Debra Webb - In His Touch Box Set (Here To Stay, Up Close, Tempting Trace, Basic Instincts) (60 page)

The bathroom.

She could escape in the bathroom. He wouldn’t follow her there.

“Merri, wait!”

She jerked open the door, rushed inside and closed it, and tried to hold back the tears. The situation was impossible. Jake deserved to know the truth, but she couldn’t tell him and watch the hurt well in his eyes.

“Merri, what’s wrong? Please open the door.” His deep voice rumbled through the wood panel at her back. In her mind she imagined his face pressed close to the door, one wide palm flattened against it.

“Did I do or say something wrong?” he asked softly. Pushing away from the sound, she opened her eyes to get her bearings. Blackness greeted her. She fumbled near the door frame for the switch. When the overhead light came on she blinked, stunned. Meredith swiped her eyes and almost laughed out loud. This was no bathroom. In her hurry, she’d hidden in the walk-in coat closet.

“I don’t know why you’re hiding in that closet, but I’m coming in.”

Meredith swung around to face Jake. She avoided his eyes, staring at one broad shoulder. “I’d like you to take me home now,” she told him in as firm a voice as she could muster. The khaki button-up shirt contrasted nicely with the vee of tanned skin at his throat. The snug-fitting jeans he wore, she knew without lowering her gaze, showed off his long, lean legs. From the moment she’d opened Shelley’s door and found him standing there, she had a difficult time catching her breath.

But he deserved better than this... this deception.

“Something’s wrong.” He eased closer, crowding her. “I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me what the problem is.”

Meredith stumbled back until the bare wall between racks of coats stopped her. “I have a headache. I need to go home.” As in all the way back to New York, so she could forget all about him.

He chucked her under the chin. “Look at me.” It was a command, not a request.

Barely restraining the urge to dive into his arms, she lifted her gaze to his. The worry she saw there tugged at her already heavy heart.

“Have I done something wrong?”

The soft plea only made her heart ache more. “No.”

His other hand moved to rest gently at her waist. “Then tell me how to make you smile again.”

“It’s not you, Jake, it’s me,” she admitted. Unable to bear looking at him a moment longer, she pulled away and stared at the fake leopard fur coat to her right. God, did anyone buy those things anymore?

He moved in closer, his body against hers now. His lips brushing her cheek. His warm breath fanned her sensitive skin, making her shiver, making her want to cry all over again.

“Just tell me what to do, Merri. I’ll do anything you ask.”

He meant what he said. She saw the fierce desire in his eyes and a need that matched the intensity of her own.

“You don’t know me, Jake Brandon,” she heard herself say, her voice small but uncertain, but she was sure she could not keep that dark secret a moment longer.

“I know all I need to know.” He nibbled her lowered lip, then murmured, “You’re sweet.” Using his tongue, he traced that same place he’d nibbled with his teeth. “You’re charming and intelligent.” He sucked on her bottom lip. Her breath caught. “And you’re beautiful.”

“But—”

His mouth closed fully over hers then. His fingers closed tenderly around her face, holding her so that she couldn’t escape. Then his tongue thrust inside her mouth and Meredith groaned. Her hand moved to his chest, and slid up around his neck to thread her fingers into his thick, silky hair. Pressing his body firmly against hers, he made the next sound of pleasure that echoed in the tiny room. His full arousal made her long to feel that part of him inside her. She gasped when his mouth moved lower, along the line of her jaw, then down the length of her throat. One flimsy spaghetti strap slipped from her shoulder and he tugged it lower still, until he bared one of her breasts. Meredith arched her back, presenting herself for his touch. He toyed with her nipple, sending a wave of sweet sensation right through her. She urged him with her body to latch on, to suck, to end this exquisite ache. Slowly, he obeyed the unspoken command. The feel of his hot mouth covering the ultra-sensitive flesh made her whimper with need.

He sucked hard and Meredith writhed uncontrollably. The second strap slid down at his insistence and he moved to her other breast, tasting, licking, sucking, until she could only beg helplessly for his mercy. But Jake would not relent. His hand moved beneath the hem of her too-short dress, then inside the skimpy panties she wore. Meredith gasped when he dragged the damp, silky panties down her legs. His mouth never left her breast, the sucking only more urgent. Instinctively, she lifted first one foot, then the other for him to free her from the scrap of silk.

