by Ivy Wonders
“Well, I guess I care about her.” I could admit that. “I don’t like seeing what she’s doing to herself and our son. We went through a lot together; we raised a baby together. That’s had its effects on us both.”
“Ask yourself this,” she said with a serious expression, “if you never saw her face again, would it matter to you?”
“Of course, it would matter to me.” I didn’t want my son to lose his mother. “I love Eli, that’s why it would matter to me.”
“Say what you want to, Harman.” Rebel turned away to walk into the dressing room. “News of us will affect her—even if only in the same way you felt about her first boyfriend—and I don’t want that to spoil their time together next weekend. So, for this week, keep it on the DL, will ya?”
I’d never contemplated what Tara would do or feel if I ever found anyone I was romantically interested in. If she did get jealous or upset, how would I feel about that?
Would it mean that Tara had managed to love me at some point in our marriage? And if so, would that mean we could have had the family I’d always wanted for our son?
And where would Rebel be in all that?
Chapter 12
Rebel
Standing in line at the movie theater the next afternoon, I had just as hard a time as Harman did at keeping my hands to myself. The man made my blood run hot.
Eli’s excitement over the movie had us chuckling as we watched him throw up his hands. “And there’s a huge warlock, and he’s got special powers. More special than anyone else. Only he’s blind.” He looked up at his father with a serious expression. “Cause no one’s perfect, not even a warlock!”
“Hey, Eli!” another little boy shouted. “Wow! I’m glad you came, too.”
“Hey, Jason!” Eli looked at me. “It’s my best friend, Rebel. ‘Member I told ya about him?”
The kid ran up to Eli as his mother ambled along behind him. “Hi, I’m Jason’s mother, Patricia.” She held out her hand for me to shake. “And you must be the extraordinary veterinarian Eli’s been talking about. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Harman nodded at her. “Has he been chewing your ear off, Patricia?”
“He has.” She smiled at me. “Apparently, you’re just about the best thing that’s ever happened to the kid. I volunteer at the school, so I’m with them a lot. I’ve got the ‘in’ on what’s happening with all the kids in Jason and Eli’s class.”
Eli tugged on his dad’s pant leg. “Can I sit with Jason, Dad? Please.”
Harman ran his hand through Eli’s hair. “I’m sure his mother has her hands full with Jason. You sit with me, ’kay?”
“I’d actually love it if you’d let him sit with us,” Patricia was quick to let him know. “That way those two can talk to each other about the movie, instead of Jason talking my ear off throughout the whole thing.”
“Hey, can Eli spend the night?” Jason asked his mother.
I stood there, feeling a little on edge. If he got to spend the night at his friend’s, then there wouldn’t be anything stopping me and Harman from having our first night alone. And I knew exactly what that meant.
“If it’s okay with his father,” she said.
I looked at Harman with as much hope in my eyes as the two little boys. He caught my expression and smiled. “I think that’ll be okay. I’ll give the maid a call and have her drop off an overnight bag at your place.” He looked at me. “They live two streets over.”
“They do?” I looked at Jason. “Are you into animals as much as Eli is, Jason?”
“I like them. I have a cat. Not me, really. Mom has a cat.” He looked up at his mom. “I’d like a dog.”
“I bet you would,” she said, then shrugged. “But I’m not into dogs. I’m a cat person.”
“Well, Jason, if you’d ever like to come to my house after school, you can help Eli feed the animals I keep there.” I looked at his mother. “You could drop him off, and I could take him home if that’s okay with you.”
“Sounds fantastic. An hour or so of alone time after school,” she sighed. “Sounds kind of like heaven, I think.”
Harman looked at me. “Well, since Eli’s joining them for the movie, how about we take off and find something we’d like to do?”
That sounded an awful lot like he was asking me out in front of all of them. But I couldn’t find it in me to actually care. “Sounds great.”
Harman told Eli to behave and gave Patricia his thanks for looking after his son, and then the two of us took off. I felt a little giddy as we got into his car. He looked at me with the sexiest grin I’d ever seen. “Looks like our time has arrived.”
My body tensed as goosebumps broke out over my skin. “Looks like it, doesn’t it?”
“I think we should go out and eat a nice, expensive lunch,” he suggested as he pulled out of the parking lot.
I looked at my sweater and jeans. “Um, I think I’ll need to change for that.”
“If I take you home first, we’ll never get to eat.” He took one hand off the steering wheel, running his fingers up my leg. “We’ll grab a bite, then head home. I’m suddenly in a rush to get you there. I just had a new bedroom set delivered a few days ago. You don’t have to worry about sleeping in the same bed she did.”
I hadn’t worried about that at all, actually—in fact, I hadn’t even thought of it. And having sex in his house, a house that was full of his staff, didn’t sound great. “While I’m glad you got yourself a new bedroom set, I think I’d feel more comfortable at my place.”
“Done.” He didn’t bat an eye at that. “Whatever makes you feel comfortable, that’s what I want, too.” He looked over at me as he stopped at a light. “Instead of hauling ass to grab a bite and then rushing to your bedroom, how about a real date?”
More waiting?
