The Doctor's Secret Bride(36)

Erik glanced at Bridget’s dumbfounded face. Served her right. “Bridget,” he said, “can you take Precious out for a few minutes? I’d like to talk with Michelle.”

“Sure, darling. Anything for you.”

She smiled as if she thought he was going to scold Michelle for her insolence. He wanted to laugh. He set Precious on the floor. “I’ll just be a minute, then you’ll have me to yourself for one full hour. Okay, baby?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Michelle said the minute the door closed behind Bridget and Precious. “I didn’t mean to—”

Erik did laugh out loud then. “Please don’t apologize, Michelle. Bridget had it coming.” He gestured for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk while he perched on the side of the desk. “She was rude.”

“She felt threatened.” She clasped her hands on her lap.

“And how would you know? Ah, I forgot you’re all woman in every way that counts.” He grinned down at her.

She pursed her lips and turned her eyes up at him. “That was just talk.”

“Sure.” He studied her beautiful flushed face, drinking in the sensuality of her delicate features. The only makeup she wore was lip-gloss. Her skin radiated like luscious caramel syrup. Definitely a woman in every way that counted. “Do you feel threatened by her, Michelle?” he asked softly.#p#分页标题#e#

“I was when she called the other night.”

Which meant she liked him, wanted him all to herself. Her honesty was so refreshing. “And now?”

She shrugged, nonchalantly. “Now that I’ve met her, I can tell she’s not your type.”

Erik balked. “And just what is my type, Ms. Carter?”

She peered up at him. “You’re a real man. You’d want a real woman. Not a superficial Barbie like Bridget Ashley. She’s so obvious. You’d think a woman in her position would use a lot more decorum about what she wants, especially when she’s trying to land a man.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Erik’s mouth. He wanted to ask her if she was being subtle about what she wanted. “You’re very perceptive,” he said instead.

She shrugged again. “When you grow up in an inner city neighborhood, you learn to read people, or they’ll take you every chance they get.”

Erik felt a certain sadness for the kind of life she’d lived. He wanted to fix that. Give her everything her beautiful heart desired. His eyes raked over her slender body, garbed in white slacks and an aqua top that exposed just a hint of cleavage.

He longed to brush his lips against every millimeter of her silky flesh, especially the sweet swell of her breasts, and bury his face in the valley between them. He still remembered the feel of her in his arms, the fresh scent of her honey skin. What was it about this woman that evoked an untamed passion in him? She generated feelings he’d never had before, feelings he never even knew were possible.

Even as he felt his loins stir under his coat, a surge of betrayal ran through him. He’d never felt this overpowering hunger with Cassie. Making love with her had been satisfying, he supposed. But what if there was a deeper level of passion to be achieved? He had no one to compare Cassie to because she was the only woman he’d ever been with.

“Um, Erik,” Michelle interrupted his reverie. “I want to thank you for the money you gave to the youth center. We’re hoping to build a new one with state of the art everything. Your contribution will go a long way. Thanks.”

“You’re quite welcome, Michelle.” She was so altruistic, warm and sweet. Most women her age didn’t do charitable deeds. They were too immersed in their own lives and careers to care about people less fortunate than themselves. If, and when they gave, it was usually money. Time was too precious.

Those inner city kids needed more than money. They needed someone to spend time with them, someone to show they cared. That’s why Michelle had been so hard on him about spending time with Precious. He was grateful for her insightfulness, her concern for his child.

“I know there’s a world outside the one I live in,” Erik said, smiling at her. “A world in which you survived and became this incredible, loving woman whom I admire greatly. I just felt that if I could help in some small way to produce more like you, I would have done a great thing. The most amazing of all, is how wonderful you are with my daughter.”

Her eyes brightened with warmth. “Precious is an exceptional kid, the kind I’d like to have one day when I meet the right man.”