by Janice Lynn
Under different circumstances she might have been offended, hurt even, but Daniel needed sleep, and she cherished the opportunity to openly study his features.
Laughter lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes and fine creases marred his forehead, but they only added to his appeal, giving character and strength to his handsome face. His nose still slanted proudly and his mouth should come with a warning that touching caused explosive reactions.
His hands should carry a similar warning because everywhere he’d touched she’d exploded with the most wicked of sensations.
No one had ever made her feel like Daniel did.
Not even her ex-husband. She’d cared for Thomas. She wouldn’t have married him if she hadn’t, but their friendship hadn’t laid the foundation to build on that they’d hoped for. Thomas had remarried and had two small kids. Kimberly couldn’t be happier for him because he was a good man.
Just not the man for her.
Gently, she stroked her fingertip over Daniel’s face.
“I love you,” she whispered, knowing he was sound asleep and would never know her admission. “I’ve always loved you, and I always will.”
He never acknowledged her words in any way, neither did she expect him to miraculously wake up and shout with glee.
Just lying next to him, with his arm draped over her, his breath on her cheek, and the ability to watch him sleep was enough.
“We have a son, Daniel. A gorgeous son who is so much like you. I’m going to tell you all about him. Soon.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Please, understand.”
Daniel felt more rested than he had in a very long time. He stretched languidly. Realizing a warm body snuggled against him, he remembered the night’s events.
Kimberly.
His heart raced at the ramifications of what they’d shared.
Technically, nothing they hadn’t shared before, yet so much more.
Last night had been different. More intense than anything their teenage bodies had experienced. More real.
She’d asked him to love her.
Had she been speaking in physical terms? Or metaphorically? Did she want more than just the fabulous sex they’d shared?
He hoped so, because no way was he letting her walk away at the end of the week. Tomorrow.
He’d let her slip from his life once. All that had given him was fifteen years of unfavorably comparing every woman he’d met to her.
This time, if she tried, he wouldn’t let her push him away. Not without a fight.
He should have fought for her a long time ago, but he’d been eighteen. What had he known at the time about life and how precious having someone you cared about at your side was?
Remembering how he’d loved her, he decided maybe he’d known more than he was giving himself credit for. What he hadn’t known was how wrong he’d been to let her move on to some other guy. It should have been him she’d married, his child she’d given birth to.
He leaned forward, brushed his nose against her long blond tresses and breathed in her scent, filling his heart and mind with the fragrance that was solely Kimberly.
His body stirred, hardening at just that single stimulus. Amazing how something so simple could bring him from zero to sixty in a second when other women had failed to move him for so long.
Because he wanted more.
He wanted a relationship and commitment.
He wanted Kimberly.
Her naked body was spooned against his in an enticing fashion. Dropping soft kisses against the back of her neck, he snaked his hand out to finger her breasts, slowly caressing, slowly waking her body to the morning and to him.
She moaned softly, shifting against his body. Rousing, she twisted and fluttered her lashes. Her hair was tousled sexily about her face and a sleepy, unsure smile played on her lips.
“You’re up.”
“Literally.”
Pink tinged her cheeks.
“Daniel,” she scolded, the uneasiness in her eyes replaced with delighted mischief, and he laughed, loving it that he’d made her smile, given her happiness.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
No matter how long he’d denied it, Kimberly was his dream woman.
“Oh, Daniel.” Her smile fading, she inhaled audibly. “What have we done?”
Not what he wanted to hear.
“We need to slow down. We should talk before anything else happens between us.” She winced. “We should have talked before anything happened last night.”
“We can talk later.” Because he really didn’t want her overanalyzing everything that had happened between them during the past twenty-four hours.
“I’m serious.” She pushed against his chest, making him listen. “I have to tell you something.”
He sighed. Was it wrong that he just wanted to feel what was between them and not put it into words? Words would only mar the perfection of when their bodies connected, and didn’t actions speak louder than words anyway?
“If you insist on talking, let’s shower and have breakfast first.” He knew he sounded grumpy, but he already knew what he needed to know.
They were starting over and he’d convince her that being together was right.
“But first I want a good-morning kiss.” He smacked his lips to hers in a playful kiss, determined to keep the mood light between them. “Ah, come on. You can do better than that,” he teased when she resisted.
“Daniel!” She swatted at him, but then he went for another kiss and another and her hands quit their flapping and welcomed him.
One touch led to another and then another until they were clamoring for each other and his body strained for release.
He rolled over to reach for his wallet to get a condom, and found the night table bare except for the standard hotel clock and lamp. Frowning, he felt on the floor to see if they’d knocked his wallet off during the night and found it.
Unfortunately, he didn’t find another condom.
CHAPTER NINE
KIMBERLY stared across the hospital cafeteria table and wondered how she could have been so stupid.
