Stripped (12 page)

“Mickey asked me to do a bed dance,” she said.

“Did you tell him no?”

“I did at first, but he talked me into it.”

He closed his eyes, and she couldn’t read his
expression.

“It was horrible,” she said. “I felt like I was
suffocating, and his hands were all over me. I told him to stop, but he
wouldn’t.”

Chris’ head dropped into her lap, and Abby
instinctively ran her fingers into his blond waves.

“What happened?” he asked.

“He grabbed me when I tried to leave,” she said, her
voice shaking at the memory. “I’ve had guys grab me before, but this was
different. It really hurt.”

Chris got up from his chair and reached for Abby’s
coat, his eyes on hers.

“Let me see,” he said. She let him slide the coat
from her shoulders and she pulled up the sleeve of her dress, revealing the red
ring around her upper arm.

“Oh, Abby,” he murmured, looking tortured.

“Joe took care of him. This is all he did.”

“This isn’t all he did. Look at you, you’re shaking.”

“I’m okay now. I just wanted you, and I’m okay now.
Do you need to get back to work?”

“No, someone’s covering me. I hate seeing you like
this, Abby.”

“It’s my fault for agreeing to do the dance.”

“It’s not even remotely your fault, don’t say that.
Why do you feel like you deserve to be objectified and mistreated by men?”

“I don’t know. Don’t be mad at me, Chris.”

“I’m not mad. I just don’t know how to handle this.
Frankly, Abby, I think every fucking guy who leers at you and grinds against
you in that place is an asshole. I hate that you work there.”

“Well, I do, and you know why,” she bristled. “I
can’t quit and sit at home every night when I have the kids to take care of.”

“You have a day job. And I can help you if you need
it.”

“I don’t want your money!”

“So, what, I should just wait for the next time
someone does this to you? Women can be seriously hurt by those guys, Abby,” he
said hotly.

“You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t
seen
it?”

“You deserve better.”

“Doesn’t every woman who works there deserve
better?”

“Yes, but you’re the only one I’m concerned with.”

“I don’t have other options, Chris.”

He shook his head and looked away, frustrated.

“So you’d rather work at that place than accept my
help,” he said bitterly.

“I have to have stability, please understand. I feel
helpless without plenty of money in the bank to rely on if I need it. Something
could happen to me, and then Justin would have to raise Audrey and Sara. He
would need the money.”

Chris nodded slowly.

“If you ever need money, all you have to do is tell
me. I don’t just have my salary, I have other money,” he said, his eyes dark
and serious.

“I’d never take money from you. We haven’t even
known each other very long. Look, let’s not go into it, okay? This night was
awful and I just want to feel better.”

Chris stood, pulling her close as she sat on the
edge of the bed. He smoothed a hand over her hair, filling her with a safe,
warm feeling.

“Mmm, that cologne…” she said as she pressed her
cheek to his shirt. “I can’t accuse you of breaking a ground rule, though,
because you didn’t know I’d be here tonight.”

He smiled as he leaned back to look at her, and Abby
realized that the rules were off the table. As he bent in to kiss her, she immediately
felt healed by his lips. The rest of the night slipped from her mind as she
reached around his neck, pulling him toward her.

His arms encircled her waist, and she gasped at the
feel of his hard chest against her body. She held tightly to him as she lay
back on the bed, pulling him with her.

As Chris’ tongue tangled with hers, Abby was
overcome by emotion. She was suddenly deeply aroused and intoxicated by her
closeness to him. She felt sheltered by him; protected.

He kissed her neck hungrily, and she reveled in his raw
need for her. It was what she had wanted and always missed from him. He was
always calm, in control, and the first to remind her they shouldn’t get
intimate.

She pressed her hands into his back, pushing him
closer against her. She didn’t seem to be able to get close enough to him, and
she moaned beneath him, wanting more.

“I’m an asshole for doing this after what happened
to you tonight,” he said suddenly, breathless as he gazed at her.

“No,” she said quickly. “I need this, Chris. I need
to be close to you right now.”

“Tell me if it’s too much,” he said, nuzzling his
lips into her neck.

“It won’t be. I feel like I can’t get enough of you
right now.” She looked up at him desperately, pushing her hips up into him as
she ran a hand through his hair.

He held her eyes as he pressed against her, and she inhaled
sharply. He leaned back from her, helping her into a sitting position and
pulling the cotton dress over her head quickly. As he slid his hands over her
shoulders and down to her breasts, she let out a quick, ragged breath.

Her head found the pillow just as his lips found her
stomach, and she gave out a cry of surprise and arousal. He deftly unbuttoned
her jeans, sliding them over her hips, and she remembered she hadn’t even
bothered with panties as the air hit her bare skin.

“Abby…” he said, staring at her with a mixture of
lust and reverence. She reached for the hem of his shirt, tugging on it, and he
pulled it over his head. She admired the lines of his chest and shoulders,
calmness settling over her at the thought of being closer to him than she had
ever been.

He pulled her jeans all the way off and picked up
one of her feet, kissing the instep gently. His other hand roamed up her thigh,
across her hip to her stomach, and she shivered from the lightness of his
touch.

As he kissed her foot, he moved his hand from her
stomach down to her ankle, and she closed her eyes briefly as he brushed his
fingers up her leg and across her thigh, ending in the place where she burned
for him.

Her eyes flew back open as he massaged her gently.

“Chris,” she moaned.

