by Jenna Sutton
She looked up, and he smoothed her hair away from her face. It smelled fruity, like tangerines maybe, and his taste buds quivered. He pushed down the urge to nuzzle his nose into her hair before licking his way down her neck.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
He smiled. Her voice sounded like the offspring between a bullfrog and a goose.
“You’re such a good friend,” she continued.
Friend.
The smile slid from his face. He was starting to hate that fucking word, especially when Teagan’s kissable lips said it.
“You’re going to get sick, you know,” she warned. “I already gave this to Bebe.”
He shrugged. He didn’t get sick a lot, and when he did, he rode it out alone. He remembered having strep throat in high school and being so sick he could barely move. His dad had been in New York City for a book tour, and he’d been irritated when Nick had called him. He had told him to “use his head and find a doctor.”
Nick shook off the memory, focusing on Teagan’s face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her skin looked dewy from the shower.
“You won’t be so blasé about it when you’re suffering with this plague,” she predicted. “You’ll blame me for giving it to you.”
He stared into her eyes. He already suffered from something she had given him: a bad case of lust.
She sniffed the air before peeking around him. Her eyes widened.
“Did you cook?” she asked incredulously.
He nodded, a little insulted by her shock. He was a grown man, and he knew how to make a simple meal. He laughed under his breath when he realized he might be just a tad too offended. Grilled cheese sandwiches weren’t exactly adult fare.
She stepped around him, and he turned to see what she was doing. Bending down, she opened the lower cabinet and reached inside. He watched as the hem of her nightgown inched up and continued to rise until he could see the top of her creamy thighs.
Saliva pooled in his mouth as he thought about the moist pink flesh barely covered by the flannel. He had to clench his hands into fists to stop himself from reaching out and easing his fingers between her legs.
She stood up, her hands filled with two oval plates and two matching bowls. “These are my special soup and sandwich platters,” she said as she placed them on the granite counter. “They have a built-in place for the soup bowl.”
He touched her elbow, and she lifted her face to look at him. She smiled, a tiny curve of her chapped lips, and he tilted his head toward the dining room.
“Sit.”
Surprisingly, she did exactly as she was told, and he couldn’t stop himself from watching the sway of her ass as she left the kitchen. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, massaging the tight muscles.
Although he’d expected his desire for Teagan to fade, it hadn’t. In fact, it had grown exponentially. Even when her hair had been stringy and her nose had been runny, he’d wanted to be close to her.
He ran his hands roughly over his face. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew he couldn’t go on like this.
He moved to the stove and plated their lunches, giving himself the burned sandwich. Carrying the plates into the dining room, he found Teagan standing beside the table. She turned to face him, and he noticed she held the bear he’d bought her.
“Is this guy for me?” she asked, holding up the bear.
He nodded, depositing the plates on the table.
“And the roses? Are they for me, too?”
He nodded again. He had tossed the lavender roses on the table when he’d returned from the grocery store. He had been in such a rush to get some medicine into her, he’d forgotten to put them in water, and they’d wilted a little bit.
Teagan looked down, rubbing one of the bear’s ears between her thumb and her forefinger. He wondered if maybe he’d made a mistake. After all, she wasn’t his Valentine.
“Why did you get them for me?”
“You’re sick,” he answered, but he didn’t know if that was the truth.
He didn’t know why he’d bought the bear and the roses. They had been an impulse purchase, one he regretted now. She nodded and returned the bear to the table before sitting down.
“Apple juice or tea?”
She shrugged lethargically, and he could tell she felt bad again. She needed to get some food in her stomach before she went back to bed, though.
“Eat. Then b-b-b-back to bed.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, her chapped lower lip pushed out in a small pout.
Poor baby.
“Just a few bites,” he negotiated, dropping a kiss on top of her head as he walked back to the kitchen to grab some juice.
* * *
“Groundhog Day is the best movie of all time,” Teagan said, reclining against her velvet sofa.
“Terminator,” Nick countered as he draped a blanket over her.
After lunch, he had tucked her into bed like she was a little girl, and she’d slept for four hours. When she had woken up and stumbled from her bedroom, she’d been surprised to find him on her sofa watching the History Channel and drinking a beer.
While Teagan had been napping, Letty had dropped off a change of clothes for Nick and homemade dinner for two. He’d showered and changed into a navy blue thermal pullover that outlined his chest and arms in mouthwatering detail and a pair of sand-colored cargo pants that made his butt look like a work of art.
Right now, his crotch was level with her face, and she wished she had the right to reach out, unzip his pants, and slide her hand inside. She wished she had the courage to take him into her mouth and damn the consequences.
Thinking of the treasure to be found inside his pants, she licked her lips, and Nick’s eyes fell to her mouth. He frowned before pulling a tube of lip balm from his hip pocket and handing it to her.
She’d been thinking about giving him a blow job, and he’d been thinking she needed lip balm for her chapped lips. Stupid man.
