Doctor’s Delight

By Angela Verdenius

Copyright: Angela Verdenius 2011

Smashwords Edition

Cover images courtesy of Andi Berger, Elena Rostunova & Dreamstime. com

Cover by Joleene Naylor

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Chapter 1

“Good morning, this is Justin’s Escort Agency. I’m Helen, how may I help you?”

Cherry froze at the female voice. Oh God, this was it! This was the Escort Agency! She swallowed hard. “Is this – is this the male escort agency?”

“Yes it is. How may I help you?”

Cherry bit her lip and fisted one hand in the soft material of her skirt. Can I do this? Can I really hire a man to de-virgin me?

Frizz, her tabby male cat, stared at her out of big, golden eyes. Cherry almost felt like she was too dirty for him to look at, so she turned her back on him while winding the cord around her finger. Great, now she was facing the inquisitive little face of Sugar, her tabby female cat.

“Hello? Are you there?” Helen’s voice resonated with warmth. Maybe she was used to nervous virgins ringing up for men.

“Ah yes.” Cherry cleared her throat. “I’m here.”

“Are you looking for an escort, ma’am?”

The million dollar question. Was she looking for a male prostitute? The million dollar answer – apparently. “I – yes.” Taking a deep breath, Cherry tried to calm her galloping heart. “What do you have on offer?” And cringed. Did I really ask that? Oh my sweet Aunt.

There was humor in Helen’s voice. “It depends on what you’re looking for in an escort.”

Cherry somehow didn’t think answering “a penis,” would be the correct thing to say. “Ummm…first off, what do you charge?”

“Different rates for different services, Ms...?”

“Jones.” Cherry immediately wanted to kick herself. Jones? How fake was ‘Jones’? How many desperate women have passed themselves off as ‘Jones’, and look, I’ve just joined the queue!

Helen didn’t miss a beat. “Well, Ms Jones, what kind of service are you after? Escort for a dinner? Escort for a few hours of pleasure? Escort for the night? Dinner and the night? A party?”

“There’re that many choices?”

“Justine’s Escort Agency caters to every need.”

“Every need?”

“Every need.”

“Ah.”

Helen tried again. Give the woman top marks for patience. “Ms Jones, perhaps we could start with how long do you want the escort for?”

How long would it take to deflower a nervous, plus-sized virgin? “Ah…”

“Do you want gentle handling, something a little rougher?”

“Rougher?”

There was silence for several seconds, and when Helen spoke again, her tone was kinder. “Ms Jones, forgive me for being personal, but is this your first time?”

“Yes.” On both accounts. First time to hire a male prostitute and first time for sex. The first was new, the second was pathetic, and Helen certainly didn’t need to know about that second detail.

“No problems.” Helen was so friendly now that Cherry almost expected her to magically hand her a cup of tea through the phone and sit her down for a chat. “First things first. Our men are all health checked regularly. All use protection and bring their own condoms to the meetings.”

Cherry had a vision of a bunch of hunks sitting around the boardroom table with their packets of condoms (ribbed for your pleasure) on the table before them. Then she realized the meeting meant the meeting between escort and client. Client, that didn’t sound bad. That sounded better than desperate and lonely. “Uh huh,” she said.

“You can hire the escort for the evening, the night, or by the hour.”

“They’re that fast?”

There was total silence on the other end before Helen said a little more slowly, “It depends what you’re after.”

“Sex.” Cherry turned even redder under Sugar’s wide eyes. “Just…sex.”

“Are you into fast sex, Ms Jones? Because we have some excellent escorts here who can bring you to orgasm in no time.”

“Ah…fast sex.” Cherry thought hard. How fast did one need to be at sex? Was half an hour long enough? An hour? Ten minutes? Cripes, what if she was frigid? That could take hours.

“Ms Jones?” Helen probed delicately.

“Ah…no fast sex. But no slow sex, either.” I think. “Normal sex.”

“Normal sex,” Helen repeated. “No specific time limit then?”

“Time limit?”

“Everyone is different, Ms Jones.” Helen laughed lightly. “You are such a kidder!”

“Oh yeah, kidder, that’s me.” Cherry ran one hand over her damp forehead and desperately dragged up her mental plan. “What’s the general rate and time for a meeting in a hotel room?”

Helen turned very professional. “Two hundred dollars an hour, you can decide how long you want your escort. That way you can figure out your time.”

“Two hours,” Cherry blurted. “Two hours should be plenty.”

Helen pounced on the figure. “Excellent! Now, you can pay by credit card—”

“Cash. I want to pay the escort cash as soon as he arrives.”

“Fine. We do have some independent operators who work side-line for us, and they’ll accept cash on arrival. Now, Ms Jones.” There was a definite smile back in Helen’s voice. “Do you have a preference for your escort?”

Cherry knew exactly what she wanted, she’d thought of this ever since she’d listened to her crazy friends. In fact, she had the ideal man from her day dreams. If anyone was going to deflower her and hold her in his arms, it was going to be her dream man. Especially if she was going to be paying four hundred dollars for two hours with him.

“Tall, strong. Muscular but not overblown, you know?”

“You don’t want Conan the Barbarian.”

“Exactly. Dark hair.” Cherry started to feel her courage disappear as she reeled off what seemed like a shopping list, or a description for a pedigree dog. “Uh…good looking would be nice.” Nice? She wanted good looking. She wanted knock-me-down and stroke-me-out handsome. But she couldn’t quite get up the nerve to say so.

“No problems,” said Helen the Efficient. “Anything else?”

Oh yes, there was. Something really important. “He has to like plus-sized women.”

“Trust me, Ms Jones, our escorts are there to please you. Size means nothing to them.”

“I just…” Cherry bit her lip, mortified.

“Your escort will like you, Ms Jones, trust me. They are used to being with clients of every age and size. Their business is your pleasure, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Easy for Helen to say. Cherry had no doubt Miss Twiggy was sitting behind the phone racking up the men like cue balls.

“Now, do you have a date in mind?”

The frown eased from Cherry’s face. “This Saturday.”

“Let me just check the schedule.” There came the sound of keys clicking. “Damien is free Saturday.”

Damien? Damien sounded like a hunky man’s name. Cherry chewed her bottom lip. Now she had a name, it seemed a little more real.

“Time and place of meeting?’ Helen queried.

“Indigo Hotel.” Oh the other side of the city. “Eleven pm.” As late as possible, so it was less likely anyone would see him – Damien – arrive and leave.

“Contact phone number?”

Luckily, she’d planned ahead. She didn’t want any way for this to backfire. She gave the number of the pre-paid mobile phone.

“Right,” said Helen. “Saturday twelfth, eleven pm, at the Indigo Hotel.”

“Yes.”

“Damien will be there. You will have a good time, Ms Jones. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No. That’s it.”

“Have a lovely evening and thank you for contacting us. Any problems, feel free to call back.”

Cherry put the phone down and stared at it. That was that. She’d just hired a male escort for two hours on Saturday. Perched on the edge of the chair, she nibbled her bottom lip. Her heart thundered a little in her ears and she felt hot. Not good hot, but jittery nerves hot.

She looked at Sugar. “I can always cancel, right?”

Sugar blinked and went back to grooming.

Cherry looked back at the phone. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. She couldn’t believe she’d actually listened to her crazy friends.

Three Days Before

“Which imbecile nurse did this?” A familiar roar rent the air.

“Bugger me dead.” Cherry looked around the corner of the treatment room. “It’s Ducks Arse.”

“Who?” Maxie looked up from where she was drawing up the intravenous antibiotics.

“Dr Drake. Harry. Ducks Arse.”

“Ah.” Maxie squinted at the syringe as she held it up. “What’s his problem?”

“I don’t know. He’s waving the obs chart around.”

“Maybe you should go and see—”

“And maybe I should go and play in the traffic.”

“I’m the senior RN.” Maxie carefully pressed the plunger of the syringe until the air was out of the barrel. “That means you’re under me.”

“And you’re above me. Which means you’re in charge.” Cherry smiled. “Dr Ducks Arse is waiting for you.”

Maxie glared.

Cherry smiled wider.

“Cherry—”

Cherry glanced back out the door. “Never mind. Susie’s copped it.”

“You are such a bitch.”

“No, I’m a survivor.”

Maxie shook her head and grinned suddenly. “I’ll tell Susie that you could have saved her.”

“Hey, she’d have done the same.”

Trailing behind Maxie as she left the treatment room and headed for the corridor leading to the patients’ rooms, Cherry gave Susie a little wave behind the ranting doctor’s back. Susie’s gaze promised retribution.

After giving the patient his antibiotics via the IV cannula in his hand, Cherry and Maxie disposed of the syringe and needle into the sharps container before heading to the staff dining room. It was deserted apart from themselves. They hadn’t been there long when Susie came through the door.

“You cows,” she stated bluntly. “You could have—”

“But didn’t,” Cherry finished, unwrapping the glad wrap from her sandwich. “Man, I hate this rabbit food.”

It was with a smirk that Susie placed the plate of mushroom and chicken pasta in the microwave and heated it up. Cherry sighed as the aroma filled the air.

“Revenge is sweet.” Susie set the plate right opposite Cherry and sat down.

“That’s low and mean and everything else in that area,” Cherry muttered. Why oh why couldn’t she be slim and able to eat whatever she wanted? Glancing down at her gently rounded tummy and plump thighs under the nurse’s uniform top and pants, she sighed.

“Uh-oh,” Maxie said. “She has that look again.”

Forking up some pasta, Susie shrugged. “Hey, no sympathy here. She left me to Ducks Arse.”

“I never told you to come at his yelling,” Cherry pointed out.

“Yeah, well at least I have the knowledge that I’m in for a mad sex session with Robbo this arvo to restore my good nature.”

Sighing again, Cherry picked the bean sprouts out of the sandwich. “Hell.”

Susie glanced up. “Cherry…”

“Don’t worry.”

“Of course we worry,” Maxie said bluntly. “Ever since we found out you’re a virgin, we’ve been worried.”

“Dying a virgin.” Susie shuddered.

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to get de-virginated anytime in this life.” Goddamn it.

“Is there such a word as de-virginated?” Maxie wondered.

“Forget that.” Susie waved her fork in Cherry’s direction. “You need to go out more. Meet more blokes.”

“I spent the whole of last year being dragged around to pubs and clubs and who the hell knew where else.” Cherry tossed the sandwich on the plate with a sigh. “You, of course, got every good-looking man in sight.”

“Why ‘of course’?”

“Because you’re a lust magnet,” Maxie replied bluntly.

“And you can’t talk.” Picking up the mug of hot coffee, Cherry waved it around until it was in danger of slopping over. “You had more offers than a wage increase at a politicians gathering.”

“Well…”

“And now you’re engaged and Susie has a boyfriend. Again.”

“Cherry, any man would have to be out of his mind to not want you—”Susie began.

“Oh, come on!” Cherry poked her soft belly with a forefinger. “I’m fat and thirty five. No man wants me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Of course it’s bloody true! How many times was I picked up at the pub? When did any man show any interest in me?”

“You have plenty of male friends.”

“Friends. Friends!” Cherry stopped talking when a hospital clerk looked inside the door and glanced around in search of someone before retreating again. “Friends, Susie. Men want to be my friend, not my lover.”

Maxie and Susie looked at each other.

Cherry sighed and leaned her chin on one fist. “I’m not jealous of you two. We’ve been friends for years. It’s just…”

“You want to be loved,” Maxie said.

“No. Yes.”

“Decisive,” Susie stated.

“I want...”

“A man.”

“Exactly.”

“We’re trying, sweetie.” Maxie patted her hand. “There’s some new doctors coming to the town and we’ll see them here. Maybe one of them?”

“You don’t understand.” Taking a deep breath, Cherry pushed the coffee mug away. If it were anyone else but her two friends, she wouldn’t have had the gumption to speak her mind. “I’ve given up on finding a man to love me.” When Susie opened her mouth to object, she held up her hand. “All I want is to know what it’s like to be held. Kissed. Have sex.” Okay, maybe that was taking it a bit too far, especially at work.

“That’s all?” Susie’s eyes had widened.

“Yes.”

“I can fix that.”

“You can?” Both Cherry and Maxie asked at the same time.

Before Susie could answer, four more nurses came through the door, one of them the DON. They sat down at the table, talking amongst themselves.

Susie winked at Cherry. Maxie looked dubious. Cherry wondered what the hell Susie was thinking.

On their way back to the ward, Susie nudged Cherry. “Maxie and I will be over tonight to chat a bit more.”

“You will?”

“We will.”

“Good,” Maxie said. “I can’t wait to hear your plan.”

Cherry watched her friends disappear down the corridor and rubbed her chin. Susie could fix her yearnings? What on earth did her friend have in mind?

And did she really want to know?

~*~

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, a romance novel open but face-down on her lap, Cherry stared moodily at the television screen. The sound was turned off but there was enough for her to know what was happening.

The actress was being thoroughly kissed by a mouth-watering actor. He was cute, she was cute. They were both so bloody beautiful it made Cherry want to be sick. Violently.

Picking up the remote, she jabbed the off switch with more force than necessary and threw it back down on the sofa. Now she could see her reflection in the dark screen. Short, fat sheila. Phooey.

All her life she’d been friends with the males of the species. Friends and nothing more. She was everyone’s mate, no-one’s lover. She’d only been kissed twice in her whole lifetime. Once by an over-sexed teenager in school, and the other time at her fifth birthday party by the little romeo who lived next door.

What gold star moments.

Now she was thirty five years old and a virgin.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be a virgin,” she told Frizzo and Sugar, who were both lolling back on the other sofa opposite her. “I just want, for once, to be held. Touched. Kissed.”

Frizz blinked his gold eyes at her and Sugar yawned.

Ignoring their obvious disinterest, she continued, “Is it too much to ask? Everywhere I look, men and women are making out. Kissing. Touching. I’m not. Is it too much to ask? I don’t want to die without knowing, just once, what it’s like to be made love to.”

“And you don’t have to,” a cheerful voice said from behind her.

Cherry nearly fell off the sofa. “Hells bells!”

Susie plopped down onto the sofa beside her.

“Just come right on in, why don’t you?” Cherry sighed. “You heard me talking to the cats, didn’t you?”

“Lovie, we both did.” Maxie perched on the armrest of the sofa opposite. Her eyes were dreamy.

Cherry scowled. “Ben jumped your bones when you got home, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. Man, he is so built.” Maxie grinned.

“Glad to hear it…for the fiftieth time.”

“If you got it, brag about it.”

“Forget her.” Susie waved her hand at Maxie. “Cherry, I have the answer to your problems.”

“And that is what?”

“You need to hire an escort.”

“For what? To go to a dance?”

“No, dingbat. A male escort. A male…”

“Yes? What?”

“Male prostitute, or for a subtler term, a male escort,” Maxie explained.

“A male escort?” Cherry couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you kidding me? A male escort?”

Susie nodded eagerly.

“You reckon I should hire a male prostitute?”

Maxie frowned. “I don’t think she’s taking this very well.”

Cherry stared at her. “Max. A male prostitute? I mean…Maxie!”

Leaning back on the sofa, Susie plucked the book from Cherry’s lap and started reading. “What have we here? Oh yeah, saucy love scene hotting up. ‘He touched her, smearing her moistness over her clit, finding the—’”

“Give me that!” Plucking the book from Susie’s hand, Cherry tucked it behind her under the cushion. “And explain your suggestion to me.”

She still couldn’t quite believe she’d heard correctly. Mainly because she’d entertained that idea herself a couple of times. Like in the middle of the night. Entertained, but not seriously. Sort of.

Hearing one of her best friends suggest it…

“Tell me.” Susie held up the remote control. “What were you doing with this while reading that sex scene?”

“Turning off the TV.”

Maxie sniggered.

“Forget the remote.” Cherry folded her arms. “Male escort?”

“Hey, I thought it was a stupid idea, too,” Maxie said. “But just listen. It doesn’t half sound bad, which is a huge shock, coming from Susie the Mole.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you who has just been shagged and was brazen enough to brag about it to us.”

“The male escort?” Cherry probed, knowing that if she didn’t interrupt the two girls would go off on their own tangent.

“Oh yeah.” Susie grinned. “Why don’t you just hire a male escort for the night?”

“Oh.” Cherry pursed her lips. “Hire one for the night, huh? Are you crazy?”

“Not at all. Cherry, you’re the one who’s unhappy with being thirty five and a virgin.”

“Wrong!” Cherry scowled. “Thirty five I can handle. A virgin…it’s not the virginity, Susie, it’s…it’s…” She searched for the words.

Maxie took pity on her. “Being held, kissed, and made love to?”

Cherry sighed. “You heard every word I said to the cats, didn’t you?”

“Yep.”

Susie raised her brows. “You can’t find a man to do that, so hire one to do it.”

“Damn, that’s cold,” Maxie retorted when Cherry could only stare at her friend.

“Bare facts, Maxie.” Susie shrugged. “This is not the time for sweetness.”

“You’re not kidding,” Cherry finally managed. “Stick the knife in a little deeper, why don’t you?”

Susie refused to be embarrassed. Instead, her expression was determined. “Cherry, you’re a grown woman. This is no time to be modest. You want what no man has yet given to you. Why not buy it?”

“How desperate do you think I am?” Cherry snapped.

“I thought you were looking at Ducks Arse a little hungrily the other day.”

“I’d call that by-passing desperate.” Maxie shuddered.

Cherry glared at her.

“Now think about it,” Susie said. “A lot of professional women hire male escorts. They’re busy, they don’t have time for relationships. They hire a male for a few hours, get that companionship—”

“Have a bloody good shag,” Maxie interrupted.

“Have a kiss and cuddle and make love,” Susie finished. “What’s wrong with that?”

“What could possibly be right with it?” Cherry demanded. She couldn’t believe she was hearing this idea.

“Everything,” Susie replied. “You can ask for the kind of bloke that makes your panties wet. Short haired, dark-haired, long-haired, blue eyes, well-built.”

“Well hung,” Maxie added.

“Hung like a horse.” Susie nodded. “You can hire your dream lover for a few hours or the whole damned night.”

Cherry shook her head. “Look, I really don’t—”

“Yes, you do.” Susie had a small smile on her face. “They’re expert at their jobs, they don’t care about your build or anything. Their job is to please you. You, Cherry. You can have that closeness.”

“I don’t think it’s quite the same.”

“It’s what you want. Kissing, holding, love making.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“So what’s the problem?”

Cherry stared back at her two friends, who looked right back at her.

“Diseases?’ she finally suggested weakly.

“Health checked. Condoms.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Have your own supply in,” Maxie said. “Besides, you have no guarantee with any bloke nowadays.”

“What about Ben?”

“Ben’s been around, trust me. A lot of blokes have.”

“And women,” Susie added.

“You’d know,” Maxie said. “Listen to Susie the Mole, Cherry.”

“Up yours.” Susie gave Maxie the finger.

“Charming.”

Cherry shook her head. “Look, I know you’re trying to help but I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”

“Come on, what else could you possibly object to?”

“How about someone finding out?” That was something of which Cherry couldn’t stand the thought. “What if my sister and brother-in-law found out? Good God, what if my parents found out?”

“Male escorts are discreet.”

“How do you know that?”

Susie pursed her lips, then shrugged. “Oh, bugger it. I’ve hired a male escort before.”

Cherry and Maxie stared at her.

“You what?” Cherry’s mouth fell open. “You?”

“Hey, I was in-between relationships and I was lonely. I only wanted a bit of companionship, pretty much what you want.” She crossed her legs nonchalantly. “That’s why I’m in the position to give you this information.”

Cherry stared at her. Susie was beautiful, with thick blonde hair, big blue eyes and an hour-glass figure. She had men panting over her wherever she went. And she’d hired a male escort?

“Don’t look so shocked.” Susie grinned. “I got what I wanted. A well-hung, good-looking male who catered to my every whim. My every whim. I hired him about five times in two weeks, and he was worth it.”

“Would you hire him again?” Maxie asked in fascinated curiosity.

“If I didn’t have a boyfriend?” Susie thought to herself. “Well, sure, if I felt like it.”

“Felt like it?”

“Horny. Like Cherry.”

“Hey!” Cherry scowled. “I am not horny.”

“Honey, you’re a thirty-five year old virgin with sex on your mind. Trust me, you’re horny.”

“Shit.”

Maxie laughed.

“So, how about it?” Susie asked. “Male escort?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“Take what you want, or wait another thirty five years.”

“I’ll have cobwebs by then.”

“You won’t remember what it’s for by then, you mean,” Maxie corrected.

Cherry looked at her. “Have you ever hired a male escort?”

“No. But then, I have Ben.”

“Well, what about before Ben?”

“I had other boyfriends.”

“What if you hadn’t had other boyfriends?” Cherry persisted. “What if you didn’t have Ben?”

“Well…yeah, I’d think about it.” Maxie’s cheeks pinkened.

“There you go!” Susie said triumphantly. “Let’s get you a male escort.”

“What? No!” Cherry shook her head.

“Come on, then. Hypothetically, who would you ask for?” Maxie queried.

“Maxie—”

“Hypothetically. I’d ask for a man in his early twenties, short brown hair, built like a brick dunny.”

“How romantic.” Susie pulled a face. “I’d ask for an older man, more experienced. Black hair. Lean but strong.”

Maxie looked expectantly at Cherry.

“What?” Cherry was feeling a little flustered.

“Who would you hire as your pleasure machine?”

Pleasure machine? It sort of had a tantalizing ring to it. “Well…”

“Yes?” Susie and Maxie looked eagerly at her.

“Well, I guess I’d ask for a man with long dark hair, but it has to be neat and clean.”

“Of course.” Susie shuddered. “Dirty and dishevelled - yuck”

“Strong features. Piercing eyes. Full lips, but masculine, you know?” Cherry warmed up as she thought of her dream man. “I’d want him to be well-built. Some good muscle on him.”

“Gotta have muscle.” Maxie nodded.

“Tall. Big hands.”

“All the better to cup you with, my dear.” Susie winked.

Cherry grinned. “Big enough to cup me with. Long fingers.”

“Oh yeah.” Maxie slid down off the armrest to sprawl on the sofa. “Long fingers for stroking. Sure fingers.”

“I think I’m getting wet.” Susie muttered.

Cherry could picture him in her mind. “Long, strong legs.”

“You’re right into the long and strong, aren’t you?” Maxie sighed dreamily.

“Yeah.” Cherry moistened her lips. “He’d be a real stallion in bed.”

“I may have to go home and jump Ben.”

They sat in silence for several minutes. Cherry thought about her dream man. She could hire one like him. Hire her dream man to make love to her, touch her, kiss her…

“One phone call, Cherry.” It was almost as though Susie could read her mind. “One phone call and your dream man could be right here instead of us.”

“Virginity gone.” Maxie snapped her fingers. “Kiss, cuddle, mad monkey sex.”

Cherry looked at them. “Hey, I’m not picking up the phone now to hire an escort.”

Maxie sighed. “I told you she wouldn’t go for it.”

“Not straight away, but maybe later.” Susie’s eyes twinkled. “Now you have the idea, girlfriend, you can stew on it all night.”

“I don’t know—”

“You have time.” Susie stood up. “The rest of your life, in fact.”

“Yeah.” Maxie unfolded her slim length from the sofa. “Just don’t leave it too long or your vagina will rust up.”

“You are so vulgar sometimes.” Cherry stood up also.

Susie patted her shoulder. “Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“I’ll think about it.” Not.

Susie looked closely at her, a funny little expression on her face. Then she nodded. “Well, gotta go and by some groceries for tea. Catch you at work tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Standing on the veranda, Cherry saw her friends off and then stood staring out at the garden. Hire a male escort? Ridiculous. There was no way she could hire a male escort.

Could she?

Going inside, she shut the door with a decisive snap, but her movements back into the lounge were slow. Picking up the romance novel, she looked at the cover.

The hero and heroine entwined in a heated embrace. Something she’d never experienced in her life.

Their job is to please you. You, Cherry. You can have that closeness. Susie’s words echoed in her mind.

Going into the bedroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. The woman staring back at her was short, plus-sized, an over-blown hourglass. She had nice hair, thick and brown and bouncy, and her eyes were pretty, so she’d been told. Not quite blue or green, just a shade between each, outlined with thick black lashes. But there was nothing remarkable about her face.

She was plain in a pretty way, or pretty in a plain way, however you looked at it.

Cherry sighed, a wave of longing going through her.

No man had ever found her pretty enough to pursue. To kiss and hold and want to take to his bed. But a male escort… Their job is to please you. You, Cherry. You can have that closeness.

Frizz meowing around her legs made her look down and she smiled sadly. “Yeah, maybe if I had the guts, Frizz, I would do it. But I’m not like Susie. I can’t pay a man to make love to me.”

That night in bed, her dream man invaded her dreams once again, and she awoke in the morning with the familiar yearning of just wanting to wake up in a man’s arms.

How bloody pathetic. Scowling, she got out of bed and went into the shower.

As the warm water sluiced the soap from her body, the now familiar words went through her. Their job is to please you. You, Cherry. You can have that closeness.

Now

And now here she was, three days later with an appointment to meet a man in a hotel, a man who would see to her every desire. Who would kiss her, cuddle her, and make love to her.

A man she’d paid to do all that, so how real was it?

Cherry looked at her reflection in the window glass. As real as she’d probably ever get. “Looks like you’ve got a date with sex.”

Chapter Two

Rick looked around the gathering with jaded eyes. The same kind of crowd. The GPs, both those up-and-coming and the established, the surgeons, and their wives and girlfriends. The wives were dressed expensively but discreetly, the epitome of good taste, while the girlfriends hung onto every word their boyfriends uttered. Apart from a couple of women whom he knew genuinely loved their boyfriends, the other couple he was sure were in it for the money and prestige. Ah, to be the wife of a general practioner, or even better, a surgeon.

And one of those barracudas was heading right for him. Annabelle, tall, slim, and gorgeous with her blonde hair up in an elegant chignon and her make-up perfect. Diamonds glittered in her earlobes. Her bright blue-eyed gaze was fixed on him, and her laughter was light and gay as she came to a stop before him and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, barely brushing his skin. Her perfume was expensive, just like the woman herself.

“Richard,” she cooed. “How delightful of you to come.”

“Rick, please.”

“Rick.” Gaze sweeping over his face, she took his arm. “And how are you finding our little city, Rick?”

“Lovely. It’s why I chose to come here.”

“Of course you did.” Reaching out, she picked up a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to him before taking one for herself. “And how are you settling in?”

“Fine. I start work next week, quite looking forward to it.”

“Ah yes. Your own practice, wasn’t it?”

“No.” Rick noted Annabelle’s father glance over towards them and smile widely. Obviously he’d noticed his barracuda of a daughter zeroing in for a bite and approved. Rick looked back at Annabelle, meeting her gaze squarely. In spiked heels, she matched his six foot two inches admirably. She was one tall woman. “I’m in the Hallery Practice.”

“That’s right.” She made a little moue of her red lip sticked mouth. “You do have plans to start your own practice one day, though?”

The Barracuda was circling, weighing up her prey. Rick smiled slightly. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” One elegant brow, plucked painfully thin, arched.

“I’ll see how I go, check out the competition.” Oh-ho, The Barracuda liked that term all right. “Find my feet.”

“Delightful plan.” Taking a sip of her champagne, she glanced around. “Let me introduce you around.”

And so went the evening. Rick smiled, shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, all the things one should do when coming into an established circle of professionals, most of whom he’d be working with at some time. He wouldn’t have minded so much if The Barracuda wasn’t listening intently to his answers to everyone’s questions. No doubt she was mentally notching up her approval and disapproval on a mental scoreboard. The final score would dictate if she’d come after him hungrily or drop him like the proverbial hot brick.

He tried several times to politely veer away from her, but no, each time Annabelle clutched his elbow and chattered away brightly to all and sundry. Prying her off with a crowbar was the only thing that would work and, unfortunately, not actually be considered polite.

Damn it.

“Hey! Rick!”

It was with relief that Rick watched his old school friend approach in his gangly, long-legged stride. “Tim. How are you?”

“Doin’ well, mate. How about you?” Tim shook his hand vigorously.

Annabelle eyed him with her top lip slightly curled. Not enough to be noticed by anyone except Tim, who leered back at her, and Rick when he glanced sideways.

Amused, Rick introduced them. “Annabelle, meet my oldest friend, Tim Clarke. Tim, this is Annabelle Forbes.”

“Daughter of the General Surgeon, Peter Forbes.” Annabelle smiled coldly and shook Tim’s hand limply.

Grinning widely, Tim pumped her hand up and down energetically. “Of course. Ol’ Pete’s offspring. Wouldn’t expect that sour-faced old bastard to have such a stunning kid, but then again, I expect his sperm can cause many surprises if we studied them closely.”

Rick grinned.

Annabelle didn’t miss a beat. “Are you, by any chance, in the sexual health field, Timothy?”

“Vet, actually.” Tim’s smile only got wider. “Depends what I’m up to at the time. Oh, get it?” He nudged Rick and guffawed loudly. “Sex field and up to?”

“You have real wit,” Rick said dryly.

Annabelle looked at Rick like she was mentally wiping shit off her shoes. Obviously he’d scored really badly. What a shame.

“I do believe,” she said coldly, “That my father wants me.”

“Really?” Tim peered over at the cluster of surgeons who were importantly – and loudly - discussing the current trend of lap banding. “He seems involved in something already.”

Annabelle turned and left without a word.

“Oh dear.” Tim raised the beer can to his mouth. “Something I said?”

“Yes, thank God.” Rick raised his wine glass in salute.

“You had that desperate look about you. A drowning man.”

“With The Barracuda circling.”

Tim snorted a laugh and took a healthy chug of beer.

“What are you doing here?” Rick asked curiously. “I didn’t think these sorts of gatherings were up your alley.”

“Mother split with her latest boyfriend, so I was her next choice of escort.”

“You?” Rick somehow doubted that Margaret Clarke, the city’s most respected paediatrician, would willingly choose her own son as her escort.

Tim grinned widely. “They broke up five minutes before they were due to come here. I was the next poor bastard in an emergency.”

He might have been laughing outwardly, but Rick saw the shadows in his friend’s eyes. Margaret wasn’t the most motherly woman around, which was pretty rich, considering her profession.

Rick gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Thanks for saving my arse. I was worried she’d take a bite out of it.”

“My mother?”

“No, you jerk. Annabelle.”

“She’s looking for a prospective husband. Somehow I don’t fit the bill.”

“Count yourself lucky.”

Tim and Rick clinked beer can and wine glass cheerfully.

Tim glanced around. “What say we ditch this joint and head off for friendlier fields?”

The proposition was a most welcome one. Rick glanced down at his watch. He’d been at the affair for about three hours and could now bid his host farewell without offending anyone. Not that he really cared about offending anyone, but he didn’t think putting himself on the wrong side of his colleagues so soon would be wise.

“Give me five minutes to make my farewells and I’m all yours.” Rick paused. “Where are we going, by the way?”

“Where are you staying?” When Rick told him, Tim nodded. “There’s a good bar across the road from it. Let’s go.” He chugged down the last of his beer and took careful aim at a bin partially – and tastefully –hidden by a rose bush.

Before he could let fly with the can, a waiter politely plucked it from his fingers and placed it on his tray, smiling vacantly the whole time. “Would Sir care for another?”

“No, Sir wouldn’t,” Tim replied. “Sir is going to a place where he can sit down and slurp without fear of offending the majority.”

“As Sir pleases.” The waiter walked off, the tray balanced perfectly on his hand.

“Sir actually isn’t very pleased right now,” Tim informed Rick gravely. “Sir really needs a drink from a burly barkeeper who calls him ‘arsehole’ instead. It suits my class better.”

“I hear you, buddy.”

“Sir will meet you in the car park. You brought your car, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Good, because Sir had to come in Mummy’s car, and I doubt she’s going to let me take it, especially when I tell her I’m leaving.”

Rick laughed and strode off to find his host. He was on his way back towards the car park when Annabelle appeared, stepping out from behind a blooming gardenia bush like a barracuda from behind a mound of coral.

She pouted a little, obviously mindful that a small pout was cute but a full-on pout was just nasty. “Going already, Richard?”

“Rick.”

“Rick.” Gliding forward, she laid perfectly manicured fingers on his coat sleeve. “Must you?”

“All work and no play make Rick a dull boy,” he replied lightly. “But work needs to be attended anyway.”

Work, hmmm?” She brushed a speck of non-existent lint from his arm. Obviously she liked the sound of that.

Oh yes, The Barracuda would love to hear that her prospective prey was working hard. No work, no money, no good lifestyle. Couldn’t have that, nu-uh.

“I’ll let you go, then.” She moved a little closer, and the scent of her expensive perfume was thick and heavy and nearly burned a hole in his nostrils. “How about we meet for lunch next week?”

How about we don’t? “That’d be nice, Annabelle, but I’m afraid I need to devote myself to my new position and settle in before that pleasantry can be considered.” His insincere smile was all charm. “May I suggest another week?”

She pounced on that statement like a ravenous dog on a bone. “The week following? Absolutely. Wed the twenty-sixth, say eight pm at Mason’s?”

Damn it. His smile was all teeth. “Until then.”

She smiled warmly, squeezed his arm lightly, and walked passed him back to the party.

As Rick approached the car, Tim looked up from where he was leaning against the door. “Let me guess. Annabelle?”

“Teeth like a barracuda.” Rick pressed the key control and the locks on the car clicked up smoothly. “Got those teeth into me and now I damned well have a dinner date with her.”

Tim guffawed as he folded his long, lean length into the car.

“Unless something was to happen to get me out of the dinner date.” Starting the car, Rick drove along the circular drive and down towards the big, wrought iron gates that stood open at the end of the long drive.

“Yep,” Tim said. “We need a drink.”

“Or two.”

“Why bother with that? Let’s get them rolling in.”

Hearing a sombre note in his friend’s voice, Rick glanced at him. “You all right? Is something wrong?”

“Not at all. Drive on, James, Sir wants his drinks and a nice time with a like-minded friend.”

“Mummy issues?”

“When is it not?” Tim shook his head. “Let’s not talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

They spoke about the pros and cons of human patients versus animal patients while driving the distance through the traffic, and then Rick pulled into the motel car park. From there they walked across the road to the bar on the other side, claimed a couple of bar stools and settled down to enjoy themselves.

It was late by the time they left the bar.

~*~

Chewing her bottom lip, Cherry peeked out the curtains to the dark car park beyond. No car lights, no slamming doors. No man. No Damien.

Dropping the curtain back in place, she reached for the glass of orange juice then changed her mind. If she drank, she’d want to pee, and peeing with a strange man waiting for her wasn’t a good thing. Not that she had a man here waiting for her.

She looked at her watch. Eleven pm on Saturday twelfth at the Indigo Motel. Right date, right time and right place. And so far she was here alone. No Damien. Weren’t escorts supposed to be punctual? Then again, Saturday night, he could be caught in traffic. Would he have his own car or come by taxi?

Oh God, what if the taxi driver was someone she knew? Cherry almost panicked until she remembered she had only the light on in the bathroom. The glow coming through the partially opened door cast the room in shadows. No one who saw her silhouette in the doorway would know it was her.

Calming down, she took a small sip of the orange juice and studied herself once more in the mirror. The dimness of the room meant Damien would be able to see her, but not too clearly. She didn’t want him to see her body with the overly-generous curves and dimples, too closely, and she most certainly didn’t want him to see her face too much. God forbid he came in as a patient one day!

Nope, they were doing this in the dimness. She’d decided that for safety reasons. Safety reasons being she wasn’t going to risk coming face-to-face with him in the hospital ward and have him saying cheerfully, “Hey Ms Jones! How’s your non-virginal vagina doing these days? Need another boink soon?”

Not that he probably would, being a professional and all – she hoped – but it didn’t pay to run risks. Hence she’d snap on the outside light when he knocked and she’d get a good look at him through the window before she turned off the light and opened the door to lover-boy.

Loving in the dimness. How romantic if it were candles instead of the bathroom light. Still, virginal, desperate beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Anyway, it looked like her destiny with a hot hunk might not happen. She looked again at the clock and sighed. Time was ticking away.

She nearly dropped the glass when a fumble sounded at the door. It was him! Hands shaking, she licked her lips, smoothed her dress over her ample hips, and strode to the door. Mind made up, she wasn’t going to shirk away now. She’d waited forever for this moment.

Snapping on the light, she peeked out the window. He stood with his head bent, fingers flicking through a ring of keys. Tall in height, his jacket was slung negligently over one broad shoulder, his lean waist and hips poured into black dress slacks. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows and she could see the play of muscle in his forearms.

He raised his head when the light came on, revealing his profile. Slightly dishevelled black hair that came down to his collar, a hank of it hanging rakishly over his forehead. A straight, autocratic nose, and, she saw when he looked inquiringly at the window face-on, bright green eyes and a mouth that was full enough to be sensuous without being feminine. A strong jaw line.

Oh my God! He’s drop-dead gorgeous! Damien is hot.

And he was hers for two hours. Naked. On her, in her.

Oh shit! Cherry was so glad she had thought to do everything in the dimness. A hunk like this looking at her pudgy body in the full glare of the punishing light was a definite no-go.

Quizzically, Damien looked at the window. “Hello?” He stepped back and studied the door before looking back at the window. “This is the right room.” He sounded puzzled.

No wonder, him standing out there while she gawked – okay, drooled – at him through the window. Cherry dropped the curtain, snapped off the outside light, took a deep breath, and opened the door. “You have the right room.”

“Really?” In the gloom, he peered at her. “You are…?”

“Ms Jones.”

“Ms Jones?” He angled his head.

“Molly Jones.” Smiling – though goodness knows he probably couldn’t see it properly in the dimness – she held out her hand. And felt immediately stupid when he took it slowly and gave it a gentle shake. Did one shake hands with the man one didn’t know who was going to boink one’s brains out?

“Molly Jones.” He studied her. “Well.”

“Please, come in.” She stepped back and to the side, trying to sound professional but inwardly quaking with nerves.

She was going to do it. She was really going to do it!

Damien walked past her slowly, his stride long and sure, his head angled down slightly as he looked at her with interest.

Comforted in the knowledge that he couldn’t see her face too clearly, she inhaled deeply and was immediately assailed with the scents of masculine cologne and whisky.

The poor bastard probably needed a drink before going off to shag his next client. Needed to get his courage up, not knowing if he was going to be bedding Bella the Ballerina or Martha the Mega Lady. She fell more on the Martha side, unfortunately. But she would be nice to him, he was doing her a favour. A paid favour. Don’t think about it.

She shut the door and clicked the lock into place. About to turn back, she was stopped by a hand appearing before her nose to land palm down against the door. Gawking at the hand, she became instantly aware of the heat of a hard body at her back.

“So, Molly Jones.” His breath was warm, stirring the hair at her temple. “What a delightful surprise.”

