in this country better prepared to operate on that particular tumor than I am. What’re the odds that I should encounter a child at your cousin’s free clinic in Little Havana who needed exactly what I’m most uniquely qualified to provide?”
I’m flabbergasted by this turn of events. “That’s incredible. Will he be all right?”
“I hope so, but he’s got a long road ahead of him. We got almost all of it. With chemo and radiation, he has a very good chance of recovering, although he’ll experience some impairments due to the location of the tumor as well as the treatment.”
“What about the hospital and your privileges?”
“When I informed the chief of surgery of what was going on, he convinced Mr. Augustino to grant me temporary privileges to perform the surgery. He told him there was no one on the staff better qualified to handle this particular case. Because I was brought to Miami-Dade for a similar surgery in the past, Augustino gave the green light.”
“I’m so glad he let you do it. What about the cost? Sofia was so upset about that.”
“We’re working on that. She’s not going to have to pay for anything.”
I brush the hair back from his forehead and let the silky strands run through my fingers. “When you think about it, maybe everything that happened in New York was so you could be there today to encounter a boy who needed you.”
“Or,” he says, nuzzling my neck and rolling my earlobe between his teeth, “it was meant to happen so I could find you.”
“You’re making my knees weak.”
“We can’t have that.” He tightens his arm around my waist and lifts me off my feet.
I hold on to him as he transports us to my sofa where he gently deposits me before stretching out next to me. His arm encircles me, and I slide my leg between his. We come together effortlessly, as though this is a dance we’ve done together many times before. It feels right to be here with him, to touch him and kiss him, even if so much is still uncertain.
“What are you thinking?” I ask, noting his pensive expression.
“So many things, but first and foremost that I want you to be comfortable with whatever happens between us.”
I press myself tighter against him. “I’m very comfortable.”
He groans and buries his face in my hair, seeming to breathe me in. “You know what I mean, Carmen.”
“I do, and because you care about the fact that this is the first time I’ve done anything like this since my husband died makes me far more comfortable than I’d be with anyone else.”
“The thought of you with someone else makes me a little ragey, if I’m being honest.”
I like hearing that he has a possessive side to him—more than I probably should. “Does it?”
“It does.”
“Desiree Rivera gave me her card and asked me to pass it along to you.”
“Did she?”
“Uh-huh. I ripped it up.”
Laughing, he smooths his hand up and down my back as he gazes at me with eyes that see me, Carmen, not the sad young woman who lost her husband too soon. That’s who everyone else in my world sees when they look at me.
I draw him into another kiss, using my lips, tongue and hands to tell him exactly what I want. I don’t want him to have any doubts that I’m right where I want to be.
One kiss becomes two and then another. We tug at clothes as desire strikes an urgent need in both of us. My robe is untied and removed. The T-shirt clears my head as I pull at his shirt, trying to get to his chest without tearing the buttons off. The sensation of my bare breasts pressed against his chest takes my breath away.
I forgot how it feels to be consumed by desire. I forgot what it’s like to be touched by a man who wants me the way Jason does. This part of me has been sealed off for years. Jason is bringing the sensual side of me back to life one kiss and caress at a time. He cups my breasts and runs his thumbs over the tight points of my nipples.
“You’re so lovely, sweet Carmen. I thought so the first time I saw you looking so prim and proper in your suit as you waited for me to arrive the other day.”
I arch into him, wanting more of what he’s doing to my breasts. “I wasn’t prim or proper.”