Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(23)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Whatever I was feeling for this guy needed to be addressed. My head was spinning with such confusion.

Time got away from me, because the next thing I knew the bathroom door was opening. “Iz, are you all right?”

“Yeah,” I stood up and turned off the water. “I’m just finishing up.”

I don’t know why I tried to play off being upset. He’d obviously heard me crying, or else he wouldn’t have asked. “I got you a t-shirt and some shorts. They aren’t anything special. The pharmacy was selling them.”

I stuck my head out from beyond the curtain and looked at the clothing in his hands. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I figured you’d want to be comfortable when you slept.”

He left me alone to change, and when I came out into the room he was staring out the large window. He turned to acknowledge my presence. “I figured they’d be huge on you.”

I looked down at the oversized top and rolled up shorts. “It’s fine. They feel nice.”

His eyes traveled to my chest, where my hard ni**les made it obvious that I’d left my bra off. I could feel my cheeks getting warm as I looked up at him. He met my gaze and smiled.

Since it made me uncomfortable, I crawled under the covers on one of the beds. “I’m so tired that I could go to sleep now.” Since it was just starting to get dark I knew it was still pretty early.

Rusty sat on the edge of his bed and started taking off his boots. “I feel the same. Do you want to watch a movie?” He stood up and pulled his shirt over his head, then dropped his jeans, leaving me to stare. Even though he’d still had on a pair of boxers, it left little to the imagination. His chest was perfectly sculpted, as I’d already known. The V in the front of his shorts caught my eye. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He made Tate look like a scrawny teenager. “Iz, did you hear me?”

“Huh?” I looked up realizing that I’d missed everything.

“I asked you if you wanted to play cards.” He held up the deck that he’d just purchased.

How was I supposed to reply when he knew I’d been mesmerized by his body? The room became quiet as I brought my feet to the floor and stood up. Our eyes stayed fixed on one another, and I was beginning to shake as I took a step in his direction. “I don’t want to play cards.”

He watched me take a couple more steps, breaking that distance between us. “What do you want to do then, just go to bed?”

I licked my lips as I brought my face closer to his. “I’m suddenly not tired anymore.”

To be honest, I have no idea what had gotten into me. I’d never come onto a man in my life, and here I was taking advantage of the situation. Heaven help me but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to feel what it was like to kiss him, to feel his lips kissing me back. I needed to feel what it was like to be wanted by a man again. Pregnant or not, I had needs that I’d been neglecting.

Our lips brushed for the first time and I closed my eyes, preparing to go further. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away, turning his head while looking pained. “I can’t.”

I felt rejected. “I thought you liked me.”

“I do.” I started to back away, but he pulled me closer. “It’s not that, I can assure you.”

“Then what?”

Rusty looked away and closed his eyes. “Isabella, I do want you. It’s just that I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time. I don’t want you to do this because you feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t want you to want me because you miss your wife and I remind you of her.”

At the same time we both said, “I don’t.” It may have been a lie for both of us, but it didn’t matter. The moment was already happening.

We both sort of smiled and looked away again. Rusty lifted my chin and looked deeply into my eyes. “You deserve to feel wanted.”

“So do you.” It was the truth. He needed to feel alive again, because he was. “We’re both adults. I know this is unexpected, but we’re in this hotel together and we’re both obviously attracted to each other. I’m not sayin’ that we have to make love, but -.” His lips were on mine before I could answer. My hands found his hard chest and I ran the palms of them over his skin. Our mouths connected several times before I found the courage to use my tongue. It was as if I needed to test the waters before jumping right in.

This man was so fragile. He’d confided in me, and it had caused us to connect on a level that I’d never experienced with anyone before. I thought I knew Tate, but really our childhood relationship didn’t compare to this at all. I craved to be touched by this man, who in turned yearned to feel something real again. If all we had was this one night and nothing else, I wanted it to be memorable.

We both pulled away to catch our breaths. I ran my hands over the elastic to his boxers. He pulled away, as if he was embarrassed that he was forming an erection. “Sorry. I’m not –.”

“Shh.” I pulled the elastic toward me and let my hand slide down beneath until I felt his warm, smooth skin with my fingertips. “Close your eyes.”

He did as I asked and I leaned forward brushing my lips over his. Right away I felt his body beginning to tremble. He began shaking so bad that I couldn’t ignore it. His eyes shot open and I took one step back. “Are you okay?”

He just stood there staring at me, like he’d done before when I thought he was a stalker.

“Rusty?”

He came at me, shoving our lips together, and pulling us both down on one of the beds. It was so sexy to be with a real man, someone older that was still nervous. The more I fought with myself over my actions, the more I knew I wasn’t going to back down.

Chapter 14

Rusty

I couldn’t believe that she was on top of me, pressing those perfect lips against mine. Her hands remained on my chest as our tongues mingled together. I hadn’t felt this way in such a long time, but worried that at any minute she was going to stop.

For so long I’d felt as if I’d never be able to feel something for anyone again. I’d given up hope that good things could happen for me.

I was afraid to keep closing my eyes, in fear of her not being there when I opened them back up. I was scared to death that it could have all just been a dream. For so many nights I’d imagined what it would be like to touch her soft skin, to smell the fragrance of her body lotion, and to feel the way her lips felt when they pressed over mine.