Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Marie punched her pillow again, and sighed into the darkness. Her body screamed at her to go to sleep, but her mind was still in the hallway, her back against the shelves of her linen closet with Isaac pressed to her front.
Desire pooled between her legs, and she wished she’d been more forthright and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Give in to the burning ache to know what it would be like to have his hands caress her body.
Have his lips close around her breasts. Have his hard length, the one she’d felt resting against her when they’d kissed, fill her until they were one.
Now her whole being was aflame with a need that only Isaac could slake, and she didn’t have the guts to march out to the living room and lead him back to her room.
Sighing again, she rolled over and cuddled the comforter against her. It was a poor substitute for who she really wanted, but it would have to do.
She needed to sleep. Tomorrow at work was going to be as busy as it was today.
There was never much down time in the ER.
In all the time she’d been working in hospital emergency rooms, not once had all the beds been emptied and the staff were standing around waiting for things to happen.
The only place she’d ever had some breaks between patients was when she was in San Carlion.
It wasn’t a bustling metropolis like LA, but if she didn’t have patients to see, there were always supplies to count and paperwork to complete.
“Maybe I should count sheep,” she murmured into the night air. “Or count back from a hundred.”
She’d read about that technique somewhere and had tried it a couple of times. It always seemed to work. Somehow she didn’t think it would tonight. Not with an enticing man a few rooms away from her.
Annoyed with herself, she squeezed her eyes shut and started a countdown. She’d gotten to eighty-two when she stopped and sat up, sure she’d heard something.
Marie concentrated on seeing if she could hear it again. Silence reigned around her. There was nothing. She must have imagined it. She went to lay down again, when the sound came again.
Was that Isaac? Was he having trouble sleeping too?
Should she get up and check, or was she about to become one of those too-stupid-to-live characters in horror movies who always go to the basement with a shoe instead of a gun?
The sound of something smashing on the ground and a muffled curse had her forgetting about being the first one to die. She threw the covers back and raced down the hallway, flicking on every light as she went.
“Damn, that’s bright!” Isaac brought his hand up to his eyes. A bloody hand at that.
“What have you done?” She rushed into the room.
“Stop, there’s a broken mug on the ground.” Isaac’s shout halted her, and she took a second to survey her surroundings.
Her left foot was an inch away from being pierced by a shard of the pottery mug that now decorated her floor.
“What were you trying to do?” she asked as she carefully made her way to his side, attempting to keep her attention on his hand and not on the expanse of tanned bare flesh.
The sweats he wore hung low on his hips.
The fabric clung to his thighs and other places where she shouldn’t be looking.
“Couldn’t sleep, so I was making myself some hot chocolate.”
“Hot chocolate?” She had hot chocolate? Since when did she buy hot chocolate?
“Yeah, I found a box of those instant packets in the back of your pantry.”
“Are they still good?” Lack of sleep and his state of undress was inhibiting her ability to think straight. Or comprehend that she even had any of those things in her cupboard. They had probably been left behind by the people who’d rented her place.
“Guess we’ll never know.” Isaac bent and scooped up the pieces of the broken mug.
“You need to let me look at your hand.” Marie dampened some paper towel and wiped up the droplets of blood off the ground.
“It’s nothing, just a scratch.”
Marie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Typical male response. “Of course it is. But who’s the medical professional here? Plus, I don’t want you bleeding all over my apartment. I’ll go get the first aid kit.”
“I guess there’s no point in my arguing with you, is there?” Isaac deposited the pieces of ceramic in the trash can, his lips curled into a smile that heated her body in a way she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Nope, and if you’re going to try and make a hot drink again, I’ll have one too.” She winked and headed back to the bathroom. She welcomed the coolness of the tiles beneath her feet. Anything to combat the way her body had reacted to a simple smile.
It was more than that. She was attracted to Isaac.
Had been from the moment he’d appeared out of a cloud of dust. Even with his scruffy beard and hair, there had been something that had called to her.
It was why she’d pushed him away all those months ago.
It hadn’t been because she’d wanted to focus on the earthquake victims, though that had been part of it.
But it was more. It was the way he’d awakened her and had her wanting things she hadn’t wanted in a long time.
A man in her life. Someone she could rely on, and in that short span of time she’d known that Isaac, or Samuel as he’d been back then, was a person who she could rely on. Just look at what he’d done in the last forty-eight hours since he’d stormed back into her life like a warrior.
Marie took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she let it out. While she was consumed by these feelings, she had no idea how Isaac felt about her.
He kissed you, I think it’s safe to say he’s attracted to you.
Why did her conscience have to pipe up at the most inconvenient of times?
Even if there was a thread of truth to her inner thoughts.
He had kissed her. He’d laughed with her, and there hadn’t been a hint in his demeanor.
Or anything that he’d said, to suggest it was a chore for him.
Or that he was at her place out of duress.
Sighing again, she bent and grabbed the kit out of the cupboard, refusing to look at herself in the mirror, already knowing that her face would be flushed.
The kitchen floor was free of the damaged mug when she returned and Isaac was sitting at the small breakfast bar, a paper towel wrapped around his hand and two steaming mugs in front of him.
“I thought I was going to have to send a search party for you, you were gone for so long. Everything okay?” He lifted one of the mugs and blew on it.
His question was casual, but he couldn’t hide the concern darkening his brown eyes until they were almost black.
What did he think she was going to do? Run back to her bedroom and leave him alone in the kitchen?
“I wasn’t gone that long.” She placed the kit on the counter and grabbed his hand, ignoring the tingles shooting down her arm from their connection as she removed the paper from his wound.
“Felt like forever,” he whispered.
