She blinked, tilting her head way back so that she could look into his eyes. “How am I going to do that?”
She felt his fingers tighten on her arms as they locked gazes. Not hard, but almost as if he were trying to keep himself from moving his hands up and down her skin. To be honest, Roxanne wouldn’t mind if he touched her a bit! His hands were warm against her skin, his fingers long and sure as he held her steady.
“I have a plan,” he said. The timbre of his voice reverberated against her breasts and she wondered what it would be like if he kissed her right now. Would his lips be firm? Soft and encouraging? Or demanding?
Roxanne couldn’t stop the shiver that surged through her.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. Was his voice even deeper?
“Yes,” Roxanne whispered.
They stood there for a long moment. Roxanne could have sworn that she’d felt his heart beating against her breast, but was that even possible?
His minty breath mingled with hers, his hard body pressing against her stomach. She wanted to ask him to kiss her, but she wasn’t that brave.
“Food,” he muttered, and nodded. Reluctantly, he released her and stepped back. “I’ve already chopped up vegetables for an omelet. Is there anything you don’t like?”
Roxanne’s gaze was again drawn to his firm butt. She’d really love to discover more about him. Especially his butt!
Woah! Immediately, she pulled her eyes away, crossing her arms over her chest. Where in the world had that thought come from? She’d never thought about men like that before! She was a good girl! One that obeyed the rules, even the ones she didn’t agree with!
She followed Abe into the kitchen, prepared to remind him that she wasn’t the kind of woman who pushed against societal norms, but as soon as she stepped into the large kitchen, she was distracted by the smells. “Oh my!” she whispered, sniffing the fragrant air. “What in the world are you making?”
“Just omelets, but with extra cheese, because I know that you like it that way.”
She did, but how in the world had he known that? “Um…?”
He handed her a perfectly cooked omelet with cheese oozing out the sides along with red peppers, black olives and…was that ham?
“That fundraiser for the pediatric ward?” he prompted, sliding another omelet onto a plate. This one had more veggies and less cheese, but looked just as delicious. “You didn’t eat the sandwiches on the vegetarian table.”
That made sense, but…how long had he been watching her? “Not a stalker,” he laughed, tilting his head towards a small, sun filled table in the corner of the kitchen. “Just observant. I have to be in order to tell if my patients are recovering as well as they say they are. You wouldn’t believe how many patients say they are okay, when they are in a great deal of pain.” He waited until she sat down before taking the chair across from her. “Also, the reverse. A lot of patients want a bit more attention, even though their recovery is going well.”
His comment made sense and she took a bite of the eggs. They were delicious, fluffy and flavorful! The man was good-looking, buff, intelligent, and could cook?
Roxanne shook her head. “I’m in trouble,” she muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” he asked.
Her head jerked up. “Um…nothing,” she replied, scooping up another bite of her food.
His grin told her that he’d heard her comment. “Right.”
For the next half hour, they discussed easy topics; music preferences, work issues, the style of his house versus her tiny apartment…anything that seemed non-controversial. Slowly, Roxanne relaxed and truly enjoyed his company. It was the first time she’d ever been this relaxed in his presence, although, it still felt odd to be sitting at his kitchen table. This was THE Doctor McCullough! The nurses adored him, oohed and ahhed about him and vied for his attention.
“Have you had enough to eat?” he asked.
Roxanne glanced down at her plate, stunned to realize that she’d eaten the entire serving! “Yes. That was incredible. I didn’t know that you could cook.”
He carried their plates to the sink while she stood awkwardly to the side, wondering how she could help. But he seemed to be firmly in charge and moved efficiently through the kitchen, putting food away and rinsing off the dishes to put them into the washer. “I’m a single man and a doctor to boot. I either cook for myself, or starve because there’s no way I can eat takeout every night.”
She laughed, agreeing with him. “Trying to set a good example for your patients?”
“Exactly,” he replied and lifted the coffee pot temptingly. “Want another cup before we set off on the next step?”
She eyed him warily. “No thank you on the coffee. But perhaps you should explain what the next step is. I really need to get over to my mother’s house and check on her cat. I’ve been going over every day since her passing even though there’s an automatic feeder so he doesn’t need me for food.”
“Let’s go check out this vicious animal and see how we can help him.”
She blinked up at him as he moved closer. “Uh…?” she was very confused. “We?” she chirped.
“Yes. I’m going to help you.” He grabbed his keys and put a hand to the small of her back, leading her out of the kitchen.
“You’ll need protection,” she blurted, not sure what else to say. “The only person he would allow to touch him was my mother.”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to get along. I have a couple ideas.”
Roxanne wasn’t sure what to think. For so long, he’d been the enemy. He was distractingly attractive. Not to mention, when he was around her, he teased her unmercifully! Which was why she’d worked so hard to stay away from him. Now he was being nice and sweet? “Why are you doing this? I can just get a cab back to my car and take care of this by myself.”
He took her hand and she was startled to find that she didn’t want to pull away.
“Because I want to.”
