Opposite Attraction (14 page)

People moved around them but they stood there gazing at one another. His Adam 's apple bobbed in his throat. Was it true she could make him feel as overwhelmed as she felt?

Curtis pulled her closer. The anticipation of him kissing her was overpowering. She braced herself. If their lips met the entire earth would move.

Instead, he took hold of her right hand. "Follow my lead. Quick. Q1uick. Slow. Slow. "

"
What? " Her voice was airy, but the sound around them hushed her tone.

"
Follow my lead. I 'm teaching you to dance. "

Simone mimicked his moves. She 'd been trained to dance with a partner, so following him shouldn 't have been a problem. Her only problem was she 'd been taught to dance on the balls of her feet. The boots she 'd worn inhibited her drastically.

Laugher swelled in her chest as she quickly moved against him with her right foot and stepped on him. "I am sorry. "

"
Happens all the time. Quick. Quick. Slow. Slow. " He continued to repeat the steps until she had mastered them. Once she had, he began to move her in circles with the same footwork.

They 'd successfully moved around the dance floor without falling. He 'd moved her in circles and now he spun her as the song ended and pulled her in tight and close to him. She could feel his heart beat against her chest and she knew it was more than the dancing.

The music changed, the rhythm slowed, and Curtis 's arm wrapped around her tighter.

He let go of her right hand and cupped the back of her neck. Instinctively she placed her hands on his chest as they rocked back and forth to the music.

They 'd danced this way at Carlos 's wedding. It was then he 'd kissed her the first time. It was her own fault, before the night was over they were naked behind the barn. It wouldn 't end that way tonight, but as she took a breath to speak and explain that they should leave, he moved in, tipping his head and brushing her lips with his.

Any logical thought she 'd had slipped away as his warm and pliant mouth worked against hers.

She wasn 't sure if they were still moving or if it was her head swimming in the moment. Could she possibly hold him in that place forever? If only he 'd want her like this forever, everything she 'd ever done and the secrets she held wouldn 't be a problem.

His fingers massaged the back of her neck as his tongue sought hers, the music still surrounding them.

Simone 's fingers gripped the front of his shirt as he took the kiss even deeper on the dance floor.

The world moved around them and she lost herself in the memory of what they 'd had, alone, in his apartment and on the y1acht. Why had she been so foolish to walk away from all of that?

Curtis pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "I 'm sorry. I got carried away having you this close. " He moved until they were dancing with the other couples on the floor.

"
I did not mind. "

He swallowed hard. "I 'd like to continue that. "

"
Curtis… "

"
Simone, don 't turn me away again. "

He spun her around the floor until they were off to the side and he turned her until her back pushed up against the wall. His mouth was quick and hot on hers again, and everything thing, everyone, disappeared.

Her heart pounded in her ears as loud as the music. Her breath was hard to recover.

When he pulled his lips from hers it was all she could do not to grab him and pull him back into her secluded world in her head.

His breath was quick too and there was a fog over his eyes telling her he was in as deep as she was. Things were stirring in both of them.

"
Tell me why, " he whispered heavily in her ear.

"
Why? Why what? " She was breathless from his cologne on the air, the spinning dance, the kiss that made her mindless.

He placed a kiss on her neck and she could feel her own pulse jut up under his lips. "Why did you leave me? "

Her eyes closed and her breath caught in her chest. "Oh, Curtis, please… "

"
If I meant nothing you wouldn 't be here now, right? " He kissed the other side of her neck just below her ear lobe.

She was pinned there, there was no escape, and she was sure that had been the plan.

Curtis nuzzled his face next to hers and her mind was cluttering with everything she wanted to say. "You meant everything to me, " she said breathless and on the brink of spilling her secret.

He rested his forehead against hers again. "I1s that why you 're here? Is that why you came to Nashville? "

This wasn 't where she wanted to have this conversation, but there didn 't seem to be much choice. "I know you will never forgive me for what I did. But yes. I came here because I knew Zach would help me and I knew that you would be here no matter what. "

"
We can start over, Simone. " His hands moved up and into her hair. His body pressed even harder to hers. "Pretend like the yacht never happened. " He brushed her lips with his. "Let me take you home. " He nipped her lips with a kiss. "Let me stay. " He pushed closer to her and she could feel the heat from his body penetrate through her clothing.

"
Curtis. " She said it without the airy, sexy appeal and he stepped back. "I want this. And you are right, I want to start over again. "

"
Good. " He moved in and kissed her neck again.

She pushed him back. "When you take me home you have to leave. Let 's do this right, okay? I don 't want to mess it up again. "

Simone had pulled Curtis in for one more kiss, right there on that dance floor. What her words said and what her body had said were two different things. But as he drove her home, her head rested on his shoulder, her fingers intertwined with his, he knew he could do this.

