One Night Forever (2 page)

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One Night Forever

his actions, only a calm civility as if this were an

everyday occurrence.

“Ariel Wilson.” She took his offered greeting and

strong fingers closed around her much smaller hand.

Ariel was struck how much it looked like a child’s hand

in an adult’s, he was that much bigger. His grip was

firm, but gentle and all too brief. In the perfect spot

under the street lamp, the stranger gave her a great

view of exactly whom she was dealing with. Ariel

admired the sculpted muscles of his arm, the veins

curling around his forearm and biceps. His chest was

heavily muscled and his abdomen rippled with

strength when he moved. A dark dusting of hair teased

his skin and made her wonder if it was as silky as it

looked. She was so lost in admiring his masculine

beauty, she missed his question until she looked back

at his face. His eyes danced with amusement. Damn

her hormones. She was torn between sorrow for the

lost life she’d had with Tom and desire for an absolute

stranger. Ridiculous. She was definitely losing her

mind.

“I beg your pardon?” Ariel’s face heated. Grateful

for her dark skin, she ducked her head hoping her hair

would cover her embarrassment. Lord, the man was

seriously fine! She had noticed the way he put his body

between hers and Tom’s car. Now, though he stood

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Marteeka Karland

close, he was careful to keep out of her personal space.

Obviously, he was a considerate man, maybe even a bit

protective. That thought sent another wave of heat

coursing through her, and she was immediately

ashamed of her reaction. Tom might be the kind of

person to sleep with anyone who’d let him, but she

wasn’t.

“I asked where you were going.” He didn’t seem

perturbed or annoyed that she hadn’t been paying

attention to his words, only slightly amused. Ariel was

certain her reaction wasn’t unusual to him. Women

probably fell all over this man all the time.

“To my sister’s,” she finally managed, pulling

herself together. It was too bad, really. Under different

circumstances, she would have liked to meet this man.

He had a look about him. A look that said he protected

what was his with his life, and never betrayed those he

loved. Something Tom would never understand.

Unshed tears threatened to spill once again, but she

swallowed hard and held on to them by sheer

willpower. “It’s just a couple of blocks down the

street.”

“Let’s go then. The sooner you get there, the

sooner I can get back to bed.” There was amusement

in his voice, but also a sexy gleam in his eye. The

image of that big body sprawled between satin sheets

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One Night Forever

sprang to mind and Ariel’s knees went weak. She

seriously needed to take a cold shower. She could only

attribute her wayward thoughts to an over-infestation

of hormones and a healthy dose of disappointment in

the male species as a general rule. She
wanted
this

man to be different because he was so seriously good

to look at. It would be a waste of a good man for him

to be the same kind of asshole as Tom.

She sighed and let Damien escort her down the

block to her sister’s house. He stood at the bottom of

the steps leading to the porch while Ariel rang the

doorbell. A couple minutes later, her sister, Gretta

peeked through the curtain before flinging the door

open wide. “What the hell are you doing out at this

time of night? It’s dangerous for a woman out by

herself!”

“Not to worry, Gretta. I looked after your sister.”

Gretta looked past Ariel to Damien. “What

happened?”

“All I know is there was a guy making a bunch of

racket and I put a stop to it. I need my beauty sleep,

after all.”

Gretta snorted. “You’re drop dead gorgeous and

you know it. Now, get away before I call the cops and

have you arrested for indecent exposure. And don't

forget about clinic tomorrow. We missed it last week,

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Marteeka Karland

and you know how the women at the senior citizens

center love you.”

Damien's chuckle made Ariel's body tremor and

heat erotically. She didn't want to be affected by him,

but there didn't seem to be any stopping herself. At

this point, she didn't really care. She just wanted to get

inside where it was safe to break down without making

a fool of herself.

"No sweat, Gretta. I missed our weekly

appointment as much as the ladies did. Besides, they

feed me on Mondays. There's nothing like a good

home-cooked meal." He patted his belly in obvious

appreciation and licked his lips. Ariel found herself

mesmerized by the action. She had to blink a couple of

times to shake the vision of those perfect lips closing

around her nipple...

Ariel shook herself. “I appreciate your help. I’m

sorry Tom disturbed your sleep.”

Damien winked at her as if they shared a secret

of some kind. For some silly, girlish reason, it made

her feel special. She immediately tamped down the

unwanted emotion. “Any time, sugar.”

Lord, there was that absolutely sexy Southern

drawl. How could any red-blooded woman resist such

a man? Especially as vulnerable as she currently was.

Ariel knew she could absolutely make it on her own,

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One Night Forever

but having a man who was as genuine as Damien

seemed
to be was the stuff fantasies were made of.

Tom had never been that considerate of her. She was

completely out of her mind and stupid beyond reason

to have allowed herself to become pregnant. She’d love

the child as much as any mother possibly could, but it

stung that she hadn’t shared this joy with a man

worthy of such love. She was pregnant with another

man’s child. Even if Damien turned out to be the man

of her dreams, there was no way he would start a

relationship of any kind with her, and she couldn’t

blame him. That just opened up all kinds of

possibilities. None of them good.

