Long Simmering Spring (11 page)

“Yeah, I know. No one lets me forget the old days, either. If I have to hear Babs Kincaide rant one more time about how those damn Grayson boys nearly burnt down the Clam Shak, I’m gonna puke.”

She made a choking sound and started to laugh harder, but then her laughter morphed into something that sounded suspiciously like crying.

“Seriously, Doc. I don’t want to tell you what to do.” He was dying to touch her, but he couldn’t approach. Not yet. “But I do want to help. We all need a little help now and then, right?” Cole said in what he hoped was a gentle tone. He reached out his hand. “Please. Let me help you.”

“I was scared, Cole.”

“I know.”

“I thought he was going to hit me.”

“I know
.
”

“I—I didn’t know what to do.” A large tear slipped from the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek. She was still looking at him, half-defiantly, as she wiped it away fast.

And then he did the only thing he could do. He moved slowly toward her and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into his chest, sheltering her. She was shaking hard now.

“I don’t need your help,” she said, obviously trying hard to keep her composure but failing.

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to soothe her by smoothing her back with the flat of his hand. He’d been treating her like a soldier. Or a deputy, demanding that she follow his orders. But she wasn’t military or a cop—she was a doctor and way out of her depth. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed him, but now wasn’t the time to push. Especially because she had to accept it on her terms, not his. “I’m going to take you home now.”

She didn’t budge.

“You know I’m not letting you walk home alone, right?” Not after what had just happened.

He felt her nod into his chest.

She wanted to keep some of her dignity intact. He got that, but he wasn’t going to let her put herself in any more danger tonight. “Come on.” His arm around her shoulder, he motioned her forward. But when she went to take a step, she stumbled.

“Whoa,” he said, grabbing her under her arms.

“I didn’t eat very much today. I’ll be fine.” She took another step and almost dropped to her knees.

“You’re not going anywhere like that,” he said, scooping her up easily before she completely teetered over. “I’ve got you.”

She looked utterly mortified that he was carrying her. It was kind of funny, her unwavering stubbornness to do everything herself. But he was trying to be a gentleman, so instead of laughing, he just shifted her weight so that her head would be in the perfect position to lean on his shoulder.

To his relief, she did just that. Then he carried her the entire way to his car so he could drive her home.

And she let him.

CHAPTER 10

Julie woke up to the sound of her alarm the next morning, groggy, confused, and ravenous. She’d almost forgotten who’d tucked her away in bed last night still wearing her clothes.
Almost.

Quickly, efficiently, she switched off the alarm clock. She had a full day of work ahead of her, and she didn’t intend to walk through it in a fog. For starters, she’d eat something, then go for a morning run. That would launch her back into her routine.

After splashing her face with water and brushing her teeth, she pulled on her running clothes and shoes, wolfed down a protein bar, and let herself out the front door of her house. It was dark outside this early, but that didn’t bother her. She knew the roads like the back of her hand, and she knew exactly which route she’d take today—the one she always took when she needed to clear her mind.

Twenty minutes later she was running down Beach Street, the soft, sandy dirt on the road cushioning her stride. A slight breeze wafted the salty sea air toward her and she breathed it in deeply. Her sense of smell was always heightened when she couldn’t see clearly, and in the pre-dawn light, the salt water was almost pungent. Although there was a high sand dune between the ocean and the road, she could hear the roar of the surf, muffled only slightly by the sand buffer. After she’d been running for about fifteen more minutes, the sun rose, and the hard, thin rays peeked through the low clouds. Wiping her mind clean, she concentrated only on her breathing.

She’d just hit the intersection of Beach and Harper’s Pond Road when she heard someone coming up behind her. It wasn’t unusual to see other runners out this time of morning, so as the person approached she pulled farther to the side of the road to allow him to pass. But he didn’t pass. He simply caught up to her and began to match her, stride for stride. When she saw who it was, her heart skipped a beat. She wouldn’t break form, though. Not for him. Not for anyone.

“Morning,” Cole said, not even winded from his obvious sprint.

