Love on Call by Shirley Hailstock Read Free Book Online Page B

said, “Thank you, Mallory. I appreciate you getting out of bed for me.”
    Damn, she cursed inwardly. If he kept saying things like that she wasn’t going to need a coat. Her body was already hot, and his comment infused it with a shot of fire that went straight into her bloodstream.
    â€œYou don’t have to worry about the hospital. I won’t discuss this with anyone there.” Her voice was slightly higher than normal.
    He smiled. Mallory so seldom saw him smile, and it completely transformed his face. She couldn’t sayhe was beautiful. He wasn’t, but he was the best-looking man she had ever seen. Mostly she saw him in hospital whites. He was now wearing a shirt that pulled across broad shoulders and tapered to a thin waist. His jeans molded strong legs, and made Mallory want to feel the length of them against her own. She turned away, expecting him to open her coat.
    He laid it back on the sofa. She faced him again, but took a step backward. Electricity flared between them, vibrant and alive. Her ears were so hot she was sure they would singe her hair.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” she asked.
    He stared at her, and after a long minute finally said, “Stay.”
    Mallory weighed that single word, turning it over in her mind. Stay and talk to me? Stay because I don’t want to be alone? Stay and let me get to know you? Stay and make love with me? He could mean any of them. She shook her head slowly, trying to make herself believe she wanted to leave.
    Brad took a step forward. Mallory closed her eyes and held her breath a moment. It didn’t help that she could visualize him even with her eyes closed. It didn’t help that the scent of him filled her nostrils and tantalized her. She opened her eyes. Brad picked up her coat and held it out. Mallory didn’t move. Relief that he wasn’t going to press her rooted her to the spot. It was a short-lived reprieve. Part of her wanted him to stop her. Part of her wanted him to take her in his arms and return her to that dream place she’d been in before.
    Brad stepped forward until his feet were toe-to-toe with hers. Heat swirled around them as he put the coat around her shoulders and pulled it closed, imprisoning her. She looked up into his eyes. They were dark pools, reminding her of a midnight sky flung with stars. They were fathomless to Mallory. She felt as if she was going to fall.
    She grabbed for his arm to steady herself, but the coat hampered her and her hand found his waist and slipped. She tried to catch herself. In less than a second Brad’s arms closed around her. He pulled her to him and his mouth found hers with unerring accuracy, his kiss immediately hot and devastating. Mallory had no time or inclination to resist. She ran her hands around him and gave herself up to emotions that raged out of control.
    Mallory had dreamed of being in Brad’s arms, had even thought herself there in reality when coming out of a dream. But this was no apparition. Her coat was an encumbrance. Brad took a second to pull it from her shoulders and drop it to the floor. He turned her into his body, resuming possession of her lips in mutual satisfaction. She tasted coffee as his tongue swept into her mouth, causing a riot in her bloodstream. She clung to him, helpless to stop her passionate, almost aggressive response.
    She wanted to get closer. She could feel the muscles of his back under her questing hands. Each time she moved them, he groaned. Mallory shifted and her body came in contact with his arousal. Brad’s moan held a mixture of pain and pleasure. She pressed evencloser and he moved his hands lower, lifting her against him.
    Her breath was coming in short gasps, her mind whirling. What had happened to her? To them? She was supposed to be leaving, going home to her own bed. Now she wanted only to get into his.
    But that was crazy. Somewhere her mind fixed on that fact and reason asserted itself. She pushed away