A Kiss to Change Her Life Read online

  Each movement she made brought their bodies together. Not close enough. This time she wanted the full skin-on-skin experience. In seconds, she’d stripped him bare to see and feel the full evidence of his arousal pressed against her. There was no greater aphrodisiac for her than a hunky man who made her feel desirable. More than that, lying here beneath Rob, she could stop pretending to be anything more than she was. He knew almost all of her secrets—the ones that mattered for now.

  He kissed her—a long, languid seduction of her mouth, promising a more thorough exploration of her body this time around. Something which made her shiver with anticipation and trepidation. Would he still find her this sexy if he knew her illness had taken away a vital part of her femininity?

  ‘What about protection?’ The irony of Rob’s raspy request brought Jessica’s tears closer to the surface.

  She had to swallow them down before she could answer him. This was a chance to tell him the truth but she didn’t want to start another discussion about her tragic history and break the mood. It was only supposed to be a casual hook-up designed to break the sexual tension between them once and for all. Not a proposal of marriage and an expectation she could give him babies.

  ‘I’ve got it covered,’ she said with a smile to hide her heartache. If it wasn’t for her infertility, she might have fostered the notion she could have more than a one-night stand with someone like Rob.

  He lifted his head to grin back at her before starting to kiss his way down her body again. Goosebumps popped along her skin with every feather-light touch of his lips. She didn’t want to hold on to any of her baggage when he was intent on making her fantasies come true. He reached up to cup her breast in his large hand, rolling her nipple into a tight peak between his thumb and finger. Jessica had to bite her lip to stop from crying out as he dipped his head and drew the sensitive tip into his warm mouth. He trailed his tongue over her, flicking and teasing until she was bucking off the mattress like a wild thing.

  For tonight, at least, her body was his to command. His mouth never left her as he made his way further down the bed, scorching a trail of wet kisses along her torso. As he manoeuvred himself between her legs and dared even lower, Jessica could no longer think of anything except her own desires.

  He licked the seam of her womanhood and parted her with his tongue, her liquid arousal rushing to meet him. With every lick and swirl he demanded her climax until she complied, her cries echoing through the quiet house as that all-encompassing bliss claimed her. Only when he’d drawn the final aftershocks of her release did he replace his tongue with his equally breathtaking erection.

  Rob braced himself on the bed with one arm either side of her and moved slowly inside her. He was already trembling with restraint, since the intensity of her orgasm had almost claimed him too. Now every one of his senses was heightened, every nerve ending zinging with energy as they forged together. He was lost to her heat, her sexiness and this amazing feeling of being alive. Despite their mutual agreement that this was nothing more than sex, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this was wrong. Thankfully, carnal instinct kept it at bay.

  She was hugging his waist with her thighs as she rode with him, punctuating every stroke with an erotic moan. Driving him to the point of madness. His thoughts, his whole being belonged entirely to her in that moment.

  She clenched her inner muscles around him, hastening him towards that glorious peak of complete satisfaction. A roar was ripped from his soul with his final release, so powerful and strong it shook him to the very core. This was more than sex; he’d held nothing back as he’d made love to Jessica and he had no clue what that meant for the future. All he did know was that this euphoria wouldn’t last. Not when they had to face real life tomorrow as a busy doctor and TV producer, only thrown together under temporary circumstances.

  He lay down beside her and placed a kiss on her lips, thankful that she’d helped him to spend time in the here and now. For a while, at least.

  ‘Are you okay? You’re very quiet.’ She was frowning at him and he knew he’d spent too long in his own head. It wasn’t very gentlemanly of him to be thinking of anything other than the amazing time they’d just shared. The urge to flog himself with birch branches and repent his sins could wait until her side of the bed was cold again.

  ‘You’ve worn me out, that’s all.’ He reached across and stroked his thumb against her cheek, keen to maintain some physical contact lest they broke the spell too soon.

  ‘Do you want me to go so you can get some rest?’ She sat up, trying to cover her nakedness with the sheet they were both tangled in. Her skin was flushed, her hair mussed from their exertions and her eyes wide with either fear or uncertainty. This had shaken her as much as him.

  If they were to stick to their agreement, there should be no cause for panic. They could take things at their own pace. There’d be plenty of time for him to overanalyse tonight’s events when she was gone. All he wanted now was for his mind to be at peace with his body.

  ‘There’s no need to rush off. I can drop you off later. Unless you’d rather go?’ He didn’t know if she preferred to cut and run but, given the choice, he’d rather lie with her awhile longer.

  ‘No, I... As long as it’s okay with you?’

  ‘I’m enjoying the company.’ Rob patted the pillow beside him, so she lay back down and cushioned her soft curves against him. He sighed. It was nice to have something other than ghosts to share his bed.

  ‘I don’t usually do this.’ She almost whispered the secret into his chest. As if they were doing something illicit.

  ‘What? Sleep with colleagues? Hang around after sex? Snuggle?’ He buried his smile in her cloud of red hair. There was no way he was going to judge her for falling into bed with him when they’d both acted on the same impulse.