“Spread your legs for me, baby,” he ordered, his lips moving against her skin as he spoke, arousing her beyond belief. “Let me show you how much I want you.”

She couldn’t think, she couldn’t analyze, she could only obey. Her feet, still in high heels, moved apart as he knelt between them. His hands, sure and strong, he pushed her dress above her hips. Gasping for breath, Meredith forced her eyes open to watch him. She had surrendered at last. Whatever he wanted, she would allow him to take. And she would take whatever she wanted... she wanted all of him.

He set back on his heels and simply looked at her. Finally, when Meredith was certain she could no longer bear the heat of his intent gaze, he kissed her there, then lower still. Her eyes closed, and his name drifted past her lips. The erotic sensation was so exquisite it took all her energy to remain standing. She could not move, she could do nothing but tremble at his skilled touch.

Jake’s fingers splayed over her trembling thighs as his tongue slid along her most sensitive flesh, then dipped inside. A low moan wrenched from her throat as she pressed hard against the wall; her fingers clutched at the coats hanging on either side of her for balance. He discovered and paid special attention to that tiny part of her that throbbed insistently. Her feminine muscles clenched tighter and tighter still. When his tongue thrust inside her, she climaxed within seconds, dissolving into the multitude of raging sensations.

~*~

Jake pressed his cheek against the softness of her flat belly and struggled to regain some semblance of composure. He wanted to be inside her, right now. But not here. He had to pull himself together. Thank God he’d remembered to lock the door behind him when he came in after her. He didn’t want to embarrass Merri again. She meant too much to him.

He pressed a kiss next to her belly button, then reached for her discarded panties. His fingers closed around one delicate ankle and lifted her foot to pull the panties over one sexy high-heeled shoe.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice low and lusty. Her gaze slowly focused on him as she pulled her ankle free of his grasp.

Those blue eyes brought him to his feet. Those full, ripe cherry lips lured him in to her. He had to kiss her... kiss her or die right here in this damned closet. When he captured her mouth, she sucked at him hungrily, greedily. Renewed desire overwhelmed him, making him harder than before. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, then splayed over his bare chest. He groaned savagely, his own hunger bursting from him. She found his right nipple and teased it tenderly with her nail. He growled, his arms going around her and pulling her hard into his erection. She tugged his shirt from his jeans and smoothed her palms over his back. Jake trembled in spite of himself.

“Merri,” he murmured next to her ear. “We have to stop now or I—”

“You have a condom, don’t you?” she demanded, her fingers reaching for the fly of his jeans.

He blinked and tried to make sense of her question. A condom? Did she want to... “Are you sure about this?” He dipped his head to the right, searching her downcast gaze. “We can wait if you’re not.”

Some of the fire went out of her then. She licked those incredible lips and looked away. “I thought...” A deeper color rose into her already flushed cheeks. “I’m sorry, I thought you wanted...” She didn’t finish.

He pulled her chin up so she would have to look at him. His heart squeezed at the uncertainty he saw there. “I do.” He shook his head. “How could you think anything else?”

She shook her head, her eyes suddenly suspiciously bright. Jake fell in love with her all over again, right then and there. His heart would not let him allow her to believe that he didn’t want her, not for one second. “Let me make love to you, Merri.” He kissed her lips. “Right now.” He deepened the kiss, wrenching a moan from her. “And I’ll show you just how much more I want.”

While she eased his jeans over his hips, Jake fished a condom from his wallet. She took it from him. When she had opened it and slid it over him, he almost climaxed then and there. He pushed her caressing hands away. Her arms went around his neck and she surrendered to him once more. As he lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Slowly, so very slowly, he guided her down, thrusting into her while he watched the sheer pleasure suffuse her beautiful face.

The sensation of her slick, hot body closing around him almost sent him over the edge. At last, he was buried deep inside her, and she was so tight that he wasn’t sure he could move without coming. He pressed his forehead to hers and focused on slowing his breathing and delaying his need until he could satisfy her.

