Hellraiser (Erotic Romance - Romantic Comedy) (4 page)

Leaning forward, elbow resting on the table and his chin in his hand, he shrugged. “Have you been married or engaged? Are you dating anyone?”

“Inquisitive, aren’t you?”

“You started it.”

“Touché” She sipped on her tea before answering then told him about Justin and their three year engagement, his broken promises, and multiple attempts at making something of himself.

“Why did you ever find a man like that attractive in the first place?”

“I guess it seemed like he needed to be taken care of. Since Mom passed when I was just 12 and Tom was 10, I always felt the need to mother him. When he moved to the West Coast I had a void that needed filling and Justin was it. I also helped Mom out when she was sick. Cancer,” she further explained. “Before you ask, my dad left shortly after I was born and Tom’s dad was in a fatal accident when we were quite young. Mom raised us on her own, but when she died our grandparents took us in.” After that short speech Sam felt spent. She had wanted to know about Zach, but hadn’t intended on spilling
her
guts and taking a time machine back to sadder days. “Anyway, I guess I enjoy feeling needed, but not taken advantage of, which Justin definitely did.”

“We’re better off without lousy partners.” He held up an invisible glass in mock salute. “Here’s to refusing to put up with people who are incapable of loyalty and passion.”

Sam held up her mug of tea then took a long sip, wondering just how much passion ran through Dr. Taylor’s veins, and if she’d ever have a chance to find out.

Chapter Three

The thump, thump, thumping of music penetrated the erotic dream Zach was immersed in and his eyes popped open. He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand and groaned. It was barely seven a.m. Turning to his side, he grabbed his pillow and put it over his head to try to muffle the sound drifting through the walls. It didn’t work.

A moment later he sat up and dragged a hand through his hair. It was Monday, which meant Sam didn’t open the office until 9, so why was she up so damned early and listening to rock music? He sniffed the air and smelled bacon. His stomach lurched. He’d never been one for breakfast and he definitely was not a morning person.

Giving up on any chance of slipping back into that sultry dream, he cussed while pulling on his sweats then ambled out into the hallway intending to ask her to turn the music down. As he turned the corner he found her in the kitchen at the stove wearing a pink fluffy robe and singing, using the spatula as a microphone. Oblivious to him standing there, she sang her heart out in a duet with Bob Segar to,
It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me
.

“Is this what I have to look forward to every morning?” He tried sounding gruff, but knew he’d missed his mark when she danced over to him and held out her hand in invitation, still singing. “Seriously, Sam, this is bull. I was sound asleep.” She shimmied around him, moving down his backside then back up. He hated the fact that he instantly became aroused and decided he‘d have to wear jeans from now on when around her. Maybe a padded jockstrap too. “The office doesn’t open for another two hours.” She bumped his ass with her hip then sashayed back over to the stove, turned off the burner, and dished up the biggest omelet he’d ever laid eyes on. A platter of bacon sat in the middle of the table. “That better not be for me. I don’t do breakfast.”

She totally ignored him, placing half of the gargantuan egg concoction on a plate for him then poured coffee. As the song ended, she belted out the final words then took a bow before shutting off the stereo.

“You’re a real hellrasier, you know that?”

Sam sat down at the table, looked at him and took a bite of her omelet. “Those were good movies. Well, the first few were pretty good, anyway. I saw a replica of one of those little boxes in a catalog once and wanted to get one. They‘re neat looking, but I think I‘d be too worried that Pinhead would make an appearance and drag me down to hell with him.”

“You’re impossible.” He sipped his coffee, not caring that it was black rather than with the cream and sugar he usually took in it. He hoped the caffeine would steel his nerves.

“And
you
are a big grump in the morning.”

He pushed his plate away and refused to answer her. Refused to stare in utter appreciation at how the soft pink robe contrasted so beautifully against her darker skin. Instead, he focused on the bacon and felt his mouth go watery while his stomach pitched.

