Never Say Never, page 8
“Okay,” Sabrina said hesitantly.
Malcolm took her arm and with gentle authority he led her onto the dance floor. Standing there, Sabrina nervously looked up at him, and Malcolm pulled her close. He wrapped one hand around her narrow waist until they were separated by a fraction of air while he clasped her other delicate hand in his.
Sabrina was stiff at first. It had been awhile since a man held her tight and looked at her with such warmth and passion not to mention that she was blindsided by the muscular steel of him against her curves. When she finally hazarded a glance up at him, his gaze was as soft as a caress. It caused a ripple of excitement to shoot through her. It took several minutes for her to finally loosen up and enjoy the music, but when she did, a new and unexpected warmth surged through her veins. Is it the music or the man? Sabrina wondered. It had to be the man, because each time she saw him, the pull was stronger. More and more, she found herself extremely conscious of his virile appeal and this time was no different. She could feel her breasts constricting in the confines of her halter top. Could he feel the straining buds?
Disconcerted, she forced herself to look away and keep her head low. She was afraid of the feelings that Malcolm evoked in her. Their bodies were meshed so closely, it sent Sabrina’s pulse spinning.
“You set me on fire, Sabrina,” he murmured in her ear.
Sabrina’s heart lurched as he pulled her into close contact with his hips; it was impossible not to feel his growing erection. She tried to maintain her composure at the sexual magnetism emanating from his every pore, but she failed. Her body was completely aware of his every move.
She wasn’t alone. Malcolm was experiencing a gamut of emotions too. He knew she had to notice that he was more than a little bit attracted to her. His groin was calling out for a release that only she could provide.
Relief flooded through her when the band finally took a break. When they separated, Sabrina and Malcolm turned and found they had indeed caused a commotion. All eyes were on them.
Embarrassed, Sabrina’s cheeks warmed up. She was glad that the semidarkness provided cover for her blushing. “Thanks for the dance.” She rushed off the floor, suddenly anxious to escape Malcolm’s disturbing presence.
“Wait!” Malcolm ignored the audience and followed her down the steps. He had to hurry to catch Sabrina because she was quickly walking back to the picnic area. He caught up with her at a big old oak tree and halted her escape by putting a firm hand on her arm.
“Malcolm, please,” Sabrina said, “don’t come any closer.” She held her hand up to stop him.
“Why are you running away?”
“You know why.” A wave of apprehension had hit Sabrina the moment she stepped away from him. “I’m not capable of anything else right now, Malcolm. All I have room for in my life at the moment is me and my daughter.”
“And all I’m asking is that we spend a little time together. Who knows, you just might enjoy yourself. Kind of like you did tonight.”
Malcolm brushed his lips across one delicate hand. “You can’t deny the attraction between us, Sabrina. It’s been simmering since day one. I know you can feel it.”
His strong hands circled around her waist and pulled her snugly against him. With his index finger, Malcolm tenderly traced the line of her cheekbone and then cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. The smoldering flame Sabrina saw in his eyes caused a delightful shiver to run through her and though every fiber in her body warned her against this, Sabrina wanted him.
But he didn’t kiss her right away. Instead he bent down and nibbled at her earlobe before searing a path from her neck to her shoulders. Sabrina felt her knees weaken, and when his lips finally descended on hers, his kiss was slow and thoughtful, sending spirals of ecstasy through her.
She returned his kiss, savoring every delicious moment as he explored her lips and the soft inner recesses of her mouth. She deliberately shut out any awareness of her surroundings and instead focused all of her attention on Malcolm, drinking him in starting from his soft and caressing touch on her arm to the sweet intoxicating musk of his cologne tickling her nose.
She drew his face to hers and crushed her lips against his. He responded by cupping her jaw and tilting her head back for a deeper kiss. He left no part of her mouth untouched, so much so that she didn’t remember where she was until the stunt gun sounded, signaling the end of the picnic games.
Dragging her mouth from his, Sabrina’s senses reeled and she clung to Malcolm’s arm for support. Emotions were equally high for him, because Malcolm’s broad shoulders were heaving and his breathing was labored.
