Page 30 of Shimmering Emeralds
“Hmph. Dream on. You said no funny business, and I listened. I’ve not even given a thought to what’s underneath those tight, sexy leggings.” Even when I attempted to play hard to get, I still managed to reveal my unwavering desire for her.
Her face lit up, even in the darkness, when she said, “Well, then, you won’t care to hear about my new tiny tattoo.”
I was surprised, even though having some ink suited her personality perfectly. Savoring our light banter and unable to keep my curiosity at bay, I asked, “What is it? Where is it?”
Meg seemed to enjoy the lecherous tone of my voice as I asked that last question. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her deep, throaty laugh.
“I’m not telling,” she informed me. Her bright white teeth were illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window as she smiled widely at me.
“That’s fine.” I pretended not to care, but I wasn’t able to keep up the aloof charade long. Before I even knew what was happening, I said in my best flirtatious tone, “I’ll just go searching for it one of these days and see for myself.”
Meg froze. Even her breathing seemed to stop as she stared at my face in the dimly lit room. When she placed her cool palm on my face and ran it lightly along the stubble on my jawline, I angled my head into her touch.
I wanted to kiss her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my entire life, but I wasn’t positive if she would be open to it. I’d made my desires known, but as usual, Meg’s feelings were a closed book.
We stayed suspended like that for so long, I would have thought she’d fallen asleep if her eyes weren’t open. When she finally moved, it was the tiniest of gestures, but it was enough for me. She tipped her head slightly to the side and inched toward me.
Unable to hold back from her shy invitation, I closed the gap between our lips and lightly brushed my mouth against hers. Despite how bristly Meg liked to pretend to be, she had always been a loving and passionate kisser. Proving that hadn’t changed, she melded her pliable lips against mine with a soft moan.
Need surged through me and congregated in my groin as she pressed into me. Some small part of me was aware that this wasn’t the time or place for a serious make-out session, but I didn’t have the strength to stop kissing her.
It was Meg that finally had the sense to pull back and stop us. Her expression immediately clouded with guilt over what we had just done.
Wanting to make her feel better, I said, “Meg, you mean everything to me, and I want nothing more than to get naked with you right here and right now, but we both know that Harper’s health is the only thing that matters in this moment. It wouldn’t be right for us to make love in this situation, and we would both feel guilty about it afterwards.”
Summoning every bit of strength that I could muster I scooted back as far away from her as I could without falling off the edge of the bed and said, “You have my word as a gentleman that nothing of a sexual nature will happen in this bed.”
Meg gave me an assessing look. I sensed the moment she accepted my words at face-value and shifted into teasing mode. Her voice practically purred when she said, “That sounded almost like a challenge.”
Knowing my willpower was nonexistent when it came to this irresistible woman, I shook my head and turned over to give her my back. “Nope. I might have to move back to those awful chairs to keep from it if you tempt me, but I will not make a move on you.”
Evidently deciding not to give me a hard time, Meg said, “You’re a really decent guy.”
“Thanks,” I said in a flat tone that reflected the underwhelming compliment.
Meg’s deep chuckle erupted from her throat. “No, really. It’s a good thing. In my experience, there aren’t that many decent guys around.”
A burning sensation clogged my throat and my fists clenched as I wondered how many men had hurt her. I knew her father had left when she was just a kid, and she had never fully recovered from his abrupt departure. I’m sure she felt like I had abandoned her, even though it was what she had claimed to want. Harper’s father wasn’t in the picture, so that idiot had evidently bailed on her, too.
If some jerk had hurt her, I would kill him with my bare hands. Through gritted teeth, I asked, “Did someone harm you?”
She took a moment to answer, which made my heart leap into my already scorching throat. “Oh, you mean physically? Heavens, no. Any man that tried to lay a hand on me would receive a swift kick to the ‘nads.”
“That’s my girl.” I chuckled as my nervous system shifted down from hyper-overdrive to a more normal level.
I wondered in what ways she had been hurt, but before I asked, Meg gasped and sat upright in the bed. “I just realized that I’ve been so focused on Harper that I didn’t even check on the other kids and chaperones from the bus.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “There were a couple of broken bones and sprains, as well as lots of bumps and bruises. But, miraculously, all of the injuries were minor––other than poor Harper’s.”
Every time I left this room, I stopped by the front desk to check on the status of the others involved in the accident. The last little boy had been released from the hospital this morning.
“Oh, phew.” Meg flopped back down on her back on the bed beside me. Lifting her hand to her forehead, she said, “I’m a horrible person for not even wondering about anyone else before now.”
Using a firm, no-nonsense tone, I said, “No, you’re not. You are a worried mother, who has been overwhelmed. We are only equipped to handle a certain degree of stress, and you are maxed out. Your focus was on the health of your child, which is exactly where it should have been.”
Meg turned to the side to look at me. “You somehow always seem to know how to make me feel better.”
I longed to brush the back of my finger along her jawline, but I forced myself to restrain. That might lead to other things that I couldn’t allow to happen. I’d given her my word. Instead, I said simply, “That’s always my goal.”