Roxanne didn’t understand, but she also didn’t question him further. With a sigh, she shrugged, resigned to accept his help. Odd, she thought. Normally, she was much more assertive. But…he was different today. Different and…startlingly nice.
“Fine. Maybe you’ll meet this satanic cat and fall in love. Then I can give you the cat.” She thought about that for a moment. “You’ll get my mother’s house and all of her savings as well. So that would be a bonus.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness from her voice as she thought about her mother leaving every penny she had in the world…to a CAT!
Chapter 3
“Ouch!” Abe hissed, pulling his hand away from the edge of the sofa where they knew Chester had gone. He was hiding and no amount of coaxing was going to get him to come out.
“He’s not a nice kitty,” Roxanne replied, leaning back against the wall, watching in amusement as Abe try to charm the cat. Okay, so she was doing a whole lot more than watching. She laughed, encouraged, chuckled, and stayed out of his way. If she were being perfectly honest with herself, which she was not, Roxanne might have admitted that she was also ogling Abe’s body while he valiantly tried to entice the cat from his hiding place.
After several minutes, Abe stood up and looked at her, hands fisted on his lean hips. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
She smothered another laugh, but nodded. “Yeah. It’s pretty nice to know that I’m not the only one that cat hates.”
“He’s shredding my hands,” he muttered. “I’m going to declaw him!”
Roxanne pushed away from the wall. “You can’t do that!” she gasped.
“No?” he asked, lifting his still-bleeding hand up for her inspection.
She cringed. “Right. Okay, so I might have investigated the declawing issue, assuming that I’d have to take control of the cat.”
“What did you learn?”
Roxanne smiled, feeling triumphant now that she had knowledge that he didn’t. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
Almost immediately, the cat’s nose and front paws peeked out from under the couch. A moment later, the cat raced from his hiding place into the carrier, determined to get to his treat. Roxanne quickly secured the cage and stood up, relieved. “Okay, now we just need to get the vet to put these things on him.”
“What would ‘these things’ be?” he asked.
Her smile brightened. “You’ll see,” and she headed towards the doorway.
Abe followed, mock-glaring at her. “You had that food trick in your mind all this time and you didn’t say anything to me?”
Roxanne couldn’t help it. The laughter that burst out of her at his growl wouldn’t stop.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, trying to smother another burst of laughter. “It’s just…well, you seemed so determined to befriend him! I kind of hoped that you’d succeed!”
He continued to glare at her for a long moment, mentally debating whether he was going to believe her or not. In the end, he shrugged with a sigh. “At least the he’s out from behind the couch. Now what?”
“Now, we visit the vet for some special…uh,” she paused, looking up at Abe with a shrug. “Well, tips,” she finally explained.
An hour later, she lugged the heavy carrier back into the house and opened it, stepping back to allow the cat to come out. A very confused cat stepped out, delicately placing his foot on the hardwood floor, then pulling back, turning his paw to examine the hot pink tips that the vet had secured onto his claws. He shook his foot slightly, but when the tips wouldn’t come off, he stepped on them again.
She and Abe watched, amused by the previously vicious cat looking so tame and…well, confused and curious! Normally, the cat was a hissing blur that lashed out at any nearby victim as he sped through the room on his way to his favorite hiding place.
The cat looked up again, his eyes less angry this time.
“I think that’s a good start,” Abe announced, rubbing his hands together. “Now for phase two!”
Chapter 4
“What’s phase two?” she asked, just as wary as the cat.
He moved closer, his gaze moving over the wall behind her. “How do you truly feel about these glass figurines?”
She looked around him towards the wall, which was also covered with shelves that were full of glass animals. “I hate them. I truly hate them. I wish…” she stopped, pressing her lips together. “Well, I’d just toss them in the trash.”
He grinned. “How about releasing some of your frustrations?”
Roxanne liked the sound of that. “What did you have in mind?”
“Gimmie one minute,” he said. He grabbed a wooden bowl from the top of the fridge, then walked back into the living room, and handed it to her. “Fill it up with the glass figurines that you hate the most.”
Roxanne looked down at the bowl, then at the shelves. “Why?”
“Don’t think, Roxy,” he coaxed with a soothing voice. “This is about working through your grief and your anger.”
She frowned, still not sure why gathering up the stupid glass pieces would help. “But…?”
“Your mother passed away, Roxy.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m aware of that.”
“And you’re angry.”
She stopped, shaking her head, pressing her lips together to try and hide that anger that, lately, seemed to be constantly simmering just below the surface. “You caught me at a bad moment last night,” she argued. “She was my mother and…”
“And you’re angry. Don’t try to hide it, honey,” he soothed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “You are angry that you weren’t able to be everything she expected of you, despite your attempts to live up to her impossible standards.” She opened her mouth, but he continued. “You’re angry because she passed away before you could figure out how to please her. You’re angry that you didn’t have a good relationship with the one person in the world that should have been by your side no matter what happened. You’re angry that she left all of her money to her cat. And,” he paused, his eyes hardening, “you’re furious with her for leaving you these glass figurines that you hate so badly.”
