Playing Doctor

by Cathy Yardley

  “Why would he know where we’re going?” Cressida asked, sounding bewildered. “Why was he beating you up, anyway?”

  He froze, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. He hadn’t meant for that to slip out. Adrenaline was still flooding his system, and his thinking was still scattered. “Um…” What to tell her that wasn’t an outright lie, but wasn’t about Killian? “Remember that creditor, the one that called yesterday?”

  “Yes…” she said slowly, drawing out the syllable with a hint of suspicion.

  “That was one of his guys.”

  She let out a low whistle. “So he really wants you to pay off your debt, huh.”

  “Something like that.”

  He glanced over. She was staring at him. “I’m guessing that we’re not talking credit cards or school loans,” she said.

  He sighed. “No.”

  “You sound like you’re in a lot of trouble,” she said softly.

  “You have no idea,” he muttered. Either I screw over a girl I think I’m falling in love with, or I let my Mom get deported and lose everything she’s ever worked for. So yeah, a lot of trouble.

  “It’s your business, and I don’t want to press,” Cressida continued, still in that gentle, soothing voice of hers. “But I hope you don’t mind me asking… it’s not like drugs or gambling or anything, is it?”

  That startled him. “No!” Then he stopped. “I’m sure that if I were involved in either of those things, I’d probably deny it, as well. But I swear to God, Cress, I’m not involved in anything like that.”

  “Then what are you involved in?”

  He sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  Another glance at her showed she was worrying at her lower lip with those even white teeth of hers… a sure sign of distress. “I want to trust you, Noah.”

  You shouldn’t, he thought miserably.

  “We can always turn around,” he said, putting it in her hands and feeling a little bit of relief. “You didn’t sign up for all this shit. I know I’m helping you with the driving and all, but you’re helping me more. I don’t know that I could find the treasure without your help, once we get down there. Nobody knows the novel better than you, and nobody can puzzle out the clues the way you can. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.”

  “We’re not going to turn around,” she said sternly, closing off that avenue. “You need the money, Noah, same as I do. At the risk of sounding terribly cliché, we’ve come too far to turn back now.”

  He grinned weakly. “Come on, you apes, do you want to live forever?”

  “Sorry, what?”

  “Quote. From Starship Troopers, which is a gloriously terrible movie that I may make you watch sometime,” he said. He still felt terrible, but he was glad that they weren’t turning around. I just want to spend a little more time with her. Because I am a selfish idiot.

  There was a long moment of silence, before she broke it with a small cough. “About tonight…”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yeah. And what I, erm, said earlier,” she hedged. He could hear embarrassment in her voice, like an audial blush. “If we’re going to be on the road for another two hours, you’ll probably be tired.”

  He blamed the fight and the waning adrenaline for his confusion. “Yeah, maybe a little, but I’ll still be fine to drive,” he said. “And we can stop earlier to grab food. Maybe in an hour?”

  She made a cute little grumble sound. “About the sex, Noah. I’m talking about the sex.”

  His body tightened like a shot. “The sex?” he squeaked, then cleared his throat. “Sorry?”

  “I just – I don’t want you to feel like you have to,” she said, and she sounded so damned earnest, so adorable, he just wanted to put her in his pocket. Of course, then he thought about “the sex” with her, and he just wanted to pull over, strip naked, and take her into the back compartment.

  “I’m not going to feel pressured,” he assured her quickly. “I’m not going to do anything I don’t want to do, sweetie. More importantly, I’m not going to have you do anything you don’t want to do, okay?”

  Her chuckle was rueful. “I think that’s not going to be a problem,” she muttered.

  You shouldn’t touch her. His conscience leaped to the fore. You still don’t know what you’re doing with that treasure when you find it. You should tell her what’s happening, but you aren’t – because you know there’s a good chance you’re going to screw her over. If you have sex with her and take the treasure, you’re only making it that much worse.