No kidding. Goosebumps sprinkled down her arms. “Mmmm.”

One finger came up to run lightly along the neckline of her dress, leaving a hot, sparking trail in its wake as he pushed a heavy swath of her hair aside. “You’re not quite what I expected.”

Instantly she stiffened. Was he referring to her weight after all? No! He’s not supposed to care.

The finger at her neckline slid down, becoming a hand that came to rest against her lower back. “Voluptuous. Soft.” The chuckle was whisky-tinged and so sweetly hot against her skin as firm lips pressed a kiss against her nape. “Tim knew what I needed.”

“Tim…?” All thought left her when those firm lips pressed against her throat, and a tongue laved expertly across her suddenly pounding pulse. Her knees almost buckled when his palm slid down to spread against one buttock.

Was it possible for a bum cheek to go on fire? Cherry was sure she was going to find out.

“Turn around, sweets. I want to sample my surprise.”

When had this turned into his surprise? Did escorts act like this? Wasn’t there a meet’n’greet system or something? Hell if Cherry knew, and hell if she cared. Damien was coming on strong and forceful, and by God, she liked it. She didn’t have to think, didn’t have to make nice, she just had go along with the flow and enjoy it.

Slowly, she turned to find him as close as he’d felt. He was leaning on the door with one hand, and his hand on her bottom trailed around to rest on her lower abdomen as she moved. Looking up, she was disappointed that she couldn’t see his face properly.

“Let’s have a little look at what delectable delight I have here,” he murmured, reaching for the light switch.

“No!” Cherry grabbed his wrist.

“No?”

“No.” She took a deep breath. “My choice, remember?”

“Not really.”

“My rule. No looking.”

His teeth were a flash of white in the gloom. “I can still see a little. What’s the harm in letting me see everything?”

She stiffened. “No.”

“Intriguing. A mystery woman.” His laugh was soft, deep. “I like it.”

Cherry relaxed against the door, relief sweeping through her.

“I can see a little of you, enough to know that you’re pretty.” He leaned closer still, his forearm resting against the door. “So, Molly Jones.” His big hand crept slowly up over the gentle swell of her stomach. “Any other rules I need to know?”

Thinking right now wasn’t easy. Her nerves were jumping, her blood starting to rush a little bit faster through her veins. It had always been a fantasy to be in this situation, and to have it actually come to life…she just hoped she didn’t faint.

“Or are there no rules?” Damien’s voice was huskier, his lips brushing her brow.

One big palm closed over her ample bosom and Cherry’s heart started pounding in her chest. Sweet Jesus, she was going to have a heart attack any second!

Looking up in the dimness, she saw the glitter of his eyes, the green shards of his irises catching the little bit of light from the partially opened bathroom door. A wicked glint shone briefly before he moved his head lower still, blocking out the light so there was only shadow.

“Let’s go with no rules, Molly Jones.”

Nerve endings were fired off in all directions when one hard thigh slid between her softer ones and pressed against her mound. Hoo boy!

“You look like you want to say something.” The whisky on his breath was filtering through her senses along with the scent of his cologne and maleness. “Say it.”

His hard thigh nudged her femineity through the material of her dress and panties, and she gasped. “Oh sweet mercy!”

Low and deep, his amused laughter slid through the room with heat and through her senses with lust. “Let’s see if we can do better than that.” Swooping down, he caught her mouth. Firm lips moulded to hers, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips with heady determination.

Cherry couldn’t think, her thoughts scattering as his tongue slid inside and swept through her mouth to take her flavour and leave his own behind. One big palm flipped her hair back over her shoulder before dipping down under the low neckline of her dress to slide in and press on her bra-covered nipple, rubbing sensuously against it while his hard thigh kept up a steady nudging of her defenceless womanhood, forcing her to ride his thigh. Feelings exploded inside her, a searing flush of heat that burned through her as her thighs, forced open by the width of his thigh, offered little protection to her labia, enabling him to press against her clitoris.

Fearing her knees were truly going to give out, she reached up and gripped his shirt.

“Good idea,” he whispered. “Let’s get it off.” Keeping one hand at the small of her back, he drew her away from the door while unbuttoning his shirt with his free hand. His gaze slid down her body, lingering on every swell.

Cherry gulped inwardly. Even in the dimness he’d be able to see she was no Bella the Ballerina. Her wrap-around dress had a low neckline, showing her ample cleavage to advantage, and it skimmed her waist which, thankfully, swept inwards, but then the skirt of the dress swept out to gracefully ride the generous curves of her hips before falling to brush around her knees.

At least in the dimness he wouldn’t see the dimples in her knees. Or in her arse cheeks, and she knew they were there because she’d just about done herself an injury one day, craning her neck in the mirror to check out her arse. It was the last time she’d ever looked at it.

She didn’t have to worry with Damien, however, in this dimness he wouldn’t be able to see dimples. Dim enough to know she wasn’t slim, but not enough for the glaring faults to stand out.

It worked two ways. She had enough light to be able to see his hard, muscular body as he bared it to her eyes. The dim light picked out every hard swell of his pecs, the six pack he so brazenly displayed as the shirt parted, and the impressive flex and swell of his biceps as he shrugged out of the shirt and tossed it aside.

“Fair is fair, sweets.” His words were seductive.

Distracted from staring at his body, Cherry looked up at him. “What?”

His smile was another flash of white teeth in the gloom. “My shirt is off, I want your top off, too.”

Cherry swallowed. Here it was, the undressing. With trembling fingers, she reached for the tie at her waist, pulling the knot free easily. Everything loosened immediately and she mentally girded herself.

“A wrap-around.” Damien moved closer. “How utterly seductive of you, Molly Jones.” Reaching out, he took the tie from her nerveless fingers and tugged her closer. “Rather like unwrapping a present. I do like unwrapping presents.” Flicking the tie open, he kept her gaze locked with his while the dress slipped to lay loose around her.

Moving even closer until his body was a mere hairbreadth from hers, the heat of him seeping deliciously into her, Damien slid his hands inside the dress to rest upon – her hips! Her big, enormous, overly-curved hips!

Cherry almost died then and there, but before she could even think to back out of every plan she had, he tugged her full against him, lowering his head and capturing her mouth once more.

He kissed her almost senseless, plundering her mouth like a starving man at a feast. He took her mouth while his hands moved over her body, and she dimly felt the dress pushed off her shoulders, the coolness of the room on her bare back, and then suddenly her bra was gone, the lacy DD cups falling to the floor, her breasts against his chest, skin to skin.

Naked skin to skin. Hot skin to match the hot blood that was starting to rush through her veins so much faster.

Hot lips were on her throat, hard palms skimming over her back into the indent of her waist to slide beneath the silk of her panties, knowing palms cupping her derriere, squeezing the generous globes. He eased the material over her hips and dropped them down her legs to pool around her ankles.

One large palm on her buttocks pressed her close, his mouth taking hers again and again, slanting across her lips to take total control of the kiss, just as he’d taken control of the situation since he’d entered the room.

Cherry didn’t know if this was how it was supposed to happen with an escort, but she was happy to just go with it. It wasn’t like she had much choice. Her thoughts were scattered, her heart pounding, and heat was pooling between her thighs, not to mention the delicious ache.

Twining her arms around his neck, she pressed closer, giving him kiss for kiss, hot and loving.

Everything was hot - her blood, his hands, his skin, this moment. This time that was hers. She stepped out of her high heeled pumps.

Turning her, he crowded her backwards until her thighs hit the side of the bed. Keeping her lips prisoner with his, he kept leaning down and down, until she finally sat on the bed. Only then did he release her lips, his eyes glittering in the dimness. “Lie down, Molly Jones.”

If she’d been a heroine from the Victorian times, she’d have swooned. Instead, Cherry could only slide back on the bed and recline against the pillows, watching avidly as Damien straightened, his hands sliding the belt from his pants, his deft fingers unbuttoning and unzipping with expert efficiency, and he pushed those slacks down those long, muscular legs and off, taking his shoes and socks with them at the same time. Taking a wallet from his pocket, he opened it up, took a small packet from it, and placed the packet on the bedside table before replacing the wallet in his pocket.

Thank God he’d had the sense to remember condoms. She’d brought a medley of sizes in her handbag just in case – how did one measure a non-existent penis anyway? - but Damien obviously had everything worked out to the letter T. A professional through and through, no doubt about it.

When he straightened she nearly swallowed her tongue. The light from the bathroom not only picked out his tall, strong body with the hard planes, but it glanced off the impressive erection that curved up to lie against his stomach.

That erection looked suddenly enormous. She’d seen the shrivelled insides of a real woman’s vagina in a museum, and that suddenly appeared pretty damned small and short in her mind. She wasn’t so sure this erection was going to fit inside her. It gave the term ‘tonsil-tickler’ a whole new meaning. But women everywhere went through this and weren’t torn apart. Hell, what was she, a Victorian virgin? Scratch that, virgin yes, but not an innocent who didn’t have a clue about the human anatomy. Woman was made for man… it was just…damn, he was big.

Her gaze flicked up to find him standing beside the bed gazing down at her. She couldn’t see his expression as he studied her, but she felt his gaze like a hot brand sweeping her overly-generous curves. It was almost enough to dampen her ardour, and she immediately sought to cover what she could, bending the leg closest to him instinctively, her arm coming across to hide her ample breasts from view.

“No.” The word was husky, a hint of a rasp in it. “Don’t cover yourself.”

Self-consciously she started to sit, but he planted his knee on the bed and came up, crawling across it sinuously like a giant cat stalking prey, his eyes feasting on her curves.

Unnerved, she stilled, her heart thumping as he reached out to place one hand on her knee, taking her wrist in his other hand to pull her arm away from her breasts. Moving to kneel upright beside her, he placed her wrist to the side, resting her hand palm-up on the bed.

And then he just looked his fill of her. It was small comfort to know he couldn’t see all her faults, but knowing he was looking at her basic shape made Cherry cringed inwardly. To have a specimen such as him look at someone like her before intimacy between them seemed somehow wrong.

Glancing away, she bit her lip, only to swing her disbelieving gaze back to his face when he murmured throatily, “Beautiful.” That warm palm slid down her thigh slowly. “Womanly. Soft. Rubenesque. The way a woman should be.” His voice was husky, and she could swear desire smoked through the deep tones.

There was no doubting the heat that pooled so low inside her as his hand slid further down her thigh. Bloody hell, Damien was one gifted lover, making her feel special. Beautiful. This was a time she was going to treasure forever.

Her heart thudded harder, nipples peaking as his fingers trailed lazily down the inside of her thigh while his gaze rose to her eyes. “How do you like a man, Molly Jones?”

Suddenly she wished he would call her Cherry, but it was too risky. Molly Jones she was at this moment, beautiful and seductive, and about to be filled with this specimen of hunk-hood. She swore she was going to kiss Susie every day for a long time after this night.

“How do you like to be loved?” he continued throatily. “Hard? Fast? Slow?” His fingers brushed the curls protecting her secrets and her breath caught. “Tell me how you like it, Molly Jones.”

That was the million dollar question because she really had no freaking idea. He was the expert here, not her. Maybe he thought she masturbated like a demented bunny and had some idea from self satisfaction. Wrong, or she wouldn’t be here.

Moistening her lips, she met his gaze boldly. “I’m in your hands, remember?”

A smile curved his lips. “Oh, love, that was just the right answer.”

She certainly hoped so, because it was the only answer she had for him.

Leaning forward, he braced his hand beside her shoulder and lowered his head until his lips hovered just above her mouth. “Open up for me.” His finger slid through the curls sheltering her mound to delve between the moist flesh of her labia, just as his tongue slid along the seam of her lips. “Both places, Molly Jones. Open to me.”

It was a seductive order that had the smouldering fires inside her leaping.

It was the masterful way he took her mouth and plundered the depths that had the fire flaring.

It was the sure way his finger slid through her moist flesh to toy with the little clitoris hiding high up that had the fire searing through her veins.

Lightening flared through her and her hips surged up of their own accord. Damien chuckled into her mouth, licking deep with his tongue while his finger found the opening to her body and slid inside.

Cherry couldn’t think, she could barely breath as his finger invaded virginal places that had never felt a man’s touch. The liquid heat washed through her, making his invasion so easy, and when he pulled his finger from her to slide the slickness against her perineum, she could only grab his shoulders and squeeze tight.

“You’re hot, baby.” His lips scorched a path across her mouth to her throat. “So sweetly hot.” The heel of his palm ground lightly down upon her mound, and she felt the splintering inside her.

Her breathing was almost ragged, her nipples peaking, and when he dipped his head and engulfed one hardened peak into his mouth, she thought she’d die. He sucked strongly, each pull at her breast plucking strings straight to her womb and beyond.

Chapter Three

Mellow with friendship, and more than a little foxed with whiskey, Rick hadn’t expected the surprise Tim had mentioned to be a woman with curves to make a man’s mouth water. Normally he wouldn’t bed a strange woman, but there was something about her that appealed to him in his slightly inebriated state.

Combine loneliness, stress, a lot of whisky, and the gloom of a looming date with The Barracuda, and it was not a good mix. So when he was faced with this rather shy woman with the rubenesque figure and air of mystery, he briefly wondered where his friend had found such a surprise for him and threw caution to the wind. For this one night, he was going to enjoy himself. A man who genuinely enjoyed the company of the fairer sex, both in and out of bed, he’d been without female company for a few months and this temptation in front of him was most welcome.

She was a delight, a mixture of seduction and shyness. Molly Jones, if that was her real name, was an enigma to be savoured, and savour her he would. If he’d had his pants on, his shaft would have been burning a hole through it.

Within seconds he had her creaming for him, her tight little vagina clamping down on his fingers as she closed her eyes and arched under his expert touch. Those bountiful breasts ached to be kissed, and he played his tongue over the pink nipples, her every moan a balm to his ego, heightening his own desire.

Every undulation of her full figure beneath his hands had his shaft hardening even more, his blood pooling achingly in the hard length until it was almost painful. Rolling on the condom with unusual speed just added to the whole carnal atmosphere. When he swung over her and settled himself between her soft thighs, it felt like heaven.

She opened her eyes and he caught the glimpse of blue in them. The partially opened bathroom door shed only enough light to make out dim features, and it was titillating. Mysterious. It added eroticism to the mystery of Molly Jones.

“Tell me your real name.” He kissed along her jaw line.

“Not…in the rules,” she panted.

“There are no rules.”

“There is when it comes to names.”

“Woman of mystery.” He rasped his tongue along the pulse in her throat, feeling her arch beneath him, her rounded belly pressing his erection between them with a delicious pain that had him groaning.

Tunnelling his fingers in the thick wealth of hair that pooled on the pillow beneath her head, he held her still while he kissed her, taking her mouth almost brutally as he tasted her once more. Delicious. He licked across her lips, evading her mouth when she arched for another kiss, teasing them both by rocking his hips against her softness.

He felt her shudder and lifted his head. “Oh no, love, you don’t get off without me.”

“I think I’m going to die,” she moaned, her small foot running up the back of his leg. “Please.”

How could a decent bloke ignore a plea like that? Shifting his hips, he felt his erection slide through those curls, the sensation of them brushing the engorged head of his shaft making his throat arch back. When that engorged head slid between those moist lips sheltering her secrets to finally lodge at the entrance to her body, he thought he might very well die with her. Gritting his teeth, he held still for several seconds.

She didn’t help when she writhed beneath him, her knees bending, her soft thighs rubbing against his hips. “Please. Please.” She whispered something else that sounded like ‘Damien’ or ‘David’ but in his slightly inebriated state could well have been ‘damn’. He wasn’t sure and he really didn’t care, because the fire roaring through his veins was making his heart thunder and his shaft throb.

Everything he wanted right then was beneath him – a soft, willing woman – and everything his shaft wanted was right before it – the entrance to her body that sheltered cavern that would clasp him so achingly, sweetly, torturously, tight.

One thrust and he breached her entrance, the engorged head forging inside followed by the thick shaft that propelled it forward.

She was so damned tight, so hot, and so moist with need that he pushed through the clasping walls of her sheath easier than he otherwise would have, forging onward and breaking through something so fragile he almost didn’t notice it.

Beneath him, Molly stiffened slightly, and thinking it was his size causing discomfort, he shifted the angle, soothing her with hot kisses, swallowing her soft cry and then her moans as he worked inside her, thrusting easily, slowing his movements, enjoying the sensation of her satiny tightness clasping his shaft so firmly.

She relaxed slightly, her ardour burning again as he stroked it higher with each slow, measured thrust of his shaft inside her, his hips surging almost lazily but powerfully. He felt like he could do this forever, that he’d explode in a second, that he didn’t want it to end but if it didn’t soon, he’d surely die. It was a mixture of emotions ands sensations that seared through him as surely as his blood was searing through his veins.

Hot and relentless, building more and more, higher and higher, his lust seemed to know no bounds. It built feverishly, his hips thrusting faster, his shaft invading her body relentlessly as he rutted with almost helpless prurience.

He wanted her, needed her, felt like he wanted to brand her inside and outside with his seed, his taste, his touch. Dropping his head he kissed her hard, eating at her mouth, and she met him eagerly, her fingers twining in his hair.

Not wanting to arch far from her body but needing the extra power for his thrusts, he came up on his elbows, his forearms resting on the mattress as his hips pounded against her, his shaft sinking deep, the seed leaking from the tip.

Her body was so damned soft, a cushion for his hard planes.

He kept his gaze locked on her, his voice almost harsh as he ordered quietly, “Look at me.”

Molly opened eyes that were bright with passion, her lips swollen from his punishing kisses. She looked exactly what she was – a woman well ravished.

Even as he pounded harder into her, a distant part of him wished the light was on so that he could see her properly, that she could see him, that he could tell the true colour of her eyes and explore her body with nothing to hide her secrets from his hot gaze.

Pure carnal lust hazed over his distant thoughts when Molly shifted beneath him, causing him to change angle, his shaft almost sliding out of her. The cool air on his heated flesh only added fuel to the fire and he moved inside her again, sure and fast, stroking hard, his breath loud in the room, her moans a sweet goading to his senses.

The fire built hotter, his scrotum tightening, his balls so hard and full he felt like he’d burst. He could swear he felt the fire running through his shaft, swelling the head even more, and then he felt it, the first spurt of seed.

Almost at the same instant he felt the ripple of her sheath, the muscles clamping down on him, and it was his undoing. Sweet mercy, was it! His climax shuddered his hips, grinding him against her as she clasped him, her sheath milking his shaft mercilessly.

He rocketed over the edge of that carnal eruption, his hips jerking hard against her, once, twice, three times. Her cry of orgasm echoed in his ears as he soared out and splintered into a million delicious, fiery pieces.

~*~

Cherry knotted the tie of her dress around her waist while studying the man sleeping so soundly in the bed she’d just vacated. He slept like the dead, heavily and with not a worry in the world, it would appear. Lying on his stomach, his dark hair flopped rakishly over his forehead, his muscular arms bent and hands under the pillow beneath his head. The strong lines of his naked back, buttocks and legs were enough to make her lick her lips.

All that strength had been above her and inside her. Damien had taken her to a place she’d never thought she’d see, that was surely just a myth found in romance novels. Turned out it wasn’t a myth. She wondered if it was the same with all men, or just special ones. Or just with professionals.

Pushing her hair back over her shoulders, she checked her watch. The taxi would arrive in five minutes. She’d foolishly allowed her self to luxuriate in Damien’s arms, lying snug against him while he slept. For the first time in her life she knew what it was like to be held in a lover’s embrace. When he turned onto his stomach, thereby releasing her, she’d reluctantly and stealthily left the bed. The last thing she wanted was the taxi to toot its horn and possibly wake up Damien.

Placing the four hundred dollars on the bedside table, she took one last, long, lingering look at the slumbering man and then, with a sigh, she dropped the motel room key beside his wallet, picked up her handbag and crept outside, careful to ensure that the lock clicked into place behind her.

Outside it felt chilly, and she tilted her face to the sky to inhale the damp night air. She felt…different. Deliciously used, a little sore, satisfied but also strangely bereft. Then and there she decided that she just might have to book Damien again for another night a little later down the track. For now she was going to bask in the afterglow of her first time of sex.

The taxi came and she stepped out, holding up her hand. It slowed down and she climbed into the back. Giving her address, she settled back against the seat and closed her eyes.

The taxi driver tried a few times to initiate a conversation but when all he got was a couple of “hmmms”, he gave up and the rest of the trip was in silence.

Once inside her own home, she greeted the cats who simply eyed her sleepily from her bed and went back to sleep. Smiling to herself, humming a little tune, she went into the bathroom and slipped off her dress before stepping into the shower.

The smear of blood on her inner thighs made her smile wider.

She’d done it. She’d really done it! She’d actually made love with a hunk who literally shook her world.

Damn if she wasn’t going to do it again soon. Hot damn if Damien’s number wasn’t going to go on speed dial.

Okay, maybe not exactly on speed dial – God forbid her Mother tried to dial her ‘friend’ unknowingly - but she was certainly going to put that number in a really safe, private place.

Giggling, she fell into bed, much to the annoyance of Sugar and Frizz. Unable to sleep, she picked up the romance novel and started reading, but every sex or kissing scene in it led her mind right back to Damien.

When she finally fell asleep, her dreams were filled with hot green eyes, rakishly tousled hair, and such knowing fingers they had her moaning in her sleep.

~*~

Coming awake slowly, Rick winced at the dull throb behind his eyes. Overindulging in whiskey with his best friend wasn’t exactly the smartest thing he’d done yesterday.

Turning over carefully in the bed, he caught a whiff of a faint, fresh fragrance and took another, deeper breath. There it was again, faint and fresh, a scent familiar somehow, familiar because…He frowned and took in another breath. Familiar because – his eyes widened and he sat up with a jerk, ignoring the throb at his temples.

Looking down at the empty space beside him, memory came back in a rush. Tim telling him he had a surprise for him back at the motel, and the rubenesque woman waiting for him, so curvy and soft, with big eyes and cupid lips that begged to be thoroughly ravished by his marauding mouth.

Marauding was right. He could feel his blood rush just a little faster at the memory. Where Tim had found such a woman was beyond Rick, but he was going to find out, because he wanted to see her again. Some of Tim’s friends were dubious, but others Rick was more than willing to mix with, and the luscious woman who had shared her body with him was in that category. He couldn’t wait to find out who she was, and better yet, her phone number.

But first things first, he had a slight hangover to attend. Turning, Rick threw back the covers and swung out of bed, going straight to the bathroom for Panadol and a shower. When he got there, he frowned. His toiletries weren’t on the basin, his bathrobe wasn’t on the back of the door, in fact the bathroom was almost pristine, as though no one had used the shower at all. The towels were clean, hung up neatly, the soaps still in the little packets. He knew he hadn’t left the bathroom like that the night before, for he’d showered and shaved prior to the party.

Leaving the bathroom, he looked around the room in growing bewilderment. His clothes and shoes had been draped over the chair, his wallet on the bedside table. None of his belongings were anywhere in the room. He double-checked the wardrobe but it was empty.

Where were his things? Surely the woman – oh shit! Had she cleaned him out, robbed him while he slept?

Moving fast, he snatched the wallet off the table and checked it. No, his money and cards were all there, along with, strangely enough, a small stack of fifty dollar notes. He counted them, a full four hundred dollars. Weird, and getting weirder by the minute.

Frowning, his gaze fell on the key and he stared at it for several seconds while a growing sense of dread filled him. Reaching out, he picked up the key and turned it around. The number six was now a nine.

He was in the wrong room!

And if he was in the wrong room, then how had the woman been expecting him? Brow furrowed in concentration, he thought back to their encounter, and now he remembered that when he’d said Tim knew what I needed, she’d looked at him a little oddly and replied Tim? And that was all she’d said, because he hadn’t given her any time to enlarge upon the subject.

Oh bloody hell! She hadn’t been expecting him! Had she? But she’d seemed so willing, almost eager, though with a shyness that had touched him.

His gaze went to the bed. She’d been…what was that? He leaned closer, seeing it but not quite believing it. Blood. A smear of blood on the sheet.

The throbbing in his head was forgotten as he remembered something else. His entry into her had felt like a tight fist enclosing him. He’d forged onward, thrusting deep, a split second of something barring his way, and then he’d pushed through it. Her stiffening.

“Oh shit!” He straightened abruptly. “Molly Jones was a virgin!”

~*~

There was no pulling the wool over Susie’s eyes when she and Maxie came over the next day. Susie took one look at Cherry when she opened the door and practically leaped through the opening. “When, where, and with who?” she demanded.

Maxie meandered in behind her, her sandals scuffing on the tiled floor.

“What?” Cherry tried in vain to stop the blush creeping into her cheeks.

“You had sex!” Susie announced triumphantly.

“What?” Maxie looked from Susie to Cherry. “What do you mean? Are you sure?”

“Geez, Max, just look at her face.”

Cherry felt her cheeks flame hotter when Maxie flicked a glance at her and then peered closer. Her friend’s eyes widened. “Whoa!”

“Don’t try to deny it,” Susie added.

“I didn’t—”

“Cherry got her cherry popped!” Maxie punched her fist into her open palm. “Hot damn! Details, girl!”

“And don’t leave anything out.” Grabbing her by the arm, Susie practically dragged Cherry into the kitchen, pushed her down into the chair, crossed to the ’fridge and pulled out three Diet Cokes. Popping the tops on all three cans, she placed them on the table and flopped down in a chair.

“Hey,” said Cherry. “Make yourself at home.”

“Was there any doubt?” Maxie took a long drink of the Diet Coke and gave a small burp.

Arms folded on the table, Susie leaned forward and looked hard at Cherry. “You were going to tell us, right?”

“Ummm…”

“Cherry.”

“Of course I was. Sheesh.” Cherry rolled her eyes. “I just didn’t expect you both to come around today, so I wasn’t, you know…”

“Ready?” Susie supplied dryly.

“That’d be it.”

“Well, we’re here now, so spill.”

Picking up the can of Diet Coke, Cherry took several sips while trying to gather her thoughts for the most appropriate way to begin. And trying to control her blush.

“Escort agency?” Maxie queried.

“Yep. I did it.” Cherry bit her lip and kept her eyes on the can as she rolled the bottom of it on the table in a slow circle. “Hired a man for several hours.”

“And?” Susie encouraged.

“I met him at a motel. We had…uh…sex. I left and came home.”

“Oh no.” Susie shook her head. “That just won’t do.”

“Please?”

“Everything,” Maxie said. “You tell us everything.”

“Geez, Max, I don’t ask you to describe your sex.”

“You know what my lover looks like. Tell us what this man looked like. What was his name?”

“Damien.”

Maxie and Susie nodded.

“Um…green eyes, black hair.”

“Build?”

“Good.”

They stared at her.

“Better than good.” Meeting their eyes, Cherry flushed but grinned slightly. “Six pack.” Just the memory gave her a little rush.

Maxie grinned. “Six pack is good.”

“Very good.” Susie nodded. “How was the meeting?”

“He was very…not forceful. He was…commanding?”

“He ordered you?”

“No! He was…” Frowning, Cherry tried to think of the right word to describe his manner.

“Masterful?" Maxie suggested.

“Yes. But in a good way.” Unable to help herself, Cherry grinned a little self-consciously. “He took charge. I didn’t know escorts did that.”

“If that’s what you asked for, that’s what you get.” Susie smiled.

“I didn’t actually ask for that, but I’m not complaining.”

“Must be a real professional to know what you needed.” Maxie sighed dreamily and slouched back in the chair.

Susie tapped the table with her fingertips. “So, reckon you’ll hire him again?”

Cherry grinned and wrinkled her nose, and Susie laughed in delight.

A flat buzz came from Cherry’s handbag sitting on the bench and she stared at it for several seconds before realizing the cause. More than a little perplexed, she went to her bag and withdrew the pre-paid mobile phone. Flipping it open, she put it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Ms Jones?”

Ms Jones? This was a woman’s voice, so that must mean… “Helen?”

“That’s right. Ms Jones, I am so sorry about last night.”

“You are?” Puzzled, Cherry turned her back on her friends and stared out the window into the garden beyond.

“Of course. Damien was in an accident and didn’t make your appointment. I do hope you’re not too upset.” Helen spoke warmly, with just the right amount of business-like concern in her tone. “We didn’t find out until this morning, so of course I got straight onto your phone number. Please, be assured that we would normally let our clients know straight away if their appointment is not going to be met.”

Feeling herself go numb, Cherry’s hand tightened on the phone. “Damien didn’t make it?”

“No. As you would know.” Helen now sounded as puzzled as Cherry. “Ms Jones, are you all right? Did anything happen last night?”

“What time did Damien go to hospital?” Oh no, oh nononononono.

“He was on his way to meet you, the traffic was quite heavy, his flat mate said he got notice about ten forty-five.”

Oh no! This was not happening!

“Ms Jones? Ms Jones, I can reschedule you with another escort, I—”

“No,” Cherry said shakily. “No, I’ll ring you when I want another appointment.” Like never.

“Very well, but let me assure you—” Helen’s voice was cut off as Cherry snapped the phone shut.

Taking deep breaths, she turned it off completely and laid it down beside her handbag.

“Cherry?” Susie called. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh boy.”

“What’s happened?” Maxie half stood worriedly. “Tell us.”

Turning slowly, Cherry walked back to the table, sat down, and swallowed half the Diet Coke in several big gulps. Placing the can back down on the table in precise movements, she met the eyes of her friends’ in turn.

Susie and Maxie gazed back at her worriedly.

“Damien,” Cherry said slowly, “Is in hospital.”

“He had an accident on the way home?” Maxie asked.

“On the way to our appointment, actually.”

Confused, Maxie frowned. “But how..?”

Susie sucked in a breath. “If Damien was in an accident on the way to you but was taken to hospital, then…?”

“Then who the hell did I have sex with last night?” Cherry clapped her hand over her eyes. “Oh my God! I didn’t sleep with a male prostitute, I slept with a bloody complete stranger!”

Dumbfounded, Maxie and Susie looked at each other then back at Cherry.

“Shit,” said Maxie. “How much did it cost to sleep with a stranger?”

“Not the right time for that,” Susie cut in hastily.

“Four hundred dollars,” Cherry moaned. “I paid a complete stranger, who wasn’t a prostitute, four hundred dollars to have sex with me. Oh God, no wonder he said someone named Tim had mentioned a surprise!”

“A what?” Maxie was still grappling with the appalling news.

“He mentioned someone named Tim said he had a surprise for him – Damien, whatever the hell his real name is – and I didn’t cotton on – oh my God! Susie!” Cherry almost wailed. “I slept with someone who didn’t have a health check for all I know! Susie!”

“Calm down.” Susie hurried around the table to rub Cherry’s back. “Did he use a condom? Tell me.”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re probably okay.”

“Probably?”

“Now calm down. This isn’t so bad, this—”

“Who the hell did I have sex with?” Cherry looked up at her friend. “Susie, who did I have sex with!”

~*~

“Who the hell did I sleep with?” Rick demanded.

Tim looked up from where he was examining the small terrier. “No idea. But she sounds hot.” He grinned.

“This is no laughing matter, Tim.”

Rick watched as his friend placed the stethoscope on the bench and carried the dog across to one of the wire cages to place it carefully inside.

Tim marked something off on the chart on front of the cage. “You have to admit, it’s a nice fantasy come to life.”

“What?”

“You know. Mysterious woman.” Tim turned around and moved his hands in an hour-glass shape pattern. “Va-va-voom curves. Virgin.” His gaze turned thoughtful. “Kind of hard to find nowadays, actually. Didn’t think there were any virgins left.”

“There’s one less now,” Rick snapped.

Tim guffawed.

Rick rubbed his brow. “You’re sure you don’t know her?”

“Absolutely no idea. My surprise was you finding that packet of glow-in-the-dark condoms that must have fallen out of my pocket and into your car, not a luscious chick.” Taking pity on his friend, Tim gestured to him. “Come back to my office for a coffee.”

“I don’t think coffee is going to fix this.”

“Can’t have booze, I’m afraid. I’m on call tonight as well.” Tim winked. “Can’t all have wild nights with a mysterious woman.”

Rick followed him moodily, throwing himself into one of the big chairs and swivelling back and forth in it while watching Tim pour the coffee.

“You’re in a real knot over this.” Tim spooned sugar into both cups. “It’s not like you haven’t bedded women before.”

“I knew them, I chose them. This Molly Jones—”

“Fake name,” Tim said.

A muscle ticked in Rick’s jaw. “Possibly. There was a Molly Jones booked into room six.”

“Which wasn’t your room, as you found out.”

“But there was no phone number supplied and she paid for the room in cash.”

“Tried the phone book?”

“In a small city this size, there are amazingly few Molly Jones. None of them was the woman I slept with.”

“How do you know that? Did you visit them all?”

Rick felt the familiar frustration well up inside him. “One was an elderly woman, another was a child, and the third was a woman with what sounded like fifty thousand kids screaming and crying in the background who assured me that after what she was enduring, she’d cut off any man’s dick rather than risk becoming pregnant yet again, and then she hung up on me. It’s a safe bet none of those three were the Molly Jones I met last night.”

“Fake name.” Tim handed Rick the cup of coffee and went behind the desk to kick back in the chair, lifting his legs to cross his ankles and rest his heels on the desktop. “My friend, there are thirty thousand people living in this city. Finding her will be like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack.”

Didn’t Rick know that. Moodily, he contemplated the dark surface of the coffee.

“Oh ho!”

He looked up.

Tim was eyeing at him in astonishment. “You really do want to find her.”

“Hell yes. I want to know why she let a perfect stranger have sex with her.”

“Why worry? You had a great time.”

“How would you know?”

“Otherwise you wouldn’t be in such knots about it.” Tim took a mouthful of coffee. “Just let it go, Rick. You had a great night, count yourself lucky she isn’t hanging on your pants belt salivating at having possibly caught herself a rich doctor, and enjoy the memory. And get on with things.”

“Your mother really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

“My mother, Rick, is a bitch, as you very well know.”

“Not all women are the same.”

“Annabelle.”

Rick couldn’t suppress a shudder.

“Love ‘em and leave ‘em, my friend. That’s my advice.”

“Your advice is the worst. But you’re right, finding her will be almost impossible.” Sighing, Rick leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, inhaling the fragrance of expensive coffee.

“Glad you agree. Now what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Rounds at the hospital.”

“Exciting. Lots of nurses there.” Tim waggled his eyebrows. “And you know what they say about nurses.”

“Urban myth, my friend. And that I do know.”

“Yeah.” Tim sighed. “Damn it.”

Rick shook his head. “You need to find yourself a wife.”

“Not bloody likely.” Tim’s face was serious. “She’d have to be pretty damned special – exceptional, in fact – for me to even contemplate it.”

Rick studied his friend. Tim’s experiences with women hadn’t been good, and topping that list was his cold-blooded mother, followed by several grasping, greedy dates arranged by his mother when younger. Now Tim really did love ‘em and leave ‘em.

But Rick wasn’t like that, he wanted a special woman. He just hadn’t met the right one yet, and the voluptuous female from last night who allowed a stranger to have sex with her without even knowing his name certainly wouldn’t be suitable. So better to forget abut her and concentrate on establishing himself in the practice, and perhaps finding the right woman later on, the special woman who would be his wife and companion for the rest of his life.

And the voluptuous woman wasn’t that one, even if he could find her. Which he wouldn’t, because he wasn’t even going to try.

Rick joined Tim in moody silence.

Chapter Four

Her shirt clingingly wetly to her stomach and shoulder, Cherry made her way back to the nurses’ station. Maxie looked up and started laughing.

“Not funny,” Cherry said. “I should have known better than to let Mrs Gumfrey hold the shower hose.”

“Whatever were you thinking?”

“Obviously nothing intelligent.” Rounding the bench to stand behind it, Cherry took several tissues and wiped the side of her face.

“Other things on your mind?”

“No.”

“Huh.”

“There’s no ‘huh’ about it.” Cherry noticed the file before Maxie. “What’s happening?”

“The new doctor is coming in to review Leo.”

“What’s he like?”

“Demented, angry, and non-cooperative.”

“Not Leo, you ninny. The new doctor.”

“Never met him before.” Maxie glanced up as Susie stopped by the desk. “You look pleased.”

“The new doctor.” Susie fanned her face. “What a dish. I could lick him right up.”

Cherry rolled her eyes.

“He’s coming down the corridor now.”

Busy trying to absorb some of the water from her shirt with the tissues, Cherry only glanced up briefly when Susie and Maxie both sighed dreamily, but the sight was enough to make her freeze.

The man standing and talking to another doctor had only his silhouette visible, but it was like time had gone rushing backwards and she was back in the motel, looking out the window. Slightly dishevelled black hair that came down to his collar, a hank of it hanging rakishly over his forehead. A straight, autocratic nose. He turned face-on and started to stride towards the nurses’ station, his gaze only briefly passing over the nurses standing and sitting there, and she saw bright green eyes and a mouth that was full enough to be sensuous without being feminine. A strong jaw line.

“Oh shit!” Heart thundering, she dropped to her hands and knees behind the desk.

Maxie gaped down at her.

Gesturing wildly to her to stay quiet, Cherry reached up with one hand, grabbed the file, shoved it into Maxie’s slack grip and flapped her hand at her in a desperate signal to stand up.

Eyes wide, but understanding that something was wrong, Maxie stood up and leaned over the desk, placing the file on the top of it so the new doctor could take it, read the notes and write his spiel in it without having to come around the desk.

Obviously cottoning on pretty quickly that something was going on, Susie waylaid the other doctor before he could move around behind the desk.

Biting her bottom lip, Cherry could barely control her trembling fingers. The new doctor was the same man with whom she’d had sex! The stranger who’d taken her virginity and shown her a hot time, and how amazing sex could be!

He was the new doctor!

Oh my God! How much worse could things get?

The pleasant tone of his voice was the same, and she could shut her eyes and almost imagine that voice sweeping through her senses, his warm breath on her nape, those skilled fingers trailing down her arm – shit, no wonder they were skilled fingers - he was a doctor.

A doctor who came to the private hospital in which she worked. She was so screwed. So royally, majorly screwed.

Wringing her hands, she listened as Maxie spoke to the doctor, and then she heard him introduce himself to Maxie.

Rick Reed. Not a Damien, never a Damien, but Rick Reed.

She listened as he gave a last few instructions before walking away. She knew exactly when the coast was clear because a concerned Maxie squatted down beside her. “Cherry?”

“What the hell was all that about?” Susie demanded, coming around the other side of the desk.

“That was him,” Cherry hissed.

“Him who?”

“Him. The not-Damien. That was him.”

“The not-Damien? What are you…” Susie’s eyes widened. “Him? The new GP? That was him?”

“Rick Reed was the man you had sex with?” Maxie’s mouth fell open. “Him?”

