The Doctor's Choice (21 page)

Mister Ryan came very well equipped.

Cami cried out as Breck delivered stroke after stroke deep within her. He caressed her with his hands and lips as his body invaded, plundered, captured hers.

Running h
er tongue along his damp shoulder, she tasted his salt. She grazed his skin with her short nails, with her teeth. Her senses heightened as every stroke brought her closer to a spiraling summit.

They had become one passion-drive
n being, intent upon pleasuring themselves and each other.

She recalled standing on the edge of the canyon and the fear as she faced the sheer drop off. Now she soar
ed as a wave of passion spiraled through her and she rode it to the screaming end. Cami realized it was her own scream as their pleasure crested and eased, leaving her spent.

Breck held her, pinned beneath his body and his gaze. His passion spent, he kissed her gently and rolled onto his back, carrying Cami with him.

She collapsed against him, breathless. “That was astounding.”

He wrapped both arms around her and pressed his lips against her temple. “Astounding, huh?” He shot her a dark look.

She nodded. “What’s wrong, Breck? You look upset.”

“This wasn’t just sex for me, Cami
. I have strong feelings for you. Right now, I want to be telling you how much I love you, but I’m afraid.”

She
gazed down at him. “What could you possibly afraid of?”

“I don’t want to hear you reject me. I don’t want to see the
mistrust in your eyes. I’m tired of being treated like I have some kind of ulterior motive.” With both hands on her face, he drew her toward him and kissed her mouth. His lips stirred feathers of emotion in her chest.

When she pulled away, his expression made her breath catch in her throat.

His dark brows drew together in a frown. “You should just accept it, Cami. I’m in love with you.”

She
heard the pain in his voice and saw it register on his face. She cleared her throat. “I hear what you’re saying, Breck. I don’t believe that you have ulterior motives.”

“Then what’s standing between us?”

She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It’s me. I don’t know what I feel. I’m barely out of one relationship and now I’m in bed with you. This isn’t like me.”

He brushed her hair back from her face.
“I wouldn’t feel this way about you if it was.”

Cami gave him a long look. “I don’t regret it
…this thing that happened between us. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Breck
frowned again. “This thing that happened between us didn’t just happen. There’s been an electric current running between us since the day we met. You can’t deny that.”

“No, you’re right, but
…”

He glared at her. “What?”

“I know the attraction between us has been growing. I don’t know what happened last night that we woke up half naked, but I’m not unhappy about it. Just give me a chance to be comfortable with this…this…”

“Relationship? Is that too much commitment for you? Can you admit that we have a relationship, Cami?”

She grinned and nodded, suddenly shy. “Yeah, so what are we doing? Going steady?”

He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her. “Absolutely.”

#

He took her to lunch at Tiny’s Diner.
He felt the gamut of curious stares from the church crowd and hoped that Cami was taking it in stride.

“Missed you in church, Breckenridge,” Miss
Cora Lee Ferguson said. “Are you feeling well?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said. “I, uh, I overslept.”

A series of little tongue clicks from Alma Jo Tooley followed. “Well, try to set your alarm next week.”

“I feel like the Scarlet Woman,” Cami
whispered as he herded her into a booth.

Breck
helped her take off her jacket, allowing his fingers to caress the warm skin on her neck. He nudged her over and slid onto the seat beside her, his thigh pressed against hers. “I’m good with it. I’d be willing to take out a newspaper ad. ‘I finally got to love the woman I love’.”

A
blush crept up her neck. “Shhh. Don’t talk so loud.”

“Easy now. Take a deep breath.”
Breck slipped his arm around her and brushed a kiss against her temple.

Crystal plopped menus on the table. “Special today is the meatloaf with tomato gravy
with mashed potatoes and green beans on the side.”

“That’s for me.” Breck slid the menu back to her and turned his attention to Cami.

“Me too.”

“See how easy that was. Nobody’s staring at us. We’re old news already.” He grinned at her, trying to put her at ease.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, and examined him carefully. “You sure are full of yourself. Is this the way you behave with all your conquests?”

The look in her eyes stirred something deep inside him. “Yo
u still haven’t figured it out, have you? It’s not about getting into your panties. It’s about getting through your defenses. I feel like you’ve had me crawling on my belly under barbed wire since I met you.”

“And now?”

“And now, I’m getting closer to you…and getting into your panties.”

She laughed. A real, shoulder shaking, dimple
-making laugh. The wariness and mistrust was gone and she looked happy.

A warm feeling spread through his chest.
He loved the way she laughed. Last night he’d breached some invisible barrier when he’d gone to her house with steak and wine. Maybe it was persistence. Maybe she was especially vulnerable, being exhausted and having disposed of a fiancé. Whatever the cause, he couldn’t regret it when he’d gotten to hold her all night and wake up to a morning of passion.

“Good afternoon, Breck.” Celeste Pigeon came to stand beside the booth. She
apparently hadn’t noticed Cami crammed in the corner prior to her approach. Her face went from soft and pleasant to looking like she’d just sucked a lemon. “Oh, I didn’t know you were with someone.”

Cami gazed at her coolly.

“No, come on and join us.” Breck gestured to the seat opposite them. “There’s plenty of room.”