Malcolm took a step back and a minute to catch his breath. When he finally spoke, he whispered, “Sabrina, we’re so good together. Please tell me you’ve changed your mind.”
“Alright, alright.” Sabrina finally gave in. She could no longer fight the inevitable. “I’ll go out with you,” she said, then threw in, “but just as friends.”
Malcolm paused. If after that kiss, she could still say they were merely friends, then she was deluding herself; but he would do things her way for now.
“Okay,” he replied. “How about next Saturday night?”
From the sidelines and several lamps away, Malcolm noted Sabrina talking to a short, stocky man with wire-framed glasses that were a little too big for his face. Malcolm was playing chess with his patient, Mr. Gibson, who he had mentioned the picnic to during one of Mr. Gibson’s office visits. Malcolm was becoming so livid that he could hardly concentrate. Who is that guy with Sabrina and why is he fawning all over her? Why is he touching her? Malcolm didn’t like what he was seeing one single bit. He wanted to go over there and knock the guy’s block off.
It bothered him that some guy was hugging up on Sabrina as if he had the right to. Since when did he become so jealous and possessive? Maybe because Sabrina had finally agreed to go out with him and he was feeling more alive than he’d felt in years.
“Hey, are you with me?” Mr. Gibson asked, running a hand across Malcolm’s face. He’d already set up the chess pieces on the board and made his first move.
“Yes, I am,” Malcolm replied, turning away from his view of Sabrina and the man she was with. It wasn’t long before his attention was diverted from the beautiful divorcee and onto the chess game. Mr. Gibson was quite good and gave Malcolm a run for his money. He’d already captured one of his pawns and they’d only been playing ten minutes.
“How have you been feeling, Mr. Gibson?” Malcolm inquired, staring at the board intently while trying to figure out his next move.
“Still under the weather, Dr. Winters,” Mrs. Gibson answered for her husband as she came back to the table with a plate of food. Because of his heart, she’d kept it simple—a few thin slices of barbeque rib roast, potato salad and roasted corn on the cob. “He can’t seem to shake the lightheadedness and shortness of breath.”
“Yeah, doc. What’s up with that? I thought this medication was going to fix me right up.” Mr. Gibson moved another pawn.
“Still?” Malcolm asked, rubbing his jaw. Then the clot-dissolving medication he’d given Mr. Gibson wasn’t working. “I’d like to see you back in my office on Monday,” Malcolm said, moving his pawn one square and capturing Mr. Gibson’s pawn.
“Hey, how’d you do that?” Mr. Gibson asked.
Malcolm laughed. “You weren’t paying attention.” But he would have to be if he intended to repair Mr. Gibson’s heart problems. It disturbed him tremendously that the medication wasn’t opening up the arteries.
“Wow, it’s what, eight o’clock,” Monique said, glancing at her watch as she joined Sabrina’s table, “and I finally get to speak to you?”
Sabrina blushed.
“Seems someone else took up all your attention this afternoon,” Monique commented.
“Yes.” Sabrina shook her head. “And all due to Mrs. Douglas’s matchmaking.”
Monique laughed. “Don’t kid a kidder. Mrs. Douglas may have been the catalyst, but the two of you did the rest and boy did ya.” Monique chuckled again. “You and the hot new doctor had the gossips buzzing today.”
“Oh, Lord, did we?” Sabrina asked, touching her chest. Upon reflection, Sabrina thought about the way he’d gazed at her, or the way his compelling eyes had lazily appraised every inch of her body, or the feel of Malcolm’s hand on the small of her back and how she’d tingled with excitement. “Okay, I suppose we did.”
“So, what happens next?”
“Dinner and a movie,” Sabrina replied evenly.
“And that’s all?” Monique asked. “If a sexy doctor had been chasing me for weeks, there would be no question as to where you might find me.”
“And where might that be?”
“His bed,” Monique stated. “Oh, don’t be surprised,” Monique added in response to Sabrina’s shocked expression. “Why shouldn’t you spend some time with the good doctor?”
“I don’t want to use him as a substitute for Tre. He’d be the rebound guy and that wouldn’t be fair.”
