Tempting Doctor Forever (Barrett Ridge Book 2) Read online

  A dog-size streak of reddish bronze whizzed through the backyard and disappeared into the back corner where thick, budding rhododendrons towered to the top of the fence.

  How did that dog manage to break in this time? He’d checked the fence himself. He must have missed something. He was a surgeon, not a contractor. He sampled his amber-hued ale and sniffed at the hoppy aroma.

  A woman in a red plaid shirt and tight denim leggings tiptoed into the yard. He grinned. Sam was on the case of the missing mutt. He couldn’t hear her, but she was clearly calling to the dog, in a low hiss, no doubt.

  The rhoddies wiggled, and Sam trotted over to them. She planted her hands on her hips and must be giving Copper a talking-to. She crouched down, but still, no sign of Copper.

  Sam knelt and crawled, head first, into the thicket of rhododendron leaves. Only her feet and curvy backside were left on display. Round, luscious, and a charming almost heart shape. Ethan licked his lips and abandoned his beer on the counter.

  His Saturday was shaping up nicely with a free show in his own backyard. Surely it couldn’t hurt to watch a little. It wasn’t like he was thinking of sliding his hands on her hips and grinding his hard unit into those curves.

  He didn’t want to wrap his fist in her hair and hold her close. He coughed. Well, shit. That was exactly what he wanted.

  It was the least sensible thing he could imagine, but it filled his mind. She was so grounded and kind. Her eyes were trusting, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she was as attracted to him as he was to her. She clearly needed help with Copper, so he’d do the gentlemanly thing and go to her assistance. That was all. He was just going to assist her.

  Before he knew it, he stood outside next to the flower beds, with an up-close view of Sam’s pert ass.

  “Are you missing something?”

  Sam muttered something harsh under her breath. “You’re not supposed to be home.”

  “It’s your lucky day.”

  “It would be if Copper would listen to me.” Sam barked a few more useless commands.

  “What’s he gotten into back there?”

  “He’s digging to the seventh level of hell for all I know. He’s got more crap buried in this backyard. I had no idea he’d be such a digger. The Novak’s have a lot to answer for. Sicking a demon dog on me and Nana.”

  “He’s a good dog.”

  “Ha. Sometimes, but he’s obsessed with reuniting with his long-lost toys and bones.”

  “Are you going to take up residence in the shrubs or do I just get to admire the view?”

  Sam squeaked, and her butt bobbed. She scrambled out of the bushes, but her hair caught on the stiff twigs and leaves. She whimpered, and it sounded like muffled tears were imminent.

  “This is ridiculous. I need help.”

  “Hold on.” Ethan wrangled a branch that was woven through her loose top-knot and was likely digging into her scalp. “Better?”

  Sam backed up a few inches, and her sweater hiked up and exposed the creamy flesh of the small of her back and the hint of purple polka-dotted panties. He grinned.

  Copper barked and bounded through the rhoddies, and Sam fell to the side in a crash of broken leaves and branches. She was sprawled on her side, and her face twisted into a grimace of discomfort and chagrin.

  “I swear there are a hundred branches sticking into me. Am I bleeding to death?”

  “You’re fine. Give me your hand.”

  “This is getting to be a habit.”

  “I don’t mind.” Ethan gripped her gritty, cold hands and tugged her forward. The shrubs sprang back to life as Copper yipped and frisked around with a well-gnawed, hard red rubber ball.

  Sunlight glinted on her golden hair as it spilled out of her messy bun in spiky disarray with a lone rhoddie twig and leaf drooping over her ear.

  “You look like a wood sprite,” Ethan said, “with leaves sprouting from your head.” As a matter of fact, she was damnably adorable. She had that vulnerable look she’d worn when he’d rescued her kitten when she was in elementary school. His fingers itched to caress her cheek.

  Sam wrinkled her nose in dismay as both hands flew to pat her head down. Ethan’s hand and hers collided as he plucked the offending greenery out of the hair.

  “You always seem to be around to rescue me.” She smiled softly and glanced up from beneath her lashes. The faintest of petal pink tinged her skin.

  “I will always be here to keep you safe. You’re precious.” He edged forward a half step.

