Hardball (12 page)

She finished the last quarter inch of wine in her glass. Nate leaned across and instantly refilled it. He gave her a wink, and Holly couldn’t hold down a blush.

Fortunately, Maddie didn’t notice because she was staring longingly at Holly’s wine glass. Holly sympathized. The poor woman probably hadn’t had a drink in months. Their gazes met, and Maddie gave a sheepish laugh.

“Yes, I’m that shallow. I’m thrilled that we’re having a baby, but I can’t wait to get this basketball out of me,” she said. “Anyway, tell me how you met Nate. At the hospital, I presume?”

“Yes, last week.” Holly glanced at Nate over Maddie’s shoulder. He’d turned his back to her after filling her glass, and was now talking to Jake and Martha. His broad, strong shoulders tapered down to a waist that she could only describe as trim for a man of his height. The muscles of his right arm bulged against the fabric of his suit as he rested his elbow on the table.

From their animated conversation, Holly could see they were a trio of best friends. Just watching them together gave her a warm but wistful feeling. She’d always been too absorbed in her work to build and nurture lasting friendships. Rebecca was her closest pal but she only saw her sporadically, and most of Holly’s other university and med school relationships had faded away.

She brought herself back to the conversation. “Nate was there visiting patients. It was just one of those chance meetings.”

“I want to hear more about that, Holly,” Maddie said. “But I’m going to have to excuse myself for a few minutes first. I’m afraid nature’s calling, yet again. One of the joys of late stage pregnancy.” She started to push herself up. “But don’t you dare go away.”

Holly stood. “Wait, Maddie. Let me go with you and help.” The pregnant woman gave her a grateful smile as Holly hauled her up. Jake and Nate both jumped up, too, but she waved them back to their chairs.

She led a waddling Maddie through the maze of tables and out through the main doors of the banquet room. The restrooms were just a few yards down the corridor. As soon as they got inside, Maddie shooed her away and went into a stall.

Holly pulled her gloss out of her bag and freshened up her lips. She forced herself to take extra care since her vision seemed a little less than perfect and her hands were nowhere near surgical-steady. The combination of the before-dinner bourbon and two and a half glasses of white wine had probably put her over the legal limit. She rarely over-indulged, but tonight she’d needed to relax and forget about her gruesome day. And calm her edginess over Nate.

When Maddie emerged, they made easy conversation about babies while Maddie freshened up. Then, the other woman turned around, leaned her butt up against the counter, and fixed Holly with a determined gaze. “Holly, how much do you really know about Nate?”

Holly blinked and almost shook her fuzzy head. Had she missed a transition in the conversation?

“Not very much, I suppose,” she said, wishing now that she hadn’t had that last glass of wine. “Though I did a little research after he asked me to this banquet. Ah, and a friend of mine offered me a little…insight, too.”

Maddie arched a brow. “Insight?”

Oh, crap
. “Well, all right, she talked about his reputation with women,” she said with an apologetic smile. She so did not want to talk about Nate’s sexual proclivities with one of his best friends.

Maddie snorted. “I’m not surprised. That’s exactly why I decided to bring this subject up with you.

Holly’s neck muscles went into lockdown.
Please don’t let this be anything bad.

“If even half the stuff the tabloids and papers make up about Nate’s love life were true,” Maddie continued, “he’d have probably died of sheer exhaustion years ago.” She wrinkled her nose as if to communicate her distaste before going on. “Just don’t believe everything you read about him, that’s all I’m saying. He’s a really good man, Holly.”

Holly finally let herself breathe out. “The press loves to make stuff up about celebrities. I’m not worried about that.” Well, not
exactly
true, but better to keep those misgivings to herself.

“Good. I hardly know you yet, Holly, but I can already tell you’re a fine person. And I can see by the way Nate’s been locked onto you all evening that if he has anything to say about it, this isn’t going to be a one date thing.”

A ripple of excitement pulsed through her. “I hope not,” she said.

Maddie opened her mouth but before she could get out another word, Martha burst into the restroom.

“Ha! I was right! I thought you two might be having a secret girl meeting in here. Hon, is Maddie telling you a pack of lies about Nate?

Holly laughed. “On the contrary. She’s been giving me some useful information.”