  Noah sighed. His conscience, much as he hated it, was right. “But I might feel tired,” he hedged. “So let’s play it by ear when we get to Visalia, okay?”

  A pause. “Okay,” Cressida said, in a little voice, making him feel like shit.

  She wanted him. God knows he wanted her.

  If only there was some other way…

  Well, he had two hours to Visalia. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d come up with a solution to his problems between here and there.

  It was around eleven o’clock at night when they reached Visalia. Cressida couldn’t help but feel nerves. Tonight could be the night, she thought. The night that she and Noah finally “did the deed,” as Hailey would say.

  Hailey…

  “Oh, shit!” she suddenly said, scrambling to pull her phone out of her pocket.

  “What is it?” Noah asked.

  “I forgot to call my sisters!” She quickly dialed Hailey’s number and headed for the back compartment.

  “I hope they don’t think I murdered you,” Noah said, with a low half-laugh. She chuckled ruefully. Knowing Hailey and Rachel, that was actually a real possibility.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Hailey said without greeting or preamble.

  “I knew you were going to say that,” Cressida grumbled, climbing into the sleeping compartment and shutting the door. “We’re in Visalia.”

  “Huh. That’s in the middle of nowhere,” Hailey said. “Have you found that treasure yet?”

  “We’re not even to the Mojave yet, so no,” Cressida reminded her.

  “So has it been totally boring? I remember driving on the 5… it’s just one long stretch of nothing there for a while.”

  “Actually, we took a detour,” Cressida said. “We changed course a little this morning. Noah took me to Klamath to see the Trees of Mystery. You know, the redwoods?”

  “Right. You always did want to see those damned trees,” Hailey said. “You ask him, or did he come up with that brainstorm on his own?”

  “All on his own,” Cressida said, feeling her chest warm at the thought. “He remembered me saying I’d always wanted to see it, and he figured out how to get there along the way. We lost a few hours, but we figured we could spend the time. We had lunch there and walked around the trees for like an hour.”

  “I guess I’m reluctantly impressed by this guy. Wait – you left the RV? And walked around?” Hailey sounded shocked.

  Cressida smiled. “Yup.”

  “Hot damn,” Hailey said. “I am so proud of you! And no panic attacks?”

  “None worth mentioning,” Cressida said, crossing her fingers. There was no sense in worrying her sisters with the details of yesterday’s panic attack, after all. Noah had gotten her through it, and she definitely seemed to be rebounding nicely from it.

  “Anything else worth mentioning, then?”

  Cressida cringed. It was like Hailey had a sixth sense for trouble. Probably because she’d been around it – or gotten into it – so much when they were younger. Cressida thought back to the attack in the parking lot of Johnny’s burgers. “Not really,” she said.

  Unfortunately, she was a terrible liar.

  “I know that tone. Something’s up,” Hailey said with immediate suspicion. “Are you okay? Did this Noah guy do anything to you?”

  “What? No.”

  “Is he making you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel trapped?”

  “N
o!”

  “Did he make a move on you?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” Cressida said impatiently, then facepalmed.

  There was a second’s pause on the line, and then Hailey let out a peal of laughter. “So that’s what it is, huh?” she said. “You want the guy to make a move?”

  Glad that they were changing topic, Cressida leaped on Hailey’s new train of thought. “Yes, I do,” she said, lowering her voice. She didn’t know how much Noah could hear from the driver’s seat, but she didn’t want to take any chances. “Got any tips for me? Because I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

  “Well, if I’d known you were going to go off with some hot guy, and you told me instead of just leaving a damned note, I would’ve given you pointers before you left,” Hailey said. “What are you trying to accomplish? Just making out with the guy, or the whole enchilada? I don’t want you to overshoot and give him the wrong idea.”

  “Whole enchilada,” Cressida muttered, and Hailey laughed again.

  “Already? Look at you!” Hailey crowed. “You are my sister!”

  “Listen, I’ve known this guy for well over a year…”

  “Online,” Hailey pointed out.