  “What a lovely sentiment.”

  “You’re one of the Barrett girls. Austin and I always have our ears pricked for trouble.” The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. He was sliding down a slippery slope. For just this once, he didn’t want to think through every step. He needed to act. To react. To feel.

  “I’m like a sister you never had?” A hint of distrust lingered in her voice.

  That was laughable. Brothers didn’t notice tiny waists and luscious curves on their sisters. No. Sam was anything but his kid sister.

  She’d been appealing as a teen and turned his head even when he was married to Felicia, which had surprised him since he’d been sure that he’d finally fallen in love with his wife despite their rushed wedding.

  On that solo visit to Barrett Ridge, he’d ignored any rise in attraction for Sam and made sure he avoided any further alone time with her. Whenever he’d run into her at a gathering or event, he’d catch her gaze following him. And perhaps, he’d been constantly monitoring her whereabouts.

  Damn. He’d had the hots for her even then. A twenty-seven-year-old lusting after a high schooler was not cool. Especially with a wedding ring on his finger, and a family depending on him.

  So, he’d turned off his libido, which had been easy once he was swept back into the craziness of the move from San Francisco back to Baltimore for his residency.

  But Felicia was long gone, and Sam was a grown woman. A beautiful woman with a kind heart and soul-melting smile.

  “You’re not my sister.” Ethan bent and claimed Sam’s mouth. Sam’s arms twined around his neck and her body folded into his. He cupped her face. The kiss deepened. His tongue tested the arch of her lips as she sighed and let him slip in. He brushed her cheekbones with his thumb as they tasted and teased and explored with their lips and tongues.

  Sam stroked the back of his neck and pulled back with her head tilted, but her mouth still inches from his. “I’m glad you finally realize that I’m not another sibling.”

  “My feelings haven’t been brotherly for a long time. Not at all.”

  “Good.” A slow smile spread across Sam’s features, and her eyes glinted with pleasure and hope. “Kiss me again.”

  “You tempt me, woman.” His need flared. He wanted her hair spilling over his sheets. His palms cradling her suckable breasts. It had been months since he’d been with a woman, but this was a deeper need. She had a light in her eyes that he wanted to capture. It was as golden as her shiny locks. It called to him.

  Their mouths met like honeyed sunshine. She was as sweet as a warm spring day. He caressed the small of her back as he glided his hand under her sweater. The scent of honeysuckle and lavender tickled his nose as he kissed her silky neck.

  Sam tugged at his shirt, and sizzling sensation fired up his spine and spiraled straight to his hard cock. He gasped. It had been too long.

  Copper barked, and Sam ran her nails along his back as she leaned away. Her eyes held a playful, passionate twinkle.

  “I think Copper isn’t so sure about this.” Sam glanced down, and her lashes were a deep, golden brown against her fair skin. “Are you? The last time we kissed, you told me off.”

  “Let’s not think. I’m tired of considering my every move. I want to feel. I want you.”

  He placed a slow, tender kiss on her mouth, then he stepped back, with her hand trembling in his. He waited.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ETHAN’S WORDS HUNG between them, and her brain
reeled. Every inch of her skin begged for his touch. Only a faint voice pleaded for common sense. Ethan didn’t want anything permanent. He didn’t want complications, but he did want her.

  The heat in his gaze and the pressure of his hand on hers pushed the thought away. Ethan had the right of it. Feel. Don’t think. Thinking was way overrated.

  She held Ethan’s gaze and let the strength of her passion show. She stepped closer, and Ethan’s smile deepened.

  “Let’s go inside. Mateo’s gone for the night.”

  Sam gave a guilty start. She hadn’t even thought once about Mateo staring down from an upstairs window and witnessing their steamy clinch. She noticed Copper was sprawled in a patch of sun on the patio and gnawing on his dug-up chew toy. He seemed good to go.

  Ethan reached toward her.

  “A happy dog and no family in the vicinity.” Sam slid under Ethan’s arm and resisted burrowing into his side. “I think the stars aligned for this moment.”

  Ethan stopped and slipped his other arm around her waist. “Perhaps they have.” He kissed her. Luxurious heat rose through her core.

