Since the bar was conveniently located only a block from her work, it regularly filled with doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, most searching for a way to wind down after a hard night on the floor. She stole a glance at the piano player who was crooning a soft ballad in the far corner. Even though his soothing voice drowned the hushed conversations around them, Lauren leaned toward her friend and spoke in whispered words, wanting to keep her private life, well…private.

  “Adam’s thoughtful, kind, funny, exciting, and completely uninhibited in bed.”

  Shiloh arched a challenging brow. “Yeah, when he’s there.”

  Lauren drew a long breath and let it out slowly. Okay, so Shiloh was right and that was the problem. She’d been dating Adam Wilson for a little over eight months now and while she liked everything about him, from his playful demeanor to his zest for life, his roguish good looks, and his wild antics in bed, she couldn’t deny that his absence during the weekdays posed a real problem for her.

  Still, he was a man with integrity and values, so unlike the other men she’d dated in the past, and he treated her with kindness and respect. As much as she hated being alone throughout the week, she wasn’t about to dump his sorry ass because his job took him out of province.

  When Adam was home he showered her with attention and affection and put her needs and desires first. He was always fun and spontaneous and kept their relationship fresh and exciting by whisking her away to exotic locales where he’d spend the weekend catering to her every need and bringing her wildest fantasies to life.

  As the erotic slideshow played out in her mind’s eye, her body warmed in response. The man was anything but boring. Need moved through her just thinking about all the erotic ways he made love to her, especially the scintillating way he liked to take her up against the wall. He’d drive into her hard and fast with such fevered passion it rattled her right to her core. Her skin broke out in a fever and her sex clenched with want, leaving her feeling hot and achy. Over the years she’d come to learn that few men were as creative or deft with their hands, their fingers, their tongue…

  Truthfully, she loved everything about Adam, and while she enjoyed every minute in his arms and in his bed, what she didn’t like was being alone all week. Unfortunately, the luxury of working close to home was out of his control. As a pilot for one of the big commercial carriers, he spent his weekdays flying across the country. He returned home on Friday evening only to leave again early Monday morning. But who was she to complain about his career? As an emergency ward doctor she knew all about odd hours and crazy work schedules. But she couldn’t deny that she wanted companionship through the week too. Someone to snuggle up with at night, someone to watch mind-numbing reality TV shows with, someone to wake up with and someone to give a goodbye kiss to in the mornings before she headed off to work.

  Damn…

  “You know I’m all about Adam,” Shiloh said, cutting into her thoughts as the bartender replenished their drinks. “Hell, I’d give my eye teeth for a guy like that. But you’re not like me, Lauren,” she pressed, her green eyes moving over Lauren’s face with genuine concern. “I’d totally be content to have him around only on weekends—Lord knows I like my space—but I know you want more out of a relationship and you shouldn’t have to settle for anything less.”

  “It’s just that…”

  “Come on, Lauren. It’s hump day, and you’re sitting at a bar having cocktails with me.” She paused, gave a sassy wink, then added, “Instead of having…cocktails, with him.”

  Lauren took a big gulp of her drink, and when her head wobbled slightly—the alcohol hitting her hard since she hadn’t stopped working long enough to grab dinner—she decided it was time to call it a night. But before she made her way to the train, she needed to walk the three blocks to Adam’s place and take care of Nate, the mischievous feline that Adam’s brother, Garret, had left in his care while he was away racing. Adam planned to kennel the cat during the weekdays, but Lauren didn’t mind seeing to his needs every few days and suspected Garret would prefer it that way too. As she thought about Garret, she found it hard to believe that she’d been dating Adam for eight months and had yet to meet his brother, especially seeing how close the two guys were. Adam talked about his brother so much, Lauren felt as if she already knew him.

  The door behind them banged open and they both turned in time to see Blake Canyon, the hospital’s newest intern—a guy who had all the single girls, and some of the not-so-single girls, tripping over their tongues. He entered and looked around, his sexy glance brushing over Shiloh, the heat in his eyes enough to melt her surgical equipment.

