The Thunderbolt - Lori Wilde Page 0,17

her warm moistness ambushing him, taking his breath.

Innocent? Not likely. This woman knew exactly what she wanted.

Him!

How could he have read her so wrongly? How had he mistaken this provocative siren for the timid girl next door? The paradox that was Lacy Calder both pleased and perplexed him.

Bennett wanted her as much as she wanted him, and yet something urged him to be cautious.

Be careful, tread lightly, don’t lose your head. Or your heart. Remember, you promised Nanna you wouldn’t marry until you’d completed your education.

But this was great, wasn’t it? To discover that the woman who had so captivated him was not out-of-bounds after all? Learning that Lacy was not the marrying kind, that he could indeed act on these feelings she stirred inside him without fear of breaking her heart should have him ecstatic.

Instead, an odd wistfulness crept through him, and he couldn’t say why.

He sneaked a peek at her. Her hair was sexily mussed, her lips sashay red and slightly swollen. Lips that brought back the delicious memories of his favorite childhood flavors. Cherry soda and cinnamon jawbreakers and strawberry Pixy Stix.

And those eyes, the soothing blue of Bavarian mist, drilled a hole straight through him.

She desired him.

No woman kissed a man she barely knew that confidently unless she was prepared to take things to the next level.

But before he could accept the invitation her kiss offered, he had to be sure that was indeed what she really wanted. He refused to end up with a guilty conscience.

Having a great time in bed was all well and good, but it only worked if both partners knew the affair was strictly for fun.

Before he and Lacy took this relationship one step further, they needed to talk. But not in this noisy bar thronged nosy rubberneckers.

“Lacy,” he said, “would you like to go someplace a little more private?”

6

Since they’d both ridden to the nightclub with other people and neither had a car, Bennett offered to walk Lacy home via a detour along the river promenade as opposed to taking an Uber.

A full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the water in a silvery shimmer. This newly renovated area of the hospital district had the quaint feel of a European village. Street lamps lighted their way along a cobblestone path. Here and there, scattered footbridges arched across the river. Trendy shops, locked tight at nine p.m., sat bunched atop the retaining wall.

A slight breeze softly caressed their skin. From several yards away, they could still hear the vibrating bass emanating from the Recovery Room.

Lacy recognized the melody. An old Rod Stewart tune about a French girl losing her virginity. “Tonight’s the Night.”

Delicious shivers ran goose bumps over Lacy’s arms.

“It’s nice out here,” Bennett commented.

“Uh-huh.”

Since telling CeeCee and Janet that Bennett was going to walk her home and leaving the nightclub behind, her timidity had returned with a vengeance. Without the insulation of CeeCee and Janet, without the boisterous background noises as a buffer, Lacy felt vulnerable, exposed.

She wanted to be here. Oh, yes. Above anyplace else in the world, but she was unsure of herself as well. Too bad the thunderbolt didn’t come with detailed instructions. She’d found herself alone with a man she’d only known five weeks but with whom she ached to become better acquainted.

Yet in an odd way, she did know him. In her heart. In her soul. If there was such a thing as past lives, then she and Bennett had been lovers in a previous one. Lacy had never felt such an instantaneous connection to another human being.

Her joy fizzed like uncorked champagne.

What should she say? What should she do? What did he expect from her?

But she needn’t have worried. Conversation was unnecessary. So was action. Bennett took charge. He reached over and lightly enfolded her hand in his.

It felt so good. Her small hand enveloped in his large one. A perfect fit.

They ascended the walkway in silence, savoring each other’s company. Crickets chirped. In the distance a dog barked. All anxiety vanished. All doubts evaporated. Peace and contentment stole over her.

“You’re easy to be with.” Bennett stopped beside a park bench beneath a streetlamp. Moths and June bugs flitted through the air. The scent of honeysuckle wafted over from a nearby fence.

“So are you.”

“We work well together in surgery.”

“Yes.”

“It’s like a dance.”

“A tango.”

“You feel it, too?”

She smiled like the Mona Lisa. She didn’t mean to be coy. It was just her way.

“I can’t help but wonder....” Bennett let his voice trail off.

“What?”

He pulled her