“I love seeing you like this,” he said softly. “You
look so beautiful right now…so vulnerable and trusting.”

Abby moaned again, arching her back. Chris gently
sat her foot down and she sighed happily as she felt his weight on her. He
kissed her, gently, but she responded with the hungry need she felt between her
legs, pulling him against her and kissing him deeply.

As soon as he pressed against her, she cried out
with surprise, realizing how little it would take to push her over the edge.
She was self-conscious, not wanting to come when he wouldn’t, and he still wore
his pants.

“No, I don’t want to,” she said, panting as she sank
her nails into his shoulders in an effort to hold on.

“Yes. I want it, Abby,” he said, his voice low and
sexy as he moved against her.

“No,” she whimpered in protest.

“Yes.”

“Oh, God. Chris…”

The moment she felt his lips back on the bare skin
of her neck, Abby lost her fight. She moaned loudly as an explosive orgasm
shook her body. Coherent thoughts left her for a few moments as she drifted
back down from the high.

Her body went slack with satisfaction and she smiled
despite her embarrassment.

“Hey,” Chris said gently. “You’re crying. Should I
have stopped?”

“No, I’m not upset, I’m just … overwhelmed. In such
a good way.”

“Good.”

He stretched out on his back, pulling her onto his
chest.

“Can I tell you something embarrassing?” she said,
rubbing her cheek against his bare skin.

“Yes.”

“That was the best sexual experience I’ve ever had.”

“Why is that embarrassing?”

“I don’t know, because it probably felt
high-schoolish to you.”

“No, it was hot. I had to stop myself or I would
have come, too. But I don’t have any other scrubs in my locker, so I couldn’t.”

“I owe you one,” she said.

“No, you don’t.”

“Do you need to get back to work?”

“I guess. Can you sleep here for a while and wait
for me?”

“I would, but I need to be there in the morning for
Audrey and Sara. My Mom’s been spending more and more time with Tim, and Justin
and I make sure one of us is always there.”

“Does Justin know what happened to you?”

“Yes.”

“How can he stand to be around him?”

“Justin hates Tim. It’s been a long time since he’s
come around, so we’re both having a hard time with it.”

“Do you think he’s back because of Audrey and Sara?”

Abby sighed, looking away uncomfortably.

“He’s back because my Mom is screwing him for drugs.
It’s made things really tense at home, because I don’t want the kids around
that crap.”

“Does your Mom know what he did to you?” he asked,
watching as she pulled her dress back on.

“She knows.”

“And she lets him in the house? Around the girls?”
he asked, incredulous.

“She blames me for it,” she said, shrugging.

“For what he did? Abby, you were a
child.
”

“It’s why she hates me. She thinks I seduced him
because I wanted to steal her husband. I didn’t, but I’ll never convince her of
that.”

“It’s not even possible that you seduced him. You
were a child, and he was a predator. Have you ever talked to anyone about what
happened?”

“What, like a counselor?”

“I know some psychiatrists. My friend Reed’s wife is
a good one,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I’ll go with you if you want me
to.”

“It was a long time ago, Chris. I just want to
forget about it.”

He nodded, unconvinced, but Abby could see he didn’t
want to press her.

“I’m off Monday night. Can we have dinner at my
place?” he asked. “You can bring the girls if you need to.”

“Justin will be home.”

They had left the room and were headed past the long
desk area of the emergency room, where Abby felt the stares of the doctors and
nurses working at computers.

“Why do they look at me every time I’m here?” she
murmured to Chris.

“They’re just nosy bastards,” he said, propping the
door open with his arm so she could walk under it.

“I feel so much better,” she said as they walked
into the brisk breeze outside. “I guess I just needed a dry fuck from a hot
doctor.”

Chris laughed, looking at her with amusement.

“Glad I could help. Get some sleep and call me when
you wake up,” he said as she got into her car. Abby looked up at him with a
smile and he leaned into the car. She was expecting a kiss but was disappointed
when he stopped a few inches from her mouth.

“You’ll need to quit using whatever makes your hair
smell minty,” he said. “As a ground rule.”

Abby grinned foolishly, marveling at the turn her
night had taken. It had been a long time since she’d felt as low or as high as
she’d been brought in the past couple hours.

Charlotte’s office reminded Chris of her and Reed’s
house. The walls were decorated just so, with photos of the tropical vacations
she and Reed had taken. He had never thought much about things like that, but
as he stared at a photo of a lush Hawaiian waterfall, he considered that
Charlotte and Reed had been standing right there, together. It was a memory
they would share forever.

“So, what happened then, Chris? You guys started to
get intimate, and then … where did it lead?” Charlotte asked.

“I feel awkward talking about this with my best
friend’s wife,” he admitted, sighing.

“Chris, I do this every day. Just relax and be
honest. You’ll find it very liberating.”

“Bill me for this one. I’ll feel better if this is a
professional visit.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Chris. You’re our friend, and
I’m not billing you. Now talk.”

“Okay. So we messed around, and I ended up … well,
you don’t need the full details. I got her off.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Amazing. It was about the hottest thing I’ve ever
seen, because … God, this is so strange, but I
cared
about making her
feel good. Not just to know I’m good in bed, either. For her.”

“How did she react to what happened between you?”

“She was uncomfortable at first, before it happened.
She doesn’t mind me seeing her naked or anything, but she doesn’t like the idea
of her getting off when I don’t.”