The mystery man came on other days and times, too, and the story was that he phoned her daily, but Friday night, after the wards quieted down, he showed up like clockwork.
Haley had swapped shifts, just to see what he did.
On this Friday night, she crept to the doorway of Natalia’s room. The door was partly closed and from this vantage point, she could see the heart monitor and hear its output but not be seen herself. Even without reading the display, Haley could hear the mother’s pulse slow to a nice steady resting rate.
He was talking to her, nothing important, just small talk. Haley guessed that Natalia recognized his voice, which would make sense if he was that woman’s son. He was bigger than Haley had expected, buff like someone who worked out a lot. His hair was dark, almost black, and he looked tanned. He set aside his jacket, pushed up Natalia’s gown and spread some oil on her skin.
He was giving her a massage.
His hands worked easily and rhythmically over his mom’s hands and forearms, his shoulders flexing as he talked softly to her. He moved as if he had all the time in the world, and really, time seemed to have slowed in that room.
Just like Natalia’s pulse.
Haley wasn’t sure whether it was worse to stand in the doorway and eavesdrop, or to declare herself and ruin the moment. She listened to the heart monitor and stayed put. If Natalia had less pain and better sleep, Haley wasn’t going to interfere with that.
“There’s something I should tell you, Mom,” he said. He had a nice deep voice, both soothing and sexy. “Something I told you a long time ago that just isn’t true.”
“You never lied to me.”
“Well, I did once. I’ve been feeling guilty about it ever since.”
His mom sighed. “You could always have told me.”
“I know. But there never seemed to be time. These nights when I’m here with you, it feels as if we have nothing but time.”
That wasn’t strictly true. Haley bit her lip and leaned in the doorway. She’d read Natalia’s charts. Time was not on the older woman’s side. She hoped the son knew the reality ahead of them.
Maybe that was why he was confessing.
“You’re still not telling me,” the mother said, a thread of humor in her voice. Haley smiled at the sound. Too often, she heard the pain in this voice.
He lifted the sheet and began to work on his mother’s legs. He caressed from the ankle upward, his hands in a V, circling slowly across the flesh.
“It’s hard to know where to start,” he said.
“At the beginning,” his mother suggested, and he chuckled.
“You wanted grandchildren,” he said. “I think that was the beginning.” He expertly and gently rolled his mother onto her stomach. Haley caught a glimpse of Natalia’s serene smile. She was really enjoying this attention.
But then it was easy to imagine how good it would feel to have those powerful hands caressing her skin. Haley licked her lips, feeling desire stir.
“You kept asking me about women, about marriage, about babies.” He eased the sheet aside, his movements slow, sensual and reverent. “And then one day, you asked if I was gay.” He stood up then, leaning a little more into the massage as he worked up the back of her thighs. “And I said yes.”
“I remember,” his mother said mildly.
“But I was lying,” he admitted, bending to drop a kiss on her shoulder. It was a tender gesture, one that brought a tear to Haley’s eyes. The heart monitor beeped steadily, as his hands bracketed the back of her waist. Haley watched and yearned a little.
“Breathe now, Mom. Breathe in when my hands are here, then out when I move them.” His voice was hypnotic, mesmerizing. “In and out,” he murmured and Haley found herself breathing in time. “In and out.”
Natalia did as she was told. The exercise would have been meditative, if she hadn’t been so fascinated by the patient’s son.
And the effect of his touch upon his mother’s resting pulse, of course.
Never mind the effect of his voice upon Haley’s own pulse.
“I was lying because I didn’t want you to be disappointed anymore,” he continued in that velvety deep voice. “I didn’t want you to be waiting for something I wasn’t sure was ever going to happen.” He sighed. “I wasn’t sure the right woman really was out there, and so I lied.”
“I know,” his mother said softly.
“You knew?” His hands froze for a moment, then he resumed his massage.
His mother laughed softly. “I knew, Damon. I always knew.”
Damon. His name was Damon.
