by Gina Kincade
This was either some sort of dream or a nightmare. “Are you serious? I haven’t seen you in years.”
He blinked and shook his head. “I know it’s been a long time. I’m sorry. But this is the first time I’ve been back in Vegas since I left. I did call and text when I was able to.”
She had wanted to be cool and casual about the amount of time that had passed before he’d reached out to her, but his reminder set her off. “That was months after you left. And those pills weren’t mine. I even went to the police to tell them so.”
“I know,” he said quickly. “They came to talk to us at the hospital.”
Andie backed away and sat at the small dinette table next to the kitchen.
“Why were you at the hospital?” she asked, wondering if he was thinking of retuning to Vegas and getting his old job back. Did he expect her to see him again if he did?
Eric glanced around, looking adorably flustered at the lack of seating. The only other chair at the table was full of books, so he remained standing.
“I found a guy passed out in the bathroom of Lynx after hours last night. An overdose. We suspect it was Drek. He had a few more capsules of it in his pocket.”
Andie felt her stomach drop. “Oh. Is he dead?”
“No, I found him in time. Needless to say, the cops were pretty interested in the pills Mike found. He doesn’t think they were really yours by the way.”
She covered her face with her hands. “Doesn’t matter. I know Mr. McLachlan’s zero tolerance clause backwards and forwards. I’ve read it a dozen times since I got dismissed.”
“You’re on probation. You’re not fired yet.”
“I’m not fired up until the point I get arrested,” she said. “I’m not sure they believed me when I went to make my statement.”
“Calen and Mike are going to keep searching for other suspects. I just wanted you to know that. I’ll be staying around for a few weeks as well. And if you’d like another place to crash, you can stay at my hotel.”
She picked her head out of hands, prepared to blister his ears with swear words bad enough to make a sailor blush, but Eric forestalled her.
He held up his hands. “In your own room, of course. Far away from mine. On a separate floor. Whatever you like.”
Biting her tongue, she counted to three. “No thank you. I’m fine here.”
Eric nodded slowly. “Okay.”
He put his hands in his pockets and she waited for him to say he had to leave, but he just stood there fidgeting with something in his pocket.
“Well, thanks for checking in,” she said impatiently. “You can leave now.”
“I was in rehab.”
“What?”
One hand came out of his pocket, gesturing aimlessly at nothing. “I left so abruptly I didn’t have time to explain.” He swallowed and averted his gaze. “Wow. I imagined this conversation over and over, but it’s harder than I thought.” He looked back up to meet her eyes. “You’re surprised. I guess you didn’t suspect?”
Andie belatedly realized her mouth was open. She’d been around a lot of drug users in her youth, but Eric hadn’t rung any of those warning bells. And she prided herself on being able to spot a user from a mile away.
“What were you on?”
Eric shook his head. “It was poker actually…although I was starting to drink pretty heavily there at the end, after I started losing. When I left I had lost almost everything—even my mom’s house.” He coughed. “I supposed I should be grateful she didn’t live to see that. She still thought I was a successful surgeon when she died.”
Andie remembered he’d told her he’d moved back to Vegas to take care of his sick mother. The woman had passed before she met her, though, and Eric hadn’t liked speaking about her after she was gone. She tried to think of something to say, but Eric was intent on getting his explanation out.
“I had pretty much hit rock-bottom that night I did the emergency tracheotomy. You heard about it right? I had just been fired, lost the last of my cash and my car. I came to Lynx to drown my sorrows. I was hoping to see you, but to this day I’m glad you weren’t there. I don’t remember much of what I did, but it’s my rock bottom. Not remembering still freaks me out. I’m just grateful I pulled it off and didn’t kill the kid choking. I attracted your boss’ attention with that stunt. The next day he offered me a job, one contingent on going to rehab and leaving Vegas permanently. Except for leaving you, it was an easy choice. Or at least I thought it was at the time. I didn’t realize how much I would miss you.”
Fuck! I don’t have to forgive him. I don’t have to forgive him.
“You could have told me all of this years ago,” she pointed out.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a familiar gesture. He’d done it a lot when his mother died.
And in the last few weeks before he left.
“I was ashamed of myself. I mean, I lost my mother’s house. I still can’t believe I did that. But you’re right. You deserved an explanation—a better one than I just got a job offer I couldn’t turn down. Although, in my defense, back then I still believed Calen was Irish mob. I was scared of him so I may have rushed to rehab.”
“And they didn’t have phones?”
“Not for the first month. Part of the rules.”
Damn it, was she allowed to be mad after hearing his explanation? The first call from him had been around a month and a half after he left.
You can be whatever the hell you want. She didn’t owe him anything.
“Thank you for explaining, but all of this isn’t really relevant. I admit I’ve hit a rough patch, but I’m confident the cops or Mike will clear me. As for our former relationship, there’s not much to say. We used to hook up. Now we don’t. We’ve both moved on.”
“I haven’t.”
There was charged moment when her heart did a little loop-de-loop.
