Dreams & Desires. Kat Cantrell

      “Almost. He never walked right again. Or beat anyone else, I’m sure.”

      “Did she get in trouble?”

      “She claimed it was self-defense, and after the way he beat her before that, people believed her. And Kay being Kay, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and started over. When she was healed she wound up getting a job as a stewardess. She worked the international flights, so she’s traveled pretty much everywhere, and has friends all over the world. When she was labeled ‘too old’ to do the job, she started a travel agency in Dallas. When the industry was at an all-time high she retired and sold the business for a small fortune. Now she spends most of her time traveling and volunteering for domestic-abuse organizations. She counsels young people trapped in abusive relationships.”

      “Wow, that’s one hell of a life.”

      “I keep telling her that she needs to write a memoir. Her story could help a lot of people.”

      Parker’s stomach rumbled loudly and Clare laughed. “Hungry?”

      “I guess I skipped dinner,” he said, rubbing a hand across his belly.

      “I’ve got sushi and I’d be willing to share. And I could probably find a couple of beers in the fridge.”

      For several seconds he just looked at her, a funny little half smile on his face.

      “What?”

      “You surprise me, Clare.”

      “Why is that?”

      “I thought for sure you would kick me out of your bed the second we were finished.”

      So did she. And normally she would have. “If I wasn’t so tired I probably would,” she lied, when the truth was she didn’t want him to go anywhere.

      She was playing a dangerous game, letting him get so close. If she wasn’t careful she might do something stupid like fall head over heels in love with him.

       Nine

      Though she’d had only one day off work, when Clare pulled into the hospital lot the next morning it felt as if weeks had passed. So much had happened in such a short span of time.

      She and Parker had had a picnic on her bed last night—sushi and beer—then had sex again. She couldn’t imagine where he found the energy. He had impressive stamina, and loads of patience. She must have fallen asleep immediately afterward, and when she woke at midnight he was gone. He could have easily taken advantage of her unconscious state and hung around, but he really seemed to respect her space now. As hard as he’d pushed the past three months, suddenly he seemed to know just when to back off. It was a little disconcerting—no, make that terrifying—the way he was so attuned to her needs. Most men didn’t have a clue.

      Parker was in meetings all morning so she didn’t see him right away, and as a result spent the first half of her day fighting the nervous excitement building in her belly. It wasn’t as if she didn’t see him almost every day at work. What a difference a few days could make. It felt as if her entire life had been flipped on its head. And somewhere in the back of her mind there was a nagging little voice asking her, what if it was all a game to him? What if he said something to make people believe they were an item. What if he hauled her up out of her chair behind the nurses’ station and kissed her senseless?

      As quickly as she had the thought, she dismissed it. Now that she knew him a little better, she didn’t think he would be capable of anything so underhanded. Her aunt was right: he was one of the good guys. And Clare needed to get her priorities straight.

      In her experience, the hotter the sex, the faster the relationship burned, until there was nothing left but ash. At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t make it a week.

      But he had been so sweet and so understanding about her reservations. Because of her hang-ups, a first intimate encounter with a man could be a bit awkward, and usually was. Men always thought they would be the one to “cure” her. As if she was broken or something. Which she was a little, she supposed. But they inevitably pushed her too far, or sometimes not far enough. It just always seemed to end in disaster for everyone. Eventually, she’d just stopped trying.

      But this thing with Parker had her reevaluating that decision.

      She was at the nurses’ station looking up a chart on the computer when she heard his familiar footsteps, and as he neared, her heart sailed right up into her already tight throat and lodged there, pounding relentlessly.

      Oh, man, this was bad.

      She heard him talking to Rebecca. Clare knew for a fact that he’d dated the young nurse a time or two, and Clare felt her hackles rise. Though from the look on Rebecca’s face when Clare glanced up, there was no love lost there. Her eyes settled on Parker for no more than a second, but the damage was done. Her heart did a nosedive with a triple twist to the pit of her belly, knocking her insides all out of whack.

      She heard him send Rebecca to check on a patient, then his footsteps as he came closer. Her heart sailed back up into her throat again and the crown of her scalp felt tingly and warm.

      “Hey there, sweet cheeks,” he said, which was exactly the way he would have greeted her before they slept together. And it would have annoyed the hell out of her. Now the sound of his voice strummed across her nerve endings, the friction warming her from the inside out.

      “Dr. Reese,” she said, not looking up from the screen. She was afraid that if she looked at him again, her true feelings would wind up on display for everyone to see. Including him. She was so beside herself her hands were trembling.

      What was wrong with her?

      He leaned down and looked over her shoulder at the computer screen, as if they were discussing a patient, and said quietly, “Have I mentioned that you’re amazing?”

      It was difficult not to swoon, or throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. Hoping her voice wasn’t as shaky as the rest of her, she said, “Once or twice.”

      “Sleep well?”

      She nodded. Oh, had she ever. He had completely worn her out. “I was a little surprised that you left.”

      “You sound disappointed.”

      Yeah, she sort of did, didn’t she?

      “I would have stayed.” He pointed at nothing in particular on the screen. “But I left because I knew that would be what you wanted.”

      And he was right. Or was he? If she had woken up beside him this morning, they could have had a little fun before work.

      Which just goes to show how much this is clouding your judgment, you big dummy.

      He really needed to get a handle on this habit he had of being so wonderful. Couldn’t he say something sexist or rude? Or even better, condescending.

      “Busy tonight?” he asked.

      “What were you thinking?”

      His breath was warm against her ear when he said, “You know exactly what I’m thinking, cupcake.”

      Back to the nicknames, were they? She was sort of getting used to hearing him use her name. But this time the teasing didn’t bother her so much. “I promised my friend Violet that I would go to a stained-glass class with her tonight at Priceless, the antiques store just outside of town.”

      “Sounds like fun. Violet is Mac McCallum’s sister, right? He owns the Double M Ranch.”

      “That’s the one.”

      “Okay,” he said. “How about afterward?”

      She wanted to, she really did. It was all just moving so fast. “I think I need some time to think. You know, about us.”

      “At least you’re