“Yes! Oh my God, what if he recognizes me?” Grabbing a fistful of Maxie’s shirt, Cherry yanked her forward. “What then?”

“Get up, you two.” Susie nudged her with the toe of her shoe. “The Nurse Manager is heading this way. We’ll sort this out later.”

They both scrambled to their feet.

Cherry had no idea how she managed to get through the rest of the shift without falling apart, but finally it was home time. She managed to make it out the door by herself, but Maxie and Susie caught up to her in the car park.

“Curtis’s Coffee Café.” Susie overrode Cherry’s protests. “We need sugar-laden food and drink to absorb all this.”

“Why do you need it?” Cherry asked. “I’m the one who bedded the good doctor.”

“Good point,” Maxie agreed. “But not good enough. Let’s go.”

Curtis’s Coffee Café was situated in the main mall and as usual it was busy. Popular for its cakes and creamy drinks, they were lucky to find a table near a window. The harried waitress came and took their orders.

Once she’d left, Susie looked across the table at Cherry. “So. Rick Reed, local GP.”

“Shit.”

“He’s a hunk, I’ll give you that. I had no idea.”

“You think I did? Susie, I thought he was Damien!”

“Who he wasn’t,” Maxie pointed out. “But at least you now know who you went to bed with, right?”

“Yet somehow that doesn’t make it any better.” Dropping her forehead into her hands, Cherry moaned. “How am I going to face him? What if he recognizes me?”

“He probably won’t,” Susie assured her. “You said you did the deed in dimness, remember? You had your hair down, make-up on, sexy dress. At work you wear your hair up, barely any make-up, and by no stretch of the imagination could our uniforms be considered sexy.”

“She’s right.” Maxie patted her hand. “He won’t have a clue who you are.”

“You think so?” Cherry peered sideways at her. “Really?”

“Absolutely. Nurses are a dime a dozen to doctors. We’re the plebs, slavishly following their orders and jumping to their demands. They don’t actually notice us.”

“True.” Susie nodded to the waitress as their orders were placed on the table. “Besides, he’s probably dating some hot sheila who is so rich she uses pearl-inlaid toothpicks.”

“That makes me the ‘other woman’.” Cherry took a half-hearted sip of the chocolate cream drink.

“Or he’s looking for a hot woman.” Maxie nudged her. “Could be you, you know.”

Horrified, Cherry stared at her. “I can’t tell him who I am!”

“Well, I don’t know why not.”

“Because I had sex with him!” When the elderly couple at a nearby table looked askance at her, Cherry blushed and lowered her voice. “He didn’t know who I was, and I – you know.”

“To be fair, he didn’t know who you were, either.” Maxie took a bite of cake.

“What does that make both of us, then?”

“A perfect match.”

Susie drawled, “You’re making it worse, Max.”

“Just trying to point out a bright lining in this apparently dark cloud.”

Disregarding her, Susie looked at Cherry. “Look, it happened. Chances are good he won’t have a clue who you are and never will. Neither Max nor I will talk about this to anyone. Calm down, have your sugar load, and put this behind you as an interesting experience. Let it go.”

“How can you be so calm about it?”

“Because you’re blowing it out of proportion.”

A little hurt, Cherry stared at her.

Reaching across the table, Susie patted her hand. “Sorry, darling, but it had to be said. Trust me, this isn’t anything major. You’re getting yourself upset over something that won’t happen. Relax, settle down. We’re in a great café, eating great food and sipping great drinks. You had an awesome sexual experience, you found out who the man was, he has no idea who you are, and you hold all the cards. It’s in your power whether to inform him or not. You hold the power, Cherry, not him. Now stop worrying and start enjoying yourself.”

“Sometimes, Susie, I worry about you,” Maxie said. “You sound like a man at times.”

“I have five brothers, I know how they think. Men are simple creatures with simple needs.” Susie licked cream off her spoon. “Cherry, have I ever been wrong before when it comes to men?”

“Well…no.”

“And I’m not wrong now. So are you going to eat that cake or sniffle into your plate?”

Some of the weight had left her shoulders and she smiled. “The cake is mine.”

“Good. Eat up.”

“Maybe she had a sex change sometime in the past,” Maxie mused. “Maybe Susie is really Sam.”

Susie flipped her the bird.

“Definitely Sam in a former life.”

Listening to her friends ribbing each other, Cherry finally started to relax. It would be all right, she was over reacting. Rick Reed wouldn’t know her in the light of day, and even if he recognized her, no way was he going to acknowledge it. It was an encounter he’d probably forgotten by now. Besides, he hadn’t had a problem with having sex with an unknown woman, he probably did it so often he wouldn’t have a clue with whom he’d gone out.

Yes, she was worrying for nothing.

~*~

Coming into work the next afternoon, Cherry checked the allocation and found that she was on the medical ward. Susie had been working the morning shift on the surgical ward, and Maxie had the day off.

Readjusting the hairgrip holding her hair confined at the back of her head, she headed into the handover room and greeted her fellow nurses.

Taking the handover sheet, she chatted to the nurses until the handover tape was started, and then settled down, pen in hand, to jot down notes.

She almost froze when the name Damien MacAvoy was read out. It wasn’t the first name that jolted her, it was the rest of the information.

“Damien MacAvoy,” said the nurse’s voice on the tape. “Twenty five years old, came in on the twelfth. MVA. Under Dr Reed. Bruising and some cuts which have been dressed. He’s doing well, everything NAD. For review tonight and possible discharge in the morning.”

There was no freaking way it could be the same man! No way. No male prostitute would use his real name. Surely not. It had to be a coincidence, there was nothing more for it. A huge coincidence.

Her palms were almost sweaty, and then she realized something. If it was the same Damien, he had not a clue who she was or what she looked like, or even her real name. She was safe.

She was even safer when she found out she wasn’t being allocated to be his nurse, and with a sigh of relief she pocketed her handover sheet and pen and left the handover room.

There was no way she couldn’t see him during the afternoon, though. Beth, the nurse allocated to him, was caught up with another patient, so when Damien’s call bell rang Cherry answered it.

Damien was cute, no doubt about it. And young, so very bloody young in comparison to her. Ten years younger, in fact. Inwardly, Cherry cringed. Thank goodness she hadn’t met him that night, she’d have felt like a cradle snatcher.

He obviously knew he was good looking and he was a natural charmer. Cherry didn’t fall for any of it, remaining friendly but professional, keeping her distance and more than happy to let Beth have him all to herself.

Around the time Dr Reed was due to appear and do a review on Damien, Cherry made sure she was in the dining room having her dinner. Call her a coward, she didn’t care. In her opinion it was a very wise move. There was no sense in running a risk if there was a way out of it.

Coming back onto the ward, Beth took her chance to go to dinner, leaving the ward under the eyes of Cherry and another nurse.

And that was when Dr Rick Reed walked up to the nurses’ station and asked who was looking after Damien MacAvoy.

Cherry nearly fell down on the spot, and only her sense of self-preservation enable her to croak, “His nurse is at tea.”

“Fine. I’m running late. Come with me.” He glanced up at her, looked back down at the file, and then with a frown looked back up at her. “Do I know you?”

Why no, Dr, we’ve only had sex, that’s all. “Uh – no. No.” Hastily she picked up several files and turned away to the cupboard to place them on the shelf, all the while her heart pounding in her chest and feeling almost faint. He couldn’t recognize her, he couldn’t!

“Okay.” He sounded a little puzzled but walked around the desk with the file in hand. “How is Damien?”

“Fine.” She trotted behind him, almost swearing when he courteously slowed down, which meant he could look sideways at her if he wanted. Thank God for the bright hall lights, no shadows. “He’s only had paracetamol this shift for some aches, his observations are stable, and he’s doing fine.”

“Good.” He stopped in front of the room and gestured. “After you.”

He just had to be a bloody gentleman, too. Cherry entered ahead of him, wondering if he was seeing the roll of her ample bottom beneath her shirt. Telling herself not to think about it, she plucked the treatment file from the holder on the wall and handed it to him, moving back a little so that she was just out of sight.

“Evening, Damien,” he said to the younger man reclining in the bed. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Hot date?” Damien chuckled and laid the magazine aside.

“I wish. Work.”

“Work was what put me here.” Damien winked.

Cherry wanted desperately to be anywhere but in that room.

“So I understand.” Rick looked over the observation chart and checked the medication chart before handing it back to Cherry. “You’re good to go in the morning, Damien. You were very lucky to escape serious injury. Keep taking the pain medication as needed, and see me at the clinic in a week, okay? Any problems, see me sooner.”

“No worries.” The magazine slipped off the bed when he shifted, and he tried to reach down for it, wincing as he did so.

Cursing all men under her breath, Cherry quickly rounded the bed and knelt down. “I’ll get it.” She saw that it was partway under the bed and reached for it.

Damien was moving around, and his covers flicked out and caught on her hairgrip, pulling it askew.

Without thought she straightened, placed the magazine on the bedside table, reached up and released the hairgrip. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and she was in the act of gathering it up in one hand when she felt someone looking at her. Glancing up, she saw Rick watching her with an odd expression on his face. A slight frown, a hint of recognition as he scanned her features with a bright, green gaze.

Shit shit shit! Hastily she yanked her hair up and re-clamped the hairgrip, pulling the soft strands severely back from her face.

“Guess I’ll go back to work soon.” Damien laughed. “Time is money. I was on my way to a date, you know,” he added, transferring his gaze to Cherry. “Molly Jones. Have you heard of her?”

So much for confidentiality, Damien. Involuntarily Cherry looked at Rick, only to find the doctor’s gaze intently studying her. She blushed. “Um, no, I don’t know her.”

“That night cost me four hundred dollars.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” Damien shrugged. “Ah well. Plenty more where she came from.”

“I’m sure there is,” Cherry said tartly, a little stung by his cavalier attitude. “The phone must run hot.”

“Molly Jones,” Rick said slowly.

Cherry’s gaze flew up to his and she could feel the blood leave her cheeks. For an awful second she thought he recognized her, knew who she was, and she was surely going to faint, but she wasn’t the fainting kind and thank God he still had a faintly puzzled look on his handsome face.

“Anyway, if I’m going home in the morning I need to catch up on some sleep. Haven’t had much lately with all the pain.” Damien smiled at Cherry. “Turn the main light off on your way out, will you, sweetie?”

“Of course.”

Rick bid Damien goodnight and moved out ahead of Cherry. Thankful the ordeal was over, she flicked the main light off on her way out the room, only to find him waiting in the corridor. As he turned to face her, some idiot turned the passage lights off. The only thing lighting the corridor now was the dim light in the room behind her.

Total recognition flashed across Rick’s face.

Cherry quaked and took off in a very fast walk that was almost a run.

Beth came around the corner and snapped on the lights as she did so. “Sorry, Cherry. Leo got up and was wandering around, turning off all the lights. Oh, Dr Reed, good timing. Your other patient, Mitch, in room thirty four. He’s complaining of abdominal pain and I was hoping you could see him while you’re here.”

The doctor had no choice but to comply. Thank God for professionalism. Cherry continued on to the treatment room and leaned against the wall, her eyes closed and her breathing a little ragged.

Her nightmare had come true. Rick Reed had recognized her! Damn Damien for making her hair grip come out, and damn Damien for wanting the light off, and damn Leo for turning the corridor lights off. The dimness combined with her hair having fallen down – of all the dumb, rotten luck. She felt like crying. Rubbing her eyes with trembling hands, she moaned.

“Cherry?” Dropping her hands, she found the afternoon coordinator looking at her in concern. “You don’t look so good. Do you feel sick?”

“I – yes. My head pounds, and I feel really sick.” Really, really sick. She wanted to go home before Rick came back out into the ward and to the nurses’ station. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, she added, “I think I’m coming down with something.”

“I think you should go home.” The coordinator glanced at the watch pinned to her shirt. “It’s knock-off in another hour. We’ll hold the fort until the nightshift comes on. Get your things.” She’d obviously thought of something. “Dr Reed is here looking at some patients. We could get him to have a look at you while he’s here—”

“No!” Hell no! “No, honestly, I’ll be okay. I just need to go home to bed.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” The coordinator stepped back. “Will you be okay to drive?”

“Fine. Honestly.” Straightening up from the wall she was leaning against, Cherry left the treatment room and walked to the nurses’ station.

The coordinator checked the roster as they passed, forcing Cherry to stop in politeness. She almost died on the spot when she saw Rick and Beth approaching from the opposite direction.

Rick looked directly at her, his features grim as he mouthed ‘wait.’

Like that was going to happen.

“You have two days off from tomorrow anyway,” the coordinator said. “So if you’re coming down with something, it’s nicely timed.” She laughed.

Cherry didn’t think it was amusing.

Rick rounded the nurses’ station desk and looked directly at Cherry. “Sick, are we?”

To the stomach. She could barely meet his cool gaze. “Just a little something,” she managed, staring at his chin.

That very strong chin. That jaw line with the shadow of beard. The muscle that ticked in it. She gulped.

“Step into the treatment room,” he said levelly. “I’ll have a look at you.”

Oh God, that stirred up all kinds of images. He had looked at her, seen her, done things to her. Been inside her. Lifting her gaze, she met his eyes squarely and felt a flush of heat blossom in her cheeks. The bloody man knew exactly what she was thinking, she just knew by the glint in his eyes!

“Thanks, but not necessary.” In one swift turn, she walked quickly down the corridor.

She could feel his gaze burning into her back, but she knew there was no way he’d pursue her. He had patients to see, notes to write, and no gossip to stir up. She was safe. Until she came back to the hospital, anyway, and that was a problem for another day. For tonight and the next two days she could hide behind the safety of her closed door. And cringe and worry there.

Arriving home, she parked her car in the garage and went up the path to the house. Locking the door behind her, she greeted Frizz and Sugar, who met her and complained at not having been fed since midday.

“Yes,” she agreed dispiritedly, “You both have very hard lives.”

Dropping her bag on the hall table, she went into the kitchen, the cats meowing and twining through her legs. Placing two bowls of fresh, raw meat on the floor, she emptied and refilled their water bowl and watched them eat for several seconds.

No doubt about it, Frizz and Sugar had it good. Fresh food, fresh water, a soft bed, and they didn’t have to go to work or worry about making fools of themselves. Hell, they didn’t even care if they were fat or skinny, as long as they were loved and fed. What a great life.

Leaving them to their dinner, she went down the short hall to the laundry where she took her clothes off and dumped them into the washing machine to deal with in the morning. Her shower was lukewarm, just the way she liked it, but her mind wasn’t on the water or the fragrant soap. Her mind was on Dr Rick Reed and the problem looming over her.

It didn’t look like Rick was going to pretend he didn’t recognize her. He’d been almost challenging, his mouthed ‘wait’ a direct order he obviously expected her to obey. Not in this lifetime. The problem was, how far was he going to pursue this? Would he just give up? Decide after seeing her in the harsh light of - well, not day, but the electric lights – that she wasn’t really worth it? Why did he want her to wait? It certainly wasn’t to profess undying lust for her, not going by the grimness on his face. And it was that grimness that made her so glad she hadn’t hung around.

Drying herself briskly, she glanced at her face in the mirror above the basin. She was okay in a fresh, apple-cheeked kind of way, but there was no way she was a raving beauty. Nor a slim seductress, far beyond that, in fact. Rick, on the other hand, was handsome and built like a wet dream.

Feeling self pity well up, she pulled her nightgown on and went to sit on the end of the bed. Picking up the remote, she flicked on the small television and stared unseeingly at the late-night news. Thank God she was on days off and wouldn’t have to worry about facing Dr Rick Reed. She had two days to figure out what to do when they finally met again. By then, who knew, he might just be happy to forget about it and not refer to their little meeting. Once the shock wore off, she had no doubt he would be more than happy to forget about it.

Yes, she comforted herself as she lay down and flicked through the channels, once he got over the shock of recognizing her, he’d see the wisdom in not referring to it again. Life could go on as before and as long as she avoided him—

The phone rang.

Thinking it was the hospital ringing with a query, she picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Cherry Williams?”

“Yes?” The deep tones of the caller didn’t sound like any of the male nurses she knew.

“This is Rick Reed. I—“

Cherry practically threw the receiver back onto the cradle. Heart thumping, she sat on the bed staring at the phone. He’d actually rung her home!

Frizz jumped up on the bed and rubbed his head against her arm, purring energetically.

The phone rang again, the ring a persistent peeling. Was it her imagination or did it suddenly have a decidedly masculine burr to it? If it was Rick again, she could ignore it, yep. But what if it was the hospital? Reaching over, she flicked on the answering machine and waited, her heart bumping uncomfortably in her chest.

The phone stopped ringing and the message was clear. “Cherry.” Definitely a masculine burr. The deep tones sent a shiver through her. “We need to talk.” No, we don’t. “Give me a call on the following number and we’ll arrange a meeting somewhere.” He stated the phone number and rang off.

No way was she meeting him anywhere. Hands trembling, she picked up the receiver and dialled the number before her nerve gave out.

He answered on the second ring as though he’d been waiting for her. “Cherry.” The way that same deep tone sounded saying her name slipped through her senses and made her heart do crazy things. Cripes, she was going to have a heart attack any minute, but business first.

“Dr Reed, we have nothing to discuss. Forget the other night. I don’t want to talk about it. Don’t ring me again.” Dropping the receiver back in the cradle, she bounded out of bed, fled to the kitchen, pulled out a can of Diet Coke, popped the tab, and gulped down the fizzing liquid.

Sitting down at the table, she let out a long, unlady-like burp, and stared at the curtain-draped window. She felt numb. The man was ringing her to discuss the other night, she was so embarrassed she could just die, and how the hell had everything gone arse up?

“Susie.” It was her best friend’s fault, her and her cockamie idea of hiring a man for sex. “Bloody Susie.”

Grabbing a bag of chips from the cupboard, she ripped the top open, strode into the lounge, plunked down on the sofa and turned on the television. No way could she sleep now, and she needed to eat something nice and take her mind off Rick.

It did no good. She practically inhaled the chips, barely tasted them, and drank her Diet Coke. By the time midnight arrived, she’d finished the bag of chips and three Diet Cokes, and she still couldn’t get the image of Rick Reed’s handsome face and green eyes from her mind. For once she wished she was a drinking woman, but alcohol had never been her choice of drink. Damn it. She could certainly do to get blotto right now, only then God knew what she’d do. She’d seen Susie and Maxie do some crazy things when they’d had too much to drink. She’d probably ring Rick and arrange a rendezvous, only to meet him and rip his clothes off his muscular body and ride him until the cows came home.

Blood hell! Where had that thought come from?

Forcing the disturbing – though admittedly delicious - thought from her mind, she took a deep breath and focused on the movie just starting. Good, it was a horror movie, just what she needed to take her mind off Dr Rick Reed. Right now, she’d take ghosts and vampires over him.

Lying down on the sofa, she grunted when Sugar jumped onto her belly, and shifted over to make room for Frizz, who was demanding his share of attention. Watching the movie, she managed to push all disturbing thoughts to the back of her mind.

~*~

Rick knocked on the door then stood back and waited. He cast his eyes back down the garden path. The small yard was neat and tidy. Mainly some lawn, paving, and simple roses. Some pot plants on the veranda that were rather plain but flowering. Obviously Cherry Williams wasn’t a huge gardening fan, but she liked everything nice. The veranda boasted a swing chair and he imagined it would be pleasant to sit there on a summers evening. He had to remember to get himself a swing chair.

Turning back to the door, he frowned a little. The stubborn chit wasn’t answering. He knew she was home, a peek through the small window of the garage revealed her car parked inside. Faint music came from somewhere inside the house. A cat meowed closer.

He knocked louder.

“Cripes, Maxie, it’s only eight in the morning and my day off to boot.” The door was jerked open. “If it was Susie, she’d just use my spare key to get in. You need to get a key.”

Bemused, Rick gazed after Cherry as she walked back down the hall. The woman had opened the door while rubbing her eyes and pushing a wealth of thick hair off her face, and without looking to ensure who it was, she had turned away and gone back inside, leaving the door open and a tabby cat gazing up at him in equal bemusement.

“Meow,” said the big tabby.

Raising his eyebrows at the cat, Rick walked inside and shut the door behind him.

“What brings you out so early, anyway?” Cherry called from the room into which she’d gone. “I thought you’d be bonking Ben’s brains out, seeing as he’s home this weekend.”

Walking down the hall, Rick drawled, “I’m here to talk.”

There was a crash, a foul word, and then Cherry dodged back out into the hallway, her eyes wide and her cupid lips parted in shock. And not pleasant shock, either, which was a little unsettling, seeing as how every woman in his life had always been happy to see him.

Dressed in a nightgown that came down to mid-thigh only, her impressive bosom pushing out the lace around the low neckline most interestingly, she was a bewitching sight with her shiny brown hair tumbling around her shoulders and her blue eyes no longer sleepy. Cherry was enticing, all curves and softness, and he had a sudden desire to taste her again.

But business first. Tamping down the little flame that flared some heat into his groin at just the sight of her in a flimsy nightgown with her luscious body enticingly peeking out at him, he maintained a cool professionalism. “Hello, Cherry.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” she practically yelled.

“We need to talk.”

“The hell we do.” Her agitated breathing made interesting things happen to the bodice of her nightgown. “Go away.”

“Not happening.” He looked her up and down, outside coolly contained, inside warming up. Damn, the woman was mouth-watering and she didn’t have a clue. Or did she?

Cherry hunched her shoulders, obviously trying to make her nightgown dip lower towards her knees, and her cheeks were flushed. Hmmm, interesting.

“Go away right now,” she hissed, “Or I’m calling the cops.”

“Fine. You can explain to them that I’m the man you paid to take your virginity the other night.”

Apple cheeks flushed and blue eyes flashed in mortification, but she stood her ground. “You’re trespassing.”

“Oh, I know I did more than trespass.” Moving forward languidly, Rick observed in private amusement as she retreated. “I invaded you totally.” Her eyes widened when she bumped against the wall, but she couldn’t bounce forward, not when he was right in front of her.

Bracing one hand on the wall above her, he leaned down to lazily scrutinize her face. Her breasts rose and fell with every uneven breath she took, the front of the lace nightgown brushing across his shirt.

He could just imagine what it would feel like if it were her pink nipples brushing across his bare skin. Just the thought was enough to make his nostrils flare and his eyes close, and his intake of breath sucked in the delicious scent of her, the faintness of soap and powder and flowery scent.

In response, his shaft started to harden. And something was happening inside him, an awareness of—

“Dr Reed.” Her voice trembled.

Rick opened his eyes and ensnared her gaze with his. “Rick.”

She swallowed. “Dr Reed, I want you to leave. Now.”

“No.”

Her pupils dilated slightly in alarm. “Please.”

“No.” He continued to gaze steadily at her. “We have things to talk about.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do.”

“I have no intention—”

“You have several choices, Cherry. You can sit down and talk to me now, go and get dressed and then talk to me, or maybe we should just let our bodies do the talking.” Oops, he hadn’t meant that last part to slip out, but hell, it wasn’t so easy remaining cool and calm with her scent invading his senses, and her sweet curves so enticingly near him, not to mention the memories of those curves undulating against him…and under him.

Now Cherry looked panicked.

That didn’t do his ego much good, and to tell the truth, that intrigued him even more.

Taking pity on her, Rick placed his finger beneath her chin and titled her head back slightly. “Go and get dressed and we’ll talk. I’m putting on some coffee.” When those lush lips opened in surprise, he almost threw all caution to the wind to ravish her mouth with his, but he retained his control and straightened, taking a step away from her. “Go, Cherry. I’ll be waiting in the kitchen.”

Turning, he left her near the wall and went to the kitchen directly opposite. Crossing to the bench, he picked up the kettle and filled it with water. The whole time he could feel her gaze on him, but he ignored her. He’d just plugged in the kettle when he heard her curse. Grinning, he glanced over his shoulder to find her gone.

Searching through the cupboards, he found two mugs with pictures of cats on them, and the coffee. Placing them on the bench, he started for the fridge to get the milk, only to find his way barred by two tabbies. One was bigger than the other, and both were gazing up at him unblinkingly.

“Hi,” he said.

When neither did anything, he skirted around them to open the ‘fridge door. Immediately the big tabby stuck his head inside and looked around. The smaller tabby let loose a cry and twined around his ankles.

His parents had always had animals, so Rick knew exactly what they wanted. Picking up the carton of cat milk and a can of opened cat fish, he went back to the sink where the clean cat bowls sat in the draining board, dished out the food and milk, and placed the bowls on the floor next to the bowl of water. The big tabby ploughed into the food like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, but going by his slightly larger-than-should-be girth it was obvious he was far from starving. The smaller tabby ate delicately, giving several little ‘merps’ of pleasure.

Leaning back against the bench, Rick surveyed the kitchen. Café curtains at the window with bright yellow sunflowers on a white background, light-blue laminate bench tops created to look like marble, and white kitchen cupboards. The table was dark wood, the chairs had blue cushions. The room was bright and cheerful. Not much clutter on the benches, but a few assorted items that were used regularly and a vase of roses.

Curious, Rick crossed the small hall to check out the lounge. Just as he’d suspected, neat and homely without clutter. He’d bet her bedroom would be the same.

Her bedroom where she was getting dressed right now. He could just about imagine her in the nude, all lush curves. He had images of those lush curves, but only vague images. He could definitely feel them under his hands, but seeing them...he sighed inwardly. He hadn’t been able to see a lot due to the combined effects of whiskey and the dim lighting.

I’m sure as hell going to set that to rights.

Now where had that thought come from?

He returned to the kitchen. He was here to find out what Cherry had been up to that night, not pursue her, though… He gazed out the kitchen window at the plain lawn, paving, and yet more roses in the backyard, his mind ticking over. He was attracted to Cherry, no doubt about that, but circumstances being what they were, pursuing her wasn’t on the cards.

And if that was so, why was he here? Why didn’t he just forget the whole thing and walk away?

Because he wanted to find out what she’d been up to, why she’d given her virginity to a perfect stranger. Why she’d hired a male prostitute to do the deed.

Why did it matter to him?

Frowning, he poured two cups of coffee, leaving hers black and without milk or sugar because he didn’t know how she drank it.

He was still frowning when he heard her enter the room. Turning, he couldn’t stop his grin at the sight of her. Cherry was obviously in defensive mode. Dressed in pedal-pushers, a loose t-shirt, flat ballerina pumps, and her glorious hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was as mad as hell and embarrassed.

Her cheeks reddened when she looked at him, and marching across to the bench beside him, she poured milk into the cup and added two sugars. Looking at him, she raised her brows challengingly.

The chit might be embarrassed, but she wasn’t going to back down. Damn, he liked that about her. Almost as much as he liked her curves.

“What do you want?’ she asked bluntly.

You. On me, under me. Pushing the thoughts aside, Rick replied coolly, “To talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. The other night was a mistake that I just want to forget.”

“The other night left me with some rather decadent memories and your virgin’s blood on me.”

He could have sworn those apple cheeks were going to go on fire, they went so red. But she held her chin up and met his gaze steadily. “Everyone loses their virginity at some time. Big deal.”

“Not everyone hires a male prostitute to do it.”

“That’s my business.”

“It’s become mine since I was the one who took your virginity.” He could still remember how tight she was, how slick… Ignoring the flare of heat in his loins, he took a sip of coffee while watching her over the brim. “What happened to Damien?”

Almost slamming the mug down on the bench, Cherry stuck one hand on her hip and glared at him. “Look, that’s my business and I don’t want to talk about it. So you got to pop my hymen, big deal. Why the hell do you care? Why come here?” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you think I’ll be an easy lay, Reed, or that you can blackmail me.”

“Blackmail?” Keeping the surprise from his face, Rick continued to gaze steadily at her. One thing being a doctor in an emergency room had taught him, staying calm was paramount. “Blackmail is something I abhor.”

“Oh, so then you must think I’m an easy lay.” Teeth clenched, Cherry pointed a finger at him. “You might think I’m pathetic, Reed—”

“Rick.” Placing the mug on the bench, he folded his arms and arched one brow. “Do go on.”

“Stuff you, Reed!” She swung away.

Hooking his hand around her upper arm, Rick swung her right back around, steadying her with a hand at her waist when she teetered off balance. “We’re not finished yet.”

She slapped his hand off her waist and glared at his other hand on her arm. “Let go.”

“You’re very touchy about this whole thing,” he drawled, leading her toward the table.

In vain she tried to tug away from him. “What do you expect? You come barging into my home demanding that I tell you things that aren’t your business.”

It was no effort to whiz her around and push her gently down into the chair. “Stay there.”

It wouldn’t have surprised Rick if she’d bounced right back up, but when he returned to the table with both coffee mugs and placed one in front of her, she was just sitting silently, her lips tight and eyes a darker shade of blue with temper.

Hmmm, he wasn’t going to get any answers from her by tweaking her temper. Obviously embarrassment and anger were going hand-in-hand with this whole reaction, but he wasn’t sure why.

Sitting down in the chair opposite her, he relaxed back, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles. “Let’s start this whole thing again,” he suggested quietly.

“Let’s not,” she retorted instantly.

Taking a deep breath, he rolled the mug between his palms and glanced around the room, giving her time to compose herself. Two of his ex-girlfriends had both said his gaze could be unnerving at times. Maybe this was one of those times.

When he looked back at Cherry, she was taking a mouthful of coffee and he caught a faint flicker of her eyes. Surely that wasn’t sadness? A little startled, he frowned slightly.

Cherry lowered the mug. “Look, I was supposed to meet Damien the other night, all right? I hadn’t met him before, I didn’t know what he looked like, and so when you came to the door I thought you were him. Okay? End of story.”

“Not quite the end,” he replied. “When I awoke, you were gone. You left money on the table, and your virgin’s blood on the sheets and me.’

“Do we have to go over this all the time?”

“How do you think I felt?”

“You?” She blinked.

“Yes, me. This isn’t only about you, Cherry, it’s about me as well.” He shrugged. “I don’t usually sleep with women I don’t know.”

“You did that night,” she said tartly.

“Whiskey will do that to a man.” When her cheeks paled, he swore silently. “I don’t mean to hurt you. I was a little inebriated that night and when I got to what I thought was my room, I thought you were the little surprise my friend, Tim, had mentioned. I don’t sleep with women I don’t know, as I already said. You were the exception.” And a damned nice one, he thought.

Her gaze dropped to the table as she traced slow circles on the clean top with the bottom of the mug. She was so quiet that Rick thought she might just get up and walk away any second, but she surprised him.

Her voice was soft, almost inaudible, and she didn’t look at him while she spoke. “It was my first time, as you know. A male escort seemed…safe. I thought you were him. You mentioned someone called Tim, but I was sort of…” Her cheeks flushed again. “Caught up in the moment. That’s it.” She shook her head. “It won’t happen again, that’s for sure.”

“No, it won’t,” he agreed.

She looked up at him. “I beg your pardon?”

Rick wasn’t sure who was the most startled, Cherry or himself.

“What did you just say?” she queried.

Well, hell, what he was going to say was the truth, so he might as well just spit it out. “You won’t hire male escorts, Cherry, and you won’t sleep with men you don’t know.”

“Who are you, my father?” Outrage shone in her eyes.

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“I’m a doctor in your hospital, so it is my business.”

“Bullshit!” Surging to her feet, Cherry laid one hand flat on the table and leaned forward, stabbing her finger in his direction. “This has nothing to do with our working relationship. This is just you being a sticky-beak.”

“Our personal relationship.” He didn’t like fingers pointed at him, but he sure enjoyed the fire in her eyes.

“Of which we have none!” She stabbed in his direction again.

In a slow move, he stood and leaned across the table, meeting her halfway. She glared at him, and he arched one brow.

“Stop doing that,” she snarled, “Or I’ll slap it right off your face.”

“I wouldn’t try it,” he returned quietly. “Or I’ll return the slap, but it’ll be where you’ll feel it every time you sit down.”

Her lips parted in shock, her eyes widened.

“Oh yes,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to those cupid lips. “Don’t threaten me unless you mean to take the consequences, love.”

She was speechless for several seconds before stammering, “Don’t call me love.”

Rick looked deeply into her eyes. The blue irises were so clear, the lashes surrounding them naturally long and thick. Her scent flowed through his senses, warming him, and he could again feel those luscious curves beneath his palms, the silk of her skin beneath his stroking fingers.

And right then something happened to him. A feeling wove through him, an intuition. This woman was more than just a surprise, more than just a luscious female.

This woman is mine.

Hard on that knowledge came action.

Rick closed the small distance between them to capture her mouth, his lips hard on hers as he instinctively sought to brand himself on her, to brand her for every other man to know to whom she belonged.

She jerked back, but his hand reaching up to cup the back of her head prevented it.

Taking his mouth from hers, he looked her directly in the eyes. “I’ll call you Cherry, love, sweetheart, anything I like.”

“How dare you try to take advantage of me?” Her eyes showed twin flashes of panic and fear. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m your lover.” Oh yes, that statement just made the satisfaction curl right through him.

“My lover?” Shock wiped out all her panic.

“Your lover.” He couldn’t help it, he just knew his smile was a touch arrogant. “Your only lover.”

“Are you mad?” She jerked back from him and this time he allowed it, straightening up as she backed away.

“Some would think so,” he drawled. “But I’m known to follow my own instincts, and they’ve never steered me wrong so far.”

“What the hell? Did you drink whiskey before you came here?” She sniffed the air, her stance cautious, poised for flight. “Are you drunk?”

“You know better than that.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t know you, Reed—”

“Rick.”

“Reed. I don’t know you, I don’t want to, and I want you to leave.” She pointed to the doorway. “Right now.”

Smiling confidently, Rick moved around the table and strolled to the door. As he drew level, he stopped and looked down at her. “You’ll get to know me more, Cherry, and you’ll want to. I’m only leaving so you have time to digest those little facts.” Knowing he’d dropped enough bombshells for one day, Rick left the kitchen, walked down the hallway, and out through the front door.

Walking down the short pathway, he grinned. God, he felt good, better than he had for a long time. His work had occupied all his time, but now there was something – someone – more, and that was his future wife. He just had to convince her of that, and he would, because failure wasn’t an option.

And he wanted one more taste of her.

Wheeling around, he strode back up the pathway, onto the veranda, and knocked on the door.

Cherry yanked it open, her eyes flashing a warning. “What do you want now, you egotistical maniac?”

“A kiss from my lover.”

Grabbing her around the waist, Rick jerked her up into his arms and fastened his mouth to hers. One quick, hard kiss, a fast plunder of her mouth to fill himself with her taste, and then he released her, still floundering and trying to work out what the hell had just happened.

While she was still gaping up at him, he allowed a carnal growl to seep through his tone. “And we’re going to get intimately acquainted, Cherry. I’m going to feast my eyes on your delectable curves, I’m going to taste every inch of you, and I’m going to claim you in every way I can.” Placing his finger beneath her chin, her closed her mouth gently. “Get ready to be ravished, sweetheart. I’ll be back.”

He left her staring after him, and as he got into his car he heard her door slam shut.

God, he felt so good. Rick thrived on challenges, and Cherry was the biggest challenge in his life, and the reward of her at the end was just…God, he felt so good.

Chapter Five

Pacing around the house wasn’t helping put her scattered thoughts into any order, so Cherry headed out for a walk.

What the hell was Rick Reed up to? Kissing her and telling her – telling her! - that he was going to be her lover? So highhanded, amused at her shock and outrage, he’d simply told her and walked out, and then returned and kissed her again before finally leaving.

Feeling more than a little hot and flustered at the memory, Cherry turned her face up to the cooling breeze. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. A handsome man interested in her, plain fat old Cherry. A small smile played unbidden around her lips. More like a fairytale.

A fairytale.

Her smile faded as another thought occurred to her. Maybe he’d got caught up in the moment, a little pity, give the girl some pity kisses, make her feel special for a short while. Maybe Rick felt guilty.

Yeah, that had to be it. Rick felt guilt at sleeping with her. Her lips now turned down, a frown creasing her forehead. Probably he wanted to let her down gently.

But if that was so, he wouldn’t have told her he was going to be her lover. That kind of statement wasn’t letting someone down gently. That was giving hope.

Hope? Cherry tripped over a broken piece of pavement and quickly regained her balance. Hope? Did she feel hope?

Coming to stop in the middle of the pavement, she stared unseeingly into the nearby park. Sure, she had hope that one day some man might find her desirable, some man who would accept her, generous curves and all. Some man who would see past her physical appearance and know that she was a nice person, that she had a lot of love to give the right man.

That man couldn’t be Rick Reed. No way. Granted, he was everything a woman dreamed of in a man – well, apart from the startling caveman attitude – but not the kind of man she’d ever imagined would be interested in her.

But he had certainly seemed interested. He’d come to her house, he’d kissed her, he’d told her he’d be back to…a shiver curled right through her, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head before clutching low in her loins…ravish her.

Could a man like Rick really say something like that and not mean it? Could he be that cruel to play her along? He certainly didn’t seem that kind of man, he was no juvenile with cruel intentions. Not that she really knew him, but one could never be certain about everyone.

Still musing, she returned her attention to the pavement in front of her and started walking. Hearing a familiar voice, she glanced up and came to a dead stop. Not far from her was parked a dark blue BMW and beside it stood a tall, slim, blonde woman she recognized as Annabelle Forbes. Facing her was Rick. He was speaking very quietly, so none of his words could be heard from far. Even as Cherry watched, Annabelle reached up and laid one hand on his cheek. Rick also reached up, taking her hand and curling his fingers around hers, lowering that elegant hand to hold it in his as he continued talking.

Cherry shattered inside. Her heart dipped, her stomach lurched, and she felt the world tilt a little. Turning around, she hastily took the pathway leading into the park, moving quickly so that she could be hidden by the tall hedges.

“You idiot,” she muttered. “You fat, foolish, idiot.”

Rick Reed was meeting with the slim, gorgeous Annabelle Forbes. He wasn’t interested in Cherry, or only as a side fling. Screw the chubby chick for laughs, but concentrate on the beautiful and slim for the ever after.

“Hey, hippo!” A young male voice rang out. “Move your fat arse out of the way!”

She leaped aside and a bicycle went whizzing by, a lanky young teenager on it and his two friends following fast behind.

The last youth turned around and flipped her his middle finger. “Go home, fatso! Hide your fat arse! You’re hurting my eyes!”

They laughed cruelly and disappeared around a curve in the path.

Slowly, Cherry recommenced walking. Every hope in the day had leeched out, every secret enjoyment of the masterful kiss and words that Rick had given and spoken fading away under a haze of hurt. Normally she could shrug off biting words, but right now those cruel words from the thoughtless youths raked deep.

Reaching up, she wasn’t really surprised to find a tear on her cheek. It had been a long time since she’d cried. Seemed like the drought was over.

