Working on a Full House (20 page)

"How do you do?" Peter replied. His handshake was very firm. Warningly so.

In response, Roy moved his arm from Valerie's shoulder to her waist. He pulled her so she was hip to hip with him. Then he smiled at Peter.

Valerie was his now.

Roy was going to make sure
Peter
knew it. "Say," he said, and made a face of I-just-remembered. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"Oh." Peter looked gratifyingly off-balance, "Uh, that's right. Thanks."

So, he definitely
was
the ex-boyfriend, recently engaged. Meanwhile Roy could feel Valerie gently trying to pull away from him. His response was to tighten his hold, his fingers sinking pleasantly into the flesh at her waist.

"You set a date yet?" Roy asked.

"Not yet." Peter's gaze flicked toward Roy's hand on Valerie's waist. "You know how it is. Trying to work out schedules and all. We'd like to have time to go somewhere nice for our honeymoon."

"Honeymoon," Roy repeated. He turned to Valerie. "We haven't thought of that yet, have we, hon?"

Valerie shot him a look that could have fried a hot dog. Not a good actress, Roy reminded himself. So he laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead, joking like, but sending the message. They were
so
together.

When he turned back to face Peter, he found the other man eyeing him speculatively.

Forget it, bum
. Y
ou had your chance and you blew it. She's mine now. All mine
. Indeed, Roy could feel Valerie, soft and delicate, pressed close against his side. His fingers itched to play where he clutched her.

Soon
,
Roy promised himself.
Very soon
.

"I, uh — Roy, you were just on your way out, weren't you?" Valerie's voice was bright, but her smile brittle as she turned to gaze at Roy. "Let me walk you to your car."

She wanted to get rid of him. Roy registered that, but it didn't bother him. He'd already accomplished far more than he'd dreamed. The ex-boyfriend was on his way to becoming true old history.

"Sure, hon." Roy slid his hand a few inches up from her waist, toward more interesting territory. "Why don't you walk me to my car?" The smile he then sent Peter let the guy know it was going to be an awfully nice walk to the car.

Valerie hissed something under her breath and managed to slip out from Roy's waist-hold. He caught her hand, though, so that they walked that way, like a real couple, all the way down the hall.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"No, no, I didn't want Jackson, I wanted the Carruthers chart." Peter was using his shit-kicking voice, Cherise decided as they stood facing each other in the hall.

"I gave you the Carruthers chart," she explained, careful to appear calm. "Look at what you're holding."

Scowling, Peter looked down. She saw the information register on his face — he was holding Carruthers — but she didn't get the apology that ought to have followed. "Good," he barked. "Fine."

Cherise only barely stopped herself from snapping back. She wasn't in a much better mood than Peter. The world had just turned on its axis. The man she'd been cordially despising for the past twenty hours was not, after all, Mr. Yummy.

Fifteen minutes ago, Cherise had met the actual Mr. Yummy. From her position in the file library where she'd been able to gaze across the reception counter, Cherise wondered how she could have forgotten Valerie's description of her paramour as dark and tough, rather than fair and happy-go-lucky. Beyond that, the man who'd stood across the counter had been decidedly possessive. He'd asked for Dr. Valerie Kendrick as if set and determined to get her.

In the hall now, Cherise restrained a worried sigh. "Would you like the Jackson chart, too?" she asked Peter.

"No, no." Peter struggled to regain his composure. He even managed a smile. "Carruthers was what I needed. Thank you."

Cherise watched him turn away. For many reasons, she wished she hadn't been wrong about Mr. Yummy's true identity. For one thing, Valerie's Mr. Yummy was even more impossible for her than Cherise had originally thought. What was Valerie thinking? For another, she now had to see the blond fellow from Norman's Art Supply in a whole, new light.

Kenny Doubletree may have been obnoxious and impudent, but he was not, as far as Cherise knew, a two-timing scumbag. There was no good reason to despise him. The brakes Cherise had been counting on had suddenly gone out on her.

Not that she suddenly
liked
the fellow, Cherise assured herself, as she went back to the file library. Kenny was obnoxious, way too charming, and an obvious pick-up artist.

