“You did over-the-clothes stuff on high-school first dates?” I hadn’t dated much as a teenager, but I’d never come anywhere close to that, even by a third date.
“Only with willing participants,” he said seriously.
I wondered if I would have been willing if I’d met him when I was that age. I traced my hand across the hair on his chest, lost in the joy of the two of us in our cocoon. “Hey, wasn’t there something you wanted to discuss on our first date?”
“There was.” He propped himself on his elbow and I did the same. “I was wondering what your thoughts are on the “L” word.”
“The “L” word.” My heart stuck in my throat. I played coy to buy myself time to process what he was asking. “There are many “L” words. Can you be more specific?”
He gently pressed his fingers under my chin and held my gaze with his. “Specifically, what do you think about saying “I love you” to someone two weeks after meeting them?”
I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Well, let’s see. Two weeks is probably a little soon. Two weeks and a day, not much better.”
He grinned. “How about two weeks and two days?”
I glanced at his lips, so close to mine. “Now we’re getting warmer.”
He gently pressed his mouth to mine. “Two weeks and three days?”
“Perfect.”
He kissed me gently again, then pulled my body under his and deepened the kiss. When it ended, we were both breathless.
“Dr. Cameron Vaughn,” he said, “Cami, I love you.”
“Perfect timing, Kyle Rogers, because I love you, too, and I want to keep you in my life.”
33
CAMI
Thursday morning, I couldn’t stop smiling, even though I was running twenty minutes late. Kyle had woken me up by whispering his fantasy to me. We made it come true on the very spot where I’d ogled him our first morning together, with each of us taking turns on our knees. Yes, being late was totally worth it.
With our first date officially over, Kyle and Bella walked me to my office. We stood in the hall to say goodbye. He kissed me, then bent down to hug Bella.
“You be a good girl for Boss Lady,” he told her. “And if she doesn’t give you enough treats, you let me know and I’ll stop over at lunchtime to spoil you.”
“Please, she’s going to be spoiled by everyone in the clinic,” I told him as I shooed him toward the back door. “She might just like working here more than at HQ.”
“Well, at HQ she has a dog bed.”
I grinned and opened my office door wider, showing him the pink dog bed with a fluffy white lining. “A gift from Ally.”
Bella trotted into my office, hopped onto the bed, turned in a circle, and settled in for a nap.
He narrowed his eyes. “Your team doesn’t fight fair.”
“You’re on my team, remember?”
“Absolutely.” He kissed me again, taking his time, making me feel it in every inch of my body. When he let me go, he grinned. “And I don’t fight fair, either.”
He left through the back entrance and took off through the woods. Bella picked up her head and whined. She loved their morning runs.
“Sorry, girl, today after PT, Daddy has important meetings at the office,” I explained as if she could understand. And maybe she could because she laid her head down and closed her eyes.
The staff began arriving. Gina popped her head into my office. “Kyle’s truck is parked outside. Did he sleep over?” She faked gasped. “Is he still naked in your bed? And if so, what are you doing down here?”
“He already went to work,” I told her. “And speaking of work...”