  “Speaking of hump day,” Shi said, her eyes returning his smoldering gaze with interest.

  Chuckling and deciding she’d had enough, Lauren slid her glass along the mahogany bar top, dropped a few bills onto the counter and grabbed her coat from the back of her stool.

  “Coming?” she asked as she shrugged into her knee-length wool jacket and wrapped her knitted scarf around her neck.

  “Soon, I hope,” Shi said with a grin and it didn’t take a brain surgeon to know the subject had once again dipped south. On that cue, Lauren grabbed her purse and briefcase and made her way outdoors while Shiloh picked up her drink and disappeared into the crowd.

  The cool wind wrapped around Lauren’s body and she tightened her scarf around her neck as the winter’s first snow began to dust the city’s sidewalks. Large flakes danced under the streetlamps and glided silently to the ground. Lauren slowed her steps and absorbed her surroundings, taking in the beauty of the night as well as all the couples who were out for a romantic, evening walk. As she inhaled the crisp air, she felt a pang of loneliness inside her, and wished Adam were by her side, there to hold her hand, touch her intimately and enjoy the gorgeous night with her.

  She blinked a fat snowflake from her lashes and hustled down the sidewalk, not wanting to dwell on those disheartening thoughts any longer. A few minutes later she pushed open the door to Adam’s condo, and nearly tripped over a purring Nate as he wrapped himself around her legs.

  “Hey boy.” Lauren dropped her briefcase on the floor, patted the furry feline and asked, “Hungry?”

  Nate purred louder and when she glanced up and noticed the shredded newspaper strewn across the hardwood floors she laughed and tapped his nose. “I think we need to get you a friend of the opposite sex to keep you entertained during the weekdays.” Lauren couldn’t help but think she could use the same thing.

  At that scandalous thought she flicked the hall light on and went straight to the kitchen. She dropped her purse onto the counter and prepared his food. After refilling his bowl and refreshing his water, she wandered around the quiet apartment and cleaned up Nate’s mess. She picked a sofa pillow up off the floor and pressed it to her nose. The warm, earthy scent of Adam impregnated the fabric and raised her hunger for him. Her nipples tightened almost painfully and her body shuddered, her entire being longing to be in his arms tonight.

  When Nate finished eating, he jumped onto the windowsill and scratched at the glass pane.

  “What is it, boy?” Leaving the pillow behind, she stepped up beside Nate and laughed when he continued to swat at the falling flakes as they melted on the warm pane. As she stared at the street, it occurred to her just how big the flakes were and just how quickly they were accumulating on the ground below. She was dressed in her high heels, having changed at the hospital before going to the lounge, and she wasn’t prepared for snow—the weatherman certainly missed his mark this time. Thoughts of going back out in the cold made her cringe. Adam certainly wouldn’t mind if she stayed over, and since she did have an extra pair of scrubs at the hospital…

  She rubbed Nate. “What do you think, boy? Would you like the company?” When Nate purred and licked his paw, she took that as a yes. As she warmed to the idea of spending the night in Adam’s bed, albeit alone, she decided a hot, sudsy shower to wash away the busy day and help her relax was in order
first.

  Lauren stripped off her clothes and left a trail in the hall as she made her way to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and climbed in. As the warm spray fell over her body, she grabbed Adam’s body wash and squeezed a generous amount onto her hand. She rubbed it over her damp flesh and as the fresh, familiar scent fragranced the air her body grew needy for him. She ran her hands over her breasts, stopping to pluck at her nipples, while she widened her legs to let the hot stream spray her bare pubic area and caress her swollen clit.

  She moaned without censure, then removed the handle so she could center the nozzle on the spot that needed it most. As desire twisted inside her, her passion grew, and her body began tingling all over. Stroking herself, she envisioned Adam between her legs, tonguing her cunt, lapping at her cream, dipping a finger inside her.

  “Oh God,” she cried out.