  “And I’m not going to have a chance like this again, so can you help me figure out how to get him on the same page?”

  “Well,” Hailey drawled, “Men are simple creatures. I find it best to just say ‘hey, I like you, let’s have sex.’ It’s pretty failsafe.”

  “I’ve tried that.”

  “And he turned you down?” Hailey sounded shocked again.

  “Well, I didn’t say that, specifically. But I think I made it clear what I wanted.” She peeked out the door. He didn’t seem to be listening. Was he?

  “I’m willing to bet you weren’t as clear as you think you were,” Hailey countered. “You probably said something like ‘sex would be pretty nice for someone like me’ or something equally passive.”

  I said I wouldn’t mind having sex in Modesto. Cressida felt her cheeks color. “Okay. Something like that.”

  “You have to spell it out for them, bless their hearts,” Hailey said. “And I actually admire that he’s not just trying to jump you.”

  “He’s actually a great guy. I think you’d like him,” Cressida said. “I know I do. Anything else I can do?”

  “Hmmm,” Hailey said. “Men are visual. Show off the goods.”

  Cressida thought of Hailey’s hourglass Amazon figure, and then looked down at her own more modest curves. “I don’t have goods!”

  “You’ve got plenty,” Hailey assured her. “Just wear something that shows off skin. They like skin.”

  “Okay. Got it.”

  “You nervous? About finally doing it?” Hailey asked.

  “A little.”

  “It’ll be fine. Just make sure he’s slow and pays attention. And you know what you like, or you’ll figure it out. If you don’t like something, pipe up.”

  “I get the feeling I’ll like everything,” Cressida said, her body tingling.

  “Okay, then get in there,” Hailey encouraged. “Then call me tomorrow with all the details, okay?”

  “I can’t here in the RV,” Cressida protested, then lowered her voice. “When I get home, okay?”

  Hailey hooted. “You better!”

  Hailey was still laughing when Cressida hung up on her.

  “You ready for something to eat?” Noah said, tapping on the door.

  She startled. She didn’t realize that they’d pulled into a camp ground. “Um… you know, we had that big lunch, and I’ve been snacking a lot,” she said. “I think I’ll just, um get ready for bed.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m going to heat up one of the microwavable meals and eat that.”

  “All right,” she said. She waited until she heard him shuffling around in the kitchenette area of the main compartment, then tore through her bag. She’d thought to bring condoms, thanks to Kyla. Why hadn’t she thought to bring some kind of lingerie?

  Because you weren’t expecting to have sex, that’s why!

  She finally found something that might “show off the goods”, but she’d have to be really, really confident. Like River Song confident – someone who could take on the world.

  She swallowed hard, then nodded to herself. Let Operation Seduction commence, she thought, and headed for the bathroom to get ready.

  Chapter 9

  Be strong. Nobody ever died from sexual frustration… that you know of.

  Noah frowned at himself. He mowed through a mac and cheese microwave meal, then cleaned up as Cressida got ready for the night. He knew she had expectations. But he also knew, and had known, that sex with Cressida at this point was a bad idea. Yes, she was hot as all hell, and he loved how smart she was, and how strong she was. She’d gone at that giant at Johnny’s with fucking bear spray, for God’s sake. She’d overcome her own phobia because he was in trouble, and quite frankly, she’d saved his ass.

  Was it any wonder he was falling in love with the girl?

  He closed his eyes. Mom could lose everything.

  But then, so could Cressida. How the hell was he supposed to choose?

  He heard Cressida finishing up brushing her teeth, and he hastily started to push down the dining room table, transforming it to his sleeping quarters. He’d just have to explain, he told himself. He and Cressida had spoken about this already. The situation hadn’t changed. They were still going after the treasure. They were still – theoretically, he thought with a pang of guilt – splitting four million dollars. Bringing sex into the mix would be crazy.

  And there’s a good chance you’re going to screw her over.

