Susannah didn’t know how badly she had been waiting for him to do this again until the moment his lips brushed hers. But that touch told her everything she wanted to know. He cherished his time with her as much as she cherished her time with him. It didn’t matter if this was destined to be short-lived or something that continued intermittently, whenever he was back in Texas. She only knew how right it felt in the moment. How right it felt, period.
Wrapping her arms about his neck, she pressed her breasts to his chest. Dancing him backward, still kissing him, she moved them even farther out of view of the still-sound-asleep kids. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. But I really want to be completely alone with you again,” she murmured, resting her forehead against his jaw.
He caught her wrist and rubbed the inside of it with his thumb. “As in a date?”
She flushed at his light touch. Another spark lit between them. “Doc. Are you asking me out?”
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Hell, yeah, princess. Will you go?”
Susannah sucked in a breath. A date would formalize whatever this was that was happening between them even more, she knew. “If it can be something that fits with our lives,” she said finally.
He drew back just far enough to peer into her eyes. “The fact is you have kids to consider. And I don’t. And the fact is that if there is a health crisis anywhere in the world, I could be called to serve on a moment’s notice.”
“I know. I understand. And I don’t expect or even want any of that to change because…despite what I said last night about you being away from Laramie…”
Once again, his hand was on her, this time pressed to the middle of her spine. “And it not necessarily being a good thing?”
She sighed. Continuing even more firmly, “You are who you are, Gabe, and I am who I am, and we’ve made our choices.” She wet her lips. “But, at the same time…”
“Whatever this is that is happening between us…”
“It’s awfully good.” Trying not to notice how good it felt to be hanging out with him again, she rested her palms on his chest and said, “I know I said I would just roll with the outcome, whether we decided to see each other again in that way or not. But I thought about it last night after I came home and I realized, given the choice, I’d rather not just let this go by unrealized.”
“Me, either.” They smiled at each other. “So, when do you want to go out?” he asked.
“If I can get a sitter? How about as soon as the quintuplets are asleep tonight?”
He gazed down at her indulgently. “Where do you want to go? A late movie? Dinner? Dancing…?”
As long as it was going to be up to her… “How about Cade’s place, if he’s still in Dallas?”
* * *
She was ready when he picked her up at nine, and he caught the two teenage babysitters peeking out the window as he opened the passenger door for her. “I think we’re being observed.”
Susannah inclined her head to the house across the street. “By Millie and Mike, too.”
He sent her an ornery grin. “Does that mean we’re news?”
Noticing how handsome he looked fresh out of the shower, his jaw clean-shaven, Susannah met his humorous glance. “I guess we are. Does that bother you?”
“Not at all.”
She caught a whiff of his brisk masculine cologne. “Me, either.”
He squinted at her thoughtfully. “Although you’ve got me wondering, bringing an artist carryall with you, as well as a handbag. Are you planning to work?”
The passenger seat gave her a nice view of his mouthwateringly good physique. Shoulders wide enough to lean on. Arms strong enough to hold her. Ripped abs and trim waist. Lower still, it was easy to see how well he filled out a pair of jeans. Heart skittering in her chest, she admitted, “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind previewing the sketches I’ve done of the pets before I show them to your mom and siblings. I’m a little nervous about getting their reaction.”
“No problem. Although, from what little I’ve seen so far, I’m sure they are going to love it.”
He’d already made the salad and gotten the potatoes ready to go in to bake. While he started the outdoor charcoal grill—they were going old-school tonight—and waited for it to heat, they sat down outside with a glass of wine on one of the cushioned outdoor sofas.
The high wood fence that rimmed the backyard provided privacy, and the night was pleasantly warm. A full moon shone down on them, and stars abounded in the velvety sky. Lights from the patio gave them plenty of illumination.
He draped his arm along the back of the sofa as they settled in. Enjoying the comforting warmth of his body so close to hers, she asked, “So, when is your brother coming home?”
With a shrug, he let his gaze drift over her body before returning to her face. “Actually, I don’t think Cade’s coming back to Laramie any time soon.”
Susannah tilted her head. “Why not?”
