It makes me sound like a crazy cat lady.”
I laugh, I can’t help it. No one could ever mistake Tabitha as a crazy cat lady.
“Then what do you say we go inside and have dinner?”
She studies me again and shakes her head in a “no” motion.
“I know what I’m getting out of this, Dr.—”
“Brody remember?” I interrupt.
“I know what I’m getting out of this, Brody. But, what are you getting?”
“Tonight? A free dinner,” I tell her with my best smile—the one that helps get a woman undressed with minimal effort.
“God help you then, Brody. Because, my sister is cooking.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, almost afraid to know.
“You’ll find out, soon enough,” she answers and suddenly I’m a little worried about this night after all.
Chapter Six
Tabitha
“Would you like some more, Brody?” Tabitha’s sister asks.
I look down at my mostly untouched plate. To my right I hear Tabitha coughing and when I move my gaze to her she’s doing her best to hide a smile. The little witch is laughing. For some reason, I really like that. I’ve always thought Tabitha was beautiful, but seeing her relaxed and happy is different. It makes her even more appealing. I’m in deep trouble with this woman.
“I’m still working on this piece.”
“You’re a slow eater,” she says.
“When something is this… special you want to savor it,” I tell her, which causes Tabitha to go into a coughing fit.
“Good Lord, Tabby. You really need to learn to chew your food,” her sister chastises.
“I’m so glad you’re enjoying your food, Brody. I’m kind of proud of it. I came up with this recipe all on my own!”
“It’s… unique…” I answer and in response Tabitha’s hand hits my leg and her nails bite into my trousers. It’s almost painful, but I sure as hell won’t complain. I look at her and she’s definitely trying to keep from laughing. Any minute now she’s going to bust out with laughter that shakes her whole body. As much as I want to see that, I figure if I make her do that she’ll find a way to be mad at me for hurting her sister’s feelings.
“I get tired of the same old, same old. You know all the magazines have these recipes that look great, but if you start reading them they all contain basically the same ingredients. I like to think outside the box.”
“I can tell,” I murmur, really wishing she’d kept to the same old, same old…
“Wait till you see what I’ve cooked up for dessert!” she announces and I think my chest tightens to the point that I might be having a heart attack. Hell, even my palms sweat. I’m actually scared to see what she comes up with.
“Let me just go finish it up and I’ll be right back!” she says, way too excited for my sanity. I watch as she walks away and when the door to the kitchen closes I look at Tabitha.
“Please tell me whatever is involved in dessert is better than dinner?”
“I wasn’t around when she made it so I couldn’t say,” she laughs quietly. She also takes her hand away and I instantly miss it.
“Dare I ask what is on this… What did she call it again?” I ask, moving my fork around to the food on my plate. I use the word food, very loosely here.
“Magic chicken,” Tabitha
giggles.
When I look over at her, her eyes are sparkling with laughter. She’s smiling and it causes these sweet little dimples to show on her face. She doesn’t have makeup on and I can see this one lone beauty mark by her top lip that I’ve never noticed before. I have the strangest urge to reach over and run my tongue against it.
I distract myself by looking at the chicken.
“What’s this on it?” I ask, and I stab the “skin” on the chicken with my fork. As I pull the fork away strings of pink and green goo follow.
“Marshmallows.”
“Marshmallows?” I ask Tabitha not quite believing it. Although, now that she mentioned it they do look like little small colored marshmallows…
“Have you heard of fried chicken that people use cornflake cereal to make the crust?” she asks.
I nod my head yes. I don’t personally care for it—but, then again, I don’t eat a lot of fried foods in general.
“Hil doesn’t like cornflakes,” she shrugs.
“So—”
“So she uses her favorite cereal that just happen to have miniature marshmallows in the shapes of diamonds and horseshoes and…”
“Christ…”
“See? Magically delicious,” Tabitha says and she does her best not to laugh, but instead it bursts out—causing her to snort. She covers her mouth, but by this time she’s laughing so hard she does it again. “You really should see your face! You can’t say I didn’t warn you, Dr.—”
“Brody,” I tell her quietly, suddenly not feeling like I want to laugh. I suddenly feel very serious.
“Brody,” she whispers, traces of her laughter gone and her dark eyes trained on me. They have questions and though I have an idea of what they are asking, I ignore them… at least for now.
Before I can question myself I slide my hand against the side of Tabitha’s neck and pull her to me. I lean in and take her lips in a kiss. Tabitha is tight against me at first, her body stiff. But, I don’t give up. I apply pressure under her chin and along her jawline. I run my tongue between her lips, sucking the bottom one into my mouth. Eventually Tabitha relaxes and her lips part just enough for me to slip inside, tasting her for the first time.
It’s a quick kiss, nowhere near the length I crave. It’s long enough to become addicted to her taste, to memorize how incredibly soft her lips are and to know I want to kiss her again.
“This could be a bad idea,” she murmurs.
“Or a really fucking good one,” I tell her and go in for another kiss. Before I can however, there’s a really loud clanging noise from the kitchen. Tabitha jumps and our foreheads crash against each other—and damn that’s painful.
“Shit,” Tabitha murmurs rubbing her head and even through the pain that makes me smile.
“Yeah,” I answer, and before I can try and move in again, Tabitha pulls out what looks to be a gray plastic grocery bag under her leg.
“Quick. Throw your chicken in here,” she urges, already depositing hers.
“Umm… why?”
“Because with it gone, Hil will think you ate it and then you can get out of here and go find real food.”
“What about you?” I ask her. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’ll fix myself a sandwich after she goes to sleep.”
“But you’ll be hungry,” I respond, not liking her plan at all.
