Page 59 of Prognosis Bad Timing

His heart thudded as he took Dana’s hand and let her pull him closer. He swayed in unison with them, trying to keep a little distance. His gaze locked with Carrie’s and he saw desire heat her eyes and dilate her pupils.

‘Closer, Charlie,’ a drowsy Dana demanded, pulling him in more.

Charlie swallowed as his body moved closer to Carrie’s, their gazes still locked. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to put his arm around Dana’s waist.

And Carrie’s. Draw them in close. Tuck Carrie’s head in beneath his chin. She didn’t resist as his heart beat so loudly it was about all he could hear in his head.

Was hers beating just as loud?

Carrie resisted the urge to rub her cheek against his shirt for about ten seconds. But his scent, his warmth, the sheer bulk of his pec pressed against her face made it impossible to ignore. She turned into his chest and rubbed her nose against the fabric of his shirt.

It smelt like soap, sweet and sour pork and man and there was nothing but the three of them and the music. Even Dana, who was practically asleep, was forgotten in the cloud of lust and longing that enveloped her.

Charlie was making her think of parts of her body that she hadn’t thought about in a long time. Heating places, igniting places, stroking places.

The song came to an end, they stopped swaying and for a brief moment they didn’t move. She could hear his heart thudding loudly against her ear and wondered if he could also hear hers.

‘Mummy?’ Dana stirred.

Carrie blinked. It took a second to remember where the hell she was. She pulled her head off Charlie’s chest and took a step away from him. ‘Hush, sweetie, you fell asleep. Off to bed with you.’ She dropped a kiss on her daughter’s brow.

‘Night, Charlie,’ Dana murmured, fluttering her eyelashes half-open.

‘Night, Sleeping Beauty,’ Charlie crooned, leaning forward slightly to also drop a kiss. He looked at Carrie as he withdrew, her lips so very, very close. So full and soft. So inviting. The heat in her eyes flared again and it took all his willpower to pull away.

Carrie walked on very unsteady legs to Dana’s bedroom and tucked her daughter in. She stroked her fringe, staring down at the rosy cheeks and her slack mouth around her inserted thumb. Lying before her was her whole world. For just over four years nothing else but Dana had mattered.

She had taken up Carrie’s whole emotional existence.

But outside in her lounge room was a man who was slowly pushing his way into her heart, too. Did she have room? And, as good as he was with Dana, would he have room in his heart for her daughter?

The night he had run out when confronted with the reality of Dana was still fresh in her mind and they came as a package deal. She didn’t have the time or emotional strength to deal with another man who didn’t want them both.

Carrie snapped on Dana’s bedside light and lingered for one last look at her beautiful girl. She looked so innocent and trusting. And that’s when it hit her – Dana trusted Carrie to keep her safe. Could she risk that on a man who was probably just looking for someone to break the drought with?

Yeah...he had to go.

She doubted she’d be strong enough to resist him if he stayed any longer so she was going to march into the lounge room, thank him for the meal and show him the door.

She could do that. She could do that.

––––––––

Charlie felt as iftime and reality had slowed right down. His blood flowed sluggishly through his veins, his heart banged painfully at a snail’s pace, his breath shortened dramatically until he was light-headed from lack of oxygen.

And he ached everywhere. His arms ached. His chest ached. His groin ached.

Carrie entered the room and she was talking about the meal and thanking him but nothing other than the bound of his blood and kiss her could be heard through the goulash-soup his brain had become.

He stood as she approached.

‘And I really think it would be best if you —’

His kiss cut her off. His hands cradled her face as his hot lips ravished hers. His impatient tongue demanded entry into her mouth. She tasted like red wine and honey chicken and he couldn’t get enough of it.

Of her.

He heard her moan, her ragged breath, felt her clutch at his shirt. Releasing her mouth but keeping her body pressed against his he muttered, ‘I want you.’

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