He caught her hand and locked eyes with her. “He’s working out with the team trainers, as well as his own private physical therapist there. Apparently, his social life is a lot better in Dallas, too.”
“Cade’s really a city boy, isn’t he?”
A mixture of pique and disappointment lingered on his face. “Certainly, since becoming a major leaguer. I kind of think it feeds his ego, being around all the fans instead of the people who knew him as a kid.”
Susannah could see that.
Noticing the hem of her skirt had ridden up on her thighs, she tugged it lower. “What about you? Weren’t you here to sort of be his support person over the summer? I mean, does this mean you should be in Dallas, too?”
His gaze shifted to her lips. “Well, first, he didn’t ask me to come and stay with him. Here, or anywhere else. I sort of invited myself here, at my parents’ behest.”
She felt herself flushing. “Then you could go back to work?”
He gave her a long look she couldn’t interpret. “It’s already been arranged for me to take the entire summer off.”
There was definitely something he wasn’t saying. “But the plan is still for you to go back to work in September?” Susannah persisted.
Gabe moved away from her. “Yeah, my boss called me today, and we talked about it.” He paused to check the coals.
Ready to give aid if it was needed, Susannah stood, too. “Any idea where or how long?”
Gabe placed marinated chicken breasts onto the grill, then closed the cover. A smoky southwestern scent filled the air. “Depends on what the current need is, and we won’t know until we see what area of the world is in medical crisis.” He checked his watch and returned to sit down.
Aware it was likely going to be a lot harder to say goodbye to him this time than she’d thought, she nodded her understanding. Pushing her feelings aside, she reached for her portfolio with a smile. “On to the sketches I brought with me…”
They reviewed them.
“I love the drawing of my golden retriever, Traveller.”
Interesting that when it came to pets, they had chosen the same breed. “Nothing you’d change?”
Gabe rubbed the flat of his hand beneath his jaw. “He was a little more gangly than what you’ve portrayed. I mean you’ve got the cheerful joie de vivre right. But…and I hate to say it…he was more goofy than smart. Daisy seems a lot more attuned to what is going on around her.”
“I doubt she would ever have been as adventurous as the way you described Traveller in your initial notes to me.”
“True. There was nowhere on the ranch or in Laramie he was loath to go.”
Susannah typed a couple of notes into her phone. “Okay, I’ll give that another shot and show you what I’ve got tomorrow.”
Gabe got up to turn the chicken. “Want me to take a look at the rest?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Actually, I think I should email what I’ve got on each pet and just let your siblings and your mom tell me what might be missing. Each person is going to know their own dog best. I was just worried over nothing, I guess.”
He caught her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “You don’t need to impress us with your art. You already have.”
“You’ve impressed me, too,” she admitted before she could stop herself. “You’re a real natural with kids. Have you ever thought about having any of your own?”
* * *
That, Gabe thought, was the kind of question he usually received from a gal who had marriage in mind. Not an independent-to-a-fault woman like Susannah.
He supposed an honest question deserved an honest answer. Forcing himself to meet her eyes, he turned toward her. “I’ve never wanted to have kids and not be there.”
Her delicate brow knit together intently. “And you can’t give up your work with Physicians Without Borders?”
Another complicated question. “I haven’t wanted to yet. I guess my ideal woman would understand that working where I’m needed is as much a part of me as the color of my hair or eyes. I need to be needed. To feel I’m making a difference by being where I am.”
For a moment, she went silent. Then she smiled and said softly, “I can understand that. And you’re right. That is exactly who you are and always have been.”
So why, then, did he think that had not been the answer she was looking for?
Luckily for both of them, dinner was delicious, and they finished it off with the triple chocolate torte he’d picked up at the Sugar Buzz bakery in town.
He looked at the clock and saw it was already ten thirty. Time went fast when a date started at nine instead of the more commonplace seven. He carried the plates to the sink. Turned to find her right beside him, doing the same. He relieved her of her burden. “How long are your sitters staying?”
She wrinkled her nose, looking beautiful in the soft light of his kitchen. “Midnight.” She turned to face him more directly, and the look in her eyes was the same one he imagined was in his. “You know, when I turn back into Cinderella.”
