Time for Change (12 page)

So fucking
stupid.

If he could kick his own ass he would. The only thing he could do was curse
his stupidity.
 

She’d try to get as far away from the hospital as possible. Picking a
direction, he headed in it. When he was far enough away, he stumbled onto a
bar. Going through the door, he shook the rain from his hair. Rachel was the
first woman to make him walk in the rain to get to.

He saw her immediately. She was wearing the tight pencil skirt and white
buttoned blouse he’d pulled out for her that morning.

Every now and again the barman would approach her. The smile on the
man’s face made Chris angry. Without thinking he walked to her side.

Rachel turned to look at him. When she saw him, her smile disappeared.

“David, this is my man, Chris. Chris, this is my new boss, David.”

She made the introductions slowly.

“How much has she had to drink?” he asked.

“Not enough.” Rachel spoke up before David could get a word in.

“I haven’t given her a lot. She’s nursing her second brandy if that. The
tequila is looking a little lost.”

“I’ll take a black coffee,” Chris said. He’d be the one driving them
home.

David nodded and left them alone. Sitting beside Rachel, he gave her all
of his attention. She looked ahead, not giving him even a glance.

“You’re not going to say anything?” he asked.

“I take it you got my letter.”

“Yeah.”

She glanced at him then. “You’re not going to get angry? Shout and curse
at how I should have talked to you? Well, before you jump at me and start
getting angry, I tried to talk to you. You wouldn’t listen, or you were too
busy to listen.”

“You can’t work for me or won’t?” Chris accepted the coffee and blanked
David.

“Both. I don’t know a thing about medicine, and you need someone who
does. Also, working around the women you fucked is not my idea of a good working
environment. I mean, they’re looking at me clearly wondering what you’re doing
with your life.”

He tried to interrupt, but she pressed a finger to his lips, finally
turning those brown eyes onto him. Chris looked ahead of him, seeing the mirror
reflecting them. The image reminded him of the many times he’d watched her
fucking him. There was a whole new side to Rachel, one that had him begging for
him to be inside her.

“No, I’m the one talking. You can order me around all you want, but I
can’t be in every part of your life. I thought I could.”

“Here is not the place to have this conversation.” He gripped her hand
tightly, staring into her eyes.

“It’s the best place to have this conversation. At home you’ll get me
naked, and I can’t think when you’re doing things to my body.”

“That’s the idea.” She glared at him.
“Okay, bad
idea.”

“David offered me a job, and I accepted.”

Looking toward the barman, Chris bit his lip trying to keep his thoughts
to himself. He couldn’t guarantee David’s feelings for his woman.

Great, now I’m a
jealous boyfriend.

Rachel giggled. “You look like you’re going to explode. Are you jealous
of a man I’ve just met?”

“You’re a beautiful woman.”

“So, you’re a sexy man, and I’ve just had to work with women who know
what you’re like in bed.” Her smile disappeared, and she sobered before his
eyes. “You know what? I don’t want to be here any longer. Can we go home?”

“Sure.”

He pulled out some notes and caught sight of the glass of tequila. Claire
always drank tequila. He and Rachel needed to have a new life together, or he
needed to change some part of their life.

Chapter Ten

Rachel was silent on the walk back to the hospital parking lot. Chris
tried to touch her, but she couldn’t remain strong with his arms wrapped around
her or touching her any way. She wasn’t strong enough to give him what he
wanted.

They passed several people on the way to the car. She kept her gaze on
the ground, wishing it would open her up and eat her.

Real mature,
Rachel.
Going and getting drunk for him to
come
pick you up like a father rather than a boyfriend.

There was nothing daughterly about her feelings for him. The last thing
she thought about when it came to Chris was as a brother or father. He’d always
been Chris or her friend. Even when Claire had been alive, he’d been her
friend, not brother-in-law.

He opened the passenger door, and she slid inside. When he sat behind
the wheel, she wanted to say something to him. Nothing came out. Sitting back,
she stared out of the window, wishing for the time to pass and for her to be
home.

Pulling into the parking lot where he lived, Rachel felt sick to her
stomach. The distance was so short. All she could think about was the women
he’d brought back from the hospital. She’d witnessed several of them.

Her biggest mistake was agreeing to move in with him.

They travelled up to the top floor together. She stared at him in the
reflection of the metal. Why couldn’t she hate him?

Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths. When the elevator stopped,
she was more than ready to get off.

Going to the door, she waited for Chris to let them inside. Once inside,
she stared at all the furniture thinking about Tammy. Spinning on her heel, she
raised her hand and slapped him around the face, hard.

He didn’t fight or defend himself. She knew he could. Instead of hitting
him again, she shoved him in the chest, hard.

When he made no move to defend himself, she stormed away, kicking off
her heels.

Before she made it too far away, Chris caught her hand, tugging her
close. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to support him.

“I hate you,” she said. Her words were childish and immature. The last
thing she felt for Chris was hatred.

“No, you don’t.” He sank fingers into her hair. “Let it all out, baby.”

Sinking her fingers into his hair, she pulled with the intent to hurt.
His eyes darkened. Chris wasn’t in pain. He was finding pleasure in her
response.

“You’re a first class bastard. You made me work in a place where you’re
the known fucking gigolo, and then you come to the bar where I was having a
drink and go all jealous on me?” She stared into his eyes, loving and hating
him at the same time.