Her head snapped up and their gazes locked. Marie had no idea who moved first, but a second later their lips were meshed together. He tasted faintly of chocolate, and she melted against him when he pressed her close to his bare chest.
She clutched his shoulders, angling her head so that he could deepen the kiss. A moan escaped her, and she forgot all about what had brought her to the kitchen. Only remembering the restlessness that had pervaded her body from the moment she’d gone to bed knowing he was a few doors away from her.
Breathlessly they parted, and she licked her lips, as if wanting to imprint his kiss forever. “What are we doing?’ she asked.
How long had she’d been in the bathroom for him to feel like it had been a worrying absence?
Or was he referring to the time from when they’d first met in San Carlion to now?
Why did she need a reason, or explanation? All that mattered was that he was here in her apartment and she didn’t want him to leave.
His hand smoothed her hair away from her face, the touch sweet and gentle. “I don’t know, but all I know is, this feels right.”
It took a second for her to understand what he was saying. That he was answering her question and she couldn’t disagree with him. “It does.”
Marie pressed her lips against his, and this time the kiss was sweet and full of promise. A promise that whenever she needed him, he would be there. Waiting, ready to give her what she wanted.
“I like this,” she said as they broke the kiss.
“I do too.” His hands stroked up and down her back, and she was aware that she was wearing a silky tank top and sleep shorts and her hands were all over Isaac’s bare chest.
As much as she didn’t want to, Marie stepped out of his embrace and turned her attention back to the first-aid kit, opening it and getting out the supplies she thought she’d need. “Let’s get you fixed up.”
“Okay.” He laid his hand on the counter, the blood had dried around the wound, but it still wept a little.
“It doesn’t look too bad.” She cleaned the wound, noting his hiss when she’d rubbed the alcohol wipe over it.
“I could’ve told you that.”
“Better safe than sorry. I don’t think you’ll need stitches.”
“Good to know.”
She didn’t need to look up to know that Isaac was probably smirking at her. Marie didn’t give him the satisfaction of meeting his gaze. She continued with her task at hand. A few moments later she snapped the lid on the kit closed. “There. All done.”
“Do I get a kiss to make it feel better?” he queried, and she laughed at the way he waggled his eyebrows.
“Of course.” She picked up the freshly plastered cut and kissed it quickly. “There you go. All better.”
“Nope, not better at all.”
Marie had one point five seconds to react before she was hauled close and Isaac’s lips were once again holding hers captive.
She was a willing participant, not able to get enough of the man.
Their tongues dueled, and she cupped the back of his head, before sliding her fingers through the thick strands.
His hand squeezed her ass, and she rubbed herself against his hard length, eliciting a moan from him.
“God, you’re a temptation I’m finding hard to resist,” he said as he peppered kisses down her neck.
Everything in Marie wanted to drag Isaac to her bedroom and let him have his way with her.
Her body was practically demanding it, but there was a part of her that wanted to take it slow.
Wanted to tease and tempt each other until they couldn’t take it any longer and then give in.
She wanted to flirt and have dates with him.
In this day of wanting everything immediately, there was a certain appeal to making herself wait for taking that final step with Isaac. Would he feel the same if she explained it to him?
“I feel the same way.” She dropped her head back, so that he had better access to her neck and moaned when he kissed a particularly sensitive spot just below her ear.
“But?”
Shock at his insight had her pulling back. “What do you mean?”
Isaac’s smile was gentle, and he didn’t push her away as if annoyed that she’d slowed things down. “I could feel it in your voice. Whatever you say isn’t going to turn me away. I’m not after just one thing with you. I’m too old to be playing that game.”
“How old are you?” she blurted out, and then held up her hand, age didn’t matter to her and it wasn’t part of the conversation they were having. “Don’t answer that. I don’t need to know.”
He hooked an arm around her waist loosely, so that if she wanted, she could move away from him, which she didn’t. “I’m forty-seven, and if you want to take things slow then I’m fine with that too.”
“How did you know I was thinking that?”
He shrugged. “Because I want that too?”
“Are you sure, because that sounded like a question and not a statement to me.”
He looked away for a moment, and Marie held her breath, waiting to see what he would say and do next.
When his attention returned to hers, desire still lurked in his brown eyes.
“There’s nothing more I’d like to do than drag you to your bedroom and learn everything I can about your body.
I’ve wanted you since I first saw you in San Carlion, but we’ve only just reconnected.
There’s so much you don’t know about me and there’s so much I don’t know about you.
But I want to learn it all. Besides, anticipation spices things up. ”
There was something to be had with entering a relationship with a more mature person.
The rush and desire of being with someone new was there, but also the knowledge that there was value in learning everything about your partner before you got too physical.
That also didn’t mean that taking their time would mean the relationship was boring or less exciting, if anything it was more. “I want all of that too.”
The lateness of the night caught up to Marie, and she yawned big. Her body let her know that while it wanted Isaac, it also wanted sleep.
“Come on, Doc, time for bed.” Isaac laced their fingers together and moved toward her room before she had time to blink.
They reached her room, the evidence of her previous restlessness evident with the scrunched up sheets, comforter hanging half on the floor, and the imprint of her fist in her pillows.
“Will you sleep here? Just hold me. Nothing more.” The words rushed out of her, and she wished she could snatch them back.
“I’d like that very much,” he said and led them over to the bed. Once she got in, he walked to the other side and climbed in, pulling the bedding over them.
Her eyes drifted shut the second his warm body spooned around hers. Her hand found his, resting against her belly. “Night, Isaac.”
“Sleep, Marie. I’ve got you and I won’t let you go.”
Marie smiled at the sentiment. If he wasn’t going to let her go, then she wasn’t going to let him go either.
Tonight things had changed between them and she was more than ready for it. Good or bad.