The sparkle was back in her eyes now that the dark haired Goliath was gone, having vanished through the front door. Carly groaned, shaking her head with disgust. “You’re going to spoil him, aren’t you?”
“Me?” Charlotte asked, trying to feign innocence. It wasn’t working very well. “Why would I spoil him? He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
“Right,” Carly laughed, rolling her eyes. “Fair warning, he’s a big baby when he’s sick.”
“Got it,” Charlotte laughed. “Okay, come on Bart. Let’s go take care of Betty and Oz.”
Bart looked up, his pink tongue swishing out to lick his mashed face again, but he looked confused. He turned to look at the doorway where they normally went to find his canine girlfriend. Then towards the exit.
Carly bent down, placing the files on the floor. “Don’t worry, cutie,” she gushed. “You’ll see your friend in a few minutes. But she’s not here.”
Bart accepted the caress for a moment, then stood up and licked Carly’s hand, telling her that he liked her. Then he looked up at Charlotte, still eager. Still confused.
“This way, sweetie,” Charlotte explained. “Bye Carly. See you later.”
“Don’t be nice to him!” Carly called, grabbing her files and heading towards the door on the opposite side of the lobby from where she’d come.
Ten minutes later, Charlotte pulled up outside of Oz’s house. It looked normal enough, the setting sun creating dappled shadows through the tall trees. Of course, there was absolutely no way she could tell if Oz was here or not. The man was uber security conscious, which would make sense if he was a security expert. She sighed, thinking about the security system he’d installed at her house a few days ago, complete with all the buttons and gizmos and such he’d attached to her windows and doors. He’d even told her the locks on her doors weren’t adequate and replaced them as well. So now she not only had a new deadbolt on her front door, back door, and garage door, she also had one of those foot locks at the bottom of each of her doors. Her little cottage was a fortress!
Charlotte hadn’t minded when he’d installed all of the new locks because she’d enjoyed watching him work. He wasn’t just a dumb jock, she knew. He was pretty darn smart! But the image of a man wearing a tool belt? With all of those muscles? Yummy! That had been an interesting afternoon, she thought with a smile.
But now, she stared at his house. She knew the security that he’d installed at her place. Charlotte suspected that his house was even more secure. She knew the security code to his house, but in order to enter the code, she’d need to get through the front door. Not an easy task.
Bart poked his head through the front seats, nudging her with his wet nose. “Okay, let’s head up and just ring the bell. And hope that he’s not so sick he can’t answer the door.”
Bart was in full agreement with the plan, already straining against his leash up the walkway to the front door.
Charlotte rang the doorbell and waited. Because of how well made Oz’s house was, she couldn’t hear any movement. Even if Oz were on the other side of the door, Charlotte would never know. Another ring and she started to get nervous. Even Bart was a bit anxious, but she suspected the canine wasn’t overly concerned about Oz’s welfare.
The door opened up and Charlotte stepped back in surprise.
Oz was indeed sick. Her first thought was that he looked good! He wore only a pair of athletic shorts that she suspected had been quickly pulled on, because Oz slept in the nude. Always!
“Charlotte,” he groaned. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Sensing that he was going to send her away, she pushed against the door. It was a sign of how sick he really was that he didn’t stop the door from opening. “You’re sick, Oz.”
“I’m fine,” he argued. “Carly came by earlier today and brought me some soup.”
She touched his forehead. “You have a fever,” she declared. “Get back in bed. I’ll bring you something.”
“I don’t need anything. But…” he started to reach for her, then grimaced. “I’m just a bit off. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Right. Okay, then, why don’t you get back into bed and I’ll get you some cold medicine, okay?”
His only response was a cough, then he leaned his back against the wall, closing his eyes.
“Oz,” she urged, taking his hand and pulling his arm over her shoulder, leading him back to bed. “You need to be in bed.”
“Then why did you ring my doorbell?” he asked, obviously trying to tease her.