Seeming to sense his loss of control, Merri lifted, then pressed down again. A fierce sound erupted from his throat. Again she lifted and pressed down, then repeated. Jake could wait no longer. He pressed her back against the wall and brought her to a powerful orgasm once more before reaching his own mind-blowing release.

Her labored breathing matched his own as they struggled for calm, still united, still one.

“Merri,” he finally murmured when he could talk again.

She tilted her head just enough to look up at him. “Yes?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Something resembling fear flickered in her blue eyes before she could mask it. Jake’s gut clenched. Were his words that much of a surprise? He’d thought that—

“I have to go.” Her long legs slid down to the floor. She pushed him away, breaking that intimate contact. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have let this happen.” She quickly righted her dress, pulled away from him and dragged her panties back on before he could break out of the shock holding him prisoner. She fumbled with the door lock, then glanced back at him. “I’m sorry, Jake,” she murmured before rushing out the door.

Swearing under his breath, Jake stamped into the guest bathroom and took care of necessary business. When he stepped back into the hall, Merri was waiting for him.

“Jake, we have to take Suzy and Dan to the hospital.”

Still confused and annoyed, he frowned. “What?”

Merri licked those lips swollen from his kisses, and stared directly into his eyes. “Suzy’s water broke about an hour ago, but she didn’t want to ruin Dan’s party so she didn’t tell anyone.”

Her throat was reddened by his fierce need to taste her. He should have been gentler. He certainly should have taken her someplace more romantic.

“Jake, are you listening to me?”

“What did you say?” he demanded, her words finally penetrating his bleary mind. Suzy? In labor?

“Her contractions are too close together. We have to go now,” she added pointedly. “Dan and most everyone else has been drinking.”

Jake nodded, his brain working once more. “That was the plan. I was supposed to be the designated driver tonight since it’s his birthday.”

“Good.” Merri grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the living room. “Now we just have to get rid of the stragglers so we can get going.” She fixed her gaze on him once more. “We really have to hurry.”

Jake had everyone saying their goodbyes in no time flat. Dan, who’d celebrated a great deal more than usual, climbed into the backseat of the Volvo with his wife. Merri was busy coaching Suzy’s breathing. It hit Jake then that a baby was about to be born and he spun out of the driveway.

He had to get to the hospital—which was clear across town.

Chapter Seven

“My wife is having a baby,” Dan announced to the emergency room nurse as they entered the large reception area. “Like right now,” he added, his voice rising and falling with an odd quiver.

He still sounded a little tipsy to Meredith, but the drive to the hospital had pretty much sobered him up. It was his birthday, after all. His last big bash before forging into fatherhood.

“Sign in,” the buxom nurse ordered. “I’ll get the proper forms to fill out.”

“Excuse me,” Meredith interrupted. “Her water broke well over an hour ago and her contractions are barely a minute apart now. I don’t think there’s time for the paperwork or anything else.”

The nurse nodded briskly and called out for assistance. A few moments later, they were following Suzy down the corridor toward the maternity ward.

“Who’s going in with her?” the orderly asked. A nurse was busy taking Suzy’s vitals at the side of the gurney. It hadn’t taken long for them to see that there was no time for the usual preparations.

“I’m the father,” Dan announced, grinning like an idiot. “This is our first.”

“You’ll need scrubs. Come this way.” The orderly led him to a nearby room.

In no time, Dan, wearing green scrubs over his clothes, strutted past. He shot them another silly I’m-going-to-be-a-poppa grin and disappeared into the delivery room.

“I suppose we should go back to the waiting room,” Meredith suggested to Jake. She avoided eye contact with him, trying to forget what they had shared only minutes ago. This hardly seemed like the place to think about it, anyway.

Jake nodded and slid his arm around her waist. The feel of his strong arm around her made her want to lean into him. But she couldn’t. She’d gone way beyond the line she had drawn, made a terrible mistake. Now they would both pay for that lack of self-control.

He hesitated and turned to her. “Merri, I didn’t mean for that to happen the way it did.” He stared at the tile floor for a time. “I really wanted it to be special for you.” He looked directly into her eyes and smiled in that lopsided, boyish way they made her heart flip-flop. “Although it was very special for me just the way it was.”