Dylan’s deep voice sent sizzling awareness shooting through her veins, leaving no part of her body unaffected. While John’s scent had been warm,
Dylan’s
cologne caused a distinct path of heat to travel along her nerve endings and settle in the pit of her stomach.
“I thought you said you’d be missing this shindig.” He cocked his head and pinned her with a knowing grin.
“You two have seen each other already?” John asked, obviously surprised.
Dylan was the one subject John never broached with Holly. He knew the history. He’d been through school along with them, but John and Holly had begun dating once they’d returned home as adults. As if by mutual agreement, they’d left Dylan behind and started fresh. But Holly realized that Dylan had always been with her even when she wasn’t aware of it.
She wondered if Dylan had heard she and John were an item. She wondered if he’d even care. After clearing her throat, she tackled John’s comment. “Dylan stopped by the office this afternoon.”
“I wanted her to promise me a dance tonight,” Dylan said with that sexy look back in his gaze.
Obviously he hadn’t heard anything about her and John being a couple. She winced and jumped to explain his comment to John. “Actually, Dylan came by for a flu shot.”
She didn’t want John to get the wrong idea.
Or was it the right one?
Holly wondered, her traitorous heart beating hard in her chest because Dylan was near. Obviously the old feelings weren’t gone. Not even the anger or sense of betrayal, which still lay in her heart like lead, could dilute the spike of desire he caused.
“The good doctor didn’t mind giving me one, either.” Dylan grinned and rubbed the affected spot just below his hip. He laughed until his gaze fell to Holly’s hand, still enclosed in John’s grasp.
His eyes opened wide, and an uncomfortable silence fell until finally Dylan spoke. “This is the woman you’ve been seeing? The one you’ve been trying to get to settle down?” His voice sounded hoarse to Holly’s ears as he cocked his head to one side, understanding dawning.
Instinct had her pulling her hand back from John’s.
“And you’re the reason she’s been avoiding commitment. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before,” John said, sounding certain of his conclusion.
“Excuse me.” Holly interrupted the two men. “But could you both stop speaking about me like I’m not here?” She turned to John first. “Dylan has nothing to do with my feelings about commitment,” she assured him. But her queasy stomach and sweaty palms made her wonder if her words were a lie.
“I know you want to believe that, but I’m ready to move forward with you or without you.” John turned to Dylan. “How long are you in town for?”
Dylan looked as stunned as she felt as he replied, “Through Christmas, but—”
“That’s decided, then.”
“What is?” Holly asked, nothing around her making sense.
John stood up straight and pulled his coat check ticket from his pocket. “Spend the next few days with Dylan or alone with your own thoughts—I don’t care which. But deal with the past and decide what you want for your future.”
Holly blinked. “Can someone please tell me when I lost control of my life?”
“Oh, about the time this guy took off for Hollywood.” John reached out and squeezed her hand tight. “I care about you, and I want what makes you happy. But I want to be happy, too, so let’s both agree to use these few days wisely, okay?”
She had thought she would walk in here tonight, take one look at John, who was ready to give her a future, take one look at Dylan, who’d caused her nothing but pain, and be ready to ride off into the sunset with John. Well, her thinking had been naïve in the extreme, because Dylan wreaked a kind of havoc on her body and soul that she couldn’t explain or understand. He promised nothing, and yet she couldn’t give herself completely to any other man.
She had to take this time with him now. Knowing John had understood that even before she had, she nodded. “Okay.”
To her shock, John turned and shook Dylan’s hand, then kissed Holly on the cheek, not on the lips. Not, she noticed, like a man staking his claim or giving her something to remember him by as she weighed her options. But, then, she and John had always been about companionship and caring, not all-consuming love and desire. Wasn’t that what made him the perfect choice for her future?
Dylan’s return was temporary, and he certainly wasn’t offering forever. They barely knew each other anymore. Yet she felt like she still did know him. So even if the likelihood was that he’d leave for L.A. and her heart would be broken once more, she needed closure. Once again, something John had understood before she had.
