Rescue My Heart (11 page)

Sammy grinned and wagged his tail,
happy to be clean. He jumped up to lick Rory’s face, making her
laugh and knocking her off balance. She fell back into Hack’s bare
chest. The refrigerator kept them from falling to the floor. Rory
was where she had wanted to be.

Her pulse jumped as he closed his arms
around her. She turned to flatten her palm against his pecs.
Moisture gathered between her legs. She wanted him. Peering up at
him through her lashes, she saw him stare at her breasts, which
were almost totally visible through her drenched, white tank top
and bra.

His gaze
moved to her lips. She moistened them then slid her hand up to rest
on his shoulder. She pressed into him slightly with her fingertips.
The feel of his skin sent her heartbeat into overdrive.
I want to be up against him, skin-to-skin.
He pulled her up, bringing her face close to his.
His mouth was down on hers in a second.

She opened for his hungry kiss, and he
devoured her. Hack flipped them over so that Rory was lying down
and he was on top of her. She twined her arms around his neck and
opened her legs for him to lie between. His tongue danced with hers
until neither could breathe. He buried his face in her neck,
kissing her, while he reached up and closed his fingers over her
breast. She moaned at his touch, her eyes closing, her hips rising
to meet his.

As he was slipping his fingers under
her wet shirt, the buzzer sounded. The loud noise caused them to
jump apart. Rory put the back of her hand to her bruised lips.
Hack’s chest heaved with uneven breathing. The buzzer sounded
again. Rory pushed to her feet, wobbling a bit as she pressed the
intercom.

“
Who is it?” Her eyes met
Hack’s hot stare.

“
Felicia. I’ve got Hack’s lunch.” Rory buzzed the door.
Shit. The ironing board is here!
She rummaged in her purse, looking for her
lipstick. The tube shook a little as she held it to her
lips.

“
Look, I’m sorry. I never
should have taken…”

“
It’s okay. Don’t worry
about it. Be quiet because the bobby pin is here, and I don’t want
a scene.”

“
That
makes two of us,” Hack said, slipping on his T-shirt. Rory ran her
fingers through her hair and draped the wet towel around her
shoulders to hide her taut nipples and wet shirt. She watched Hack
sit down cross-legged and position the damp pug in his lap.
Probably gotta hide his hard-on.
She grinned as she opened the three locks on her
door.

“
Come in,” Rory said, with
more welcome than she meant.

“
What the hell? Did you
two have a water fight?” Felicia recoiled at the wet
floor.

“
We washed a dog,” Hack
explained.

“
Here. You forgot this.”
She put his lunch on the counter. “It’s a Mario
special.”

“
Oh, yeah. Ordered it this
morning. Thanks, Felicia.”

“
You’re welcome. It stinks
in here. Wet dog. Yuck!” She pinched her narrow nose.

Mixed with the scent of
sexual desire.

Felicia turned to go. “Dinner
tonight?” She addressed her question to Hack.

“
Of
course.” Rory didn’t expect the little exchange between Hack and
Felicia to bother her, but it cut her heart like a knife.
He comes here every day, but he’s not mine. Don’t
forget that!

Felicia left without a word to Rory,
who closed the door a little more loudly than necessary, causing
Baxter to jump down from the sofa and start barking. The alarm on
Hack’s watch chimed.

“
I hate to go off this
way.”

“
Don’t worry about it. We
got carried away, that’s all. You’re a hunky guy… The water, my
shirt…no big deal. Was she checking up on you? On us?”

“
Might be. Unlike Felicia
to carry my lunch over here.”

“
Do you think she was
satisfied?”

“
Probably.” He opened his
mouth then closed it before pushing to his feet. “See you
tomorrow.”

“
Not tomorrow. You have
the day off. I’ve got…uh –other…other plans.”

“
Oh. Okay.” She swore he
actually sounded disappointed. “See you next week,
then.”

“
Yeah. Next week.” Hack
reached out, hesitated, then pulled his arm back and left without
another word.

Rory
needed time to think. She had no other plans , but she couldn’t
face Hack.
I need a couple of days away. I
need to cool off. He’s taken. I can’t ever let that happen
again.
Still, she’d never forget how
wonderful it was to be in his arms, to feel his touch, and his
kiss.

She
curled up on the sofa, fluffing Sammy’s clean fur. Baxter nudged
her leg then rested his head there and was soon snoring. Sammy
cuddled against her too.
Hack was amazing.
Made Bruce look like an amateur. I’ve never been kissed like that
before. Probably never will again.
She
refused to want something she couldn’t have. She turned on the
television, huddled with the dogs, and watched a romantic
comedy.

* * * *

Monday passed without
incident. Hack and Rory were professional, neither making mention
of what had happened between them the week before. She’d prepared,
in her head, what she was going to dictate. There was no discussion
outside of the work, and they stayed far away from each other, not
an easy task in the small apartment. During their lunch break, Hack
asked her about Sammy’s future while he petted the little
visitor.

“
Helen, one of the foster
moms, is going to take him. He needs a little vet work, but I think
he’s going to be okay.” Rory bit into her tuna fish
sandwich.

“
How old is he?” Hack
unwrapped a hoagie from the deli.

“
Eleven,
as far as we know.” The conversation went on like that. Rory
averted her eyes from Hack’s chest, and she didn’t catch him
staring at hers. She perched on a chair by the window across the
room from him and watched the birds at her feeder. He focused on
typing. They remained detached until Hack’s watch went off. Rory
breathed a sigh of relief.
Don’t think I
could have skirted the topic or kept my eyes off him much
longer.

Hack’s
face relaxed, and the tiny lines around his eyes eased a bit as he
pushed to his feet. When he reached his arms toward the ceiling to
stretch, Rory directed her gaze out the window.
Don’t look. If you look, you’ll want to touch.
When she heard him let out a big breath, she
turned around.