He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled up against him. “Then no way are we wasting time with dishes, princess,” he murmured back, just as playfully.
As their lips fused, Gabe’s body ignited. He realized he wanted her to surrender to him, to this, heart and soul. And he could feel her melting against him, even as her spirit remained as feisty and independent as ever.
Resolving to make the night the most memorable one she had ever had, even if time was way too short, he tucked one arm beneath her knees, placed the other behind her back and swung her up into his arms, against his chest.
“I thought you were done carrying me around,” she chuckled.
He set her down in his bedroom and backed her up against the wall so his hips pressed into hers.
“Never,” he murmured back, engulfing her with the heat and strength of his body while absorbing the soft femininity of hers. He kissed her again, and she moaned as he rained soft kisses down her throat, across her collarbone into the open V-neck of her lacy cotton top. He traced the uppermost curves of her breasts with his tongue, felt her shiver, then zeroed in on her mouth once again. Her lips parted beneath the pressure of his, and he delighted in the sweet, hot taste of her. Kissed her long and wet and deep until she fisted both hands in his hair and murmured, “Gabe…”
She whimpered for more as he slid his hands beneath her top, finding the soft globes of her breasts and taut nipples, before sliding lower still, beneath the hem of her skirt, to her panties. Chuckling softly at her highly erotic reaction, he went on a little tour, unzipping, unbuttoning, easing everything off. Until she was as naked as the day she was born, and God help him if she wasn’t the most intoxicating woman he had ever seen in his life.
He bent his head to kiss the tight, puckered tips of her nipples, the valley in between her breasts, the dip of her navel, the flat of her tummy, her thighs. Her head was back, her eyes closed, as he found the sweet blossoming essence of her. She moaned again, and he kissed and explored and stroked some more, until she quivered in ecstasy.
And then she was saying, “More.”
More of him.
She unbuttoned and unzipped with the same skill he had possessed, taking a leisurely tour that easily could have had them both climaxing had he not called a halt to find a condom. They moved to the bed and she arched against him pliantly. He moved her hand to the proof of his desire, wanting her to feel, really feel, what she did to him, too.
He palmed her breasts. She clutched his biceps. Already cradled by her open thighs, he slid into her.
Susannah cried out, shuddering in pleasure. And still they kissed and kissed. His strokes were long and slow, making them both want and need, and need some more. Until, finally, that was all it took. Her body sizzled with sensation; his followed suit. And as she came, she took him along with her, their locked gazes as steadfast as this moment in time.
* * *
“Any chance your babysitters could stay later?”
Susannah sighed and shook her head. “Nope. Like me, their evenings end at midnight.”
“What about tomorrow?” Gabe dressed, too. “How can I help you then?”
She turned to face him, looking deliciously sated. Her pretty eyes widened. “Seriously…?”
He brought her closer for another kiss, then followed her out to his truck, where she slipped into the passenger seat. As he drove, she plucked a brush from her purse and began restoring order to her honey-blond hair.
“Yes, seriously,” he said.
“Well…” She opened up a compact, plucked a lipstick from her purse and began applying a soft coat of rose just slightly darker than the natural hue of her lips. “Mike and Millie are watching the kids for me in the morning, so I can continue working on the sketches. And then the kids will be asleep in the afternoon, so hopefully I can work more then. But during the witching hour…”
“Witching hour?” Cade asked, parking in front of her house. He walked around to open her door for her.
Grinning, Susannah stepped out and linked arms with him. “The time before dinner when all their mischievousness seems to come out at once,” she explained as they strolled up the walk. “I can always use help then.” She winked as they reached the front porch. “If you’re up to it, that is.”
Loving the challenge in her eyes, he grinned down at her. “I’d love to drop by.” He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Three o’clock okay?”
“Three o’clock is perfect,” she said softly.
Gabe bent his head, intending to steal a quick good-night kiss. She stepped in. Their lips met. And the two teenage babysitters opened the front door. “Whoops,” the shorter one said. “Didn’t mean to spoil the moment.”
Didn’t they know? Gabe wondered. Nothing could spoil their evening. It had been perfect in every way.