“Oh, my dear.” Cherry glanced back to see an elderly woman behind her. The withered hand reached up and touched her shoulder, concern in the wise old eyes looking up at her. “Ignorance is the bane of youth,” the woman said softly. “You’re a lovely soul, my dear. I can see it in your eyes.”

“I’m all right.” Cherry smiled, feeling it wobble on her lips. “Thanks.” She left fast before any more tears could fall.

The old lady called out to her but Cherry kept going, not wanting to break down and cry in front of her. She was horrified at the lump in her throat. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Stupid to cry when she knew those teenagers were simply ignorant, when she knew she was worth so much more. But something had broken through her little wall and now the dam was threatening to overflow, and she didn’t know why.

Yes, she did know.

Rick Reed, his words, his kisses, and his betrayal.

It was time to forget about him and everyone else and head for the sanctuary of her home and her beloved cats who loved her and didn’t care what she looked like.

Swinging out of the nearby gate near the taxi rank, she started back down the pavement only to be drawn to a halt by a now very familiar and unwanted voice calling her name.

Horrified, she looked around to see Rick hurrying up the pathway, his face concerned – yeah, right! – and standing not far behind him was the little old lady. Cherry was going to die of embarrassment, she just knew the elderly woman had told Rick what had been said, and now he was coming.

Oh shit, he was coming!

Panicked, not wanting to see or talk to the betraying bastard, Cherry jumped into the nearest taxi.

Startled, the taxi driver looked over the seat at her, his eyes taking in the tears on her face. “You all right, love?”

Hearing a muffled yell, and seeing Rick now running full pelt down the pathway, drawing dangerously close with every long-legged stride, she blurted out Maxie’s address and added “Fast! Now! Go!”

The driver’s gaze went from Cherry to Rick nearing the gate, and it was more than obvious he thought it was a lover’s tiff. Or something. Probably the something. With a shrug he put the car into gear and pulled out of the taxi rank.

Cherry caught a glimpse of Rick leaping over the fence and starting after the taxi, but the traffic closed in and she was safe. Slumping against the seat, she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, trying to still her pounding heart.

Any more of this shit and she wasn’t going to last the day.

Maxie wasn’t home, and Cherry sighed when she remembered that her friend had the early shift at the hospital. Sitting on the veranda, she contemplated her choices. She could go to Susie’s house, presuming she was there, or she could go into town and do some browsing. Or she could go home. She didn’t have much money on her, and she certainly couldn’t afford to take taxis everywhere. Her car was at home and she couldn’t avoid her own home forever.

After procrastinating for another twenty minutes, Cherry sighed and left her friend’s house. Crossing the street, she started the long walk home. By the time she arrived there, her feet throbbed. Flat ballerina pumps were cute, but hell for walking long distances.

A cautious peering around showed that no handsome, dark-haired, betraying doctor was lurking anywhere nearby, so she walked up the path, entered the house and locked the door behind her. Frizz peered lazily up at her from his upside-down position on the hall floor and she kicked off one shoe to rub his furry belly with her bare foot, smiling when his rumbling purr filled the air.

“You love Mummy, don’t you?” she said softly.

He scrunched his eyes closed in bliss as she continued rubbing his belly.

~*~

Refusing to pick up the phone when Rick rang, Cherry switched on the answering machine.

“Coward,” Susie stated bluntly after he’d left a message asking her to please ring him. “Just answer him.”

“He’s not worth it,” Cherry replied.

“Tell him to piss off,” Maxie suggested. “Bit of profanity might get through to him.”

“You think?” Susie snorted. “When a man has his sights set on getting back into a woman’s pants, nothing sidetracks him.”

“Delightful,” Cherry muttered.

“I’ll answer the phone,” Susie stated. “Give him a piece of my mind, the man-whore.”

Cherry glared at her.

“Oh, come on. I meant ‘man-whore’ as in he’s bouncing from you to Annabelle.”

“I hired a man-whore, remember?”

“Totally different scenario.”

“You’re not answering the phone, and you’re not talking to him about this stuff. This is between him and me, and you’re not to tell anyone or say anything.”

Susie rolled her eyes.

Cherry gritted her teeth.

“Susie won’t say anything,” Maxie assured her. “If she does, I’ll kick her arse myself.”

Susie blew out a breath and stared at the ceiling.

“What if he comes around?” Maxie queried.

“He won’t.” Cherry hoped.

“So, what? You’re not going to answer the door?” Susie crossed her legs and rocked her foot, the gold sandal caught by one strap on her big toe bobbing up and down. “You can’t hide forever, Cherry. You have a job.”

“He won’t do anything in the hospital, and by then he’ll also know I’m serious about not being interested in him.” Cherry tapped one finger against the tabletop. “I think me catching him with Annabelle showed him I’m no fool.”

“I still say I could sort him out for you.” Lower lip jutting a little, Susie bobbed her foot faster.

“I appreciate it, really, but I need to sort this out myself.” The phone rang and she jumped. Fortunately it was only telemarketing, so she ignored it.

“Oh yeah, you’re really handling it.” Susie took a self-satisfied sip of her coffee.

“Bitch,” Maxie said mildly.

Susie flipped her the middle finger.

Ignoring her, Maxie patted Cherry’s arm. “You’re doing the right thing. Ignore him enough and he’ll lose interest.”

“He wasn’t really interested to begin with.” Cherry ruthlessly ignored the little pang in her heart.

“Ignoring him will only make him more determined,” Susie warned darkly. “And he’s going to come around sooner or later.”

“He’s a doctor, he’s busy. Maxie said he was on-call this afternoon, so no chance of him coming around.”

“Saved by a sick person. Nice.”

“You just want a piece of him.”

“Bastard, playing one of my best friends like that.” Susie abruptly turned to face Cherry. “But I’m not sorry you went ahead and hired a male escort.”

“Hells bells, you can say that after all this?” Maxie protested.

“Hey, that was one mistake. It’s no reason to not hire a male escort again.”

Cherry’s mouth fell open.

Maxie shook her head.

“That Damien was a hunk, wasn’t he?”

“Also an unprofessional loud-mouth,” Cherry snapped.

“He was speaking to a nurse and a doctor, he knew you were bound by oath not to repeat anything.”

“Shouldn’t he have a similar oath, the little prick?”

Susie guffawed.

Cherry glared at her. “I should have given him his pethidine shot with a blunt needle.”

“The drawing up needle,” Maxie added.

“And put the thermometer where the sun doesn’t shine.”

“Maybe Rick will be a patient one day and you can have the pleasure of giving him that shot with the blunt needle.” Susie got up, filled the kettle and plugged it in again. “I’ll volunteer to insert the thermometer.”

Maxie rolled her eyes at Cherry.

“The man might be a bastard, but he has a really nice arse,” Susie pointed out.

“He does,” Cherry agreed without thinking, only to stop in horror and slap her hand over her mouth.

“And you’d know.” Susie leered and sat down again. “You didn’t tell us what he’s like in bed.”

“No, you didn’t.” Arms folded on the table, Maxie gaze was avid. “Spill.”

“What? No!”

“Oh, come on. You don’t owe him any loyalty now.”

No, she might not owe him any loyalty, but neither was she going to discuss every intimate detail. Every intimate detail that just the memory of still made her tingle down in her treacherous nether-regions, damn it.

“It was nice,” she said.

“Nice?” Susie raised her eyebrows. “You can do better than that.”

“Good.” Bloody amazing, in fact. She could still feel the strength in his arms, the shift of muscle beneath his smooth skin.

“Good?” Maxie repeated. “We want more than that.”

More? She’d gotten more all right. The heat of his hard body, the strength, the clean, masculine scent as he’d pressed closer, his breath warm on her neck, his lips—

“The man is a bastard,” she said briskly, folding her arms decisively. “As far as I can tell he was a good lover.” She stumbled a little over the word. “But as for character, he sucks. I don’t want to talk about the jerk anymore.”

Susie and Maxie exchanged looks.

“And you can stop that,” Cherry said sharply.

“You’re not going to tell us anymore?” Susie was disappointed.

“What about his donger?” Maxie persisted. “Is he well hung? He looks like he’s got a good body under those suits he wears.”

“Big hands,” Susie added brightly. “Long fingers.”

“Ooohhh.” Maxie feigned a shudder of delight. “Long fingers! All the better for stroking you, my dear!”

They had no idea, a little voice wistfully whispered deep inside her. Cherry shook her head in disgust. “Rick Reed is no longer worth my time to discuss.”

“Ah well.” With a sigh, Susie glanced at her watch. “Time for me to go, anyway. Robbo’s taking me out for tea tonight. I better get home and make myself beautiful for him.”

Cherry saw her out to her car and waved her off. Susie could be both annoying and funny, and Cherry loved her like a sister.

Maxie stayed for another coffee and to chat about her wedding plans with Cherry. She pulled out the bridal magazines she’d brought with her and they poured over the bridal gowns before Maxie turned to the pictures of bridesmaid’s dresses.

Cherry was relieved when Maxie pointed out the bridesmaids dresses she was intending to order for Cherry and Susie to wear. Plain lines, pretty colours, and with only a little flounce. Sure, she’d look like an overblown hourglass beside Susie, but at least she’d be passable.

The knock on the door caught her by surprise. Glancing up, she saw that it was eight o’clock. She and Maxie looked at each other.

The knock came again, and Cherry got up and started down the hall, only to halt when a voice called out, “Cherry? It’s me, Rick. I just want to talk.”

She froze in her tracks.

Maxie’s head popped around the doorframe. “Holy shit, is that who I think it is?”

“Cherry?” Rick knocked again. “I know you’re in there.”

“He’s a freaking stalker!” Maxie reached for the telephone.

“Who are you calling?” Cherry hissed.

“The cops.”

“Are you mad? No!”

“Cherry, he’s knocking on your door.”

“Calling three times and knocking on the door once doesn’t make him a stalker.”

Maxie gave her a funny look. “So answer the door.”

“No.” Cherry grabbed Maxie and thrust her towards the door. “I’m out of town; you’re minding the cats and the house for me.”

Maxie’s mouth fell open.

“Get rid of him,” Cherry hissed, and bolted to her bedroom.

Closing the door quietly, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes. What the hell was she, a timid teenager? She should have just answered the door and told him to rack off in no uncertain terms. Instead, she was hiding in here while her friend did the deed for her.

Cripes, she was pathetic.

Hands trembling a little, heart pounding a lot, she strained to hear. Faintly came the deep rumble of a male voice, followed by the lighter tones of Maxie’s. The rise of a question, the lowness of an answer. Several more words, a pause, and then the door shut. Seconds later came the thump of a car door.

Maxie opened the bedroom door and Cherry staggered back out, arms wind-milling to keep her balance. She smacked up against the hall wall.

“Lover boy is gone,” Maxie announced. “He’ll be back, though.”

“But not tonight.” Cherry straightened.

“Not tonight. You can’t hide from him forever, Cherry.”

“I know. I know. I’ll face him…another day.”

Maxie sighed. “You have to sort this out.”

“I will.” Shoving one hand through her hair, Cherry screwed her eyes shut. “Bloody Susie!”

“Susie may have unwittingly caused some of this, but you’re also to blame.”

“What? How am I to blame?”

“You didn’t ask his name when Rick came to the door,” Maxie pointed out. “You could have let in an axe murderer, dummy. You always ask the name of a person before letting him inside.”

“Who are you, my mother?” Cherry scowled. “Bloody Rick thinks he’s my father, and you act like my mother.”

“Rick acted like your father?”

“He said it was dangerous to sleep with men I don’t know.”

“He’s got that right.”

“Now you’re on his side?”

“Hey, don’t start on me, sister.” Maxie held her hands up, palms out. “I’m just saying.”

Cherry gazed at her for several seconds before she sighed and leaned back against the wall. “You’re right. It is partly my fault. This is my mess and I need to clean it up.”

Relaxing, Maxie laid her hand on Cherry’s shoulder. “On the plus side, he is kind of cute.”

“Max!”

“Just saying.” Smiling, Maxie headed back to the kitchen. “Come on, help me decide on the colours of these bridesmaids dresses.”

~*~

Gazing unseeingly at the far wall, Rick wondered when he was going to catch a break. Cherry was avoiding him, refusing to answer her phone and even leaving town, for God’s sake. Why? Was he such an ogre she couldn’t even bring herself to talk to him?

It had been a different matter with Annabelle. The Barracuda wanted him, she’d made that perfectly clear. There he’d been, explaining nicely to her that there was going to be no dinner date, that he was seeing someone else, and she’d reached up and stroked his cheek and told him that she was the woman for him.

He shuddered inwardly. Annabelle was beautiful, no doubt about that, but she was a cold fish. Now Tim would find that comparison funny – The Barracuda being a cold fish – but Rick wasn’t hugely amused. He had a feeling that Annabelle wasn’t finished pursuing him yet. A woman like that never gave up the prize without a fight. He just had to keep that fight from finding its way to Cherry.

The way things were going, he wasn’t going to find himself with Cherry any time soon, either, but by God, he wanted to be with her.

Crossing the street to his car, he’d seen Cherry walking down the pathway in the park and he’d followed, his heart lifting at just the sight of her. Too far behind for her to hear him, he’d quickened his pace to catch her up, only to be stopped by an elderly woman who’d told him, in an indignant and wavering voice, that teenagers were cruel at times, and the poor lady ahead had been called some nasty names, and after all, it probably wasn’t her fault she had a weight problem.

That had been enough information to make him speed up after Cherry, angry at the thoughtless cruelty of some people, and wanting to gather her into his arms and give comfort, but when he’d called out her name once he was finally within hearing, she’d taken one look at him and dived into a taxi.

She was avoiding him. Why? Sure, he’d come on strong to her, even Tim had been awed by that little tid-bit when he’d told him, but to avoid him like this was ridiculous. He wasn’t that bad. In most circles he was considered a catch. Many women, especially those of The Barracuda’s ilk, would be thrilled to have him chase them.

Rick was no conceited jerk, just a realist.

Swivelling the chair back and forth, he glanced at the clock, pleased to see that he had a few more minutes before his first patient was due. His mind went back to the puzzle of Cherry.

It was pretty basic, to his way of thinking. He wanted her, he was determined to have her, and she didn’t want a bar of him for some reason. The solution was pretty basic, too. He had to change her mind any way he could, and that included underhanded tactics if required. For that, he might have to get Tim onboard, but for now he’d try it his own way. He just wasn’t sure what that way was just yet, but he was confident he’d find it. All was fair in love and war, as the saying went.

“Dr Reed.” The receptionist’s voice over the intercom interrupted his thoughts.

“Here.”

“Mr. Brandon, your first patient, has arrived.”

“Send him in.” With a sigh, Rick sat up and straightened his tie. The wonderful, intriguing, maddening puzzle of Cherry was going to have to wait awhile.

Damn it.

Pasting a smile on his face, he greeted the first patient through his door.

~*~

Closing the door of the hotel room behind him, Rick threw his suit jacket over the back of a chair and pulled out the iced coffee from the ‘fridge. Pouring himself an oversized glassful, he took several deep gulps and then rolled the cold glass across his forehead.

Thank God a trying day had finally ended. Thank God he wasn’t on-call tonight, and thank God he had the next few days off work.

Several of his patients were repeat offenders – they didn’t take their medications properly and whined about the expected results, one smoked like a chimney and was in danger of coughing up her lung but still complained that he, the doctor, wasn’t doing enough to control her asthma, and another client kept bringing her son in with health issues that weren’t there, and that could be cause for concern. That particular patient would bear close monitoring. Maybe she was just an overanxious mother, but one never knew and it paid to be careful. Keeping an eye on both of them cost nothing.

Then came his hospital round. He’d known that the nurse called Susie was a friend of Cherry’s. He’d found out just how much of a friend. She’d given him the cold-eye and been frostily polite as soon as she’d walked into his presence. Any frostier and his balls would have shrivelled. The nurses’ roster had been sitting behind the desk, and he’d thought he’d been rather cunning to sit beside it with the inpatient file so he could cast a discreet glance over the roster to find out when Cherry was next on duty. Obviously he hadn’t been discreet enough, because Susie had dumped a pile of files right on top of it and given him that frosty smile that told him she thought he was a piece of shit.

He admired her loyalty, but he could really have done to have her on his side. He’d smiled charmingly and her smile had gone from frosty to frozen. His testicles had practically shot up inside him. Whatever Cherry had told her about him, it obviously hadn’t been complimentary.

Maybe he’d made a huge mistake. Maybe stating his intentions so boldly hadn’t been wise, but he’d always been a straightforward bloke, stating his intentions and then going single-mindedly for it. Once his mind was made up, he was focused.

His mother said it made him successful, his father said it made him stubborn, and his sister said it made him annoying. Tim said in regards to pursuing Cherry, it made him a possible stalker. Rick preferred his mother’s opinion.

Yanking his tie loose, he let it hang down the front of his shirt while undoing the top buttons of his shirt. Pulling it open, he took a deep breath.

Maybe he should start with flowers. In his experience, women liked flowers. They also liked expensive presents, but he had the feeling that wouldn’t cut it with a girl like Cherry. Not his Cherry.

His Cherry. That sounded good, and he spoke it allowed, enjoying the sound of it.

Hmmm…maybe he was turning into a stalker.

After downing the rest of the iced coffee, he rinsed out the glass in the bathroom and returned it to the little cupboard above the microwave. One bright spot to the day, at least this was his last night in the hotel room. Tomorrow he was shifting into the house he’d signed up to rent. The paperwork had been completed before he’d arrived at the city and now he could finally move in.

He showered quickly and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Pulling on socks and sneakers, he debated whether to have something to eat before heading over to Cherry’s house in the hope of catching her there, or whether he should go over first and then eat. Maybe he could convince her to have a casual dinner with him somewhere. Yeah, that’d be the go. He frowned. Or should it be somewhere a little more tasteful?

A knock sounded on the door and he crossed to it. Opening the door, he found himself face-to-face with his sweet mental tormentor standing there in all her voluptuous glory, and with a scowl on her face to rival any constipated, cranky patient.

God, she looked cute. His spirits rose instantly. Grinning, he leaned against the doorframe. “Hello, love.”

“Don’t call me love,” she replied tartly.

“Sweetheart.”

“Don’t.”

“Sugar?”

“Listen, Reed—”

“Rick.”

Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “If you’re going to be a pain, I’m leaving.”

Not bloody likely. Rick quickly stepped back and gestured. “Please don’t. Come in.”

“I don’t think this warrants coming inside. Now, I—”

Rick effectively cut her off by stepping to her side, placing his hand on the small of her back, and starting to usher her into his room.

She stiffened and started to dig her heels in. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Being civil,” he replied cheerfully, exerting more pressure on her back. “Offering you a drink. Taking you inside rather than leaving you on the footpath for everyone to gawk out.”

“There’s no-one gawking.”

“My mother brought me up better than to be uncivil. And the old couple three doors down are watching from their car.”

Cherry glanced around and it was enough distraction for Rick to push her through the door. Prudently he left it open and stepped around her, going to the ‘fridge and pulling out the iced coffee. Turning to her, he lifted his eyebrows in silent query.

“You’re an arse,” she stated flatly. “There was no one watching. What are you, five years old?”

“Thirty six, actually.” He poured a glass of iced coffee. “Sure you don’t want one?”

“No.”

“Iced chocolate it is, then.” Returning the iced coffee to the ‘fridge, Rick took out the container of iced chocolate and poured some into a clean glass.

“I don’t want an iced chocolate,” she returned sharply.

“My mother would slap me silly if I didn’t offer a lady a drink.” Rick handed her the glass, amused when she grabbed it and glared up at him. Clinking his glass against hers, he said, “Bottoms up.”

He’d love to see her bent over a kitchen table with her bottom up. Oh yeah.

Taking a sip, he watched her closely.

Cherry took a deep breath and there went that frilly lace across her breasts, rising up enticingly. Looking around to put the glass down, she began again, “Reed, we need to talk—”

“Glad you think so.” Catching her arm, Rick nudged the door shut with his foot and steered her over to the little table. “Let’s get comfortable.”

“Will you let me finish?”

“Of course.” Sitting across from her, Rick laid his ankle across his knee and rested one arm on the table, his fingers slowly running up and down the cold exterior of his glass. “You were saying?”

Cherry pushed the glass of iced chocolate away. “We need to talk.” She paused, obviously expecting him to again interrupt.

Encouragingly, he nodded, fascinated by the faint blush that rose in her cheeks. She was so damned cute it made his heart swell. The lace on her shirt that rested right across her ample bosom rising and falling a little agitatedly made his dick swell, too, but that would have to wait for another time. Hopefully not too far in the near future. Like ten minutes time.

Dragging his thoughts from that delightful contemplation, he focused on her face.

“Reed,” she began, only to scowl when he grinned at her. “Reed, I don’t appreciate you ringing me or knocking on my door. I want you to stay away from me.”

“But you came to me,” he couldn’t help pointing out.

“I thought I better come and straighten you out in person.”

“Always delightful. You can come and straighten me out any time.” She made to stand up and he realized he may have pushed her a little too far. Mentally telling himself off for teasing her, he leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “Wait. Let’s start this again.”

“Let’s not.” She looked pointedly down at his hand on hers.

Knowing this was his one chance to make her listen, he said quietly, “Cherry, I promise to stop teasing, all right? I just want to talk.” For now. Later…

She looked dubiously at him.

“Just sit and talk, Cherry, that’s all.” Releasing her hand, Rick sat back, his gaze holding hers. “Please.”

She chewed that lush bottom lip, making desire shoot straight through him, but he manfully pushed the desire away, tamping it down where his lust simmered, and maintained a friendly façade. Picking up his glass, he took a sip of the iced coffee. “A cold drink after a hard days work. Just spare me a few minutes and tell me what’s on your mind. I promise not to interrupt.”

Slowly she sat down and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Picking up the glass, she took a sip of the iced chocolate and a brief flash of pleasure crossed her face. He vowed then and there to always keep a carton of iced chocolate in his ‘fridge for her.

“Nice.” She took another sip before placing the glass back on the table.

“I think so.” He waited, silently amused when she suddenly didn’t seem to know what to say or how to proceed.

Then she chewed that lush bottom lip again and he thought his dick might explode from behind the jeans zipper. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t far off the truth. Manfully dragging his thoughts from that titillating thought, he took a much bigger mouthful of iced coffee and continued to politely wait for Cherry to start speaking. Personally, he now felt like dragging her off to bed, but he’d made a promise and he prided himself on keeping promises. Afterwards, however…

Cherry cleared her throat and he waited, mentally tamping down yet another surge of desire. Cripes, he should get a medal for all this tamping of his passion.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other,” she finally said.

This he expected. “Why?”

“Because I don’t like being made a fool of.”

“Okay, this he didn’t expect. “I don’t understand. What have I done to make you think that?”

Those blue eyes narrowed a little. “I saw you with Annabelle Forbes.”

“Annabelle? She means nothing to me.”

“Oh, really? I saw you together, her hand on your face, you holding her hand. It didn’t look like nothing to me.” Her chin lifted, which he immediately thought was adorable.

“I can explain that.”

“That’s the corniest line I’ve ever heard.”

Rick actually blanked out for a second. “What?”

“I’m sure that particular line has been in just about every romance book I’ve ever read.”

“You read romance books?” Spicy? Erotic? He was dying to know.

“None of your business.”

“You sure?”

Her lips tightened.

Remembering how flighty his little Cherry was, Rick quickly returned to the original topic. “I met Annabelle in the street and told her that our dinner date was not going to happen. She tried to change my mind, I tried to let her down gently.” He frowned a little at the memory, then shrugged. “She didn’t take it too well, but you obviously didn’t wait around to see that part.”

“What did she do?” Cherry immediately bit her lip. “Forget it, I don’t want to know.”

“She wanted to know why, I told her I had met someone, and she, well, let’s not go into it. Suffice it to say that any hope she had of us getting together is over.”

Her gaze dropping to the glass on the table, Cherry was silent for several long seconds before murmuring, “That someone else you met, that someone you broke up with her over…”

“Is you.” When she remained silent, Rick reached over the table to lay one hand over hers. “We were never an item, love. She wanted it, I didn’t. It was a dinner date she forced on me, so breaking it wasn’t a problem. You, however…” She didn’t look up but when she went to withdraw her hand he tightened his hold, preventing her from sliding away. “You, I’m deadly serious about. I want us to be an item. I want to have dinner with you, I want you to get to know me.” When she didn’t respond, he squeezed her hand gently. “Cherry, look at me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Her sigh was accompanied by a slumping of her shoulders, and when she lifted those thick, black lashes so her gaze could meet his, he was struck by the sadness in them. “Don’t play me for a fool, Rick.”

“I’m not playing you for a fool.”

“Men like you don’t go out with girls like me.” Tugging her hand from his, she stood up. “I’m not that desperate that I’d fall for this. Goodbye.” Turning on her heel, she strode for the door.

He was out of his chair and leaping after her in seconds. Catching her arm, he swung her around. Transferring his grasp to her shoulders, he pulled her against him and looked fiercely down at her. “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”

“I’m leaving.”

“No. That crack about men like me don’t go out with girls like you. What’s that about?”

“Come on, Rick, stop with the innocent routine.” Her eyes flashed fire, colour mounting in her cheeks. “All right, let’s be blunt about this—”

“Oh, please do.”

“Fine. You have women panting after you, I’m just a friend to men.”

“That last part doesn’t even make sense. What are you on about?”

“I’m fat. There, you got me to say it. Happy?”

A small spark of anger flared. “Now who’s acting like she’s five years old?”

“It’s true.”

“And on what grounds do you make such a stupid statement?”

“Experience.”

“You mean those idiot teenagers in the park calling you names? I thought you had better sense than that.” He added as an after-thought, “Though I’d have kicked their arses for them right then and there if I’d been present.”

“Experience in that I’ve stood by and watched men take out the slim, pretty girls on dates. I got the laugh, the shoulder slap, the ‘See you later, Cherry. You’re such a pal.’ Not one man was interested in me when I stood next to a more, shall we say, yummier version of the female variety.”

Rick couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

That only made her angrier. Humiliated, she shoved him hard. “Laugh it up, you dick! You men are all alike!”

“Wrong.” He chortled. “We’re not all alike. Hell, Cherry, you can’t just say what you did and think I’d not find it funny.”

“You think it’s funny no man was interested in me?” She tried to pull from his grasp but he refused to release her.

“No, I think your ‘yummier version of the female variety’ is funny.” Seeing the humiliation still making her cheeks red, he sobered. “You’re not kidding. You really believe that shit?”

“What, you don’t?”

“No.”

“Come on, Rick. When faced with two women, one fat and the other slim, you’d take the slim woman.”

“To argue this, I could say something that’ll get my face slapped.”

“Don’t stop now. You’ve got a whole lot of slaps coming your way.”

“That’s not very encouraging.”

“But truthful.”

“Then let’s go for it. I’d choose you.”

“The fat one?” Her tone was filled with derision.

“The one who caught my attention.” He gave her a little shake. “You stubborn little chit. I’m not interested in other women, regardless of their shape. I’m interested in you, regardless of your shape.”

“Pfft.”

He sighed. “What’ll it take to convince you?”

“Nothing you can say.”

Gazing down at her, he arched one brow. “Really?”

She lifted her chin.

A slow smile curved his mouth.

Her eyes narrowed.

She was so warm against him. Every breath she took he felt, that magnificent bosom pressing against his chest, and her faint, sweet scent stole through him. Heat flickered inside him, starting low in his loins and spreading out in rapid warmth.

Rick lowered his head towards her. “So nothing I say will convince you?”

Her eyes widened.

Sliding one hand from her shoulder to lie across her lower back, he cupped his other hand around her nape. “Maybe you trust actions more than words, my sweet little Cherry.”

“Oh no.” She started to back away, only to stop when his muscles locked and she found herself unable to move without struggling. “Rick, don’t you do this. Don’t you—”

He caught her mouth, muffling her words, and proceeded to kiss her. Deeply. Hotly.

Christ, she was so soft. So soft and warm and sweet. Her lips were soft, her skin soft, her hair tickling his hand soft. Her curves were soft. She was just so damned soft he wanted to sink into her and never again come up for air.

Her struggle was brief, her surrender fast. Her lips opened to his marauding mouth, and she moaned when he swept inside to taste her. The flavour of hot honey, decadent and sweet all at once, she burst upon his tongue and he wanted so much more.

His shaft thickened, hardened, pressing demandingly against the soft swell of her stomach, and he couldn’t stop his hand from sliding down from her waist to cup one generous buttock, his fingers spreading to flex and squeeze the globe.

Heat flared through him and he swore her curvaceous body was forever imprinted on his harder flesh. Her scent, her flavour, her softness, it seeped into him and fed his desire until it was so hot he could barely think, and he grabbed the hem of her blouse and started to tug it up.

When her hands gripped his wrists and her protests finally penetrated his haze of heat, he stopped, his hands unwilling to still but his mind taking control. Sluggishly, true, but taking control nevertheless.

Cherry’s eyes were dark with desire, but wariness warred there as well. “No.”

“No?”

“No.” Her hands on his trembled as she fought the desire that burned between them.

“Why?” Taking a deep breath, he lowered his forehead to rest against hers and gazed directly into her eyes. “You feel this passion between us, Cherry, why do you deny it?”

“I…” She licked her lips, so swollen from his kisses, so red from his mouth, and it made him want to taste her again. “I don’t believe…”

Shit. He closed his eyes. “You don’t believe I want you.”

“No. Yes. I mean, no, I don’t believe you want me.”

“Even with this boner I have?”

“That’s crude.”

“But true.”

He could feel her trembling against him and he cursed every twisted idea of beauty that taunted larger women every day, from every media article both in magazines and the television.

“Let me go.” Her voice shook.

Taking another deep breath – any more deep breaths and he was certainly going to start hyperventilating – Rick opened his eyes and lifted his head. Sliding his hand slowly up her back, he felt her tremble under his touch and it made him even more determined.

Placing his palms each side of her throat, he rubbed his thumbs against her cheeks. “You want the truth, Cherry?”

Silently she looked up and the pain in her eyes clawed at him. The stubborn chit was waiting for a nasty remark. She was in for a surprise.

Always one to believe in blunt honesty, Rick wasted no time. He spoke quietly, authority in his voice as he looked her directly in the eyes. “Do you remember that night when I said Tim knew just what I needed?”

She stiffened.

“Don’t.” He allowed the thread of steel to seep into his tone. “I said that because I love voluptuous women. Tim knows that. He knows I love a woman with curves, with softness. I love the rubenesque figure. It’s womanly. Sweet. Seductive. I thought he’d sent you to my room because he knows my preference. However, Cherry, you are more than that, more than a preference. I love your full body, your curves, your figure. But it’s you I find intriguing. Your fire, your stubbornness, your sweetness, your shyness, your nature. You. Does that say it all?”

Having bared his innermost thoughts, he waited.

Cherry licked her lips.

Jesus, she was going to be the death of him. Baring his innermost thoughts was one thing, but when she did things like that his male drive wanted to take over and throw her on the bed so he could pound into her and revel in that softness. Knowing that wasn’t what she wanted or needed right now, he kept his steely resolve.

Heaven surely had a place for him. He’d racked up enough points around her to last him at least the week.

“Cherry,” he prompted quietly.

She glanced away.

“Look at me,” he insisted. “You owe me that.”

Her gaze flashed up to his. “I owe you nothing.”

“Wrong. I told you exactly how I feel. You owe me the same.”

She was silent for so long that he thought she wasn’t going to answer, but suddenly she sighed and all the fight seemed to go out of her. “I can’t believe you. How do I know you aren’t playing me? How do I know this isn’t just some game for you to amuse yourself?”

A flicker of anger was squashed beneath the understanding of how much she’d been hurt in the past. “How do I prove myself to you?”

“I don’t know.”

It was his turn to sigh as he dropped his hands to her shoulders.

She looked up at him in resignation. “It’s all right, Rick. I’ll go and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

Every dominate male instinct he had sprang to life. “Like hell!”

The chit had the gall to blink in surprise.

“I shouldn’t have to prove myself to you, Cherry, just as you shouldn’t have to do the same to me.” Yeah, that took the wind right out of her sails, so he forged ahead. “But it looks like I’ll have to. Fine.”

Looking suddenly guilty, she began tentatively, “We can be friends.”

“Friends?” He couldn’t believe he was hearing this. “I don’t bloody think so. My interest in you as a friend only is just not happening. I want you in my bed, in my life, and being friends only is not going to cut it. If I had my way, we’d be in my bed and I’d be inside you right now.”

The look on her face was priceless. Her mouth was open, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes wide with surprise and – oh ho! – a touch of heat.

“Yeah, love, you heard right.” Enjoying the expression on her face immensely, Rick continued, “I’d have your luscious body naked for my hands and mouth, but as you seem to find that a little hard to contemplate with me right now, we’ll tread slowly. For awhile.” Like a day. Or a couple of hours. “I’m going to court you.”

“Court me?”

“Flowers. Chocolates. Movies. Dinners.”

“I don’t want…”

“What?” Catching her chin between thumb and forefinger, Rick tilted her head back and lowered his head so that his mouth hovered inches above her own. Manfully ignoring her sweet scent and the lure of lush lips, he said with a touch of steel, “What do you want, Cherry? What will you settle for? Who will you settle for? Maybe it’s me you don’t like, is that it? Maybe it’s me you don’t want touching you. Maybe I sicken you?”

Okay, pushing her wasn’t nice, but it was the only way Rick could think of to make her succumb. As it was, she’d stopped her slightly panicked words and looked thoughtful. He watched as she studied him solemnly, her blue gaze sweeping slowly across his face.

He met her gaze directly. Challengingly.

A full twenty seconds passed as she studied him, and he could practically see her brain working overtime. He just hoped it was working to his advantage.

“No,” she finally replied quietly. “You don’t sicken me.”

“You don’t want me touching you.” She glanced away, her cheeks flushing. His heart leaped at the tell-tale reaction, but he kept his tone steely. “Answer me.”

“I like your touch,” she mumbled.

It was pretty obvious by her bodily reaction to his touch, but hearing it made him smile. Inwardly. If he smiled outwardly, he was going to blow his plan apart. Not gonna happen. “So that just leaves the question of you liking me.”

“I don’t know you.”

Eureka! Baby, you are so caught! “Good.”

“Good?” Startled, she looked up at him.

“Yes.” Reaching for his wallet, he slipped it into his pocket while placing one hand in the small of her back and propelling her towards the door. “We’re going to remedy that, starting now.”

“What?” She halted.

“We’re going to get to know each other over a simple meal.”

“But I don’t—”

“Are you going somewhere? On shift tonight?” He raised his brows questioningly.

“Well, no, but—”

“Expecting anyone?”

“No.”

“Your cats fed already?”

“Yes. But—”

“So here’s the perfect opportunity to start getting to know each other better.” Not that he needed it, but his shy flower obviously did, so he was prepared to sacrifice a few hours. Or days. Please, God, not days. “What do you fancy?”

“Rick, I…”

Looking down at her, seeing the confusion and wariness in her face, he felt the protectiveness flow through him…admittedly with a strong dash of male determination. He gentled his voice. “Cherry, a few hours, some talk, a nice meal. Is that so much to ask?”

She bit her lip again. God, he was going to blot his Heavenly score if she kept that up.

He didn’t take his hand from her back, but neither did he say anything, he just waited, biding his time, giving her time, knowing full well that if he lost this round the fight wasn’t over by a long shot.

Finally he felt her relax a little, but her glance up at him was still wary. “Just a meal?”

“And talk.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Round one to him. Resisting the urge to pump one fist into the air, he propelled her to the door. “Where would you like to eat?”

“I’m not really dressed for a restaurant.”

“Nor am I.” He grinned down at her. “Feel like pizza?”

“Not offering me salad?” She looked horrified as soon as the tart words had spilled from her lips.

He grimaced. “Salad and pizza are not a nice mix. Do you like pizza?”

“Um…yes.” She had the grace to look embarrassed.

He wanted to kiss her on the spot but refrained. Another score on Heaven’s book. By God, he was racking them up tonight. If he got hit by a bus right now, he’d go straight to the land of angels, harps, and wings.

“There’s a pizza place right around the corner.” Shutting the door behind her, he turned the key in the lock and pocketed it. “It’s a nice balmy evening. Let’s walk.”

Feeling immensely satisfied, he took her hand and started walking.

Cherry had two options – pull away from him or walk beside him. There was the slightest of hesitations before she fell into step beside him.

Ah yes, it was a nice balmy evening and he had his curvy little honey by his side. Life was great.

Chapter Six

Walking down the street with the hunky Dr Rick Reed by her side, Cherry was even more conscious of the group of young teenagers approaching wearing their tight jeans and barely-there tops. The teens glanced at Rick and giggled, one of them brazenly licking her red-glossed lips.

Rick didn’t seem to notice, his gaze ahead and his hand warmly clasping hers.

The blonde teen noticed their clasped hands and her eyes widened. She spoke quietly to her friends as they neared and they all looked disbelievingly from her to Rick.

Cherry was going to die. Her shoulders stiffened and she could barely meet their gazes. Their giggles and whispers scorched her ears and she wished she’d refused Rick’s invitation.

“Don’t even think it,” Rick murmured, his hand tightening around her smaller one.

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.” He gazed seriously down at her. “They’re silly young things that have no idea of life yet, or what it’ll throw at them. Nor have they learned to value what is behind a person’s outward appearance.”

“So you think my outward appearance is less valuable.” For God’s sake, why had she said that? Why was she spoiling for a fight? Almost straight away she mumbled, “Sorry.”

“I’m not even going to go into that.” Rick steered her to the front door of the pizza restaurant and opened the door. Placing one hand behind her back, he ushered her ahead of him.

Grateful to have her attention focused elsewhere, Cherry looked around. The restaurant was almost full, and the smell of cooking cheese, onions, and assorted meats filled the air. Delicious.

Coming to a stop, she immediately felt the warmth of Rick right behind her. Even more delicious.

Right up against her.

Heat flashed through her and she swallowed. His chest was against her back, his thighs cradling her bottom, his hard abdomen against the small of her back. He was that close. When one big hand came to rest on her hip, her breath caught.

He shifted behind her and she could swear she felt a hard length push against her buttocks. All thought fled when his breath brushed her ear. “There’s a table over there, and a waitress coming now. Good. I’m starving.” He straightened. “In more ways than one.”

“Huh?” Unsure what he meant, Cherry glanced up over her shoulder to find him as disturbingly near as he felt.

The grin he flashed at her held an unmistakable heat, but it disappeared when he looked at the waitress as she came to a stop before him, and there was no indication of anything wrong as he requested pleasantly, “Table for two, please.”

“Right over here.” The waitress moved ahead of them.

