Prologue
TONY
A COUPLE OF WEEKS EARLIER
"I knew my first taste of you would be the sweetest." Coralynn Parker's peppermint-flavored lips explode on mine with each sweep of my tongue. She's into the kiss, so into it that I'm pretty sure she has no idea we're in a public setting. If she did, I have no doubt this would be over before it started. Her hands grip the hair at the nape of my neck, nails scoring the skin, the feeling of her undulating against me. Her body comes alive, and I'm not even touching her, too afraid that if I get my hands on her, I'll do something crazy like tear our clothes off. Then I wouldn't stop until I had her moaning my name over and over again.
That would lead to a slew of problems when reality came crashing back, and shit would go sideways even worse. Instead, I deepen the kiss, soft murmurs leaving her breathless, and fuck, I'll never see or smell her scent without thinking about the woman who's currently climbing me like a tree.
I've been chasing her for what seems like for-fucking-ever. This woman has my mind swimming in circles, my heart racing, my gut aching, and my dick pounding.
The moment I set my sight on the elusive woman, she runs at the slightest provocation, a heated glance, a tilt of my lips, and god forbid I take one stride to head her way. A fire lights in her eyes, and then she runs away from me, away from the feelings building inside her, and she does it at every turn.
Now, I have Coralynn right where I want her. Her running ends today.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to let you have all of me." Her tongue darts out, moistening her lips. Fuck, she possesses a beauty like no other. In a room filled with others, she stands out, taking my breath away with every passing moment. Her hair is the color of toasted honey, and natural waves cascade down her back and shoulders. Her fair complexion sets off her eyes: clear, captivating, and a shade of cerulean-blue.
Coralynn's looks aren't all that attracts me or my hard cock. It's the way she carries herself—confident, fierce, and with an independence streak a mile long.
"We'll see about that." I dip my head, gaze intently on hers, and when I'm merely an inch away from kissing her again, she does what I've come to expect.
"That we will." She slips from beneath my hold, shimmying her body while bending her knees. It's funny she thinks I'd cage her in. Still, it's a mistake on my part, not holding her close to my body and only bracing my hands on the wall on either side of her head.
"One day, Coralynn, you'll realize I'd chase you till the ends of the earth. So, do your worst, but expect to be caught, and to love every minute of it," I say as she retreats. That's as close as I've come to having her right where I want her since this cat-and-mouse game began, and I look forward to the next round.
She says something else, but with her back to me, the words are hard to decipher. I think it's safe to assume she's smilingwith a smugness, saying something along the lines of ‘catch me if you can.’
I stay where I am, still in my doctor's coat, having run into Coralynn after coming back from my lunch break. She and her sister, Shae, have been working on a plan to expand LITHE. It's taken them talking to Luke, my partner at the CG Obstetrics & Gynecology, along with the rest of his friends, to help make the expansion happen. Which means Coralynn and I see each other way more than she ever expected.
My eyes watch as she slowly disappears. The athleisure wear she has on sculpts every delicious curve of her body. Her back is long and elegant. Lean muscle traces beneath the skin, subtle, and gives her a quiet strength. A tapered waist, flaring gently at her waist, and the gentle sway of her hips with each step she takes only makes her walking away that much more devastating.
I let out a low chuckle, thinking about all the ways I can tame the wild cat, and my guess is it won't be easy.
"She's still giving you hell, I see." Colt comes up beside me, hands in his pockets and wearing his usual work uniform: baseball cap, black cotton shirt with his mechanic shop emblazoned above the left breast and the back of the fabric, a pair of jeans, grease-stained, and a pair of steel-toe boots.
"Yeah, I'm wearing her down, though." I should head into the office, get ready for afternoon rounds and patient appointments. There's a reason Colt is here, though, and I'm beginning to worry it might have something to do with his little girl.
"From what I just saw, bud, you've got your work cut out for you." He removes the toothpick from his mouth, keeping himself busy from reaching for the cigarettes he quit months ago.
"You're probably right. Still, the chase is a hell of a lot of fun." I don't give Colt my full attention until Coralynn climbs inside her bright red sporty two-door convertible with the top down.
"I can only imagine." Her brake lights appear before she zooms out of the parking lot like hell on wheels, and that's when I respond to Colt's last statement.
"What are you doing at the hospital and over here, of all places?" I ask.
"My mom. Routine maintenance." He talks like it's a car. Can't take the mechanic out of the man.
"That's better than what the alternative could be."
"I'll say. Not the biggest fan of hospitals." He places the toothpick back in his mouth at the same time my phone vibrates in my pocket.
"Can't say that I blame you. I've got to get back into the office. If you need anything, give me a shout, yeah?"
"I'll give you a shout later on." I pull my phone out of my doctor's coat, I forgot to take it off before stepping out for lunch. The damn thing is so hot, I try to keep it tucked away in my office more than on my back. Today, I had rounds at the hospital, then had an errand to run, and by pure chance, when I got back, Coralynn happened to be leaving.
"Sure thing. Good luck with Coralynn. I think you're gonna need it." He goes one way, and I go mine.
A good thing, too. Coralynn shocks me to my core when an image appears on my phone.