Celeste’s gaze flicked over Breck’s arm, still draped around Cami’s shoulder. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Don’t be silly. Sit down.” He watched as she reluctantly slid onto the opposite seat.

Crystal rushed over with a
menu and took Celeste’s order. “Don’t you two look happy?” Her mouth went tight.

“I’m happy,” Breck said. “I asked Cami to marry me and
” He glanced at Cami with a wink. “She’s thinking about it.”

He couldn’t decide which woman looked the most surprised. He gave Cami a little squeeze and she giggle
d.

Celeste turned a deep crimson and seemed to be having trouble breathing because her chest was heaving and she blinked her eyes rapidly.
“Well…Well, that’s sudden, isn’t it?”

He
gave Celeste a long look across the table. “It was love at first sight on my part. I had to wait a while for Cami to catch up.”

At that moment, Crystal brought the mea
tloaf plates and slid them on the table.

“Crystal,
you can cancel my order,” Celeste said. “I’ve suddenly got a splitting headache.” She gathered her things and rushed out of the restaurant.

“You are a terrible man,” Cami whispered.”

“No, I am not,” he said. “In case you had any lingering doubts as to whether I was carrying on with Celeste Pigeon, I wanted to set your mind at ease.”

She
made a noise in the back of her throat. “With a sledgehammer?”

“Y’all need some ketchup?” Crystal asked.

They shook their heads in unison.

“Is there anyone else you were worried about?” he asked.

Cami reached for her fork. “Not anymore.”

#

After their meal, Cami and Breck returned to Moonshadows. She watched as he hitched a horse trailer onto the back of his truck and loaded Red inside.

He’d suggested showing her the Ryan ranch from horseback and she’d agreed, anxious to ride Red again and glad he was willing to accompany her
, given his trepidation about her ability to ride the big horse.

She glanced at his face again. It had been wreathed in smiles since she’d awakened in his arms.
She’d been grinning as well. This thing that had transpired between them seemed to have made them both happy. A relationship, he said.

She took a deep breath and tried to put it into perspective. They’d had sex.
Big deal. People do it all the time.

Then she took another breath.
But those people aren’t me.

It
had been the best sex ever and from the way Breck acted it must have been pretty good for him, too. He’d said it wasn’t about getting into her panties, but past her defenses.

Yeah, she’d been pretty defensive since this big cowboy had
been coming at her, head on from the start. She was used to less…less…
Damn!
She was used to less. She wasn’t used to having a man pour his feelings out on her in such a lavish manner.

He
reached across the width of the truck to squeeze her thigh and give her a smile. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“I’m just thinking,” she said. “About everything that’s changed in the last twenty-four hours.”

He nodded. “Still okay about what happened between us?”

“It would be hard not to be
okay with you grinning like a Cheshire cat over there. Have you never heard of the word subtlety?”

“Sounds too in the closet for me. I’ve got nothing to hide. Have you?”
He gave her a wink.

“I guess not.”

He pulled up in front of a sprawling ranch house built of native stone. “Come inside to meet my dad and then we can go for a ride.”

He opened her door and when she leaned down into
his arms he pressed her close.

When he held her, Cami felt a thrill.
He posed a major threat to her ability to keep her clothes on and a defense against any other male getting too close. Breck had staked his claim.

His innate jealousy had been amusing when she was less involved. Now, she realized that he considered their coupling a serious commitment and would be crushed if
she chose to return to Houston.

She sighed as he swung her around and set her feet on the ground. It was a commitment. She’d made her choice. It hadn’t been a choice between Clay and Breck. It was choosing between Breck and all of her dreams of a career in research.

“Hey, what’s that look about?” he asked. “You’re not having regrets, are you?”

She gazed up into his eyes and gave him a smile. “No, I’m not.”

“I hope not, because I’m not into one night stands.”

“Morning. It was morning.”

He grinned and dropped a kiss on her nose. “I plan to pleasure you again tonight.”

“Un
h huh. I’ll see what I can do to make it interesting for you. I don’t want you to think I’m easy.”

“No chance of that
.” He pointed the way to the front door.

Once inside, the entry led into a cavernous great room with a huge rock fireplace at one end. A set of French doors on the opposite wall opened out onto a patio with a magnificent west facing view of the
distant mountain range.

A tall man resting in a recliner struggled to his feet. Breck brought
her to meet him. “Cami Carmichael, this is my father, Zachery Ryan. Dad, this is the girl I’m going to marry.”

She
turned a surprised face to him.

“If she’ll ever say yes.”

His face wreathed in smiles, Zachery Ryan’s large hand enfolded hers . “Glad to meet you, young lady. What are your intentions toward my only son. Are you toying with his affections?”

Cami blushed. “I see how it is. An ambush.”

Zachery turned his gaze to Breck. “He’s a pretty good man. You could do worse.”

She
felt her color rising. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Both men stood grinning at her.

“Sit down, Cami,” Zachery invited. “Get the girl something to drink, son.”

Breck disappeared and could be heard opening the refrigerator and clink
ing ice cubes into glassware.

“My son tells me that you’re a doctor?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m in Internal Medicine.”

“I also heard you were taking over Doc
Parker’s practice.”

“I’m not sure about that,” she said. “I’m just helping while he’s
out of commission.”

Breck handed
her a glass of tea and gave one to his father. He sat beside her and slid a protective arm across the back of the sofa.