Monique stood up and looked around for her kids. It was time to leave the picnic. “Girlfriend, I love ya, but I am tired of hearing about Tre. You need to move on from that cheater and what better way than the handsome doc. And if he’s ready and willing, then why not? I suggest you grab him up quick because with the amount of single women in this congregation, he won’t be available for long.”
Chapter 8
The week flew by fast for Sabrina. Her hands were full with working at the bed-and-breakfast and rearing Jasmine. She was finally beginning to settle into her new life in Savannah.
After seeing how successful Malcolm was, she’d immediately gone to Savannah University registrar’s office and enrolled for the fall semester. She’d discovered that most of her credits from her two years at Georgetown would transfer and that she only had two years remaining to obtain a diploma. It was all coming together.
It appeared she was finally making peace with her life. She was truly happy to be home and enjoyed the time she spent with her family. She’d renewed her friendship with Monique and formed a new one with Dr. Winters. Although she’d offered friendship, it wasn’t the first thought that crossed into her mind when she thought of Malcolm.
Whenever she was around him, she flustered easily or ran at the mouth. Whether it was the warm, melodic tone of his tenor voice, his infectious grin or those dark, unfathomable eyes that penetrated hers whenever she saw him, Sabrina admitted to herself that she was falling hard for Malcolm. The thought of being with a man again, however, terrified her.
Tre, who she met in college, was the only man she’d ever been intimate with, but Tre, on the other hand, had been dipping out on their marriage for quite some time. Sabrina had discovered his other infidelities during a heated argument as he was moving out. He blurted that Melanie was not his first mistress. He told Sabrina that he was “tired of having to train” her, that the women he was with knew how to please a man in bed.
If there was a problem with their sex life, he should have looked in the mirror. She wasn’t asexual. Maybe he just didn’t know how to satisfy her. But Malcolm, he seemed like the right man to bring out the passion in her!
While washing some dishes at the B & B, Sabrina’s mind wandered to a hot daydream with Malcolm as her leading man, but the shrill of the phone interrupted her thoughts. And it was none other than the subject of her dream.
“Malcolm!” Sabrina blushed. “I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“Why? Did you forget about our date?” Malcolm asked. “We’re on for movies and dinner tonight, right?”
“Yes, of course.” Sabrina fanned her face with a nearby envelope.
“What time shall I pick you up then?”
“Ummm, pick me up …? Malcolm, you do remember that this is a platonic date, right?” Sabrina hoped he didn’t think otherwise, despite where her lascivious thoughts had led a moment ago or her mixed signals at the picnic.
“Of course I do.” Malcolm was exasperated. “But it’s the gentlemanly thing for a man to pick up a woman for dinner, but if that’s being too forward”—he paused for effect—“then by all means, we can meet me at the theater.”
“No, no, that’s fine.” Sabrina was embarrassed. “You can pick me up at six at my parents’.”
Malcolm placed the phone back in the cradle and leaned back in his high-backed leather chair. He’d been looking forward to his date with Sabrina and now he would have his chance. The thought of gathering her in his arms and planting another kiss on those sensual lips of hers made his groin tighten.
Returning to his work, Malcolm signed some prescriptions and paperwork before locking his office and heading to reception. He had just enough time to run to Parker House and change clothes.
Nurse Turner was turning off the exam room lights when he exited his office. “I believe these are for you,” Malcolm said with a smile, handing the manila folders to his nurse.
Grace smiled back at her boss. Since she’d begun working at the clinic, Dr. Winters’s expression had either veered from angry to sad, but never happiness, so this new look was a pleasant surprise. From what she’d heard from the local gossips, Grace could only assume it had something to do with a certain single mother.
“Hot date tonight?” Grace queried.
“Something like that,” Malcolm answered, not offering any further information. “Don’t forget to lock up.”
“Going out with Dr. Winters, tonight, huh?” Beverly asked from the doorway as Sabrina scrunched her curly hair with a gel to keep the look in place.