Yes, he was all of that, Cherise decided as she looked for the next patient's chart. He'd also been dynamic, full of brilliant energy, and undeniably attractive. Even when she'd thought there was a reason to despise him, Cherise had been attracted. And that kiss...

Staring blindly at the files, Cherise couldn't stop the flutters in her stomach as she remembered that tiny little kiss. Without any brakes, the full, sparkling force of the thing overtook her. To prevent a self-deprecating moan, she sucked in her lips.

What was happening to her? The man evoked all kinds of...emotions. Too much emotion. And so
unjustified
. Frowning, Cherise drew in a deep breath and put one hand over the flutters in her stomach.

This had to stop. No doubt about it. Whatever it took, she had to find a way...not to be stupid over Kenny Doubletree.

Cherise narrowed her eyes at the wall of patient charts and wondered how to go about doing that.

~~~

Of all the arrogant, high-handed, mm — ! Mm —
! Valerie was too angry to think of the next epithet as she stalked through the parking lot, Roy hopefully stumbling far behind her. Putting his arm around her, kissing her, saying
honeymoon
. He'd been branding her, that's what he'd been doing, like she was — his heifer!

The sun had come out from the haze, making Valerie squint as she wove between parked cars. Meanwhile her ire rose.

"Uh, I hate to slow you down..." Roy's voice was not as far behind Valerie as she'd hoped, and sounded disgustingly amused. "...but if we're trying to get to my car, we're going in the wrong direction."

It took a second for his words to sink in. Valerie took three more strides, then abruptly stopped. His car. That's right. She was trying to get him to
his
car so he could get the hell out of town. She spun around.

And nearly crashed into Roy. He'd definitely not been as far behind her as she'd hoped. Indeed, he was able to reach out and grasp her shoulders to steady her.

Ignoring the little spark from his touch, Valerie glared. "You," she pronounced, with venom.

He raised his eyebrows, looking oh, so innocent — except for a gleam deep down. He was amused. That roused Valerie's ire higher. High enough for her to grab for some self-control. This round was going to be hers.

She took a steadying breath. "What did you think you were doing?"

Roy's gaze flicked to one of the hands he had on her shoulders. "Keeping you from falling down?"

Valerie closed her eyes. "Not now."
Which you bloody well know
. "Back there, with Peter.
What
was that about?"

He kept the innocent look, though the gleam in his eyes turned more dangerous. "Oh, you mean our little conversation with your ex-boyfriend?"

Valerie stopped. Roy had figured out Peter was her ex-boyfriend? Oh, that's right, Roy had congratulated Peter — But Holy Cow, how had he figured it out? The question nearly threw her off track. Nearly. She hastily grabbed back her righteous anger. "You treated me like your property," she snapped.

"You are."

Valerie's jaw dropped.

Meanwhile, Roy's expression lost its edge of amusement, as did his voice. "He had to be told. The guy still thinks you belong to him."

Valerie snapped her mouth closed. "Peter thinks I belong to him? He
rejected
me. He
never
loved me. And he's getting
married
."

Roy looked completely unconvinced by this argument. "For a woman, that might mean you give up your claim. It doesn't work like that for a man. You were his once. Until he sees clear evidence otherwise, he still considers you his."

It was hard to believe the utterly antediluvian garbage coming out of Roy's mouth. "His? Yours? I don't
belong
to anyone! I swear, of all the idiotic, macho — "

"You belong to me," Roy stated, cutting her off.

Valerie's eyes widened. A rush of something powerful went through her. Anger, right? That rush had to be anger. She gasped. "Now if that doesn't take the unmitigated cake — "

Valerie could have gone on. She would have gone on — had Roy not bent down and kissed her.

Valerie's words fizzled into thin air.

It was so unexpected...and so — astonishingly sexual. He pulled her close enough to feel every muscle-toughened inch while his mouth took possession of hers.

Valerie had no idea how long the kiss lasted, only that when Roy pulled away, she ended up standing in a daze.
Oh, my God. He kissed me. He
kissed
me
.

"What — ?" She cleared her throat. "What was that?"

His gaze back at her was steady. "I think you know exactly what that was."

Valerie resisted the urge to clear her throat again. "You don't need to put your brand on me here. There's no one to see us."

His eyes were steel gray. "There's you."

Valerie's stomach zoomed down a roller coaster.
There was her
? He wanted her to feel branded? The suspicion that had been bubbling dangerously since the night before splashed upward. Did he —
want
her?

Valerie tried to swallow as inconspicuously as possible. "You're saying you want to — ?"

Roy was starting to look amused again. "Go to bed with you? Yeah."

He'd said it, right out. Exhilaration shot through her, laced with dread. "But that doesn't make sense."

The amusement in his face expanded. "You don't think?" He laughed. "Then maybe I'd better try again."

Very confused, Valerie took a step back. Roy followed. His smile tightened, his eyes narrowed. He was a picture of lustful determination. Toward
her
.

Valerie's back hit an SUV, something too tall to allow retreat as Roy planted his forearms on either side of her face.

"This is not a good idea," she whispered. She hadn't expected this. She had no idea how to react to it. Refusal seemed the safest course of action.

Roy's face was two inches from hers, his body pressed against her front, warm and strong and potent. "Tell me why not."

"I — We agreed. This was going to be a marriage on paper, a formality." Right. That's what they'd agreed, because for one thing Valerie had never dreamed Roy would ever look at her the way he was looking at her now, with pure want.

His nose brushed her forehead. Amidst all the testosterone zipping through the air, it was a shockingly tender gesture. "Agreements," he said in a rough voice, "can change."

Their eyes met and Valerie felt desire shudder through her, so pure it was impossible to deny — or exterminate. Then his lashes lowered and his mouth, once again, touched hers.

Valerie could only gasp and grab onto him. This kiss was like finely aged brandy, a shock of power followed by trembly intoxication. Her knees wobbled, her brain spun. Leftover outrage swirled uneasily with hungry yearning.

The kiss probably would have gone on forever if Valerie had anything to do with it. Her self-control, her memory of her first name — let alone the patients waiting for her back at the clinic — had all fled out the window.

It was Roy who, at length, drew back. He let out a very deep sigh and straightened. "I'll be back next week." His voice was unnaturally low. "And — oh." He reached into his breast pocket. "This is yours."

Dazed, Valerie took a moment to realize he was holding up her house key.

"I won't need it. You'll let me in." Holding the key, Roy reached for Valerie's collar. Two of his fingers pulled her collar forward, the other three set the key into the center of her bra.

Valerie felt those fingers all the way down to her center.

"I'll be here in a week," Roy said. "If not before."

Then he spun on his heel. Valerie watched, her limbs still trembling, as he strode away between the parked cars.

