by Marie Harte
“Not yet. I’m too feverish. I need to cool down.”
“I’m burning up,” she confessed and tried to draw him up to kiss him again. Johnny gave the best kisses, ones that took her to another plane of pleasure and reinforced the idea that with the right man, ecstasy would be waiting.
“So fuckin’ hot,” he agreed and kissed her other breast. He untied her top while he played with her, then bared her breasts fully and leaned back. “All mine,” he growled. “I don’t like to share.”
“Neither do I.” She yanked him down and kissed him, angry and frustrated and in love.
He refused to let her draw his cock into her and broke the kiss. “Naughty nurse.”
It soothed some of her pique that he sounded as out of control as she felt. But she couldn’t understand how he could wait. She was on fire to have him inside her. Now.
“Johnny—”
He answered by kissing his way down her belly and gripping her thighs. She tensed in anticipation. He delivered, moving until he lay between her legs. He shoved the miniscule skirt up and stared down at her. “Oh yeah. Burning up, all right.” Then he kissed her there, right over her throbbing clit. He drew her into his mouth, moaning and gripping her thighs, spreading her wide for him.
Just when she thought she’d go insane and come with or without him inside her, he scooted up her body and thrust home. She cried out and came while he pumped, faster and harder, no finesse, no lingering. Johnny fucked her hard, kissing her while she clamped down on him. He felt so good she continued to seize, a rush of moisture urging him to slide deeper.
He broke from the kiss and watched her, his face a study of sexual agony as he finally thrust once more and stilled, jetting into her for the first time without anything between them.
Her orgasm had wrung her out, and she held him, feeling a tenderness, an affection, that wouldn’t go away. He stopped shuddering and withdrew, only to shove himself forward again and sag against her.
“I am so done. So incredibly fucking done in by you.” He kissed her ear, her shoulder, then her mouth with a lingering sense of possession. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. “God. I fucking love you.”
They stared at each other, he with satisfaction, she with a sense of growing panic and wonder.
But before she could ask just what exactly he meant by that, he withdrew, pulled her to her feet, and prodded her with him to the bathroom.
“Not to cut the moment short, but no wet spots on the bed, Lara.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “Well, who made the mess, do you think?”
“Both of us, I’d say.” He looked way too pleased with himself as he stripped her out of her costume. “Next time, wear heels and a garter with this, would you?”
“Next time?” God, I fucking love you too. But I mean mine from the heart. Was yours just a vow of great sex or the real deal?
“You know, for when I need healing from when I’m sick and swelling…down there.”
She glanced down at him, aware he’d pulled back, all lighthearted and joking Johnny again. “A bit of edema, hmm?” At his look, she smirked. “That’s swelling for you nonmedical types.”
He started the shower and tested it for heat. “Oh yeah. Cock edema. Is that the technical term?”
She snickered, despite wanting to call him on his love comment. “Right.”
He tugged her into the shower with him, hogging all the hot water. But when she would have protested, he switched positions with her and put her back to the rain of heat. Then he soaped her all over, his large, slick hands creating a new burn she was surprised to feel so soon after her explosive climax.
Finally clean, and now squirming under his touch, she let him maneuver her so they both felt some shower, with her back to the tiled wall, her side to the showerhead. He knelt between her legs, staring at the private center of her—enraptured, by the look of him.
“You are just pretty all over, aren’t you?” He kissed her clit, and lingered.
She put her hands in his hair, unable to stop herself from touching him.
He moaned and continued to tease her. “I can’t believe I’m still so hungry.” He licked her again before glancing up and winking. “Nurse Valley, I’m due for my second dose of medicine, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” she rasped, lost in him again.
Johnny made sure to take the full dose. And then some.
* * *
They spent the night making love. Fucking. Having hot then tender sex, and turning her world upside-down so many times she couldn’t think straight. Except for that one declaration of “fucking love,” he hadn’t mentioned it again. And she was too confused to call him on it.
