Bound for Christmas (6 page)

“I need to get out of here.”

“That’s right. Your new job, right?”

The whirlpool of emotions swirling inside of him rocked his core. Since his brother’s death there hadn’t been anyone in his life that remembered the little things that concerned him. He wasn’t going to look too deeply into Zoey recalling he was going to start a new job, but it brought clarity to him to something that had been on his mind.

Stepping closer to her, he left a foot of space between them. “I’ll return Wednesday around six. Have dinner with me.”

The thought that he didn’t have time in his life for a relationship played on the fringes of his mind. However, he’d missed out on an opportunity with this woman the other day and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Her teeth seized her bottom lip and he almost groaned wanting to nibble the thick swell himself.

“If you need me to tell you more about your father’s care, we don’t need to have dinner for that.”

He shook his head and lowered his voice. “Zoey, this has nothing to do with my father.”

She swallowed. Proof she wasn’t immune to him.

“You’re father is my patient, Evan. It wouldn’t be appropriate--”

“Him. Not me.” There was no way that fate was going to bring Zoey back into his life, his home and he was going to let her put up a wall between them. “Just dinner, Zoey.”

Her pretty brown eyes brightened under the kitchen light, her chest rose and fell as she inhaled deeply. “Fine. But not Wednesday.” She held her hand up stopping him before he could say something. “I work six days a week and I will not be off again until next Monday.”

Taking hold of her hand he squeezed it. “Then next Monday it is.” It was perfect. Thursday he would be flying to California, then Denver and onto Arizona and would not be back to North Carolina until late Sunday night.

“Until then.” She stepped back and pulled her hand a little attempting to leave the kitchen. 

In a blink Evan was transported to the airport and the moment he’d made the mistake of not kissing Zoey the last time.

Tugging her forward, he stepped toward her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He heard her gasp as she stared up into his face. He could feel the rush of her breath brush his lips as he lowered his head.

Her brown eyes darkened as recognition of what was about to happen hit her. Lowering his lips to hers, he paused a moment, just barley allowing a gentle touch between them. He wanted her, but he wasn’t trying to force his desire on Zoey if she wasn’t feeling the same compelling power between them.

When he felt her soft sigh slip from her parted lips and her body slightly settle against his, he knew she was consenting. Wasting no more time, he covered her lips tasting the fruity flavor of her gloss as he pressed his one hand to the center of her back flushing her body fully along his. She felt wonderful in his arms, as if she belonged there. He would have expected for her curvaceous frame to feel new or strange, however in some intrinsic way she seemed familiar.

He was never one to believe in reincarnation legends or soul-mate myths, but he couldn’t deny that something in him connected with Zoey on a metaphysical level. Something he couldn’t truly fathom or explain.

Maintaining command of the kiss, he pressed her lips further apart and entered her mouth. His tongue slipped into the warm recess and enjoyed the combination of her sweet mint flavor in combination with the salty buttery taste still on his tongue from the bagel. Heat infused his body as her soft form aligned with his. Dragging his other hand down to the top swell of her ass, he kept himself from actually palming her backside. He wanted her to know how much he wanted her, but not consider him some classless horn-dog.

As he stroked the tip of his tongue along the rough of her mouth and felt her tremble followed by a low moan, he leaned back, ending the kiss. The small sound of her pleasure would have easily pushed him over the edge if he didn’t watch it. Thankfully, restraint and control had been a part of him for too many years to become carried away. Time was not on their side this morning, his father was a stone’s throw away, her patient, and he needed to get to work.

Zoey’s eyes slowly opened, dark orbs held him spell bound.
Desire looked damn good on her.

“Wow. I’m not sure how to respond to that?” her voice was breathless, husky. She lifted a hand to her lips.

He enjoyed knowing she was just as affected by him. Kissing the corner of her mouth, he stepped back completely.

“Just in case the kiss wasn’t clear, Zoey, I’m attracted to you. I’ll be gone for a few days and--”

“Zoey! Where’s my juice?” His father’s demands invaded the intimacy that had bloomed between them in the kitchen.

