by Krista Lakes
I thought of seeing Jacob and my body went hot and fuzzy at the thought. I took off my scrub top to show off the low cut tank top I wore underneath. I had made sure to wear my sexy bra today. With the way Jacob and I were going, it was a good idea to wear a sexy bra everyday.
Tom's work truck chugged down the highway as I made my way back home. Twilight crept along the road behind me, finally overtaking me with darkness a few miles from town. I sung along to the radio as I turned down the street leading to Jacob's house. I was going to have to tell Jacob that he needed more light on his street. It seemed like none of the streetlights were bright enough.
That's when I saw the police cruiser flip a u-turn and put on its lights behind me.
I mumbled a curse and pulled to the side of the road. My heart started pounding. I'd been pulled over a grand total of two times in my entire life. This would be the third, and I had no idea where the registration or proof of insurance was for the car.
I turned off the engine and kept my hands on the steering wheel. It wasn't because that was what I was supposed to do. It was because my hands were shaking too badly to put them anywhere else.
A flashlight tapped on my window and it took me a moment to find the right buttons to make the window lower.
“Evening, Officer.” My voice cracked. “Is there a problem?”
“Is that you, Hannah?” A light shone in my face and I squinted for a moment until it moved. “It is you.”
“Oh. Hello, Officer Matthews,” I stammered. I probably should have called him Chief Matthews, but I wasn't sure what his real job title was. He was Jacob's father. He was also the chief of police for Riversville, but I had known him as Officer Matthews growing up.
Officer Matthews frowned slightly at me. The two men were of a similar build, but Jacob had more of his mother's lean lines. Mr. Matthews had a stronger chin and darker hair, but the same blue eyes as his son.
“What are you doing driving the Rochesters' truck?” Officer Matthews asked. He ran his flashlight over the length of the vehicle.
“Leigh Ann, their daughter, had to go to the hospital. I drove her and her mother in their car,” I explained. “Tom told me to take his truck home since I didn't have a car.”
Officer Matthews nodded. He put the flashlight away. “Do you know why I pulled you over?”
I did a quick mental check and couldn't remember how fast I was going. It didn't feel fast in the big truck, but that didn't mean I wasn't speeding. “I, uh.... I mean, uh...”
“Your headlights aren't on,” Officer Matthews supplied.
I smacked my head with my hand. They weren't automatic on the truck. No wonder it felt so dark. I couldn't see not because the street lights were dim, but because I was.
Officer Matthews chuckled. “What are you doing on this side of town anyway?” he asked. “The only person that lives out here is Jacob. Why are you going to see him at this time of night? I was just coming from his place. I half expected to see Katie out here, not you.”
My skin went cold. I couldn't tell him that I was off to shag his son. Especially since he seemed to be under the impression Jacob was with Katie.
That would not go over well. I remembered Officer Matthews as being more patient than his wife, but it still wasn't something I was excited to share. I tried to resist the urge to tug on the straps of my tank top and hide the cleavage spilling out of my shirt. I knew the lace was poking out and it was all I could do not to bring attention to it.
“Oh, you must be giving Jacob an update. He worries about his patients,” Officer Matthews said, saving me from coming up with a lie myself.
“Yup. That's it.”
“You could have just called,” he remarked, giving me a sidelong look.
“Yes. I could have, but this is on my way home. That way I don't have to drive and talk on the phone or make him wait to get the updates,” I replied. It sounded ridiculous even as I said it, but I smiled and hoped it sounded believable. “Also, it's important for medical reasons.”
“Then I won't keep you,” Officer Matthews replied. He gave me a serious frown. “Turn on your headlights. You get a warning this time since it isn't your truck.”
“Thank you, Officer Matthews.”
He tipped his hat and walked back to his cruiser. My hands were shaking so badly I was afraid to drive. I did manage to find the headlights and turn them on.
Officer Matthews blipped his lights at me and left me hyperventilating on Jacob's street. This was a close call. Super close. My boobs were nearly falling out of my tank top and I'd barely managed to say why I was driving to Jacob's house.
Only when the police cruiser was completely out of sight did I have the courage to start the engine and finish the drive to Jacob's house. He lived in a cute little house on the end of a long dirt road. It had been in his family for generations, much as my house was in mine.
I pulled up to the front door and glanced around before getting out. When the porch light flicked on, I half expected his mother to come walking out. At least this time I had my scrub top back on and looked half way respectable.
Jacob opened the door as I walked up the wooden steps.
“Hey there,” he said softly, reaching out to kiss me. I took a step back and then darted into his house. Confusion crossed his face as he followed, shutting the summer night out behind us. The air conditioner hummed in the window. “What's up?”
I locked the door and then kissed him. He tasted like cold beer and apple pie.
“You okay?” he asked when I broke the kiss and leaned against him.
“Your dad pulled me over,” I told him. “On the dirt road.”
I felt him tense underneath me. This was the only house out here. It was pretty damn obvious where I was going if he pulled me over on this road. “He just showed up earlier. Walked right in. What did he say?”
“He thinks I'm giving you a report on how things went at the hospital,” I told him. “They went great by the way. No issues.”