  She didn’t quite know how they reached the living room couch. It was a blur of fevered touches, flying clothing, and entwined limbs. They stood in the center of the room with the light muted and filtered through the pearl-gray curtain sheers.

  She marveled at the moment. She’d daydreamed for so long about Ethan’s touch, his kiss. Her spirit felt freed. As if she’d been designed for only Ethan.

  With a determined focus, Sam unfastened Ethan’s shirt until she fumbled with the last button. Ethan grunted, and in one motion, he grabbed the edge of his shirt and yanked it over his head.

  Sam feasted her eyes on his taut, olive skin and rippling muscles. She licked her lips as dampness clutched at the apex of her thighs. Ethan touched the hollow at the base of her throat and traced a finger down the opening of her plaid, collared shirt. He stroked along the edges of her bra.

  He returned the favor and undid each ivory button, but with his mouth planting a hot kiss as each one popped free. One by one. He teased his tongue around the oval of her navel, and then sucked on her hard nipples through the filmy black lace. Sam wove fingers through his short, silky hair and bit back a moan.

  She pulled away and wagged a lone finger at his surprised look. With the flat of her palm, she pushed him back. One step. Two steps. Until the back of his knees hit the edge of the couch.

  “Sit.” With a flirty wink, she gave him the tiniest of pushes.

  Ethan fell back into the soft, beige cushions. His dark eyes gleamed as if he enjoyed her playful command.

  Sam let her hips sway side to side, and then she undid the top button on her jeans. She quivered as she slid the zipper down and shimmied the denim past her hips and the thin fabric of her polka-dotted bikini bottoms.

  Ethan crooked a finger at her and beckoned her closer. A wanton giddiness started in her toes, spiraled through the damp triangle between her legs, and traveled into the lush fullness of her breasts. She twirled a tight pirouette as the hem of her shirt flared around her hips. That dark passion in Ethan’s eyes drew a playful sensuality from deep within her.

  She sashayed onto Ethan’s lap and ground against his hardness and arched her back. Ethan gripped her hips and pressed her harder into his rock-like erection.

  He thumbed her pebbled tips, and a fresh wave of need hit her. His hardness was so tempting against her soft folds. There was too much clothing between them. She slithered onto the floor and wrapped her fingers around his belt buckle and tugged.

  Ethan pushed her hand away and unbuckled it. Sam palmed the hard bump in his jeans. She pressed her hot mouth against his bulge. Ethan groaned and eased onto the floor beneath her.

  He pulled her shirt from her shoulders and burned a trail of fiery kisses along her collarbone, to the valley between her breasts. He reached behind her and with a twitch of his fingers, her bra released, and an ache of hot need pulsed through her. She arched back as Ethan locked his mouth around the tawny tips of her breasts.

  He explored her body with his tongue, his hands, and his eyes. She wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked against his granite-hard cock.

  For once, she was wild. Carefree. All she had was this moment. It would go on forever. There was no sense of tomorrow. Or yesterday. There was only now. Her need. Desire. Sweet, dizzying lust.

  With a hand at the small of her back, Ethan shifted and rolled her over onto her back. The carpet was cool, but plush against her bare back.

  “Let me taste you.”

  “I won’t stop you.”

  Ethan pushed her panties to one side and dipped his head down and tasted her warm folds. She cried out and thrust her hips closer to him. He licked and teased. Desire coursed through her. Need built in her tight bud.

  “Not yet,” Sam whispered. She was ready to burst, but she didn’t want this to end.

  “Come for me,” Ethan purred. “I want to feel your need.”

  With fingers clutching his hair, she closed her eyes. Her breath in short gasps. He flicked his tongue harder, faster. It coiled, built. It exploded. Pulsed through her veins like a wave of lava rampaging past all in its path. Her world dissolved. She was only throbbing sensation and singed flesh.

  He caressed the outer curves of her mound, and she trembled. He sucked and pulled gently. His thumbs stroked her hip bones, and a fresh flame of need reared up. She moaned but twitched her leg to the side.

  “It’s my turn now.”

  “I’m not finished with you.” Ethan laughed and wrapped both hands around her breasts and slowly kneaded them.

