Page 20 of Doc

I laughed. "That's frustration talking, babe."

"Are you saying that you're not frustrated?" There was disbelief in her tone, and unless I was imagining it, a little annoyance.

"Fuck, no. But I've had more practice handling it. I've been frustrated with wanting you for months." I sucked in a loud breath and rolled to sit on the edge of the bed. "You say your divorce will be final in two weeks, but a lot can happen between now and then."

I felt Harlow move until she was kneeling behind me. I turned my head to peer at her out of the corner of my eye.

"Are you implying that I might change my mind?" She didn't wait for me to answer. "That's not going to happen, Liam. David and I should have called it quits a long time ago. We'll always love each other, but as friends, and that’s all." She kissed the side of my face and uttered softly against my ear, "What's the real problem?"

I faced forward again. "I've seen what being the outside person can do to a marriage. How destructive and ugly it can get. I lived through it with my parents. By the time it was done, one person was dead, one was in prison, and the rest of us were destroyed."

Harlow gasped softly at my revelation.

"I swore I'd never become that third person, babe. Never break up a marriage. When those papers are signed and I know it's for real, I'm all yours."

I felt her warm breath against my neck and then her arms wrapped around me. "You're such a good man, Liam. And I'm a lucky woman."

"I'm the lucky one. And you're worth the wait."

"Can I ask you something?" She nuzzled against my neck.

I could hear the hesitation in her tone, and something warned me that I would probably regret it, but I nodded anyway.

"Who died in that scenario?"

I pressed my lips. "You really want to talk about this right now?"

"Yes. It's part of you, and I want to get to know you better."

I appreciated that, but that story wasn't something I was eager to share. "Just thinkFatal Attraction."

"Like the movie?" she surprised me by asking.

"How do you know the movie? You're too young."

"College, and movie night with my roommate," she explained simply.

"Yeah, well, my version is a little different. It involved my parents and an obsessive, unstable woman. She tore their marriage apart, thanks to my father's weakness for her, and then she left him after she got him to leave my mother. Outraged that she'd ruined his life, dad killed her."

"That's awful!" Harlow exclaimed.

I grunted. "Which part?"

"All of it! I'm so sorry, Liam."

"Don't be. I had a good childhood. That shit didn't happen until I was almost twenty. They're both gone now." I gave her a long look, taking note of the sadness in her eyes. Then my gaze dropped to her swollen, pink mouth. "Once those papers are signed, there’ll be no saving you."

A smile quivered on her lips. "You may be the one who needs saving," she said with spunky conviction, "if you're going to make me wait two weeks..."

I threw my head back and roared with laughter. I was seeing another side of Harlow I hadn't known existed. Sassy, mouthy, confident. The months we'd worked together she'd been nothing but quietly professional. Even shy. Only her eyes had given her away. And when I'd kissed her, she'd kissed me back like a woman starved for sexual gratification. For a few brief, hot seconds in time, we'd unleashed the passion and hunger that existed between us, only to turn around and walk the other way when it was over.

I detected a subtle noise outside my door and then a loud knock confirmed that someone was there.

"Doc! Put your pants on, Brother! We got church!"

I recognized the panic in Creeper's voice. The fact that Demon had called church during a family cookout meant that something had happened that couldn't wait. I immediately suspected that it had something to do with the trouble Vegas Watchdogs was having.

"Coming!" I hollered back, and I pulled Harlow to her feet. I grinned at her disheveled look, which was damned hot. She looked like a woman who'd just been thoroughly fucked. I knew, though, that she wouldn't appreciate the looks that would be thrown her way. "Babe, the bathroom is through there," I told her with a nod towards the bathroom door. "Go straighten up and head back down. Get yourself something to eat. I'll find you when I'm done."