Jacob let out a slow breath, his hands making slow circles on my back.
We both knew how close we came to getting caught. If his dad had come over while I was here, I wouldn't have an excuse. Especially if he walked in on us doing the horizontal tango. I was sure Officer Matthews wouldn't be pleased to find me under his “practically engaged” son.
I really wished that rumor would die.
“Remind me to start locking the door,” Jacob said after a moment. Apparently we were both thinking the same thing. I wasn't sure that the locks even worked on either of our doors given that no one in town locked their doors ever, but at least it would give us time if someone came over unannounced.
We would just have to say that it was a habit we picked up in the city.
I hated that I was coming up with preemptive lies. I wished that we could just date like normal people, but Jacob was my boss. He was also my boss that most of the town thought should marry someone else regardless of how he felt about it.
“You want some dinner?” Jacob asked. “I bet you’re hungry.”
My stomach rumbled as if on cue. “That would be great.”
He gave me an extra squeeze before letting me go and guiding me to the kitchen. He had grilled a large piece of salmon and lots of veggies. It smelled delicious.
“What'd you tell your dad about all the food?” I asked, getting a plate from the cabinet.
“I'm meal prepping. Left overs are easier on my schedule,” Jacob replied with a shrug. He took out a cup and poured me a whiskey. “And it's true. I don't think you're eating five pounds of salmon.”
“I don't know, I'm awfully hungry,” I teased, putting a big chunk of fish on my plate.
“If you eat it all, I will be super impressed. Not even mad, just impressed.”
I grinned and speared a bite with my fork. It was perfect. Flaky and soft with a smoky flavor from the grill. “This is fantastic. Thank you.”
We sat at his kitchen table as I wolfed down probably clo
se to a third of his delicious salmon. I didn't eat all of it, but it was close. Combined with the whiskey, I finally started to relax.
Still, every time I thought I heard a car outside, I froze.
“Do we have a game plan?” I asked after jumping at the air conditioner starting for the third time. “Is this how it's always going to be?”
“No. I talked to Katie yesterday. We're going to have a nasty breakup when she gets back from filming her cooking thing.” He grinned. “We plan on making it very public. She's tired of it, too.”
I nodded, feeling like that was a long way away. There were so many ways we could get caught now.
“I promise, Hannah. It's not going to be like this forever,” he continued. “I don't like all the sneaking around either. I want to be able to take you out to dinner and kiss you on the street.”
I liked the idea of that. I could see us walking hand in hand down main street. It was a pretty picture.
“You promise?” I asked, feeling like I was asking Santa Claus for a pony. It seemed like something that couldn't come true.
“Promise. We can come up with something about the boss/work thing. Dr. Taggert married his medical assistant, so I don't think he has much of a leg to stand on,” Jacob told me. “As long as we do this properly and there's no damage to the image of the clinic, he won't care.”
I sighed. I had that impossible feeling again.
“Come to the couch with me,” he said, his voice going low and full of honey. I looked up to see a sexy grin on his face. “Maybe I can convince you there.”
“Uh huh.” I crossed my arms and gave him a fake frown. “Or maybe you're just trying to distract me.”
His grin widened and his eyes glimmered with desire. “I guess you'll just need to come find out then.”
“I guess I will.” I grinned, made sure the door was locked and the shutters drawn, and went to the couch for him to convince me.
Chapter 18
The next three weeks flew by. I started keeping a quiet count of the days until Katie returned from filming. She kept progressing in her baking competition, so the date kept getting pushed further and further back.
I tried not to let it get to me, but it was hard. I wanted to be able to go out to dinner with Jacob without having to invite Donna every time. I wanted to start on us really being a couple. Right now, it things felt more like a really long, really awesome, one night stand. I didn't like living a lie, even if it wasn't really a lie.
“Any plans this evening, Donna?” Dr. Matthews asked as we tidied up the clinic and prepared to shut down for the evening.
“We have baseball tonight,” Donna replied. “I'll be glad when the season is over. Going out to those fields in this heat is brutal. What about you, Hannah?”
“Just heading home. I have a really yummy recipe for a grilled chicken salad that I'm trying tonight. I got all the ingredients at the farmers market this morning.” In code, that meant: My place. Tonight. I'm making dinner.
“That sounds delicious,” Dr. Matthews commented. Code: I'm coming.
“I'll be sure to give you the recipe,” I told him. Code: Oh, you will be.
“I'd appreciate that.” The code on that was pretty self explanatory.
“How is Karina's daughter doing?” Donna asked.
“Great. You'd never even know she had surgery. She's all spunk and is so proud of her new scar,” I said with a laugh. “She has decided she's going to be a surgeon when she grows up now so she can do this surgery all the time.”
Both Donna and Jacob laughed.
We finished up our evening tasks and all headed out to the parking lot. I got in my car, Donna got in her truck, and Jacob got on his motorcycle. He looked so damn sexy it was hard not to drool. The man looked good in leather and on a bike.
We each went down the road until it split and we had to turn. Donna went left, I went right, Jacob went straight.
