One Night Forever

by Marteeka Karland

  He looked different than he had that fateful night they met. His hair was still long, but he’d pulled it into a tie at the back of his neck, taming it, if only slightly. Those silver-blue eyes held the same soul-penetrating quality and saw too much by half. Then she noticed the broad expanse of his chest and the dusting of dark curls peeking from the V in his tunic not to mention biceps that bulged in the restraining short sleeves. She hadn’t forgotten the impact he’d had on her, the memory hadn’t faded even slightly. Her insides melted as she stood there. With everything else going on in her life, that itself was a miracle. In that one moment, the night they met came rushing back. The instant attraction she had for him. The grief and humiliation of Tom’s betrayal. Her embarrassment at the entire situation had kept her awake at night. Well, that and her vivid imagination and all the naughty things she did to his body in her dreams.

  “Excuse me,” he muttered. His gaze seemed to swallow her it was so intense. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, those disturbing eyes dropping again to the swell of her abdomen. His hand still caressed her. The babe moved under his touch as if she was equally as aware of the man.

  “No,” she replied a bit breathlessly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  “You look tired. Are you sure you’re okay?” The concern in his voice nearly caused her to break down into tears right there. She’d felt like a fool after their first encounter. Turning into a weeping puddle on the floor wasn’t even going to happen.

  “Yes. Nothing a little rest won’t cure.” She smiled a little at him. Actually, she felt damn miserable.

  “Have you eaten lunch?”

  “Well, no. I thought I’d grab a sandwich on the way home.” She knew her smile was a bit strained, but it was the best she could manage at the time. “I’m sorry I bumped into you. Excuse me,” she said and waddled to the next room. What a damned day.

  ***

  Damien Carter stared after the young woman as she rounded the corner. She certainly looked different than when he’d first seen her, but then he’d expected it. She looked like she needed rest, but other than that, she was beautiful. There was something about carrying a child that gave women a warm glow that could not be duplicated at any other time in their life.

  He watched her from a distance, keeping informed through her sister when he wasn’t in the general vicinity. To say Ariel was under considerable strain was an understatement. She’d gone through hell to get her ex-boyfriend to give up his parental rights. In the end, all it had taken was money. The bastard sold his rights for a mere ten thousand dollars. It had all been done quietly and without Ariel’s knowledge through Damien’s lawyers. It had been Tom himself who'd suggested the money. Because of that, Damien had no guilt in his part in the action. He’d handed the money over gladly, with the condition that Tom leave Ariel and her child alone forever. Now, all Damien had to do was convince Ariel he was the one she needed.

  In all their discussions about Ariel, Gretta had left out the part where Ariel looked tired and thin despite her expanding middle. Gretta should have been more attentive to Ariel’s needs. He and Gretta might just have to have a come to Jesus meeting about her little neglect. Ariel presented the picture of a woman in desperate need of pampering, and Damien knew he was the man to do it.

  God, he needed her! From the first moment he’d seen her, he needed her with a primal hunger that frightened him beyond words. Never had he had such an all-consuming reaction to a woman. He thought about her every night. How he was going to make her his. He hadn’t sought her out because she needed time to break emotionally from her ex-boyfriend, and come to terms with her pregnancy. Still, it had been hell for him. Now, here she was. Very alone, and very pregnant. And damn him to hell if the thought of her body growing with child didn’t make him hard. The only thing that would have made the image any better would be to know it was his child.

  “She could use a good man, you know,” Damien’s long time friend Connor Jackson drawled. The other doctor leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. He and his brother owned the clinic. They were also husbands to the manager, Lilly. Though their lifestyle was unconventional at best, Damien had never seen his friends so happy.

  “Yes. She could.”

  “You going to do something about that?”

  “Of course. Just promise me no one will be mad at her when she disappears in a few minutes. I intend to take her home.” Damien sounded far more certain than he felt. He absolutely would not force himself on a woman, but dammit, Ariel looked too tired to be anywhere but in his bed. He’d see to it she rested. And any other activity would be his doing. Not hers.