She’d had sex with Daniel without telling him about Ryan. Admittedly telling him about Ryan would have killed the desire to have sex, but she should have told him before they’d slept together.
Slept together.
Something they hadn’t ever done. Sure, they’d taken short naps after making love, but they’d never slept in a bed all night together.
He’d kept his arm draped around her protectively and at one point during the night she’d woken up, realized she lay next to Daniel and cried.
Lying in his arms, waking up next to him, it’s what she’d wanted for so long.
That morning, when he’d caught her misty-eyed and had wanted to know what was wrong, she hadn’t been able to tell him the truth, not when it would have meant erasing the warmth from his eyes, not when it would have meant replacing his smile with a frown, and losing whatever it was between them.
But her heart pricked and she couldn’t bear it any longer.
“You okay?” Daniel asked, downing half his glass of orange juice in a single drink.
“Fine,” she lied.
It seemed she was born to deceive this man. Odd, as he mattered so much to her and she was generally an honest person.
She was tired of lying to Daniel.
Tired of the secrets between them.
She wanted Daniel in her life, wanted him to know Ryan and to love their son the way she did.
“What are you thinking about?” Daniel’s eyes pierced her thoughts.
No more lies.
“This morning.” He’d been upset when he’d realized they hadn’t had any protection, but had given her release with his mouth and hands.
“I’ll make it up to you tonight,” he promised. “Apparently neither of us was prepared for a night of sex.”
“No,” she admitted, not meeting his eyes.
“You regret what happened?”
“It was inevitable, I suppose.”
“Inevitable?” He frowned. “You make it sound like a disease.”
“We should have talked before sleeping together, Daniel.”
“Weren’t you listening, Kimberly?” His voice was low, seductive, making her cheeks flush with heat. “My body was telling you everything.”
How did they get onto this topic while in the hospital cafeteria?
Fortunately, the closest people to them were two older women sipping coffee and unaware of the tension four tables over.
Daniel took her hand in his. “Just as your body told me everything I needed to know.”
Heat flushed her face. “What is it that you think my body told you?”
“That you still have feelings for me.”
She didn’t deny it.
“That we’re good together.”
She couldn’t deny that either.
“I think we should give it another go, Kimberly.”
“Another go?” She blinked at him. What was he saying? Why did her blood slam through her body, causing dizziness to swamp her?
“As in have a relationship.”
“You want a relationship with me?”
“Yes.”
“I live in Atlanta.”
He studied her a minute, then squeezed her hand. “Frequent flyer programs were created for couples like us.”
He wanted to maintain a long-distance relationship? To come to Atlanta to spend time with her?
“You’d fly to Atlanta to be with me?”
“I’d paddle to Africa to be with you.”
Kimberly smiled. She couldn’t help it. He looked and sounded so sincere.
“You expect me to believe you when all this time all you had to do was make a trip home to Atlanta? I’ve been there all along, Daniel. You were the one who stayed gone.”
“You told me to leave and never come back.”
Because of our son.
“Right or wrong, I did what I thought was right at the time,” she said slowly, her thoughts heavy on her mind.
“But you still cared about me?” His eyes searched hers. “Even then, you cared?”
“I loved you.”
A pained look swept across his face. “You broke my heart, Kimberly.”
“I’d never hurt you intentionally, Daniel.” Another lie because she had hurt him intentionally when she’d broken things off. She’d hurt him so he could move on with his life, his dreams.
She gulped, knowing what she had to do. What she’d meant to do when she’d invited him to her room but had been sidetracked, had wanted to be sidetracked, if truth be told. She’d wanted one night with him before all hell broke loose.
Delaying only made things worse, made her secret weigh more heavily upon her heart.
Besides, telling him in private might be impossible after last night.
If she were alone with Daniel she’d likely be ripping off his clothes.
“Actually, that’s not true,” she corrected herself, causing his gaze to shoot to her. She sought the right words, words that would convey how she’d struggled with the burden she’d carried alone that fall. “I’d never want to hurt you, Daniel, but sometimes difficult choices have to be made and someone you never meant to hurt does get hurt.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re talking about when we broke up?”
“Yes.” She nodded, willing her heartbeat to remain steady, for her focus to remain intact, because Daniel had a right to know his son. “I’m talking about when I had a difficult choice to make and you got hurt in the process.”
Confusion distorted his handsome face and he gave her a blank look. “The choice being me, who you claim you still loved, and this other guy you left me for?”
“There wasn’t another guy. At least, not in the sense you mean.” She opened her mouth to tell him about Ryan, but his pager buzzed to life.
His gaze held hers for three seconds, then he glanced at the number and cursed. “A patient just went into code blue. Got to go.”
His gaze landed on the tray of half-eaten food in front of him.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Kimberly.” He paused long enough to meet her eyes. “I’ll see you later. Greg is doing a couple of procedures this morning. If I’m not in my office by eight, have Trina page him so you can observe. I’ll find you when I can.”
