Chemistry of Desire. Melanie Schuster
“Not a problem. Sleep well.”
Her hand was on her doorknob as she looked up at him. “You, too. Sleep well, I mean.”
Without warning he leaned down and took her mouth with his for a lingering kiss that rocked her to her very soul.
“Now I will,” he said.
Todd might have slept soundly, but Emily was having a very difficult time in her room. Ever since Todd had kissed her she’d been dizzy. His lips were hot and smooth and strong, and she’d never felt anything like them in her life. She wasn’t a virgin and she’d had some pleasurable sexual experiences in the past, but they paled in comparison to the thrill of Todd’s kiss. It was unexpected, sweet and hot as fire, and she could still feel it as she tossed and turned in bed.
She had stripped off her clothes as soon as she got into her room, changing into an old plaid cotton robe that she’d had since college. It was big and baggy and utterly hideous, but she needed to be completely covered because she needed a shower right now, preferably a cold one that would shock her back into her right mind. After bundling her hair up into a knot, she waited until she was sure Todd was in his room for the night and she slipped out into the hallway and scooted to the bathroom. Turning the water on full blast, she lathered her body from head to toe, trying to put out the fire Todd had lit.
Why did he kiss me, she wondered. And why didn’t he do it again? He didn’t have to stop; they could have kept on kissing until morning as far as she was concerned. Better yet, they could have just kissed their way into her bed. She was honest enough to admit that she’d desired him since the day they’d met, way back when Ayanna got married. They were introduced at the wedding rehearsal, and she could still recall every detail of their meeting. Everything was engraved in her memory, from what he had on, how he smelled, what his skin felt like as they shook hands to his beautiful smile. She’d had an instant attraction to him, but she was far too self-conscious and shy to make her interest known.
Her feelings about Todd would have remained a secret forever if he hadn’t turned up on her doorstep. But he had, and in a few hours he’d gone from being an abstract desire to something else. What that something was, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t possible to put a name on it. He’d seen her naked, she’d called the police on him; they’d had a nice dinner and watched a DVD until she fell asleep in his arms. She’d waved a gun in his face, and he kissed her good-night. As a first day together it was interesting, to say the least. What would tomorrow bring?
She licked her lips and experienced the same vestigial thrill she’d been feeling since Todd had kissed her. Whatever came next, she vowed she’d be ready for it. Opportunities like this came only once in a lifetime and she wasn’t going to waste it.
Chapter 5
The next morning Todd hoped he didn’t look as tired as he felt. The bed was comfortable and he had no trouble going to sleep, but the highly erotic dreams he had about Emily kept waking him up in the various stages of desire and plain old horniness. It was his fault, he freely admitted. He shouldn’t have kissed her, because finding out how good she could do it drove him crazy when he was supposed to be getting a good night’s slumber. Considering the fact that he’d committed to getting up at an ungodly hour to run with her, he should have gotten a lot more sleep. After splashing a lot of cold water on his face in an attempt to look more alert than he was feeling, he pulled on a baggy pair of shorts and a ratty tank top that had seen better days and went down the back stairs to the kitchen. After taking one look at Emily, he was alert all over.
“Good morning,” she said. “You want some grape juice and toast? I can’t run on an empty stomach.”
“Sure, but I’ll get it. You look cute, by the way.”
She turned red, which made her look even cuter. Her long thick hair was pulled up in a braided ponytail so that her graceful neck was exposed, and she had on red runner’s shorts that showed off her strong, shapely legs. A snug-fitting white racer-back bra top completed her ensemble, and she looked delicious.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. “It looks like it’s gonna rain, so we should probably hit it. I’m going to go warm up,” she added as she headed for the door.
Todd went to the window to watch her. It was overcast, as she said, but he still ate two pieces of multigrain toast and downed a glass of juice. Like Emily, he had to have something in his stomach before exercising. Besides that, he was enjoying the view. Emily was incredibly limber as she stretched her long legs. All the twists and turns she was doing were accelerating his heart rate better than a warm-up. She presented entirely too much temptation for this hour of the morning. Something crossed his mind, and he went out to take it up with Emily.
“Do you always run by yourself?” he asked abruptly.
Emily looked at him strangely. “When I’m here, yes, I do. When I’m at home I run on campus, and there’re usually other people out there on the track. Why?”
“You look a little too good to be out here by yourself. That’s another reason to get a dog. Protection,” he said gruffly.
“Are you kidding? You need to get a hobby or something, Todd. That way you won’t be wasting time worrying about nonsense. I can take care of myself. Get warmed up or I’ll leave you,” she warned.
He gave her a look which said the conversation wasn’t over, but he started his warm-up. As he started stretching his torso, Emily gasped.
“Todd, what happened to you? Where did you get those scars from?”
He gave her a faint semblance of a smile and pulled the tank top off so she could see the scars that went from his shoulder to his breastbone. There were three of them, and the recent removal of the sutures was quite evident.
“These are battle wounds. I was at work on a gang member in the E.R. when someone from the other gang jumped off his gurney and snatched a scalpel. His target was my patient, but when I blocked him he decided to come at me. Nice, huh?”
He was both alarmed and touched when her eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth with a shaking hand. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Don’t be upset,” he said. “It wasn’t that big a deal. Ayanna probably didn’t mention it to you because the twins were under the weather and she had her hands full. Besides, I was only in the hospital for a couple of days and it was all over,” he said soothingly.
Emily didn’t seem to be listening to his words. She was tracing the scars with a gentle hand. Suddenly her expression turned stern and she pointed a finger at him. “You’re giving me grief about being safe, and you got attacked while you were at work. Kind of hypocritical of you, wouldn’t you agree?”
Todd pulled the tank top on again. “That’s my point exactly! There’s no telling what can happen to you at any time, anyplace, so you need to be careful. If you had a dog for protection, you’d be safer.”
“Like you were at your place of work?”
“A gang war in Chicago isn’t exactly the norm for my place of work,” he began.
“Liar! You work in the busiest E.R. in the city of Chicago, and the crime rate there is pretty darned high, so you have an outstanding chance of being in a dangerous situation any day of the week,” she said hotly. “Looks like you’re the one who needs to be more careful, not me.”
Todd tried not to smile, but it was difficult. She looked so adorable as she argued him down, her feminine appeal was irresistible. Plus, it was obvious that she cared about what happened to him, which was touching even as she told him off. The only way to shut her up was another kiss, which he willingly applied. He reached for her, pulled her to his chest and put his lips over hers. She stiffened for a second before relaxing against him and letting the magic happen. Her tongue tasted vaguely of grape juice, but more like pure sugar. He ran his hands up and down her exposed back until she sighed and leaned into him as her hands returned his caress. The kiss would have gone on much