  If he could figure out a way out of this mess, one that didn’t involve him somehow taking the treasure away from her and giving it to Killian, then he would have sex with her in a heartbeat. Hell, he’d be doing more than just having sex with her. He’d be figuring out a way to be with her – moving away from Los Angeles to her little town, if he needed to.

  Of course, she might not be interested in more than that, he thought, frowning. Maybe she just wanted a quick hit-it-and-quit-it. She was a virgin. He was the first guy she was in close proximity with, and she trusted him. Another pang of guilt stabbed him.

  So maybe I’m just convenient.

  Well, that was a humbling thought. He grimaced.

  But he doubted it. She was into him, and she didn’t strike him as the sort that was just in it for the sex. She cared about him, she’d said so. She wanted him, yes, but they were friends. And given the intensity of the past two days, he felt like they were already well on their way to more than that.

  If you sleep with her, and then betray her… then you, sir, are an asshole. There is no way around that.

  He was just putting the comforter on the table and slamming the pillow down when the bathroom door rattled. He braced himself. That floaty little nightgown of hers had almost been his undoing before, but he was ready for her this time. He’d tell her goodnight, he thought stoically. Then he’d send her to the cabin, wait until the door was closed, and then jack off in the shower. He wasn’t proud of this, but damn it, he wasn’t a saint.

  The door opened, and he gaped.

  She was wearing a jade green tank top with a scoop neck that showed the swells of her breasts. She was also wearing black boy-short styled briefs, ones that were “brief” enough to show the crescent shaped swells of what looked like a truly spectacular ass – not bootylicious, but perfectly curved, stretching into gorgeously long legs. She looked lithe, and delicate, and waif-like. But her expression – now, there was nothing delicate about that.

  She looked like she was starving, and he was on the menu.

  Oh, Lord, am I in trouble here.

  She took in the bed he’d been setting up, and for a second, he saw her expression turn crestfallen.

  “I’m feeling kinda tired,” he lied. He knew immediately that she saw it was bullshit, and he could read the hurt in her e
yes. “We should probably get up early tomorrow, too.”

  She glared at him for a second. Then she took a deep breath – which did wonderful things to her breasts, he couldn’t help but notice, pressing them against the thin tank top fabric. She strode the few steps over to where he was standing.

  “Thanks again for taking me to the redwoods,” she said, in a breathy half-whisper that he felt all the way from his head to his goes. His cock was already going half-mast. Be strong, he reminded himself.

  “Sure, it was no…”

  Before he could finish the sentence, she went up on her toes and hugged him, pressing her nearly naked body against his clothed one.

  “…problem,” he finished, closing his eyes. He didn’t mean to take a deep breath, but there he was, surrounded by her floral scent and feeling the soft skin pressed against him. He gently rested his hands on her hips.

  He kept his arms loose, even though all he really wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and bury his head against her neck – and then carry her to the cabin. Or maybe just tip her back onto the dining room table. He wanted to…

  No! Don’t think about it!

  He gritted his teeth and waited until she let him go. His body felt as taut as piano wire, and he was sure she had to have felt his erection, already straining against the fly of his jeans.

  She took a deep breath, her expression determined again. “I can’t believe I have to say it this clearly,” she said, “but… I want to have sex. With you.”

  He nodded. “Gotcha.”

  “Right now,” she added, and he couldn’t help it. He laughed.

  “I know, Cress,” he said, stroking a wayward tumbling lock of red hair away from her eyes. “But we talked before about why it wasn’t a good idea right now, before we find the treasure…”

  “But I don’t think it’s that big a deal,” she said, crossing her arms. Which only plumped her breasts up, he noticed. His mouth went dry. “I don’t want to wait. I don’t know what life’s going to be like after we find the treasure – which I’m sure we’re going to find. I’m not expecting you to make any promises or to fall in love with me. But I do know that having my first time with you is just what I want: sex with someone I care about, while I’m out on an adventure that I never dreamed I’d be able to have.”