He bent and did something she suspected was totally out of character. He kissed the top of her head.
Nothing sexual, just a tender kiss that said he cared and wanted her to know.
“We’ll talk tonight and figure out a way to make this work because we’re worth giving a chance to.”
She nodded, watching as he rushed out of the cafeteria, wishing she’d had the opportunity to tell him about Ryan yet grateful she hadn’t blurted it out because he’d received the page.
Daniel didn’t need fatherhood distracting him while someone’s life rested in his hands.
Or was that just an excuse for delaying the hatred she knew was sure to come with the truth?
They were worth giving a chance to, and that’s exactly what she’d never allowed them.
That evening, Kimberly sat in Daniel’s office, waiting for him to return. He’d let her use his computer to log on to her Cardico account and electronically sign off on work regarding her week in Boston.
She could have done so later that evening or even tomorrow, but he’d had a staff meeting that had given her an odd hour while she’d finished her training on the CRT pacemaker.
What an amazing device and what an amazing doctor.
His colleagues admired him for much more than just his skills with the ladies. During the week she’d watched doctors from various fields consult him. Daniel had always given an intelligent, thoughtful answer.
She really was proud of all he’d accomplished.
They were worth giving a chance to.
Had last night changed that much? If he hadn’t fallen asleep, would they have talked? Lain in each other’s arms and revealed their hearts’ secrets?
What was in Daniel’s heart?
He’d said he wanted a relationship, but did he really mean that he wanted sex until he lost interest?
Would she ultimately be just another notch in his bedpost?
No, she didn’t believe that.
Daniel hadn’t been a ladies’ man back when they’d been together.
He’d been hers.
In every way that counted.
In none of the ways that counted.
Hadn’t it been easy for Leona to convince her that she was nothing more than a casual fling to Daniel? That she’d ruin his life if she forced her “brat” on him? If she loved Daniel so much, how could she rob him of his dreams?
Ultimately, she hadn’t been able to tell him so she’d broken up with him over the Christmas holidays with the story that she’d met someone while he’d been away.
And after minimal fuss he’d believed her and flown back to Boston.
She wouldn’t go home until Daniel knew the truth. The truth she’d been too young, scared and insecure to tell him fifteen years ago.
No matter what the consequences, she’d make the right choice this time and let Daniel choose the role he would play in her and Ryan’s lives.
She logged out of her account, glanced at the time on the right of the computer screen and wondered what to do to fill the remainder of her wait.
Maybe she could watch the clip on the CRT again that Gregory had pulled up on Monday.
Or play that game of solitaire.
She clicked on the start icon, which pulled up the menu. Aha. Solitaire. She moved the cursor over the game, but was distracted by a folder labeled “My Photos.”
He probably didn’t even have any photos and it was just something that had come with the computer.
She had no right to pry. None whatsoever.
Yet the cursor slid over to “My Photos.” And clicked, which started
an obviously preprogrammed slide show.
Daniel did have photos. Apparently, he’d recently taken a trip out to the Grand Canyon and had some amazing shots.
Some not so amazing ones of him with a skinny blonde who’d also gone on the trip.
There were a couple of ski trips to Boulder. Group holidays—she recognized several of the doctors Daniel worked with, including Greg.
A different blonde accompanied Daniel on each trip.
Jealousy clenched her heart and she had to remind herself that she had no right to be jealous of anything in Daniel’s past.
Telling herself and convincing herself were two different things.
She moved the mouse, intending to close the file, but when she moved the cursor it closed the slide show and pulled up his photo folders.
One was marked “Home.”
She bit the inside of her lip, feeling criminal for prying through his personal photos, yet her curiosity was too strong not to want to see where Daniel lived.
Only it wasn’t photos of his current home that came up. It was a snapshot of him and his mom standing in front of their Georgia home and one of her sitting on the trunk of his car only weeks before she’d discovered she was pregnant.
Memories flooded her. The hot metal of his car had burned through her thin cotton shorts. There had been a light breeze, which explained why her hair had a bit of a flyaway look. But she looked happier than she recalled ever being.
Her eyes practically glowed with amusement and her mouth turned upward in a half smile, half pout. She recalled that she’d been teasing Daniel to put away the camera and come and kiss her.
He’d done much more than that.
“About finished?” Daniel asked, entering the office with a stack of papers.
Kimberly clicked to close the photos so quickly that Daniel had to see her guilt. But he only dropped the papers onto his desk and grinned.
“You spying for secrets to sell Cardico?”
“No,” she gasped, shocked at his question, but more appalled at herself because she had been spying. For herself rather than for her company.
“I’m teasing, Kimberly.” He reached out and ran his finger over her cheek. “You really need to relax.”
“Tomorrow,” she said, still reeling from her guilt at prying on his computer and from the fact that he’d been totally businesslike since that morning and now he was touching her.