With another glance over her shoulder at the

most gorgeous man she was likely ever to meet, Ariel

entered her sister’s home. She let Gretta close and lock

the door before dissolving into tears.

16

Chapter Two

Seven months later

Ariel looked in the mirror with a critical eye. At

thirty-three and a half weeks pregnant, her body was

grossly bent out of shape, to her way of thinking. Her

belly stood out farther than her breasts, which were

even now growing well beyond their small A cup

before her pregnancy. She had dark circles under her

eyes, and let’s not forget the stretch marks. And

morning, noon, and night sickness. No, pregnancy did

not agree with her.

Sighing, she finished dressing, remembering

wistfully how she’d ended up here. Oh, she could

hardly wait for her daughter to make her appearance,

but she wished it would happen under different

circumstances. Her lawyer had called that morning

with the news that Tom had signed the papers

relinquishing all parental rights. It had been a

horrible, bitter battle, but she was finally free of the

lying, cheating son of a bitch. It also meant her

daughter would grow up without a father.

In order to finish school, Ariel had left the

hospital she loved and settled for a small, twenty-four

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One Night Forever

hour clinic. It was rewarding, just not what she’d

expected after nursing school. Still, she had made the

change and was gradually finding her niche, especially

after the Jackson brothers and Lilly took over the

place. It didn’t take long before she felt right at home.

In the clinic, she took blood pressures,

temperatures, and blood samples from patients as well

as giving medicine and vaccines. She was on her feet

the vast majority of the day, and it was becoming

increasingly difficult on her. She needed to find a way

to stay off her feet even a little throughout the day, but

her job was demanding and the place was always busy.

Today was no exception.

“Ariel, you need to rest. Sit down before you fall

down,” Lilly Miller-Jackson admonished softly. Lilly

was the new office manager and wife to one of the two

owners of the clinic, though Ariel didn't know which

one. The three of them seemed to have an...unusual

relationship. “It’s not good for you to be working so

hard.”

Ariel managed a tentative smile. “I’m fine. If I

don’t keep going, I’ll be off my feet completely, and

I’ve still got a few more weeks to go.”

“I absolutely will not have you hurting yourself

because of this place. It’s not that important. You and

your daughter are.” The tender way Lilly caressed her

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Marteeka Karland

arm was almost Ariel’s undoing. Gretta waited on her

hand and foot when she got home, but her sister

wasn’t the sentimental type. She was the take-charge

type and sometimes she was just too much to handle.

Lilly, on the other hand, was gentle and careful, always

doing things that made Ariel’s life a little easier.

“Don’t worry so much about me.” Ariel patted

the woman’s hand, truly grateful she did make a fuss

over her, though too proud to admit it. “I have a few

more things to do and I’ll take a break.”

“See that you do.” Lilly raised an eyebrow at her.

Her expression said she knew Ariel probably wouldn’t

take that break, but she was letting it go for now.

The day showed no signs of letting up. She’d

been so busy and preoccupied with her current task,

she ran into the new doctor, literally, before she’d

actually met him. The next thing she new she found

herself in the arms of a god.

It took a couple of seconds to pull herself

together, but when she did, her heart skipped a beat,

then hammered in her chest painfully. “Damien?”

His gaze swept her from head to toe, not

flinching at her expanding middle. In fact, his face

gave nothing away. He looked intensely at her, as if

looking for something. His hands held her firmly at

her waist, preventing her from falling. As they stood

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One Night Forever

there, he moved one hand around her abdomen in a

gentle caress. Ariel nearly dissolved into tears at the

tender gesture, despite his hard gaze.
This
was how it

was supposed to be. She didn’t need a man to protect

and nurture her, but she desperately wanted one. A

man like Damien Carter.

He looked different than he had that fateful

night they met. His hair was still long, but he’d pulled

it into a tie at the back of his neck, taming it, if only

slightly. Those silver-blue eyes held the same soul-

penetrating quality and saw too much by half. Then

she noticed the broad expanse of his chest and the

dusting of dark curls peeking from the V in his tunic

not to mention biceps that bulged in the restraining

short sleeves. She hadn’t forgotten the impact he’d had

on her, the memory hadn’t faded even slightly. Her

insides melted as she stood there. With everything else

going on in her life, that itself was a miracle. In that

one moment, the night they met came rushing back.

The instant attraction she had for him. The grief and

humiliation of Tom’s betrayal. Her embarrassment at

the entire situation had kept her awake at night. Well,

that
and
her vivid imagination and all the naughty

things she did to his body in her dreams.

“Excuse me,” he muttered. His gaze seemed to

swallow her it was so intense. “Did I hurt you?” he

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Marteeka Karland

asked, those disturbing eyes dropping again to the

swell of her abdomen. His hand still caressed her. The

babe moved under his touch as if she was equally as

aware of the man.

“No,” she replied a bit breathlessly. “I wasn’t

watching where I was going.”

“You look tired. Are you sure you’re okay?” The

concern in his voice nearly caused her to break down