I drove home as he circled back around, taking a dirt road through a corn field and making sure that no one saw him. Finding secret routes to one another's houses was almost a game now. I knew three unlisted roads through corn fields that I could use to sneak over to his house. If I rode my bicycle, I didn't even have to leave the fields half the time. The bike also had the benefit of being easy to hide.
It was fun in a way, and depressing in another. As much fun as sneaking around was, it was hard. Some days I just wanted to be able to drive to his house, have a beer, and not worry about who saw my damn car there.
Once home, I started prepping things for our salad tonight. I had a bunch of different kinds of lettuce all straight from a local farm. There were fresh grown tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and even some local feta cheese. I made a balsamic dressing and turned the grill on for the chicken.
I was just putting the chicken on the grill when Jacob rolled up. He tucked his motorcycle under my weeping willow tree, using the dense leaves to hide it. While it wasn't visible from the road, it was visible from the house. I felt like we needed to find a better spot.
“Smells good,” he said, taking off his helmet and coming out to the grill. “I'm starving.”
“Good, because I made tons. Here, I have more veggies to chop,” I replied. He took the fork and tongs from me to take over grilling.
I hummed as I went to the kitchen and finished getting everything ready. It felt so domestic and peaceful. I could imagine life always being like this.
Jacob came in and I cut up the chicken and we ate dinner at my kitchen. The conversation was good and we ended up laughing through the entire meal. He was so easy to talk to and he had the most amazing stories from his time in med school. I loved that he treated me like an equal. He appreciated me.
I put the dishes in the sink and he wiped down the table and took care of the grill. I appreciated it, because I hated scraping the grill and making sure the coals were out. I would much rather take care of dishes than deal with that.
It was just one more example of how we made the perfect team.
Thunder rumbled overhead.
“I'm going to grab my stuff off the bike,” Jacob said, peering out the window at the sky. It didn't look too dark, but it was a good idea to grab his stuff just in case.
I followed him to the back door of the kitchen as he ran out and took a small side bag off his motorcycle. He stepped out from under the shelter of the tree and the sky suddenly let loose.
A torrential downpour came down, soaking him as he sprinted to the house. He clutched his bag to him, trying to keep it as dry as possible, but given how the rain was coming down, I wasn't sure how successful he was going to be.
“Are you okay?” I asked as he stumbled inside and I shut the door. His t-shirt was plastered to his chest like a second skin. I could see every line of his chest and abs.
“I'm fine,” he replied, running his fingers through his hair. Little droplets of water scattered all over the floor. “Let me check my bag and make sure everything is still dry.”
He set the bag on the kitchen floor and undid the zipper. Out came his white doctor coat and a stethoscope, as well as a change of scrubs and a set of medical journals.
“Good, the magazines are dry,” he said, setting them carefully up on a table. “Dr. Taggert loaned them to me.”
I shook my head and picked up the stethoscope. A very naughty idea entered my head. I got up, walked to my living room and made sure the door was locked. Then I came back to the kitchen where Jacob had put everything but the stethoscope neatly back in his bag.
“Hey, would you wear this for me?” I asked, holding the stethoscope up. Jacob frowned but took it and draped it over his shoulders.
“But you're all wet. You should take off your shirt,” I said with a coy smile. It took him a second to understand what I was saying, but then he flashed me a sexy smile.
“Of course, Nurse Hannah,” he said in a low voice that sent sexy shivers down my spine.
He pulled his wet shirt up and over his head. The shirt cl
ung to the curves of his muscles as he tossed it to the floor. It landed with a splat. He left it there and adjusted his stethoscope.
I forgot how to breathe looking at him. His muscles glistened with rainwater. His pants hung around his hips, showing off his lean lines and trim waist. He kicked off his shoes.
“So, you want to play doctor?” he asked, holding onto his stethoscope and grinning seductively at me.
“Let's go up to the exam room,” I replied breathlessly.
“Lead the way, Nurse Hannah.”
I hurried up the stairs to my room, skipping along with excitement.
I sat down on my bed as Jacob followed me into my room.
“I'm going to need to do a full exam,” he said, closing the door behind him. “Please remove your clothing.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
I stood up and slowly lifted my shirt up and over my head. I loved the way his eyes followed my movements. I could see the excitement growing in his pants as he watched me strip. I made each movement slow and deliberately as sexy as possible.
“Pants too,” he murmured, his eyes watching my body. His gaze was anything but clinical.
I stood before him, completely naked. There was no self-consciousness to it, though. I felt sexy standing there with my hand on my hip and a coy smile on the face.
Jacob licked his lips. “I'm going to need to listen to your heart. Have a seat on the bed. Do you mind if I get more comfortable?”
I nodded and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed like I would at a real exam.
He slid out of his wet pants, kicking them to the side. They slid under my bed. His underwear were still mostly dry, but he took those off as well.
Good lord did that man look good naked.
He put the stethoscope in his ears. “Let me listen to your heart.”
He put the cold bell of the stethoscope on my chest, groping one of my breasts in the process. I moaned slightly as he felt me up, still moving the stethoscope. I was sure he could hear my heart pounding with excitement and lust.
“Sounds excellent,” he murmured, leaning forward and kissing my bare shoulder. I shuddered with want at his touch.