“Drink?” he asked as she slathered ointment on her lips and handed the tube back to him.
Nick was determined to keep her well hydrated, but she wasn’t sure she could swallow much more tea or juice without floating away. She declined his offer, and he grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and handed it to her. He pointed to her legs, and she pulled her knees to her chest so he could sit down.
Settling himself against the cushions, he reached for her feet and draped them across his lap. He delved under the blanket and tweaked one of her big toes before starting to massage her foot. His hands were so warm she could feel the heat through her knee socks. She shivered, and he turned his head to look into her eyes.
“Okay?” he asked.
She nodded. He could touch her anywhere and anytime, and she wouldn’t say no. In fact, she’d probably say more.
It was almost impossible to hide her feelings for Nick. When she’d seen the bear and flowers he’d bought her, she had almost burst into tears. Didn’t he realize he was torturing her with his friendship? How could he expect them to spend so much time together without her falling in love with him?
Who wouldn’t love a man who took such good care of her when she was sick? Who could resist the lure of a man who not only looked like a Greek god but also laughed at her stupid jokes?
Teagan stared at the TV remote, rubbing her finger over the Pause button. Although she’d tried to move forward, her life was on pause. She was waiting for Nick to miraculously wake up one day and decide he wanted to be with her.
Maybe she should grow a pair and just tell him she felt more than friendship for him. She didn’t have to show all her cards by telling him she was in love with him. She could play it cool.
What was the worst that could happen?
Closing her eyes, she imagined telling Nick she wanted to be more than fr
iends. And then she imagined the horror on his gorgeous face, the pity in his eyes when he told her he didn’t want her “that way.”
And what if he found her attractive? To use a cliché, he wasn’t relationship material. She knew sex was the most she could expect from him. And the worst part about it? She wouldn’t even be the only woman in his life.
She groaned softly. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than being just another member of his harem.
“Feeling bad again?”
Teagan opened her eyes to find Nick staring at her, a look of concern on his face. It was obvious he cared about her—he wouldn’t be here otherwise. But she knew she couldn’t read anything into it.
He cared about her whole family, and she knew he’d do the same for her brothers. In fact, she’d bet he had taken care of her brothers when they’d overindulged in liquor and loose women.
“I’m feeling better. You can relax, Nurse Nightingale.”
He laughed, moving his hands to massage her lower leg. His hands were strong, and she imagined him shifting them higher until he could slip his long fingers inside her.
Wetness trickled from her body, and she resisted the urge to squirm against the sofa. She wondered what he’d do if she unzipped his pants, climbed on his lap, and rode him until they both were mindless with pleasure.
“You’re flushed,” Nick noted. “Sure your fever isn’t back?”
Teagan exhaled loudly. She had a fever all right, but it was because of him, not the flu.
She pressed the button to play the DVD and waited for the opening credits to fill the screen. They had debated which movie to watch, going back and forth between her favorites and his, until he’d taken it upon himself to make the decision alone.
She had no doubt they’d end up watching Terminator . . . again. The man seriously loved his cybernetic organisms. She, on the other hand, seriously loved Nick Priest.
“What are we watching?”
Nick slanted an amused glance toward her. “Groundhog Day.”
Groundhog Day was her favorite movie, but Nick wasn’t a fan. Apparently he didn’t like watching a womanizing jerk relive the same day over and over until he finally—finally—got a clue. Maybe Groundhog Day hit too close to home for Nick.
And now I’m just being bitchy.
“Are you going to make rude noises throughout the whole movie like you did last time?” she asked.
He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe.”
Nick switched his attention from her leg to her other foot, pressing his thumbs deep into the arch. Bliss!
A low moan escaped her. Maybe she didn’t need to have sex with Nick to have an orgasm. He might be able to make her come just by rubbing her feet.
He shifted deeper into the sofa, shaking his head slightly. Teagan cocked her head.
“Why don’t you like Groundhog Day? I love the idea of being able to relive the same day.”
He didn’t answer, just continued to massage her foot, and she pressed her toes into his stomach. His entire body jerked, his eyes shooting to her face.
“Don’t you have any days you want to relive?”
“No,” he replied slowly, his eyes bright in the shadows of the living room.
“What about the day of the Super Bowl? You could relive how great it was to win.”
“No,” he said again, laughing softly.
“Why not?”
He stared at her for a moment. “I could never catch that ball again. Never.”
She nodded. No one could believe he’d caught it. It had been uncatchable.
“You should relive bad days. Not good ones,” he added.
“What do you mean?”
“Leave good days alone. Fix bad ones.”
She considered what Nick had said. She’d always imagined how great it would be to relive the good days, to enjoy them over and over again. But having the opportunity to relive a day that went sideways, to go back and fix something that went wrong, would be beyond awesome.
“Do you have a lot of bad days you’d like to relive?”
“Some,” he replied, looking down at his lap as he continued to rub her foot.