“I’m fine. But if you don’t hurry, you’re going to have to eat that chicken and you will not be okay.”
I pick my chicken up with my fork and put it in the opened bag that Tabitha is holding. Once that’s done, she ties the sack and then carries it over to the buffet behind us. She opens a drawer and throws it in there. She makes it back to her seat right as her sister comes in from the kitchen. I frown because her sister being in the room stops me from asking Tabitha any more questions—and getting another kiss.
“Dessert is served!” Tabitha’s sister announces proudly.
I look dubiously at the pieces of cake in her hand. They’re covered in white… it’s not frosting it looks like maybe a spray whipped topping. I lean in close to Tabitha and whisper in her ear.
“This should be okay. How bad could she mess up cake?”
Tabitha pulls back to look at me. She studies me and for a minute it looks like she’s looking straight inside of me. That one simple stare affects me more than I could have thought possible.
“You don’t want to know the answer to that question,” she says her lips spreading in a soft smile as her finger reaches out to brush against the bottom of mine.
I find myself sucking just the tip of her finger into my mouth, kissing it briefly, just long enough that I notice Tabitha’s eyes dilating. Then I let it go.
But I’m definitely not letting Tabitha go.
Chapter Seven
Tabitha
“I didn’t realize there were people who actually cut peppers up and put it in a cake.”
“My sister does,” I tell Brody, still smiling. I’ve been smiling this whole night. Who would have thought that Brody would be so fun to be around? Or that he would kiss me… I have to resist the urge to reach up and touch my lips, because I really want too. I can still feel his lips against mine an hour later. Dinner is done and my sister went to the guest room to call Robbie.
Which means I’ve been alone with Brody and it’s been nice.
We talked and he helped clean up the mess left behind by my sister. She might find cooking fun, but cleanup is not her forte. Now we’re standing at the door saying goodbye, and I find myself wishing he would stay. Which is crazy.
“You didn’t eat it did you?” I gasp.
“No… but I ate around them… the taste permeated the cake.”
“Yeah… you should have done like me and just picked at the cake and it makes it look like there’s some missing.”
“You have way too much experience at this.”
“It’s the survival instinct,” I laugh.
“Does Rodney know about his new wife’s kitchen skills?” Brody asks. I look up at him in surprise and see the laughter on his face and it makes me giggle. Seriously, I’ve been giggling all night at Brody. He makes me feel like a school girl again.
“It’s Robbie and if there’s any justice that would be a no,” I answer, shaking my head.
“Did you care for this guy?” Brody asks and I have to think on that. My first instinct is to not answer, but if Brody is going to be nice enough to be my date to this god-awful wedding, I figure I owe him the truth.
“I did once. But, it was long ago.”
“Then why tell your sister that we are—”
“I’m so sorry, Brody. I tried to tell her the truth and you seriously don’t have to do this. I just—”
I stop talking when Brody presses his fingers against my lips. My gaze locks with his and his face is soft. His eyes are shining and in that moment I’m pretty sure I fall in love with Brody Miner. If not love, then it’s definitely instant lust.
“I wasn’t judging, Tabby. I was genuinely curious.”
“I hate being called, Tabby. It makes me sound like a cat…”
The words are mumbled against his fingers, but I still felt I needed to say them. His lips spread into a smirk and he shakes his head. He moves his fingers away but keeps his hand on my neck, softly stroking the sensitive area.
“Then, what do you like to be called?”
“Tabitha,” I say with a strong nod.
“That doesn’t sound like what a lover would call you,” he says.
“It doesn’t?”
“No. It should be something sweeter and definitely more familiar. What have the men in your life called you before?”
The men in my life.
He says that like he thinks there’s been a lot of them. I’m really not ready to admit the truth.
“Robbie always call—”
“I don’t really want to think about Robbie,” he responds and since I don’t either, I shrug.
“I
’ll think of something,” he says and strangely the look in his eyes causes my stomach to flutter.
“You promise me you’re going to eat soon?”
“I’m not really hungry,”
“You have to eat. Especially after working all the hours you have. I’m not sure how you’re still on your feet.”
“I had a nap before dinner. If I hadn’t I would have tried to control my sister’s cooking a little more.”
“At least grab a sandwich before you crash,” he says and I can read the concern on his face and it makes me feel warm inside. It’s been a long time since anyone has ever worried about me.
“Okay,” I whisper, feeling flushed. His dark eyes are so intense and when he smiles down at me, my heart speeds up.
“Good girl.”
“Now you’re making me sound like a dog,” I complain.
“Definitely not, but I do like the idea of you being my own personal little good girl. Pleasing me, making me happy,” he whispers, his voice dropping down so low I have to strain to hear it. His words weave around me like silk and I struggle to not fall completely under their spell. I’m not sure I succeed.
“What if I want to be bad?” I ask, before I lose my nerve.
“I think I might like that even more, Tabby,” he replies and for once I don’t mind he uses that name. I’m too busy feeling weak in the knees as he bends down for another kiss.
Chapter Eight
Brody
I can still taste her on my lips.
Hours later and her taste is right there. The memory of her tongue in my mouth is there and most of all I can feel her body pressed up against me. I knew Tabitha Riley was going to be trouble. I knew she would be my downfall. I have to have her. The problem is I know she’s not going to be a woman I can have and walk away from. I’m going to claim her and I’m going to keep her.
It has become that simple. I doubt she realizes what she’s unleashed inside of me, but in time she will.
I’m so damn keyed up. If it wasn’t so late I’d head to the gym and take out some of my aggression there. But it’s fucking late and I have to be back at the hospital at five in the morning, so the gym is out of the question. I toss my keys on the entry table as I make it inside my house. I go straight to the shower undressing as I walk.