“Well, well,
that
certainly was interesting.” Dylan watched John’s retreating back. “I had no idea you two were involved.”
His voice brought Holly back to the present. To the man who’d caused more upheaval in her life than anyone she’d ever known. “How would you know anything about me? It’s not like you kept in touch over the past decade.”
“True.” He inclined his head. “And I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for a lot of things we’ve yet to hash out. But I’m back now and plan to make up for lost time.” His eyes glittered with determined fire.
The same fire she’d bet kept him stoked and primed as he’d quickly climbed through the ranks in Hollywood. Holly shivered. “What makes you think I want the same thing?”
He shook his head and let out a low, chiding sound, but his lips were turned upward in a grin. “Don’t make me kiss you senseless in front of this crowd just to prove a point.” He leaned in closer, his roughened cheek against hers, making her skin tingle. “Because when I kiss you again, and you can be sure I will, we’re going to be alone, where I can take my time and go oh so slow and deep.” His husky voice rumbled over the last two words.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her own vivid imagination took over. She envisioned his lips covering hers, his tongue thrusting inside her open mouth while his body made love to hers just as he’d described.
A low moan escaped her throat, but thank goodness the music was loud and their audience, though rapt, couldn’t possibly capture the subtle undercurrents running between them.
“Don’t you have a beautiful girlfriend waiting for you in L.A.?” she asked, wondering why he was bothering with seductive come-ons with
her
.
“Nope.” His serious blue-eyed gaze met hers.
“The papers said—”
“The first thing you’re going to need to learn is that you should never ever believe anything you read in the papers, respectable publication or otherwise. Always confirm the story with me first, or better yet, trust your gut.”
“You talk like you’re going to be around long enough for it to matter. It doesn’t. I’m sorry I even brought up the subject.”
“No, you aren’t, and neither am I. I want you to know everything about me now, just like I intend to learn everything about you. But first, I want that dance you promised me.”
“I never—”
His finger halted her moving lips, the touch both firm and gentle. “Are you going to deny us something we both want?”
She sighed, then placed her hand in his and let him wind their way to the dance floor. His hand came to rest at her waist, intimately pulling her against him until their lower bodies swayed in unison to the sultry beat of the music.
She shut her eyes and gave herself over to feeling, suddenly understanding why John had never been enough. Why no man had ever come close. No one could ever live up to the memory of her first love, and now he was back, wreaking havoc with her life again.
Though she was older and wiser this time, the thought gave her no sense of comfort because she was no more in control of her emotions and desires than she was over the inevitable outcome of this brief reunion.
* * *
The snow had started falling sometime during the party. White flakes drifted down and stuck to the ground and, combined with the weather forecast over the next few days, brought with them the certainty of a white Christmas. It’d been years since Dylan had enjoyed snow and even longer since the promise of tomorrow looked so damn good.
He waited as Holly pulled her wool coat tight around her and cinched the belt at her waist. Dancing with her, holding her in his arms again, had convinced him this return home had been exactly what he needed. And if the byplay between Holly and John was any indication, Dylan was exactly what she needed, too. He hated, like hell, that his old friend, John, would be a casualty, but obviously things between him and Holly hadn’t been all that good before Dylan returned to the picture.
Dylan knew Holly was wary and had good reason to mistrust both him and his motives, but he’d made progress already. He had but one crucial week to cement her trust.
“Ready?” he asked her.
She nodded.
“Where do you live now?”
She pulled on a pair of black gloves. “I took over the apartment above the office that Dad used to rent out to students.”
“Smart move. So you walked here?”
“Yes.” She inclined her head. “What about you? Are you staying with your mother?”
“Would she let me live if I didn’t?” He chuckled. “She’s so happy to have me back home that she’s already cooked me breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
They started down the street.