Even though people assumed Nick’s life was perfect, she had no doubt he’d had his fair share of bad days. Yes, he was talented, good-looking, and wealthy. But he’d grown up without a mother, raised by a father who was, by all accounts, a cold, unfeeling asshole.
He had lived his entire life without love, while Teagan had been blessed with an abundance of it. Her life was filled with people who loved her: parents who would do anything for her; brothers who adored her; and friends who cherished her.
But she was greedy. She wanted Nick to love her.
Chapter 17
It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t.
That’s what Nick told himself as he walked down the hallway to Teagan’s door. It was her birthday, and the two of them were going out to dinner before heading to a new club to listen to some music.
Friends dressed up and went out together all the time. It wasn’t a big deal.
When he had told Letty about their plans, she’d grinned. “I wondered why you bought a new suit when you have a closet full of them . . . and a new shirt and tie . . . and new shoes.”
As he’d left his condo to pick up Teagan, Letty had smoothed his Dolce & Gabanna suit jacket and adjusted his tie before patting him on the cheek. It was something a mother would do for her son on prom night.
“Enjoy your nondate,” she’d said, an amused twinkle in her eyes, as if she knew the truth.
And maybe she did. Maybe she knew how badly Nick wanted this to be a date—how much he wished the night would end with him and Teagan naked.
Reaching Teagan’s door, he smoothed his hand over his hair to make sure it wasn’t sticking up and adjusted his tie for the fifth time. He shot his cuffs, the gift bag in his left hand shaking with the motion.
As he stared at the smooth wooden door in front of him, he took a deep breath and then another. He couldn’t ever remember being nervous over a woman, not even when he’d been a teenager. Even back then, he had been in control of his emotions.
But he was nervous now—nervous about a nondate with a friend. He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, he heard Teagan’s muffled voice.
“Just a minute,” she called.
He took another deep breath, readying himself for his first look at her in three weeks. As she had predicted, she’d given him the flu. It had lasted for more than a week, and he had been sicker than he’d ever been.
Letty, bless her soul, had been there to take care of him. And he’d needed all the TLC she had provided. Teagan had texted to check in, but he hadn’t told her he’d been sick because he hadn’t wanted her to feel guilty.
He adjusted his tie again and inspected his new shoes while he waited for Teagan to open the door. The door swung open, and he jerked his eyes from his Salvatore Ferragamos to Teagan. He sucked in a breath when he saw her, astounded by the vision in front of him. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her dressed up like this.
Holy shit, she’s stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Her dark hair was arranged loosely on top of her head, drawing attention to her neck and shoulders. Her emerald green dress left most of her upper chest bare except for wide straps, and her breasts plumped above the low-cut square neckline. The gold and emerald necklace encircling her neck drew attention to the creamy mounds, and he struggled against the impulse to bury his face in her cleavage.
Her dress flared from her waist in floating folds, hitting well above her knees. Sheer stockings encased her shapely legs, and nude-colored heels covered her feet. They were so high he wondered how she could walk in them.
As he brought his eyes to her face, he noticed the green dress made her eyes look even bluer, so vibrant they were almost indigo. Gold eye sh
adow shimmered on her lids, and her long lashes framed her eyes.
“Hi,” she said, her glossy lips turning up in a bright smile. “I’m sorry I made you wait.”
He didn’t respond because he was even more tongue-tied than usual. She opened the door, waving him in, and he trailed after her.
“I need to grab my coat. It’s way too cold for me to go out without it. I’ll be right back,” she said over her shoulder as she headed down the hall to her bedroom.
Placing the gift bag on the tall granite bar that separated the kitchen from the living area, he shoved his hands in his pockets to make some extra room near his crotch. He exhaled loudly, wondering how he was going to hide an erection in his new suit pants. They were a tad more formfitting than his others, and he should have thought about that when he’d had the pants fitted, damn it.
“Is that my birthday present?” Teagan asked as she came back into the living room, a cream-colored wool coat hanging over her arm. “Can I open it right now or do you want me to wait?”
He nodded, tilting his head toward the brightly colored gift bag. She smiled and threw her coat over the back of the barstool before eagerly reaching for her present.
Digging through the pink tissue paper, she pulled out a square leather jewelry case. She placed it on the bar and opened the lid, gasping when she saw the necklace inside.
He knew she collected vintage jewelry, and he’d wanted to give her something she would like. He had contacted a local jeweler and told him what he was looking for, and the jeweler had found several pieces for Nick to review.
Before he had begun the search for her birthday present, he hadn’t known diamonds could be almost any color. He’d seen white diamonds, of course, as well as yellow, brown, and pink, but he hadn’t been aware there were blue, green, and orange diamonds, too.
He had debated over which piece to buy her, but he hadn’t been able to resist this necklace once he’d seen it. It was a collar of white and colored diamonds set in platinum and cut in the shape of various flowers that were interwoven together with smaller diamond clusters.