She wanted to laugh, but her concern overrode her amusement. “Save it for when you feel better, big guy.”
“I’m fine. I’m not sick. I don’t get sick.”
She almost laughed at that, because his body was burning up. “Right. You don’t get sick. But how about if you take a bit of cold medicine?”
“Don’t have any. I don’t get sick.”
No cold medicine? “Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head, then hissed, one hand cupping his head in obvious pain. “No turning my head, please.”
Under other circumstances, Charlotte would be charmed by his predicament – the huge, terrifyingly competent Oz needed her help. But at the moment, she was concerned. His headache might be due to a lack of caffeine, but she didn’t want to take any chances. “Into bed and I’ll rummage through your medicine cabinet and see what you’ve got.”
“Nuthin,” he muttered. He walked up the stairs with her, but he leaned against her more than a little bit. Not too much because he was a huge man and his weight would topple her.
Slowly, they made their way up the stairs and she got him back into bed, pulling the covers over him. Oz instantly fell asleep.
Charlotte pulled back slightly, looking down at him for a long moment and admiring his long lashes laying against his tanned skin. He was such an incredibly handsome man!
That reminded her that he truly was hot. Hot as in feverish and she reluctantly turned away, walking into his bathroom. A search through his medicine cabinet revealed that the man really didn’t have any medicine. He had some Advil, but other than that, there were only shaving items, a comb, a toothbrush and toothpaste. Oh, and cologne. Unable to resist, she pulled the bottle down and, lifting the top off, inhaled the strong, masculine scent.
“Hmmm…” she thought, putting the top back on. “Not the same,” she muttered softly as she set it back onto the shelf. “Needs Oz wearing it to smell right.”
Another thought occurred to her. “Where’s Betty?” she whispered. In a panic, she hurried out of the bathroom and down the stairs. There, in the living room, Betty and Bart danced around each other, obviously in doggy heaven. “Whew!” she gushed. “I thought that you two would be…well, doing something that you shouldn’t be doing!” Grabbing Betty’s leash from the hook in the kitchen, she took both dogs for a long walk, throwing balls for both of them to retrieve and burn off some of their energy.
After a half hour of that, she brought Betty back to the house, but kept Bart. “You’re going home, mister,” she told him. Bart didn’t agree that he should be separated from his lady-love, but obediently followed Charlotte out the door. She grabbed Oz’s keys though. “I’ll be back, Betty!” Charlotte called out to the fluff-ball.
A half hour later, Charlotte was back, but she didn’t ring the doorbell. She had Oz’s keys! Slipping the keys into the lock, she stepped through the doorway and laughed at Betty’s enthusiastic greeting. “I guess racing after the ball for a half hour wasn’t enough for you, was it little lady?”
At the mention of “ball”, Betty’s ears perked up eagerly.
“No, we’re not going out yet. We’ll go later, I promise.” She carried the groceries through his empty living room and into the kitchen where she unloaded the soup, fruit juice, and cold medicine she’d picked up at the grocery store after dropping a disappointed Bart off at her own house.
Charlotte walked up the stairs with a hot cup of black t
ea for a bit of caffeine, some cold medicine, and orange juice. He probably needed some food as well, but she figured he needed some relief from the aches and pains first.
Stepping into the bedroom, she walked over to the bed and set the tray down on the bedside table. “Hey, Oz,” she whispered softly, running her fingers through his soft, brown hair. He moaned, lifting his hand up to her wrist. His grip was soft and weak, a testament to how badly he was feeling. “Think you could sit up and take some cold medicine?”
“Not sick,” he argued, even though he was now shivering.
“Okay, so you’re big enough and strong enough to battle bad guys and germs. But how about if you take this stuff just for me? To make me feel better?”
He opened one eye which looked bloodshot and she suspected that he might be sleeping, but not very well.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But only to make you feel better. Because I’m not sick.” He took the pills she offered, then a big gulp of the hot tea before laying back down. “Happy?”