Wrung out and trying to appear cool, calm, and collected, she sat with Johnny at her parents’ dining room table and saw her mother and father looking at her. Not just a casual glance, but the one that said, “What the hell are you up to?”
Wish I knew, guys.
“So, John,” her father said.
“No, Grandpa,” Kay corrected. “It’s John-ny. It’s on his birth certificate.”
Mark Valley raised a brow. “Is that right?”
“Yep. He told me.” Kay sounded smug.
Kristin glanced at her daughter and laughed. “You’re a lot more like your aunt than you realize.”
“Yeah? Because I think she takes after you more,” Lara said. “The bossy older sister.”
“I am bossy.” Kay nodded.
Johnny coughed to cover laughter, but she heard him all the same. “Sorry, Mr. Valley. But she’s right. I’m Johnny Walker Devlin.”
“Johnny Walker? Like the whiskey?”
“What can I say? Dad wanted me to have a bad-a—um, a tough-sounding name. And he likes bars.”
Her father laughed. “I like that. It’s catchy. And call me Mark.”
“And me Joy.” Her mother liked Johnny. So did her dad and the girls. Only Kristin continued to give him the stink eye, which he ignored. “I hear you like pink.”
“And unicorns.” Amelia nodded. “And righteous fangs.”
Kristin frowned. “What is she talking about?”
“Righteous fangs?” Joy repeated, her eyes wide.
Johnny looked pained.
Lara grinned. “What are you teaching my niece?”
“Not fangs. ’Stangs, as in Mustangs. We were talking about that pink car, remember?”
Amelia defended him before Lara could. “And he took us to the fairy show. Pretty Johnny is nice, Aunt Lara. You shouldn’t tease him.”
“Pretty Johnny?” Her father blinked.
Johnny pushed his plate aside and lowered his head to the table on a groan.
Everyone laughed, and even Kristin cracked a smile.
Lara grinned. “I really need to tell the guys at the garage about that. I’m surprised Rena hasn’t blabbed it yet.”
“Aunt Rena!” Amelia clapped. “I want a haircut.”
“Yes, when is Rena coming around again? I miss that girl.” Joy put more hot dogs on Johnny’s plate, and he didn’t complain.
Her man had a huge appetite, one he’d more than earned after last night—which had totally worn her out. She yawned.
“Tired, sis? Had a long night, did we?” Kristin taunted.
“Oh yeah.” Johnny grinned, and Lara swore if he said something inappropriate in front of her family, she’d brain him with a hot dog roll. “We had a double feature. Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Wolf Man.”
“The originals, not the remakes?” her father asked. “I love those films.”
“Must be where Lara gets it then.” Johnny smiled. “Ever seen The Man with the X-Ray Eyes?”
Her father nodded. “A classic. You know, they have a theater that shows old horror movies on the cheap on Wednesday nights.”
“When they’re not showing fairy films,” Kristin said drily. “Where do you think Johnny and Lara took the girls last week?”
“Oh, right.” Mark chewed his
food before asking Johnny, “So how long have you and my daughter been dating?”
The table grew silent, and Lara’s nieces stared from her to Johnny with wide eyes.
“I told you so,” Amelia said in a loud whisper.
“Well, I guess it’s been a few weeks. But I’ve known Lara for years.”
“Is that so?” Kristin had a militant look on her face. Shocking, but it seemed like she wanted to take her big-sister responsibility seriously.
Lara sighed. “Kristin, don’t be a pain.”
Johnny put his hand over hers on the table, in front of everyone. Silly to be infatuated with that action, considering she’d brought him to lunch and introduced him as her special friend.
“Yeah, that’s so.” Johnny smiled, and Lara saw the effect of his appeal on her family. Hell, even her dad leaned toward the man. “I had a crush on her forever, but Lara doesn’t date guys from Ray’s.”
“Thank God.” Joy snorted. “I know all about the type that go there. No offense, Johnny.”
“None taken. I know my type too.” He chuckled. “She was smart for not dating me. But then, well, I wore her down. Took me only four years and eight months, but I got her in the end.”