“You’re going to be working today.” She pointed at him with her fork. “There’s no way you can keep that big body of yours going on a cup or two of coffee.

He grunted and drained his cup. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Good, maybe you can drown that crummy attitude while you’re in there.”

“Or, it could make it worse.” With that he left the room, smiling in spite of himself.

* * *

Sam had already dressed and was at the sink rinsing the breakfast dishes, talking to her brother Tom on the cell. “You know I’m not one to give up, but I’m really wondering if Zach is the person I’m looking for.” As she said those words her insides did a somersault and her legs felt weak again. When he’d stomped in here earlier he’d had on nothing but those dark blue sweat pants and was shirtless. Her clit panted as she recalled his smooth chest and the fine sprinkling of dark hair dancing from his navel only to disappear under the aggravating barrier of his pants.

Okay, so Dr. Taylor was what she was looking for in a lover. She wasn’t blind nor comatose. He was handsome and his sexuality oozed right over her like warm honey, though he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she found him attractive. Evidently he was still wounded from his divorce and seemed to be wearing a mental and emotional chastity belt. Hopefully she’d locate the key very soon.

“Come on, sis, give the guy a chance. He hasn’t had much fun in his life, especially lately.”

“Tom, I was hoping for a partner with a heart of gold and a crazy sense of humor, not a mortician. Does the guy even have a sense of humor?”

“Hey, you want to get a rise out of him? Ask him what his full name is. He hates it.”

“Little brother, you’ve got a wicked streak.” They laughed.

“Sam, the guy just needs some TLC, and don’t let him tell you any different. If anyone can fix him up, it’s you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. If you have any stray puppies who need homes, send them my way too.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? I have to get to work.”

They said their goodbyes and Sam thought over her brother‘s last words about Zach needing some TLC. She couldn’t deny how often her maternal instincts clambered to the surface when he was around. There was a dark loneliness that clung to him like a shadow on the wall and she found herself wanting to soothe it away. As she rinsed the final plate and stuck it into the dishwasher she said to herself, “That guy has more problems than I want to deal with. I have a feeling that a lollipop or glittery sticker won’t do the trick.” After what little he had shared with her the night before, she realized that Zach Taylor’s wounds ran deep. Could she heal them?

“No way, Sam,” she reprimanded herself as she turned on the dishwasher. “You’ve got enough to deal with.” She bent over and peered at her reflection in the side of the toaster. “But, a deal is a deal. He’s here to stay for the next twelve months, like it or not.”

“Trust me, I’m not too thrilled either.”

Sam spun around to see Zach standing there in dark slacks, a sky blue shirt and dark blue tie that made his eyes seem nearly supernatural. He wore his white lab coat and his hair was still damp and slicked back from his forehead, yet a lazy strand hung down near his right eye. She saw the bruise on his brow from where they bumped heads the night before and she inwardly cringed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were standing there.”

He ignored her words as he came in and grabbed a mug from the cupboard, poured himself a cup of coffee then gulped it down. “But,” he set the mug on the counter with a thud, “we’re in this together so let’s grin and bear it, shall we?” He ended his short speech with a wide smile that was totally fake, but showed off white, even teeth that had Sam wondering how they’d feel when biting into her neck.

Flustered by her own sexual thoughts and his bad attitude, she turned to wipe her hands on the dishtowel, though they weren’t even wet. Still, it gave her something to do. “I see the shower didn’t help your mood any.” She rearranged the canisters on the back of the counter and saw him out of the corner of her eye as he lingered by the table. For a guy who insisted he didn’t like being around her, he sure spent enough time standing and staring at her.

A punctured sigh filled the air. Sam sneaked a peek at him. He looked lost and she felt mean for saying what she had. Turning around, she leaned against the counter. “Zach, I’m not trying to make your life miserable. There was obviously a misunderstanding and you now feel you’ve been roped into this. We need to make the best of it and see where things go.”

She walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, looking up into his eyes. She felt slightly dizzy. “At least the pace here is slower. You won’t have to deal with drug overdoses, shootings, stabbings, and fatalities. Here, the worst I ever see is mono and the occasional sprained wrist or ankle.”

She noticed his breathing became heavy and his nostrils flared. For a second she wondered if he was going to punch her. Instead, he reached out, grabbed the back of her head and lowered his, sealing his mouth over hers. With great urgency he parted her lips with his tongue and she gladly obliged, her hands grabbing his shoulders, pulling him closer. As he kissed her, a volcano erupted in her head and molten lava poured through her body. His kiss was wild, passionate, and thorough. She wanted it to go on forever.

Just as quickly he let her go, stared into her eyes for a second, then turned and left the room.

Sam reached out and placed a flat palm on the table, leaning heavily on it for support. “What the hell was that all about?” She had absolutely no idea, but she did know she wanted it to happen again…and again.

* * *

Most of the day was spent tending to patients. Zach didn’t seem to have a problem with the older children and only looked somewhat stiff and gruff as she passed by the examining room he used. She saw him talking in his no-nonsense style, to one of her regulars. Miguel was thirteen and loved to skateboard. At his age, daredevil tricks never scared him, so he was always coming in to get stitches or crutches. Thankfully, he hadn’t done any serious damage, but she heard Zach giving him a fatherly lecture about taking too many risks. She smiled, walking out to the waiting to call on her next patient.

During their lunch break she took the day’s bounty up to the kitchen. One parent brought her a basket of fruit and another some rice dumplings filled with pork and vegetables. She couldn’t wait to try them. As she entered the room she saw Zach at the sink with the water flowing. “You smell terrible! What happened?”

He turned around and pointed to the front of his clothes. He was covered in puke and looked ready to blow it at any second.

Sam suppressed the laughter she felt rising in her, set the fruit on the table and the dumplings on the counter, and went to help him out. As she got within a few feet of him she backed off though. “What did that kid have for breakfast, nachos and beer?”

Zach scrubbed at his tie with a damp paper towel. “It seems that after a nice, big breakfast one of your darling patients who is all of three years old decided to eat a nice, big bug. The kid felt sick so the mom brought him here.” He gave up on cleaning his tie and tossed the dirty paper towel into the garbage can by the side of the counter. “The kid is fine, the bug is gone, and I’m sure Mom is taking him out for lunch as we speak.”

Holding a hand over her mouth, she tried to tamp down the giggles. It didn’t work, she busted out laughing. “That’s so gross, but it happens from time to time.”

“Yeah, and on my first day. Lucky me.” He pulled his tie off and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I just hope this shit comes out of my clothes. Maybe I’ll invest in a plastic apron and face mask.”

“Oh my,” she pointed at him, “you have some in your hair too.” More laughter sputtered out, but it died quickly as Zach stripped his shirt off and he stood there in only his slacks and dress shoes. Sam ran her tongue over her lips, recalling his kiss this morning. In the years she had been with Justin, their wildest lovemaking sessions hadn’t compared to that one kiss from Zach.

He seemed totally clueless as to the effect he had on her though, as he reached for his belt and undid it. Was he going to get naked here in the kitchen? She held her breath and waited.

“I’m going to go take a shower and change into better smelling clothes.” He gave a crooked smile that shot Sam right in the heart. It was as close to a real smile as she had seen on this man.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” Her voice came out low and soft, as if she were talking to a lover.

Zach looked at her funny and felt her forehead. “Are you coming down with something? You’ve been acting weird all morning. Well, weirder than usual.”

“I feel fine.”

“You’re awfully quiet. Though I haven’t known you very long, I suspect that being quiet and holding still are two things you don’t do very often. And why no costumes today? I thoroughly expected to see you in a leprechaun getup or maybe a cowgirl.”