“Is that a fact? Well,
I’ve
got some information for you, too.” Martha shook out her honey-blond hair as she pulled a compact from her glittery evening bag. “I believe I know Nate Carter better than any living soul other than his mama and daddy, and I can tell you that the man is totally hot for you. Whew,” she said, pretending to fan herself, “I could feel all that glorious man-heat way across the other side of the table!”

Holly started to laugh, partly out of amusement, but mostly out of embarrassment. “You make me laugh, Martha,” she said. “But you’re exaggerating big-time.”

Martha shook her head sternly. “You can bet that sweet tush of yours I’m not exaggerating one tiny bit. Look, honey, trust me on this. Our boy Nate has been smitten, hasn’t he, Maddie?”

Maddie had been chuckling all the way through Martha’s performance, but she pulled herself together. “We know him pretty well, Holly. Martha’s right, though I don’t think Nate knows quite what to do with you yet.”

Holly suddenly felt overwhelmed. Maddie and Martha were very kind in trying to smooth the way for her, and she didn’t doubt they knew Nate Carter a whole lot better than she did. But this was not a conversation she wanted to have, not until she had a better handle on her own complicated reaction to the man.

“You ladies are so sweet, but you’re making me blush,” she said, taking a step toward the door. “I think we’d better rejoin the gentlemen or they’ll think we’re hatching some kind of plot.”

Martha gave her a conspiratorial wink. “Well, hell, that’s exactly what we’re doing, hon. And nothing works better to whet a man’s appetite than to keep him waiting while we do it.”

Nate had enjoyed watching Holly charm the rest of the table with her intelligence and her sweet, slightly retiring manner. He gave himself a pat on the back for having the brains to ask her out tonight, and silently thanked Martha for putting the idea in his head.

But right now he couldn’t wait for the damn speeches and trophy presentations to end. Even at the best of times he found it hard to sit still for so long, but tonight he felt ready to crawl out of his skin. His body hummed with energy, and an overwhelming desire to get Holly Bell alone.

Alone anywhere—as long as he had her all to himself.

Earlier in the evening, she’d spent most of her time talking to Dr. Fredericks. Although Nate had expected that, he didn’t have to like it. But since coming back from the rest room, she’d focused almost completely on him, laughing at all his jokes and asking questions about baseball. She looked and acted more confident, too. It made him wonder what had gone on in that long trip to the bathroom with the scheming duo of Maddie Leclair Miller and Martha Winston.

Finally, Holly glanced at him, signaling her readiness to leave. As they got up, she wobbled just enough to let him know she could use an arm to steady her. When he slid his arm around her waist as they said their goodbyes, she leaned into him slightly and Nate’s hormones kicked into overdrive.

He kept his arm firmly around her as they strolled down a flagstone path to the parking lot. “Have a good time tonight?” he said softly.

“I sure did,” she murmured. “Your friends are great. I especially liked Maddie and Martha.”

Nate was not interested in talking about his well-meaning but sometimes annoying friends. He wanted Holly’s attention fully on him. “I usually find these banquets boring, but not tonight. It’s obviously because I spent the evening with the most beautiful and interesting woman in the place.”

She hesitated a second longer than he liked. “You’re sweet to say that, but I think that must be the wine talking. And, speaking of wine, I could kick myself for drinking as much as I did. I had a grand plan you know,” she said with a sleepy, sexy smile.

Oh, he had some grand plans too, and he was about to set them in motion. “Hold that thought.”

He opened the passenger door of the DB9 and handed an almost boneless Holly into the seat. After he went around and slid into his own seat, he turned to face her.

“Okay, the grand plan. I’m almost afraid to ask,” he said, deadpan.

The smile shaping her full, sensual mouth drove him crazy with lust.

With a lazy gesture, Holly made a half-hearted attempt to smooth her dress down, leaving most of her silky thighs exposed. Nate clenched his jaw hard against the rush of blood to his groin. He totally forgot what they were talking about.

Oh, right.
Her grand plan.

“I was going to ask if I could drive this sweetheart home,” she said. “But that was before you plied me with all that wine.” Her eyelids fluttered shut. “Not to mention bourbon. One would almost think you had an ulterior motive.”