  Connor’s chuckle was deep and knowing. Once he convinced Ariel to leave with him, there would be no problems with her job. Connor would see to that.

  He found Ariel with her head in her hands sitting at a desk in one of the back rooms. He realized she was crying silently. Well shit.

  “Ariel?”

  She stiffened and turned her head away, wiping at her eyes. It was a moment before she composed herself enough to face him, but he let her take her time, knowing it wasn’t always wise to push a hormonal woman. As she turned, the red eyes, nose and cheeks tore at his heart.

  “Dr. Carter. I’m sorry. Did you need this exam room?” She started to rise.

  “No. And don’t call me doctor. Are you okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her in her seat.

  She looked up at him, eyes sad and weary. “Yeah. I’m fine.” She paused. Her composure lasted all of two seconds. “No, not really.” Then she started crying all over again. Her slim shoulders shook with her sorrow.

  Damien couldn’t help himself. He closed and locked the door and drew Ariel into his arms. Murmuring quiet words of comfort, he stroked her hair and then her back as she sobbed brokenly, relaying her fears to him between sniffs and bouts of crying. Damien realized she wasn’t even aware she was baring her soul to him. She was that distraught. She was scared of going through the delivery alone, scared she couldn’t be the mother her daughter needed. She was just plain scared.

  He tried to convince himself he needed to chase the shadows from her eyes and halt her tears. But when he caught her chin in his fingers, tipping her face to him, he couldn’t lie to himself. He’d wanted to kiss Ariel the first moment he’d met her on that sidewalk. Slowly, carefully, he lowered his mouth to hers, claiming her lips in a gentle kiss meant to test the waters, to see how she felt about him. At first, he wasn’t sure she would kiss him back. She froze, her body stiffening as his lips slid over hers. Then she relaxed into his kiss and whimpered a little as she opened her mouth slightly to allow his tongue entrance.

  They stood there kissing for long moments before he felt Ariel’s urgency. She became a bit bolder—sucked his tongue, nipped his bottom lip. Her fingers wound in his hair and she clung to him, her body pressing hungrily against his.

  Damien grunted his approval and slid his hands down her body to her waist, pulling her more fully to him and pressing his growing erection against her rounded belly. He thought she might stop then. Her languid body grew tense again and she pulled back to look at him. The need to feel like a desirable woman was clear in her eyes. Damien would be less than a man if he didn’t recognize that basic need.

  Despite the driving instinct to take her now, to make Ariel his, he absolutely would not do this here. He would have her; there was no question of that. But he would do it in a bed. With dancing candlelight, satin sheets, and soft music. He’d take her home and never let her go.

  “Are you sure about this?” He didn’t think he could handle it if she decided not to let him make love to her.

  She looked into his eyes, searching for something. For a moment, Damien thought she might change her mind, but she finally found what she was looking for and smiled.

  “It’s been a long time since I was this sure about anything.” Her smile stopped his heart. She was so beautiful!

  “Come with me, then.” He too
k her hand and led her out of the clinic. How in the world he would manage to get her home, he didn’t know. But he was determined to treat her with respect and give her the pampering she deserved.

  Chapter Three

  Ariel’s heart pounded. Now that the spontaneity was gone and she’d had time to think on the short ride to Damien’s house, she was having doubts. Not about him. Gretta had talked nonstop about the handsome doctor since the day Ariel met him, so she knew he wasn’t a bad guy. Her sister might be a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. And Gretta was very protective of her. Ariel was having second thoughts about the whole misadventure.

  It wasn’t just the sex. Had it been that, she’d gladly have given as much as she got and smiled at the memory years down the road. There was no doubt that sex with Damien Carter would be a soul-shattering experience. Ariel was apprehensive about her situation. Sex with Damien meant she bared her swollen body to him. He’d see the evidence of her indiscretion and bad judgment. She was exposing her very essence to Damien and she wasn’t sure if she could handle it if he found her lacking. Worse, what if he changed his mind? By the time they pulled into his driveway—a couple of blocks from Ariel’s sister’s house—she was entertaining serious thoughts of making a run for it.

