The Doctor's Secret Bride (1) by Ana E. Ross Page A

he didn’t have one.  There was no denying it anymore.  He had Bridget .
    Michelle got to her feet and studied the grin on his face as he leaned against the sink with the receiver clipped to his ear.   She wished there was another way into the house without going past him, but since the other entrances were locked, she took a deep breath, walked briskly through the sliding doors, and tried to make a dash from the kitchen.
    “Hold on a minute, Bridge,” he said as she reached the island.  “Michelle.”
    Michelle grabbed the cool marble and turned her head.  His hand was over the mouthpiece.  She stared at him, forcing a stiff smile.  The last thing she wanted was for him to know she was jealous of some other female.  “I’m tired.  I’m going to bed, Erik,” she said calmly.
    “I said I wouldn’t be long.”  He came over to her.
    “You shouldn’t keep Bridget waiting.”
    His eyebrows puckered.  “She’s just a friend.  A colleague.  We work together.”
    Now why did he think he had to explain himself? Erik wondered, as he gazed into Michelle’s tantalizing black eyes.  He was getting to know her a minute ago.  He’d heard the ache hanging on the edge of her voice when she’d talked about her mother.  He’d welcomed the sweet scent of Moonlight rising from her body.
    As he’d sat quietly with her in the dark, he’d been thinking about that first night and the kiss they’d shared, and her hard nipples poking from beneath her wet T-shirt when she’d come down to get him earlier.  He’d fought the urge to take her into his arms, kiss her again and again, feel her melt into him, tremble at his touch, moan with want for him.
    After tucking Precious in, he’d gone back to his study, hoping to squelch his desires in the journal he’d been reading earlier.  But after reading the same paragraph several times and having no idea what it said, he’d given up.  He’d gone to the kitchen for a glass of water when he spotted her on the patio through the sliders.  She looked lost in her own world, just sitting there staring into the dark night.  His head had told him he should just leave her be and not play with fire.  But his heart wanted to be close to her.
    He’d been on the very verge of insanity when he’d joined her.  That’s why he’d brought up the subject of her mother.  He needed something far removed from the carnal need rampaging inside him.  And now, here he was explaining a simple phone call.
    “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Erik.  I’m just the babysitter.  She walked stoically into the dining room.
    Erik stared at her until she disappeared from sight.  He didn’t even know what the heck was going on in his house.
    It was just one big bag of confusion.  Maybe he should just bed the girl and get it over with.  They were two consenting adults who wanted each other.  That was as plain as daybreak.  So why were they pussyfooting around the inevitable?
    “Erik.  Erik.  Are you still there?”
    He removed his hand from the mouthpiece. “Yes, Bridget.  I’m still here.”
    “Goodness, I thought I lost you for a moment.”
    You did .
    “As I was saying, have you given any more thought to my suggestion about the upcoming gala in Boston?”
    “You mean the one where you want to be my date?”
    She laughed.  “Yes, that one.  We’re both unattached, so I don’t see why we can’t go as a couple.  We can spend the night.”
    Erik ruffled his lips, ruefully.  Now here was a woman in his own league and social class openly offering herself to him on a silver platter.  One night of sex with Bridget would probably take care of his need—no strings attached, at least for him.
    But he knew it wouldn’t be enough.  Sex for him was something special, only to be shared between two people who really cared about each other.  He knew Bridget was in love with him, but he didn’t think about her in that way.  It would be wrong to toy with her