  ‘All of the above. You’re covering a lot of firsts for me.’ She placed her hand on his chest and he could feel her relax against him again.

  Her admission flashed up warning signs that this was moving somewhere Rob wasn’t ready to go. In a lot of ways it was already too late. ‘This is new to me too.’

  His love life didn’t usually extend beyond hotel rooms and the rare time he did bring someone home, he certainly didn’t encourage them to stay. It already changed the dynamics when he already knew he’d be seeing this bed partner every day until the end of the month. They might as well enjoy this for what it was.

  ‘Don’t worry. I meant it when I said I wasn’t in the market for anything serious. I’ve been there. Still have the wedding dress hanging in the closet.’

  ‘We have so much in common.’ Rob deliberately made her laugh. The split from her boyfriend had obviously been more serious than he’d first thought. Another good reason they’d established boundaries before taking things further. He was never going to be the man who could repair her heart when he was still trying to piece his own back together. Although he and Jessica were both officially single, it would seem they were still married to their pasts.

  ‘So I can lie here without worrying you’ve got the wrong impression?’ Jessica traced her finger around his nipple and reminded him of the real reason they were here. Sheer heat.

  ‘I promise I have no plans for us beyond right now.’ Rob grabbed hold of the hand teasing him back to full strength and rolled over to pin Jessica to the bed with both wrists.

  She was wide-eyed and panting beneath him. ‘Then we really shouldn’t waste what little time we have left.’

  * * *

  The alien buzz of an alarm clock ripped Rob from the arms of the deepest slumber. Any other morning he was awake before it had the chance to blare out its air-raid warning of daylight approaching. He attempted to roll over and switch it off but he still had a naked Jessica sleeping on his chest. Enthusiastic lovemaking had apparently cured his insomnia. He would include that in the pro column for slee
ping with her when the doubts started to creep in.

  His first instinct should’ve been to shake her awake and get her out of here as soon as possible. Neither of them had intended for her to spend the night. He’d underestimated how much it would mean to have her in his bed when he wasn’t in a hurry to put an end to the dream. He closed his eyes again. An extra five minutes wouldn’t hurt.

  ‘What time is it?’ Jessica mumbled against his skin, lost somewhere beneath her mass of wild curls.

  His nether regions began to stir, reacting to the novelty of a naked woman in the bed.

  ‘Playtime?’ He ran his hand along her spine and down to cup her butt cheek.

  Jessica leaned over his chest to peer at the clock. ‘As much as I’d love to, we both need to get to work.’

  Rob nuzzled her neck and did his best to persuade her otherwise. Once they got up, the fantasy was over and they had to return to the real world. Coming back to an empty bed tonight was going to be even harder than usual.

  Jessica curled around him, rubbing herself provocatively along his outer thighs, and plucking his nipple to attention. ‘I don’t have a change of clothes.’

  ‘You really don’t need any.’ He palmed her breast, hungry for more than his porridge this morning.

  ‘I think it might cause a bit of a stir if I turned up in last night’s clothes.’

  Rob wrenched his gaze from her rosy peaks to the rumpled clothes lying on a heap on his floor. ‘You’ve got a point.’

  There was also the reminder of her standing in his kitchen wearing only that shirt every time he saw her in it. It definitely wasn’t work safe, for either of them.

  ‘I have to go.’ At least she said it with great reluctance as their one-night-only performance came to an end.

  ‘I’ll take you home. As soon as I’m wide awake.’ Rob pulled the covers over their heads. He had no intention of leaving this bed until they’d said goodbye properly.

  * * *

  Jessica imagined all eyes were on her as she did the walk of shame through the doors, late for the first time ever. True to his word, Rob had given her a lift home. However, he’d also insisted on waiting for her. By the time she’d showered, succumbed to Rob’s suggestion of one more ‘last time’ in the shower and changed, there was no way of her making it in time to work.

  ‘I had to make a few follow-up calls,’ she mumbled as she passed through the gallery. No one bothered to question her and, since she was the one always pulling overtime, she figured she was entitled to a bit of leeway.

  The paperwork was piled up on her desk but her brain was mush. The perks of her position here meant she could position herself anywhere in the building without having to give a detailed explanation. She wanted time out to think over what had happened last night, and this morning. Everything else could wait. It was on her head if this project failed and she would pick up the slack when she was in a better frame of mind. A coffee and a seat in the waiting room would give her some space. The people in there were too preoccupied with their own problems to take hers under their notice.

  Sleeping with Rob had been all she’d expected, and more. Their verbal contract that it was a one-time deal could do with a few amendments. The evening had meant so much to her on a personal level she was reluctant to end it there. More than the self-confidence she’d gained from how much Rob had wanted her, she’d also had fun. So consumed was she by her distrust of men, and her own insecurities, she’d forgotten what it was to simply have someone to laugh and spend time with. Since Rob had technically made the first move, it seemed they’d both abandoned their hang-ups in the heat of the moment and taken a giant leap forward. Unfortunately, if he was now primed and ready to move back onto the market, someone other than her was probably going to reap the benefits.

