Whispering “I love you,” he came in her mouth.
Rachel swallowed and swallowed, not wanting to miss a drop. “I must be hearing things,” she thought. She could swear Craig said, “I love you.” Maybe he was just caught up in the moment.
Chapter Twelve
Using her tongue, Rachel laved every inch of him and gently released him from her mouth. Leaning back on her heels, she looked up into his eyes. There she saw the truth. Her ears were not deceiving her. He did say it. She could see it. Her mind filled with wonder.
Did he want the same things she did? Was she ready for this? Would he want children? Would he want marriage? Where would they go from here? Everything had changed in the last few minutes.
Craig saw the gamut of emotions run over Rachel’s face. He removed his hands from her hair, and slipping them under her arms, pulled her up into his lap.
“Are you okay, lamb?” He hoped he hadn’t scared her.
“Master…did you say…?” she asked hesitantly.
Holding her tightly to him, he buried his face in her hair and answered, “Yes, lamb, I love you.”
“You do?” She knew it was true, but couldn’t keep the wonder out of her voice.
“Yes, lamb, I do. I. Love. You. And have for a long time,” he told her, cupping her face in his hands and with the last word taking her lips.
The kiss took her breath away, and everything was a blur. Nothing existed except the two of them.
Pulling back, he put a finger to her lips. “Lamb, I don’t want you to say it until you are ready. I know how you feel for me, and when you are ready, you will say it.”
He took her lips again and rolled them into the bed. Pulling her close to him, he slipped one leg over both of hers and covered them with a light blanket. “Sleep now, love. We’ll talk more later.” Now that he had said it once, he would never tire of telling her and calling her that.
They rested for a short time then got up for dinner. Rachel checked her phone. Still nothing from Tina. She left another message at her office and on her personal cell. There was nothing else she could do. If she knew where the woman lived, she would have gone to the house, but she didn’t.
Craig and Rachel ate dinner, then he told her what he and Evan had found out from the surveillance footage. Rachel was pissed, but not sure at whom. Restless, she suggested they take a drive. “Drive by Tina’s office, just in case she might be working for some reason,” she instructed.
“Love, I think that if she was at the office, she would have called.” Craig tried to reason with her.
“I know, but it’s something to do, and I’ll feel better if I know that her office is okay.”
Craig drove to Tina’s office. When they got there, there was a note on the door. Closed until further notice. For emergencies, call…and a phone number was given.
Taking her cell phone, Rachel quickly dialed the number. She got an answering service. “Dr. Springs is out of town on a personal emergency. Dr. Music is taking calls from her patients. I can have him call you if you want me to,” the service told her. “Or her secretary should be in the office tomorrow. You could call her and see if she has more information she can give you,” the woman told her.
“Thank you, I will check back tomorrow.” Rachel ended the call. Telling Craig what she had discovered, she asked him to take her home. Part of her felt relieved and part of her was still worried. There was nothing more she could do tonight.
They went back to the suite and cuddled on the couch, watching movies until bedtime. There was no word from Evan, and the evening was quiet. Rachel fell asleep in Craig’s arms, and he carried her to bed.
Waking in the middle of the night, Rachel sat straight up in bed. She knew where she had seen Mike Hawkins. She thumped Craig on the shoulder until he was awake also.
“What’s up, love? Did you have another nightmare?” She hadn’t had one for several months, but with everything that was going on, it could have triggered them again.
“No, I know where I saw him. I have to talk to Tina.” He could hear the panic in her voice.
“Rachel, calm down. We can’t reach Tina until tomorrow at the earliest. Where did you see the man?”
“That’s it, don’t you see? She can’t know. It would be a conflict if she did. I know she doesn’t know. I have to tell her.” Rachel was bouncing on the bed, frantic.
“Rachel, I don’t understand. What do you have to tell Tina?” He tried to use a soothing tone, hoping to help her calm down.
“He was at Tina’s office. I only saw him a couple of times, but I think he was a patient. She wouldn’t see him if she knew. Wouldn’t that be considered a conflict of interest? What could he be doing there? I hope he isn’t trying to get to me through her.”
“Yes, love, I think it would be considered a conflict. You’re right, she must not know. That doesn’t mean she’s in danger. As soon as her office opens, we will call and see what we can find out. I’ll text Evan and see if he can find her home address, then you and I will go and check out her house.”