Wouldn’t you know it. Cherry sighed a little. The waitress was about sixty years old and had a neat little white apron tied tightly around a very trim waist. The hem of the loose silk blouse Cherry was wearing fluttered around her bottom. No little white apron was going to be tied around there and still have heaps of ties flowing down elegantly behind her.

A warm hand was suddenly on her own oh-so-not trim waist. “Something wrong, love?”

Mentally shaking off the gloomy thought, Cherry moved forward. “Nothing.”

“I’m so hungry.” Rick’s voice was deeper than normal, but when she again cast him a sharp glance over her shoulder, his face was serious. “I could eat anything.”

She had to stop imagining these insinuations.

“I could eat a heap of pizzas,” Rick continued conversationally as they neared the table.

What the hell was he going on about? He’d already mentioned he was hungry.

“But I want to eat you.” The words were a low, shockingly heat-inducing growl in her ears. The heat of his breath against her nape accompanied by the words made her freeze.

The waitress turned at the booth. “If you’ll both sit down, I’ll be back in a minute to take your orders.”

Feeling as though her heart was in her throat, Cherry slid into the seat and watched as Rick slid with a little more smoothness into the vinyl seat opposite. His smile was friendly as he thanked the waitress and took the menu from her.

Had she imagined it? Surely not. He’d said it, hadn’t he? Cherry stared at him over the top of the menu she opened. Maybe he hadn’t said it, maybe those hot, suggestive words were a figment of her imagination. He looked so cool, so friendly, so innocent as he pursued the menu with interest.

When he didn’t look up, she studied the menu, trying to ignore the disturbed thoughts roiling around in her brain. She had to have imagined it, there was no other explanation.

“Mmmm,” Rick mused. “I do like the double bacon and cheese pizza. How about you?”

Cherry peeked at him over the top of the menu. He was engrossed in his own menu. “I rather like the chicken and bacon myself.”

“Maybe I’ll switch to the supreme spice.” He glanced up at her and his teeth flashed whitely. “I like some spice.”

“Really?” she managed, avoiding his gaze by looking back down at the menu and hoping her cheeks weren’t red. “I like a milder version.”

“Spicy is a little more adventurous.”

“I’ve never been partial to a lot of spice.”

“Shame. I’ll just have to show you how delicious spicy can be.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Cherry took a tighter grip on the menu. He doesn’t mean anything by it. Nothing sexual. He’s just talking about food. Get a grip! “Can’t convince me.” Rather proud of how unaffected she sounded, Cherry glanced up coolly...and met hot eyes.

Rick’s grin was pure sin. His voice was like seductive silk across skin as he answered low, “A challenge I’m going to relish.”

Ye gods! Her hands actually shook a little, but she miraculously maintained a cool façade. “Nevertheless, I’ll stick with the chicken and bacon.”

“Each to their own.” He practically purred like a lion. “I’m going to have me some spice when the time comes.” His eyes definitely had a predatory glow in them. “I’m also partial to sweet. I like some cream.” His gaze slid down the front of her to where the rest of her body disappeared below the table, and she knew exactly what he was insinuating.

“Stop it,” she hissed.

That damned eyebrow arched up in silent amusement.

“Are you always this irritating?”

“You bring out the best in me.”

“It’s not very obvious.”

“You have no idea at the beast you bring out in me.”

“The what?”

“The best. I said the best.” Those green eyes sparkled with laughter. And heat. Most definitely heat.

The waitress arriving at their table stopped further conversation for a few blessed moments.

“One bacon and chicken, and one supreme spice,” Rick drawled, adding with a wicked glance at Cherry, “Extra spice. I enjoy some extra spice.”

“Extra spice,” the waitress repeated. “Honey, you’ll go on fire with the spice on this food.”

“You have no idea,” Rick replied. “I’m looking forward to it.” His eyes raked over Cherry boldly, but his smile was all pleasantness at the waitress.

Cherry didn’t think she was going to last the dinner time if he kept teasing her like this. Or maybe it wasn’t teasing. Maybe he did like tasting. Her pulse picked up pace and she drew a shaky breath. Was he into…oral sex? There, she’d thought it. Glancing at Rick to find him calmly giving a drinks order to the waitress, she studied his mouth.

Oral sex. That mouth on her. Oh God, it didn’t bare thinking about. He was just teasing. He was only teasing.

Flustered, she looked away, trying to banish the sudden image of his head between her thighs – like that was ever going to happen. Cripes, she was creaming just thinking about it. Creaming? No, not creaming! Damn him for even putting that thought in her mind as well.

As if he was going to see her naked anyway, or get close to her thunder thighs with that handsome face and that wicked mouth. Not happening. No way.

The thoughts rampaging through her brain had her going hot and cold all at once. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. There was no way anything could happen between them. It was a mistake.

“So where did you get the cats?”

It took several seconds for Cherry to realize that Rick was watching her with interest, every sign of sinful teasing gone. “Pardon?”

“Your cats. You have two of them. Where did you get them?”

Not quite trusting the change of the conversation, she eyed him suspiciously. “From the cat shelter.”

“Have you had them long?”

“Three years.”

“They were lucky you took them.” He shook his head. “So much animal cruelty. Were they dumped?”

Cherry relaxed a little. “Good guess.”

“Not really. People don’t sterilise their animals, and when they have too many puppies and kittens, the heartless ones dump them.” The distaste was clear in his voice. “They’re the same colour. Siblings, or just coincidence that you chose the same colours?”

“Brother and sister, the only two survivors of being dumped. The others were already dead when the man found them and brought them to the shelter. The staff there told me that it looked like they’d been attacked by some dogs.” Leaning forward, Cherry folded her arms and rested them on the tabletop. “I was looking for a kitten or cat for company, I didn’t mind which, but when I saw those two little scraps all skinny and frightened, huddled in the back of the cage, I couldn’t resist taking them both. I’m glad I did, they’re such good company.”

“You love them,” he stated quietly.

“Yes.” Immediately on guard for ridicule, Cherry unconsciously stiffened.

“I know how you feel,” he surprised her by saying. “I cried when Tim had to put my old dog to sleep.”

She relaxed again. “I’m sorry. Was that long ago?”

“Two years now, but I still miss him.” Rick leaned his arms along the back of the seat and stretched out his legs, his calves brushing hers beneath the table. “He had arthritis and I kept him going on anti-inflammatories, but eventually it got too much for him to cope with, me too, to be truthful. I knew he was in a lot of pain but I couldn’t bring myself to do the right thing and have him put to sleep.”

Sympathy filled her. “So what happened?”

“Tim came down to stay for a few days, saw what was happening, and gave me a stern talking to. He was right, I knew it, so I got him to do it while he was there. Tim helped me bury him in the backyard, then we went back inside and got drunk.” Rick gave a rather wistful smile. “He knew Blue as long as I had had him. Tim’s been my friend from primary school. We both mourned his passing.”

“Did you get another dog?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I was renting and no pets were allowed.” He flashed her a sudden grin. “I just sneakily fed the neighbour’s cats and let them inside on rainy days when the neighbours were away.”

Cherry laughed.

“And tomorrow I move into another rental house, so getting another dog isn’t something I can look at straight away.”

“That’s a shame. Why don’t you just buy a house, then you can get a dog?” A sudden disturbing thought occurred to her. “Or aren’t you planning on staying?”

His direct gaze slid over her face, a small smile playing around his mouth. “Oh, I’m staying all right. Just waiting for the right place to open up.”

She ignored the small, relieved feeling. “What kind of place are you looking for?”

“Nothing fancy. I’ve got my eye on one place already, but it’s going to take some talking to get into it.”

“Name the right price and it could be yours.”

“The owner’s going to take some convincing.” His grin grew wider. “But I’m up to the challenge.”

“I just bet you are,” she replied dryly.

The waitress appeared and set their glasses on the table before leaving again.

Picking up the glass, Cherry took a sip of Diet Coke and looked in surprise at Rick.

“I saw you had a fair bit in your ‘fridge,” he explained. “So I knew it would be your drink of choice.”

“Are you always that observant?”

“Only with those I care about.” He drank down half a glass of Coke Cola. “You have to admit, it’s refreshing.”

Cherry burst out laughing and he arched one brow inquiringly.

“You sound like a bad advertisement.” She took another mouthful of drink and pushed the glass to the side as two trays of hot pizza were placed on the table. “Smells good.”

“I bet it tastes even better.” His eyes held a now familiar glint. “Sure you’re not ready for the spicy yet?”

As the waitress placed a plate before each of them, along with knives and forks, Cherry rolled her eyes.

“Plenty of time to change your mind.” Taking a steaming slice of pizza, he placed it on his plate and followed it with a second slice. “But change it I will.”

Completely relaxed now, Cherry took a slice of her own pizza. “Dream on.” She inhaled and closed her eyes. “Smells like Heaven.”

“Heaven and spice—” He stopped and laughed when she looked at him warningly. “Okay, let’s just eat and save that for another time.”

He was a good dinner companion, she had to admit. While they ate, he talked about his family who, it turned out, lived in a country town two hundred kms away. His best friend, Tim, had moved to the city a couple of years ago, and his mother was the renowned paediatrician, Margaret Clarke.

Margaret Clarke was a good doctor but a cold-hearted bitch as far as Cherry was concerned, though she wasn’t about to say so. She’d had a couple run-ins with her in the past. Good with the hands and brain, poor with the bedside manner.

Rick ate with gusto. Normally when out with friends, Cherry ate the same way, but in his presence she refrained from having more than three pieces.

“Not hungry?” Rick finally asked as he picked up his fifth slice.

“No.” Inwardly, she drooled at the thought of a fourth piece.

“The pieces are cut quite small.” He took a big bite.

Lucky bastard. “True.”

“So have another bite.”

“I’m fine.” She caught the waitress’s attention and held her glass up. The waitress nodded and headed over. After handing her the glass, Cherry turned back to find Rick regarding her while chewing slowly.

He swallowed before stating bluntly, “You’re fanging for more.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re dying for another slice.”

“Nonsense.”

“Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes, Cherry. You want another piece, have it. I’m going for piece number six in a minute, and then you can watch number seven go down my gullet right after. No modesty here, love. We’re having dinner, and I can’t abide women who are obviously still hungry pretending they’re not.” He frowned. “I never realized why until my sister told me. Whoever said eating tiny was ladylike is nuts. Cripes, what a load of shit.”

Her sentiments exactly, but still…

He pointed the piece of pizza at her. “You’re scared I’ll judge you for having another slice of pizza. Good God, woman, there are worse things in the world that happen. If you’d been a Christian in Roman times, they’d have fed you to the lions. What’s another piece of pizza in comparison?”

Her sense of humour was tickled. “Not much, really.”

“So have another slice. Have another two. Finish the lot. I don’t care.” He looked seriously at her. “I really don’t care, Cherry.”

And he really didn’t, she could see that. When she took a fourth slice, he caught the attention of the waitress who was coming and lifted his glass. The waitress admirably refrained from sighing, instead placing Cherry’s full glass before her and taking Rick’s empty glass.

“I don’t think you’re in her good books anymore,” she observed when the waitress left.

“Have to ensure my tip places me back at the top of the list, because I love this pizza and I’m going to be coming back here regularly. I’ll want continued good service.”

“Spoken like a true doctor.” Realizing what she’d said, she stopped eating and looked at him through wide eyes. “Oh, I didn’t…I mean…I…I…”

“Of course you meant it,” Rick said calmly. “My mother was a nurse. Trust me, I know what you meant.”

Feeling uncomfortable, Cherry bit her lip.

“Doesn’t stop me planning to boink your brains out, though” he added.

The pizza fell from her hand to her lap. “You what..?”

“I said—”

“No.” Flustered, she held up her hand while fishing on her lap with the other for the pizza. “Don’t repeat it.”

“And because you said what you did, I’m going to prove that as a doctor, I can also give good service.” His eyes gleamed, the green of them dark and deep and full of promise. “Better. The best.”

She was glad she was sitting, because her knees had turned to jelly. “Change the subject.”

“Why? Creaming in your panties?”

“Stop it.”

“You won’t be saying that when I have you under me.”

“Rick!”

“Yeah, you’ll be screaming that out all right.”

“You’re incorrigible.” Caught between laughter and embarrassment, Cherry glanced around frantically, only to find herself looking at a prim elderly woman in the next booth who was looking at them both with a disapproving expression. “Oh shit.”

That earned her an even frostier stare, and she slid a little lower in her seat, her leg rubbing against Rick’s, though she couldn’t care less at that minute. “I am so mortified.”

No help, he was laughing at her openly.

“This is all your fault.” Steadfastly keeping her face turned away from the elderly woman, she felt the warmth in her cheeks and scowled at him.

“Oh sweetheart, I take all the credit.” Chuckling, Rick took the drink from the waitress who had the good manners not to look curiously at Cherry. “And I meant every word.” He swallowed half his drink in several mouthfuls. “Man, that pizza is hot. Spicy. Just the way I like you.” His eyes gleamed as she groaned and then flinched under the elderly woman’s huff of disgust.

There was no way she could continue eating with the elderly woman giving her disapproving looks. Taking pity on her, Rick, still laughing, stood and took her hand, pulling her from the booth with ease. Placing his hand at her back, he steered her down the aisles between the tables. At the counter he paid for their meal while she made her getaway outside.

The cool breeze outside took the heat from her cheeks and she breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing around, she saw several couples approaching, but her attention was diverted when Rick came out of the restaurant and stepped up beside her, his arm moving with easy familiarity around her waist as he tucked her in against his hard side and started them walking.

It was a totally alien sensation for her, and she didn’t quite know how to act.

He leaned down as they walked along, his breath warm against her ear. “You’re so stiff.”

“Am I?”

“I thought that was my department.”

“Oh geez, will you stop that?”

He laughed, his lips brushing her ear. The action was so unexpected that she didn’t know how to respond.

Kiss him back? Turn her head and look up at him? Cuddle closer? She continued to look straight ahead. Lack of experience in dating was showing with humiliating clarity. Who knew dating was so fraught with rules?

“Are you working tomorrow?” Rick queried.

Glad to be back on familiar ground, she nodded. “Late shift.”

“So you’re free in the morning?” There was a definite sound of eagerness in his tone.

“No. I’m supposed to be going around with Maxie to the bridal shops. She’s getting married in about six months, so we’re doing the bridal crawl.”

“Bridal crawl?”

“Like a pub crawl, only the bridesmaids get dragged around from one bridal boutique to the next.”

“What about Maxie’s mum? Isn’t the mother of the bride supposed to go with her?”

Cherry grinned. “Maxie’s getting in first. Her mother is bit overpowering, so Maxie is taking her shopping next month. By then we figure Maxie should have made her mind up and the dress bought.”

A rumble of laughter welled from Rick.

Relaxing, Cherry told him about the upcoming wedding. She didn’t even notice herself leaning in against him. The street lights flicked on and they passed other strolling couples and some families, as well as office people still leaving their offices long after knock-off time.

Rick stopped at an ice cream parlour and talked her into soft serve ice creams. “After all,” he said, “We didn’t finish our pizza.”

“And who’s fault would that be?” she asked dryly.

“Yours,” he returned cheerfully, paying for the ice creams and handing one to her.

“You wish.”

He followed her out onto the street. “You’re the shy one. Me, I could have sat there and eaten the last of the pizza right under the disapproving glare of that old lady, no problems.” Slinging one arm around her shoulder, he nudged her into a slow walk. “She was probably jealous.”

“Your modesty is awe-inspiring.”

“I know. Bask in it.”

Laughing, Cherry licked the ice cream that was already starting to melt.

They walked slowly in companionable silence, and by the time they’d reached the hotel parking lot, they’d both finished their ice creams. Cherry didn’t notice that they were at Rick’s door until he took out his key and unlocked the door. Immediately, she stepped back.

Arching one brow questioningly, he looked at her over his shoulder.

“I need to go.” She smiled and took another step backwards.

His gaze was searching as he turned fully to face her. “It’s still early.”

“It’s…” She glanced at her watch. “Eight o’clock.” Early. Damn. Good. Hell, she didn’t know.

Reaching out, he snagged her wrist in a gentle, but firm, clasp. “Cherry.”

“Yes?”

He laughed suddenly, shaking his head. “You aren’t what I’m used to.”

“You knew that already.” Her stomach was in knots.

“And that’s what I love about you.” He tugged her closer, and God help her, she didn’t resist. His voice lowered. “Stay the night with me.”

Cold and heat combined flushed through her. The heat of desire, of the memory of his hard body surging above her, against her, into her. The cold of fear, her imperfect body bared to his gaze. Fear and desire warred inside her.

Fear won, raising its ugly head and making her cringe inwardly, too scared to allow herself to be exposed to this perfect specimen of manhood. If only I was slim. If only I wasn’t fat. If only I had a decent body. The taunting words prickled through her mind like poison ivy, digging deep and tearing open wounds that bled out doubt, self-consciousness, and the echoes of cruel words she’d heard from as young as she could remember.

She looked up at Rick. So handsome, so strong, a body that was hard and muscled, a man that made most women glance at him twice, even three times.

And he expected her to share her fat, dimply body with him. “I can’t.”

“Can’t?” His arm slid around her waist, drawing her against him, the heat of his body seeping into her chilled one. “Or won’t?” When she looked down, he placed a finger under her chin to angle her head back up so he could study her face.

It took all her strength of will to give him a small smile. “Can’t.”

“Won’t.”

Her smile faltered. “Don’t be silly.”

“Are you scared of me?”

“No.”

“Are you scared to be intimate with me?”

Not for the reason he was thinking. She shook her head.

“Liar.” The word came without anger, but there was a thread of steel in it. That thread of steel was something Cherry was starting to recognize.

It was enough to make her stiffen and start to pull away, only to stop when muffled giggles and hushed words broke the silence. She glanced sideways to see a couple, obviously a little the worse for wear with alcohol, stumble to their room not less than two doors away. The man had his arm around the tall, slender woman, and she was pressed against his side. While he tried to get the key in the door, she giggled and kissed him, her fingers combing through his hair, her long, slim leg twining around his leg. He laughed, his hand on that slender thigh, her back slamming against the door as he turned her. They kissed hard, and even though they weren’t clear in the glow from the overhead veranda lights, it was clear there was a lot of tongue involved in that kissing.

Cherry’s heart bumped uncomfortably as she watched the byplay while in the arms of Rick. A glance up revealed that he, too, was watching, but as though he felt her scrutiny, his gaze swung back down to her.

The raw heat in his eyes made her mouth dry, and she looked away once more in time to see the door swing open behind the couple and they stumbled inside, their laughter abruptly halted by their door shutting.

They were inside and obviously planned a sex session.

Rick’s gaze was till burning a hole through the top of her head, so she took a deep breath that made her breasts push against his hard chest and glanced up once more. His eyes were still hot, desire clear to see. Clear to feel, too, if the hardening length against her belly was anything to go by.

Her insides were like jelly.

“Cherry.” Her name came out in husky tones.

She meant to say “No.” She meant to give an excuse and walk away. She meant to put distance between herself and this intoxicating man. She meant to…but what came out was a whispered, “I don’t know the rules.”

“There are none.” His breath was on her temple.

“I can’t do this.” A shiver went through her as his lips brushed her skin.

Long fingers at the small of her back spread, tugging her even closer. “You can.” Those hands slid down to cup her generous derriere. “You will.” His lips were gliding with excruciating slowness down her cheek.

The heat of his body, his clean, masculine scent, the strength in his arms and the assuredness of his actions made her blood pump faster, sent a thrill of coiled heat through to her womanhood.

She wanted to, God knew she wanted him, but fear still nibbled torturously at her conscience. Lips trembling, she tried to find the words in her scattered thoughts to deny him, to deny herself, but then he kissed her. His lips came down on hers, muffling the words before they could be properly formed, and every thought she’d managed to capture was swept away under the skilled onslaught of his kiss.

Rick kissed her deep, his tongue ravishing her mouth, one of his hands coming up to cup the back of her head, his other hand pressing her into his body, the hardness of his erection a brand against her belly.

Caught up in the drugging kiss, she was only dimly aware of being led into his room, one slow, hazy step at a time. The door shut, and then she was against it, her back to the hard wood and Rick’s knee between her thighs, his hands cupping her cheeks as he kissed her with an almost frightening intensity.

It stirred her blood, made her nerves tingle, and desire curled higher inside her.

That magical mouth slid across to her throat, leaving her gasping for breath as skilful fingers trailed down to cup one breast through the silk of her blouse. The hard palm cupped her, shaped her, pressed gently. Fire flared to life inside her, and she grabbed his shoulders, pressing forward against him, feeling the hardness of his thigh between her softer ones.

“Yes,” he breathed hotly against her throat. “Oh God, yes, Cherry.”

And then that hard palm was under her blouse, seeking and searching and finding her breast, cupping her once more through the lacy bra cup. His fingertips skimmed the edges of the bra, dipping in a little, teasing.

“We need less clothes.” His laugh was rough, low. “A lot less clothes.” He shifted and the light snapped on suddenly, flaring bright in the room. His eyes as he gazed down at her was full of heat, a dark green with carnal knowledge and anticipation.

Cherry froze, feeling like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights.

Rick’s hand went to her waist, smoothing underneath her blouse as he returned to nuzzling her throat, his tongue licking across her pulse.

Desire still churned through her, but… Reaching up, she snapped the light off.

He went still as the room was again plunged into dimness, the only light that of the veranda globe through the open curtains.

Their gasping breaths filled the room.

Finally, he said roughly, “Let me turn on the light.”

“No.” In the dimness she looked him directly in the eyes, seeing their glitter. “Please. No.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed of.” His palms stroked the indent of her waist, sending heat pooling in her loins.

But fear still ruled part of her brain. The part that was still thinking, however sluggishly. “You said – you said there were no rules. So that includes having to have a light on.”

He was silent for so long that her self-consciousness started to rear up, her desire crumbling beneath its onslaught. “This was a mistake. I—” She didn’t get another word out.

Rick took her mouth, his kiss carnal, and the embers of her desire that were still flickering flared to life once more beneath the skill of his hands, the masterfulness of his kiss.

She wanted him. Needed him. But only on her terms, in the dimness where she could feel comfortable, where she could pretend to be someone she wasn’t, someone beautiful and slender. In the dimness she could press up against him, could handle having him stroke and caress her.

Her blouse was slipped over her head, her bra unhooked and drawn from her as Rick kissed her hotly, his mouth ravaging hers, his so-knowing hands stoking the flames of desire higher.

In the dimness she was free to mould her hands to his back, to feel the skin laid over muscle as he moved. She could kiss him back as hotly, letting her inhibitions fly free.

Finding the hem of his t-shirt, she tugged it up, and he lifted his arms to pull it over his head and discard it to the side. The hardness of his muscle-ribbed abdomen was a delight to her fingers as she danced them lightly over the swells. His shoulders were big in the gloom, looming over her, rounding as he bent low once more, his lips trailing down her throat and lower, skimming across her collarbone, his tongue sweeping into the hollow.

And his hands - dear God, his hands cupped her bare breasts, weighing the generous globes, and she swore he left the imprint of his fingers on her skin. Heat spiralled out from his very touch, her nipples peaking, aching, and she bit off a moan as his thumbs brushed over the tender, hard nubs.

“Don’t hold back,” he ordered huskily, his breath damp on her skin where the curve of her shoulder met the curve of her neck. “Moan for me, baby. Let me know what pleases you.”

Cherry couldn’t think. Everything pleased her. Everything made her shiver with desire, her blood feeling as though it was a river of pure fire going through her, torching her nerves and sensations.

One of his hands brushed along her belly, a long finger dipping into her belly-button and making her suck in a deep breath. His laugh was low, rough with desire.

Desire for her. He couldn’t hide it, it was so clear, and she revelled in it.

Here in the dimness, she revelled in a handsome man’s lust for her. Rick’s lust for her.

Strong fingers hooked into the waistband of her pedal pushers and thrust them downwards, taking her lacy panties on the way. The material pooled at her feet, and she stepped out of them, kicking off her ballet flats at the same time.

Here in the dimness she grew bolder, her own fingers spreading over the smooth swells of his pectorals, her palms gliding across small, male nipples that were already hard. Rick growled his pleasure against her throat.

Moving her hands further down, she glided over the six pack of his stomach and lower. Lower. Caught up in hot desire, she slid her fingers down the front of his jeans and almost immediately she encountered the weeping head of his shaft. She felt the length of him jump against her hand.

“Oh God,” he groaned huskily. “Cherry. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” With every word he nipped her shoulder.

Emboldened, she popped the snap of the jeans and slid the zipper down carefully, and his shaft, encased in his boxers, nudged her hand. In seconds she’d pulled the soft material down and then he was there, that hot, rigid length surging free, and she cupped her hand around it.

In a split second she was disappointed that she couldn’t see him, that she couldn’t explore him in the pure light at her leisure, but almost immediately she stuffed the thought back into the nasty little box from which it had come out.

No regrets. No regrets tonight. Tonight was hers. His. Theirs.

In dimness.

In dimness she could be anything, his every fantasy, her every fantasy. Darkness was her friend.

Rick was her lover.

He shifted, his arm moving, and she gasped as he cupped her mound, his fingers sliding through the curls protecting her secrets, one long finger pushing relentlessly between the swollen folds of her labia to rub against the slickness spilling from her.

“Rick…” His name was a moan in the night.

“Cherry.” Her name was rasp of hedonistic heat.

And then that long finger was inside her, pushing deep, alien and thrilling all at once. Her thighs clamped shut as she sought to pull him out, keep him in, straining up on her tiptoes.

Rick’s laugh was all male, possessive and satisfied. “You’re mine, Cherry.” He withdrew his finger, dragging along the side of her sheath deliberately, making her squirm against him as he pressed her body between his and the hard surface of the wooden door. He slid his finger out of her and up to caress the little clitoris budding higher up in her folds.

Cherry nearly shattered on the spot. Desire coursed through her like quicksilver, hot and hard and cutting with splintering pleasure. She arched into him, thrusting her hips unashamedly against his burgeoning staff. “Please. Please, Rick.”

“Like that, do you?” He kissed her hard, almost ruthless, his finger sliding down to unerringly enter her again, twisting his finger from side to side as he did so, heightening her pleasure. Pushing her onwards. “Tell me, love. Do you like that?”

“Yes. Yes!” A surge of heat almost took her somewhere as his other hand was also between her thighs, one dexterous finger of it playing with her clitoris while his other finger slid in and out of her, slow and deliberate and pressing against the side of her sheath.

Every sensation tumbling through her made her throw her head back and gasp for air as colours flashed before her eyes.

“Oh, no, sweetheart.” His murmur was hot and husky. “Not just yet.”

Removing his hands, he took her hips in a firm grasp. In one momentum, he turned both himself and Cherry around and using his body to crowd her back towards the bed, he looked down at her.

She knew he couldn’t see her clearly, but the same was true for her, and she felt his disappointment. As her knees nudged the bed, she saw the glitter of determination in his eyes.

“Tonight you win,” he whispered almost savagely. “But next time it’s on my terms, Cherry.”

Before she could even think past her passion-drugged haze, he tipped her back onto the bed. Looming over her, his hands rested just above her knees, moving up smoothly to grip her hips. The dimness shadowed his features, but she felt the very prurience in the air. He bent low, and his mouth was on her belly, lips hot, teeth sharp as he nipped the tender flesh, laving it roughly with his tongue, sending sensations rioting through her.

He moved higher leisurely, every movement slow and deliberate and edged with hunger. Hunger for her, for her body, for her pleasure. For his pleasure.

When she tried to sit up, he laid a hand flat on her belly and pushed her back down. Without missing a beat he pressed open kisses to her skin, moving up her body.

Heart pounding, fire in her veins, she arched back, reaching above her to grasp the coverlet and hang on as every kiss he pressed to her skin seemed to jerk on the erotic strand of lust that spiralled off into secret places that ached with need.

She felt the heat of him coming over her, the roughness of his calves as they rubbed against her smooth skin. Lowering her eyelids, she watched breathlessly as he crawled up her body with sensuous, hungry movements. An illusion of a craven beast – or was it an illusion? His eyes glittered in the dimness, and even in the shadows she recognized the rapacity of his gaze and movements.

Hungry for her.

Craving her.

Needing her.

Wanting her.

Determined to have her.

Her fantasy come to life.

Then fantasy fled to be replaced with the real thing. Firm male lips closed around one nipple, a rough tongue curling around the sensitive bud, and he sucked her into his hot mouth.

Fingers wringing the coverlet, she pulled the thick fabric as she closed her eyes and moaned with every strong suck of that talented mouth.

Coolness suddenly hit her nipple, a rough swipe of the tongue over it making her shudder, and then that hot mouth engulfed her other nipple, sucking it in deep, tongue curling around it, a growl of hunger in his throat as he feasted.

She almost splintered then and there, but again he denied her, lifting his head to smile hedonistically down at her. “Oh, no, baby. We’re going together. Get ready for a rough ride.”

One strong arm went under her thigh and slid down to lodge behind her knee, lifting it up and outwards, his other arm doing the same, making her gasp as he moved over her, his movements making her hips roll up, leaving her open to his marauding body.

“Rick,” she began hazily, a touch apprehensively. “I don’t think – oh God!”

One thrust and he was in her, his sac hard against her bottom, the root of his manhood against her opening, his shaft deep inside, so deep she thought she’d feel him there forever. He touched her inside and out, surrounding her outwardly with his strength and scent, inwardly with his shaft and the seed even now leaking from the tip.

His teeth were a flash of white sin in the dimness, his humour dark with passion and edged with cupiscence. “All mine,” he rasped, and then he started moving.

To say he took her would be wrong. To say he took her ravenously was correct. He pumped into her hard, his arms locked under her knees as easily as if she was a slender reed. His strength awed her, but so did his voracity for her. It was there in the glitter of his eyes, in the carnal words he whispered to her, in every hard thrust of his body in and against her.

He pushed her libido higher, torched her desire, made her passion burn out of control. She couldn’t twine her arms around his neck and hold him close, he had total control of her body, but she grabbed his forearms, her short nails digging into the muscles bunching beneath the hair-roughened skin.

Power in his arms, in his words, in every hard pump of his hips, and in the shaft that surged so hotly inside her. Power in the way he took her, keeping her helpless for his pleasure while searing her own until she wanted to scream with shattered nerves and overwhelmed sensation.

It hit her from every side. The power of him, the desire, the heat of pure sex that seemed so much more, the way he made her feel so beautiful, so wanton, so desirable. The way he hungered – lusted – after her.

His hips pumped harder, every slide of his thick shaft in her clasping sheath yet another match for the already burning fire inside her. It scorched out, filling her, surging upward with delicious, prickling heat, taking her over, burning her up, and she flared out, a fiery flame in a universe of heat and carnal hunger.

She burned out of control, exploding with Rick’s name on her lips.

Dimly she felt the hot tide of seed bursting deep inside her, coating her inner walls, and a hard body that jerked against her, into her, sending her out into a fiery void she thought would surely burn her up in delicious prurience.

Chapter Seven

Shifting the furniture he’d had in storage would have been a lot worse if Tim hadn’t come around to help him, and brought a friend as well.

Mike was introduced as a cop, and with his bear of a build and quiet yet almost threatening demeanour, Rick could believe that not many smart-arses gave him lip. Mike was a cop with danger written all over him. In fact “Don’t mess with me” was practically stamped on his forehead.

“Does he always scowl like that?” Rick watched Mike pick up an armchair without breaking a sweat and move it indoors.

Tim grinned. “He’s got a new neighbour.”

“Must be a hell of a neighbour.”

“You have no idea.”

“Must be a mighty stupid neighbour to annoy him like that.”

“You have no idea.” Tim winked. “Female.”

“Ahhhh.” Rick nodded sympathetically. Now that he could understand. Cherry was tying him up in knots.

“Speaking of females.” Tim leaned against the veranda post and folded his arms across his chest. “How is the pursuit of the fair maiden going?”

“It’s getting there.” Rick grinned cockily. “Failure isn’t an option.”

“Want to bet?” Mike rumbled as he came out of the door, the t-shirt he wore stretched over his massive muscles.

Now, Rick thought, if he were a female, he’d be intimidated by another female’s better-than-average physique. Instead, being a bloke, he was cool about it, though he did a quick check of his own biceps and took satisfaction in the impressive swells of them.

Okay, maybe there was a little un-coolness in his check, but hey, he was human.

“Manage to get her on a date yet?” Tim queried.

Mike picked up his carton of iced coffee and took several deep swallows. Rick was pretty sure that’s all it would take to drain it. The carton looked like a dinky box in that massive paw.

“Had pizza last night, as a matter of fact,” he answered, then grinned. Widely. Very widely.

You dog!” Tim punched him in the shoulder. “You got her to go to bed with you!”

“Seduced her,” he admitted unashamedly. “Didn’t really give her a chance to think too much.” Feeling Mike’s hard gaze on him, he hurriedly added, “Not like that, Mike. I don’t push girls.”

“You just seduce them into doing what you want?”

“Trust me, with Cherry you don’t want to give her too much time to think.”

Dark brows lowering even more, Mike didn’t look too convinced.

“Cherry is driving Rick nuts,” Tim explained cheerfully. “She’s a plus-sized chick with a heap of weight hang-ups. Rick lusts after her and is trying to prove his love. He’s not having an easy time of it.”

“Ah.” It was Mike’s turn to nod, and he looked out over the front yard. “The ladies are hard to understand at the best of times.”

The ladies? Rick looked at Tim.

Tim’s grin remained cheerful. “Mike is having trouble with his lady neighbor, and she—”

“Are we just going to stand here and gossip, or are we going to work?” Mike growled.

“Men don’t gossip,” Tim returned. “Men impart information. Which,” he transferred his attention to Rick, “You’re not doing very well.”

“Because you put it in a nutshell.” Taking a swallow of his own iced coffee, Rick studied one of the rose bushes. It needed tending badly. Maybe he could con Cherry into coming over and working her magic on it…and on him. Especially on him. “I have to get past this insecurity of hers.”

“Not easy when the more voluptuous women have been slanged in the media and everywhere they turn,” Tim pointed out.

Mike grunted agreement.

“I’m just going to have to try harder,” Rick said.

“Good luck with that,” Mike growled. “Seriously.”

Tim laughed outright and Rick’s curiosity was piqued, but Mike gave Tim a warning glare and Tim shut up.

“Okay.” Rick straightened up. “Let’s get the last of this furniture inside.”

They worked well into the afternoon, stopping only for pizza and beer, and by the time everything was to his satisfaction inside the house, Rick was sorely in need of a shower. Bidding Tim and Mike goodbye, he watched them depart, Tim in his classic car and Mike on a roaring monstrosity of a motorcycle. He likely broke the sound barrier on it. But Rick liked Mike. The man was quiet and worked hard, and he seemed an all right sort. He even had a sharp sense of humour, almost lazy and dark, except when it came to ‘the ladies’, or to be more precise, one particular lady. Then he clamped up and frowned ferociously. One day Rick just had to find out what was going on with Mike and his lady neighbour, but right then he had his own lady problems.

A very sweet, juicy, lady problem. Cherry. She hadn’t stayed the night, but instead she’d slipped out after just an hour of cuddling, something to which he was rather partial. She’d only given in about turning on the light once she was safely dressed, and the fact that her blouse was on inside out had only made her cheeks pinken. Her cheeks hadn’t gone red until he suggested he take it off her and put it back on properly. She’d been out the door fast, and he’d barely managed to grab a towel to wrap around his naked loins and make it to the door to see her getting in her car on the other side of the car park. The woman could move when she chose. Oh yeah, could she move…

His cock perked up as he remembered the mind-blowing sex.

Mind-blowing hell. He’s thought his eyeballs were going to pop; the incredible pressure had nearly given him a myocardial infarction. He grinned. Heart-attack by awesome sex, what a write-up for the books that would be. Not that he’d be the first to pop a valve through sex. Heh heh. Sobering, he threw the empty cartons of iced coffee in the bin and checked the clock. She’d be doing her six pm medication rounds now, and checking that everyone was eating okay.

He had a shower then checked the clock again. Six thirty pm. She was probably thinking about having her own tea.

Rick cooked himself a meal and ate it while reading the newspaper. He checked the clock. Seven thirty pm. She might be having a late tea.

He watched TV for awhile then checked the clock again. Eight thirty pm. She’d undoubtedly be writing notes, or giving last minute medications, or helping people to the toilet, changing their beds, settling them, or the hundred other little things doctors had only a vague idea that nurses did in their daily work. He only knew more because his mother had drilled it into him from the moment he’d decided to become a doctor, and because he’d seen her come home pretty wild sometimes about something a doctor had done or said. She’d come home full of praise, too, now and again, but it was the other side he often saw as well. He’d promised himself and her that he wouldn’t become one of those doctors. In fact, he respected nurses.

It was just Cherry he lusted after. Nurse Cherry was raising his temperature to explosive levels. Naughty nurse. Heh heh.

He watched the clock, judging when she’d arrive home, and then he rang. No answer. He rang fifteen minutes later, but still no answer. He waited half an hour and no answer. He thought about going over and making sure she was all right. Hell, anyone could have hit her on the head when she got out of her car late at night. By herself.

He rang again. By eleven o’clock he was ready to ring the hospital and find out if she was still there. Shit, he was turning into a stalker. Nurses sometimes worked late, depending on what was happening, and he didn’t have the right of a husband, live-in boyfriend, or fiancée to ring the hospital and find out. Plus he was pretty sure she’d fry his balls if he did ring.

He rang at eleven thirty and she answered.

“Hello?” She sounded tired.

“Hey, love.” Tension uncoiling inside him, he leaned back in the armchair. “You sound tired. Hard shift?”

“Busy. One of the patients went into organ failure.”

“Nasty. You all right?”

“Fine. What are you still doing up?” She yawned.

Waiting for you. Worrying myself sick. Wondering if I am turning into a stalker. “Just watching some TV, thought I’d call and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.”

“That’s nice.” She yawned again and spoke softly to someone.

Rick was immediately on the alert, only to relax once more when he heard Frizz’s complaining meow coming through the line, followed by Cherry’s clearer words as she turned back to the phone.

“The cats are hungry,” she explained unnecessarily. “I’m going to feed them and then go to bed.”

“Want a back rub?” he asked, only half joking.

Obviously the heart of his desire didn’t take the hint, because she only yawned again and mumbled, “Aren’t you working tomorrow?”

“Yes. But for you I’ll make it a later night.”

She laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“Seriously.” The yawn this time was so loud that he could almost picture her half asleep on her aching feet. Gently, he added, “Go to bed, love. No doubt I’ll see you at the hospital tomorrow.”

“Right,” she mumbled. “’Night.”

Listening to the dial tone, Rick thought it was probably the first time in his history that a woman had hung up on him. He just wished he could be there to rub her aching feet, to give her an erotic little shower, and then tuck her snugly into bed.

Instead, he was going to go to his own bed alone and stare at the ceiling all night, thinking of what he wanted right now but couldn’t have.