  While she wanted him to crawl out from his well of sorrow into her arms, there was no way she could compete with the memory of his wife. A man like Rob was always going to want the whole package. That house was waiting for the wife who’d have dinner waiting on the table every night, and a tribe of overexcited kids to greet him at the door. She already hated the woman he was going to fall in love with.

  It was her own fault for being greedy. She’d got what she wanted, only to find it wasn’t enough. That one night would haunt her for ever—knowing she was so close to happiness, only for her useless body to spoil everything again.

  She stepped into the lift and punched the button for the restaurant floor. If she was going to cry into her coffee, she deserved something that didn’t taste like tar.

  A thick forearm shot through the metal doors before they could close. She couldn’t even have two minutes of self-pity without interference. Resisting the urge to keep pushing the button, she plastered on a smile for whoever was about to join her.

  ‘Hi,’ accompanied Rob’s sudden appearance.

  ‘Hi, yourself.’ So full of angry thoughts at herself and a woman she’d never know, she kept her gaze firmly ahead. She didn’t trust herself to act like a grown-up around him and pretend last night had never happened.

  The lift doors closed and sealed her inside the steel box with Rob. She could sense his eyes on her as the lift whirred into life.

  ‘I’m sorry if I made you late this morning.’ As soon as he acknowledged what they’d been up to only a short time ago, all bets were off.

  ‘It was worth it.’ Jessica turned to meet his gaze and, in that instant, the heat was back. They flew at each other in a tangle of limbs and mouths, as if they’d never made it out of bed.

  She gave an inward sigh as he pulled her close. This lapse wouldn’t help untangle her thoughts about him but it was exactly where she wanted to be. With temperatures reaching critical levels, they broke apart.

  ‘We shouldn’t be doing this at work.’ Rob took a step back and scrubbed his hands over his scalp, mussing his dark locks to give him back that bed-hair look. It wasn’t helping to put last night out of her mind.

  ‘Did you have somewhere else in mind?’ They’d seriously underestimated the difficulty they’d have keeping their hands off each other now they’d shared naked time together. If he was intent on imposing a restraining order on close body contact, he should really stop seeking her out. And find a different topic of conversation.

  * * *

  Rob coughed, trying to clear the cotton wool suddenly lodged in his throat. From the minute he’d left her at the hospital entrance that morning, he’d been craving another fix. Far from getting closure on this thing he had for her, their liaison had increased his appetite. Life had to go on, and he would do it one step at a time. So far, Jessica had made no demands on him. He was the one obsessed with commitment and the havoc it could cause.

  ‘Last night. Could we do it again?’ This concept was so alien to him he’d apparently lost the power of coherent sentences.

  Jessica arched an eyebrow. ‘What happened to your one-night rule?’

  Sticky sweat moulded his shirt to his back as his comfort zone disappeared into the distance. ‘We had a good time, didn’t we?’

  ‘Yes. Does this mean you want us to keep on seeing each other?’

  ‘The next few weeks are going to be hell if I can’t touch you after what we shared last night.’ Even now, watching those amber flecks blazing to life in her eyes, he was fighting a losing battle with his libido.

  ‘I did think you were being quite stingy with your idea of a fling. It should at least last as long as a girl is in town. Say, another two weeks?’ Jessica moved closer and toyed with his top button.

  He swallowed hard as it popped open at her behest, replaying the moment last night when the spark between them had exploded into a fireball of lust. ‘We’ll have all the benefits of being in a relationship without any of the drama of trying to make it as a couple.’

  ‘You want us to carry on seeing each other
?’

  ‘I thought since we had fun last night and neither of us wants a commitment, we could keep this going until you finish filming here. If you want?’ It was the perfect set-up, as far as he could see. All the benefits of being in a relationship without any of the drama of trying to make it as a couple.

  ‘You mean by day we’ll be working together, acting every inch the professionals we are, and by night...horizontal deviants.’ Jessica’s wink as she approved his plan sent the temperature, and his pulse, soaring once more. Rob really needed this lift to hurry up before they were both sacked for gross misconduct.

  ‘Yes, we’ll need to make sure we keep our professional and personal lives separate from now on. No more of these clandestine meetings.’ He was saying the words but as he dipped his head to claim her mouth again he knew he was becoming seriously addicted to the danger.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ROB RESISTED THE urge to kiss Jessica when he met her in the car park. They were still technically on hospital grounds, which they’d deemed a no-go area since this afternoon.

  They’d had a close call in the lift when the doors had opened mid-clinch to a group of elderly women who were thankfully too occupied with finding their car park ticket to notice. By conducting their affair at work, they were taking too great a risk of getting caught in a compromising position. Neither of them wanted to jeopardise their career for a fling which would be over before they changed the specials menu in the canteen. Instead, they’d reached the mature decision to wait until they’d clocked off before they dared touch each other again.

  ‘I’m sorry if I’ve kept you hanging around all night. We had a new patient arrive with an aggressive stage three tumour, so we had to admit him straight away. In hindsight, I probably should’ve let you know so we could reschedule.’ Timing was everything with these cases and cancer didn’t take a night off simply because Rob had a beautiful woman waiting for him.