kiss like one, but you garden, and you’re very polite, and you don’t drink much. You’ve got an old-world charm missing in a lot of people now days. I like it.”
“Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“I know, it’s just that...” An expression she couldn’t decipher crossed his face.
“What?”
“Never mind.” He got to his feet. “You’re going to need an anti-inflammatory for the swelling, and you could probably do with a mild pain pill. I noticed there’s an all-night drugstore next door to the hospital. I could go there, get you a prescription, and be back in thirty minutes. Will you be okay?”
“Fine. But you don’t have to go to all that trouble. My friends should be home soon. They’ll check in on me.”
“It’s no trouble, Lacy. None at all. I want to help.”
What could a girl say to a gallant offer like that? Lacy smiled and nodded.
“Are you allergic to any medication?” He paused at the door to ask.
“No.” She shook her head, distracted by the handsome figure he cut standing in the archway.
“Hang in there, kiddo.” He smiled, and her heart swelled to capacity. “I’ll be back in a flash.”
He shut the door behind him, and Lacy let out a deep breath. At last she had Dr. Bennett Sheridan exactly where she wanted him, and all she’d had to do was sprain her ankle.
Who knew being a klutz had an advantage?
7
In a daze, Bennett Sheridan wandered the streets of Houston, his mind beguiled, bewitched, bewildered.
He walked down the block, past an all-night convenience store and gas station. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lacy and her smoking hot green dress, and those make-love-to-me-big-boy shoes.
And that black lace underwear he had caught a quick peek of when she had taken that tumble in the grass beside the river. Who would have guessed she was a racy lingerie aficionado?
And those stockings he’d had to remove. Whew!
At the memory, his body swamped with a sultry heat. He recalled massaging his hands up her silky thighs, peeling the stockings over her legs like he was unwrapping expensive Swiss chocolates.
And the way she giggled. The sound had affected him like the effervescent giddiness of the finest French champagne.
She’d responded to his touch. There’d been no mistaking her languid movements, the ardent glimmer in her gaze, the deep, whispered intake of breath when his hands had briefly grazed her bottom.
Bennett groaned inwardly and fisted his palm against his forehead.
He wanted her too much.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to consider anything but those innocent eyes blatantly contradicting that wickedly sexy kisses she’d plastered on his lips back at the bar.
She was as changeable as quicksilver. Shy one minute, strangely bold the next. He couldn’t begin to explain her or his dangerously strong desire for her.
He remembered the feel of her in his arms, her soft derriere cuddled against his lap. He could still smell her scent on him. He held the sleeve of his shirt to his nose and inhaled deeply.
Roses, soap, and pure sensual woman.
Paradise.
But why Lacy? Why here? Why now, when his career aspirations prevented him from getting romantically involved with anyone long term?
What was it about her that so captivated him? This was not a good sign, not good at all.
It’s been too long since you’ve had a woman, Bennett, old boy. That’s all there is to it. End of story.
He did want her. He wanted her badly. But that wasn’t the worst of it. What scared Bennett most of all was the way he longed to take care of her.
“Okay,” he muttered under his breath. “Here’s what you do. You get the pills, take them back to her, make sure she’s set for the night, call her friends to come look in on her, then go the hell home. You’ve only got a week left in Houston. With that sprained ankle, Lacy won’t be back to work for at least that long, and by then you’ll be gone. You’ll never have to see her again.”
Why was that prospect so unattractive? He should feel relieved, not disappointed.
He wanted to be with Lacy, that’s why. Wanted to be with her in every sense of the word.
But a woman like Lacy deserved a man who could give her unlimited attention and undying devotion.
“And you, my friend,” he said softly, “are definitely not that man.”
The telephone jangled only a few minutes after Bennett strode out the front door. Luckily, before he’d left, he had positioned the cordless telephone within easy reach.
It rang again.
CeeCee? Janet?
She