The phone rang and he picked it up listlessly. “Yeah?”

“Geez, bro,” his sister’s voice came down the line. “Sound enthusiastic. Watcha doing?”

“In danger of turning into a stalker.”

“Ooohhh, tell me all about it.”

He smiled a little. “Tell me why you’re ringing, first.”

“David and I had a little disagreement.”

Rick sighed. Oh, joy. He settled in to hear about her woes, knowing from experience that his big sister was going to tell him whether he wanted to listen or not. “I’ve got an early morning, so don’t take too long.”

“That David is such an arse, did you know that?”

“From the moment you first told me years ago.”

~*~

Cherry was making the bed when she felt someone watching her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rick standing in the doorway, a patient’s file in his hands. His gaze slid over her warmly, but there was a shadow in his eyes.

Clearing her throat, she straightened and turned around. “This isn’t your patient.” Realizing how that sounded, she bit her lip, glad that said patient was in the shower with the door shut. “I beg your pardon. Did you want something, Doctor?”

His smile was easy, those green eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. But there was still that shadow.

Immediately she wondered if he’d changed his mind about them, if he was regretting being intimate with her. Her stomach muscles clenched.

“Actually, Cherry, I was wondering if you could give me a few minutes in the treatment room.”

“Now?” Hell, their familiarity was spilling over into their work relationship. She wouldn’t normally answer a doctor that way. “I mean, certainly.”

He stepped back, allowing her to pass him, and she sucked in a lungful of the aftershave he’d used that morning. Yummy. Mentally shaking her head and girding her loins for bad news, she strode into the treatment room with Rick bringing up the rear.

A busy time of the morning, no one noticed them going in, and as the door swung shut behind them, she was so very glad.

“Yes, Doctor?” Facing him, she waited calmly for the axe to fall.

What he said instead floored her. “I didn’t use a condom last night.”

“Pardon?”

“A condom. A raincoat. Safety. Cherry, I got so carried away that I forgot to put on a condom before we made love.”

Made love. That sounded so…warm. It also made her blush just a little, but she had her wits about her. “That’s okay. I took the morning-after pill this morning.”

“You did?” He looked first surprised, then relieved. “Okay then.”

“So no harm, no foul.” She smiled a little.

“True.” His eyes took on a sudden gleam. “Mind you, I quite enjoyed spilling myself inside you without protection.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Trying to maintain her professionalism, she replied coolly, “Is that all, Doctor?”

He took a step nearer, making her back up against the shelf holding all the bandages. His gaze swept over her shirt and pants. “I’m having fantasies of a naughty nurse.”

“Rick!” she hissed, colour blooming in her apple cheeks.

“And I’m Dr Discipline.”

She gaped at him for several seconds, then started laughing.

Reaching out one hand, Rick grabbed the shelf and leaned forward, trailing his other hand along the collar of her shirt. “Tut-tut. Is Nurse Cherry laughing at authority?”

“This is a really sad fantasy.”

“But it’s my fantasy. It can be as sad as I like.” He dipped his finger into the crevice between her breasts, obviously enjoying her catch of breath. “But in my fantasy there’s no crying, just a lot of moaning and writhing.”

“I think I’ve heard enough.” Feeling flustered, she was grateful when the pager in her pocket emitted a welcome buzzing. “And saved by the proverbial bell.” She tried to push past him, only to be stopped by his body not giving an inch.

“There’s still tonight, love.” He pressed his lips to her brow. “How about wearing your uniform for me and we’ll play doctor and nurse?” He grinned. “I can bring my speculum, check out your—”

Her hand slapped over his mouth. “You’ve gone from sad to disgusting.” Her cheeks burned though she couldn’t stop the grin that curved her lips. “No more. Be quiet. Go and do your doctor thing and let me get back to work.”

He nipped her fingers, causing her to jerk them away. “Your wish is my command. For now.” Dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head, he stepped back. “But tonight, Nurse, be ready for me.”

“You are such an arse.” Tugging the door open, she peered out.

Coming up close behind her, he queried, “Safe?”

“No thanks to you.”

“Then venture forth, Nurse.” He slapped her voluptuous derriere heartily.

Cherry started, glared at him over her shoulder, and exited fast. She just hoped that no one would see her and Rick leaving the treatment room, though no one here would think anything of it. They’d probably just think they’d been discussing wound dressings or something mundane like that, not talking fantasies.

She couldn’t resist a glance over her shoulder to show a grinning Rick strolling over to the nurses’ station where he opened the file cabinet and searched for the files of his inpatients. She had to admit that regardless of the heavy workload the nurses were under at the moment from the influx of patients, her heart felt lighter and her day was irrevocably brighter.

A woman stepped in front of her and Cherry started to veer away, only to find a slim, elegant hand on her upper arm. Glancing up in surprise, she found herself looking into the cold, beautiful face of Annabelle Forbes.

The same woman that had wanted Rick, and whom he’d, well, not exactly dumped, but he’d chosen Cherry over this elegant beauty.

Pulling her professional demeanour around her like an invisible cloak, Cherry smiled at her. “May I help you?”

“You can tell me where my father, Dr Forbes, is,” Annabelle replied coldly. Her gaze raked over Cherry. “I know he’s visiting patients on this ward.”

“I’m not sure,” Cherry replied. “I didn’t see him come in.”

“And they say you’re a good nurse. Oh well.”

A little shocked, Cherry stepped back. “You can wait in the lounge and—”

“No need. I have important business to take of and can’t wait around. I’ll leave him a message on his pager.” That cold gaze raked insolently over her again. “What a nice uniform. It does hide some sins, doesn’t it?” Annabelle walked off.

Cherry stared after Annabelle for several seconds before glancing down at herself. Her uniform shirt was like every other nurses’ in the hospital, but it didn’t exactly drape down over her hips so neatly like Maxie’s, nor did it nip in at the waist like Susie’s. It was exactly what it was, a large uniform top made to fit a large nurse.

“What a mole,” Maxie said from behind her.

Turning, Cherry saw her friend glaring in the direction that Annabelle had taken. “She’s right. It does—”

“Bullshit!” Angrily, Maxie looked at Cherry. “You’re worth four of that cold-hearted bitch, and don’t you start doubting yourself, you hear me? You have more going for you than she does. Don’t let her grind you under her cloven hoof.”

Surprised by the vehemence in her friend’s voice, Cherry gaped.

“I wouldn’t pee on that walking skeleton if she was on fire,” Maxie, “But you I would…I mean…” She stopped and grinned sheepishly. “Well, you know what I mean.”

Unable to help it, Cherry started laughing and gave Maxie a hug. “I know what you mean, and I’d be grateful. I think.”

“Just you remember it.” Maxie’s pager bleeped demandingly and she stepped back. “Bugger. I better go and see what room twenty five wants.” She frowned warningly at Cherry. “You just remember what I said.”

“I wouldn’t be game to forget it,” she assured her. Watching her friend walk away, Cherry had to admit that she did feel a little better.

Doubts still assailed her but no more than normal. Except for Rick. Now she’d seen Annabelle again, she was full of doubts about Rick’s attraction to her. Did men like Rick really look past the surface like he was trying to assure her? How could she be sure she wasn’t just something new for Rick to occupy himself?

And why the hell was she letting Annabelle’s poisonous words upset her? Shaking her head, she went back to the patient’s room. Right now she had other things to concern herself with, she had time for self-doubts when she’d finished work.

The time went fast and it didn’t seem long before she was leaving the hospital, stepping out into the warm sunshine. Looking up at the sky she saw clouds scudding past and wondered hopefully if they were finally in for some rain.

“Hey!”

Cherry waited for Maxie to catch up with her.

Maxie looked up at the clouds. “Rain?”

“We live in eternal hope.”

“Curtis’s Coffee Café.”

“What?” Cherry raised her eyebrows.

“We’re meeting Susie there.”

“We are? Why?”

“Because we’re plotting Annabelle’s downfall.” Maxie laughed at Cherry’s expression. “No, dummy. We’re going to bitch about the bitch, and spend some time loving ourselves. I’ll meet you there.”

“What makes you think I have time to go there?”

“Got a date with Dr Luscious?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Frizz and Sugar have no food?”

“As if! No, they have biscuits out and water, but—”

“You don’t want to play with us anymore?”

Cherry rolled her eyes. “Curtis’s Coffee Café it is. Let’s go.”

When they arrived, Susie was already sipping on iced tea and looking very cool and beautiful in white shorts and a pale blue top.

Maxie slid into the booth and Cherry slid in beside her.

“So, how are the slaves released from the sweat shop?” Susie queried.

“Relieved.” Cherry studied the menu.

“I don’t know why you bother doing that,” Maxie said. “You always order the same drink and food.”

Cherry frowned at her over the top of the menu.

“Bet you don’t do that with Rick,” Susie drawled.

“I do,” Cherry replied.

“Really?”

“I don’t take crap from him.”

“Really?”

“Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“Only Annabelle Forbes,” Maxie muttered.

“Ah, Annabelle Forbes.” Susie pursed her lips. “Rude bitch extraordinaire.”

“That’d be the one.”

Cherry shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course we worry about it,” Susie said. “You worry, we worry.”

“I’m not worried.” Cherry glanced up at the waitress who approached and gave her usual order. “A small hot chips and a glass of Diet Coke.”

Maxie smirked at Cherry as she gave her own order. Cherry stuck her tongue out at her.

“Children,” Susie admonished. “Enough.”

“To the matter at hand,” Maxie said. “Who thinks Annabelle has had so many face lifts that her belly button is now on her face? I always thought her lips were a little puckered.” She demonstrated.

“Oh, Max.” Cherry laughingly groaned.

“Oh, come on. After that put-down she gave you at the hospital? It’s the kindest thing I can say about her.”

“Do not tell me that you allowed her to get to you,” Susie said sternly.

“She didn’t.”

Susie looked hard at her while Maxie rolled her eyes.

Cherry shrugged. “Okay. A little. Just a little.”

“You were looking down at yourself in a not-friendly fashion,” Maxie stated bluntly.

“Do we really have to talk about this?”

“Yes.” Susie drained the last of her iced tea and smacked the glass sharply down on the table.

Cherry flinched, half expecting it to break, but miraculously the glass stayed in one piece.

“Repeat after me,” Susie said. “I am beautiful.”

“Oh, really—”

“I am beautiful.”

“For crying out loud—”

“I am beautiful.”

“I am not going to repeat anything.”

“Then I’ll stand up and yell it out and point to you.”

“I am not going to—” Cherry stumbled to a halt and grabbed Susie’s hand as she started to push upright. Knowing her friend had no shame, she hissed, “Okay okay! I am beautiful.”

Maxie smirked.

“I am luscious,” Susie continued.

“Oh, for—” Cherry grabbed her hand again as Susie started to push upright again. “I am luscious. Happy?”

“Exceedingly. I am sexy.”

“What? No- shit, okay, I am sexy.”

“Me, too,” Maxie chimed in. “Sexy as hell.”

“I deserve every hot guy’s attention.”

“I am not going to – I deserve every hot guy’s attention. Will you stop it?”

Susie smiled slowly. “I deserve Rick’s attention.”

Cherry went bright red.

“Say it.”

“I’m not playing this ridiculous- sit down!”

Susie arched one brow as she looked down at Cherry. “Say it.”

“I. Deserve. Rick’s. Attention.” Every word came from between clenched teeth.

Susie sat down and smiled widely. “And lastly – Dr Hot Stuff is boinking me with utter glee instead of Annabelle the Bitch.”

“If you make me say that, I’m leaving right now,” Cherry threatened. “I mean it.”

Susie laughed. “I added that last bit for my own amusement.”

“Speaking of bitches.” Maxie snickered.

“But you feel better, right?” Susie’s eyes twinkled.

Cherry looked from Susie to Maxie, and seeing the affection and laughter in their faces, she felt the weight of Annabelle’s nasty insinuations lift from her shoulders. There was no way she could remain down in her emotions when her friends were trying so hard to make her feel better.

She gave a small grin and pointed at Susie. “You’re paying for my food and drink.”

“Done.” Susie leaned back in her chair and while the waitress set out Maxie and Cherry’s orders. Once they were alone again, she said soberly, “You can’t let people like Annabelle get to you, Cherry.”

“I know. I don’t usually.” Picking up a hot chip, Cherry blew on it.

“You do,” Susie replied bluntly.

“Okay, but not all the time.”

“The ones who don’t matter, you let them get to you. You’re a nice person. You love animals, you’re nice to everyone, you’ll help anyone, and people like you. You need to get over this weight issue you have.”

“So speaks the slim lady,” Cherry said dryly, having heard the same lecture many times in the past.

Susie leaned forward, her gaze intent. “I’m serious. You can’t let this weight issue get between you and Rick.”

“Rick?” Cherry raised her brows in surprise. “I thought you didn’t like him.”

“That was before I knew he had the good sense to see you. Now I think he’s great.”

“Oh, that is such a relief. I can now boink him with an easy conscious.”

“Touch of sarcasm there,” Maxie cooed.

Susie tapped her fingertip on the table. “Rick likes you for who you are, Cherry. He’s not interested in what society thinks is an ideal woman. Don’t lose him because of your own hang-ups.”

“What makes you the expert on Rick?”

The smile that curved Susie’s lips was not comforting. Cherry’s eyes widened. She looked at Maxie only to find her also staring at their friend with big eyes.

“You didn’t—” Cherry began, both horrified and fascinated at once.

“I had a little investigation done by my cousin, who is a private investigator.” Grabbing her oversized shoulder bag from under the table, Susie drew a large envelope from it and proceeded to pull some photographs from it, which she dually handed over accompanied by explanations. “This is his mother, she’s a plumpy, right? His sister is no light-weight. He loves them both very much and isn’t ashamed of them. See that photo?” She handed over another glossy picture. “He took his sister to the school dance when her date ditched her.”

“So he’s a good brother and son,” Maxie said, studying the photos over Cherry’s shoulder. “So what does that prove?”

“A bit of his background,” Susie replied. “His dad is a hottie, even given his age.”

“Oh my God,” Cherry groaned. “I can’t believe you did this!”

“I can,” Maxie said.

“You’re my friend,” Susie replied. “Of course I did it. I don’t intend to let you ruin your life.”

“If Rick finds out what you did, it’ll be ruined anyway,” Cherry answered.

“Just look at the photos,” Susie continued blithely. “Admit it, his dad is hot, his mum is plump. Turns out she always was, and the same for him.”

“Tell me your friend didn’t ask someone that.”

“He keeps his contacts confidential.”

Cherry shook her head, fascinated in spite of herself at this glimpse into Rick’s life.

“His first girlfriend—”

“Tell me you don’t have her photo as well!”

“His first girlfriend was slim,” Susie said. “No photos. But he’s had a few girlfriends since then, and all of them have been of varying builds. Slim and large, Cherry, slim and large.”

“I get it.” She wasn’t sure what to think. Relief was a definite emotion, but… “What was his last girlfriend like?”

“I’ll hit you on the head with that bowl of chips in a minute,” Susie threatened.

“Just asking.”

“My cousin—”

“The private investigator,” Cherry said sardonically.

“—says that as Rick got older, once he got past that first flush of raging teenage hormones, his taste has been towards the larger female figure.” Susie held up one finger. “But it never affected his choice of girlfriend. If he was interested in a girl, be her large or not, he dated her. But his friends said his eye was always for a larger woman. He likes them voluptuous.”

“I can’t believe you did this.” Shaking her head again, Cherry returned the photos. “If he ever finds out, I’ll never live it down.”

“He won’t find out.” Susie cheerfully tucked the photos back into the envelope and replaced it in her shoulder bag. “I’m destroying these photos when I get home.”

Maxie leaned back on the booth. “I admire your mind, Susie, but sometimes you scare me.”

Laughing, Susie plucked a chip from Cherry’s bowl and bit into it. “Yummy.” Her gaze transferred to Cherry. “And so is Rick. Feel better now?”

“To be honest with you, I have no freaking idea how I feel.” Cherry drained the Diet Coke from her glass, caught the eye of the waitress and motioned with her glass and a hopeful smile. The waitress nodded and came over. “Diet Coke, please, very large,” Cherry said. “An iced tea, very small, for my friend.”

“Hey,” Susie objected without rancour. “Make it a large.”

The waitress nodded and left.

Cherry studied Susie.

“So you see,” Susie said, satisfaction oozing in her tone, “Rick is a genuine man who cares little for society’s ideals.”

“Why is it so important to you?”

Sobering, Susie reached over and laid her hand atop Cherry’s. “Because you’re my friend. Because you’ve come alive since seeing Rick. Because you deserve every good thing that comes your way, and I don’t want your insecurities to destroy any chance of happiness you have.”

“I was happy before,” Cherry pointed out, touched with her friend’s concern.

“But wanting. Wanting a man in her life, a chance for cuddling and kissing, sharing your life. You have a chance and I’m not going to let you blow it.”

Cherry didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She had to swallow the lump that rose in her throat. Turning her hand over, she squeezed Susie’s hand. True, her friend had gone way beyond the scope Cherry would have done, but she’d meant well. And really, one had to admire Susie, she was like a dog with a bone when it came to her friends’ happiness.

“Just remember that when we get sued for interfering in privacy issues,” Maxie added in amusement.

“No chance of that,” Susie replied. “I’ve got it all covered.”

“Oh my God.” Cherry squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose, apprehension setting in. “What’d you do?”

“Nothing! Geez, have faith. It was a job done by my cousin, who is very discreet, and whom I happen to have a huge hold over.”

This wasn’t getting any better. Cherry peeked at her over her fingers. “You blackmailed your cousin?”

“You call it blackmail, I call it compromise.” Susie’s smile was all teeth. “I know things he doesn’t want a certain someone in his life to know.”

“I’ve just seen a whole new side to you,” Maxie observed.

“Am I still one of your bridesmaids?”

“Hell, yes. Could you get your cousin to investigate my future in-laws?”

Cherry groaned.

Susie laughed.

Watching her friends trade banter, Cherry knew she was lucky to have them. While she couldn’t condone what Susie had done, she had to admit that she did feel a little better knowing that Rick had dated larger women in his past. It made her feel a little safer, a little more certain of his attraction to her not being a passing phase.

But she still held some deep-seated fears. A lifetime of being judged on appearance wasn’t about to be fixed by a few photos.

A few hours later when she was relaxing at home, there came a knock at the door. Opening it, she found herself faced with a bouquet of red roses and a smiling florist.

“Delivery for Cherry Williams,” the florist announced.

“That’s me.” Cherry took the flowers. “Are you sure they’re for me?”

“Absolutely.” The florist winked at her. “Lucky woman.”

Cherry watched her drive away before she took the flowers inside. Laying them on the table, she searched for a card while wondering why her parents would send flowers when it wasn’t even her birthday.

Taking the little envelope attached to the flowers, she withdrew the petite card and read it. Incredulous, she re-read the card. Her heart started to flutter, and she actually placed a hand on her stomach.

The roses were from Rick. The card had his no-nonsense script. It read:

Roses are Red

Cherries are sweet

I know which I prefer

In-between my sheets.

She started to laugh. The roses were beautiful, the verse corny, and it was the most romantic thing to have ever happened to her.

Frizz looked up at her from the floor and meowed.

Cherry went to the cupboard and pulled down a vase. “The Annabelle’s of this world can take a short dive off a long cliff, Frizz. I’m not letting her spoil my time with Rick.”

Picking up the phone, she realized that she didn’t have his phone number. To call him at his surgery wasn’t something she’d even contemplate, and there was no way she’d call the hospital and get his private number. With a sigh, she put down the phone. She’d have to wait for him to contact her.

The rest of the day was spent alternating between doing the housework and admiring the roses, and thinking of Rick.

When the phone finally rang in the late afternoon, she answered it eagerly. “Hello?”

“Is that my luscious Cherry?” Rick’s warm tones seemed to swirl through the phone and down her nerves, tingling her in places she’d only felt since she’d been with him.

“It is. Thank you for the roses, they’re beautiful.” Smiling, she sat down in the armchair and twirled the line around her finger.

“I’m glad you like them.” Amusement was evident, even though she couldn’t see his face. “Did you appreciate my poetical effort?”

“Oh, very much.” She laughed. “Touched me deep down.”

“Keep that thought.” His tone turned husky. “It’s where I’ll be touching you.”

A flush went right through her, starting from her head and sweeping to her toes, and tickling every delicious nerve in-between. “Umm…”

His laugh was husky. “Speechless, love?”

“Apparently.” She grinned goofily at Sugar, who regarded her in boredom before closing her eyes again.

“But I can make you scream.”

“Not words.”

“My name.”

Cherry shifted in the armchair, mentally fanning herself, then remembering that he couldn’t see her, she lifted her hand and fanned her face. “So sure of yourself.”

“I’ve heard you.” His tone dropped, growing deeper, huskier, a sensual lilt in it. “I’ve heard you scream my name when I’m deep inside you. I’ve felt your wet heat around me, the tight clasp of your secrets around my shaft. I’ve felt your body tremble in my arms. I’m very sure of you, love.”

Feeling like she was floundering in a sea of hot tides, Cherry blinked and struggled to say something witty. Anything. Anything at all. All she could manage was a croaked, “Well…”

“I just bet your cheeks are red right now.” Rick’s voice was a soft growl in her ears that made goose bumps spring deliciously over her arms. “I bet those little nipples I like to suck are hard and peaking against your blouse. Am I right, Cherry?”

She was so out of her depth that she didn’t know what to say. Say something, numbskull! “I um…I don’t…it’s cold.”

He laughed, making her close her eyes and almost shrivel in embarrassment. Thank God he couldn’t see her face!

“Ah, Cherry, my little innocent,” he murmured, amused. “You know how to make a hard day suddenly a lot brighter.”

“I do?” Mentally chastising herself, she amended, “I mean, thanks. I think. Hard day at the office?” She kicked herself. Surely to goodness she could think of something sexy to say, something witty, something— “Does Dr Discipline need a visit from Nurse Naughty?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she could have died. Right there. On the spot. Just curled up and died!

Horrified, biting her lip, she stared unseeingly at the far wall.

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and she had visions of Rick grimacing at her clumsy reply. Oh God, she wanted to die right now!

“I’m coming right over,” Rick said, and hung up.

Cherry leaped to her feet. “Hello? Rick?”

There was no answer so she put the phone down with trembling hands. Placing her fingers to her mouth, she glanced around the room. He was coming here? After what she’d said, Rick was coming here? To play Dr Discipline and Nurse Naughty? Oh God, surely not. No no no. She didn’t know how to role play, she didn’t – please, don’t let him bring the speculum!

She had to ring Susie for advice. No, she didn’t. Maxie? No. No way could she ask her friends how to role play for sex games.

Biting her lip, she wrung her hands. Oh boy, how did she get herself into this position? Could she say no to Rick? Did she want to say no? Did she want…she shivered…discipline?

Racing to the bathroom, she checked her appearance. Same old Cherry, just that her eyes were a lot bigger – fear - and darker – fear - and her cheeks were flushed - fear. Or was that desire? Were the shine in her eyes and the tremble in her fingers desire or fear?

Hells bells, she didn’t know. Her nerves were jangling, her stomach fluttering, and her pulses leaping in her wrists.

Going to the kitchen, she downed a glass of water, then dashed back to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She didn’t know what to do next. Change her clothes? Try and appear sexier? Scratch that, she decided, no way she could look sexier even if she had a team of fashion experts at her beck and call.

She was still wringing her hands when the decisive knock on the door had her jumping into the air. Stepping into the hallway, she stared at the door.

Dr Discipline had arrived. For an insane second she wondered if she should go and put on her clean nurse’s uniform.

The knock came again, and to her it sounded definite. Deliberate.

Swallowing, she walked to the door, wiping her palms on her pants. Reaching out, she unlocked the door and swung it open.

Standing there, his thumbs hooked into his front pockets, Rick looked down at her. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his slacks were wrinkle-free, and his stance was relaxed. A lock of dark hair fell rakishly over his brow. His twinkling gaze swept over her face and settled on her hand where it was wringing the heck out of the bottom of her blouse. “Nurse Naughty feeling a little nervous?”

“No,” she squeaked.

Throwing his head back, he laughed uproarisly.

She felt like a fool.

Looking down at her again, Rick continued laughing, hooked his arm around her waist and drew her against him. Lowering his head, he rested his forehead against hers and looked her directly in the eyes. Grinning, he said softly, “You were nervous, love, admit it.”

With his arms around her, she suddenly felt warm and safe, and her jangling nerves started to ease. The blush on her cheeks didn’t, though, but she met his gaze gamely. “Okay.”

“I love teasing you.” His eyes continued to twinkle merrily. “I love seeing that blush in your cheeks.”

“I’m glad to provide you with amusement,” she said tartly.

“Sugar, you make me smile and laugh.”

“I felt a fool.”

“You make me hot and hard, too. So very hot and hard.” The sudden heat in his voice and the darkening of his eyes had her nerves starting to jangle again. Just as fast and disarming, his tone and eyes softened. “You make me feel a whole range of emotions, Cherry. You make my day worth living.”

Whoa. Her heart started to pound a tattoo in her chest. This was getting a little too deep, a little too quick.

He must have read something in her expression, because he smiled slow and easy before dropping a soft, yet still nerve-tingling kiss on her lips. Lifting his head, he murmured, “Unfortunately, sweet Cherry, I can’t stay. I’m on my way to the hospital. I’m on-call tonight.”

Relief and disappointment both poured through Cherry. “Oh.”

Sliding his hands from her waist, he rested them on her hips and straightened. “Wish I could stay and show you what fun role-playing can be, but that’s going to have to wait for another day.” He winked.

Feeling more sure of herself, she arched one brow. “So you’re on-call?”

“Yep.” His thumbs drew lazy circles on her hips.

“So what would you have done if I’d met you at the door dressed as a naughty nurse?”

His grin was wide. “Oh, I know you. You wouldn’t have.”

His assuredness galled her a little. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Oh, I do.” Leaning down, he kissed the tip of her nose.

“But what if I had?” she persisted. “Then what?”

“I’d have gone to work with a hard-on. Not a good look at the hospital.” With a sigh, he stepped back. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Leaning against the door frame, she watched as he took out a card from his back pocket and handed it to her.

“I’m invited to a dinner in a fortnight. Please come with me.”

“Dinner?” Cherry looked down at the guilt-edged card. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“It’s for me and a partner,” he continued. “That partner being you.” Reaching out, he twirled one of her silky locks around his finger and gave it a gentle tug. “Girlfriend.”

Girlfriend? Looking up at Rick, she felt the word practically slide through her senses. She’d never been any man’s girlfriend, not even as a teenager. He thought of her as his girlfriend. A warm flush went through her.

He smiled down at her. “I have to go. Call me.”

“I don’t have your number.”

He looked blank for a second, then shook his head. “Of course. Sometimes I can be a bit vague.”

“Not where it counts,” she said, then immediately covered her mouth. “Umm...sorry.”

“Cheeky chit.” Amused yet again, he bent down and caught her mouth in a kiss that was fast and deep and hard. His tongue swept through her, leaving his taste, his mouth controlling the kiss, drawing from her, pulling at the strings of desire inside her. Lifting his head, he licked his lips. “Yummy.”

She was still standing there in a daze when he took a card from his wallet and tucked it down the front of her blouse, his fingertips unerringly pushing it between her breasts. He grinned devilishly at her, winked, and walked back down the path towards his car.

She couldn’t believe the way he made her feel, so desirable, so cherished, so sexy. So warm. Impulsively, she stepped forward. “Rick?”

He turned and looked back at her. “Yes?”

“I’ll come to the party with you.”

His grin was unabashedly pleased. He gave her a quick salute, strode to his car, got inside and drove away.

Closing the door behind her, Cherry leaned back against it and smiled dreamily down at Frizz and Sugar, who were eyeing her with the expectation of dinner.

“Mmmm,” she said. “He’s a catch all right. And right now, he’s all mine.”

With a little giggle of pure joy, she slid his card from between her breasts, then she read the dinner invite card in her other hand.

And went ice cold.

Chapter Eight

Cherry looked up at the row of dress shops and felt ill. Shopping for clothes was something she hated. All the pretty clothes were too small, all the plus-sized fashions available in bold colours and large patterns that seemed to scream out ‘Look at me! I’m fat! Too fat for pretty, dainty patterns!’

Blah. Wrinkling her nose, she went into yet another dress shop. Yep, just as she’d suspected, the dainty dresses with cute little patterns on them were for the smaller-sized women. The only dresses there in her size had big, bold, red and black flowers all over them. Like she’d wear red and black anyway – not in this lifetime.

She’d have walked out then and there except that she needed something nice to wear to the dinner party. When she walked into Margaret Clarke’s home on the arm of Dr Rick Reed, she wanted to do him proud, to look lovely.

Inwardly, she cringed. If she’d known who was holding the party, she’d have refused to go, but after telling him she’d accompany him to the party, and he’d been so pleased, there was no way she could back down.

That and the fact that Susie had threatened to kick her backside if she even dared to contemplate cancelling. Cherry had argued that a fancy-arsed party full of local GPs and surgeons wasn’t her scene, and Susie had almost given her an arse-kicking then and there, so she’d ended up buckling under her friend’s tirade and now here she was, combing through clothes in a hellish search for the right dress.

Maybe she should go in a pants suit, only most of the women would be in cocktail dresses, she supposed. Or so Maxie had told her.

Hell. In more ways than one.

Exiting yet another shop, she cringed as she spotted a tall, beautiful blonde walking towards her. Annabelle Forbes. Schooling her features into a smile, she took a deep breath and walked up the path towards her, only to have Annabelle give her a cold stare and sweep right past her.

Rolling her eyes, she turned into another dress shop, fully expecting to exit with nothing. Instead, she spied the dream of all dresses on a mannequin. It was beautiful, the material draping from the little straps on the shoulders to sweep down to the floor in a swath of delicate silk. It was black on both sides, from the straps down to the floor, with a pale lilac swath going from the bodice to the floor. A delicate, lacy throw lay over the shoulders.

Slimming, it would be slimming.

Heart in her mouth, she searched the rack, unable to believe it when her size was available. Going into the dressing room, she shed her pants and blouse and slid the gown over her head. It settled over her, draping to the floor. It skimmed her curves without clinging or bunching up.

Studying herself in the mirror, Cherry smiled. It was the perfect dress. Unbelievably, it was the perfect dress. She was still a plus-sized woman, but she looked classy, pretty, well-dressed. She loved it.

The price would normally have made her blanch, but she paid it without a qualm and left the dress shop with her brightly-bagged purchase swinging in her hand. When Annabelle stepped out of the dress shop next door, Cherry beamed at her, not even minding when the she raked her form with a not-quite sneering expression.

Nothing was going to spoil her day. She’d found the perfect dress and wasn’t going to embarrass Rick. For the first time in a long time, she felt sure of herself, confident.

Once at home, she couldn’t help but try on the dress once more, feeling almost like a fairy-tale princess.

Frizz and Sugar were more interested in the bag and only spared her a brief glance as she twirled in front of the mirror, looking over her shoulder to get the effect.

“You have no idea, you two,” she informed the cats. “You only have one coat and don’t have to worry about the fit.”

Frizz went back into the bag and lay down, leaving his ample bottom sticking out. Sugar swatted him and his tail lashed around. Sugar pounced on it and a wild game of tag involving the bag and Cherry’s blankets ensued.

Leaving them to play happily, Cherry searched her shoe box and found a gold pair of strappy sandals she’d worn to a wedding. Holding them up, she frowned. Gold with the black and lilac? Mmmm…maybe not. Another search produced a pair of medium-heeled black pumps with a lacy appearance, and she slipped them on. The hem of the dress was now about three centimetres off the floor. Perfect. She had a little black lacy-style clutch purse that would be ideal.

Taking the dress off carefully, she slid a clear plastic bag over it and hung it up in the wardrobe. Yes, for once she was actually looking forward to getting dressed up and going out. At least she wouldn’t embarrass Rick.

Humming to herself, she left the bedroom and went to make some salad for lunch.

~*~

Leaning back against the kitchen bench, Rick blew on the hot surface of his cup of coffee and watched his sister moodily eat a bowl of cereal.

Donna was glancing at her mobile phone where it sat in the middle of the table.

“Maybe David’s golfing,” he suggested.

She glared at him. “Why should I care?”

“Because you want him to phone you. Like always.”

“And just what do you mean by that smart crack?”

“You do this every time, Don. You get into a snit about something that David says, and you come to either my place or Mum’s to sulk until he rings and apologizes, or he comes looking for you.”

“If you don’t want me here…”

Refusing to rise to the bait, Rick raised one brow.

“I can always go to Mum’s.” She scowled at his grin. “You’re as big a jerk as David.”

“High praise from a lady who has been married for ten years to the same jerk.”

Donna flipped him the middle finger and he laughed.

The doorbell rang and he straightened, placing the coffee cup on the bench.

“Is that your new girlfriend?” Donna queried.

“It is. Be nice to her.”

“When am I not?” She leered. “Lover boy.”

“Cherry is more than just my girlfriend, Donna. I mean it. Be nice to her.”

“You’re engaged? Boy, is Mum going to be pissed at you for not telling her. She—”

“No, I’m not engaged.” The doorbell rang again and he pointed at her. “And we’ll talk about this later, not now. Cherry gets a bit freaked. So keep your mouth closed and be nice.”

“Kinda hard to keep my mouth closed and be nice!” His irrepressible sister yelled out after him as he strode down the hallway.

Opening the door, he grinned down at Cherry. “Hello, love.” Sweeping her into his arms, he yanked her close and kissed her long and deep.

Oh yeah, he could kiss her all day long. She tasted like Cherry, all fresh and sweet. She smelled like Cherry, all fresh and sweet. She felt like Cherry, soft and curvy. Her arms crept around his neck and she kissed him back, and he delighted in her response. Oh yeah, he could hold her and kiss her and make love to her all day long.

Damn shame his sister had decided to sulk at his house this weekend instead of their parent’s. He’d have to think of something, anything. He wanted to be alone with Cherry. Alone and naked. Hoo boy, the image that thought brought to mind.

Lifting his head, he gazed down into Cherry’s smiling face. Those adorable apple cheeks were pink, and those big blue eyes were sparkling. “Glad you got the weekend off, love.”

“I usually get two off a month.” She shrugged, and his libido perked up as those big breasts pushed against his chest with her movement. “And you got the weekend off, too.”

“I share the on-call.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Her eyes twinkled.

“Cheeky chit.” He swatted her generous bottom then decided it wasn’t enough and grabbed a handful. “Mmmm, better.”

“Going to introduce me to your guest?” Donna said from behind him. “Or are you just going to keep her on the veranda and grope her in full view of the neighbours?”

Blushing, Cherry shoved against Rick’s chest. “You’ve got visitors! Let go.”

He sighed. Slipping his arm around her waist, he turned to face his sister. “Cherry, this inconsiderate brat is my sister, Donna. Inconsiderate brat, this is Cherry.”

Donna stepped forward and held out her hand, her gaze sweeping across Cherry. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Cherry shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Mmmm. Polite, too. How did Rick manage to catch you?”

“I...um…I was lucky, I guess,” Cherry stammered uncertainly.

“I was the lucky one,” he immediately corrected her. “Cherry is a nurse at the hospital.”

“She knows you’re a doctor? Hells bells, Cherry, what on earth possessed you to date a doctor?” Grabbing Cherry’s arm, Donna drew her away from Rick and towards the kitchen. “You of all people know how demanding doctors can be.”

Uncertain, Cherry glanced at Rick over her shoulder.

Grinning, he shrugged, closed the door, and followed them down the passage. In the kitchen he watched as Donna deposited Cherry in a chair and crossed to the ‘fridge. Glancing in, she began, “Do you want a cold drink? We have – oh. Now I understand the load of Diet Coke on the bottom shelf.”

Puzzled, Cherry looked at him. “But you don’t drink it.”

“You like it,” he replied simply.

“You didn’t have to buy some especially for me,” she protested, but he could see the little light in her eyes, the pleasure in her tone.

As usual, her pleasure touched him. Crossing to her chair, he leaned down and kissed her upturned mouth. “When you’re happy, I’m happy.”

She didn’t pull away but smiled up at him. It was the first time she’d simply accepted what he’d done, and he felt that victory clear down to his toes. He’d have pushed his luck further –such as making love to her in board daylight – but his damned sister was present in the kitchen, so he could only give Cherry another kiss and straighten up to lay his hands on her shoulders, kneading gently and enjoying her closeness. Her scent wafted up to him and he inhaled.

“So.” Donna placed an open can of Diet Coke in front of Cherry and studied her shrewdly. “You’re a nurse.”

Cherry’s attention returned to Donna and Rick could feel the slight tension in her body at the knowledge that someone else had seen them kissing. He really was going to have to work on making her less self-conscious. But it was cute, especially in this day and age.

“Yes,” Cherry replied. “You?”

“I’m married.” Donna pulled a face. “Maybe divorced in the near future.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude on something private.”

“Ignore her,” Rick said. “She’s not getting divorced.”

“You think?” Donna retorted.

“David wouldn’t let you go, and you know it.”

“If that was the case, why hasn’t he rung yet? Take a tip from me, Cherry. Men are after only one thing, and once they get it, they expect you to come at a snap of their fingers, they—”

Rick jokingly laid his hands over Cherry’s ears. “I don’t think my girlfriend needs to hear your advice, Don.”

He felt Cherry stiffen slightly and glanced down, half expecting her to pull away. Instead, she relaxed back against him and when she glanced up, he saw the warmth in her eyes. That warmth filled him, especially when it meant she was finally accepting it, their closeness, their being a couple in front of others. But he was wise enough not to push it too far.

Rick smiled and rubbed her cheeks briefly with his thumbs before transferring his hands back to her shoulders and his attention to his sister. “You’re just miffed because David hasn’t come tearing after you like he normally does.”

Donna scowled. “He’s an arse. Like all men.”

“Like all men what?” a new voice queried.

“Hey, Tim.” Donna smiled, her eyes sparkling as Tim walked in, hooked a chair out with his foot, and sprawled into it. “Just ripping holes in the male of the species, who, I might add, deserve it.”

“Cripes, Donna in man-ripping mode. I am so surprised. David must be in the shit again.” Tim’s gaze went to Cherry. “You must be Cherry.”

“Hello,” she replied.

Rick squeezed her shoulders lightly. “This is Tim. I told you about him.”

“Oh, nothing but good things, I hope,” Tim said. “Not that there’s anything but good things to say about me.”

“I came all the way here to worship at your altar.” Donna saluted him with her cereal spoon.

“But you brought no gifts.” Tim winked at Cherry. “Cheap worship, Don.”

“You are cheap.”

“That hurts.”

“Cheaply, I might add.”

