The Surgeon's Cinderella

The night was still enough for her to hear herself breathing. They had walked some distance away from the hotel when she said, “I love this. It makes you want to take off your shoes and run.”

“Go ahead.” Tanner’s voice was as deep and smooth as the night.

Whitney glanced at him. Suddenly she felt like doing just that. He made her feel special. She kicked off her shoes, grabbed a handful of her dress and ran. The soft dirt, still warm from the sun, surrounded her toes. She threw up her arms and twirled.

A deep chuckle filled the air, bringing her to a halt. She looked at Tanner.

“Don’t stop on my account.”

She studied him for a moment. He looked handsome and sturdy standing with his back to the moon as if he were a warrior of old. She wanted to reach out and take his smooth-shaven face in her hands and kiss him for all she was worth.

She didn’t have to. He came to her, standing so close she could hear him breathe but he didn’t touch her. “Whitney, I need to kiss you.”

Needed to? Had anyone ever needed to kiss her? She stepped to him. His lips found hers. This was no practice kiss, this was a man wanting a woman and telling her so.

Tanner pulled her against him, lifting her until her toes barely met the ground. His tongue joined hers and danced a measure that Whitney recognized as theirs alone. She held on and took the spine-tingling, heart-revving and mind-blowing ride. Her arms circled his neck as her mouth begged in desperation for more. She clung to him.

Tanner broke away, inhaling before he took her lips again. This time his hands moved to cup her breasts. They tingled, became heavy. His arousal was evident between them. The pleasure of having Tanner touch her made her feel weak. She clung to him as if he were her lifeline.

In a low growl he said, “Let’s go inside. I want you.”

Whitney was tempted to throw caution away and act on the fiery emotions boiling within her. She’d had no business agreeing to a walk with Tanner. It was too romantic, too perfect, too much Tanner. He filled her thoughts, filled her days, and if this continued he would fill her heart. That would be a road to nothing but misery.

If she agreed to his request what would happen to her self-respect, her business? What would happen to what she wanted out of life? A husband who loved her. Someone who invested his life in hers, theirs. She wanted a loving marriage, something Tanner wasn’t willing to give. What was between them would only be a weekend fling. That wasn’t enough.

“I can’t.” She stepped back, her mind forcing her body to move away when it yearned to cling to him. “I need to go in by myself.”

“Are you running, Whitney?”

She looked at him. He stood with his legs apart and arms at his sides. “I guess you could call it that. I know when something isn’t going to end well. We aren’t meant for each other. We are looking for different things out of a relationship.”

* * *

Tanner watched as Whitney became a shadow among the vines. He knew she was right. Heck, he wasn’t even sure what she wanted was real. He’d seen his mother fawn over his father, but was that love or obsession? His father had certainly not cared for his mother in the same way. Was his son even capable of loving someone?

He followed Whitney at a distance, making sure she safely entered the front door of the château. Along the way he picked up her shoes. She had such tiny feet for a woman who had such a strong will.

Once again he was pushing when he’d said he wouldn’t. He’d apologized to Whitney more than he had to anyone in his life and here he was needing to do it again.

He went to the library off the entrance hall and poured a drink. Taking a seat in a chair near a window, he nursed his drink, giving Whitney time to get ready for bed and for him to get his libido under control.

It was late when the sound of footsteps drew his mind away from the woman upstairs. He glanced behind him. Disappointment washed over him. It wasn’t Whitney looking for him but Charlotte. He returned his attention to the window, hoping she hadn’t seen him. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

“Why, Tanner, is that you? I thought you’d be upstairs with your plain little woman.”

If his hackles hadn’t already been up they would have stood on end at that remark. The need to defend Whitney ran hot and rapid through him. He made no attempt to keep the aversion out of his words. “You know, it’s been a long time since it’s been your business where I am or what I am doing.”

“Or who you are doing, is my guess.”

“Or that either. You’ve found who you want in Max. Leave me alone.”

She sauntered toward him. “The question is, have you found what you want in Whitney?”

Had he? “That’s between us. It has nothing to do with you.”

Charlotte leaned toward him, giving him an impressive view of her full breasts. “You used to think I was pretty important.”

“Those days are gone and I’ve moved on. Now, excuse me.” He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away as he stood. “I have other people and things that interest me more now.”

“Like that nondescript woman upstairs waiting patiently for your return.”

What had he ever seen in her? “As a matter of fact, yes.”

Charlotte stepped to him so fast he had no time to react. Her mouth found his. Forcing himself not to squeeze her waist to the point of pain, he set her away from him. “If you ever touch me again, I promise Max will learn in no uncertain terms what a witch you are.” He didn’t wait for her reaction.

When Tanner entered their bedroom Whitney was in the bed, asleep. One lone light near the sofa burned. On the couch was a pillow, sheet and blanket. Tanner looked longingly at the bed and the soft, warm woman in it. After muttering a few expletives that he was sure would make Whitney blush, he shook out the sheet and let it drop haphazardly over the sofa. By the size of the piece of furniture his feet were going to hang over one end. Removing his jacket and shirt, he threw them on a chair nearby. His hands went to his belt. Normally he slept in the raw but he would defer to Whitney’s sensibilities and wear his underwear. She would just have to deal with them.

He was on the sofa, curled up the best he could, when a soft voice said, “Goodnight, Tanner.”

Had she been watching him undress?

CHAPTER FIVE

WHITNEY LOOKED DOWN at Tanner sprawled across the sofa. He’d thrown the blanket off his chest. His head was on a too-small pillow and one leg rested along the back of the sofa. Despite the unusual position, he was snoring softly.

Their kiss in the vineyard had kept her awake into the early hours. The passion behind it still had her feeling fuzzy all over. She’d been kissed before but not with the magnitude of Tanner. It made her

forget all her reasonable thoughts where he was concerned. For once in her life she understood that “heat of the moment” concept. Tanner, the cool night, the warmth of the earth beneath her feet, the yellow moon above had all conspired against her. She had to see that she didn’t get into that position again.

She was thankful for the second of reality that had crept in, for she had no doubt she was on the fast track to heartache. She knew rejection too well. Most of her life had been that where men were concerned. As a chubby child, overweight teen and college student she’d always been picked on in some form. She wouldn’t set herself up for disappointment. Anything she might feel for Tanner would turn into just that. Letting a simple kiss change her entire life was ridiculous. Only it hadn’t been a simple kiss.

She’d known the second Tanner had entered the room. Her body vibrated with awareness when he was near. She probably should have let him know she wasn’t asleep but instead she’d watched him remove his clothes. No doubt she had been invading his privacy but she’d been unable to help herself. Worse had been the urge to touch him. When she’d said goodnight she’d seen the small smile form on his lips. He must have liked the idea she’d been watching him. It had been an enticing show.

When the alarm had gone off she’d quickly turned it off. There had been no movement from Tanner’s side of the room. She’d lain there listening to his soft snoring for a few minutes before she’d looked at the clock. They needed to get up and get moving. Marie would be expecting them.

Delaying no more, she reached out to touch Tanner then pulled her hand back. For just a second she wanted to admire him a little longer. His shoulders were wide and the muscles of his chest defined. He must work out when he could. A smattering of hair surrounded each nipple before it formed a line down the middle of his belly to dip under the elastic band of his boxers. Tanner’s manhood rose high beneath the material.

She sucked in a breath that sounded loud in the almost silent room. What would it be like to be loved by him?

Heaven.