For heaven 's sake, he was a man well into his thirties. He 'd spent the night with enough women he knew how it worked. Likewise, he 'd been turned down enough too. This was nothing new -but this was Simone.

Oh, Simone. Her French accent filled his ears even when she wasn 't near him. Her fragrance tantalized his senses even when it didn 't carry on the breeze. Her hair, nearly black, curtained him as she lay atop him, staring down at him with those deep blue eyes; the memory of it kept him awake at nights. She 'd crept into his subconscious and that had been very dangerous.

It affected his work, his friendships, and his relationship with his family. There had been a few weeks when he hadn 't even spoken to his sister or her husband because of Simone. That wasn 't right. No woman should come between family. But it had.

Simone quickly sat up from her position next to him. "Curtis, pull over. "

"
What? "

"
Pull over. " She was frantic.

"
You 're not leaving me from a moving vehicle. " He 'd be damned if she was going to do this to him again. What had he been thinking? Why had he bothered? Why…

"
I am going to be sick. "

Curtis pulled to the side of the road and Simone jumped out of the truck. She made for the first bank of trees and before he could get to her she 'd gotten sick.

"
Sweetheart, are you okay? "

"
Go away. " She wouldn 't turn toward him. "Let me be for a moment. "

"
I 'm a doctor. I 've seen people get sick. "

She held her hand up to ward him off. "Not me. Now go away. "

He took a few steps back toward the truck before she threw up again. When she was done she stood there for a moment. She reached into her purse, which hung from her shoulder, and pulled out a tissue. She wiped her face and then ran her fingers under her eyes. When she was composed, she turned back to him.

"
I am very sorry, " her voice shook and she kept her eyes diverted to the ground.

"
It 's really not a problem. Are you okay? "

"
I 'm fine. " She walked past him and climbed back in the truck.

Curtis followed and stood at the door. "I told Zach I didn 't think you were feeling well. "

With that she tensed in the seat. "Doctor Keller, I am fine. It has been a busy week. I have not been eating as I am accustomed to. Please just take me home. "

"
I 'll take you home, and then I 'm staying. " He shut the door and walked around the truck. By the time he 'd climbed in behind the steering wheels Simone was sobbing. "Sweetheart, what is wrong? "

"
I left you on that yacht. " She sucked up a breath. "I should not have done that. "

"
No, you shouldn 't have. But I made it home. " He put the truck in drive. "It took me six days, but I made it. "

There was a slight chuckle that came from the sobbing mess of a woman next to him, but then the tears started all over again.

"
Curtis, first, you cannot stay. Those are my rules. Second, " she took another deep breath and paused, causing him to turn his head toward her. "I left you on that yacht because I did not know what to do. I had never been in love with anyone before. "

Thank God for the stoplight. Curtis jerked the truck as he stopped and turned to her. "Love? " His voice cracked and that alone told him to stop the conversation and steer it in another direction.

"
I know, it sounds silly, really. But yes. " She finally turned to him. Her makeup had smeared, her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair matted to her face. She was beautiful.

"
I fell in love with you, Curtis, and it scared me to death. "

He 'd like to laugh at her, but he couldn 't. In fact, he understood her completely.

The light turned green and Curtis eased off the break. For a moment, he had nothing to say, and he knew that was eating her up by the way she tore the tissue in her hand into tiny pieces.

"
Simone, I understand. "

"
You do? How could you? It is quite silly. "

"
I understand, because if anyone else had left me stranded in the ocean I wouldn 't be trying so desperately to spend time with them, no matter how crazy they made me. "

"
Curtis, what are you saying? "

He glanced at her and then turned his attention back to the road. "I 'm saying, that I felt the same way. " He pulled up to her apartment building, parked the truck, and then turned toward her. "At first I was worried sick about you. I thought maybe you 'd fallen overboard and I 'd lost you. "

She covered her mouth and the tears were back. "I did not know that. I did not think of that. "

"
I spent two hours trying to figure out what might have1 happened and yelling for you, as if you 'd appear out of the water. I couldn 't quite figure out the radio, but eventually I got it and called for help. I told them I 'd lost you overboard. "

"
Oh, Curtis. "

"
Someone knew where you were because when they got to me and I was frantic. They told me you 'd been taken to the mainland on a private boat. "

"
I am so sorry. "

"
I 'd never been so scared and that should say a lot since I work in an E.R. and I 've seen my sister lying there beaten and undergoing a C-section. But the difference was, I was there and I could help her. I didn 't know where you were and I couldn 't help you. "

The sobs were stronger now and he hated that he was causing them, but she needed to know what went on while she gallivanted off into her private life.

She wiped at the tears that kept forming. "How can you even be this close to me? I was horrible. "

"
For the same reason you left. "

Her head shot up and her eyes opened wide.

Curtis reached out his hand and caressed her wet cheek. "I fell in love with you, Simone. "

Her jaw trembled and a line of worry creased her forehead. "You did? "