“Careful or she’ll spoil you. Do you cook for yourself back home?”
He took the fact that she was asking questions about his life as a positive sign. “If it can be defrosted in a microwave and zapped, I can cook it,” he said proudly.
She laughed, and the sound carried on the wind, churning in his gut. “That sounds pretty close to my life lately. But I hired a partner who’s supposed to start working after the first of the year, and I really hope it’ll take some of the burden off me!”
“Assuming the old folks take to her?” Dylan asked knowingly.
“It’s a him,” Holly said. “Lance Tollgate. I think the patients will like him,” she said, her voice warming. “He’s young and friendly, and he’s got kids, so he can relate to the grandparents and parents. It should be a good fit.”
“Your father would be really proud of you.”
“Yeah, he was.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Sorry. It just hasn’t been that long.”
Dylan swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” He reached for her hand and held on tight.
“I got through it. There was a lot you weren’t here for,” she reminded him.
He knew they’d have to discuss and deal with his abrupt departure if he had any hope of her believing he wouldn’t abandon her again. But he wanted her to get to know him again first.
They approached the office, and she led him around back to the private entrance. He followed her up the few steps to the front door and paused.
“Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee or a drink?” she asked while fishing for her keys.
He did, but he had other plans. “Thanks anyway, but I need to get up early.”
She shrugged, a “suit yourself” gesture, but he saw the hurt and lack of understanding in her gaze.
He reached out and cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her soft skin with broad strokes. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”
“I’m off. I’m forwarding patients to a covering doctor in the next town. If I don’t get some time to myself, I won’t be good for anyone.” She spoke quickly, obviously in a rush to get inside and away from him.
“How about I pick you up early and we head into Boston for some holiday shopping?” he asked.
She turned to face him. The glow from the outside light illuminated her blonde hair and exquisitely made-up features. He hadn’t thought about it before, but not only had she shown up at the party, she’d gone all out for it, too.
Pleasure took hold inside him. “You’re beautiful, you know. Not in the young-girl way I remembered, but in a womanly way I appreciate so much more.”
She narrowed her gaze. “What kind of game are you playing, Dylan? You can’t come in for a drink because you have plans; then you offer to pick me up early tomorrow. What’s going on with you?” Thoroughly annoyed, she perched her hands on her hips while her lips puckered into a pretty pout.
He shook his head. “Sorry about the mixed signals. I want nothing more than to come in, but we both know where that’ll lead, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want to take it slow.”
“Slow?” Her lips mouthed the word. “Ten years isn’t slow enough? You’d rather just torture me, is that it?”
“I want you to go to sleep and dream of nothing but me?” He let his fingers trace the outline of her glossed lips. “So when I pick you up tomorrow, you’re ready to focus solely and completely on getting to know me again, and me getting to know you.”
“You want to discover what makes me tick now?” she asked, a sparkle and teasing glint in her eyes.
“In a word, yes.”
* * *
Unexpectedly, her tongue darted out and licked the pad of his thumb, being deliberately seductive. He felt the sensation straight through to his already hard groin.
Before he could think it through, he slipped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, capturing her mouth with his. Her lips softened but didn’t part. Obviously she intended to make him work for what he wanted, and that was okay with him.
He slid his lips back and forth over hers, floored by the gratification he found in tasting her at last. The longer they kissed, the more he realized that his memories had grown fuzzy and reality was so much better and definitely hotter. He braced her face in his hands, tilted her head and continued to tease and taste, just as he’d promised, kissing her slowly, intent on branding her and making sure that if she slept, her dreams would be of him.
His tongue glided over the seam of her lips, and he was rewarded with a low moan from the back of her throat as she opened her mouth and let him inside. He savored the absolute sweetness and desire flooding him. His groin pushed hard against his jeans, the urge to possess her with his body strong.
Before he could go back on his word and join her inside, he stepped back, reminding himself that he wanted to win her trust for the long haul. Not just for one night in bed.