  “Don’t even think about it, Ariel.” Damien’s hard voice was a whip of command that sent shivers down her spine and raised the fine hair on her body. Not to mention made her cream in anticipation. The man had the sexiest voice she’d ever heard, and though he’d always been gentle with her, she sensed he could be hard and demanding. “You had your chance to back out before we left the clinic. I’m not letting you run from me now.”

  “Damien, are you sure about this?” She couldn’t look at him without her resolve melting so she settled her gaze on his chest. “I’m not sure I could take it if you changed your mind later.” The admission took a lot. She wasn’t a weak woman. Normally, the opinion of others mattered little, but this was different. If he rejected her, he was not only rejecting her, but her daughter as well. That was something Ariel couldn’t handle gracefully. She absolutely did not want to embarrass herself in front of this man again and slapping his handsome face would definitely embarrass her.

  His fingers found her face and he tilted her head back until she was forced to meet his gaze. “I think I’m more sure about this than you are, but I’m not letting you back out because you’re afraid I’ll reject you. We’ve not exactly spent quality time together over the last few months, but I’d have hoped your sister would’ve mentioned I’m not a fickle man. I would never have brought you here if I wasn’t certain what I wanted.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. Ariel searched his eyes for a hint of mockery or deception and found none. What she did find was a fierce possessiveness that thrilled her beyond belief, and a raw hunger that stole her breath. Finally, she nodded her head and managed a soft, “Okay.”

  Damien flashed her a smile before getting out of the car and hurrying to her side to open the door and help her to her feet. He was so considerate, cradling her hand in the crook of his arm and escorting her to his home. It was almost a formal gesture, one Ariel found she enjoyed. As Damien unlocked the door, the familiar rumble of a car engine caught her attention. Ariel glanced over her shoulder at the dark blue GTO passing down the street, slowing down as it passed Damien’s house. Tom.

  “He can’t have you, Ariel.” Damien’s tone was mild as ever. Ariel hadn’t realized she was staring at the car until he spoke. Blinking rapidly as she turned to face him, her heart thundered in her ears at his expression. In that moment, Damien looked almost dangerous. Predatory. A beast whose territory had been invaded. It should have frightened her, or at least given her pause. Instead, it thrilled her beyond imagining. She stepped closer to him, seeking shelter in his much larger body.

  “I don’t want him,” she whispered. “I want you, Damien.” She reached up to touch his shadowed jaw with trembling fingers, caressing his skin until he pulled her to him with a groan as he shoved the door open. Before they were even inside, Damien captured her lips with his in a hard, possessive kiss. As he pulled her inside, she noticed him looking over her head to give Tom one hard, feral look before closing the door and locking the other man out.

  Damien pinned her between his body and the door, kissing her roughly. Ariel gripped his shoulders. She clung to him for dear life as her head spun and her body went up in flames. Her stomach fluttered with the sheer hunger he seemed to have for her. It was like nothing she was prepared for or had ever encountered. Electricity seemed to whip across her skin where he touched her, where she touched him. Her whole body tingled with a need she had no hope of containing or understanding. All she knew was she had to have him. Now. Right this instant.

  Gradually, she became aware of his gentling touch. Instead of the fierce handling of her, he softened his kisses and eased his grip on her body. He was no less intense; he just seemed to be acutely aware of his strength. As if he realized he might be hurting her and was trying to get himself back under control. Indeed, a fine tremor shook his big body, a light film of sweat slickened his skin.

  Never in her life had Ariel needed sex with a man more. It wasn’t just the sex—she needed him. Damien. It was enough to give her another pause. She had the feeling it didn’t really matter, that there was definitely no turning back. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to turn back. This was so not like her.

  “Oh, God,” she gasped. Her stomach was tied in knots, though not all of them bad. She was confused and needed him so much it terrified her. “What are you doing to me?”

  “Kissing you. Touching you. Do you want me to stop?”

