Free Engaging the Bachelor (Pulse) by Cathryn Fox

he heard her breath catch. “Maybe it’s you I want to convince.”
    The warm morning sun beat down on them, and she wet her bottom lip. That was all the encouragement he needed. He pressed his lips to hers, and at first her mouth was stiff. He slid his tongue along her lips, easing them open. He moaned, refusing to give up, and a heartbeat later he was rewarded with the softening of her body. Sweet . His lips pressed harder and she kissed him back, passionately, deeply, a little whimper of pleasure bubbling in her throat when he cupped her face. His cock thickened, and he broke the kiss and sucked in a sharp breath. Jesus, he needed to get himself under control before he faced his parents. The last thing he wanted was to be sporting a raging hard-on while undergoing an inquisition.
    He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Go home, take care of Gracie, and think it over.” She nodded and slid into her car. He held her door. “And Gemma?”
    “Yeah,” she said, her voice a breathless whisper.
    “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble convincing anyone.” He shut her door, and stood back, staring after her until she disappeared down the driveway.
    “Carson,” his mother called out. He heard the sound of a chair being pulled out from the table. “Come sit with us.”
    He spun on his heel and put his hands into his pockets. Padding barefoot across the back driveway, he met his folks at the poolside table, last night’s pizza still sitting there unopened and uneaten.
    “When did you two meet?” his mom asked.
    He hovered over her, refusing to sit. “Ten years ago.”
    She blinked, surprise all over her face. “And this is the first we’re hearing of her?”
    He smiled. “Yeah.”
    “What does she do? Where does she live? Who are her parents?” she asked, firing off too many questions.
    “Slow down, Mom,” he said, shutting down her inquisition. “All that matters is she’s with me, and you’re going to love her.” He pressed his mouth to his mom’s cheek and gave her a kiss. “Now, I need to get changed and get to the hospital.” He turned to his dad. “We’ll catch up tonight, okay?”
    His father gave a curt nod, and Carson darted inside. He hurried to the shower, his thoughts still on Gemma and last night. Fuck, the sex had been incredible. Sure he’d expected good, but damn, he never expected it to be that good. He showered, dressed, pulled on his scrubs, and left the house. Since it was a beautiful day, he decided to walk and cut through the park, taking a shortcut to work.
    Ten minutes later, he walked through the ambulance bay doors and into the ER. He greeted the nurse practitioner on duty with a “chin up” as she stepped into a treatment room and glanced around to get a feel for what he was walking into today.
    Sara, the charge nurse, stood at the nursing station, studying the patient flow monitors hanging on the wall across from her. He stepped up beside her and braced himself.
    “What’s the damage?”
    Sara waggled her hand. “Could be better, will be worse.”
    “I hear you.” He headed toward the doctor’s lounge to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat before starting his shift.
    “Hey, Carson,” Jake called out, hurrying down the hall to catch up to him. “How did last night go?”
    They passed a couple of nurses and a few more doctors, and everyone was grinning at him. “What’s the big deal? I was helping Gemma with her cause. You were doing the same.”
    “Come on. She’s the hottest girl around, and you paid top dollar for her. I’m sure it must have helped your cause.” He winked and nudged him with his elbow.
    Carson didn’t like where this was going. His fingers fisted at his side. “My cause?”
    “Come on, you know what I mean.”
    When they reached the doctor’s lounge, Carson stopped and turned to Jake. “Just so you know, that’s my fiancée you’re talking about. You say one more thing about her, and I’ll punch you in the fucking