Vet's Desire (10 page)

Walking ahead
to a well-stocked bar in the corner, Sharon dropped her lacy,
black, barely-there cardigan on a bar stool and reached for a
bottle of wine. “Drink?”

“Sure.”
Crossing to the bookshelf, Tim studied the tomes. Law books, almost
every one. The few novels there were autobiographies.

Turning slowly,
hands in his pockets, Tim’s gaze dropped to the low coffee table.
Several magazines, big and glossy, were spread artfully on the top.
Class practically screamed at him.

Crossing the
room, Sharon handed him a glass of wine. “Like what you see?” She
took a slow slip from the glass she held.

“Nice.” He
couldn’t help but add, “Classy.”

“Thank you.”
Taking another sip, she reached out and splayed her hand on the
front of his shirt. “So, Tim…”

Reaching out,
Tim took her glass and placed it with his glass on the bookshelf
before resting his hands on her waist. “So, Sharon…”

One sway
forwards and she was in his arms.

The woman
practically attacked him. Her mouth slanted beneath his, her hands
were beneath his shirt, and long nails scratched lightly across his
abdomen. She tugged at the waist of his pants and pulled him
towards her, taking a step back as she did so.

This woman
wanted to be in charge and Tim was having none of it. He took a
step back, pulling her with him, taking over the kiss.

After a
surprised gasp, Sharon practically wilted in his arms. A practiced
woman in the arts of seduction she might be, but he was a master,
and damned if it was going to change.

The phone rang
and when she would have reached blindly for it, he caught her
fingers and entwined them with his own. “Leave it,” he breathed
into her mouth before taking possession of it once again.

He had cause to
regret it when Cindy’s voice said clearly, “Sharon, you randy hag.
Bet you’ve got some poor sucker trapped against your book shelf
while you pretend to be all submissive!”

Lifting his
head, Tim looked down into Sharon’s eyes, shocked to hear Cindy’s
voice, shocked that she knew exactly what they were up against, and
even more stunned to see the guilt in Sharon’s eyes.

“Just calling
to tell you that I’ve a new baby here if you want to pop around
tomorrow and see him on your way home. Now I’ll let you get back to
your shagging. Bye!”

Every bit of
desire fled as Cindy spoke and by the time she’d rung off, Tim
felt…well, Jesus, he felt dirty. As though he’d been sprung
cheating. Bloody hell!

Grabbing
Sharon, he yanked her back into his arms and started kissing her
again.

More than
willing to take up where they’d left off, she pressed herself to
him while tugging the shirt tails from his pants and sliding her
hands right down the back of his trousers.

Taking control
again.

Not going to
happen.

Grabbing her
hands, he tried to continue kissing, but damn if the moment wasn’t
gone. His lust had vanished. He tried to get it back, tried to
arise, as it were, to the occasion, but it was a no go. His desire
for a beautiful woman, for some hot sex, was gone.

Before he knew
what was happening, he’d pulled her hands completely off him and
was pushing her back.

“Tim?” Puzzled,
Sharon looked at him.

“Uh - sorry.”
Shoving a hand through his hair, he started to move towards the
doorway. “Look, this isn’t working out-”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I
don’t feel-”

“You were as
hard as jack hammer a second ago.” Sharon’s eyes flashed
angrily.

He sure as hell
wasn’t now. “Look, let’s take a rain check on this, okay?” Giving
her a winning smile over his shoulder, he added blithely, as he’d
done countless times before, “It’s not you, sugar, it’s me.”

“It for sure
is!” Striding furiously past him, she whipped open the door. “You
men who blow hot and cold make me sick! Think you can string us
along and have all the power, and then leave us standing while
bleating that it’s not us, but you! Out, you jerk!” The door
slammed behind him.

It was the
first time Tim had ever been kicked out of a woman’s house.
Standing on the sidewalk, he looked up at the closed door. Normally
he snuck out while they slept, or promised them he’d call and, of
course, he never did, because after all, he’d end up being
hooked.

Shit, he’d
never been kicked out of a woman’s house before in his entire,
sex-driven, playboy life! He’d sure as hell never lost his libido
while starting to make out with a woman while hell bent on getting
himself inside her, but what do you know, it was a night of
firsts.

