One Hot Doctor by Sarah J. Brooks
Chapter 17
Cora
This has got to be the simplest dress that I now own, but it’s the one that has me feeling the sexiest. It’s floral and strapless and loose around my body. It was the only one left of its kind in the gift shop. Maybe it feels so special because Thomas bought it for me. He insisted on buying everything I need for the weekend. It felt odd accepting so much from him, but he’d insisted, and we had started to draw attention from other shoppers.
I fork the last of my steak and potatoes and sit back in my chair.
“Do you want more?” Thomas asks, a look of concern on his face, which makes me laugh.
“I’m good, I promise, and no dessert for me either,” I say, patting my belly. I reach for my glass of water and drain it in one go. “This baby is turning me into a glutton.” Not that I’m worried about getting back into shape. Working out for me has never been a chore. I love it, and I’ll be right back at it when the baby is born.
Any single woman in the restaurant looking at me now is probably thinking how lucky I am. Thomas is the kind of male that attracts female attention wherever he goes. I want to ask him whether he’s excited about the baby, but he’s fallen back into his pensive mood. I have no doubt that he’s thinking about Tessa. His gaze is focused somewhere to my right. He eats without much enjoyment or paying attention to what goes into his mouth. If only they knew. No woman can have Thomas’s heart. Knowing that doesn’t stop me from wishing he was available to love. Wishing he could be mine.
This is the perfect moment to have the conversation that brought me here. Only I can’t bring myself to ask him why he left town without letting me know. I have an inkling of what the answer might be, and I don’t want to hear it. What if he raises an eyebrow at me and reminds me that he doesn’t owe me an explanation? What then? How do I respond to that? I know I’m being a coward but I’m loving the impromptu vacation, and I don’t want anything to spoil it. I’ll ask him when we return to LA.
After dinner, a live band gets on the stage and starts playing oldies. I love dancing, and it has been ages since I took to the dance floor.
“Do you want to dance?” I ask Thomas.
“Sure,” he says, and he takes my hand, and we thread through the tables to the dance floor at the center of the room.
Thomas turns out to be a pretty good dancer rousing my curiosity. What was his life with Tessa like? What had they done on the weekends? It’s odd and weird to think of Thomas with another woman. Married to her, not even dating.
After two more energetic dances, we leave the dance floor and get fresh drinks from the bar. We head to the tables on the balcony, where we have a view of the dark ocean.
“You must have loved her very much,” I say and cringe. I like to accuse Adeline of talking too much, but I’m no different.
“She was special,” Thomas says.
I swallow a lump of saliva. I feel a mixture of emotions. Sad for him and also jealous of her that she experienced the kind of love that some of us never will in our lives.
“But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now.” He looks at me suggestively, his heated gaze dropping to my breasts.
My body responds instantly, with heat pooling between my legs. My nipples harden and push through the material of the dress. I didn’t wear a bra because the dress came with enough support at the chest, but that means that Thomas can easily notice my protruding nipples.
“Shall we go up to the room?” Thomas asks, his voice dark and husky.
“Yes,” I reply, my voice just as thick with desire.
I drain my water, and Thomas and I head to the elevators to our room. There are other people in the elevator, and we content ourselves with holding hands.
In the room, Thomas flicks on the lights and then stands close to me without touching me. “You look so beautiful in that dress; it’s a shame that it has to come off.”
I laugh softly. “I’ll wear it some other time.”
He bends to kiss my bare shoulders, and I exhale a shaky breath. He straightens up, pushes the straps off my shoulders, and pulls my dress down. He eats me with his gaze as more of my body is revealed.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs.
I step out of the dress and reach for his shirt to unbutton it. As I pop each button, Thomas cups my breasts as if trying to see if his hands can cover them. I push his shirt out of the way and caress his chiseled chest.
He bends to take a nipple into his mouth, and I arch my back. For the next half an hour, Thomas pleasures me with his hands, tongue, and cock. It doesn’t feel like sex tonight. It feels like more.
Or maybe that’s just me. I want Thomas to be so much more than my baby daddy that I’m making our sex to be more than it is.
Afterward, we lie in each other’s arms, and I hear his breathing grow heavy as he drifts off to sleep. It takes me longer to fall asleep. It’s frightening to have feelings for a man who doesn’t reciprocate those feelings. A man who already had his number one, but that is nothing new. I’ve never been anyone’s number one.
I’m scared of the heartbreak this will lead to. But maybe it won’t. Maybe I’m worrying for nothing. Maybe after I have my baby, I’ll have all the love I need. And for once in my life, I’ll be someone’s number one. My hand snakes to my slightly rounded belly, and I caress the small bump.