  Slowly, methodically, she controlled the pace, taking her time to build her orgasm as she worked the spray over her inflamed clit. Okay, so she couldn’t deny that while she liked Adam’s wild, frantic lovemaking sessions, there were times, like now, when she wanted a soft touch, to shift things into slow gear. But as a pilot who found his career boring, he craved excitement and made up for his mundane work week by going all out on his weekends—with her.

  She couldn’t fault him for that.

  Turning her focus to the intense pleasure rising in her, her breathing grew a little shallow, a little unstable. She let loose a low moan, her chest rising and falling as she felt an orgasm pulling at her. As a sweet mixture of her tangy arousal mingled with Adam’s spicy soap, pleasure forked through her bringing her to the edge.

  Her pulse raced, her body burned. Hot flames licked up her thighs and in that instant she let herself go, let herself fall over the precipice. Giving into her basic elemental needs, her pussy clenched and pulsed, her muscles squeezing together in euphoric bliss.

  She remained under the hot spray a moment longer, letting her breathing return to normal. Once stable, she turned off the water, climbed from the shower stall and grabbed a big, fluffy towel. Not bothering with clothes, she flicked the light off and felt a little melancholy as she made her way down the hall to the bedroom. Even though she’d just climaxed, and it had temporarily sated her physically, it left her feeling a little empty inside and in need of Adam even more.

  As she pushed open the bedroom door and dropped her towel, light from the hallway filtered in and fell over the unmade bed—an unmade bed with a naked body sprawled across it! Gasping in surprise, she clutched her bare breasts and peered into the dark. As she took in the silhouette of Adam’s lean torso, thick muscular chest, long legs and firm thighs, her heart leapt, her libido roared to life and her mind filled with deliciously erotic ideas.

  She had no idea why he was home on a Wednesday night and decided that instead of questioning her good fortune, she was damn well going to take advantage of it.

  CHAPTER 2

  Hot steam rose from her still-warm body as the coolness of the bedroom fell over her naked flesh. As she listened to Adam’s soft breathing a shiver moved through her but she wasn’t entirely sure it was from the cold air. The truth was, the thoughts of him lying there, hers to do with as she pleased filled her with raw, unfettered need. Her body quaked in anticipation.

  Taking care not to disturb him, she quietly pushed the bedroom door closed, locking the world out and the two of them in. When her eyes adjusted to the dark she moved toward the bed, not wanting him to wake him just yet. Oh no, she had other, more devious ideas on how she wanted to pull her lover from his deep slumber.

  With slow, careful steps, she padded quietly across the hardwood floor, then climbed between the sheets with him. Lying on his back, his face turned from hers, she could just make out the silhouette of his body under the covers.

  She carefully peeled the blankets back then touched his skin lightly as she breathed in the fresh scent of his body wash. He must have recently showered too, because the enticing spicy scent of his soap instantly filled her nostrils. She pulled it into her lungs and stifled a low moan of pleasure.

  Her fingers trailed his skin and deep in his sleep he made a noise, a mixture between an aroused groan and soft growl. Lauren grinned and pressed her lips to his chest. She tasted his skin, loving the flavour of his salty flesh on the tip of her tongue. With the utmost care she climbed over him and straddled his hard body from above. Teasing and tickling him, she bent forward and brushed her long hair over his chest, tormenting and arousing his senses, just the way he liked it.

  She shimmied lower and between her spread legs she could feel his cock grow in his sleep. That brought a smile to her face. His blatant arousal had her mouth watering and she knew she needed a taste. She pressed her lips to his chest and ran her tongue over his hard muscles. Once again she forced herself to stifle a groan of pleasure when his cock shifted and nearly breached her opening. Her tongue trailed lower and lower, but moments before she reached her destination, his large hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her to him.

  “Hey, baby,” she whispered into his mouth.

  “Hey yourself,” he responded, his words rough and muffled as he kissed her with such need and passion it had her head spinning and her body vibrating with primal need.