And he knew
just who to thank for this first very unwelcome development. Cindy
bloody Lawson.

Scowling, he
took his mobile phone from his pocket, hit speed dial and ordered a
taxi to take him home.

He’d had enough
of women for one night.

Chapter
Four

Cindy was
developing a new respect and understanding of mothers with newborn
babies. Standing in the kitchen at two in the morning, heating up
Al’s bottle, she yawned widely.

Al squealed as
she toileted him and then bumped his little nose against the corner
of her mouth, just as he’d have done if she’d been his real mother.
Well, heck, to Al she
was
his mother. Cindy fed him,
toileted him, cuddled him, and kept him warm, loved and safe.

At two in the
morning, three days after she’d acquired him, Cindy still loved
him. She was just very tired. Really tired. Every hour on the hour
was wearing her down, but good ol’ Sam had volunteered his care of
Al and let her have a couple of hours sleep during the day while he
babysat. Her mother came over and babysat a couple of times,
utterly delighting in her ‘grandson’ as she laughingly called
him.

The good thing
about working for her family and being rich, was that Cindy could
take off all the time she needed and still get paid. That allowed
her time to rest and it didn’t matter that she had bags under her
eyes big enough to rival the biggest suitcases in the world.

She wouldn’t
have traded those bags in for anything. She loved Al, and though
she was so tired she could just about fall to her knees, she
wouldn’t have traded the last three days for the world.

Placing him
down in his carrier, she listened to him squeal his indignation and
hunger with a smile while she took the bottle from the microwave
and checked the temperature. Becoming an expert by now, she nodded
her satisfaction, picked Al up in one hand and held the bottle to
his mouth with the other.

Al latched on
to the bottle, tiny paws clawing at the mouth of the bottle before
he settled to sucking, stretching his little arms out ahead of
him.

He was so cute.
His little eyes shut tight, his little snub nose just so snubby.
Cindy sighed in contentment. This little fellow was just what she’d
needed, someone to love and care about, and someone with whom to
share her life. Until he’d come along, she hadn’t known just how
much she missed having company at night. How much she missed having
her old cat.

Okay, maybe it
wasn’t the kind of company she knew her mother wanted her to have
at night, but it didn’t matter. Al was hers to love and cherish, he
was non-judgemental, and he just wanted to be loved and cherished
in return.

He was also
very demanding in his own little way.

“Just like a
man,” she murmured, giggling a little and giving him a kiss on top
of his little head.

By the time
she’d fed and settled him again and set the alarm, she was almost
asleep herself. It seemed as though she’d just shut her eyes when
the alarm sounded again.

Peeking wearily
over the edge of the bed, she saw that Al was sleeping peacefully
in his warm carrier. Remembering what Tim had said about
lengthening the time to two hourly feeds as Al improved, she
decided to set the alarm for another hour. Settling back, she only
dozed, partly awake and listening for Al to cry.

When the alarm
went off for the second time, Al was stirring. Going through the
whole regime of feeding, toileting, cuddling and settling down, she
set the alarm for another two hours time and Al slept right up
until the alarm went off again.

Feeling a
little brighter, Cindy kept the feeding regime to two hourly during
the day, and seeing that Al was suffering no ill effects and was
still content, she punched her fist in the air and did a silent jig
of joy. Yes! Her baby was sleeping for two hours at a time, and so
could she!

“Ah, the joys
of motherhood,” Sam said dryly, coming through the door to peek
into the carrier on the kitchen bench.

“Sam, he’s
sleeping for two hours at a time.” Grabbing an orange, Cindy sat
down at the table and peeled it.

“What have I
told you about putting the cat carrier on my bench?”

“Don’t do
it.”

“So why is it
on my bench?”

“Because I did
it.” Breaking the orange into pieces, she offered Sam a piece.

“You still look
tired.” He bit into it.

“I’ve gone from
hourly to two hourly sleeps. It’s a breakthrough.”

“Huh. You could
benefit from some more, though.” Sam peeked into the basket, just
able to see Al’s tail sticking out from under the fluffy sheet.
“Want me to baby sit this thing so you can get some more
sleep?”

