An Illicit Pursuit (30 page)

A faint knock on the door pulls me back to
present. I open my heavy lids and let my eyes adjust to the
sunlight looping inside. My throat is too dry to speak, but I utter
a low “Yes.”

“May I come in?” I hear Taylor asking.

For the love of god, please come in and
never leave.
“Yeah, why not?” I offer her a big smile as she
appears behind the door.

“Hi,” she says shyly as she closes it.
Apparently, having hosted a deadly bullet close to my heart for
half a week ago won’t stop my body from reacting to her the way
it’s always done. The pale blue t-shirt she’s wearing is showing
hints of the black, unpadded bra underneath. Too dangerous to put
on such a t-shirt around the newly-operated-upon me. Had doctors
known Taylor’s effect on me, they’d post a ban for her in neon
signs at the hospital entrance.

“Hi,” I reply. The huge flower bouquet and
balloons on the table across my bed grab my attention. “Thanks for
the flowers.”

“Huh?” She looks around and stares at the
flowers. “They’re not from me.” She proceeds toward them, picks up
the card from the bouquet, and reads it aloud.

“
I shouldn’t be shocked to see someone
else wanted to shoot you, too, but I am.

Get well soon and go on breaking innocent
women’s hearts.

Your Pat.
”

I smile in spite of the bitter memories of my
last months with Pat. How would everything have been different, had
Taylor not showed up in my life? “I think I should call her to say
thank you.”

“Are you in touch with her? I mean
regularly?” Taylor asks.

“I haven’t talked to her since… since we
broke up. She didn’t want to have me around, and rightly so.”

Taylor pulls a red rose from among the
flowers to smell it and sits on the edge of the bed, only an inch
away from my hips. I could easily pull her over to me. Her skirt
rolls up, revealing her smooth thighs, the view stealing my breath
away.

“It smells delicious.” She arches an eyebrow
and shoves the rose toward my nose.

“No, you smell delicious.” I grab her hand
gently, ready to let her go, in case she intends to pull it free.
Only, she doesn’t. I snap the rose away with my other hand and pull
hers close to my lips, my eyes searching her face anxiously for a
reaction. Instead of stopping me, she stares at me, perhaps unsure
of what to do. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? She’s letting me play
with her hand, just because she thinks she owes me her life. Even
so, I can’t prevent my body from taking every opportunity to have
her close.

I brush my lips across her delicate knuckles
and roam up toward her fingertips. She hums and closes her eyes. A
tint of a blush sweeps across her face, and her chest rises. The
sight of the hard peaks of her breasts sends jolts right to my
balls. Slowly, I part my lips and slip her middle finger inside my
mouth. I watch her face with fascination, while I roll my tongue
around her finger. Her eyes fly open when I lick the sensitive
flesh between her fingers, and her chest heaves up and down in
short breaths, making her breasts appear doubled in size.

Is she picturing my tongue down there between
her legs, as I am? Is she aroused? Or annoyed? Her face doesn’t
reveal anything.

“Adam, please,” she says but doesn’t pull
away. I give up and release her hand and give the rose back to her.
After a minute of disturbing silence during which she gazes out the
window, she faces me. “Why did you break up with Pat? You were the
couple everyone talked about. Everyone thought you, two, loved each
other and would marry some day.”

Isn’t the answer clear to her? Hasn’t she
already found out I fell madly in love with her the first time I
saw her? “I couldn’t love her the way she deserved.”

“Well, you did love her for many years before
the breakup, didn’t you?”

“I don’t feel well enough to talk about it.
Maybe another time.”

“But you feel well enough to lick my finger.”
A hint of smile flickers around the corner of her mouth.

“I’ll always feel well enough for that and
more.” I narrow my eyes, as I scan her up and down. Even on my
deathbed.

“More?” She snorts and arches an eyebrow.
Even that brief sound is like music to my ears.

I open my mouth to speak but close it
immediately. How could I forget my promise that I would not chase
Taylor anymore? She hasn’t sued me for sexual harassment because
she thinks I’m essential to her company’s success. Now she won’t
even decline my advances because of the fucking bullet hole in my
chest.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper and drift my eyes away
from hers. “I promised myself I would stop bothering you.”

“For that you’ll have to stop existing.”

I look up at her again to see whether she’s
serious. Can she hate me that much?

“Just kidding.” She taps her hand on my
thigh, a little above my knee. I inhale sharply at the brief touch
and try to think of the face of the man who attacked Taylor in
order to keep my cock from growing, or it’ll be pretty obvious
under the thin layer of the bed sheet. But her bare thighs and hard
nipples make it impossible for me to think of anything other than
having her.

Ahh, would it be so bad for her if she pulls
that skirt up, sits astride me, and slides down on my cock? Would
it be so hard? I wouldn’t even need a lot of time to come. I bet
with the years of desiring her, it’d take only a few thrusts. A
simple thing for her would mean the world to me. It would even cure
me faster than the medications.

Feeling her wet and tight around me. Shit,
I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my promise to stay away from
her, and worse yet, I’ll shamelessly use my heroic act to my
advantage.

“I talked to your doctor before coming in. He
is thinking about releasing you tomorrow. I’m glad you’re
recovering quickly. I hired a housekeeper to run the errands for
you every day for the next few weeks until you’re back on your feet
again. All expenses are on me, of course.”

I shake my head no. “I already have one. Keep
your money for yourself. And, I don’t want you thinking you owe me
a thing because I saved you. Anyone else would do the same thing.
Believe me, I’m not special.”

“You may be right. Anyone would do it. But,
it was you who came after me that night. You were there for me when
I needed you most. Who else would do that? Please, let me at least
give you this. A small gift among the many I want to give you.” She
takes a breath break and looks down at the rose in her hand.
“Something happened that night. Since Jack’s death, I’d felt
indifferent toward life, even hoping death would come sooner rather
than later. But, looking death in the eye made me aware that I’m
not ready for my life to end anytime soon. And, it’s thanks to you
that I’m still alive. You have to accept what I’m giving you, or
I’ll have to force you to take them.”

“Now you’ve made me curious; what other gifts
I’m gonna be forced to take.” Will I have a say in what kind of
gift I should get?

“Just wait and see.” She shakes her head,
smiling, and gets up. “I talked to Adrianne. She’s coming to stay
over the weekend. I’ll pick her up at the airport tomorrow. Just so
you know.”

“Shit. Can you please shoot me once more so I
can avoid her? She may be my sister, but she thinks she’s my
mother. She’ll turn my weekend into hell.”

“Come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“Yeah, just wait and see. Well, thanks
anyway.”

“You’re welcome.” She checks her watch and
turns back to face me. “I gotta go. Visiting time is up. See you
tomorrow.” And for some outrageous reason, she leans down and
brushes my cheeks with her soft and wet lips. One of the many gifts
she’ll force me to have?

Liv Bennett lives in
California with her scientist husband, toddler daughter, and two
loud budgies. Reading and writing erotic romance are her favorite
forms of relaxation, in addition to long walks and yoga. She's a
social drinker of coffee but a serious tea addict. Adam Garnett,
the hero of the Pursuit of Passion, came to her in a dream during a
romantic getaway in Las Vegas on Valentine's Day, and since then
hasn't left Liv's mind for longer than a day, much to her husband's
dismay.

The Everlasting Pursuit,
the third in the PURSUIT series, is scheduled to be published
before Christmas.

Send Liv an email at
[email protected]
to
be one the ten lucky readers to receive an advance reading copy of
The Everlasting Pursuit before its release date.