Ever After Read online

  “You don’t sleep very well with them,” Hallie said. “If it weren’t for sleeping kisses, you would have fallen out of bed the first night I was here.”

  Jamie’s eyes widened. “Sleeping kisses?”

  “At two A.M. every morning I’m at your bedside trying to get you settled. The only thing that works are kisses and hugs. And sometimes sleeping with you like I’m your favorite stuffed toy. You’re like a toddler. Except for—” She couldn’t keep up her bravado. Reaching out, she put her hand on his chest, on the ridges and dips of the scars. Some of them were burns. “I could have helped you,” she whispered.

  “I know that now, but I didn’t then.” He touched her earlobe. “You’re so beautiful, but I’m so…so repulsive. My cousins are perfect and I’m—”

  “More interesting!” Hallie said. “They are perfect. They haven’t a mark on their flawless bodies, but you…You’ve done something for other people and for your country. You…” She was fighting tears. “You’re more of a man than they will ever be.”

  When Jamie held his arms out to her, there were tears in his eyes and she went to him. For a moment he held her as he had before, as friends, and her mind was on what he’d been through.

  But as they stood there, bodies entwined, Hallie became aware that at some point Jamie’s towel had fallen off. And he was ready for her. She could feel the hardness of him through the thin fabric of her shorts. It looked like some parts of him weren’t damaged!

  When she pulled away, she meant to make a joke. But the look in his eyes erased all thoughts of humor. It had been a long time since she’d had a boyfriend and Jamie Taggert was a very desirable man.

  For a moment his eyes searched hers and she knew that “yes” was written in them.

  Bending his head, he kissed her, but only for a second. He drew back and looked at her in shock. “I remember!” he said. “I remember the taste of your kisses.”

  She started to smile, but Jamie’s passion took over. Within seconds, she was bare from the waist down and her shirt was open.

  Never before had she experienced such desire, such energy and excitement. He moved her out of sight of the window, pressed her back against the wall, and pulled her leg up to his hip. She wrapped it around him.

  He entered her with a force that she’d never felt before, and she gave a sigh. “Ooooooh.” It seemed that every part of Jamie’s body was big.

  “Did I hurt you?” He sounded alarmed.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, her head back against the wall, her eyes closed. “I might not survive.”

  He gave a low chuckle. “Me neither.” He put his mouth on her neck.

  Hard, deep thrusts sent chills of pleasure through her body. Desire—need—flooded her. He picked up her other leg so she was fully clasping his hips as he thrust into her again and again.

  All thought, all sense of being a human, seemed to leave Hallie as she gave herself over to this man. Mind, body, soul became feelings, sensations.

  With her upper back against the wall and her legs around him, she lifted her arms. The leverage made his thrusts even deeper.

  When the end came, waves of pleasure and release went through her. She went from being a tower of strength to her body collapsing. If Jamie hadn’t held on to her, she would have fallen, but his arms went around her and pulled her against his bare chest.

  He took the few steps to the old couch and stretched out on it, his braced leg extended and touching the floor, with Hallie on top of him.

  She still had on her bra and shirt but was nude from the waist down. As they lay there, his hand caressed her lower half, enjoying her curves.

  As for Hallie, it took her a while to recover. She was floating in a delicious haze of sensations, and she couldn’t seem to return to the world.

  “All right?” he whispered.

  “Yes.” His chest was so very warm. It wasn’t smooth, but she could feel the strong contours of it. She ran her hand over his ribs and down to his side, over the thick scars there.

  Very slowly, she remembered where she was—and who she was. She had just broken a rule of her profession about sleeping with a client.

  She didn’t want to, but she made herself get off his big, warm body and sit on the edge of the couch, her back still touching him. There was a pillow on the floor and she pulled it onto her lap, then started to button her shirt—which was a useless endeavor as most of the buttons had been torn off. She saw one glistening on the floor by the wall where they’d just—She took a breath. There were things that had to be said and she dreaded his response.

  “This can’t happen again,” she said softly. “We aren’t—”

  “Going steady?” he said cheerfully.

  She looked at him in surprise. In her experience, when you told men there wouldn’t be any more—even if it was mutual—they got angry. But Jamie was smiling at her. He was stretched out on the couch, one big, muscular arm behind his head, and he had a little smile on his handsome face.

  She couldn’t help a bit of a frown. “You agree?”

  “I understand,” he said. “You don’t think there is any future for us, and I’m your patient. And besides, you have a guy from back home coming to visit any day. You don’t want any complications.”

  “Right,” she said. That was exactly what was in her mind, so why was it so very annoying when he said it?

  “I have a question,” Jamie said. “Did you finagle me into moving into the upstairs bedroom so you wouldn’t have to wander around in the dark? Because of my nightmares, that is?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You made up the lie about being scared of the beautiful Tea Ladies just to save yourself the trek?”

  Her frown left her and a smile began. “Yes, I did. I flat out told a going-to-hell lie, and my toes thank me for it. Actually, my whole body thanks me, since I spent the first night on the couch. I nearly froze!”

  A look of such softness came to Jamie’s face that she almost bent forward and kissed him.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Hand me the towel, will you? Unless you want to have some more friendship sex.”

  She knew what he meant, that he was ready again—and she didn’t dare look or she just might climb back on top of him.

  For a few moments their eyes locked and Hallie felt herself weaken. Even as she knew she shouldn’t, she leaned toward him, her eyes beginning to close.

  But abruptly, Jamie sat up, causing Hallie to nearly slide off the couch. His strong arm caught her as he moved out from behind her. She fell back against the couch and watched him walk across the room in all his naked glory. So there were a few indentations, she thought. Well, maybe more than a few, but they didn’t take away from his beauty.

  He wrapped the towel around his waist, then turned back to hand her her garments.

  Hallie still hadn’t moved. What just happened didn’t seem to have affected him at all but it certainly had her. But then hadn’t she always thought he was just a playboy who jetted around the world? Maybe he was used to this kind of thing. But today she’d found out he’d been a man who’d served his country and had nearly died from it. The two images didn’t seem to go together. Who was the real Jamie Taggert?

  “I’m going upstairs to put on some clothes,” he said. “I don’t like the kids to see me like this. You still want to work on me on your table?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “I’ll meet you at the gym in an hour.”

  Before Hallie could reply, he went through the door to the kitchen and closed it behind him.

  After she was dressed, she looked about the empty tea room. What an understanding man Jamie was! she thought. They’d been caught up in the moment and had sex. It was, of course, understandable, born out of a combination of emotions. For one thing, she’d just discovered what he’d kept secret, then she’d seen the evidence of his severe injuries, and they’d had an argument. Anger always got the blood flowing, didn’t it?

  All in all, it made sense.