~~~

"Now, girl, you aren't going to turn me down tonight. I absolutely insist." Cherise looped arms with Valerie when she stepped out of her office to go home for the day.

"Oh." Valerie blinked as if she'd just walked into bright light. She'd been reviewing Nicky's chart and had pretty much forgotten the rest of the world.

Or most of the world.

"Um...Okay," she told Cherise. After all, she wasn't rushing home this evening to receive Roy's phone call. She didn't want to talk to him.

Okay, she was afraid to talk to him.

"Good, we'll grab a bite at that little Thai place I've been curious about. Then we'll catch a movie."

Thai
? But even as Valerie's stomach rebelled against the idea, she said, "Fine." Frankly, any diversion would be good.

She had no idea what to do about Nicky. She had even less idea what to do about Roy. She'd thought about his kiss for the past two hours. Actually, it had been two kisses. Two very erotic, demanding kisses. She'd checked throats and listened to heartbeats and all the while had remembered with intense detail the way she'd felt in Roy's arms.

"We'll take my car," Cherise decided, leading the way to the parking lot.

"Fine with me. I don't even know where this Thai place is."

"Mm." Cherise smiled in a way that should have given Valerie pause, but she was still brooding over her misplaced excitement regarding Roy.

Misplaced? It was idiotic. The chest-beating, you-belong-to-me stuff didn't mean that Roy loved her. In fact, Roy had pointed that out himself, saying Peter still thought he owned Valerie, even though he didn't love her, and never had.