“There hasn’t been anyone since you and I ended things,” Eric continued. “I know you have someone in your life or did very recently, but I didn’t want anyone else. I was focused on getting better and more recently on building my business. I’m running my own concierge medical service now. We work exclusively for McLachlan properties, but we’re going to branch out soon. I’m hiring more staff as we speak.”
Andie felt like she was encased in ice while her mind raced, trying to decide what to feel. Was he hinting that he wanted to get back together or was he trying to recruit her for a fucking job?
My dream job, she reminded herself. Wait, he doesn’t even know you decided to become a physician’s assistant. She’d gotten her acceptance letter for the UNLV program right after he left.
“So…you’ve been busy,” she said lamely.
“I missed you,” he said softly. “I still do.”
Fuckety fuck fuck.
Andie stood up. “I don’t know what you want, but I can’t deal with this right now.” Her priority was to stay out of jail and find a job.
And it wasn’t like he was asking her to get back together. All he’d said was he missed her, nothing more. That was some grade A passive-aggressive shit. She wasn’t going to put herself out there again. Getting her heart smashed to pieces once was enough.
She started to move to the door, so she could open it and ask him to leave, but he grabbed her arm.
“I still want you,” he said in low, intense tone. “That hasn’t changed. But I can’t live here anymore. Calen was right about that. When I leave I’d like you to think about going with me. My home base is in Boston. It would be a fresh start for you too. You’ve never liked living in Vegas.”
Her mouth dropped open. Unfuckinbelievable. “You should have asked me two years ago!”
“Andie, I couldn’t have taken care of you. I was a bad bet back then. Plus, you were still in school.”
Man, he was a gambler. A bad bet… How had she missed that?
“First off, I can take care of myself. Second, you should have told me what your situation w
as. We were…we were…”
What the hell had they been to each other?
The hottest thing that would ever happen to her. A fantasy she dreamed up. After all this time none of it felt real, despite the fact he was standing in front her now.
Eric’s grip on her arm tightened and he drew her closer. “We were this,” he whispered.
A buzzing started in her ears, and she watched him wide-eyed as he reeled her in. Then his lips touched hers.
A supernova of heat blew through her. It was just like in the movies. One second she was a normal human being, the next she was a boneless pile of mush clinging to him as his mouth consumed hers.
This wasn’t a sweet nice-to-see-you kiss. Eric didn’t make any allowances for the time that had passed. His lips weren’t soft. They were hungry, ravenous, robbing her of her willpower and good sense.
His hands ran down her back and up her sides. They passed over the sides of her breasts until her nipples were hard and tingling. She pressed the aching tips against his chest. The cotton of her shirt and bra were thin enough for her to feel the texture of his shirt as she rubbed against him.
Eric groaned and carried her to the floor. Her heart was racing, her breath coming in short pants and gasps. The sound of a zipper filled the air and then she felt the rough texture of carpet under her thighs.
Blood rushed from her head, the space between her legs heating and swelling. Incoherent cries filled the air, stopping only when she bit her lip.
Then he nipped her clit through the cloth of her panties and she sobbed aloud. It wasn’t too hard, just right. Then her panties were gone, skimmed down her legs by Eric’s beautiful hands—the hands of a surgeon.
She was squirming, restlessly pumping her hips, trying to get closer to his touch, but Eric pulled back, stopping to stare at her bare cunt.
“I love how wet you get,” he whispered, leaning closer to blow on her heated folds.
He inhaled deeply as if to draw her scent into his lungs. Whimpering, she reached out and pulled his hair.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m going to take care of you—starting now.”
His tongue snaked out, licking her up and down, seeming to relish her taste. He nibbled on her clit, stroking her with his mouth and hands. His tongue probed her entrance, teasing her with a series of quick licks. Her hips rose to meet his mouth, trying to deepen the penetration, but he continued to torture her, only peeking into her with frustratingly shallow strokes.
“Oh God, please.”
Eric hummed in satisfaction before pushing into her with two fingers. He pumped in and out while his mouth fastened on her clit, sucking in time with his rhythm. Andie writhed on the floor, lost in the climbing heat.
He’d done this before. His talented mouth and hands had driven her crazy many times, but it had been so long ago. She missed feeling this way. Being with Todd was nothing like this—their sex life had always been about him. He’d never stirred her blood the way Eric could. One touch from the doctor and she was wet and ready, every nerve ending straining in anticipation.
The rhythmic movement of his mouth and hands ignited an answering pulse in her blood. She clamped her thighs around his head, trying to pull him in even closer. But his hands held her down, forcing her as still as he consumed her like a starving man.
The ceiling above her started to fade in and out as her pussy began to pulse in time with Eric’s hands and mouth. His tongue thrust deeper, delving into the heart of her and she splintered, edges of light appearing in the cracks of her soul as she exploded in his arms.
Chapter Eight
“I hate myself.”
“Why?” Eric sounded hurt.
His long, hard form was currently wrapped around her naked body on the floor of Amber’s apartment. He was still fully dressed, his hardness pressed against her backside. She’d fully expected him to unzip and fuck her brains out.