Natalia sighed with contentment and her voice turned sleepy. “You always make it feel better,” she murmured and Haley saw him smile as he worked over her shoulders, then down her arms. It took him half of forever to get to her hands, a little more massage oil, infinite patience.
He wasn’t the only one surprised when Natalia grasped his fingers with sudden urgency. Damon paused.
“You’ll find her,” Natalia said with quiet conviction. “You’ll find her, Damon.”
Then he looked up. Haley’s heart skipped when Damon’s gaze met hers. She saw anger flash in his dark eyes and flushed, hating that she’d been caught listening. She took a step back when he frowned, then pivoted and leaned back against the wall of the corridor, her heart leaping.
What would it be like if he smiled?
At her.
Haley inhaled sharply.
There was something familiar about him, something Haley hadn’t noticed until he looked directly at her. She couldn’t put her finger on it and stood thinking about it, listing to the heart monitor. Natalia’s heart rate slowed even more and conversation in the room stopped. She guessed that Natalia had fallen asleep.
Haley didn’t even hear his footsteps. She wasn’t aware that he’d left his mother’s side, until his fingertip landed heavily on her shoulder. The unexpected touch made her jump and her heart skipped again when she found him right beside her, that dark gaze fixed upon her.
“Do you always listen to other people’s conversations?” he asked, his voice low enough that he wouldn’t disturb his mom’s sleep.
Haley was sure she blushed from head to toe. “I was watching, actually.”
He lifted a brow and she knew that didn’t sound much better. At close proximity, with his gaze fixed upon her, Haley felt the full weight of his attention. He was taller than her and broader than her, seemingly all muscle...
And that was when she knew why he looked familiar. He was the guy in the billboard for that downtown fitness club, Flatiron Five.
Get hard at F5.
So, she knew what he looked like almost naked. Her gaze swept over him, she couldn’t help it, then back to his eyes, which had narrowed.
Haley’s mouth was dry. Of course, all of the greater New York area knew what he looked like almost naked, because those billboards were everywhere, but still, she felt like she was talking to a superstar.
She stammered a bit, aware he was still waiting for her reply. “I was curious about your mom’s heart rate. It drops a lot on Friday nights and she sleeps much better. I heard from the other nurses that you gave your mom a massage each Friday, so I wanted to see.”
“Why?”
“I’m taking some courses in palliative care, in making a difference even when there can’t be a cure. The benefits aren’t really well documented, but more anecdotal.” She nodded toward his mom’s room. “This looks like a perfect example of an improvement from massage.”
His expression became guarded then, and she realized he understood his mom’s situation. “So, you want to study her...” His opinion of that was clear.
“No. I want to learn. I want to help.”
It was only when he glanced back at his mom that his features softened and sight of his love nearly broke Haley’s heart.
“I want to help Natalia.” She put her hand on his arm, emboldened by her compassion. “You probably have a job and a family and can�
�t be here all the time,” she said, speaking quickly before she lost her nerve. “If you could teach me what you do for Natalia, I can give her a massage on other nights.”
He looked back at her with surprise. “You can do that?”
Haley thought about schedules and shifts. She’d do it on her own time just to gather the evidence for her course. “I can make it happen.”
His eyes narrowed. “You would do that?”
“Yes,” Haley said, feeling in this moment that she’d do pretty much anything to keep this man talking to her.
He straightened a little. “Am I right to expect that it wouldn’t be for long?”
Haley had that lump in her throat again. “I suspect so.”
Their gazes clung for a long moment, one in which Haley was afraid to take a breath and risk breaking the spell. “Then we’d better get started,” he said, his tone suddenly filled with purpose. “When does your shift end?”
“At four.”
He nodded. “I’ll still be here. Your place or mine?”
“Excuse me?”
He smiled just a little, the corner of his mouth lifting in a way that made him look unpredictable—and very sexy. “How were you planning to learn massage?”
“Well, I’ve studied books and there are mannequins in the classroom...”
