A Surgeon for the Single Mom

His voice was like a hum, low and demanding, seeping through her flesh and reverberating around her body. And then he was slipping his T-shirt over his head, with hers following, and she could only savour the moment as he dipped his head and traced the line of her neck with his impossibly carnal tongue.

‘Tak...’ she breathed, scarcely recognising her own voice.

He didn’t answer, instead dropping hot, sensual kisses behind her ear and into the oh-so-sensitive hollow by her throat.

Effie gave herself up to it. To every single, incredible sensation screaming through her body, telling her that this—this—was what she’d been missing all these years. The way her entire body seemed to melt against his, moulding itself to him as though it had been handcrafted just for Tak.

It felt like an age before he slid the thin strap of her bra down, his kisses blazing a trail over the creamy swell of her breast but stopping short and leaving her actually aching for more. She arched her back in silent objection and he actually managed a throaty chuckle. As if he liked teasing her this way.

If she was honest, she liked him teasing her this way, too. Especially when he unhooked her bra with a deft flick of his wrist and drew it from her, lowering his mouth to take its place, closing over her tight nipple with something approaching reverence.

Effie had no idea how long he stayed there, kissing and licking, his tongue swirling in intricate patterns, eliciting from her sounds which she’d never heard from herself before. He took his time, moving from one breast to the other and back again, unhurried and deliberate. An eternity of bliss.

She couldn’t have moved or stopped him even if she’d tried. Even if she’d wanted to.

At some point she arched into him, pressing closer against his length. Hot and steely. Unmistakable. For her. A tantalising shiver racked her body.

And then he was stepping back, away from her.

Effie’s eyes flew open. For a ghastly minute she thought he was leaving and her heart actually paused, like a trapeze artist flying through the air in that second before the audience knew whether she was going to be caught on the other side.

Before she could think, however, Tak lifted her up and carried her over to the couch. He laid her down with a sort of gentleness, before reaching for her jeans to unhook them and slide them off in a single, smooth movement.

The last scrap of lace followed and then she was naked. She might have expected to feel awkward or flustered, but Tak’s hooded expression stopped her from throwing her arms across her chest and instead lent her an air of unanticipated confidence.

‘Stunning,’ he breathed, his eyes raking over her body just as effectively as if they were his hands.

‘Now it’s your turn,’ she said, and there was a hoarse pitch to her voice.

He stepped towards her, then stopped himself. ‘Are you on the pill?’

‘Sorry?’ The question jarred her.

‘The pill?’ he pressed, his urgency offering her a crumb of relief.

She bit her lip, offering a curt shake of her head. How had that not even entered her head? ‘No. I haven’t needed it.’

‘You haven’t needed protection?’ he frowned.

Her cheeks burned. ‘No. Yes. It’s just... I haven’t... Not since Nell was conceived...’

If he was surprised, he hid it well. Closing the space between them again, he let his hands cradle either side of her face, dropping a long, deep kiss on her lips.

‘Then we’re just going to have to find a different way,’ he murmured, setting tiny kisses at the corners of her mouth and back

down her neckline.

As his hands moved over her body, slightly callused thumbs flickering expertly over the straining pink buds of her nipples, all other thoughts slid out of her head. And then his hand traced down her body from her long throat, over her breasts to her stomach, and finally to her aching core. He nestled his head between her thighs.

Effie froze. She wasn’t completely naïve. She knew what he was about to do. But a part of her brain still couldn’t process it. No one had ever done this to her before. Sex with Nell’s father had been fumbled, missionary. Two kids who’d had no real idea what they were doing. Not like this. Not like him.

‘Tak.’ Her voice was tense even to her ears.

‘Relax,’ he soothed, kissing his way up the inside of one thigh. ‘I’ve been dreaming about tasting you since the first moment I saw you.’

‘Yes, but...’

‘Relax,’ he murmured again as he moved over to the other thigh. His grin was nothing short of devilish.