“Duty calls.” She moved past him to the refrigerator, escaping.

He took hold of her arm as she passed. Her feet halted automatically, he could not help but be enchanted by her response.

When her gaze met his, he said, “Think about me while I’m away.” He brushed his thumb over her supple skin, before dropping it and walking away to claim his bag and say good-bye to his father.

*           *           *

How can I not?
Zoey collapsed against the counter as Evan strutted out of the kitchen and buried her face in her hands.  She would have never considered the events that would unfold when she got up this morning at five and dressed for work. Last night she’d thought about Evan and allowed herself a moment of fantasy about kissing him. Imagining him leaning over in the plane and placing his lips against hers. It was foolishness, she convinced herself.

However, seeing him appear in the flesh had done fantastic and bizarre things to her body. At first she had believed him to be an apparition, a figment of her imagination. That wasn’t the case.

Evan was real and now a permanent fixture in her life, wanting more from her if his kiss and words were any indication. He’d asked her for a date in a week. Did she want this? Regardless of the fact she thought he was uber-gorgeous. She could not deny her attraction to him. Hell, she couldn’t refute the fact she had hoped for someone in her life. However,
this
situation may just be too complicated. But was there a way out of this?

Unless she quit her job or put in for a transfer and head back to the floor in the hospital. Run away. She was good at that her family would say. Hell, outside of her brother Ricky, she was the only one in her family to leave Paris. Only difference between her and Ricky, he’d finished four years in the military, went to college and returned to their hometown, something she would never do.

She heard the front door closing and thought about Evan, a man who had to come back home for his ailing father. Okay, in a similar situation, she loved her parents and would do just as Evan had done. However, just observing the interaction between Evan and Mr. Douglas this morning she could easily see there wasn’t much love shown by them.

Turning to the refrigerator, she took out the apple cranberry juice, Mr. Douglas’ favorite beverage. She also pulled out ingredients to make him some oatmeal. All the medications he took in a day, he needed something solid in his stomach to keep him from getting sick. Not to mention the oatmeal would help in regulating his cholesterol which was off the charts six months ago from a lifetime of poor diet and health.

Placing everything on the tray she returned to the room. She had days before she would even see Evan again, but a job to do at the moment.

“Okay, Mr. D, I have your juice and something for you to eat, as well.”

Sitting the food on the small adjustable table attached to the bed and moved it up towards the older man’s waist.

Mr. Douglas peered into the bowl and scrunched his nose as he continued to press the button on the remote and flip through channels. “I don’t like porridge. Do I look like Goldilocks or a damn bear?”

“You’re as grouchy as one. I know you don’t prefer it, but you will eat it anyway.” She smiled down at him, as she compressed the button to raise the head of the bed, placing him at a higher, upright position. Mr. Douglas was a petulant old man, but she’d learned a long time ago that he was all bark, at least when it came to her. Other nurses always complained that he gave them a hard time and fought them on every front. By what she’d seen this morning between him and Evan, his son didn’t have an easy time with him either. It explained a lot. Now she could better understand the dejected look in Evan on the plane. Who would want to come home to this kind of treatment?

“For you,” he grumbled.

Going to the table on the other side of his bed, she set a med-cup out and began to dole out his plethora of medications for his blood pressure, vitamin D, iron, fluid, cholesterol and muscle relaxers.

When she turned back to him, he was eating his oatmeal with his left hand while staring at a rerun of
Matlock
. She held the small cup out to him. “Lily will be here in about an hour for your physical therapy.”

He mumbled something under his breath about not wanting to do it. Setting his spoon down slowly, she noted the severe shaking of his hand and the beads of sweat that popped out on his forehead. It broke her heart to see him struggle so, but she knew it was his own fault that he wasn’t further along in his strength and coordination; his tetchy attitude. 

“None of that ill tempered behavior towards Lily or I’ll move your remote so you can’t watch
Murder, She Wrote
and put it on one of those reality shows you hate.”