“Aw, you’re so
good to me.” Cindy grinned, knowing full well he was fond of the
kitten. “Don’t you have stuff to do today?”

“I have stuff
to do everyday. I can do it while keeping an eye on Al.”

Hopping up,
Cindy gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Sam. You’re the
best.”

“And don’t you
forget it.”

“His bottles
are soaking, there’s a clean one in the cupboard along with a clean
teat and his formula, and-”

“I know, I
know.” Sam flapped his hand at her. “Just go and get some sleep.
You’re looking scary with those dark circles under your eyes.”

“Call me if
there’s a problem.” Cindy took a last look at Al before leaving the
kitchen.

Oh yeah, she
was tired all right. Flopping face down on the bed, she fell asleep
almost instantly and slept dreamlessly. When she finally awoke, it
was six hours later and she rolled off the bed sluggishly.

“Sam?” she
called down the stairs.

He stuck his
head around the corner of the kitchen door. “What?”

“I’ve slept for
ages.”

“Really? I
hadn’t noticed.”

“Ha ha. How’s
Al?”

“Your Mum came
and took a shift with him and I tell you, she can’t stop nursing
the damned thing. Ruth fed him the second time, all cooing and
clucking and being altogether soppy. Good thing I’m here to stop
him being spoiled. I fed him the third time, no nonsense, and he
settled down right away afterwards. He’s still asleep and not due
for a feed for another twenty minutes.”

“Goodo. I’ve
time for a shower then. Thanks Sam.”

Taking her time
in the shower, Cindy washed her hair and leaned against the wall,
letting the water slip over her shoulders and down, washing away
the fragrant soap suds.

She couldn’t
believe how content she felt knowing she was bringing up the
orphaned kitten. Okay, it might be small and a lot of people did
it, but it gave her a sense of fulfilment. Of purpose. Goodness
knew, she hadn’t had a real sense of purpose for a long time. Apart
from working for the family business, of course.

By the time
she’d dressed in a plain white t-shirt and a flowing skirt that
reached her calves and had a split up each side to above her knees,
she felt a lot more awake than she had for awhile. Almost
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, in fact.

Slipping on a
pair of white, high-heeled sandals and a last spritz of perfume,
she left her hair hanging loose and went down the stairs. By the
time she got to the bottom, she heard Al meowing.

Sam was warming
his bottle as she entered the kitchen.

“His Highness
is awake,” Sam told her needlessly.

“So I hear.”
Opening the top of the carrier, Cindy scooped Al out. “Hello,
baby.”

He bunted along
her chin eagerly.

“As long as you
don’t start licking him, I can take the ‘baby’ crap.” Sam handed
her a warm, damp cloth.

Cindy laughed
and started wiping Al. By the time she was ready to feed him, Sam
was picking up his car keys and Ruth was waiting at the door.

“We’ll see you
tomorrow morning,” Ruth said, her face softening slightly as she
glanced at Al.

“No worries.”
Cindy smiled at them both. “Thank you for babysitting Al.”

“No worries.”
Sam echoed her words as he went out the door and shut it behind
him.

Within seconds
she was alone with Al. When he finished his bottle, she picked up
his carrier and took it into the lounge. Sitting in an armchair,
she laid Al on her lap and gently rubbed his back with one finger
and wiped him carefully with a clean, warm, damp cloth. Finished
cleaning him, she picked him up and nuzzled him, delighting in the
tiny, sputtering purr that came from his tiny body.

It wasn’t long
before Al started to fall asleep, and she carefully placed him back
in his carrier on the fluffy sheet that lay over the heat pad, and
covered him up a little with a piece of the sheet. With Al unable
to sleep in a kitty pile for warmth, she had to ensure he stayed
warm.

Placing him on
the coffee table, she went back out into the kitchen, flicking on
the radio as she did so. Finding nothing but sports on it, she slid
in a CD and turned it up a little as the first song rocked out. It
had her toes tapping. She did miss going out and dancing, but not
as much as she’d have missed caring for Al. After all, she could
dance as easily here as she could in a club.

Pouring a glass
of berry juice, she did a few steps on the spot, then with a grin
she spun on the spot and started to dance, pausing only now and
then to sip from the glass.