Rock My Body (Black Falcon #4) (15 page)

He nods as he watches me put my clothes back on. “Still, if you get pregnant, you tell me. We’ll take care of it.”

The word
abortion
rolls around in my brain for a moment. While I’m not against a woman having the right to choose what to do with her body at all, doing that just isn’t for me. I always told myself when I was fucking around before that if that happened with a man I didn’t know well or wasn’t in a good relationship with, I would give up the child for adoption. But there’s no need to go into any of that with Tyke.

I finish the last button on my dress just as Tyke buttons his jeans. His green eyes are filled with concern as he watches me, waiting for me to agree to the abortion if a pregnancy does happen.

I debate whether to tell him my true feelings about the situation but decide against it. At some point, he’ll leave this place, and what happens to me will be none of his concern.

“You’ll let me know, right?” he questions again.

I pat his chest as I walk by him. “Sure.”

That’s the last thing I say as I walk away, leaving him standing in the middle of the deserted woods, alone.

“The Morning After” – Meg Myers

The lavender soap lathers easily against my skin, cleaning every trace of Tyke Douglas from my body. On one hand, our stolen moment together in the woods was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. We shared a true connection, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. On the other hand, being hit with the harsh realization that the act was “just sex” has never happened to me like that before. Sure, I’ve had countless, meaningless trysts with random strangers, but never have I felt immediate regret for allowing myself to get so out of control. I shouldn’t have had sex with him without a condom. I’m fucking smarter than that. I don’t know why I allowed it to happen.

Well, that’s not strictly true. I’m attracted to him, and God, him singing a song about me—I lost all resolve. I wanted him right then and there. To hell with the consequences.

I rinse my body clean, dry off, and then quickly dress in a black dress suit. Tonight, after dinner, will be my first group therapy session including Tyke. I don’t know how I’m going to hold it together when I see him. My stupid emotions are everywhere. The attraction I was hoping would go away after I allowed him to ravage my body is still there, if not stronger than before. What happened out in those woods can never happen again. It’s too big of a risk, not only to my job, but to my heart, too.

Every woman has an ideal man, a dream man, and Tyke Douglas is exactly that for me. He’s sweet, amazingly talented, and insanely sexy. On top of that, knowing that he thinks about me, actually caring that I’m sad . . . there’s absolutely no resisting that package. I’ll need to keep my distance, no matter how much I’m tempted.

Once I’m presentable, I step out of the cottage and make my way up toward the main house. When I’m only a few feet away, I hear a door close behind me and Kimmy’s voice calls for me to wait up.

I turn in time to see Kimmy bounding up to me, wearing yet another adorable outfit that gives her the appearance of being younger than she actually is.

“Hey, Frannie. What’d you spend your afternoon doing?” She matches my pace as I continue on to the house.

“Nothing much. Hung out in my room mostly.” Lying to her about my afternoon is absolutely vital. “How about you?”

She shrugs. “I stayed in the main house and read a book. Not having cable sucks. I miss reality TV.”

I nod. “I’ve noticed there aren’t any televisions on the property. Why is that?”

“Dr. Shepherd says he wants to eliminate as much negative drama from the clients as possible, since some of them are famous and all. But, if you ask me, not allowing TV is dumb, especially considering he doesn’t confiscate their phones.” She pops her gum as we step up onto the porch.

“You’re right,” I agree. “It’s not like they can’t Google themselves—if their phones actually get service here. I’ve noticed mine is spotty at best, and I drop a lot of calls.”

“It’s these damn mountains. They make it impossible to get a lot of things out here.” She steps up on the porch and then heads toward the side of the house.

“You aren’t coming to dinner?” I ask, wondering where she’s going.

She shakes her head. “Nope. I’m going in to use Dr. Shepherd’s computer. It’s a school night for me.”

I smile, remembering that she told me when I met her that she was taking online classes while she worked on getting into design. “I’ll see you later then. Have fun studying.”

Walking into the kitchen, the spicy scent of grilled meat floats around me and I lick my lips as the aroma fills my nose. “Hey, Sue. Need some help?”

She smiles as she looks up from the chocolate cake she’s frosting. “Hello, Frannie. Thanks for the offer, but I’m just about finished. Hope you’re hungry.”

“Starved,” I tell her with a smile as I pass through on my way to the dining room.

Most of the clients are already seated at the table. I scan the faces and find myself disappointed that Tyke’s not here yet. The urge to kick myself comes over me. How stupid am I to be so excited to see him again. I
just
vowed to stay away from him.

“Hey, Dr. Mead,” Randall says, nudging the chair beside him. “This seat is open.”

A small amount of relief floods me. Sitting here guarantees that I won’t have to sit next to Tyke. I squeeze into the seat between Randall and Arnold. Like a gentleman, Randall stands to push the chair in behind me.

“Thank you,” I say, watching as Josie, sitting on the other side of Randall, shoots an evil look in my direction.

Clearly, she thinks I’m encroaching on her territory.

Seconds later, Tyke enters the room and sits in the same seat he’s been at since his arrival. He’s eaten all his meals sitting next to me, so far. His confused green eyes rake over me. After the way I left him standing in the woods, I don’t know why me moving to another seat surprises him. We had sex—a one-time thing. There’s no need to keep up the charade of being close when we both know there’s no real future.