Holding his cup of pills in his hand, he stared at her. “How can you threaten a dying man?”

She laughed. “No worries. You’re not dying anytime soon. Not on my watch.”

As he dumped one of the pills into his mouth, she thought she noticed a small twinkle in his eyes. It wasn’t quite illuminated, or joyful, but it was Mr. Douglas’ slight way of showing humor. 

“Mr. Douglas why is it you are so hard on your son?”

He didn’t respond at first, just stared down into the small cup of meds as if he expected the colorful menagerie may have held the answer. 

“You wouldn’t understand,” he whispered in a gruff voice.

“I may if you give me a chance.”

He shook his head. “Some things are just between a father and his son.” Bringing the cup to his mouth he went silent again.

As much as she wanted to help cure the bad blood between the Douglas men, she respected the older man’s wishes. Besides, her role there as a caretaker, a nurse, she wasn’t supposed to get involved in the family affairs of her patients.

What do you call your agreeing to a date with Evan?
Her mind taunted.

She didn’t know what was happening between her and Evan or why she was allowing it, but she’d never felt the connection to another man as she did with the younger Mr. Douglas and she couldn’t resist the desire to explore it.

Chapter six

“Man, do you wear a uniform well.”

Evan shut the front door and turned to see Zoey walking out of his dad’s room carrying a bowl. Today she wore scrubs that were cream in color with big blue and yellow butterflies all over them. Apparel that was not meant to be sexy, but he could not help but admire the way it conformed to the delectable contours of her body.

“I can say the same about you?”

She laughed. “Scrubs aren’t sexy.”

Setting his black carry-on bag by the door, he took a few steps across the living room, but kept the couch between them. Approaching her, he allowed his gaze to travel along her body. A body that had haunted his mind awake and sleep for the last few days. “Who says they’re not?” He met her eyes again.

She smiled, shyly, glanced away then back at him. “Well, I think you still win with your tailored pilot’s uniform.”

“We’ll agree to disagree.” He winked at her.

Zoey continued her walk to the kitchen and he followed her.

“How’s my father?” While he had been away, there weren’t any calls so he hoped that meant good news.

Setting the bowl in the sink, she said, “No change.” She sighed. “If he would just try a little harder in therapy and let go of whatever anger he’s carrying inside then maybe he’d turn the corner on a positive note.”

“I’m sure, but him doing that would be a miracle.” Lifting a hand he rubbed the back of his neck. Nodding toward the bowl, he asked. “Did he actually eat all of his food this time?”

“Oh, yes. Only because it was his sherbet snack.”

Arching an eyebrow he stared at her. “He told you about his love for rainbow sherbet?”

“Yup and other things. He said your mother was an amazing cook, but she never mastered the art of making his favorite treat.”

A small laugh rolled out of him as he recalled all his mother’s disastrous attempts at the cool dessert. He stared at this woman before him, calm, sweet and alluring. Who was she? How did she manage to come in and get his father not only to listen to her, but tell his secrets, too?

 “That’s true. He used to enjoy eating it right before bed.”

“Well, his stomach is a little more irritable nowadays, so it is best for him to have a small scoop in the middle of the day.”

“Enough about my father. How are you?” He wanted to kiss her. Pull her into his arms again and reacquaint himself with her lips. But, he needed to slow things down.

“I’m well. No complaints.” She smiled. “However, you on the other hand look exhausted.”

“A little. Long flight and I’m getting used to being back behind the wheel.” He dropped his hand.

“Ah.” She leaned against the counter. “Well, if you want to get changed, I have some free time in about thirty minutes, I think I could be persuaded into giving you a shoulder rub.”

“Are you sure?”

“Lily, will be here to give your father physical therapy and it usually takes about an hour and a half. I can’t leave the premises in case she needs help, but it is my time.”

Hell there was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity to have her hands on him, his body was already warming with the thought.

“Okay, I’m going to put my stuff up and take a shower, and see you downstairs then.”