Whatever happens between Thomas and me, I will still have my baby. That’s got to be enough right?
***
For someone who had not planned on a mini-vacation, I’m having the time of my life. Last night, before I fell asleep, I decided to shove all my worries away for this weekend and have a good time.
I finish putting on the rather risqué swimsuit and stare at my reflection in the mirror. Thank God for sarongs, I muse, turning to stare over my shoulder. The bikini bottom shows more ass than it covers, but then again, no one here knows me. Before opening the door, I call out, “Ready?”
“I’ve been ready hours ago,” Thomas shouts back.
I fling the door open and catwalk across the room, adding a sway to my walk. Thomas whistles.
“That is flaming hot. Fuck, Cora.”
I laugh. We bought it together, but I am sure that Thomas had no idea just how tiny the bikini was. I’m stacked at the front, so the top just manages to cover my nipples.
“Come here,” Thomas growls, and when I pretend to run off to the bathroom, he sprints after me. He wraps his hands around my waist, angles his mouth over mine, kisses me lightly, and then pulls back. He runs his hands down my hips and then cups my bare ass cheeks.
He leans forward to whisper into my ear. “How about we skip that swim?”
I laugh and push him away. “Nice try but heck no. The ocean is waiting.” I glance down at the bulge in his shorts and give it a pat. “Later, I promise.”
In the bathroom, I grab the sarong and slip into it. Thomas and I leave the room. Our plan is to spend the afternoon on the beach. Thomas carries a bag that has everything we need.
We’re lucky to snag two beach loungers and drape our towels over them. I can’t keep my gaze off the water, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in the ocean. I feel as excited as a kid, and I quickly shrug off my sarong and throw it on the lounger.
That’s when I notice a group of guys seated on beach chairs near us. There are five of them ogling me, and not even trying to hide it. I notice Thomas scowling at them. It’s annoying, but the best thing is always to ignore it.
“Hey, relax,” I tell him.
“I hope I’ve never behaved like that in front of a beautiful, sexy woman,” he says.
I laugh. “I bet you’ve stared; most men have. I got used to it.” The skimpy bikini doesn’t help, but this has always happened. “I got curves earlier than most girls, so you can imagine what school was like.”
“I can just imagine teenage boys ogling after you, the little bastards,” Thomas says darkly.
I laugh. “It was a long time ago.” I grab Thomas’s hand. “Race you to the water.”
“You are not racing in that,” he says.
His jealousy is funny but misplaced. He owns my body and heart, and it doesn’t matter who looks or whistles. He walks behind me to block the view of my almost bare ass from the guys.
I gasp when my toes dip into the water. It’s cool at first touch, but as we wade deeper, it becomes warmer. We stop when the water is shoulder-deep. Thomas splashes salty water on my face.
“Oh no, you didn’t!”
I go after him, and for the next ten or so minutes, we frolic in the water. It’s the most fun I’ve had in years. We hide from each other underwater. At one point, Thomas disappears, and the next thing I feel is a crawly going up my leg. I shriek and swim away. Thomas resurfaces and laughs his ass off.
It’s nice to see him like this. Relaxed and laughing with seemingly no care in the world. We wade back to the beach and then flop down on the beach loungers. I’m glad the group of guys has left. I don’t want anything to spoil the special afternoon.
The other people near us are a couple, and they’re definitely lost in their own world. We bask in the sun, sip on the water the resort provided us with and chat.
“I could stay here forever,” I say with a sigh.
“It would get old very fast,” Thomas says. “You’d miss your business and friends and family.”
“I guess you’re right,” I tell him. “But I’m loving the fantasy. Don’t spoil it for me.”
He laughs, then grows solemn. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Suddenly, my breathing escalates. Anytime Thomas grows serious, I worry, and I’m not sure of what exactly.
“Do you sometimes wish that you got pregnant through a sperm donor instead of with me?”
All air leaves my lungs at the unexpected question. I weigh between giving him an honest answer and being vague. I opt for the truth. “I’m glad it was you. Before I got pregnant, I worried about using a sperm donor, especially stuff like what will I tell my baby?”
He nods but doesn’t respond.
“You?”
“Am I glad I didn’t use a sperm donor?”
I make a face. “You’re a regular comedian, aren’t you? I’m serious.”
He’s quiet for several seconds. “I’ve never wanted a baby, and at first, I didn’t want to accept that in a few months, I would be a dad.”
His words hurt, but I am glad that he’s been honest. Besides, I know that he and Tessa wanted a baby, so of course, he wouldn’t be too thrilled about a surprise pregnancy. “And now?”
“It’s growing on me,” Thomas says.
It’s not exactly the answer I want to hear, but it’s honest.