Holding back a grin, Nate decided to yank her chain a bit. “Hell, I wouldn’t care if you were stone cold sober,” he said in a growly voice. “Nobody drives my baby. And sure as hell not on a first date.”

Her eyes opened wider. “So this was a date, after all?”

“What did you think it was?”

She stared at him, looking almost embarrassed, before she lifted one slender hand to rest just below her neck. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I wondered if you were just being nice to a newcomer.”

The doctor was full of surprises. Didn’t she get how attracted he’d been to her from the first moment? He’d always been direct with women, and hadn’t disguised his interest. How could she not see it?

“What do I look like, lady? The welcome wagon?” he joked, wanting to ease her shyness.

Holly laughed as she aimed a little punch at his shoulder. “Okay, I get it. Anyway, I’d still like to drive this car. Someday, if you’ll let me.”

Nate gave her a wink. “Like Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day.”

“I’m taking that as a promise, Nate Carter,” she said in a schoolmarm tone of voice. But then she relaxed back into the seat and, as she stretched her long legs, her dress rose even higher, revealing a couple more inches of creamy thigh.

That’s all it took for Nate’s erection to push aggressively against the fabric of his pants. He clenched his hand into a fist to stop from reaching over the center console to stroke her silk-clad flesh.

As if reading his thoughts, Holly laid her hand on top of his. Nate gazed at her, searching her eyes for confirmation of what he thought she was saying.

“It’s okay,” she breathed. Her eyes were sensual and heavy, the lids almost closing.

Nate pulled her to him, unable to keep his hands off her gorgeous body a second longer. Holly sighed as his lips found hers, and eased open her soft mouth to his probing tongue. He knew he should be tender and gentle, but he wanted her as much as he’d ever wanted any woman. He devoured her mouth, and his arms pulled her flush against him as he leaned over the console. With a whimpering little moan that shot his lust sky high, she snuggled into him, sifting his hair through her fingers.

With a harsh breath, Nate drew back a few inches and gazed into her eyes. There was no mistaking the message in their smoky, hazel depths. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He came back down on her like a rocket, devouring her mouth again as he lost all sense of his surroundings. The fire in their kiss seemed to consume the oxygen, taking his breath with it. He knew only her lips, the hot cavern of her mouth, the sweet, welcoming taste of her. But he needed more. He needed her body. So, he slid one hand up to cup a full, soft breast as his other hand inched across her lap to an exposed thigh.

A mechanical roar from behind drove them apart. Nate jerked back into his seat as headlights bathed them in a wash of halogen light. Part of him cursed the interruption, but the rest of him realized the parking lot was no place to be fooling around. Especially not with a woman as classy as Doctor Holly Bell.

Holly let out a nervous laugh as she smoothed her dress down then ruffled out her hair. “God, that was embarrassing. I think I gave up about five years of life with that one.”

Nate buckled his seat belt and pressed the crystal starter knob on the dash. “Scared the hell out of me, too. Whoever it was must have been damn quiet getting into the car. I didn’t hear a thing before the engine roared.”

“We were a little preoccupied.” Holly said in a muffled voice. Thank God she sounded amused. He sure as hell had no intention of offending her by making out like a horny teenager in the parking lot.

“A little.” Nate grinned as he slammed the car into gear. “I couldn’t see who was in that SUV. But I sure as hell hope it wasn’t Dr. Fredericks and his wife.”

Holly shook her head. “They left the club before we did. I’m positive of that.”

Nate gave her a contrite look as he eased the car through the nearly-empty parking lot. “Listen, Holly, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost—”

She held up a hand. “Don’t apologize. I’ve wanted you to kiss me for hours.”

* * *

Holly thought her brain might melt into a puddle of idiot goo under the force of Nate’s sensual onslaught, and wouldn’t
that
be humiliating. Not that he seemed to mind or even notice. Witty conversation didn’t seem foremost on his to-do list at the moment.

As soon as they were on the expressway, snaking down the twisty road at a relatively sedate speed—sedate for Nate, anyway—he reached across and gently pushed up her dress and stroked the inside of her thigh. It shocked her for about a second, and she gasped softly at the first contact of his confident hand along the silk of her stockings. He glanced at her, a question in his eyes.