She would have laughed at his irritated tone, but no, she wasn’t happy. She was concerned. Should she call a doctor? Should she just take him to the hospital? He looked…well, he still looked amazing. But his skin was a bit grey underneath the tan. And his eyes, they hadn’t looked good.
She settled in beside him, running her hand over his bare shoulder. Betty jumped up, curling against Oz’s back. It was as if the dog knew that her master was sick and was offering her warmth as comfort.
“Good girl,” Charlotte cooed to the dog, petting her. Betty’s tail wagged a few times, but she didn’t move away from Oz.
Moving down the stairs, she picked up her tote bag stuffed with her laptop and patient files and started working. She sat at Oz’s massive, architecturally beautiful desk and felt small. Oz could handle this desk, she thought with a smile. But she preferred her smaller, prettier desk in her house. She wouldn’t leave him though.
Picking up her phone, she shot a text message to Carly, letting her know that she got some cold medicine into Oz and would take care of Betty tonight. She received a message back almost instantly, thanking her and telling her not to give her brother too much attention because she’d just have to come over and give him grief.
Siblings, Charlotte chuckled. Setting her phone off to the side, she pulled out the first file and started typing up her notes and mapping out a therapy plan. One after another, she sorted through the files, working until well into the night. About nine o’clock, she went back up to Oz’s bedroom and rested her hand against his forehead. The fever had gone down, thankfully. And he seemed to be resting more easily. The orange juice was gone and more than half of the black tea. Good! He was getting some fluids which would also help him feel better.
“Come on Betty. Let’s go for a walk,” she called to the dog.
Betty hesitated for only a moment. And when Charlotte went outside, she quickly did her business, then headed back up the stone steps, waiting for Charlotte to let her back inside. As soon as the door opened, the dog raced back up the stairs. Charlotte found her curled up next to Oz again, her nose tucked under her paw. Charlotte refilled the glass of juice, and added a glass of water, then slipped out of the house to walk Bart.
She considered staying at her house for the night. But she was too worried about Oz. “I’ll be back in the morning, honey,” she promised Bart who wagged his tail, then looked confused when she left the house.
With a change of clothes, her makeup bag, and several of Oz’s favorite muffins from Jane’s bakery, she headed back over to Oz’s house.
She’d just put the key into the lock when the door swung up and a very angry, very dark man loomed in the dim light.
“Oh!” she yelped and stepped backwards. “Um…” her eyes narrowed. The man… this was the man from earlier today! “You’re Oz’s friend!”
For a long moment, he didn’t reply, just frowned at her and Charlotte felt awkward standing there with her bag of clothes and muffins. “Are you…?”
“Come in,” he replied, his voice low and threatening. But he stepped backwards, allowing her the space to come inside.
“I was…uh…going to stay here with Oz overnight. Just to make sure that he is okay.”
Nothing. The man stood there, watching her as if he wasn’t sure if he should trust her, or shoot her. And since the guy’s hand was still behind his back, she suspected that the shooting thing was a very real option.
“Call me if he needs anything,” was all the man said. A moment later, he was gone. Fast! Charlotte never saw what was in his hand, but as she watched him walk down the steps, both of his hands were free. Was there a bulge in the back of his shirt? With a shiver, Charlotte closed the door, not looking too hard. She didn’t want to know!
Looking into the house, she sighed, then trudged up the stairs to check on Oz. He was still asleep, but the orange juice and water were gone. That was a good sign.
She filled the glasses again, then explored the other bedrooms. Unfortunately, they were all empty. The only room he’d partially furnished was his bedroom. And even then, it wasn’t fully furnished yet.
Not wanting to disturb him, she went back downstairs and curled up on the leather sofa.
Chapter 12
Since she wasn’t used to the sounds of his house at night, Charlotte struggled to sleep. So when she felt a hand on her arm, she jerked awake to find Oz crouched down next to her. “You’re awake!” she gasped, pushing the blanket off. Putting a hand to his forehead, she checked his body temperature. “How do you feel?”
