Touch Me by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online Page B

out so you don't get an infection."
    "I think I do."
    She threw away the cotton ball and put the top back on the bottle.
    "That was really nice."
    "My dog attacked you, so I figured it was the least I could do."
    "No. I meant about Hercules. I mean, thank you for helping me, but not everyone is going to take on a task like you did. Like you said, Hercules is a lot of dog to handle."
    She looked down at him and they were so close he could feel her body heat.  Was it his imagination or did her pulse kick into overdrive.
    "Anyone would have done it."
    "No, they wouldn't. But you did because you know how it feels, don't you?"
    She drew in a breath and nodded. "I hated being the one left behind. I was an adult, but it's still hard to pick up those pieces and go on.”
    There was sadness in her voice that touched him. He had felt that. Being so young and losing his mother…that had been hard. Their family was never the same after that and his father changed. He had become a workaholic, destined to be general, and somewhat of an absent father. But, the two people who had always been there for her, gone, just like that.
    “But you did well. In fact, you thrived.”
    She gave him a small smile. “How would you know that? You just met me a few months ago.”
    “You have one of the fastest growing clinics in Oceanside. That’s saying a lot since you’re not from here. Plus, you care about the animals. Like taking in Hercules, and being worried about the dog the other day. You care. It’s not a quality everyone has.”
    “Don’t assume you know all about me, Jack. That would be a mistake.” She sounded so serious it almost broke his heart.
    He shook his head as his heart squeezed tight.  “No. I don’t. But I want to.”
    Everything stilled in the air around them as she continued to stare at him. “Jack…”
    “What? We aren’t right for each other? It can get complicated?”
    She nodded.
    “Does that really matter in the grand scheme of things?”
    Even he heard the need that clawing at his belly. It threatened to take over all rational thought as he tried to beat it back with a stick.
    “It should.”
    But even as she was saying it, she was leaning toward him. He slipped his hand up to cup her jaw. When their lips met, he felt as if his entire world shifted.  It wasn’t like their other kisses, almost stolen in the heat of the moment. This one was slow, easy and it spoke to his soul.
    When she pulled back, he dropped his hand.
    “Don’t say no, Hannah.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t think I can say no to you.”
    Tracing the edge of his jaw with the tip of her finger, she sighed.
    “Don’t sound so sad. It’s a good thing.”
    For a second, she studied him, her blue gray gaze roaming over his face. Then, slowly, her mouth curved.
    “I know.”
    In that moment, his heart turned over, once…twice, then fell at her feet. She wouldn’t be happy and Jack knew she would deny it. But, he knew and there was no going back to the way it was before this.
    Before he realized he loved her.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Jack didn't give her time to rethink her decision. He rose to his feet and then kissed her. Walking her backwards out the door, he then realized he didn't know the way to her bedroom. He pulled back from the kiss and was happy when she tried to follow him to keep contact.
    "Where's your room?"
    "Oh." It was said in such a breathy voice, it sunk beneath his flesh. Lord, she looked cute. And delicious.
    She took his hand and led him down the hallway, practically running.
    "You don't have to hurry. We have all night."
    She turned to face him when they reached her room. "No. I don't want to change my mind."
    That worried him. He didn't want her having any doubts. Ever.
    "We don't have to—"
    The look she shot him told him all he needed to know. "We most certainly are and you aren't backing out of it now."
    "I don't want you to have any regrets."
    Then, her features softened as she looked at him. "No. No