  A moment later he rolled on top of her, caging her small frame between his chest and the soft mattress below. The weight of his hard body felt so good pressing down on her as he kissed her with hunger. He mumbled something under his breath, something she couldn’t understand. But at that moment, as her body roared to life and her addled brain completely shut down, she didn’t care. All she cared about was that Adam was here with her, and they could spend the rest of tonight in each other’s arms, pleasuring one another.

  Lauren raked her fingers through his hair and somewhere in the back of her passion-drenched mind noticed that he’d let it get a little longer than usual. But her thoughts were fragmented when he inched back and ran his mouth over her nose, her eyes, and her jaw before coming to stop on the sensitive part of her neck. He brushed his tongue over her flesh slowly, gently, taking his time to savor her as his hands shaped her contours with the utmost care. She quaked under his careful touch as her body beckoned for more.

  As he continued to stroke her with a soft, feather-like caress, warm, needy sensations rocketed through her and her pussy moistened. She relaxed into him, completely putting herself in his hands, once again letting him take the lead.

  Instead of pulling her on top of him and having her ride him with wild abandon, or taking her up against the wall hard and fast, he surprised her by working his way down her body, lightly running his tongue over her tingly skin, so thoroughly, so carefully, and with such heated conviction she thought she’d died and gone to heaven.

  Although she loved his frantic lovemaking, tonight he’d slowed things down and touched her with a gentle hand. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but she couldn’t deny that she liked it. Maybe he was just so in tune with her needs that he knew she wanted soft, easy lovemaking after a hard night at the hospital. Either that or the man working his way down her lascivious body wasn’t Adam. She brushed that ridiculous thought aside. It was more likely that she’d caught him sleeping, and his mood was mellow, which also explained the slight differences in his kisses tonight.

  Adam closed his mouth around one nipple and, with a light flick of his tongue, caressed the bud until it hardened in his mouth. Their cries of pleasure merged and cut through the silence of the room. Lauren arched into him as he paid homage to one breast, greedily licking and sucking, nibbling and biting before moving on to the next. God, the man was beyond skilled with his tongue.

  Her breath came out a little ragged and her whole body trembled as he pushed a knee between her legs to widen them.

  “Yes, please…” She gripped his head to guide him downward, her body anxious to feel his tongue on her clit, anxious for him to bring her to orgasm, again and again.

  His soft chuckle filled
the room as he continued to draw out her pleasure, making her delirious with want as he slowly seduced her body, mind and soul. He pressed soft lips to her skin, kissing the outer edge of her breasts before shifting downward so he could sinuously circle his tongue around her belly button. As her cunt ached for him, he continued to take his time, continued to slowly surf his mouth over her quivering body, skilfully turning her inside out with his sleepy seduction.

  Her hips came off the bed, but he grabbed her and anchored her down again, clearly not done toying with her. He shimmied lower and she felt his hot breath on her pubis. A low, needy growl of hunger rumbled through the room when he found her pussy bare and wet, and her body readily responded to the pleasure in his voice.

  Impatience thrummed through her. “Oh God, I need you inside me.”

  “Soon, sweetheart.” From deep between her legs his voice was rough and so heavy with desire she barely recognized it. And his touch…it was deeply intimate and pressed against her heart, raising her hunger for him.

  Lauren tossed her head to the side and gripped the sheets, bracing herself for a powerful orgasm that was building and churning with alarming speed. She couldn’t believe how needy she felt, or how thoroughly he was seducing her. But she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed this softer side of him, enjoyed his slow hand and tender touch even though everything in the way he was touching her made her delirious with want.

  The first sweet touch of his tongue to her clit had her burning up with need. He licked her gently, stroking her all the way from the bottom of her slit to the top and back down again. When her hips came off the bed, a growl ripped from his lips and he dove in deeper, devouring her with a greed that made her quake.

  She cried out as he brought her to the brink, only to pull back before she came. Teasing her libido, he pressed a hard thumb to her clit, and moments before her body let go, he changed tactics and curled the soft blade of his tongue around her clit, prolonging her pleasure and building it higher and higher.