The truth was, she wanted that to happen so badly it hurt. But Eric had restrained himself, pleasuring her without taking anything for himself. Under the circumstances it was chivalrous. Any other guy would have gone all the way. It’s not like she would have said no.
Andie was feeling sorry enough for herself to tell the truth. “You show up and I fall into your arms like some sort of sex-crazed idiot,” she said, turning away as the recrimination built up inside her. It felt like someone was sitting on her chest.
“Andie, you’re not crazy and you’re not an idiot.” He shifted to stare down at her face. “We have something. It’s deep and strong. The fact it’s still here after all this time apart means it’s never going away. Come to Boston with me. We can live together, and you’ll find a job you like. Maybe Calen will take you on at one of his other clubs or restaurants. Or he can recommend you to the Caislean chain. I’m sure he’d be willing to once this drug mess is cleared up. I know it won’t be perfect with my travel schedule, but you can come with me whenever you’re able to. I’ll buy you a ticket anywhere I’m going.”
It sounded like a dream come true, but she had been burned too many times in the past. Her dreams didn’t come true. She had learned that lesson the hard way. White knights didn’t appear out of the blue no matter how badly you needed them.
Two years was simply too long. All her dreams of happily ever after with this man had died long ago—right around the time she had stopped waiting for him to come home. Shortly after she had started dating Todd.
“I think you need to go now,” she said in a low voice. “This is over. It has been for a long time.”
Avoiding his eyes, she picked up her discarded clothes and started pulling them back on and stood up. Don’t cry. No matter what you do, don’t cry.
Eric moved to his knees, stopping her hands as she tried to zip up her jeans. He tugged on the open flaps to pull her closer and pressed a soft kiss above her mound on the skin of her belly.
“I regretted not asking you to wait for me,” he said, looking up at her. “But I thought you deserved better. That was always in the back of my mind—in rehab and when I went back to work. I’m still not good enough for you. There is probably some billionaire out there who you’re supposed to be with. Someone like Calen. But they can’t have you. You’re mine and I am going to find a way to make this up to you.”
Eric stopped to nuzzle that spot on her belly again. “Someday my child will grow here,” he whispered.
Her breath caught, tingles running up her spine as he stared at her with eyes that glowed like coal.
“I love you, Andie. Once you understand that—after you forgive me—I’m going to be here,” he said putting his hand on her stomach and stroking down until he reached her pussy.
Tugging her waistband lower, he slipped his hand inside the band of her panties and stroked her clit briefly before moving down and pushing into her with his fingers.
“I’m going to fuck you hard and often, filling you with my seed. I want to see you get big and round with my baby and then I’m going to fuck you some more knowing I did that to you. And then I’m going to point you out to every man I see and I’m going to tell them, ‘See that gorgeous pregnant woman? She’s mine.’”
Annie’s mouth was gaping open, her lips parted as Eric’s other arm snaked around her, cupping and kneading her ass to press her closer. She grabbed his arm for support, her eyes rolling back into her head as he continued to fuck her with his hand.
She should have pushed him away and slapped his face. But she didn’t. Instead, she widened her stance so he could take her deeper.
The shrill ring of the doorbell snapped her out of her euphoria.
“Shit!”
Eric paused, glancing at the door uncertainly. Andie pulled away and fastened her pants, running to the kitchen to wash her hands and splash some water on her face before returning to the living room.
She flushed, well aware the scent of her arousal filled the air. The impulse to ignore it was overwhelming but the shrill buzz filled the air a second time.
“Aren’t you going to wash up or something?” she asked, brow creased.
“No.” He slowly lifted two fingers to his lips and sucked on them, making the world spin dizzily
Holy shit, why is that so hot?
Shaking her head to clear the stupefying haze of lust from her brain, she opened the door. As it turned out it was unnecessary. The cold shock of seeing police uniforms waiting on the other side was more effective than a splash of cold water to the face.
Chapter Nine
“You want me to do what?”
The hard-faced detective named Carter leaned forward. “We want you to wear a wire.”
Andie had been at the police station for hours. At first, she had been terrified she was under arrest. The uniformed cops at her door had certainly made it seem that way—until Eric had very loudly assured he was going to call Calen McLachlan to get her an attorney ASAP. Then they admitted they just wanted to talk to her.
More like bully me…
Eric insisted on coming with her to the police station. However, they kept them both waiting so long he had to leave. Lynx’s manager called to tell him there had been an accident at the club. A girl needed stitches. But Eric stayed until Calen McLachlan himself assured him one his attorneys was en route.
That had been at least two hours ago. The moment Eric left, Andie had been swept into an interrogation room. Two plainclothes detectives came in. They gave the impression of appearing bored, like they had all the time in the world. But the shorter Hispanic one was sweating a bit.
They were obviously trying to scare her into action before Mr. McLachlan’s attorney arrived. She had no idea when that would be, but her request to wait for her lawyer was ignored. Meanwhile she said as little as possible. After, they left her alone for another hour, presumably to let her sweat it out. Now they were back, grilling her all over again and the lawyer was still nowhere in sight.