Free Listed: Volume V by Noelle Adams Page B

that was semi-transparent.
    She
put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Are you ever coming to bed?”
    Paul’s
body clenched in desire as he stared at her luscious body in that gown. “I’m
done,” he said quickly, saving his document and then shutting down his
computer. “I’m done now.”
    She
frowned at him as they walked together toward the master bedroom.
    “How
are you feeling?” Paul asked, trying to look beyond her gorgeous body and
tousled hair to see signs of whether she was fully recovered or not. Her cheeks
were flushed, but her eyes still looked tired.
    “Fine,”
she told him. “Did you get your proposal done?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good.
Then you can relax a little.” When they got into the bedroom, she twined her
arms around his neck and kissed him.
    Paul
kissed her back eagerly, lifting her up so her legs wrapped around his waist.
He carried her over to the bed and eased her down so she was sprawled out
beneath him.
    His
body tightened almost immediately, and he kissed her long and deep.
    When
he finally pulled his head back, he breathed raggedly as he stared down at her.
    Her
eyes were hot, soft, and a little groggy. “I love you, Paul,” she whispered.
“You know that, right?”
    He
stifled a moan of pleasure as his hips gave an involuntary little thrust
against her. “I love you too, baby.”
    He
kissed her again. They were still kissing and he was starting to unfasten his
pants when he heard a familiar ringtone.
    With
a groan of frustration, he tore himself away from her warm, soft clinginess.
“That’s security. I better see what’s going on,” he said, standing up as he
connected the call.
    He
listened to Tim for a minute on the other end of the line. “Okay,” he said.
“Just a minute.”
    Emily
was sitting up on the bed now, and her eyes were very wide. “Is everything all
right?”
    “Yes,”
he assured her, “It’s fine. There’s no danger. I just need to take care of
something.  I’ll be back in just a minute.”
    “Okay.”
    As
he started to leave, he glanced back at her over his shoulder, his body and
heart resisting the idea of leaving a passionate, rumpled Emily in bed, even
just momentarily. But he made himself be reasonable. “I’m sorry,” he said.
    “It’s
fine. Just come back soon.” She didn’t look annoyed, so he was able to leave
the room without further apologies.
    He
was only gone for five minutes, and his body was still anticipating Emily
waiting in bed for him on his return.
    She
was still in bed when he came back into the room. She was still looking
irresistibly sensual with her loose hair and slinky nightgown. She was still
sprawled out on top of the covers.
    But
she was also sound asleep.
    Paul
stared down at her blankly for a long minute, trapped between surprise, irony,
and frustration. He was deeply tempted to wake her up so he could have the sex
he desperately wanted.
    But
he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She'd been so sick just the day before.
    Instead,
with a stifled groan, he went to take yet another shower.

Thirteen
     
    Emily woke up aching
all over.
    As
she stretched out under the covers of the big bed in the master bedroom, she
processed how she felt, what it meant.
    She’d
had another fever yesterday, but it had broken just before midnight. She didn’t
have a fever now. She just felt sore and aching and like she had no energy at
all.
    Her
body was probably just protesting the toll the fevers were taking on it. So
even on her good days she might not really feel good .
    Since
she’d started the experimental treatments, the rhythm of her fevers had
changed. The fevers came more often, but they didn’t last as long. So she’d
been sick on Sunday, when Paul had found her at Stacie’s. Then she’d been well
on Monday. Sick on Tuesday. Today was Wednesday. Today she should feel well.
    But
she didn’t.
    She
wondered if she’d ever really feel well again.
    Feeling
a heavy weight in her chest, she pulled the covers up over