He looked amazing—strong and lean, wearing wind-resistant black training pants and a long-sleeved, black weatherproof T-shirt. His body was spare in its movements, but with every motion, she could imagine the muscles rippling under his clothes. From his perfect posture to his perfect running form, he looked like he could be jogging on a military base.

“Are you following me?”

“So suspicious,” he said. “You told me your secret running route at dinner the other night, remember? And it just so happens I go running at the same time.”

“Your leg,” she said, remembering his scar.

“Hundreds of hours of physical therapy so I’d be able to do this,” he said. “Can’t work if I can’t run. After yesterday’s incident, I realized I’d been hitting the weight room more than I’d been focusing on cardio, so I need to balance it out. Still hurts, though, so I did lots of stretching before and I’ll do plenty afterwards.”

“Cole,” she started, “about yesterday . . .”

“Look, I want to apologize. I know I came on strong. And while I do think you could use a good self-defense class, I understand if you don’t want to take me up on my offer to train you myself. The Barnstable Y has some good classes. We can check into it.”

She was silent for a few moments as she absorbed what he’d said. Then she slowed to a stop, right where the dune tapered off. In a few steps, he’d stopped too.
She’d
been about to apologize to
him
. He was genuinely trying to help her—albeit in a completely proprietary, alpha-male kind of way.

“I want to help.”

For a moment, he looked puzzled. “With what?”

“With the drug investigation.”

“No,” he said, without hesitation.

“Please. I’ve had a chance to think, and I’m sure Don’s involved in some way. I owe it to Margo.”
And I owe it to myself.

“This is something you really need to leave to the professionals.”

“
I’m
a professional.”

He gave her a once-over. “Not like that. No offense, Doc, but you nearly got your ass handed to you last night.”

She tried not to wince. “So train me like you want. Teach me how to defend myself.”

Cole shook his head. “Even with training you’d be no match for a guy like Rathbone. Not unless you had a weapon.”

“I’ll get a weapon,” she said firmly.

“You mean to tell me
you
want to learn how to shoot a gun?” He looked more than doubtful.

“If it means I can help you with this? Yes.”

“Oh, Lord,” he said, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Have you ever even held a gun?”

“No. But I’m sure it’d be fine. I did a surgery rotation.” She held her hands out, palms down. “See? Steady hands.”

He laughed. “That’s not really what it takes, Doc. You have a weapon, you have to be willing to shoot to kill. You up for that?”

Julie set her jaw. It would go against the Hippocratic Oath to take a life—not to mention her own personal code of ethics—but she needed to be a part of this. This was her town, and it was happening right under her nose. “If that’s what it takes.”

He regarded her for a long time. “I’ll tell you what, Doc,” he finally said. “No guns, all right? But I’ll consider bringing you in as a civilian consultant for any drug-related medical issues my department comes across. That’s the best I can do right now. I can’t have you running around Star Harbor investigating this crap. It’s not safe for you, and not only that, it could put others at risk.”

Julie nodded. It would have to do. For now. “Good. You let me know how you can use me.”

A slow smile formed on his face. “Careful now,” he drawled. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

Deliberately, she met his gaze. “Don’t I?”

His clear blue eyes cut through hers like laser beams. The waves crashed loudly, the sound no longer buffered by the dune. It roared in her ears. Or was that the blood rushing through her veins?

“Aw, Jesus, Doc,” he said, right before his mouth was on hers, hot and dark. His arms found their way around her and it was just like the other time, except better. There was something more now. Something she could feel deep inside, needy, desperate to break free. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she kissed him back—opened her mouth to him, wanting to taste him the same way he was tasting her.

And when he lowered his body over hers, bending her slightly backward, his strong hands holding her to him, she embraced it. Then she was on her back, pressed into the low sand dune, Cole’s forearm under her neck. They were hidden from the road, but she wouldn’t have cared if they weren’t. Because when he lay down next to her, half on the ground, half on top of her, all she could think about was his huge, hard weight and how amazing it felt to be under him.

