“Now was that so hard?” She reached out for the glass.
Instead of handing it to her, Bobby trapped her hand in his. “Sit down.”
She hesitated. She must have been crazy agreeing to stay at his apartment. Sure, his building was security locked. Sure, she could watch him, make sure he was recovering properly from his blow to the head. But she didn’t have to think back to his kisses in the hospital to know it was a bad idea. She only had to look at him from across the room to experience the confusion he created in her.
“Haven’t you ever heard of bedside manner? Yours needs some work.”
She shook her head. God knew with his fingers wrapped around hers, her knees felt too weak to stand much longer anyway. She lowered herself to the ottoman.
“Don’t tell me. When you were growing up, you always wanted to be a doctor.”
She forced out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She had to admit that being safe in his apartment, talking about silly things felt good. Normal. Something she hadn’t had a taste of in what seemed like a very long while. “Nope. Never wanted to be a doctor.”
“A nurse?”
“No.”
“What then?”
She allowed a smile to lift the corners of her lips. “Wonder Woman. Her name is Diana, you know.”
“I guess I should have figured that one out.”
“She’s strong. She can fly. She was in control.”
Bobby nodded. “Wonder Woman is definitely in control.”
“Got that straight.” Diana laughed a little and shook her head. Dwelling on fantasies would get her nowhere. She glanced at Bobby. “I suppose you always wanted to be a police officer.”
“Not until junior high. Before that I just wanted to be a big brother.”
“As in part of the group Big Brothers Big Sisters?”
“No. As in having a lot of younger siblings.”
Diana had to raise her brows at that. Bobby’s parents were both doctors. And as dedicated as they were to their chosen professions, they’d done well to raise one child, let alone more. “How many is a lot?”
“A dozen or so.”
A short laugh escaped her lips. She pressed a hand over her mouth.
“I dream big.”
“Why so many?”
“My parents were always trying to help other people. Through their work. Through charities.” He stroked his thumb along her index finger. “I guess I just wanted someone to need me too.”
Her throat pinched, making it hard to swallow.
“As it turned out, I never got those brothers and sisters. And I never knew what it was like to be really needed. Not until the job. Not until you.”
His words cut into her defenses. Into her self-control. She’d never understood before. Never even considered why he always took care of her. Only that it was a part of him. A part she couldn’t change.
She pulled her hand from his grasp and pushed up from the ottoman. Stepping to the window, she stared out into the blackness. “I can’t need you that way, Bobby. Not anymore.”
“I know.”
She closed the blinds.
Behind her, the couch rustled. His footsteps padded across the carpet.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” she said.
“What?”
“We were going to get married. We were about to actually walk down the aisle. And yet we never talked about this stuff before.”
“This stuff?” he asked.
“The secret, silly stuff.”
“You mean our dreams?”
“Yeah. Our dreams.”
“Since we met each other, my dream has been you.”
“Taking care of me.”
“That’s part of it.”
“And the other part?”
“Just being with you. Sharing things. I don’t think you realize what an extraordinary woman you are.”
Chills rose along Diana’s arms and over her back. It felt as if she’d waited forever to hear him say those words, even longer to believe them herself. But though she’d always envisioned this moment would make things clear in her mind, she couldn’t have been more wrong. Feeling Bobby’s heat behind her, hearing his voice, aching to be in his arms made her feel weaker and more confused than ever.
“I know you’re here tonight because I need you. But do you think maybe, in the future… do you think there’s a chance…”
Diana felt as if she were walking the edge of a cliff and one wrong step would send her falling into oblivion. “I don’t know.”
“Because I’m pretty sure I’ll need you tomorrow too. And the next day. And the next.” He raised a hand to her face. Touching her chin with a finger, he turned her head toward him.
She turned her whole body to face him, afraid to think, afraid to breathe.
“I’ve learned a lot in these past few days. About how strong you are. How much more confident than you seemed last fall. I never meant to undermine that.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed. You’ve always been amazing. Most amazing woman I’ve ever known.”
She closed her eyes. His words washed over her. Words she never thought she’d hear. Words that gathered in her chest and filled her with warmth.
Filled her with power.
She took a step. Into his arms. Into his heat.
He brought his lips down on hers. Hungry. Demanding. Showing his need. His kiss at once familiar and totally new.
Diana pressed her body against the hard length of him. Devoured his kiss as he devoured hers. She’d stepped over the edge and was falling, but she didn’t care. Not about anything but the warmth of his body and the taste of his mouth.
Bobby skimmed his hands up her sides, taking her shirt with him. He slipped it over her head, then circled his hands around her back to unhook her bra.
Cool air caressed her breasts and puckered her nipples.
He moved his hands up over her ribs and cupped her in his palms.
Diana arched her back, pushing her breasts into the caress of his hands. She brought her hands to his shirt. Forcing her fingers to work, she slipped his buttons free and spread the fabric away from his chest.
His touch felt so good, so right. So much about the feel of him was the same. Warm. Safe. Yet so much had changed.
So much about her had changed.
She ran her hands under his shirt, soaking in the texture of his skin, the rasp of the hair sprinkled in the center of his chest. She wanted to recapture what they’d had. The passion. The heat. Yet she wanted something different. Something elusive. She could taste it on her tongue.
Heat shimmered in her chest, building and strengthening like kindling fire. She moved down his body, sliding kisses over his chest, his belly, tracing the trail of hair down to where it disappeared into his waistband. She settled on her knees. Raising trembling hands, she unfastened his belt and lowered his fly.
He buried his hands in her hair, his fingers massaging her sore scalp in a gentle caress.
She pulled his pants down his legs, taking his briefs with them. She’d been so young when they’d met, so young the first time she’d touched him, the first time they’d made love. She’d taken his body for granted. The strength of it, the power of it, the responsiveness to her touch.
She didn’t take it for granted anymore.
She brushed her fingers up the underside of his shaft, lifting him, bringing him closer to her mouth. She let her breath wash over him.
He pulsed with movement at her touch. A moan rumbled through his chest.
She wanted to spend all night touching him, tasting him, reveling in the way he moved under her caress. She wanted to savor the clear evidence of how much he wanted her. How much he needed her.
Warmth surged through her, pooling between her thighs. She’d never felt so desperate for him, yet so sure of her own strength, her own power. She wanted more. She wanted to show him how she felt. She wanted to see how he felt about her.