Lara did the math in her head, shocked he was right. Johnny seriously knew when they’d first met. How endearing. Especially since she’d committed the same date to memory. Pretty Johnny Devlin is so much more than a pretty face. Is it any wonder I’m in love?
“What’s with that smile?” Kristin asked.
Lara immediately coughed and drank some water to cover her happiness. “Nothing. Just thinking”—Johnny’s foot slid against hers—“that I didn’t just go out with him. I made him work for it.” She turned to her dad. “He took me to see Ouija Death and the Doll, Dad. It was awesome.”
“Now that’s a date.”
Her mother sighed. “I don’t know where I went wrong with those two. All that scary nonsense. I’d much rather watch a love story.”
“Me too, Mom.” Kristin shrugged. “Lara and Dad are bent.” She pointed at her daughters. “Just like you two. Don’t think I don’t know you’re in love with Scooby-Doo for the monsters.”
Kay shook her head. “Aw, Mom. I like Daphne’s neat dresses.”
“And I like Scooby!” Amelia shouted.
Joy scolded, “Don’t yell, Amelia.”
“Okay!”
Lara’s father groaned. “And we were doing so well this lunch. Not one spill…”
“Dad,” Kristin and Lara said together. It was like the kiss of death, because no sooner had he mentioned a spill than Amelia managed to knock Johnny’s glass over, into his lap.
“No problem.” Johnny righted the glass and mopped up the small spill. “It was nearly done, and I only had water.”
“Amelia.” Lara frowned at her niece, who promptly went from laughing about it to crying.
“That’s my cue to go to work. Time to head off for the job.” Her father stood in a hurry, held out a hand to Johnny, and shook it.
“You have two more hours,” Joy said with a frown.
Amelia screamed her apology to Johnny.
“Yeah, I’d better get going.” Her father bolted for the front door.
Johnny laughed through it all, then motioned for Amelia to come closer. She approached him with dread, but he only lifted her up and set her down on his wet lap. “It’s okay, Amelia. We pink-unicorn lovers need to stay strong, even when we’re wet.”
She sniffled, grimaced at the wet seat of her pants, and threw arms around Johnny. “I’m saw-wy.”
He rubbed her back and smiled. “It’s okay, sweetie. But maybe you should be more careful with glasses, huh?”
She nodded and hugged him tighter.
Lara’s mother laughed. “You’d better not have any girls, Johnny. You’re a soft touch.”
“And you’re not?” Kristin asked her mom. To Johnny, she said, “I’m impressed. She apologized and stopped shouting. You’re two for two.”
He smiled at Lara. “I’d say three for three, but I’m not so conceited I don’t know that number could change at any moment.”
“Oh, he’s a keeper for sure.” Her mother beamed at him. “A man that smart deserves cheesecake. I made you one, since Lara said it’s your favorite.”
Lara blushed when he gave her a look.
“You know all my secrets, hmm? Well, you’re halfway right. Cheesecake is a favorite, but second to Lara’s chocolate chip cookies.”
“She makes the best,” Kay agreed and moved to stand near Johnny, giving her sister occasional glares for taking up Johnny’s lap. Then Johnny moved Amelia so Kay could sit on his other leg. With a happy smile, Kay joined Amelia, taking Johnny’s attention.
They continued to talk desserts while Lara and Kristin cleared the table. In the separate kitchen, Kristin said in a low voice, “Okay, Mom’s right. He’s a keeper. Any man who can handle my daughters without breaking a sweat or trying too hard has my vote. But if he hurts you, I’ll make him wish he’d never been born.”
Lara nodded and held out a pinkie. Her sister took it and shook. “Deal.”
* * *
The ride back to her place happened in companionable silence as they listened to Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party.” She would never have pegged Johnny to like so much of what she did, and it made her wonder.
“Did Rena tell you I like this song?” she asked out of the blue.
He blinked and glanced at her. “No. Why?”
“No reason,” she grumbled.