“Harman, I’d love to go out with you.” I needed to be honest with him. “But right now, my insides are quivering. My panties are getting wetter by the minute, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this ready to have sex in my life.”
“Fuck,” I heard him whisper. He turned at the next light. “You’ve got food at your place. I’m right there with you, Rebel. We can figure out food later.”
Glad to be on the same page, I said, “I can’t think of anything I want to eat anyway. Well, besides you.”
His eyes went wide as I leaned over to kiss his neck. He hit the gas just a little bit harder. “I think I’m going to really like dating you, Rebel.”
“I think I’m going to like dating you, too.” Moving my hand over his thigh, I rounded the corner to see how big the bulge in his pants was. I was not disappointed. “Oh, baby. I think something of this magnitude requires some special attention.”
His lips quirked to one side. “This isn’t anywhere near what I’d imagined. I saw us eating, maybe even going out dancing a little, and then going to my place. There’d be candles and soft music. I’d lay you on my bed, then undress you slowly.”
“Sounds sweet.” I moved my hand over his bulge. “I’ve got candles and soft music at my place. It’s almost as good as what you wanted.”
Pulling into my drive, he looked at me as he ran his hand over my cheek. “You, the bed, the candles, and the music were the best parts of that fantasy anyway. Now, come on. We’ve got a lot of firsts to get to.”
My hand shook as I unlocked my door and I laughed nervously. “God, look what you’re doing to me.”
He put his hand over mine to steady it. “You think you’re shaking now. Just wait.”
We got the door open and barely made it over the threshold before he pushed me up against the wall—and our mouths finally met. My hands went to his hair, and his hands felt like they were everywhere, moving all over my body.
He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him as our mouths collided over and over in an explosion of passion. His swollen hardness moved against that most sensitive part of me, making me wetter and wetter with each grind.
Ou
r movements completely in sync, our clothing left our bodies without either of us being aware of it. Suddenly we were naked, our bare skin rubbing together, our bodies falling to the floor with a need neither of us could deny any longer.
My eyes locked on his as he pushed my legs open then laid his body over mine. Nothing else existed around me but him—not the cold tile on my back, not the hard floor that dug into my shoulders—it was only me and Harman. The tip of his cock nudged at the precipice of my pulsing cunt, and I arched my body to get him where I needed him the most.
“Easy,” he whispered hoarsely. “I want to look into your eyes when you feel me inside you for the first time.”
I moved my hands up to hold either side of his face. “Let me look into yours, too, then. I didn’t know there were men like you out there, Harman.”
Slowly, he pushed into me. “I didn’t know there were women out there like you either, Rebel. Gorgeous, brilliant, generous, sweet, and kind.”
“Sexy?” I asked, never having felt sexier than I did at that moment.
He moved into me a little more, and I groaned at the way the heat spread through me. “Sexy as sin.” He eased himself further into me, spreading me, making me burn with an intensity that would’ve hurt, had it been anything other than him who’d evoked it.
I moved my hands to his shoulders, digging my nails into his flesh. “God, stretching to fit you is going to make me come already.” My body rocked with a mini climax.
Moving slowly, he reached down to where our bodies joined and spread the juices my body gave him. “Shit, Rebel! God, you’re amazing.” He moved faster, my body quaking harder around his cock with every thrust.
I’d had no idea it could be this good, and we’d just started. My mind shattered, I could barely breathe as he took me from one climax to another before he finally gave me that final thing I craved. His orgasm shook my entire body as he made the sexiest groan I’d ever heard, “Baby, fuck.”
He collapsed on top of me, making me feel like I’d satisfied him so completely. It made me feel like a woman I’d never been before—a powerful, sexual woman, who’d brought her man to a place beyond words.
Panting, he rested his body on mine for a moment. Our hearts pounded against the other’s as our sweat combined on our glistening bodies. His lips pressed against my neck as he moved off me. I held him for a second. “Don’t go yet. I’ve never felt this before.”
“You mean the connection?” He nodded as his lips moved up my neck. “Me neither. I never knew sex could be like this.”
“Do you think it will always be like this?” I’d read somewhere that waiting to have sex could make it all the hotter when it finally happened, and I thought that would maybe explain the explosive connection we’d just had.
“I think I’d like to find out.” He pulled his body off mine, and I immediately felt lost without him. But then he reached down, picked me up, and then headed down the hallway. “After a shower. Or maybe during the shower. And then after the shower, too. I have a feeling we won’t be getting much sleep tonight.”
Resting my head on his broad chest, I had the same feeling. “At some point, we’ll have to get something to eat and drink.” I lifted my head, then kissed him as he took me to the bathroom adjacent to my bedroom on the other side of the house.
Pulling my mouth off his, it suddenly occurred to me that he knew my home a bit more intimately than I’d realized. “Have you been sneaking around my house, Harman?”
“What?” He grinned sheepishly. “You mean, like checking out your bedroom while you made Eli and I some bowls of ice cream last week?”
“I see now.” I kissed him again. “Your place is too big for me to snoop around. I would get lost for sure if I’d tried that.”
“Most likely.” He put me down, then leaned in to start the shower. “I had a purpose for my nosiness.”