  God, how could she want him to stop? He was more than she could’ve ever hoped he would be. He was so strong and devilishly handsome she couldn’t think around him. It had been hell seeing him around the clinic and avoiding him. All she had ever wanted was to have him hold her just like this. Kiss her. Just like this.

  “It feels too good to stop. I want more,” was her needy reply. She couldn’t find it in her to care, her desire was so clear for him. She knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

  Damien carried her to his bed, following her down to rest his body between her slim thighs. Ariel loved the feel of his masculine heat against her. His whole body bathed her in warmth. His hands explored her body as he lifted his lips to hers once more and kissed her. God! She could kiss him all day! Ariel loved the softness of his moist lips as they played across hers. He was gentle, but all male. Ariel reveled in it. She wanted this desperately, wanted Damien.

  Ariel couldn’t get enough of him. He kissed like every woman’s dream; his tongue plunged in and dueled with hers, only to retreat leaving his lips and teeth to fulfill her aching need. His kiss left her wanting more, made her long for pleasures that had been denied her for months. When his thick erection made contact with the juncture of her thighs, she almost screamed. Her hips rose to meet his. Their kiss broke as she arched her back and cried out in shear ecstasy. Damien’s kisses didn’t stop, however. They simply shifted focus as he took her offering and slid his lips and tongue down the slim column of her neck while his hands roamed the ripeness of her breast.

  “You are so beautiful, Ariel. All of you. I’ve wanted to make you mine from the first moment I saw you.”

  “Oh, God. Yes. Yes!”

  He stopped his exploration of her jaw and neck just long enough to remove her scrub top and bra. When he resumed, his mouth slid lower. He lifted one plump breast to his lips and kissed the ripe peak. Her nipple responded by pebbling and she moaned softly.

  “Do you like that, my beauty?”

  “Mmmm,” she purred.

  Damien chuckled just before he took her breast in his mouth and sucked gently at first, then with a bit more passion as she responded to his touch. He alternated to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention as he ground his pelvis against hers. Her fingers found his hair again, and
she cradled him to her chest, wrapping her legs around his waist. She pulled him close, loving the way his hair-roughened body felt against hers.

  Ariel needed all of this extraordinary man. Consequences be damned. She tugged at his shirt, trying to pull it off. At her soft cry of frustration, Damien broke contact with her chest and, grinning, yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

  “I want you, Ariel. Take off the rest of your clothes.”

  She sat up with his assistance and cast off the rest of her clothing. Damien did the same with swift, sure movements. Towering over her, he ran his hands up and down her sides. When they stopped at her expanding waistline, she turned her head trying to escape his grasp.

  “No, Ariel. Look at me.”

  “Please don’t. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “About what—that I’d see you naked? The evidence of your child growing inside you? Ariel, you’re beautiful. You’re body is perfect for growing a new life, a little part of you. Don’t try to hide it. Be proud of what’s happening to you.”

  He knelt before her, and looking up, he kissed her belly just below her navel and Ariel shivered. How could this man disarm her with so little effort? With one look, one touch, he sent her up in flames. God help her, she loved it.

  “I love how you look. Let me show you.” With that, his head dropped lower, never breaking eye contact. His tongue snaked out to lick her moist folds. Ariel’s breath caught and she closed her eyes, relaxing a bit as she lay back on the bed.

  “That’s it. Let me love you.” His whisper sent shivers down her body, her nipples hardening into almost painful peaks. Vaguely, Ariel was aware of her little moan but couldn't find it in her to care. If he thought her desperate, maybe she was. It wasn't a crime. All she knew was this felt right. Everything about this—about what he was doing to her—felt right. Good.

  Damien licked at her until her body responded with a gush of moisture, then he looped his arms around her legs and prompted her to slide further back on the bed. With her legs over his shoulders, he sucked her clit and licked her inviting channel with ever increasing hunger. He buried his tongue inside her and wrung gasps of pleasure out of her. She tangled her fingers in his long, silky hair, urging him harder against her. Had anything ever felt so good?