do…
He finally returned to her bedroom. “Derrick, I have to get ready for this class. I don’t have a good explanation for any of this. I need time to sort things through. You understand?”
“I don’t mean to push. I only want to help. Maybe we should call the police?”
She nodded and picked up the bag, forcing Derrick to follow her to the front door. “And tell them what? She didn’t hurt me or steal anything.”
“What if she comes back? We should at least file a report of the break-in.”
“No. I appreciate your help, really I do.” She touched the side of his cheek. “I just don’t have time to do this now. I’ve got this class. Give me some time to retrace my steps and we’ll talk. Okay?”
“Sure. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll try. You’ll help me find this girl?”
“I said I would.” She noticed her short, clipped answer and could feel her temper getting the best of her. She pulled the front door open. “We’ll talk later. I have to go now, and I need time alone to clear my head before class.”
“Hey.” He reached out and wrapped his hands around her waist, his fingers drumming against her sides. She smiled up at him. “What?”
He pulled her closer. She leaned back against his hands knitted together at the small of her back and gazed up into his concerned brown eyes. Her hostility drifted away. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her. His velvety-soft tongue gently separated her lips and slid inside. She dropped the bag and linked her arms around his back, reaching up on her tiptoes and hooking her fingers around the tops of his shoulders. He playfully pulled her tongue into his mouth. She melted into the molten kiss. Heat stirred in her stomach, sending a warm, tingling sensation straight through her extremities and to her most intimate spot.
“That’s what. See you tonight.”
Breathless, she uttered, “Uh-huh.”
She stood there for minutes staring at her front door after he’d pulled it closed. She couldn’t remember another man kissing her with such passion. There was sincerity and honesty in his kiss. It was sensual without being sexual. And it left her wanting more, much more of him.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to wake up in his arms, to feel his naked body tangled in hers, his breath in her face, his eyes gazing into hers, coaxing her to make love in the morning sunlight.
She sighed and turned from the door, skipping through her living room. Teaching a yoga class with sexy thoughts of Derrick on her mind was not a good idea. She might blurt out something lingering in her subconscious and embarrass herself. She grabbed her car keys from the desk.
The fading damp spot on the floor threw her mind back into overdrive and where it needed to be. She reached down and touched the carpet, surprised when she found bits of seaweed embedded in the fibers. How could Derrick have missed this? She ran the dried bits of seaweed between her fingers. Proof. The dead girl from the ocean had been standing right here.
* * *
With the ocean breeze at his back, Derrick paused at his car and stared at Sparrow’s turquoise door and the seashell-encrusted wreath he hadn’t noticed when he’d burst through her front door after hearing her scream. On the other side of that door was one beautiful woman, making him feel young and reckless. Something he had missed out on after Kat had disappeared. Then, all he could focus on was finishing medical school, getting on with his residency, and scraping up enough money to buy the RV to convert it into the Mobile Health Clinic. He raked his hand through his hair again and then dragged it down the front of face.
Kat. Hadn’t she been the reason for the Mobile Health Clinic?
He’d never given up hope of finding her. Like so many teenage girls with stars in their eyes and delusions of grandeur, he’d figured she’d
He finally returned to her bedroom. “Derrick, I have to get ready for this class. I don’t have a good explanation for any of this. I need time to sort things through. You understand?”
“I don’t mean to push. I only want to help. Maybe we should call the police?”
She nodded and picked up the bag, forcing Derrick to follow her to the front door. “And tell them what? She didn’t hurt me or steal anything.”
“What if she comes back? We should at least file a report of the break-in.”
“No. I appreciate your help, really I do.” She touched the side of his cheek. “I just don’t have time to do this now. I’ve got this class. Give me some time to retrace my steps and we’ll talk. Okay?”
“Sure. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll try. You’ll help me find this girl?”
“I said I would.” She noticed her short, clipped answer and could feel her temper getting the best of her. She pulled the front door open. “We’ll talk later. I have to go now, and I need time alone to clear my head before class.”
“Hey.” He reached out and wrapped his hands around her waist, his fingers drumming against her sides. She smiled up at him. “What?”
He pulled her closer. She leaned back against his hands knitted together at the small of her back and gazed up into his concerned brown eyes. Her hostility drifted away. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her. His velvety-soft tongue gently separated her lips and slid inside. She dropped the bag and linked her arms around his back, reaching up on her tiptoes and hooking her fingers around the tops of his shoulders. He playfully pulled her tongue into his mouth. She melted into the molten kiss. Heat stirred in her stomach, sending a warm, tingling sensation straight through her extremities and to her most intimate spot.
“That’s what. See you tonight.”
Breathless, she uttered, “Uh-huh.”
She stood there for minutes staring at her front door after he’d pulled it closed. She couldn’t remember another man kissing her with such passion. There was sincerity and honesty in his kiss. It was sensual without being sexual. And it left her wanting more, much more of him.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to wake up in his arms, to feel his naked body tangled in hers, his breath in her face, his eyes gazing into hers, coaxing her to make love in the morning sunlight.
She sighed and turned from the door, skipping through her living room. Teaching a yoga class with sexy thoughts of Derrick on her mind was not a good idea. She might blurt out something lingering in her subconscious and embarrass herself. She grabbed her car keys from the desk.
The fading damp spot on the floor threw her mind back into overdrive and where it needed to be. She reached down and touched the carpet, surprised when she found bits of seaweed embedded in the fibers. How could Derrick have missed this? She ran the dried bits of seaweed between her fingers. Proof. The dead girl from the ocean had been standing right here.
* * *
With the ocean breeze at his back, Derrick paused at his car and stared at Sparrow’s turquoise door and the seashell-encrusted wreath he hadn’t noticed when he’d burst through her front door after hearing her scream. On the other side of that door was one beautiful woman, making him feel young and reckless. Something he had missed out on after Kat had disappeared. Then, all he could focus on was finishing medical school, getting on with his residency, and scraping up enough money to buy the RV to convert it into the Mobile Health Clinic. He raked his hand through his hair again and then dragged it down the front of face.
Kat. Hadn’t she been the reason for the Mobile Health Clinic?
He’d never given up hope of finding her. Like so many teenage girls with stars in their eyes and delusions of grandeur, he’d figured she’d
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