“And that was?” I ran my hand over his perfect ass as he leaned over.
“I wanted to see where you slept so I could picture you in your bed as I ravaged you in my sexual fantasies.” He turned to pick me up again. “I couldn’t have all of my fantasies taking place in my bedroom. That would be boring.”
“And how many of these fantasies did you have?” I asked, feeling even sexier knowing that he’d had more than one about me.
“I’ve lost count.” He pushed me up against the tiled wall, our bodies flush once more. “And to be honest, the real you is a much better lover than the fantasy you.”
I’d never been called any sort of lover at all. To hear this man say something like that, and to see the lusty look in his eyes gave me a confidence I hadn’t had before. “Well, I’ve got something that the real me has never done before. I’ve never wanted to before. But I want to with you, Harman.”
“I’m sure I’ll be into it,” he said with a nod. “What is it?”
I chewed on my lip, suddenly feeling a little bit shy—despite the fact that I was pressed skin to skin with the man. “Well, I’ve never given a blow job. What better place than in this shower to learn? And who better to learn with?”
Chapter 13
Harman
After spending just one night in Rebel’s bed, I felt like I was walking around on air the rest of the weekend. Sunday, we spent the day together with Eli and went out for dinner before I took Rebel home. With Eli sitting in the car, I didn’t even get a goodnight kiss. It left me feeling empty.
After putting my son to bed, I called Rebel, not having had enough of her despite spending the whole day with her. I knew not even one of our long phone conversations would be enough for me anymore. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about her all night long.
Waking on Monday morning feeling groggy, I made my rounds at the hospital as usual then went to get a large cup of coffee to help get me through the morning. Finding my associate, Doctor Jonas Kerr, sitting at a table alone in the cafeteria, I went to join him. “How’s the morning treating you, Jonas?”
“I’ve got a board meeting this afternoon, and I’m not looking forward to it.” He ran his hand down the extra-large coffee on the table in front of him. “Hence the need for all this coffee.”
“Sure glad I haven’t been asked to be on the board.” I took a seat. “I’ve got my hands full as it is, what with my son.” I thought about Rebel. “And now a girlfriend, too.”
He looked at me with a grin. “So, you’ve finally moved on from the ex, huh?”
“I wasn’t staying away from other women because I was hung up on her.” Tara had never been the reason for my lack of a love life. I took a sip of the hot coffee. “This woman just slipped under my skin somehow when I wasn’t even looking. She’s actually perfect for me—and my son.”
Jonas’s expression shifted to one of concern. “You mean you’ve already introduced her to your kid?”
“No. He was the one who introduced her to me.” I thought back to that very first day when I saw Rebel walk out of her house. “She pretty much grabbed onto my heart and held it from the first time we met. She’s our new neighbor. My son went to introduce himself to her—which was not like him at all—and they hit it off from the get-go.”
“She’s your neighbor?” he asked. “So, she’s got tons of money, too?”
“No.” I thought about the little car she drove and how surprised she’d be if I bought her something new and insanely expensive. “She’s still struggling to pay off her student loans, actually. She’s a vet. The lady next door sold off her carriage house for a really low price. That’s how she’s living in my neighborhood.”
“How’s the ex taking the news?” He picked up his coffee, taking a long drink.
“She’s not entirely aware of our budding relationship. And neither is my son.” Something told me Eli wouldn’t mind at all.
“Maybe you two should wait a while—make sure things are going to work out—before you go telling either of them,” he advised.
He had no idea how much time we’d spent together with Eli tho
ugh. “If we don’t let my son know soon, I think our actions will tell him before our words can. We’re having a hard time keeping our hands off each other at this point.”
“New love,” he said then sighed. “Man, it’s been a while since I’ve experienced that.”
I’d known the man for a couple of years, and as far as I knew, he’d never had anyone permanent in his life. “Being the general surgeon around here must take up most of your time. Maybe you should use your position on the board to get more help around this place. Our staff could use a boost, don’t you think?”
“I do.” He shoved his hand through his dark hair. “One of the items on the agenda is about another neurosurgeon. He’s been out of practice for about a year, and he’s petitioned the board, asking to work here at Saint Christopher’s. But he’s got a few issues that have some of the board members concerned.”
“Like?” I asked.
“Like, he’s had a rough couple of years in his personal life. He lost his wife to cancer a little over a year ago.” He looked grim, taking a big drink of coffee after a pause. “And he’s got a three-year-old, too. I’m one of the skeptics. I’m not sure he’s ready for all this.”
My heart went out to the poor kid. Losing a mother must be horrible for a child. Eli was affected by his mother’s absence, and she wasn’t even dead. What would it be like to know—without a doubt—that you’d never see your mother again?
“I can’t imagine how the man is dealing with that.” And I was glad I didn’t have to deal with that myself. “It feels hard enough just dealing with an ex who doesn’t seem to remember her son’s existence.”
“Kids need their mothers.” He looked at his nearly empty cup. “I think that’s what has me on the fence with this guy. His kid needs him around. If he’s working here, he’ll be away from home more than he’s at home. You know how that goes, Harman.”