Cole’s mouth was on her neck and his hand was up her shirt, cupping the mound of her breast over her jog bra. A flicker of embarrassment emerged—his palm! her breast!—but then she didn’t care because it was right and good and my God, he smelled delicious.

Her nipple hardened in his palm and a wave of desire so strong washed over her, she felt like she was drowning. Unable to stop herself, she gasped, and Cole caught the cry in his mouth, moaning an unintelligible response before his tongue swept over hers.

His hand fully covered the swell of her breast. One big thumb rubbed circles over her nipple and she pressed herself up and into him, tacitly urging him to continue. She wanted his flesh touching hers—wanted it more than she could even articulate. She was aching with need everywhere. Her mouth, her breasts, her sex. She wanted to give him everything, here on this beach, mere feet from the road where anyone could come across them.

He tried wedging his fingers under the edge of the bra, but the spandex was too tight. Without breaking their kiss, he tried pulling down the strap from her shoulder, but though the fabric stretched, the darn thing wouldn’t budge, having been designed for a runner—to stay in place no matter what the circumstance. There was only one way that thing was coming off, and that was over her head.

Abandoning his efforts, he wrapped his hand around her back and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Then he buried his face in between her neck and shoulder, and made a noise that sounded like a combination of a laugh and a groan.

Finally, he raised his head and stared at her. His eyes were dark with passion, a deeper, stormier blue. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked. There was that muscle ticking in his jaw again.

She merely raised an eyebrow at him.

He flicked his gaze from her face down her body and back up. Then he groaned again. “Go out with me again, for real.”

“Yes.” There was no way she could say no. “When?”

“Tonight,” he said quickly. “No, I have something scheduled. And damn it all if I don’t have something scheduled this weekend, too. Training for my deputies.
Crap!
” He paused. “Next weekend. Opening day.”

“Opening day?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never been to opening day at Fenway.”

She shook her head. “No.” She’d never had time. She’d never even been to a game.

“Oh, Doc, you are in for a treat.” Then he kissed her again, so deeply that if she weren’t lying down, she would have keeled over. When he finally raised his head, stars swam before her eyes. He helped her up and together, they brushed the sand off their bodies.

“I think we’re a little off pace,” he said, a wry tone in his voice. “But I have to get ready for work. Want to head back?”

She checked her watch, amazed that he could just turn his desire on and off like a switch. She was still aching with need, but she had to be at the office in about forty minutes. If they left now, she’d just make it. “Yes. Let’s go,” she said, taking off down the street.

He caught up with her easily and they began to make their way back. After they’d been jogging for a few minutes, he looked over at her. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Thanks,” she murmured, not knowing what to make of Cole Grayson—or of that deep, powerful thing starting to coil itself around her heart. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

An hour later, Julie was in her office, trying to get a certain sexy lawman out of her mind. It was made more difficult by the fact that he’d kissed her yet again outside her house before heading back to Val’s houseboat. That hotter-than-hot kiss was seared on her brain. Tamping down her libido, she focused on the patient file in front of her. After a quick study, she folded up the file and made her way back to the examining room, knocking on the door and waiting for Dorothy Harring to assent before she entered.

“All right, Mrs. Harring, how are you doing?”

The older woman groaned. “Not well. Thought the exercising was making my back better, but a few days ago, something snapped. Now I can barely get out of bed.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Julie said, flipping back through her patient’s file. “Looks like the last MRI you had for your herniated disc was two months ago. If the pain persists, it might be worth having that redone.”

“The doctor at Cape Cod Hospital told me I might have to have surgery.”

“Maybe. Most of the time, herniated discs heal on their own in about six months. It hasn’t been that long. I’m going to send you to CCH to have the MRI done, but let’s touch base if they suggest surgery right away. It requires a lengthy hospital stay and has its own risks. In the meantime, take it easy. Hold off on the exercises for a couple of weeks, until you feel better, but definitely get up and out—just do it gently. And let me prescribe you something to help with the pain.”