He spoke normally now, because the time for fooling around was over. “All of the above. But as I pointed out to him—and to my parents—he had his chance with you and totally blew it. He’d tell you that himself. He’s also very happy with Stephanie and doesn’t have a leg to stand on where you and I are concerned, and he also knows that.”

“Still…” Her hands landed on his chest in an almost absent gesture that tripped all his circuits. “He wasn’t mad at you, was he?”

“Maybe a little. At first. Once he has a chance to get used to the idea, I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. He loves us both, right?”

“I suppose.” She looked up at him with those guileless brown eyes. “So your brother knows, your parents know, Cal knows that we’re really done. Where does all that leave us?”

Because he couldn’t live another second without touching her, he put his arms around her and drew her in closer to him.

Her hands slid up his chest to link behind his neck.

Bending his head, he kissed from her throat to her ear, drawing the lobe between his teeth. “It leaves us alone together in a hotel room with only this astonishing red dress between us.”

She let out a nervous laugh. “That’s not the only thing,” she said, tugging on his shirt for emphasis.

“It’s the only thing coming off tonight.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he said, kissing her lightly as he drew her zipper down her back, “tonight is all about me finding out what you like, what makes you sigh, what makes you scream.”

“I don’t scream.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Adam…”

“Shhhh. We have all night. I have nowhere to be and nothing on my mind except you.”

“Nothing?” she asked with a coy smile.

“Not one thing.”

“And there’s nothing in this for you?”

With a light brush of his fingers over her shoulders, he sent the dress into a puddle at her feet. His mouth went dry at the sight of the black bra and scrap of panties she’d worn under it. “Not this time. This time is all about you. Leave everything to me.”

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

For the first time in several days, David had no patients spending the night at the clinic. The worst of the stomach flu seemed to be over, thank goodness. It had been quite a siege, the worst he’d experienced since taking over the island’s medical practice from Cal Maitland.

Even though every muscle in his body ached from days of nonstop work, he wasn’t tired and had no desire to go home alone. Hearing about Laura McCarthy’s unplanned pregnancy had reminded David once again of where he should’ve been in his own life—married to Laura’s cousin Janey with a child on the way.