“I’m fine,” he told her, taking her hand from his forehead and pressing it in between both of his hands. “Better, at least.” He slipped onto the sofa next to her and she noticed that he was wearing jeans and a shirt now. Pity. She’d really loved the bare chest look.
“Thanks for last night. You took care of me.” He tugged her closer, and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her forehead. “It was nice. You have a cool touch and I didn’t realize that I needed the cold medicine. I’ve never taken any before, so I wasn’t aware of how much it could help.”
“You should still be in bed, Oz.”
He smiled, warmed by her concern. No one had ever taken care of him before. He rarely got sick, but his whole life, he was the one everyone relied upon. He’d gotten Carly out of that horrible house, away from their abusive father. He’d rescued numerous people from dangerous situations. He’d led his Delta Force team through too many danger zones to count.
And yet, it had been this slender beauty that had taken care of him, sleeping on his couch overnight just in case he needed something.
“I’m fine. Promise. I took some more cold medicine earlier this morning and I’m feeling much better. I think a lot of the pain was a lack of caffeine.”
She looked over at the kitchen, realizing suddenly that there was a pot of coffee already brewed. “You made coffee?” she asked, disappointed that he was up and mobile again. She’d enjoyed taking care of him, and wouldn’t mind doing a bit more. Taking care of Oz…well, it was kind of nice. Nice to be needed. Nice to have him rely upon her.
Suddenly, a wet nose poked at her leg. Looking down, she saw that Bart was here. “You went over to my house?” she asked softly, touched that he’d gone out and gotten her dog who didn’t like spending time alone, especially at night.
“Betty made me,” he joked. “Besides, she needed a long walk. She didn’t get out yesterday.”
“Carly came over during lunch and walked Betty. I also took her out for a walk twice yesterday. But last night, she wouldn’t move from your side.”
He ruffled Betty’s fur and the dog grinned up at him, obviously relieved that her master was better today. “She’s a good girl,” he said with that gruff voice that told Charlotte that he was more touched than he’d like to admit.
“So…” she felt awkward, sitting here like this. “I guess you need to get into work now. After missing everything yesterday.”
He loo
ked at her, holding her on his lap as she tried to slip away.
“That depends,” he commented and his voice turned husky. “What’s on your schedule today?”
She gasped when his strong hand slipped under the material of her soft sweater. “Um…well, I told Nancy to cancel my appointments this morning. I thought that…” she couldn’t finish that statement because his other hand was moving along her leg, higher and higher.
“You canceled your appointments so that you could be here to take care of me?”
Charlotte shrugged, paying more attention to his hands than his words. “Maybe,” she said, then gasped when he lifted her, switching places with her. “What…what are you doing?” she asked as he knelt on the floor.
“You took care of me last night,” he told her, his fingers moving to the button on her jeans. “I think it’s only fair that you allow me to take care of you this morning.”
“You’re sick!” she argued, but despite the truth of that statement, her body was already responding to his fingers moving along her waist.
“I feel a hell of a lot better than I did yesterday.”
“Even so, you should…”
“I should take care of you.” He looked up at her, that look in his eyes that warned her that he was going to get his way. “Just lean back and relax, Charlotte. You know that I’m extremely good at taking care of you this way.”
She laughed, stopping his hands. “Oz, you just…”
He kissed her bare stomach, revealed by his talented hands. And that was the end of her resistance. His mouth was hot and his lips tickled her skin, but in a way that sent bolts of desire down to that place between her legs. And yeah, she knew that he was very, VERY good at taking care of her like this!
So when she felt him tug at her jeans, Charlotte didn’t resist, lifting her hips higher so that he could pull them off. Because he was focused, she barely had a chance to think before his mouth kissed a path lower. Those strong hands pulled her legs over his shoulders as he lowered his head, pulling her forward and exposing her core to his hungry eyes and mouth.
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