  “As delicious as that is—” Sam’s voice faltered. “Oh, that is deliriously fabulous.” He kissed a lazy circle around her navel while he thumbed her nipples. “But I have things I want to do to you.”

  Ethan chuckled and studied her with a dare in his eyes. She ran the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip and thrust her hips against him. Then she twisted until she was on her hands and knees and met him face to face on the floor. She pressed her mouth against Ethan’s wicked smile.

  Sam knelt and pushed against his shoulders. “You’ve still got your pants on.” She hadn’t even noticed while he’d been rocking her universe with his tongue. “Take them off.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ethan stood and stepped out of his jeans and dark blue boxer briefs with two quick moves. His manhood sprung out long and rigid with his desire.

  “I’m already on my knees. How convenient.” She danced her fingers across his length and let a hint of her hot breath tease his tip. His cock leaped in her hands. She grinned and met Ethan’s eyes.

  “You drive me wild.”

  Sam considered her bare ass sticking high in the air and his erection so close to her tongue. She waved her hips to music that only her ears heard. She slipped the tip of his cock into her mouth, ran her tongue around it, and played with the ridge and the cleft.

  Ethan moaned and buried a palm in her hair. She worked her way down his shaft with a rhythmic lick and suck until she claimed almost his whole rod. With the lightest of touches, she teased and caressed as she ran her hands along his hips and clenched the taut curves of his ass.

  With a searching hand, Ethan pulled his jeans close, drew his wallet out, and plucked a foil packet from it. Sam pinched it from his grasp and tore at the packaging. It popped loose, and she tilted her head to one side and coaxed Ethan closer with a shimmy of her shoulders.

  Ethan closed his eyes as she rolled the thin latex over the steel of his erection. She squeezed and suckled his tightening balls as Ethan threw his head back.

  He bent and pulled her into his arms. She wound her legs around him as they collapsed onto the nubby fabric of the sofa. Her giggle turned to a moan as his thick rod slid along her folds and teased the hard knot of her desire. He rocked, and she ground against him.

  Her need boiled. He kissed her neck and suckled her nipples, pulling, nipping. She cried out as she raked her
fingers along his back. Ethan raised up, his eyes dark with yearning. He shifted his hips and thrust into her.

  Sam rose to meet him. He thrust again and again. Her muscles clenched. She teetered as liquid desire slithered through her arteries. Heat exploded, and she cried out his name.

  Her fiery waves burst through and gripped at Ethan’s hardness. He groaned and shook. He stilled, and then his climax tore through him. He shuddered and arched back.

  His body was heavy and protective over her. Faint, lingering pulses tingled at the edges of her awareness. She floated. There was no future. No past. Only this moment. That surge of pure emotion and sensation.

  She opened her eyes to find Ethan staring at her. His gaze was unfocused, otherworldly. As if he too was lost in the tide of euphoria.

  With a tender touch, he pushed a strand of hair from her forehead, then he bent close. His lips fluttered on hers. Deepened. Passion flared again.

  CHAPTER NINE

  FLICKERING CANDLELIGHT REFLECTED off the mirror over the dresser and shimmered back from the full-length glass on the bedroom door. Ethan’s bedroom was shrined in deep blues and the warm orange of candle glow.

  Sam licked the last spoonful of mint chocolate chip ice cream and handed the empty bowl to Ethan. He nestled her bowl into his and set them both on the bedside nightstand as she held the sheet in place across her bare breasts.

  It seemed a tad silly since he’d seen every inch of her body in the last four or five hours. Repeatedly. Ethan leaned into the pillows and crooked his finger at her to entice her under his arm. The cotton sheet glided along her skin as she molded to his side.

  With her eyes mesmerized by the bright tapers, they shared stories of her joy as an English teacher and his love for his neurosurgical practice. They laughed at her tales of student bloopers and her hectic family dinners when all the Barrett’s were in town, and how difficult her stepmother could be.

  Ethan idly stroked her arm with his thumb and sometimes wound a strand of her hair around his long fingers. His hands were strong and capable. He saved lives with those hands. He brought her to trembling climax with his clever touch.