She laughed because he was absolutely right. Roxanne looked down at the bowl and took a deep breath. Finally, she nodded. “Yes. I hate them. I’ve always hated them.” She looked around at all of the ridiculous pieces. “In fact, I think she knew how much I hated them, which is why she left them to me instead of to her friends.” She snorted. “Not that she had friends. She was too mean of a person. Too bitter.”
“Good. You’re admitting how angry you are.”
“Yes but…”
His hands tightened slightly on her arms, effectively silencing whatever rationalization she might come up with next. “Which ones do you hate the most?” he interrupted gently.
Looking around, she sighed as she surveyed the collection. There were hundreds of figurines. Every inch of the walls were covered with shelves holding the glass animals in various poses. Clear ones, colored ones, clowns with balloons, dogs in all shapes and sizes, cats in boots or dressed as dolls…just about every animal was represented, although there were maybe forty or fifty dogs and perhaps a hundred cats.
“Those,” Roxanne said, tilting her head towards the clowns. “They are creepy.”
Abe looked over at the shelf filled with various sized clowns and made a face. “You’re right. They’re the stuff of nightmares. Put them into the bowl.”
He watched as Roxy picked up the scariest of the clown pieces and carefully set them into the bowl. He almost laughed at how she was handling the psycho clowns that looked like they could be serial killers if ever brought to life. Why anyone would want them in their house was a mystery.
“That’s it?” he asked.
She nodded, biting her lower lip as she looked down at the bowl filled with glass pieces. “Now what?”
“Now comes the fun part.” He took her hand and led her out of the house and into the garage. This was the most immaculate garage he’d ever seen, but it suited his purposes perfectly. The ten year old sedan had already been moved out of the garage. There weren’t any tools or storage boxes, no gardening items…mostly because the woman who’d lived here before hadn’t wasted any of her precious money on softening the edges of the house with landscaping. The yard was grass and not even healthy grass at that.
There nothing but blank wall and open concrete now that the sedan was out on the driveway.
“Okay,” he said, gesturing to the open wall. “Throw them against the wall.”
Roxy pulled back, horrified at his order. “What?”
“Throw them,” he repeated, picking up the ugliest one and hefting it in his hand. A moment later, he lifted his arm and…pitched it against the back wall. They were far enough away that while the pieces shattered into a million glistening shards, none reached them.
He selected another figurine and handed it to her. “Here. Your turn.”
She stared at him as if he were insane. Chuckling at her expression, he kissed her. It was just a brush of his lips against hers, nothing like what he wanted to do, but enough for the moment. “Throw the clown, Roxy,” he urged softly.
She pulled back, her eyes no longer horrified. They gazed at him curiously. Even better, Roxanne licked her lips, almost as if she were trying to taste him. His body tightened, but he pushed the desire aside. She needed this release more than anything else. Roxanne needed to break away from her mother’s lifelong disapproval. The desire for each other would happen. He was sure of it now. But at this moment, she needed…freedom. Abe was determined to give it to her.
“Just…throw it?”
He grinned at her confusion, t
hinking she was adorable. “Yes. Trust me, the impact is cathartic.”
Roxy frowned at the clown in her hand, this one had a carrot for a nose…not sure why a carrot but… She bent down and put the bowl on the concrete floor then, with her tongue peeking out between her lips, she hefted the clown and…bam! It shattered into a thousand pieces, shards landing about a foot away from the garage wall.
With wide eyes, she turned and looked up at him, a slow, satisfied smile creeping over her lovely features. “Oh, my!” she whispered. A second later, she grabbed another clown and threw it hard. Again and again, she slammed the glass figurines against the wall. After the tenth one, he noticed tears sliding down her pale cheeks, but she didn’t stop.
When the bowl was empty, she picked it up and walked inside. Abe wasn’t sure if she needed a bit of privacy or if he should follow her. But before he could decide, Roxy came out again, the bowl filled with more figurines. One after another, she threw the glass animals against the wall, breathing hard with the exertion. With each toss, she labeled it as some memory from her childhood.
“This is for humiliating me at lunch that time!” Crash! “This is for making me wear those ugly shirts!” Bam! “This one is for not letting me talk to Charlie in sixth grade!” Bam. Again and again, the glass shattered until there was a large pile of broken glass covering the garage floor.
After a while, she stopped, panting as she looked at the mess.
The silence was heavy as her shoulders sagged.
“Do you feel better?” he asked softly.
Roxy turned, the tears streaming down her cheeks made his gut ache. But then she smiled and…well, hell! He couldn’t stop himself. Pulling her into his arms, he felt her trembling. It was slight at first, but as she released the control on her emotions, the trembling increased until she was sobbing.
Abe scooped her up, but he didn’t carry her inside that tormented house. Instead, he carried her into the backyard, sitting down on the cement back stoop, holding her as she cried out her anguish. Slowly, her arms crept up around his neck as she continued to sob and he tightened his arms, soothing her as she let it all out.
Over Heated (On the Wild Side Book 3) Page 3