The Doctor Takes a Princess / Pregnant with the Prince's Child. Leanne Banks

her. “I don’t want to be the same kind of father he was. Drunk. Neglectful. Bordering on abusive.”

      “You couldn’t be those things,” she said.

      “Why not? You’ve heard the saying, an apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”

      “You’ve already fallen a long way from that so-called tree,” she said. “Plus, you may be fighting some of your feelings, but you love those boys.” She lifted her hand to his jaw. “You have a good heart. I liked that about you from the first time I met you.”

      “And I thought it was my singing voice,” he said and lowered his mouth to hers, reveling in the anticipation he felt inside and saw in her eyes.

      She tasted like a delicious combination of red wine, tiramisu and something forbidden that he wasn’t going to resist. Ryder was certain he could resist her if he wanted. If there was one thing Ryder possessed, it was self-discipline. The quality had been necessary to get him through med school, residency and even more so now in his position at the hospital and with the twins.

      For now, though, Ryder had decided he didn’t want to resist Bridget. With her lush breasts pressing against his chest, discipline was the last thing on his mind. She was so voluptuously female from her deceptively airy attitude to her curvy body. He slid one of his hands through her hair as she wiggled against him.

      A groan of pleasure and want rose from his throat as she deepened the kiss, drawing his tongue into her mouth. The move echoed what he wanted to be doing with the rest of his body and hers. He wrapped his hands around her waist. He slid one down to her hips and the other upward to just under her breast.

      He was so hard that he almost couldn’t breathe. She was so soft, so feminine, so hot. With every beat of his heart, he craved her. He wanted to consume her, to slide inside her….

      Ryder slid his hand to her breast, cupping its fullness. Her nipple peaked against his palm. The fire inside him rising, he tugged a few buttons of her blouse loose and slipped his hand under her bra, touching her bare skin, which made him want to touch every inch of her. He couldn’t remember wanting to inhale a woman before.

      The next natural step would be to remove her clothes and his and after that, caress her with his hands and mouth. After that, he wanted to slide inside her … She would be so hot, so wet….

      All he wanted was to be as close to her as humanly possible.

      From some peripheral area of his brain, he heard a knock and then another. Her body and soul called to him. He took her mouth in another deep kiss.

      Another knock sounded, this time louder, but Ryder was determined to ignore it.

      Suddenly his front door opened and Marshall burst into the room.

      “Whoa,” Marshall said. “Sorry to interrupt.”

      Ryder felt Bridget pull back and hastily arrange her shirt. “Who—” she said in a breathless voice.

      “My best friend from high school, Marshall,” Ryder said. “He has a key,” he continued in a dark voice.

      Marshall lifted his hands. “Hey, I called and you didn’t answer. I started getting worried. You almost always answer at night. We’ve had a beer three times during the last week.” His friend stared at Bridget and gave a low whistle. “And who do we have here?”

      Irritated, Ryder scowled. “Show a little respect. Prin—” He stopped when Bridget pinched his arm. Staring at her in disbelief, he could see that she didn’t want him to reveal her title. “Bridget Devereaux, this is Marshall Bailey.”

      His friend moved forward and extended his hand. Bridget stood and accepted the courtesy.

      “Nice to meet you, Bridget,” Marshall said. “It’s a relief to see Ryder with a woman.”

      Embarrassment slammed through Ryder and he also stood. “Marshall,” he said in a warning tone.

      “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. The poor guy hasn’t had much company except me and the twins.” Marshall cleared his throat. “How did you two meet anyway?”

      “Okay, enough, Mr. Busybody. As you can see, I’m fine, so you can leave.”

      “Oh no, that’s not necessary,” Bridget said and glanced at her watch. “I really should be leaving. I have an early flight tomorrow.”

      “Where?” Ryder asked.

      “Chicago. They have a teaching hospital. I’ll be meeting with the hospital chief to present the proposal for Chantaine’s medical exchange.”

      “Oh,” he said, surprised at the gut punch of disappointment he felt when he should feel relieved. “I guess this means you’ve given up on our residents.”

      “No, but you haven’t been at all receptive. My brother Stefan has instructed me to explore other possibilities. Your program was our first choice due to the quality of your residents and also the fact that you have so many family doctors and prevention specialists. But because you’re unwilling to help …”

      “For Pete’s sake, Ryder, help the woman out,” Marshall said and moved forward. “Is there anything I can do?”

      Marshall was really getting on Ryder’s nerves. “Not unless you have a medical degree and are licensed to practice,” Ryder said.

      “I believe my driver is here. Thank you for an action-packed evening,” she said with a smile full of sexy amusement.

      Ryder would have preferred a different kind of action. “I’ll walk you to the car,” he said, then shot a quick glance at Marshall. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

      Ryder escorted Bridget to the limo waiting at the curb. A man stood ready to open the door for her. Ryder was disappointed as hell that she was headed out of town. Stupid. “So how long will you be gone?” he asked.

      She lifted a dark eyebrow and her lips tilted in a teasing grin. “Are you going to miss me, Dr. McCall?”

      His gut twisted. “That would be crazy. The only thing I’ve been missing for the last month is sleep,” he lied.

      “Oh, well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get some extra sleep while I’m gone. Ta-ta,” she said and turned toward the limo.

      He caught her wrist and drew her back against him. The man at the car door took a step toward them, but she waved her hand. “Not necessary, Raoul.”

      “You must enjoy tormenting me,” he said.

      “Me?” she said, her blue eyes wide with innocence. “How could I possibly have the ability to torment you?”

      “I don’t know, but you sure as hell do,” he muttered and kissed her, which only served to make him hotter. He turned her own words on her. “So, Your Highness, what are you going to do about it?”

      She gave a sharp intake of breath and her eyes darkened as if her mind were working the same way as his. She bit her lip. “I can call you when I return from Chicago.”

      “Do that,” he said.

      Ryder returned to his house to find Marshall lounging on the sofa and drinking a glass of red wine. “This isn’t bad,” he said.

      “Glad you like it. In the future, give me a call before you drop in. Okay?”

      Marshall looked injured. “I did call you. You just didn’t answer.” He shook his head and gave a low whistle. “And now I understand why. That’s one hot babe, and she reeks money. A limo came to pick her up? You sure know how to pick ‘em. How did you meet her?”

      “In an elevator,” Ryder said, not wanting to give away too many details. As much as he liked his old friend, Ryder knew Marshall could gossip worse than an old lady.

      “Really?” Marshall said, dumbfounded. “An elevator. Was it just you and her? Did you do anything—adventurous?”