“Love apples,” Rachel said absently. “Tomatoes, that is. Though I don’t know why they were called that, since most people thought they were poisonous because they’re a member of the nightshade family, like belladonna.”
Honey chuckled. “Oh, ho! You’ve been reading up on old poisons, haven’t you? Is someone in one of your books going to kick the bucket from an overdose of belladonna?”
“Of course not. I don’t write whodunits.” Not at all perturbed by Honey’s teasing, Rachel glanced at Kell as she set the table. “You’re not a Southerner, are you? You have a drawl, but it isn’t Southern.”
“Most of it comes from spending a lot of time with a man from Georgia. We were in Vietnam together. I was born in Nevada.”
That was probably the limit of the personal information he would give about himself, so Rachel didn’t ask any more questions. They ate the simple meal, with Kell sitting between the two women, and though he ate well as always and kept up with the conversation, she noticed that he sat where he could watch both the window and the door. It was habit with him; he did it at every meal, even though he knew no one could approach the house without Joe giving warning.
As Honey was leaving she smiled at Kell and held out her hand. “If I don’t see you again, goodbye.”
He took her hand. “Thanks, doc. Goodbye.” Rachel noticed that he made no pretense about staying.
Honey eyed him consideringly. “I’m literally bursting with questions, but I think I’m going to follow my own good advice and not ask them. I don’t want to know. But be careful, you hear?”
He gave his crooked half smile. “Sure thing.”
She winked at him. “If anyone asks, I don’t know a thing.”
“You’re a smart woman, doc. After I’m gone Rachel can fill you in on the details.”
“Maybe. But maybe I’ll just make up my own answers. That way I can get as wild and romantic as I want but still play it safe.”
Probably Honey’s outlook was the best, Rachel thought after she and Kell were alone. Honey allowed herself to be wild and romantic in her fantasies, but in real life she opted for safety. Honey would never do anything as risky as falling in love with a man like Kell Sabin. She would clean the kitchen, just as Rachel was doing, and forget about the rest. Rachel turned and found him watching her in that steady, unnerving way of his. Her chin lifted. “What is it?”
For answer he walked up to her and cupped her chin in his hand, then bent and covered her mouth with his. Surprise held Rachel motionless for a moment; he hadn’t kissed her after that first time, though she sometimes thought there was a touch of possessiveness in the way he held her at night. She hadn’t betrayed the pleasure she felt in sleeping in his arms, but there was no way she could hide the heavy surge of desire that made her respond to his mouth, her lips parting at the pressure of his, her hands sliding up the hard, warm wall of his chest. His tongue curled against hers, and she made a sound deep in her throat, her breasts and loins tightening as if he had touched them.
Slowly Kell moved forward, backing her up until she was jammed against the cabinets. Rachel freed her mouth and gasped, “What brought this on?”
His mouth moved down to the curve of her jaw and explored the soft skin below her ear. “Must be all those love apples you’ve been feeding me,” he murmured. “Stop turning your head away. Kiss me. Open your mouth.” She did, her hands clenching his shirt, and he took her mouth in a long, deep, mind-drugging way that went on forever and had her standing on tiptoe to press against him. His hands slid down to her buttocks and cupped them, lifting her into even more intimate contact.
The kiss stripped away all pretense and left them clinging together in open passion, hungry for each other, straining to get even closer. Their passion had been building for days, feeding on the memory of intimate touches between them that normally would have come after the first questing kisses, but they had been thrown together in circumstances that had gotten the order mixed. She had seen and touched his hard, beautiful body while caring for him and soothing him. He had felt her in his hands and gotten used to the particular sweet scent of her even before he’d known her name. He had slept with her in his arms for four nights now, and their bodies had grown accustomed to each other. Nature had circumvented all the natural barriers that people threw up to protect their sense of privacy, forcing the two of them together in a hothouse atmosphere forged by circumstance.
The force of what she was feeling frightened her a little, and again she tore her mouth away from his, hiding her face in the warm curve of his throat. She had to slow this down before she went out of control. “You’re a fast man,” she gulped, trying to steady her voice.
He moved his hands from her buttocks to slide them up her back, holding her tightly. His mouth nuzzled her ear, and his voice was warm and dark. “Not as fast as I wanted to be.”
Uncontrollable shivers were vibrating through her entire body, and her nipples were so tight that they ached. He held her even more tightly, crushing her breasts against his hard, muscle-layered body and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, but the tender caress didn’t last long against his hungry need for more. He dug his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back, his mouth once again taking hers, his tongue moving in the rhythm of making love. Rachel’s entire body jolted when his other hand covered her breast, sliding inside her blouse to cup her warmly in his palm so he could rasp his callused thumb over her hardened nipple, simultaneously soothing the ache and creating a deeper one.
“I want to be inside you,” he murmured, lifting his head to watch the way her nipple rolled under his thumb. “I’ve been going crazy, wanting you. Will you let me have you for the time we have left together?”
God, he was honest, and she had to swallow hard to keep from crying out at the pain. Even now, with their bodies fevered with need, he didn’t make sweet promises he had no intention of keeping. He would be leaving; the best they could have would be temporary. Still, it would be so simple if she could just forget about the future and go with him now into her bedroom, but his honesty reminded her that she had to think about the future and the day when he would leave her.
Slowly she pushed against him, and he moved back, giving her the space she needed. With a shaking hand she pushed her hair back from her face. “It isn’t something that’s easy for me,” she tried to explain, her voice shaking just like he
r hand. “I’ve never had a lover…only my husband.”
His eyes were sharp, watchful, and he waited.
She made a helpless gesture. His honesty deserved her own. “I…care about you.”
“No,” he said sharply, deliberately. “Don’t let it happen.”
“Is it something I’m supposed to turn off, like a water faucet?” Rachel faced him, her gaze level.
“Yes. This is sex, nothing else. Don’t fool yourself into thinking there can be anything more, because even if there were, there’d still be no future in it.”
“Oh, I know that.” She gave a tight little laugh and turned to look out the window over the sink. “When you walk out of here, that’s when it ends.”