“I’m sensing tension.”
Keep it inside, keep it inside… “Why did you say you loved me last night?”
He grew still. They pulled into her apartment lot, and he parked the car in silence.
She cleared her throat. “I believe the quote was, ‘God, I fucking love you.’ Explain.” She crossed her arms over her chest, irritated and not sure why. Maybe because he’d said something so monumental, and she had a bad feeling she’d read into it all wrong.
“I, um, why don’t we talk upstairs?” He left the car in a hurry and waited for her to join him. After locking up, they walked to her apartment in a weird tension that hadn’t been between them since they’d started dating. Or was it hooking up?
Once in her apartment, she closed and locked the door behind them. Then she watched Johnny pace and run his hand through his hair.
“This is fascinating. You look completely freaked out.” She tried to tease, but she felt too tense herself to sound truly amused.
He must have heard her insecurity, because he stopped in his tracks. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m waiting for you to answer my question.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her arm, edgy.
“Well…what do you want me to say?” He looked so cautious, so ready to bolt at any moment.
Her annoyance faded as the love she felt for him mixed with compassion and, yes, amusement. “I want you to tell me the truth, not what you think I want to hear.”
After a moment, he answered. “I know women,” he said bluntly. “I know how to please them, to make them laugh, to make them feel good about themselves. But you, Lara Valley, frustrate the fuck out of me.”
“Huh?” She hadn’t expected that.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking. I think I do, but then you do the opposite of what I expect. If I knew what answer you wanted, I’d give it to you. And yeah, I’m a complete pussy, because I’m afraid if I give you the wrong answer, you’ll dump my ass for good.”
She laughed, and his dark expression deepened. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Okay, maybe I am. I’m just not used to the bar Romeo being so weirded out by a simple question. You’re the one who mentioned the l-word, big guy. Not me.”
“And that’s part of the problem,” he growled.
Fireworks went off inside her, until she realized what owning up to her own feelings would mean. A serious acceleration of their relationship, and she stil
l had three more nursing terms to go. She’d worked so hard to get to her place in life, and she didn’t want to ever grow to resent Johnny. Not when she loved him.
She stepped close to him and drew him down for a kiss. Gradually, his unyielding frame softened, and he shared a tight embrace.
She pulled back to cup his cheek, in love and scared and happy, all at the same time. “I’m sorry for pressuring you. We’re at such a great place right now. I don’t want anything to change.”
He seemed to sag in her embrace. “Me neither.”
“I love making love to you.” She stroked his smooth cheek, knowing that in only a few more hours, he’d have sexy, dark stubble there.
“No argument from me.”
“And I love spending time with you. So much so I sometimes want my clinicals and classes to speed up so I can get back to you. That’s not a great feeling to have when going through school, you know.”
“I’m a distraction,” he said with pride. “Good. Because you distract the fu—crap out of me.” He cleared his throat. “I might have said something in the heat of the moment.”
Disappointment swelled. “Hey, it happens.”
“Something I meant to say when we weren’t fucking like rabbits and my head wasn’t about to explode, while I filled you up the way I did,” he confessed. “But we can save that for another day, okay?”
Her heart pounded when she realized he’d in fact meant the l-word. And that realization made her hesitate.
A hurt look appeared on his face before it vanished as quickly, making her wonder what she’d seen. “Why complicate what we have? We’re dating, we’re happy, and next week is Halloween.” His bright grin broke her unease. “So let’s enjoy what we have and live in the moment. Life is about the now sometimes, you know. It’s not always a five-year plan.”
“Good advice.” Then, because she couldn’t let him think he was the only one battling feelings, her heart racing out of her chest, she confessed, “I agree we shouldn’t complicate this. So I’m only going to say this once—I fucking love you too.” She ignored the shocked look on his face and pretended she hadn’t said such a monumental thing. “Now how about I bake some cookies for you, so you have something to eat besides me when I’m studying for next week’s quiz tomorrow, and you’re mopey because I have no time for you?”