“So, David get fed up with the nail raking you’re often giving him and finally kicked you out?”

“You freakin’ wish. You just want me for yourself.”

“Not when you don’t bring gifts.”

Cherry laughed.

Tim looked at the empty space on the table in front of him. “I thought a woman’s place was to get a man a drink. You’re failing, Don.”

She flipped him the middle finger.

“Eloquent as usual.” Tim got up and went to the ‘fridge, coming back up with a tin of Diet Coke in his hand. “What the hell?”

Donna smirked at Rick.

He arched one brow lazily. “I know how to keep my woman happy.”

Tim looked from the Diet Coke to Cherry and back again, then shrugged. “Okay.” He stuck the can back in the ‘fridge and did a quick search, coming up this time with a carton of iced chocolate. “Yum.”

“Also to keep my woman happy,” Rick informed him.

Tim looked at Cherry and waggled the carton questioningly.

“Help yourself.” The embarrassment was clear in her voice.

Ah yes, his little love hadn’t expected him to do anything for her. Boy, did she have a lot of surprises in store for her in the future, and he was going to enjoy springing them on her.

Sliding onto the chair beside her, Rick caught her hand under the table and rested their combined clasp on his thigh. Her fingers tugged momentarily, but then relaxed in his hold.

Another victory.

Tim poured a glass full of iced chocolate and would have left the carton on the bench except that Donna berated him rudely for it. Laughing, he stuck it back in the ‘fridge and returned to the table with his full glass and Rick’s half cold cup of coffee, which he placed before Rick.

Sprawling once more in the chair, he looked at Donna. “So, going to tell us what you did to poor David?”

“Poor David?” She bristled immediately.

Rick placed his mouth close to Cherry’s ear. “Don’t fret. These two have been fighting since primary school. Just sit back and enjoy it.”

Turning her head to answer, she found herself so close to Rick’s face that her luscious lips were only inches from his.

Rick was fully prepared to swoop in for a quick kiss, but she blushed and turned away before he could do so. Bugger. With an inward sigh, he rested his arm along the back of Cherry’s chair and leaned towards her comfortably, switching his attention to Donna and Tim. As usual, Donna was giving Tim an earful of sardonic remarks about the male of the species, while Tim was doing his very best to confirm her low opinion. In-between, Tim would throw remarks to Cherry or Rick, as did Donna, but neither really waited for an answer before lighting into each other again.

More than used to their squabbling, Rick idly twirled a lock of Cherry’s brown hair around his finger. “Got plans for the day?”

“Not really. I came this morning because you asked me to.”

“It’s a standing invitation, love. My home is your home, anytime, anywhere, and for whatever reason.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“You sound delighted.”

“No, I sincerely meant thank you. You just surprised me.” Those apple cheeks were pink again.

God, he loved how she blushed so easily. It made him feel protective. And hot. Definitely hot. Her sweet shyness and uncertainty just brought out the predator in him. Oh yeah, hot and predatory. He could eat her right up.

Cherry stared at him, her cheeks going even redder. “Rick.” His name was whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what? Like I could eat you right up? Funny, I was just thinking that.”

There was an answering spark in her eyes – thank you, God! – but then she bit her lip and glanced across the table to where Tim was mercilessly baiting Donna, while she threatened to de-man him. “Not now.”

“Later?” When she didn’t answer, he placed his mouth against her ear and breathed both seductively and teasingly, “Later, Cherry?”

“You’re like a kid with candy.”

“I like to suck my candy.”

Cherry nearly tipped the tin of Diet Coke she was holding in her other hand.

Rick chuckled. When there was no reply or response from her, he sobered, kicking himself mentally for maybe pushing her too far in company. He was about to apologize when she turned her head, her gaze meeting his.

Holy cow, her gaze was bright and held heat, even if she was trying to hide it. At least, he thought she was trying to hide it, but then she beckoned him closer and when he quite willingly laid his cheek against her softer one so that she could whisper in his ear, he half expected to be chastised.

“I like to suck my candy, too.” Her breath was warm in his ear.

Well hell, that just about paralysed him. ick blinked.

Cherry slowly retreated, but she turned her head at the last second so that those luscious lips brushed moistly against his cheek, then shockingly, heatedly, there was a brief, so very, agonizingly, brief suck on the corner of his mouth, then she pulled away and turned back to the table, leaving him staring at her in astonishment.

She liked to suck her candy, too. Did she truly mean…but then, she’d never had oral sex.Had she? Had she meant oral sex? Heat broiled low in his groin. Jesus. Oral sex with Cherry was something he planned, but he hadn’t been sure how she’d accept it, not with her weight issues, but it sure as hell had seemed like… Oh boy.

For the first time since he’d met her, Rick didn’t know what to say. He knew what he wanted to do, all right, and that was to lay her across the table and bury his head between her voluptuous thighs, but hell, not with his sister and his friend there. He had to get rid of them. Now. Somehow.

He didn’t know how, not without mortifying Cherry. Shit.

His attention was partially diverted by Donna’s mobile phone ringing, but only partially, because his head was still swimming with images of Cherry and oral sex, and the tingling sensation of that little suck on the corner of his mouth.

Picking up the phone, Donna studied the number. “Mum.” Flicking it open, she put it to her ear. “Hi, Mum. Have you heard from that arse, David? He’s such a jerk.”

Tim grinned and drained the ice chocolate from his glass. His gaze lit on Cherry and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. His gaze slid to Rick, and Rick’s face obviously wasn’t as bland as he’d hoped, because Tim’s grin widened knowingly and he winked.

Cherry’s fingers flexed in his hand and he gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Donna’s gasp caught his attention. “He’s hurt? David’s hurt? Is he all right? Is he—?” She bit her lip, her eyes wide. “He did what? Oh no!”

Concerned, Rick straightened.

“I’m coming home right now. You tell David to stay right there. Of course I know he can’t move, I just – I’m coming home now.” Snapping the phone shut, Donna sprang to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” Rick stood quickly. “What happened?”

“David sprained his ankle while painting the trimming on the verandah.” Donna’s eyes filled with tears and she sniffed. “I nagged him about painting it, that’s what we fought about, he said he didn’t have time and I said ‘What? For the last six weekends?’ So when I left, Mum said he felt bad and decided to paint it as a surprise. He fell off the ladder and sprained his ankle.”

Tim guffawed.

She rounded on him furiously. “You ignoramus! David’s hurt!”

“Only his ankle. He’ll be fine.”

“Says you. I’m going home to look after the poor dear.” She hurried from the room. “I feel so bad.”

“How many times have I heard that?” He stood up and stretched. “Think I’ll head for home myself, Rick. Thanks for the iced chocolate, Cherry.”

“Uh – you’re welcome.” Cherry was standing uncertainly by the chair.

“Don’t see me out, I can do it myself.” Tim winked at Rick. “Have a good, or should that be great – day.”

Rick grinned. Oh hell yeah, he intended to take full advantage of this windfall.

No sooner had Tim left than Cherry started to move around the table. “I better go, too.”

“What? No.” Rick stepped in front of her. “You don’t need to go.”

“But your sister—”

“Donna is fine. Trust me, love, my sister and her husband have these falling-outs often, and she always turns up at either my place or my parent’s until David comes looking for her, which isn’t usually very long. They kiss and make-up, though he’s really outdone himself this time.” He couldn’t stop his lips twitching in amusement. “You’ll get used to it.”

“But—”

“No buts. Donna won’t take long to go, and this is the first time in nearly a week that we’ve had time together.”

Cherry smiled. “We went to a movie two nights ago. I cooked tea for you on Thursday and Sugar spent the whole time afterwards sitting in your lap until you got that call-out.”

“I’m lucky to get a good meal into me on a on-call night. My guardian angel was watching out for me. I got time to spend with you and those two miscreants you call cats.” It had been a relaxing time while they’d chatted and the cats snoozed contentedly, Sugar snuggled on his lap.

“Last weekend was a picnic with my friends.”

“And what an experience that was.” Rick grinned. “I like your friends. At least Susie lets me sneak a peak at the hospital roster now.”

“She’s a little overprotective.”

Rick had to agree, but he couldn’t blame Susie. In fact, that very protective streak in her towards Cherry made him admire her. Anyone who was on Cherry’s side got his automatic vote of friendship.

The picnic had been fun. Robbo and Ben got on well with Rick, and Maxie and Susie were friendly with him outside of the hospital walls, especially when he proved to be easy-going and cheerful, happily falling in with their plans for the day. There was no distinguishing in their varied professions.

“Susie is a free spirit, it’ll take a special man to hold her down.” Cherry smiled. “Robbo’s trying to be that man.”

Reaching out, Rick took her hand. She looked up at him questioningly, and his heart just bloomed with warmth as it always did when she looked at him. “Free spirits are wonderful, but there’s only one spirit I’m interested in capturing.”

That expected flush spread across her cheeks and she glanced away.

Before he could say anything, Donna ran past the door. “I’m off! Bye Rick! Nice to meet you, Cherry!” The door banged shut behind her.

Rick shook his head. “Typical Donna. I’ll see her off.”

She was already jumping in a taxi when he got to the gate. She waved to him, yelled her thanks again, and the taxi pulled away. The visit was typical Donna-style. A whirlwind of temper, humour, and rapid mood swings.

Amused, Rick returned to the house. Shutting the door behind him, he entered the kitchen again to find Cherry gazing out the window into the backyard.

“Nice yard,” she said. “It’s going to need some work, though.”

Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. She relaxed back into him, and he savoured the feel of her softness. “True. But I don’t intend to do too much to it.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a rental. It’s not a real home.”

“True again. But you need it to look nice, to feel like a home.”

“Maybe, but it’ll still be missing someone.” He nuzzled the silky strands of hair tickling his chin.

Cherry didn’t answer, but neither did she pull away. They stood there in companionable silence and he let the peace of their togetherness seep into him. The house was quiet, it was just the two of them. The two of them with nothing to take their attention from each other.

“Do you know it’s been a week since we made love?’ Rick murmured. Immediately he felt her suck in a breath. “I say we remedy that right now.”

“Now?” She looked up at him over her shoulder.

“Sure. Why not? We have the house to ourselves, you’re not on shift work, and I’m not on-call. No one is here.” Leaning down, he nibbled the corner of her mouth. “Yes, now.”

Cherry started to jerk away but he tightened his arms.

“No,” she said. “Let go.”

“No, you don’t want to make love?”

“No. Yes. I mean, yes, I want to make love.” She stumbled a little over the words, which he thought was cute. “But not right now.”

Ah-ha. “When, then?”

“Tonight.”

Rick knew exactly what she was aiming for, and hell no, it wasn’t happening. “With the lights off, eh?”

“No rules,” she reminded him.

“That works both ways. You like it off, I like it on. During the day there’s no quibbling.”

“No.”

“Why?” He turned her around and transferred his hands to her shoulders. “You don’t want to see me when we make love?”

“No, yes…well of course I do, but…” It took a lot for her to admit that without looking away.

Wait for it, he thought. When she stammered to a mortified halt, he waited. And waited. But he was determined that she’d be the one to say it, not him. It was her problem, not his. Well, not in the same way.

Finally, she took refuge in annoyance and glared at him. “I don’t want you to see me naked.”

“Scared of what your body will do to me?” he drawled.

She actually flinched. “Yes.”

He had to give her points for honesty, but he decided the way to do this wasn’t slow and easy. Slow and easy hadn’t won him any ground so far with her weight issues. It was time to strike.

I’ll tell you what your body will do to me, sugar.”

“I know, I know. You want the lights on. You don’t care about my weight. You—” Her speech was cut off by his finger lying against her lips.

“Stop right there, Cherry. This time you’ll listen to me.” Her eyes widened a little, a light of battle flaring to life. If she only knew what that did to his libido. A good tussle leading to love-making, mmm-mmm. Manfully, he switched back to the topic at hand. “And listen good.” Okay, he didn’t really have to add that last bit, but he figured getting her fired up wasn’t such a bad idea. Anger and lust could be a good combination if handled correctly. Of course, if not handled correctly, it could also come back to bite him on the arse, but that wasn’t an option in this situation.

He was playing to win.

“You better have a good argument, Reed,” she warned.

“I don’t argue. I’m stating facts, so listen up, sugar.” Oh yeah, that ‘sugar’ bit had her hackles rising. Cute. “The thought of you naked has me so hot my cock’s hard enough to crack ice.”

Yeah, that took the wind right out of her sails. Her mouth fell open.

“The thought of you naked has my balls absolutely knotted.”

Her cheeks flamed.

“The sight of you is going to make me come into you like a jackhammer, baby, so you better be ready to hang on for dear life, because I intend to see you naked any minute, and I intend to be in you hard and fast. But first I’m going to have a good look at you. I’m going to explore that luscious body good and properly.”

“I don’t bloody think so!”

“Do you remember what I said to you the last time we made love in my hotel room?” She shook her head a little wildly. “I told you that you had won, but next time it was on my terms. This is my time, baby.”

“Rick, no.”

“My terms.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking of me.” Her magnificent breasts were rising and falling agitatedly. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

He didn’t bother trying to hide the hedonism in his slow smile. “I’m not asking you, love, I’m telling you.”

There was a flash of panic in her eyes, and then she started to struggle in earnest.

“Cherry.” Not expecting the panic, Rick tried to hold her. “Cherry, stop.”

“Let go!” She twisted away, and he caught the sheen of tears in her eyes.

Truly alarmed, he caught her to him. Instinctively he knew if he allowed her to flee, he’d lose any ground he’d gained - if he hadn’t already. But part of him wasn’t yet ready to give up, not by a long shot.

He cradled her to him, gentle but firm, and when he didn’t let her go she suddenly sagged into him, burying her face in his shoulder and twisting her hands into his shirt. Breathing ragged, she pressed into him.

“Jesus.” Closing his eyes, he rocked her gently. “Someone really did a number on you, didn’t they, love?”

She didn’t answer, just pressed closer. Part of Rick cursed himself for pushing the issue, but another part of him felt as though he’d crested something so very important, that he was finally pushing open some hidden door.

Did this happen to all larger women? He wondered. Did they all lack such confidence? He didn’t remember his sister being so uptight about her weight, nor his mother. Oh, they’d been through their share of dieting and exercising, but ultimately they’d shrugged and continued on their merry way.

Not all women were that confident.

Cherry wasn’t that confident, but he wanted to bring that confidence up in her, bring it out, make her proud of herself.

Make her talk.

Resting his cheek on her head, he said softly, “Tell me what’s wrong, Cherry. Not the weight, but why you don’t want me to see. Who hurt you, baby? Tell me. Please tell me.”

She was silent for so long that he didn’t think she was going to answer, but then she whispered, “I went out with a man who dumped me on our date and left with another woman. She was gorgeous, slim, everything I’m not. I was the laughing stock of the party, and it was Susie who brought me home. I heard the teenagers when I was at school laughing at the bigger girls. I heard them laughing at me when I was in school regulation shorts, unable to run fully around the oval. I heard them call me a beached whale when I was in bathers at swimming classes.”

“Teenagers can be so thoughtlessly cruel.” Soothingly, Rick ran his hand up and down her back.

“A year ago Maxie finally talked me into going to the local pool in bathers. She’d been trying for months. There were three men there, handsome, muscular. The kind that turn a girl’s head.”

Yeah, Rick knew the kind of men of whom she spoke. Muscle-heads, the lot of them. As thick in the head as the muscles they sported with pride.

“I heard them laughing at me, heard the old ‘beached whale’ joke. One said that they better send out for the lifeguards when I hit the water, because there was going to be a tsunami for sure.”

Rick wanted to pound the thoughtless, cruel bastards’ heads in for them. As adults, they should have been more considerate.

“They commented about the dimples in my legs, saying they looked like the surface of the moon, all craters and lumps. My thighs wobbled like jelly. Someone like me should cover up, not make people sick by parading around my big arse and legs in bathers. I should be heard but not seen, one of them laughed, and another took it up and said they would be able to hear me coming a mile away by the rubbing of my thighs and the thudding of my footsteps. They had no idea that I was sitting behind them on the other side of the benches. That was the last time I ever let anyone see me in anything but my clothes. I can’t let you see me, Rick.”

“I’m not like them, Cherry.” How could he convince her that to him it didn’t matter? What could he possibly say that he hadn’t already?

Even as the thought filtered through his brain, he was already strategizing his next move. His mother had always said he was a fast thinker. His father said he was cunning. His sister said he was a jerk.

He believed himself to be determined. He knew what was of value in his life, and he would go after it. Cherry was what he valued most in his life now.

“Cherry, look at me.”

When she refused, he placed his hands on her wet cheeks and titled her head back. Tears glistened on her cheeks, and shaking his head, he took her hand and led her over to the kitchen bench. Plucking a couple of tissues from the box, he dried her cheeks then bent down and kissed her on her shiny nose.

Embarrassed, she glanced away. “I better go.”

It’d be a cold day in hell before he let her go now. “We’re not done talking yet.”

Miserable, she looked down at her feet. “I’m such an idiot.”

“No,” he said gently. “You’re human.” When the seconds kept ticking past and silence continued, Rick put a finger under her chin and titled her face back up so he could lock their gazes together.

They looked at each other steadily, he with quiet determination, she with a bravado that was trying to hide the hurt that dwelt in her soul.

Finally, he asked, “What do you want out of this relationship, Cherry?”

“You want to call it off—” she immediately began.

“No. Listen to me. What do you want out of this relationship, love? Think before you answer, think long and hard, and then be truthful.” He watched her silently, all the while his heart pounding just a little.

Here was the moment of truth. Right here and now could be the make or break of everything, he could be back to square one with her. Square one was definitely where he didn’t want to be, he wanted this last wall between them breached.

When he felt her tremble, he removed his finger from her chin, but he stayed close, allowing her to feel his body heat. Okay, yes, it was a cunning way to fight back, but sometimes his father was correct. Not that he’d ever admit it to him.

Cherry looked away, her fingers twisting nervously in her blouse. A slight breeze came in through the kitchen window and stirred the tendrils of hair at her temple. Her breathing was still a little ragged, but she seemed calmer.

Patiently, Rick waited. For the first time in his life he was anxious about a woman’s decision on their relationship, but no way was he going to show that to her. One of them had to be strong, and regardless if it was a caveman attitude or not, Rick saw himself as being the one that had to be strong enough for both of them, especially in that moment. Their very future was riding on it and he wasn’t one to gamble, but right now he knew he was dangerously gambling on her emotions. On her feelings. On her attraction to him.

On his love for her.

Cherry swallowed and glanced up at him almost shyly. “I want to give this relationship a go.”

“Do you?” He asked quietly, steadily.

“Yes.”

“How are you going to do that when you don’t trust me?”

“I do.” She looked miserable.

“You don’t trust me.” He kept his tone quiet, letting her feel his patience and understanding. Sure as hell he wasn’t going to give her a glimpse of his frustration.

“Rick…”

“My turn.” When she looked startled, he smiled inwardly. “I want this relationship to work. I trust you, Cherry. I want to share every aspect of my life with you. I’m prepared to go wherever it leads. But I can’t be the only one rowing this boat. This is a two-man boat, and I’m the only one pulling on the oars.” She looked like she was ready to cry again, but he pushed on ruthlessly. “A relationship works only when both people trust each other. I trust you fully, Cherry. I ask that you trust me.”

“You don’t know how hard this is for me.”

“Relationships aren’t easy. It takes work from both people. I’ve made love to you several times, love.” Reaching out, he gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I want to share more than that. I want to look into your eyes when we make love, I want to see what you’re feeling, and I want to share the laughter, the amazement, and the joys. I can’t do that in the dark. It has to be everything. Everything. There are to be no secrets between us, no awkwardness. Trust, Cherry.”

She took a wavering breath, her eyes searching his.

“Trust in every aspect of our relationship,” he said.

She looked down to where her fingers were wringing her blouse.

“Give me that trust.” His words hung between them.

Rick waited. Outside he could hear birds whistling, a car went past, and in the distance children laughed and shrieked. A dog barked. But everything he was interested in was right in his kitchen, standing before him, wringing the hell out of her blouse and his heart all at the same time.

Then she looked up at him and whispered, “Okay.”

His heart jumped. He felt like leaping around the kitchen and pumping his fists in the air. Instead, he met her gaze steadily and smiled slowly. “You won’t regret this, Cherry.”

“I hope not.”

Without saying another word, Rick took her hand and led her from the kitchen, down the hallway and into his bedroom. At the side of the bed he turned to face her.

Cherry was shaking with nerves. Her hand trembled in his and her eyes were filled with fear.

Not exactly what he wanted to see in them, but at least she wasn’t running from him screaming. His job now was to prove how much she turned him on, voluptuous curves and all.

Framing her cheeks in his palms, he leaned down and gently kissed her, keeping it light. He trailed his kisses across her lips, nibbled at the corners, then moved down to the side of her throat.

He felt her response in the way she sighed and angled her head for him.

Moving to her ear, he breathed warmly, “You’re safe in my hands, love.”

And then he swept the world out from under her feet.

He stormed her defences with his kisses and caresses, teasing her, drawing her into responding. He played with her senses, trailing his fingertips down her arms and up her sides, first over the blouse, then slipping his fingers beneath to simply trail up her sides, invoking shivers from her.

And he continued to kiss her, glorying in it when she swayed and leaned against him, her mouth seeking his, her hands creeping under his shirt to splay out over the muscles in his back.

Keeping her thoughts off what was happening, he undid the buttons of her blouse while kissing her neck, pushing it off her shoulders in a move that had his fingertips trailing once more down her arms.

Quickly shrugging out of his own shirt, he returned to kissing her, his hands now cupping the fullness of her breasts through the lace bra. Slipping his hands behind her, he kneaded down her spine, loving the way she arched into him, and slowly he slid his hands down further until they pushed beneath the waistband of her pants. When he started to push them down, she froze.

He stopped, his breathing heavier as he waited for her. His mouth was near her ear, his every breath stirring the loose strands of her hair, the scent of her strawberry shampoo assaulting his senses. In that moment he knew he loomed over her, her forehead level with his shoulders, and he deliberately leaned over her a little more, letting her feel his greater height, wanting her to feel smaller.

When she didn’t protest, he slid her pants down a little more, and though she remained stiff, she didn’t stop him. The pants slid the rest of the way down her legs and now all that separated her skin from his hands were the cotton panties and the lace bra. Every other warm, soft curve was pressed against him.

So he couldn’t see her body.

Rick didn’t say a word, just returned his hands to her waist and his lips to her mouth, kissing her deeply, ravishing her mouth a little more roughly, taking a little more strongly, demanding a little more of her, taking control once again.

It didn’t take long before she was again kissing him, her palms resting on his shoulders, and he unsnapped her bra without her even noticing and slid the straps down her arms. Still holding her mouth prisoner, he took her hands from his shoulders and brought them down to her sides, and the bra straps slid down over her wrists. He released her hands only long enough to allow the bra to slip free and fall off. Then those breasts, so bountiful and mouth-watering, were against his abdomen. He could feel the little hard nipples pressing against him, and his shaft, already stiff with arousal, grew unbelievably harder.

Again his hands headed south, his palms flat to her body, running over the hills and valleys of her waist and hips, down further into the small of her back and over the sweet rise of her derriere, his hands taking her panties down further and further, and then they fell to the floor and his hands were pressed against her bare bottom.

Her lips left his and her forehead pressed against his shoulder. Naked in his arms, her body trembled, and he could feel the combined fear, embarrassment, and arousal that filled her.

Time to deal with the embarrassment, but on more equal terms.

Dropping a light kiss onto the fragrant tresses below his chin, Rick brushed his lips lower until his mouth was against her ear. “Let’s even this up a bit, love.” Sliding his hands between them, her breasts brushing his arms, he reached for the buttons on his jeans and unsnapped them easily. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband, he shucked his jeans, taking his boxers with them.

Now they were both naked.

Cupping her face between his palms, he titled her head back again and looked deeply into her eyes. “Together, Cherry.” His voice was husky. “Always.”

She smiled tremulously, and he smiled right back at her.

And kissed her again. Deeply, hotly, intimately, and as soon as she melted into his arms again, he walked her backwards until her knees bumped the side of the bed. He didn’t hesitate, pushing her downwards with the movement of his own body, crowding her back until she sat and he leaned over her, and then in one swift movement he hooked one arm beneath her knees and swung her around so that she lay back on the bed.

Her eyes were huge, she was so amazed.

He laughed softly, swinging up and over her before she could remember that she was naked before him and it was broad daylight. Using her surprise against her, he lay down atop her and rested his weight on his forearms each side of her on the mattress. Lazily he contemplated her face, enjoying the softness of her body beneath him.

“You can tell me if you admire any move I make,” he said.

Cherry laughed, the genuine amusement in her face wiping away both the trepidation and amazement. “You and your ego.”

“I can live up to my ego.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second.”

“No room for disappointment then.” He swooped down and pattered light kisses across her lips and cheeks, making her squeal with laughter as he continued down to her throat, deliberately tickling her with his tongue and mouth, making loud smacking sounds as he moved down to her shoulders.

He got as far down as her breasts before he felt her stiffen. Glancing up, he saw the shadows in her eyes.

“Trust,” he reminded her softly. “I’ll never hurt you, Cherry.”

“I know.” She swallowed.

“Then relax, love, and let me take us to paradise.” The words might have been a little clichéd, but they seemed to steady her, and he’d have given her the very stars if he could have just to see that trust, however fragile, in her eyes when she looked at him.

That fragile trust that touched him straight to the heart. His heart that swelled with love, blossomed with warmth, and filled him with the desire to protect and cherish.

And cherish her he did, tasting her, taking the little nipples one at a time deep into his mouth and sucking firmly, feeling her body undulate beneath his mouth and hands, her thighs shift against his as her knees bent, allowing his lean hips to slide between her silken thighs. Feeling the heat of her secrets against him.

His shaft thickened, lengthened, growing and throbbing now with the desire to bury itself inside her wet heat.

Rick lifted his head and looked his full of her breasts, seeing them in the light of day for the very first time, and they were everything he’d fantasized. The globes were full, rounded, the nipples dark pink and budding, begging for his mouth. His gaze lifted and he looked into her eyes, seeing the heat simmering within them, along with the faint uncertainty.

“You’re so beautiful.” His words seemed to almost shimmer in the air between them, and he slowly swept his gaze down over her shoulders and breasts, to the sweet indent of her waist as he shifted lower, and lower still. The swell of her stomach, the curve of her hips, all so womanly and what a man needed to cradle his harder body.

So much woman. So much softness, so much beckoning temptation.

And she was all his.

Rick moved lower, and then her curls were there, the sheltering strands that guarded her secrets. The curls were as silky as the tresses on her head, and he blew on them, delighting as they danced a little beneath his breath.

Her thighs were at his sides now, and he felt the tension in her. This time when he looked up at her, over the sweet swell of her belly and the heavy globes of her breasts, he saw the faintest flicker of embarrassment in her eyes, but heat also swirled within, and it was this heat he needed to keep banked to get her through the next few moments. Just until he had her mindless with pleasure.

“You are temptation personified.” His voice sounded almost gravelly even to his own ears, but the desire he felt was threaded within it. “You are my temptation, Cherry.”

Her eyes darkened a little, a sparkle lit within, and then she smiled, just a little, but the shy sweetness of it took his breath away.

He had to taste her, and if he couldn’t have the lips that smiled so sweetly above him, he could have the lips that sheltered below.

Moving with deliberate determination, not wanting to startle her, he hooked his upper arms beneath her thighs, bending her knees further up with ease and lifting them out, holding them to his satisfaction.

He watched her the whole time, his gaze locked with hers, silently commanding her to keep her gaze on him. Her breath hitched and he saw her hands fist into the sheets each side of her as she waited with a mixture of fear and desire.

Rick smiled, slow and sensual, and then he dipped his head lower, lower, watching her, inhaling as her scent drifted to him, heady and spicy, making his mouth water. Closing his eyes, he sunk into her, lowering his shoulders, stretching his neck, his mouth nuzzling the curls at the apex of her thighs, his tongue sliding between the sheltering lips to run, slow and deliberate, along the perineum of her body.

Cherry jumped, but his hold on her kept her hips pinned to the mattress.

His tongue found the little clitoris sheltering high up and he probed it delicately. Her thighs tightened, but it was a different tension, this one not of fear but desire. Rick recognized it and revelled carnally in it.

Her taste flowed into him, spicy and creamy, and he wanted more, so much more. Trailing his tongue back down to the entrance of her body, he dipped inside a little and was rewarded by her arching beneath him. A few more laps, a few more teasing trails of his tongue, and he heard her moan. He tasted her, his shaft throbbing for release, and as much as he wanted to taste her more, he wanted to also bury himself inside her. But feasting on her had been his fantasy, and he wasn’t about to let it go now.

With skill he played her body, using his tongue to probe her higher, lowering one hand to press lightly atop her mound, hooking one finger into the curve of her sheltering lips and playing the tip backward and forward at the tender curve. His other hand he trailed down to finger her perineum as he tongued her clitoris, sucking the little nub carefully while playing his finger around the hot, moist opening of her body. Inserting his finger an inch, he thrust in and out, moving further in each time until his whole finger was inside her clasping sheath.

By this time Cherry was writhing, her breathing ragged, and when she moaned his name he heard the mounting desire in it, just as he felt the wash of heated moistness that coated his finger. He felt the quiver of her sheath around his finger, and he knew she was close, so very close.

He shifted, coming up on his knees between her thighs to look his fill of her. One hand clasping his burgeoning staff, he feasted his eyes on her voluptuous curves as he’d feasted his mouth on her womanhood.

Her eyes opened, hazy with hot passion, and he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

“You’re beautiful, Cherry.” His words were dark with carnal heat and promise. “And you’re all mine.” With that he came down over her, taking her mouth as he took her body, his shaft unerringly entering her, pushing through her shivering walls to lodge deep.

“Oh God, Rick,” she moaned against his lips.

“That’s me, baby.” He kissed her ruthlessly, plundering her mouth as he lifted his hips and pulled back to surge forward once more. “Rick. Your lover. Your only lover.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she kissed him back almost fiercely.

Hips pumping, Rick set a ruthless place, thrusting hard and fast. He couldn’t get enough of her, wanted to bury himself deep inside her and never come out. His blood burned in his veins, his heart pounded out a harsh tattoo. He rode her hard, forcing her higher up the pinnacle, taking her with him, refusing to let her fall behind.

Together always. Together forever. It was his motto for them both, and it was burned into his heart and very soul as he made love to her.

Prurience burned inside him, her passion-filled moans firing his own desire, and he pumped harder, faster, the heat of eroticism flooding through him, pouring through into his scrotum, pulling the sac tight, and he felt rapacity as he’d never done so before, the desire to brand this woman as his inside and out.

Without thought his mouth found her throat, and he sucked firmly while shoving even harder into her, branding her skin with his mouth even as his seed branded the walls of her sheath.

She held him to her, her hand cupping the back of his head as she arched her throat and opened her body for him. Accepting his power, his heat, his passion, and gladly allowing him to hurtle her along that star-burst path with him.

His orgasm shook him, flinging him out into a hazy burst of light and sensation, and he felt her shudder beneath him, heard her scream out his name, and then he was gone in a blindingly, deliciously, shattering burst of light.

When he came to, he was slumped over Cherry, his face buried in her scented hair, her arms lax around him neck, her gasping breaths hot on his neck. He snuggled in deeper, loving the way her soft curves cuddled his harder, leaner frame.

The minutes ticked past and he felt so deliciously tired. He felt her stir a little beneath him, and worried that perhaps he was squashing her, he rolled to his side, taking care not to let her go, rolling her with him so that he could cradle her in his arms.

Without a murmur of protest, she snuggled close.

Closing his eyes, Rick breathed a sigh of pure contentment.

He woke with a start. He glanced at the clock to see that he’d dozed off for about an hour. Shifting his head, he looked down to meet slumberous blue eyes. Cherry smiled shyly at him, and he couldn’t stop the huge grin from breaking out. “That was good, eh, love?”

She laughed.

Coming up onto one elbow, he gazed down at her, enjoying the closeness they shared. Almost immediately she sobered, watching him closely, and he lifted his other hand and rested it on her hip before slowly sweeping his gaze over her, over every hill and curve, every dip and swell. As he did so, heat kindled to life inside him again, that desire for her building, for that voluptuous body was all his to taste and touch and see.

Cherry was all his, and he was never letting her go.

When he finally lifted his gaze back to hers, she met it timidly but unflinchingly, bravely, and he knew she waited for his reaction, her trust so fragile. He’d have sooner cut out his own heart than crush that trust, it meant so much to him.

“You’re beautiful.” Lowering his head, he kissed her gently. “So very beautiful, and all mine.”

She met his kiss with a warm mouth, and it deepened between them, changing from gentle to passionate, and it was mere minutes before they were swept away once again on a tide of desire.

Chapter Nine

Standing before the mirror, Cherry was a mass of nerves.

“You look gorgeous.” Susie peeked over Cherry’s shoulder, arranging the lacy throw to her satisfaction.

“And stop fidgeting.” Maxie smacked Cherry’s fingers away from where they’d started to twist in the soft silk. “Any wrinkle in this dress that isn’t caused by Rick’s ravishing hands, and I will be cross.” She flicked her hand down the front of the gown. “You have been warned.”

Susie stepped back. “So, what do you think?”

Cherry thought she’d never looked prettier. Susie had pinned her hair up in some intricate knot that left soft curls trailing down her cheeks, and a few neatly arranged thick curls down her back. The dress fit like a dream – no, she hadn’t put on fifty pounds since she’d bought it, as she’d convinced herself. The medium-heeled black pumps with the lacy effect were gorgeous. Her little clutch was chic. Maxie had done a light make-up on her, bringing out the blue of her eyes, the pink of her cheeks, and the shine of her lips. Little gold drops hung from her ears.

She’d never looked prettier.

“Well?” Maxie raised her brows.

“I am scared shitless.”

“I can’t believe you’re spewing out those foul words from between fifty dollar lip-sticked lips.”

“I’m shaking so much I think I need to sit down.”

“I don’t friggin’ think so. No creasing the dress.” Maxie angled her head. “I do believe that’s the doorbell. Prince Hottie has arrived.”

“I don’t have a doorbell.” Turning around, Cherry bit her lip anxiously while eyeing her friend. “Susie, I don’t think I can do this.”

“Too late. You got the dress, the fifty dollar lipstick from Max, and a hot doctor who wants to shag you senseless. Way too late to back out now.” Stepping aside, Susie grinned and gestured. “Out you go.”

“I’m so scared, what if I stuff this up and—” Cherry gasped as Susie placed a hand at her back and shoved her out the bedroom door. She cannoned into a hard chest, felt familiar warm hands grab her upper arms, and looked up into green eyes. “Sorry, Rick. My bloody friends aren’t very subtle and…” He was eyeing her so closely that she trailed to a halt. “Oh no, I’m not dressed right, am I?”

Rick’s answer was to simply crowd her back into the bedroom and shut the door in her surprised friend’s faces.

“I’ll change,” she babbled. “I’ll get this off and—”

“Oh, you’ll get it off, all right,” he breathed, his eyes flaring hot. “But I’ll be doing the taking off, and damned if this dinner isn’t going to kill me.”

“Huh?”

“Ever hear of binding ones breasts so no one knows you have it?” Lowering his head, he breathed hotly into her ear, “I’m going to have to bind my cock so no one knows I have a hard-on to rival a flag pole.”

As his words registered, she started to laugh, only to have his mouth crushing down upon hers cut off her merriment.

His kiss was ravishing, hard, his lips slanting over hers and his tongue sweeping deep, taking from her and giving no quarter. A big palm clapped upon one of her buttocks to squeeze her and then jerk her up close, his hard thigh sliding between her two until he was pressed against her heat.

The unexpected passion he greeted her with made her legs turn to jelly, and Cherry leaned into him, glorying in his strength, his obvious desire for her. And truth be told, when he turned a little he-man, it made her heart pound a little faster.

Coming up for air, Rick leaned his forehead against hers and sucked in a deep breath. “How about we blow this party and go to bed instead?”

“Hey!” A loud thumping sounded on the door. “Hey! Rick! Leave her alone! I swear, you destroy our efforts and I’ll kick your arse!”

“I’m a doctor,” he retorted, even as his eyes started twinkling. “You’re the nurse. You don’t tell me what to do.”

“Oh yeah?” Susie yelled. “Well let me clue you into something, Doctor. I’m the nurse, and I can make your life very difficult, very difficult indeed. If you ever want to see the roster to check out Cherry’s work allocation so you can have your private and dirty rendezvous with her, you better do as I tell you!”

Cherry giggled.

Rolling his eyes, Rick kept one arm around her waist while turning and swinging the door open to reveal Susie and Maxie standing on the other side with their arms folded and frowns on their faces. “And to think all this time we doctors thought we ran things.”

“You doctors wouldn’t know what the hell to do with hospitalized patients without we nurses running things, “ Susie retorted. “Oh my God, look what you did to Cherry’s lipstick.”

“What the hell?” Maxie grabbed the tube from her pocket and proceeded to reapply it to Cherry’s lips. “Did you lick it off or something, Rick?”

“Or something.” He smiled wolfishly.

Stepping back, Maxie ran her eyes critically over the both of them and nodded. “You’ll both do.”

Cherry thought that Rick would more than do. Dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and bow tie, he oozed sophistication. The epitome of the dark, handsome, successful doctor. One look at the width of his shoulders in the jacket, those strong hands, those long fingers…oh yes, those long, skilful fingers—

“Jesus, Cherry.” With a groan, Rick swung her around and proceeded to propel her down the hallway while still keeping her tucked into his side. “You keep looking at me like that and I’ll skip the dinner and go straight to dessert. And you’re the dessert.”

“Am I going to have to be your chaperone?” Susie asked sternly.

“No, Ma’am,” Rick replied, gently swinging Cherry ahead of him through the front door. “I’m sure I don’t need you to show me how to undress and eat dessert.” He guffawed at her snort.

Cheeks blazing, Cherry sent her friends a wave over her shoulder before they walked to his car. Ever the gentleman, he opened the door for her, and she got in and leaned back against the backrest, searching for the seatbelt. Leaning over her, his smile a wicked glint of white teeth in the darkness, Rick brushed her hands away and pulled the seatbelt slowly between her breasts and across her lower abdomen, brushing the apex of her thighs as he went, clipping the clasp securely before slowly drawing back, the back of his hand brushing across her breasts.

Cherry blushed even as her heart picked up pace, and without thought she caught his wrist and leaned up, meeting his grinning mouth and daring expression with a deep kiss of her own.

“I know you’re up to something, Rick Reed!” Susie yelled. “Keep your hands to yourself!”

Kissing Rick was like licking hot honey, sweet and decadent yet somehow masculine. At Susie’s words, Cherry drew back and looked into his eyes.