“
We got a lot done,” he
said.

She
nodded, anxious for him to leave, but also anxious for him to
stay.
What do I think will happen? He’ll
declare his undying love, fall to one knee and propose, then ravish
me?
She swallowed.
Never happen. He’s taken, and he doesn’t like me. He likes my
breasts. Felicia doesn’t have any. So, he copped a feel.
They
are
nice. No
big deal. But, God, he tasted good.

As much as she tried to
forget him, the burning inside her wouldn’t go away. When he got to
the door with Rory close behind, he stopped and turned. His gaze
sought hers, and he slid a finger down her cheek. “Lovely Rory,” he
whispered.

She forced herself to step
back.

“
I’m taken, sort of. Or
I’d…I’d…” he stammered.

Rory put her hand over his mouth. “I
know. It’s okay. I get it.” His lips kissed her palm before she
could move it. His eyes stared into hers. She saw desire mixed with
sadness as she finally dropped her hand.

Later that afternoon,
Helen arrived. “Fabulous job, Rory. You got him out of that Hell
hole before he got sick. Right in the nick of time.”

“
I had help.” Rory turned
the fire under the kettle on.

“
And he’s had a bath?
Claws clipped? You’re a miracle worker.”

Rory
beamed. “I have a vet friend.”
Thank you,
Hack.

“
Hang on to him, honey,
he’s gold.”

“
Will you keep
Sammy?”

“
I’ll have him for a
couple of weeks, but I think I have a forever home for him. Older
couple looking for a quiet dog.”

“
That’s Sammy.”

“
Great having you with us,
Rory. Thank God for you. Sammy thanks you too.” The little pug
wagged his tail and licked her hand.

“
Can you stay for
tea?”

“
I’m parked by a fire
hydrant. Otherwise, I would.”

Rory wished her friend would stick
around. She sure could use a shoulder to cry on and some advice.
Helen bundled the dog in a warm coat she had brought from home and
loaded him into a cage in the back of her car. The women hugged.
“Thanks, Helen. This was my first kill shelter save.”

“
Never gets
old.”

As Rory
watched Helen drive away, her thoughts turned to Hack.
I couldn’t have done it without you. Sammy thanks
you, too. Said goodbye to two guys today.
A little pain shot through her heart. Turning Sammy over to
Helen felt good. Returning Hack to the beanpole hurt too much to
think about.

Checking her watch, she noticed she
only had half an hour to change and join the Dinner Club for their
regular meal. She showered, singing “I Just Haven’t Met You Yet,”
and donned a pair of clean jeans and a teal blue sweater. She fed
Baxter then put his harness on and headed over to Bess’s
apartment.

Her step
quickened as she approached the tony building. Relief flowed
through her veins.
My friends will help
me. They’ll know what to do. How to handle this. At least they’ll
listen.

Crash tipped his hat to Rory and
ushered her inside The Wellington. He bent to scratch Baxter behind
the ears. The pug wagged his tail, smiled, and panted. The door was
open when Rory got off the elevator. She unhooked Baxter, and he
raced into the apartment.

“
Thank God you’re here!”
Miranda exclaimed, flipping her long, dark hair over her
shoulder.

“
Rory’s here? Good. Ask
her, ask her,” Brooke insisted.

“
What’s going on?” Rory
entered, greeted by Bess, who handed her a glass of Cabernet. Rory
joined her friends, taking a seat at the breakfast bar, while the
others stood next to her. Bess refreshed drinks.

“
There seems to be some
discussion about wine. We’re having lamb stew. Miranda says it has
to be red, and Brooke says you can have rose…”

“
Hack and I made out.”
Rory blurted out. All conversation stopped. The women froze where
they stood and gazes traveled from face to face.

“
You what?” Brooke
asked.

“
I made out with Hack. And
if the skeleton hadn’t arrived with his lunch, we probably would’ve
gone all the way.”

The silence was broken by a cough from
Bess. “I have to check the stew,” she said, making a beeline for
the stove.

“
You were going to sleep
with an engaged man?” Miranda asked then took a sip of
wine.

“
Yep. I know. I’m a
badass. I can’t help it. He had his shirt off, and…”

“
Why did he have his shirt
off?” Brooke asked, perching on a stool by the breakfast
bar.

Rory launched into her story of pug
rescue and Sammy’s bath.

“
So, his girlfriend walked
in on you?” Miranda asked.

“
Sort of, but not
really.”

“
You’re not going to do
that again, are you?” Bess asked.

“
I don’t know. He’s almost
impossible to resist and without his shirt, and well…I’m only
human.”

“
He’s not married, and
he’s not dead, so he’s still available,” Brooke said. “I say go for
it. Make a play for him, if you want him. And may the best woman
win. Which is you, of course.”

Rory raised her glass. “Hear, hear!”
The women joined her.

“
To true love,” Bess
said.

“
Was he great?” Miranda
asked.

Rory sensed the heat traveling up her
neck as she answered. “He was wonderful. Amazing. Makes Bruce look
like an amateur.”

“
Wow!” Brooke said,
sighing. “I’d love to find someone like that.”

“
Then,
I’m not going to try talking you out of it next time. I
know
there’s going to be
a next time,” Bess said.

Dumpling came racing into the room,
chased by Baxter, Fred, Ginger, and Miranda’s two pugs, Romeo and
Juliet.

“
Dinner’s ready,” Bess
called.

“
Doggie treats first,”
Miranda said, fetching a small bag from her purse. She distributed
a crunchy morsel to each dog then joined her friends at the
table.

The aroma of the stew made Rory’s
stomach rumble. A green salad in a glass bowl sat on her right.
Homemade rolls and European butter were also on the
table.