“Mom, don’t start.” Sabrina smiled as she spritzed her earlobe and wrists with her favorite perfume, Casmir. Sure, they had spent a great deal of time together, but they were friends, nothing more. “Malcolm and I are just two friends going out to share a meal and a movie.”
“You’re sure going through an awful lot of trouble for just a friend,” her mom commented, indicating Sabrina’s new sandals and silk sunflower halter dress.
“Oh, this old thing?” Sabrina smiled as she added a touch of blush to the honey-brown foundation she’d applied earlier. She’d brought the ensemble for tonight’s occasion, eager to look her best. The woman in her wanted Malcolm to find her attractive. When Sabrina was finished with her makeup, she whirled around and posed for her mother. “Well, how do I look?”
Beverly smiled. “You know I think you’re beautiful even without all that makeup.”
“I know, Mom. But you are not who I’m trying to impress,” Sabrina said, scooting past her in the doorway and walking to her room for her wrap and purse. Malcolm would be arriving shortly.
“So, you admit, you like Dr. Winters?” Beverly pressed for more information. “Don’t you think it’s entirely too soon to be getting involved with someone?”
“I know you mean well, but I’m going to have to ask you to butt out,” Sabrina replied. “I’m a grown woman.”
Jasmine caught Sabrina in the hallway. “Is he here yet?” Jasmine asked excitedly. Her face broke into a wide-open smile, revealing a missing tooth. When it fell out last night, Jasmine had been beside herself because she hadn’t wanted Dr. Malcolm to see her this way.
“No, not yet, Jazzy,” Sabrina replied. “He should be here any minute. Let’s go downstairs and wait.”
They marched downstairs to await Malcolm’s arrival like Sabrina was a princess going off to a ball. Could Dr. Malcolm Winters be my Prince Charming? A little part of Sabrina hoped that were true. Only time would tell.
The doorbell rang and Sabrina inhaled deeply.
“He’s here, Mommy!” Jasmine jumped up and down as she looked through the window. Jasmine was excited to see Dr. Winters again. He was really cool and always used big words.
“Calm yourself,” Sabrina replied, even though she too was excited at the prospect of seeing Malcolm again. And when she opened the door, he didn’t disappoint. She stood frozen in the doorway letting her eyes travel the length of him. He looked arresting in a tapered black suit, navy silk shirt and Ferragamo shoes. Everything about the man oozed sex appeal.
She caught his appreciative glance and watched those onyx eyes fix on her. She hoped he was pleased because she had gone through a great deal of trouble to look her best.
Malcolm liked everything he saw, especially that touch of cleavage peeking out of her yellow silk dress. It suited her coloring perfectly.
He caught the eagerness in Sabrina’s eyes and the glow to her cheeks as he stepped into the hallway. A tumble of naturally curly dark hair shone even in the low lighting while the silk dress clung to her nubile curves.
“Sabrina.” Malcolm brushed his lips lightly against her cheeks. “Good to see you,” he said, trying to appear nonchalant. “And you, Jasmine,” Malcolm said, bending down and lifting her in his arms, “how’s my little munchkin?”
“I’m good now that you’re here, Dr. Malcolm.” Jasmine squeezed her tiny arms around his neck. Malcolm retuned the hug before setting her back on solid ground. “Have fun,” Jasmine said, joining her grandparents in the living room.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes,” Sabrina replied nervously.
The moment they were in the comfort of Malcolm’s Jag, Sabrina felt more at ease. She’d thought Jasmine might be upset by their date, but she genuinely seemed to like Malcolm.
“Are you ready for our friendly date?”
“Absolutely.” Sabrina raised her eyes to meet his and found him looking in her direction. His eyes were filled with something Sabrina couldn’t quite name, but the moment passed and he quickly shifted his gaze back onto the road.
They arrived at the theater with enough time for Malcolm to grant Sabrina’s wish for popcorn and soda. While they waited for the clerk, Malcolm spoke of how fond he was of Jasmine. “She’s really special.” His heart skipped a beat when she’d looked up at him adoringly at the Parkers’ home. He didn’t know why he felt such a close bond with the nine-year old, but he did. “You’re really lucky.”