“No,” he said flatly. “Hands-on is the best way. I massage you, then you massage me.”
If she’d been blushing before, now Haley’s skin was on fire. Her voice rose to a squeak. “I’m not certain that would be professional.”
“But it would be effective.” His smile broadened, his eyes gleaming. “Unless you’re all about theory instead of practice.”
He was so sure he understood her—and he was right—that Haley wanted to surprise him. “All right,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel. “There’s a classroom on the sixth floor. I’ll get the keys before the end of my shift.”
“I hope we won’t be disturbed,” he said in that silky voice and Haley shivered.
“Of course not.”
“Then I’ll see you at four.” He offered his hand to shake on it, and Haley felt her hand swallowed by his strong, warm grip. Humor still glinted in his eyes and she wondered what she’d let herself in for.
A part of her couldn’t believe she’d been so bold, but another part of her couldn’t wait for her shift to end.
It was a pretty sure bet that Haley’s pulse wasn’t going to slow down during Damon’s lesson.
In the Midnight Hour
Book #3 in the Flatiron Five series
Coming January 2018
About the Author
Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called Romance of the Rose published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.
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Currently, she writes paranormal romances featuring dragon shape shifter heroes under the name Deborah Cooke. She also writes medieval romances as Claire Delacroix. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.
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Visit Deborah’s Website and Blog
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Subscribe to Deborah’s Monthly Newsletter
More Books by the Author
Books by Deborah Cooke
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Paranormal Romances:
The Dragonfire Series
KISS OF FIRE
KISS OF FURY
KISS OF FATE
Harmonia’s Kiss
WINTER KISS
WHISPER KISS
DARKFIRE KISS
FLASHFIRE
EMBER’S KISS
THE DRAGON LEGION COLLECTION
SERPENT’S KISS
FIRESTORM FOREVER
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The Dragons of Incendium
WYVERN’S MATE
Nero’s Dream
WYVERN’S PRINCE
Arista’s Legacy
WYVERN’S WARRIOR
Kraw’s Secret
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Urban Fantasy Romance
The Prometheus Project
FALLEN
GUARDIAN
REBEL
ABYSS
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Paranormal Young Adult:
The Dragon Diaries
FLYING BLIND
WINGING IT
BLAZING THE TRAIL
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Contemporary Romance:
The Coxwells
THIRD TIME LUCKY
DOUBLE TROUBLE
ONE MORE TIME
ALL OR NOTHING
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Flatiron Five
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
ADDICTED TO LOVE
IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (2018)
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Books by Claire Delacroix
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Time Travel Romances
ONCE UPON A KISS
THE LAST HIGHLANDER
THE MOONSTONE
LOVE POTION #9
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Historical Romances
ROMANCE OF THE ROSE
HONEYED LIES
UNICORN BRIDE
THE SORCERESS
ROARKE’S FOLLY
PEARL BEYOND PRICE
THE MAGICIAN’S QUEST
UNICORN VENGEANCE
MY LADY’S CHAMPION
ENCHANTED
MY LADY’S DESIRE
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The Bride Quest I
THE PRINCESS
THE DAMSEL
THE HEIRESS
THE COUNTESS
THE BEAUTY
THE TEMPTRESS
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The Rogues of Ravensmuir
THE ROGUE
THE SCOUNDREL
THE WARRIOR
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The Jewels of Kinfairlie
THE BEAUTY BRIDE
THE ROSE RED BRIDE
THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE
The Ballad of Rosamunde
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The True Love Brides
THE RENEGADE’S HEART
THE HIGHLANDER’S CURSE
THE FROST MAIDEN’S KISS
THE WARRIOR’S PRIZE
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The Champions of St. Euphemia
THE CRUSADER’S BRIDE
THE CRUSADER’S HEART
THE CRUSADER’S KISS
THE CRUSADER’S VOW
THE CRUSADER’S HANDFAST
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Short Stories and Novellas
BEGUILED
An Elegy for Melusine
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Addicted to Love Page 32