Eyes twinkling, but a hot flash deep within, he murmured, “I’m going to have to have a chat to Robbo about Susie’s interference.”

“She’s just protective.”

“I know.” His gaze grew tender for a few seconds. “But that’s my job now.” A quick kiss and he straightened and shut the door.

Blowing out a breath, she concentrated on slowing down her heart rate and regaining control of her senses. Rick said something to her friends while he walked around the car. Opening the door, he got in and started the engine. Backing out of the drive, he pulled onto the road and they sped away.

Cherry relaxed back into the seat and watched the lights of the houses flicking past. It was comforting, the purr of the engine, the smell of an expensive car, and the warm presence of the man in the driver’s seat.

“Well,” Rick said into the silence, “That was fun.” He gave a short laugh of amusement.

“You really like teasing them, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah. They’re a grand pair of girls. Unlike you.” When Cherry cast him a startled glance, he smiled. “You’re a knockout.”

“Really? I mean, thanks.”

Reaching out, he caressed a finger down her cheek. “You look beautiful, love. I’m proud to have you by my side.”

Pleasure rippled through her. “I hope I don’t embarrass you tonight.”

“Embarrass? No, you won’t.” He said it with complete confidence. “You never embarrass me.”

“I’ll surprise you one day.”

“Sugar, you surprise me every day.” His teeth were a wicked gleam of white in the dark. “In the most delicious ways.”

The man knew just the words to say to get her all hot and flustered. Clearing her throat, Cherry returned her gaze to the houses flashing by while trying to get her suddenly hot, pulsing blood to a smooth flow. “I wonder if there’ll be any normal people there.”

Rick’s bark of laughter was pure amusement.

She groaned. “See? I knew I’d say something stupid tonight. I have to keep my mouth shut.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d find it quite amusing to watch you say something like that to a couple of the more obnoxious guests tonight.”

“Trust me, you won’t find it amusing.” She started to twist the little chain on her clutch. “The cream of the medical profession will no doubt be at this dinner, seeing as it’s being held by one of the oldest and richest of the families in this state, and the prestigious paediatrician, Dr Margaret Clarke. I could ruin your career chances.”

“Not a chance,” he replied cheerfully. “There will be some of the medical profession, as you label us, there, but there will also be other rich people of non-medical background. Dr Clarke likes a variety when she holds these dinners.”

“I’m out of my depth.”

“Just be yourself, love. You’re beautiful, you’re my girlfriend and date, my lover, my sugar, my—”

She couldn’t stop the half laugh, half groan. “Rick, be serious.”

“I am.” Another glint of a wicked smile. “How about if I assure you that if you do embarrass me – which would totally shock me and I don’t really care anyway – I will punish you when we get home.”

That sent a thrill shivering down her spine, even if he was joking, and she tried for nonchalance. “You don’t say.”

“Dr Discipline will be visiting Nurse Naughty, you can count on it.”

“I’ll be sure to behave myself.”

“Oh please, don’t.” There was a definite erotic edge running through his lowered tone now, and a street light cast a gleam in his eyes as he looked briefly at her.

Placing her hand on her cheek, she shook her head. “I had no idea you were like this.”

“Trust me, there’s a lot to me you don’t know, but you soon will.” He winked. “If we skipped the dinner and continued to my house, we could play dirty—”

“I’ll tell your mother.”

“Now that’s a mood killer. I had no idea you could be so cruel.” Rick turned off the road and onto a driveway that led up to wrought iron gates guarded by a security guard. “Hey, we could always play security guard and naughty trespasser who needs spanking. You’d be the trespasser, of course.”

“Of course,” she said dryly.

She had to admit to disappointment when Rick pulled up and wound down his window, giving the security guard his name. While the teasing had her amused, it also fire her imagination. She was nothing if not imaginative.

But then the thought fled as they approached the mansion, and Rick pulled into the area assigned for cars. BMWs, Volvos, Mercedes and fancy sports cars were lined up neatly. It seemed as though lights spilled from every window, and music drifted out into the still night air.

Rick got out and by the time he got to Cherry’s door, she was already standing beside it. She flushed when he quirked an amused brow at her.

“Sorry.”

“Oh baby, you are so needing discipline.”

“Don’t start.” She laughed, relief sweeping through her, feeling so comfortable with him that if they hadn’t been standing in front of the mansion and able to be seen by anyone, she’d have leaned into him.

Coming to her side, he laid his hand on her back. “Come on, Nurse Naughty. Let’s get you inside and drunk so I can have my wicked way with you later.”

“I bet Dr Clarke has no idea what a scoundrel you are.”

“Dr Clarke has known me for years. Tim and I were school buddies, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” She looked up at the mansion. “Does he live here?”

“Not bloody likely.” He guided her up the steps. “Tim and his mother have a history. I’ll tell you about it one day.”

They entered the mansion and Cherry tried to appear cool and sophisticated, managing not to stare with her mouth open.

Rick ushered her over to Dr Clarke who was standing beside a strange man and greeting the guests as they arrived.

“Rick.” Dr Clarke leaned forward and air kissed him. “So nice of you to come. And this is your dinner companion.”

“Hello, Dr Clarke. This is Cherry Williams.”

His hand was warm and reassuring on her back, and she was grateful for it as she smiled at the tall woman with the haughty face. “Dr Clarke.”

Eyes narrowed, Dr Clarke studied her closely. “Don’t I know you?”

Uh-oh. “I’m a nurse at the hospital.” Please don’t let her remember, please don’t let her remember. Please. Please.

“Ah yes, the nurse who dared to question me about my treatment of a patient.” Those cold eyes studied her like a bug on a pin.

Oh shit. A hundred responses went through Cherry’s mind in a matter of seconds. The flight instinct was strong, but more than conscious of Rick’s supportive presence, and the fact that she was too old to run and hide behind her mummy’s skirts, she summoned a small smile and a calm reply. “That would be me.”

“Not many nurses have the nerve to question me.” That ruthless gaze seemed to pick her apart, sweeping from the top of her head, down to her shoes, and back up again.

“I guess not.” As much as she dreaded this, Cherry refused to back down. In matters of patients, she knew where she stood. “But when it comes to quality of care, I believe one can never be too efficient.”

“Once upon a time, Ms Williams, nurses never questioned doctors.”

“Once upon a time, Doctor, we never had lawsuits.” Oh shit, did I really say that?

“Are you saying I did something that could have resulted in a lawsuit?”

Hiding her trembling hands in her skirts, Cherry lifted her chin and met the prestigious paediatrician’s unwavering gaze. “Ma’am, you can tie me up in knots with words. We can argue here all night. What happened was simple – you did something that I would never discuss outside of the hospital due to confidentiality clauses, and I questioned you as is my duty as an advocate of the patient, and as a nurse watching my own back. That won’t change.” She was going to add an apology, but knew there was no reason for it.

Inwardly she cringed, suddenly aware of the silence from the man beside her, and the two elegant people standing before her. That silence seemed to stretch for an eternity, although it could only have been seconds.

Rick’s hand slipped down to her hip, squeezing gently, and he stepped in behind her, sharing his body warmth and at the same time showing his unwavering support. She nearly sagged with relief, aware now of how much value she placed on his opinion of her.

Unexpectedly, Dr Clarke smiled. Coldly, admittedly, but a smile nonetheless. “I admire your tenacity, Ms Williams, and your honesty. Do enjoy your evening. Rick.” She nodded dismissingly at them.

The man beside her smiled, introduced himself as Martin Shaw, and shook both Rick’s hand and Cherry’s before he turned back to Dr Clarke to greet the couple approaching through the doors.

Worried that she’d embarrassed him, Cherry glanced up at Rick as he guided her through into the main room. He drew her to the side and swung around to face her, his shoulders blocking the room from view. With relief, she saw the warmness in his eyes.

“Before you say anything,” he said quietly, “You didn’t embarrass me, and I’m so proud of you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So you can stop wringing the heck out of your gown.” He laughed when she abruptly released her skirts.

“Dr Clarke’s your friend.” She watched his face closely. “I don’t want to make things bad for you.”

“Dr Clarke is my friend’s mother, and my work colleague. You, love, are wholly mine. Big difference.”

Her cheeks pinkened, pleasure sweeping through her, and she smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“Plus I have dirty sex with you. Huge difference.”

“Oh my God.”

“That’s what you say.” He leered. “Only louder.”

“I think my friends are a bad influence on you.” Laughing and blushing at the same time, she slapped him lightly on the arm. “Now stop it before we’re overheard and both kicked out. And trust me, I will get the blame for it.”

“Very well.” Grinning, he turned and surveyed the room while tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Shall we stroll around and introduce ourselves?”

Personally, Cherry would rather stay in the corner with him, but she saw it as her duty to be the agreeable dinner companion, so she smiled and nodded and walked beside him.

As they did the rounds of the huge room, she admired the elegant decorations. Waiters appeared with glasses of champagne and she took one when Rick handed it to her. Taking a sip, she wrinkled her nose, not really liking it, and took the first opportunity she could to place it back on a waiter’s tray when Rick’s attention was elsewhere.

He stopped and spoke to people she didn’t know, introducing her and drawing her into the conversations, but mostly she stood beside him and smiled politely, murmuring appropriate words of agreement, for being amongst so many strangers was something she personally wasn’t comfortable with, nor accustomed.

Some of the surgeons and doctors greeted her by name, and surprisingly, these people she was able to talk to on a more even level, though again she didn’t really feel comfortable. A couple of the surgeons raised their brows at the fact that she was accompanying Rick and they studied her, making her feel conspicuous in her beautiful gown. If she’d been facing them in her nurses’ uniform, she’d have felt much more comfortable. But again, for Rick, she wore a façade of polite pleasantness.

The wives and girlfriends of the men wore their beautiful gowns and jewelry with ease, and she wondered if she looked like a fish out of water, for she certainly felt it. It was small comfort to note that she wasn’t the largest lady in the room, but there were far more slim women whose gowns looked so much more elegant for their figures.

But Rick loves me the way I am. He’s not embarrassed by me. If he’s okay with me, I’m okay with me. After all, think about it, if any of these beautiful people were in hospital and required a suppository, I’d be giving it to them. That’d certainly level the playing field. The unexpected thought made her give a muffled giggle, which she suppressed as quickly as it started. When Rick looked down at her inquiringly, she met his gaze with an innocent face.

“Everything all right?” His hand rested reassuringly at the small of her back

“Absolutely,” she replied, meaning it. After her irreverent thought, she was able to look around at the elegant people with new eyes. Nothing like the thought of suppositories to put things into perspective.

Relaxing, she joined in the smaller conversations with some of the wives she was introduced to, sharing inane gossip about celebrities mentioned, the latest fashions, and general chitchat that didn’t require much brainwork.

“Hello, Rick,” a cool voice said from behind them.

Rick turned and Cherry followed him, since his hand was still at her waist, and she nearly swallowed her tongue.

Annabelle Forbes stood before them, tall, blonde, beautiful, and elegantly dressed in the exact same gown as Cherry’s. Only Annabelle looked gorgeous, her hair upswept faultlessly, her make-up flawless, her jewellery stylish and tasteful, and the dress fit her like a second skin, framing her slender curves, cupping her breasts, the lace throw trailing down to touch her narrow waist. Gold stilettos showed her red nail-polished toes to perfection. She looked exactly what she was – a beautiful, slim woman who made many male heads turn in her wake.

In that second, Cherry felt very small. Very small and very fat, a poor imitation in a gown that couldn’t hide her voluptuous curves and now made her feel a pathetic copycat of Annabelle. She could feel many eyes on them, and fancied she heard whispers. Her cheeks flamed.

“Annabelle,” Rick said pleasantly, though an edge of steel threaded through his deep voice.

“And this is…Cherry, isn’t it? The little nurse from the hospital?” Annabelle’s smile was condescending. “My, what a lovely dress. It’s the same as mine.” She looked down at herself, then back to Cherry, sweeping her gaze over Cherry’s form. “You look…nice.”

Cherry wasn’t even aware that she’d taken a step back until she felt Rick shift slightly, a calculated move that placed him partially behind her, thwarting her retreat while giving silent support.

“You look lovely, Annabelle,” Cherry said quietly, fighting to maintain her composure, so conscious of how different they looked even though they were dressed the same.

“Thank you.” Annabelle’s gaze lifted to Rick. “This gown does require a certain, how shall we say, figure? Doesn’t Cherry look nice, Rick?”

If a hole had opened up right then, Cherry would have crawled into it and pulled it closed over her head. Humiliated by Annabelle’s nastiness in pointing out the obvious difference in their figures, part of her wanted to run and hide,

Rick looked down at Cherry, his eyes flaring with anger, but softening as he met her gaze. “Cherry looks breath-taking. Absolutely breath-taking.”

Though grateful to Rick, she wanted the attention off herself, so she cast around for something – anything – to say, settling on, “I don’t see your date, Annabelle?”

“Oh, he’s coming.” Annabelle shrugged elegantly. “He’s just a friend of the family.” She smiled at Rick, cutting Cherry out of the conversation by simply ignoring her. “How are you settling in, Rick?”

“Very well, thank you.” Wrapping an arm around Cherry’s waist, Rick drew her against his side in open proclamation of their togetherness. “Cherry and I have been spending time checking out the sights of the city, and work is going well. Do excuse us, Annabelle, I see Tim heading this way.”

Annabelle smiled and moved away with a murmured “See you later, then, Rick”. But her gaze when it slashed to Cherry was hard and filled with dislike.

He stiffened, but Cherry leaned up to whisper, “Don’t. Please don’t say anything.”

Looking down at her, he ran his hand soothingly up and down her back. “I won’t have anyone hurt you, Cherry. I’ll have a word to her and—”

“Don’t. If you really care for me, don’t,” she pleaded. “Please, Rick. Please.”

It was obvious that he fought an inner war with himself, but finally he nodded. “Very well. But don’t take any notice of that bitch. She’s a vindictive woman and nasty to boot. She’s no comparison to you.”

Cherry smiled, though her heart remained heavy. “Okay.”

Leaning down, he placed his mouth to her ear and said softly, “Okay nothing. You let her get to you, Cherry, and I swear I’ll paddle your backside.”

That really jolted her and her eyes widened, but more than aware that they were in a public place, she managed to keep a smile on her face even as she whispered back, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try it.”

Outrage surged through her and she glared at him when he lifted his head. His eyes were steady, determined, and when he saw the anger in her eyes, though she remained outwardly calm, he smiled slightly. “There’s my girl.”

Before she could retort, Tim walked up and greeted them. “Hey, Rick. Cherry. Lady, you look hot.” He winked at her.

She smiled at him, forcing her anger down to drag out later and confront Rick at a more suitable time. “Hi, Tim.”

“Saw The Barracuda over here, figured she was stirring some shit, so I thought I better come over and rescue you.” Tim grabbed a passing waiter and grimaced at his tray. “Champagne? Man, can you not do something a little more classy? Get me a can of beer, there’s a good fellow.”

“Very good, Sir.”

“Betcha arse.”

Cherry noticed that Tim was dressed in a good grey suit, but instead of a white shirt and tie, he wore a t-shirt with I’m a Vet and I have a thermometer. Be afraid…very afraid written on it. “Tim, what the…?”

He brushed his hand over his shirt and preened. “You like?”

“I’m flabbergasted. Why aren’t you in a proper shirt?”

“Just trying to add some class to the dinner.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Tim has a love/hate relationship with his mother,” Rick explained. “Fancy dinners like this bring out the bad boy in him.”

Tim grinned. “I’ll tell you all about it one day, honey. Probably when I’m drunk and looking for a shoulder to cry on.”

“So who is your date tonight?” Rick queried, his hand coming again to rest in the small of Cherry’s back.

Suspecting that he’d deliberately riled her up she didn’t step away, but she was still struggling with her emotions, so she focused on Tim’s answer.

“Nancy, my neighbour.”

“Nancy is sixty years old.”

“Yeah. That really pissed Mother off.”

“Your date is sixty years old?” Bewildered, Cherry stared at Tim.

“Nancy’s a good old stick. She’s always up for some good food and a good time. I promised to mow her lawn if she’d come with me tonight. I also had to clip her Chihuahua’s claws for free, which, come to think of it, I do anyway, so I got off lightly.” Tim rubbed his jaw musingly. “I think.”

A sprightly, purple-haired woman with tortoiseshell glasses came bounding up at that moment, a champagne glass in hand, her sparkling silver dress with the dangerously low neckline somehow suiting her perfectly.

“Tim, darling!” she cooed.

Tim leaned down and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek.

“Cheeky boy.” She patted his cheek fondly and turned to Cherry and Rick. “Hello Rick. And you must be Cherry.” She hugged them both at the same time, squashing them together, before releasing them and saying brightly, “Isn’t this just a fab party? Where’s that waiter? The blonde one with the pierced eye brow.” She glanced around. “He’s yummy. I wonder if he’s into older women?”

“I think he might be into men,” Tim informed her. “If his giving me the eyeball was anything to go by.”

“Bet I could change his mind.” She leered, then looked at Cherry. “What a fabulous gown, my dear. Now someone with your figure can wear a gown like this. I saw another woman in the exact same gown, and I tell you, she looked like a stick that needing some padding. You gotta have a big bosom to pop that bodice out, and I have to say, you’ve got a great bosom. You lucky fellow.” She elbowed Rick in the ribs and winked. “Huh? Huh?”

Cherry couldn’t help but guffaw, slapping her hand almost instantly over her mouth and looking around, hoping no one had heard her.

Rick’s hand tightened on her waist. “The luckiest, Nancy, I do agree.”

And just like that, all lingering anger fled. Cherry smiled up at him, and he met her gaze with warmth and a touch of tenderness.

“That is so sweet.” Nancy wiped her eyes.

“How much have you had to drink?” Tim asked in amusement.

“Not near enough. So saying, I’m going to look for that waiter. Come with me, son, if he’s got the hots for you, he’ll come to us like a bee to honey.” Waving a cheery goodbye, Nancy went back into the crowd towing a laughing Tim by the hand.

The rest of the evening went well, Cherry managing not to disgrace herself at the dinner. The amount of silverware was bewildering, but Rick unobtrusively touched his own silverware before every dish, so she knew before it came which spoon, knife or fork to use. Tim and Nancy sat opposite, and so she was able to talk and enjoy the meal.

After dinner, the guests were ushered into another room, where they sat or stood in small groups and talked.

Several people wandered outside to enjoy the cool night air, and Rick wasted no opportunity in whisking Cherry out of an open French door onto a small balcony that overlooked the lush gardens.

“How delightful.” She looked around. “Just like my garden.”

Rick gave a snort of laughter. “Would you like a tour, see if it meets your expectations?”

“You know the gardens that well?”

“Old friends, remember?”

“I somehow can’t see you and Tim tearing around these gardens like little hooligans.”

“When the cat’s away, etc.”

“Two sneaky little boys, now that I can see.” She slid her hand into his warm clasp. “Lead on.”

“Your wish is my command.”

They passed several couples wandering along the pathway that wound through the garden. One couple was a giggling Nancy and an older gentleman who was whispering into her ear.

“Looks like Nancy’s found a paramour.” Rick waved to them.

“What a delightfully old fashioned term.”

“I’m an old fashioned kind of fellow.” He squeezed her hand. “I believe in love, marriage, and the baby carriage.”

Of that Cherry had no doubt, especially when he’d spoken of courtship, but she wasn’t sure whether he was hinting at something, or whether it was just wishful thinking on her part. Contemplating love, marriage, and a baby carriage in conjunction with Rick… She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye.

This man was so loving, so caring, so patient and gentle and sensual. Any woman would be lucky to have him. It was hard to imagine that right now she was that woman. But would it – could it – lead to love, marriage, and a baby carriage? She knew she felt something for him, he sent delicious thrills down her spine, he made her blood heat with his caresses, he brought laughter to her lips so readily, he made her feel so special, and her self-consciousness was disappearing when in his presence. When Rick walked into her vision, she saw no-one else.

Was that love?

Before she could contemplate any further, he led her through an archway and into a brick-tiled area that was trellised for privacy. Lights glimmered softly overhead, their reflection sparkling in the blue waters of the swimming pool. Several comfortable chairs and lounges were spread around the poolside, and potted plants were placed strategically against the trellis. Titling her head up, she looked at the stars twinkling in the sky, then brought her gaze down once more to find Rick standing in front of her.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

“It is.” He didn’t bother to even look around, his regard fixed on her. “But not as beautiful as you.”

And there it was, that flush of warmth that spread through her when he looked at her as though she was the only person in the world worth his attention. A little flustered, she glanced down. “Sweet talker.”

“I mean it.” He took her hands in his.

There was something in his voice that made her look back up at him. Green eyes caught the light, the steadiness of them trained directly on her, capturing her gaze as surely as he’d captured her hands.

He squeezed her fingers gently and she felt the touch clear to her toes. One step forward and he was right against her, the heat of his body filtering into hers, his masculine scent infiltrating her senses. Such a welcome, familiar scent that she wanted to have filling her senses when she went to sleep and awoke again. The heat of his body, the steadiness of his very presence, she ached to have it beside her through her life.

When did I fall in love with you?

The thought rose unbidden as the emotion surged up and out of her heart to fill every part of her. The sudden sharp knowledge was almost overwhelming, and her fingers tightened convulsively around his. She felt as though her very breath had been sucked away, and the night seemed unexpectedly brighter, brilliant, though her sole focus was on the breathtakingly handsome man standing so close to her that only their clothes separated their skin. She could smell him, feel him—

“Cherry.” His voice wove through her like black velvet.

Trying to thread her way through the warm shock of self-discovery, she smiled. “Yes?”

“Are you all right, love?” In a familiar move, he tucked a curl back behind her ears, his gaze both concerned and - her breath caught at the emotion she was afraid to name in case she was heartbreakingly wrong.

“I’m – I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Really.” Her heart fluttered while outwardly she maintained her composure. She hoped.

“Good.” His eyes crinkled at the corners in quiet amusement. “Because I don’t want any excuses later.”

“Excuses? This sounds intriguing.”

“You’re intriguing.” The amusement faded from his eyes as he regarded her seriously. “Cherry, I want you to listen to me, because I’m going to lay my—”

“Dr Reed!”

Rick looked up and over Cherry’s head towards the archway through which they’d entered. “Don’t answer.” There was a definite touch of annoyance in his tone.

“Dr Reed!” A man dressed in a suit and tie hurried through the archway. “Thank God. There’s an urgent call for you.”

“I’m not on-call for the hospital tonight—”

“The doctor is concerned about one of the patients you treated today.

“Which doctor?” Cherry felt the tension spiral through Rick.

“I don’t know his name, I’m just delivering the message.”

“I’ve got my mobile on me, why didn’t he ring me on it?” Rick glanced down at her ruefully. “I’m sorry, love, I’d better go in and take this call.”

“No problems. I’ll wait here for you.”

He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. “I won’t be long. Don’t leave without me.”

“Not likely.” She laughed. “You’ve got the car keys.”

Within seconds he was gone, and the man spared her a brief glance before following. Left alone, she turned and walked slowly over to the pool, stopping near the edge to gaze down into the shimmering water.

Whatever Rick had been about to say to her, it was important to him, and she wondered what it could have been.

“So, left all alone?” Annabelle appeared suddenly beside Cherry.

Surprised, Cherry took a step back. “Annabelle. Hello. I didn’t hear you arrive.”

“No doubt you were thinking silly little things.” The disdain in Annabelle’s tone was clear.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Do you really think anyone could care for someone like you?” Annabelle’s cold gaze raked up and down Cherry. “You need to miss a few feeds, Cherry, lose some weight. No one likes a fatty.”

Shocked, Cherry’s mouth fell open.

“Don’t look so surprised.” With a toss of her head, Annabelle continued. “You’ll always be a fat woman trying to impress a man who is far above you. Don’t kid yourself. Rick is just being nice to you. He’s too noble for his own good.”

“Annabelle, what on earth is wrong with you?” Cherry’s heart pounded a little faster at the direct attack, but she stood her ground.

The beautiful blonde folded her arms and looked coldly at her. “Look at you, pretending to be all pretty in that gown when you just look like a piece of fat rump steak shoved into a sleeve. You’re a pathetic excuse for a human, Cherry. Fat, undisciplined with her weight, disgusting people around you with your bloated figure.”

The words hurt. Cherry spun on her heel to stride away from the blonde’s poisonous words, only to stop when Annabelle snapped out, “Rick is mine.”

Heart thumping, Cherry moistened her dry lips, wincing as every cruel word tore into her.

“Rick’s mine, Cherry. He’s always been mine. He’s going places and he needs a wife who’s comfortable in the company he’s mingling with. He needs a wife who won’t embarrass him. A fat slut is not that kind of wife.”

“But you are?” The words hung in the air between them.

Annabelle’s laugh was cruel. “He deserves a beautiful wife with class. Yes, I am what he needs. Get your fat arse out of here, Cherry. Everyone’s laughing at you, no one wants you here. They only tolerate you because of Rick. He’ll soon see that you’re not who he wants, who he needs. Fat bitches belong in the gutter, they’re not fit to be seen in society.”

Teeth clenched, Cherry closed her eyes against the sting of tears. “Why are you saying this, Annabelle? Is it because you love him?”

“Good God, no. Love has no place in this. He’s perfect husband material, though, and he’s mine. So run along, fatso. Go hide in your little cave and shove more potato chips in your mouth.”

Never one to react well to confrontation, Cherry trembled, but she didn’t back down because something deep inside her made her stand her ground. Something. Her voice shook a little. “And if I don’t?”

“You keep chasing him and I’ll destroy you,” Annabelle told her coldly. “I’ll destroy you, I’ll make your family ashamed of you. I’ll make your name mud. And I’ll get you deregistered as a nurse. That’s what I’ll do.”

Anger flared through Cherry and she turned back to face Annabelle. “You’d set me up? Blacken my name for something I didn’t do, just because you want the man I love?”

Annabelle stared at her for several seconds before bursting out laughing. “Love? Oh God, you pathetic fat slut! You fell in love with a man who only goes out with you because he pities you? You’re more stupid than I thought.” Sneering, she pushed her face close to Cherry’s. “Obviously you ate more junk food than brain food. Go on a diet and get a life, fatty.”

Something in Cherry snapped. The cruel words joined the whispers that she’d heard behind her back – and sometimes to her face – the whole time she’d been growing up. Words she’d heard as an adult. But this time – this time she wasn’t a crying child, an ashamed teenager, a mortified adult. This time she was furious.

This time she knew she was worth something.

In one fast movement she shoved out with both hands and pushed Annabelle backwards into the pool. There was a glimpse of Annabelle’s shocked face right before the water closed over her head.

Madder than she could ever remember being in her life, Cherry waited with her hands on her hips until Annabelle surfaced.

“You-you—“ began Annabelle angrily.

“No, you listen up,” Cherry snapped furiously. “I’ve had it with people like you thinking I’m not worth anything because of my weight! I’m a human, a woman, and I’ve saved lives, and let me tell you, no one cared about how fat I was when I was giving them CPR. No one cares how fat I am when I take care of them. I’m a decent person, I’m kind, I care about others, I have good friends, and I’m worth something, Annabelle. I’m worth something, and Rick showed me that. I have Rick, you cold-hearted bitch, and I’m keeping him!”

Grabbing on to the edge of the pool, Annabelle snarled. “You take him and I’ll destroy him along with you!”

That did it. Cherry slammed her foot down on the edge of the pool between Annabelle’s hands, making her jerk them back with a yelp of angry surprise. Pointing one finger at her, Cherry snarled right back at her. “You listen to me, you skinny bitch, and you listen good. You leave Rick alone. You say one hint of anything against him and I’ll come after you. I’ll come after you and rip your emaciated body to pieces, and I’ll shove my fat foot so far up your skinny arse that I’ll have to paint my toe nails by going through your belly button. You hear me, Annabelle?”

“How dare you!” Annabelle gasped.

“Easy.” Cherry held out one hand and flipped her the middle finger.

Annabelle stared at her. “You bitch!”

“Gold-digging whore,” Cherry replied, well into her verbal battle stride, and she swung around, her heart beating, pride throughout her very being, and the exhilaration of battle singing in her veins.

And then she saw the people gathered silently in the courtyard. There was no doubt they’d heard every word. Dr Clarke and Mr. Shaw wore heavy frowns of disapproval, and shock was evident on the faces of General Surgeon Forbes and Mrs. Forbes. Mixed emotions were clear on the faces of a few of the guests who had also come upon the sordid scene. Tim stood at the side grinning widely, while Nancy clutched her hands to her bosom in glee.

But Cherry had eyes for one man only. He stood in front of the small group, his green eyes blazing angrily, his stance strong, his fists clenched. Rick looked from Annabelle struggling to get out of the pool, to Cherry who was now biting her lip while her bravado fled to be replaced with nerves and embarrassment.

Oh God, Rick was furious! She’d embarrassed him and she’d made a fool of herself. Clenching her fingers in the skirt of her gown and wringing it wildly didn’t stop the shaking.

Rick’s gaze locked with hers, and she could only watch as he walked forward, his every step deliberate and sure, his arms by his side. As he neared, his clenched fists opened.

“Rick.” Tears pricking her eyes, she looked up at him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to shame you, I didn’t—”

Reaching out, he jerked her into his arms and kissed her. Hard. Deep. Long. And in the background, above the pounding of her heart, she heard the clapping. One clap, two, more than obvious by the whoops that accompanied the clapping that Nancy and Tim thoroughly approved. Then she heard nothing as Rick’s presence swept her away, his arms so strong around her, cradling her close, keeping her safe.

When he lifted his mouth from hers, she had to cling to him because her knees shook.

“I am so proud of you.”

She blinked. “Really?”

“I couldn’t be prouder.”

“I’m pressing charges!” A furious voice shrieked from their left.

Cherry turned her head to see Annabelle standing with a towel wrapped around her slim body, her hair bedraggled, her dress a ruin, her make-up running down her face. Her father, the General Surgeon, stood beside her. He was furious, his face red, his lips pressed tight. Mrs. Forbes was as white as a sheet.

“You assaulted me, Cherry Williams!” Annabelle accused shrilly. “I’m pressing charges!”

“Shut up, Annabelle,” her father growled.

“She pushed me in the pool!”

“How about counter charges of verbal abuse?” He snapped back at her. “We heard everything, Annabelle. Your mother and I are so ashamed of you.”

“But, Dad—”

“You’re not pressing charges against an innocent woman. You’re not going to ruin anyone’s life or career. Let’s go.”

“But—”

“You’ve done enough damage to your standing in society, girl, now shut the hell up and get in the damn car!” Grabbing her arm, he hustled her through the archway.

Dr Clarke inclined her head regally at Cherry, a small smile hovering around her usually set mouth, and then she, too, left the courtyard with Mr. Shaw by her side. The remaining few guests trailed behind until the only two other people standing in the courtyard apart from Cherry and Rick, were Tim, who gave Cherry the thumbs-up, and Nancy, who was giggling.

Cherry glanced up at Rick. “Um…”

“Well, you know how to make a lasting impression on people.” A dark brow quirked in amusement.

“I’m usually really well behaved.” The adrenaline was starting to fade and she leaned against him, tucking her head under his chin. “I promise.”

Strong arms cradled her close and the familiar feeling of safety swept through her. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes.

“So.” His voice rumbled in her ear. “You love me and you’re going to keep me, hmm?”

Cherry froze, her eyes popping open. She had said that! He’d heard everything, including that part!

“That’s good to know,” he continued. “It sort of tops my announcement, though.”

“You-you’re announcement?”

“I was going to say that I know it’s only been a short time since we met, but I’ve fallen in love with you and want you to marry me. But I like your way of announcing it much better.”

Stunned, Cherry tilted her head back to gaze up at Rick. He smiled down at her, and his eyes were so full of love that her heart practically melted on the spot. “You love me?”

“Every yummy bit of you, Cherry. So, will you marry me? Shall we do the whole thing – love, marriage, and a baby carriage?”

“Oh, Rick.” She thought her heart would burst with happiness. “You really love me?”

“Maybe I should be asking if you really love me.” He regarded her soberly. “Nancy saw Annabelle coming into the courtyard, and she heard Annabelle plan with her date to get me away. The phone call was just to ensure you were alone so she could verbally savage you. Nancy caught up with me in the house and told me, and I hurried back here with Dr Clarke right on my heels. Obviously we attracted some attention. I guess running will do that.” He didn’t smile at the memory. “We heard Annabelle’s vicious words, and I was already coming to your rescue, but Tim held me back. He knew she’d be up to something, and he wanted her to hang herself with her own words, which she did. But God, Cherry, when I saw your face, the hurt in your eyes…” He hugged her tight, burying his face in her neck. “I could only pray it was worth it.”

“I’m fine.” She hugged him back. “Really.”

“I’m so damned proud of you, love. You stood up to that jealous bitch and you showed her that you’re worth more than a hundred of her put together. I have never been so proud in my life.”

She laughed a little. “I can’t promise to be brave all the time.”

“You’re the bravest woman I know.” He kissed her neck softly, sending flickers of flame through her. “You know what’s important, and you pick your battles. You faced up Dr Clarke when you knew you were right.”

“I shook like a leaf the whole time.”

“You stood up for what’s right. You always do.” Lifting his head, Rick cupped her cheeks in his hands and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. “And you’re mine, now and forever.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to marry you.”

“Too bad. You’re going to.”

Cherry laughed.

~*~

Chewing her bottom lip, Cherry gazed out at the night beyond the curtains. Rain pattered lightly on the pane, and she watched the rivulets run down the window.

“Everything all right, love?”

She turned from the window and smiled at the man leaning back against the pillows in her - their - bed, a book in his lap. Rick watched her with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Frizz and Sugar slept soundly at the end of the bed. Her cats had accepted him, being won over by his spoiling of them. There was a definite attachment between them all now. She smiled as she crossed to the bed and crawled in beside him.

Immediately his arm came around her. “Want to talk about anything?”

“No.”

“Work okay?”

“Work’s fine. Everything’s fine, Rick.” Picking up her own book, she kissed his cheek and rested her head on his arm. Opening the book, she started to read.

Or tried to, but the niggling problem bugging her affected her concentration.

“You’re sighing,” he said.

“Am I? Sorry.” After she’d stared at the same page for at least five minutes while internally wrestling with her problem, Rick flipped his book shut and did the same to hers. Startled, she looked at him.

Calmly folding his arms, Rick arched a brow at her. “Spill.”

“Pardon?”

“Something’s bothering you. Tell me.”

“It’s nothing. It’s just…nothing.” When he continued to simply gaze steadily at her, she turned in the bed to face him and knelt on her knees. Grabbing the cover between her fingers, she started to wring it nervously. She couldn’t keep the damned secret any longer. “Promise you won’t be mad.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“It’s not good, what I’m about to tell you.”

“Really?”

Heart sinking, she nodded. Damn this bloody secret. Damn Susie. “I’m going to tell you something that’s going to piss you off, I just know it.”

“No point beating about the bush then. Tell me, I’ll be pissed off, then we can get back to normal almost immediately. Because I really want to boink you right now.” He grinned wickedly. “I can wait a few minutes to calm down.”

“This is no joking matter, Rick.”

“I might get mad, Cherry, but I won’t stop loving you. And I won’t stop wanting to boink you. So confess and let’s be done with it.” He arched that brow again. “And why the confession time, anyway?”

“We’re getting married next week. I don’t want this to come between us later.”

“Love, the only thing coming between us is these covers.”

“Rick.”

“Okay. ‘Fess up, Cherry, what did you do?”

She wrung the cover between her fingers. “Not really me. It was Susie, I swear.”

“Tattling on your friends?”

Exasperated, she glared at him.

Rick mimed zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key. His eyes twinkled with amusement, but she had no doubt that amusement wasn’t going to last long.

“She had you investigated,” Cherry blurted in a rush, wanting the whole sordid confession finished. “To see if you liked big women.” She held her breath, waiting for the indignant fury.

“Is that all?” Rick drawled. “I knew that.”

“Huh?” She stared at him.

“Susie’s cousin is one of my friends. I knew as soon as she’d done it.”

“I feel like such a fool.” Cherry collapsed face forward on the bed and groaned into the cover. “I’m going to kill her.”

A big hand rubbed her back comfortingly. “Now, now, love. She had your best interests at heart.”

“How can you be so accepting of it?”

“Because I knew why she’d done it. It made sense when I saw how you were around me. Sure, initially I was pissed off, but my friend told me why she wanted me investigated and I admire her.”

“But he took photos of your family.” She peeked up at him.

Rick shrugged.

“You admire her?” She came up on her elbows. “Truly?”

“She’s a little weird, your Susie, a little overprotective of her friends, but I can live with that.” He waggled his brows at her. “Now you’ve made the confession, I get to give you the punishment.”

She rolled her eyes. “Paging Doctor Discipline, are we?”

He shoved the covers back. “I’ve a better idea.”

“Do tell?”

“Mmmm.” He rolled onto his side and grinned wickedly at her. “I’m the male escort and you’re the virgin.”

She blushed.

He patted the bed invitingly. “Now don’t be shy, miss, I’ll make sure your first time is enjoyable.” His eyes glittered. “For both of us.”

She had no doubt about that, going by the impressive bulge in his boxers. Falling into the game, she raised one brow haughtily. “You owe me.”

“Pardon?”

“I paid four hundred dollars before, and I didn’t get that back. So this better be good, stud.”

“You cheeky chit!” Rick dived for her.

Cherry squealed and tried to back away, but he was faster, lunging forward to grab her arms and pulling her down, rolling them both fast so that she was beneath him.

She couldn’t stop laughing as he growled into her neck and gave her loud, smacking kisses.

Dimly she heard Frizz and Sugar thump down off the bed, no doubt disgruntled at having their peace disturbed, but then her focus was on those wicked lips butterfly-kissing her jaw line.

“I don’t think escorts are supposed to do this.” She giggled.

“Change of game.” His hand was at the hem of her nightgown, tugging it up. “We’re back to doctor.”

“Doctor Discipline?” She blew in his ear, grinning when he groaned and thrust against her, his heavy erection pressing against her thigh.

“Not discipline.” His tongue swept up her throat and he nipped the pulse pounding beneath the fragile skin. “Honey, you’re the doctor’s delight, and I’m going to eat you up.” He lifted his head and his grin was decidedly wolfish. “Be prepared to be devoured.”

####

Biography

Angela Verdenius lives in Australia, where she is ruled by her cats, adores reading, and thinks a perfect day is writing and drinking Diet Coke, followed by reading or a good horror movie.

To date, she has written 18 novels, 2 novellas, and several short stories. Her books have won many reviewers’ awards, as well as having been on the Fictionwise best-seller list and winning the Golden Rose Award.

Visit her website at http://www.angelaverdenius.com/,

her blog at http://angelaverdenius.blogspot.com/

and at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/angelaverdenius