She pulled out of his arms, releasing his hair. Rachel felt the heat
between her thighs. She hated her response to him.

Spinning around she headed into the bedroom seeing the bed. Stopping,
she turned to see Chris removing his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Rachel asked.

“I’m getting naked. We’re about to fight, and then we’re going to make
up.”

“You brought women here and you expect me to fuck you?”

“You’ve not had a problem before.”

His words hit her hard. Folding her arms over her chest, she sat down on
the edge of the bed. Chris cursed, sitting next to her. He reached out to put
his arms around her. She moved away.

“I don’t want you to touch me.”

She removed the clips binding up her hair.

“Why are you so worried about the women I’ve been with, Rachel?”

Rachel leaned her head forward, closing her eyes to try to find her own
peace. Her emotions were all over the place.

“I don’t care about the women you’ve been with. What I care about is
being reminded of it every day. You’re not dealing with my exes or them talking
about how good or bad I was in bed.”

She wrapped her arms around her chest, needing to talk to him about
everything that happened. “I know you want me close to you at work. It’s not
going to happen. I’m not putting myself through the pain of knowing they’ve
been with you again.”

“Okay,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Chris, but I can’t be with you in the apartment.” She stared
around at the impersonal space. The afternoon she’d spent without him had given
her some perspective of the life she’d been living. “I didn’t want to cause
problems. I understand if you want to kick me out. I’ll find some place to
stay.”

There was movement beside her, and suddenly the curtain her hair made
disappeared as Chris pushed the hair off her face. She stared down into his
dark gaze. Rachel never knew someone could have eyes that dark. His body was
hard muscles and smooth skin. She wanted to reach out and touch him
desperately. Instead, she stared down at him.

“We’ll find a new place. This apartment means nothing to me, Rachel. It
never did.” He cupped her cheek. “We’ll move to a new city, and I’ll find a new
job. People are always looking for a doctor to work in the ER. I don’t need the
money. It will be perfect for both of us. I promise.”

She felt her heart beating rapidly.

“What about me working for you?”

“We won’t work together. Those women, Rachel, they meant nothing. I
didn’t know they were capable of being bitches.” He chuckled. “I’m so fucking
stupid at times.”

She shrugged. “Forgive me if I don’t find humor in the situation.”

Chris gripped her hands and tugged. “Come on, we’ve got something else
to do.”

He picked her up in his arms, startling her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you to the one room I’ve not been with anyone.” He carried
her through to her old bedroom. “This was your room, and I’d never bring anyone
here.”

She knew she shouldn’t be, but Rachel was touched.

“I love you, Rachel. I’ll do everything I can to keep you. You want me
to go looking for a new
place,
we’ll go looking for a
new place.” He started to remove her clothing.

“Why are you not arguing with me?” Rachel asked, feeling the heat work
its way through her body. Her nipples tightened as his hands skimmed over her
body.

“I’m not arguing because you’re right. You know you’re right, and I know
you’re right. There’s no point arguing when I know I’ll lose.” He removed her
bra, leaning down and taking one breast into his mouth. She moaned, gripping
his head.

She couldn’t stay mad at him. Rachel loved him with her whole heart. Dwelling
on the hurt was not what she was about. After losing so many people in her
life, she didn’t want to think about the pain or the bitterness.

“We’ll get someone to find us a house, and I’ll quit at the hospital.
There’s another one across the city that will take me.”

“Can I still take my job at the bar?” she asked.

“The commute could be a bitch.”

“Not if we don’t move too far. We could live somewhere between there and
the other hospital,” she said, getting her hopes up.

Chris chuckled. “Okay, it’s a done deal for you, right?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” She pushed his shirt all the way down, stroking a
hand down his tanned flesh. “We’re in this together, and you still want me,
right?”

He cupped the back of her neck, brought her close and slammed his lips
down on hers.

“Never doubt my feelings for you, baby. I want you badly,” he said,
whispering them against her lips. She moaned, wrapping her arms around his
neck.

“You know how to stop me from speaking.”

“Count on it.” He released her neck to caress down her back and land on
her ass. “God, I love your ass.”

Chris ran his hands all over the curves, moaning as he did.

She whimpered when he tightened hard, making the pleasure and pain crash
together. Her nerves were all over the place.

Slowly, she heard and felt the zipper being tugged down. The skirt fell
to the floor, pooling at her feet. She stepped out of it, and Chris tore the
panties from her body, exposing her to him.

He palmed her naked pussy, slipping a finger through her slit.

“I love how fucking responsive you are.”

She tore herself out of his grip, going to her knees in front of him.
Looking up at him, she smiled and reached for the zipper of his trousers.

“So fucking tempting.”

“For a doctor you’ve got really bad language.”

“You’re not my patient. I don’t care how I talk.”

Rachel pulled out the long length of his shaft, loving the way he
cursed.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Fingers wound their way into her hair. She whimpered as he tugged on the
strands.

“Suck it, baby.”

She had every intention of sucking him. Now she was going to tease him
before giving him what he wanted.

****

Her mouth was sheer heaven. Chris gritted his teeth trying to keep hold
of the small sanity he had left. Rachel was a goddess and he merely her subject
as she took him into her mouth.