Page 10 of Touch of Smoke
With one hand on her ass, holding her firmly against his burgeoning arousal, Ro moved his other hand up until it was cupping the back of her head, again maintaining all the control. She was trapped in his embrace, her own hands moving up and down his back, her head tilting to the side as he deepened the kiss. His tongue mastering her mouth in that memory-clearing way she hated but loved at the same damn time.
But this wasn’t what she was supposed to be doing here. Hadn’t they come to his house to discuss business? If her bones weren’t in danger of dissolving as a result of this hot ass kiss, she would’ve probably kicked herself for that ridiculous question. Who goes to a man’s—a man as fine as Ro’s—house at almost midnight expecting to seriously sit down and discuss business? She had, well, on some level she had. On another level there’d been nosiness. She wanted to see this house he’d bought, to geta better grasp on the man he had grown into in the last seven years. She wasn’t disappointed.
Not about that at least, but when he broke the kiss to rest his forehead on hers, she almost sobbed. Instead, she stood there with her eyes closed trying to catch her breath as it sounded like he was doing the same.
“We can’t,” she whispered. “Not again, Ro.”
His next sigh was heavier, and her eyes popped open to find him already staring at her.
“Sariya.” Her name always sounded like a wounded plea on his lips.
“We talked about this already,” she started, but he cut her off.
“No. You talked,” he told her. “You talked that morning and I listened to every word you said. I let you shower, get dressed and leave that room knowing I’d never stop wanting you.”
She trembled at the memory. “It was the right thing to do.”
“For who?” he asked. “Because I clearly remember telling you I didn’t agree.”
“You also didn’t offer any other solution,” she countered.
“A solution for what? For us being together? It was simple for me. It’s always been simple for me. I want you, you want me, end of story.”
She moved out of his grasp then and was actually surprised that he let her go. That was the thing about Ro. He was assertive, almost dominant in some ways, but he never forced her. Never pushed to change her mind when she seemed to have decided. She respected him immensely for that, even while acknowledging that a small part of her had wished he’d fought a little harder for them seven years ago.
“We’re supposed to be discussing business,” she said and sat on the couch.
For a moment he only stood there, looking even more delectable than he had the night of his sister’s wedding. His hairwas a little shorter on top now, the twists he’d worn on top back then, now a tightly coiled bush. That and those few grays in his goatee weren’t the only things that had changed physically about him over the years. It could’ve been the thick sweater he wore, but he felt bulkier at the top. His biceps, when she’d gripped them after he pulled her to him in front of Donyell’s truck, felt more defined. His face was pretty much the same though, those dark eyes that went from laughing to stormy to lustful in a matter of seconds. She wondered if that only happened when she was around?
Finally, he dragged a hand down his face and dropped onto the sectional, a whole cushion away from where she sat.
“You’re right,” he said and moved one of the sapphire blue pillows from behind him so he could sit back.
There were two more of those same color pillows, along with three white ones, situated on the sectional as well. She didn’t sit all the way back, but instead sat sort of sideways, one leg pulled up to rest on the cushion—being sure to keep her shoes off the furniture—as she faced him.
“Tell me about your new job,” she prompted him.
He shook his head. “Nah, tell me more about what you really want to do for your patients. How do you plan to help them now that the clinic is closed?”
“Well,” she said and sighed. “I’m not totally sure. It’s like I have this loose idea of what I want to do but I haven’t really figured out how to implement it. Which is why I haven’t said anything to anyone about it.”
The look he gave her reminded her that he wasn’t just anyone. He was Ro, the guy who’d been like a big brother—but not exactly—to her since she was ten years old. He’d been just as protective of her as he had been of Donyell, just as annoying and just as nosy when it came to anything she was doing and whoever she was doing it with.
But there’d always been a difference in the way he looked at her once she hit a certain age and the way he spoke to her. It had been one of the first signs to encourage the crush she’d harbored for him.
“Okay, tell me about it,” he said as casually as if he’d asked her to tell him her name.
Was it really that easy? Had the fire that had just been burning so bright between them simply been put out for this conversation to take place? She wanted to kick herself for flip-flopping. If this were anyone else, she’d be the first to say make up your mind—you either want this man to fuck your brains out or you don’t.
She cleared her throat and hopefully that wild ass thought that had just soared through her mind too.
“I imagine a facility where all the best parts about the former clinic can be implemented. A calming and supportive place where patients suffering from chronic pain can come and receive relief without judgment. Where, if they want it, they can also receive more intensive holistic healing. Bonnie is amazing with her whole person—body, mind, spirit and emotions—belief in optimal health and wellness. Her practice had mainly been home-based, but she’d enjoyed the time she was able to come into the clinic to work. So, I think I’d be able to work out a schedule with her.
And then, there’s the counseling component. I feel like that’s essential to complete healing as well. Not carrying so much emotional baggage can only open up outlets to healing. Bonnie kind of covers some of that, but the two therapists we had on staff really established a rapport with many of our patients. And that’s the part that really breaks my heart, because so many of them have been left out in the cold. Just when they’d started making progress, the doors were closed, locked and subpoenas were sent to all of us to testify.”
“For real? Testify about what?” he asked. “You didn’t have anything to do with what management was doing.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I didn’t. But I still have a date scheduled at the end of the month for a deposition.”