Randall turns toward me with a polite smile. “So, Dr. Mead—”

“Frannie, please,” I quickly correct him.

His smile widens. “Okay, Frannie it is, then. What I was about to ask is if you have any big weekend plans two weeks from now?”

I shake my head. “Not really.”

“Do you like art?”

“Yes. I appreciate art in a variety of forms.” My mind automatically drifts back to Tyke singing and how beautiful that was. He is truly an artist.

“Well, as you know, I’m the activities director, and from time to time I like to plan outings for the clients. There’s an art gallery in a city that’s not too far from here, and I was thinking it would be nice to get out. Would you be interested in being the second chaperone?”

The idea of leaving the property for a while is enticing. “I’d love that.”

“Great.” Randall drums his fingers on the top of the table in a fit of glee and then addresses the rest of the table. “Everyone? Can I have your attention?”

The small chitchat at the table stops and everyone focuses on Randall—everyone but Tyke, who’s staring directly at me. His eyes bore into me as he tilts his head toward the seat next to him. I give my shoulders a slight shrug and pull my lips into a tight line.

I know he wants more of an explanation than that. Hell, if I were him, I would, too. But what can I tell him? Thanks for the sex? Maybe now, since we’ve acted on our desire for one another, we can focus on being strictly professional? He doesn’t want to hear that. He probably won’t even care.

“In two Saturdays, we are going out as a group to the art gallery. For those of you who would like to go, please see me after dinner and express your interest,” Randall announces. “For those of you who do not wish to go, Dr. Shepherd and Timothy will be here on staff so that you may stay behind for independent reflection.”

The clients’ excitement is evident. They must like getting out of here from time to time, since most of them are here for at least a month or more.

For the rest of the meal, I feel the tension emanating from Tyke. Every time I look in his direction, his eyes are fixed on me. If he’s not careful, people are going to figure out something is going on between us and start prying, asking questions, and I’ll be forced to lie.

No one can ever know what we did.

When everyone is finished, Randall stands, and the clients immediately flock to him. Excited murmurs fill the room as everyone rushes to tell him they want to go.

I stand and head for the foyer, needing to prepare for the group session I’m about to lead. When I get to the room, the door closing behind me startles me. Quickly, I whip around and my heart thumps against my ribs.

Tyke stands a few mere feet from me, a perplexed expression on his face. “Do you want to tell me what the hell that was about back there?”

I shake my head and turn back toward the table, focusing on the handouts I prepared for the session earlier in the day. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Unsatisfied with that answer, he steps next to me and grabs my wrist, turning me, forcing me to look at him. “Yes, you do. What’s with the cold shoulder? I thought we had things figured out?”

I narrow my eyes and jerk my hand away from him. “Look, Tyke, I’m not interested in being your fuck-buddy while you’re stuck here. We had sex—one time. It’s not going to happen again.”

He shoves his fingers into his hair and sighs. “I don’t think of you that way.”

I want to believe that. To feel that I’m more to him than just some easy lay. After seeing how much emotion he put into that song he sang about me, it seems like I mean something to him.

“How
do
you think of me then?” I ask before I even realize I’ve said the question out loud.

He licks his lips and takes a determined step toward me, my hips fitting perfectly in his hands as he pulls me against his chest. “You’ve taken up every spare inch in my brain since I got here, Frannie.”

I take a deep breath. “Don’t tell me lies, even if they’re sweet. You don’t have to do that with me. If you just want sex—”

He tips my chin up with his index finger. “I don’t.”

“Don’t,” I repeat and then close my eyes unable to look at him. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. I know what this is. I’ve been in situations like this before.”

He tilts his head. “Why?”

I flinch back and do my best to evade it. “Why what?”

“Why do you think I’m just using you? Don’t you feel it?” he whispers, and the warmth of his breath floats across my lips. “The connection we have is insane. There’s no faking that. What’s happening between us is more than just sex, Frannie.”

While I’ve felt an array of emotions for Tyke Douglas, the invisible rope pulling us together is just too strong. “Tyke...”

“There’s no need to deny it. It’s written all over your face that you feel the same way.”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Soon you’ll be gone, back on the road, and where will that leave me? If we get caught, I’ll be jobless. I’ll have nothing, and you’ll have moved on and all this will have been for nothing.” Tears threaten to spill from eyes as I explain our reality to him. “There will never be an us. Ever. It’s not worth the risk.”

“So that’s it? You’re done? Just like that? Can you really walk away from this—from the possibility of an ‘us’?”

“Tyke, what choice do I have?” The quiver in my voice tells me I won’t be able to hold the tears back much longer.

“You always have a choice, Frannie.” He steps back and grabs his chest with both hands, fisting the dark fabric of his T-shirt. “Choose me. We’ll leave this place together.”

“I’ve worked too hard. I can’t—I won’t—walk out on a career for a man I barely know.”

My heart squeezes in my chest as I see how desperate he is to hang on to what little bit of a relationship we’ve started, and how much my harsh words are a slap in the face. As much as I wish we could have a fairy tale romance, I know this is reality and happily ever afters don’t happen to broken people like us. It’s best to cut things off now, before we get in any deeper. “Besides, you’re not ready to run away from here. You still need help.”