Healing His Heart (5 page)

Caleb's hands stroked into the hollow above her collarbone. The work-roughened feel of his skin against hers sparked a flood of sensation. She thought she flinched but couldn't be sure.

"A man would have to be blind not to notice a face as pure as a virgin's," Caleb's eyes never left hers.

It showed in her face? Julia's throat tightened painfully as his fingers drifted lower. Her breath was lodged in her chest. The loss of oxygen would explain the dizziness that buzzed in her ears, she reasoned fuzzily.

Trailing inexorably lower, his hand skimmed the curve of her breast, then cupped her intimately. A gasp escaped Julia's lips and she swayed ever so slightly.

"Caleb, pleas
e...
" Her voice trembled.

A hard thumb brushed gently over her tightened nipple. Her eyes focused on his mouth as yearning burst throughout her body.

Julia felt her body beneath his touch, yet she was locked in a paralysis, feeling every sensation, hearing a doubting, warning voice in her head, but unable to move. The soft flesh of her breasts felt heated and firm, the pert nipples rubbing through the thin material of her dress. Suddenly, her lungs drew in quick, shallow breaths. She knew he could feel her response.

Eyes locked on Caleb's face, she saw his jaw clench, but his voice held steady. "I've never known anyone like you. You're beautiful, Julia, and that's all there is to it."

With a lingering caress, his hand trailed from her breast down to the narrowness of her waist, along the curve of her hip.

The movement of his hand from her breast broke the spell holding her. Regaining her sanity, Julia stepped back abruptly.

His hand dropped to his side.

"Yes," he drawled, watching her, "and about as feminine as you can get."

Without waiting for a response, Caleb turned to retrieve his hammer and without another word, returned to work.

Julia stood immobilized, shock and something infinitely more disturbing rippling through her. His touch set off primitive responses. Molten honey flowed through her veins, sweet and heady. Carnal urges she hadn't known before clamored in her.

And beyond that a wave of pure shock. She should have decked the man the minute he'd laid his hands on her. Instead, she stood in the blanketing heat of the evening, fighting the appalling desire to wrap herself around his powerful body and press
her mouth heatedly against his.

She took a deep breath. Then another, feeling disoriented and unlike herself. Her eyes were glued to the sweaty, sinewy stretch of his bare shoulders. God, what was the matter with her? The man had just groped her without invitation.

And turned away as if nothing had happened. Anger flared, brighter suddenly than the simmer of passion. Drawing another shaky breath, Julia blindly reached for a plank. The wood was rough beneath her fingers as they curled around it. She lifted the board in her hands.

In a moment of pure impulse and opportunity, she saw Caleb bend forward, reaching over the beam. Without thought, Julia cocked the plank back and swung.

Pow
! The wood hit Caleb's rear, catching him off guard an
d off balance. In slow motion, J
ulia saw his feet leave the ground as he tumbled forward. Within a second, he'd flipped forward and landed in the hard dirt beneath the floor frame.

The total disbelief in his face as he stared up at her warmed Julia's soul. She laid the plank down.

"Well," she smiled down at Caleb where he lay on the ground. "I think I've had enough for today."

CHAPTER THREE

"Well, if it isn't the doctor come to survey the peasants at work," Caleb's voice vibrated in Julia's ear.

Julia stiffened away from the pickup she'd been leaning against. Caleb had appeared at her shoulder from out of nowhere. She'd have sworn he was yards away moments ago, conferring with Dan, his second-in-command. Her position against the truck had been chosen deliberately with that in mind.

She never should have let him touch her. The memory of his hand on her body left her edgy and tense.

"Good afternoon, Caleb."

"So formal?" He teased. "After what we've been to each other?"

"I think that's better forgotten," Julia asserted firmly, not meeting his gaze.

"I thought you'd say that, but I've still got the bruises," his face contorted in mock pain as he shifted his weight.

Julia's eyes unwillingly fixed on his firm derriere.

"Don't be ridiculous," she retorted. "That little tap didn't hurt any more than your pride."

"Is that where a man's pride is located, anatomically speaking?" He propped one arm against the pickup truck, obviously enjoying himself.

Julia stared determinedly at the house before them. She didn't even want to speculate where, anatomically speaking, Caleb's pride might be located.

"You're making good progress." She nodded toward the log framework.

"I am?"

His voice was a velvety purr that stirred the hair by her ear. Julia refused to acknowledge his insinuation.

"Yes. You've done a lot in just a few days," she persevered.

Caleb turned to look at the soaring vee of timber that would create a cathedral ceiling over the living area. "Yep," he drawled, "it's coming along."

He leaned back against the truck, his arms crossed over his chest. "I figured once we started on the actual construction, curiosity would overcome your chicken-heartedness."

"What?" Julia whipped around to stare at him.

"You heard me."

"You think I'm scared to come here and see-"

"To see me," Caleb completed her sentence with equanimity.

"You're insane and
—
unbelievably conceited!
”
Julia sputtered, wondering what had given her away.

“
I don
’
t think so. It was pretty obvious I
’
m the last person you wanted to run into.
”
He pushed back his cap and smiled down at her with confidence.

“
Wanting to avoid you doesn
’
t necessarily mean I
’
m afraid of you,
”
Julia countered.

The grain of truth in his accusation didn
’
t help. She wasn
’
t actually scared of Caleb, just reasonably cautious. What intelligent woman wouldn
’
t run from a sexy man who watched her with a predator
’
s soulless eyes?

“
Well, maybe not scared of me,
”
Caleb amended,
“
more like scared of the attraction between us.
”

“
If you think,
”
she gasped, indignant
“
that you can excuse your behavior by inferring that I sought your attention, you can-
“

Caleb laughed out loud.
“
No, no, petunia. I never give excuses for my behavior. But you
’
re lying to yourself if you deny the chemistry.
”

“
I hate that word. And even if there was some kind of attraction between us, I certainly wouldn
’
t let it govern my behavior.
”

“
Good.
”
Caleb smiled again, a satisfied gleam in his blue eyes.
“
Then how about going to a party with me this Friday?
”

*

She was nuts, Julia decided, staring into the mirror in exasperation. It was easy to recognize emotional masochism from her psychiatry rotation. Only an idiot agreed to go out with a man who qualified as a menace to her sanity.

After taking Caleb up on his dare date, she'd fled without asking the pertinent questions. Consequently, she had no idea where he would be taking her. Drat the man!

He had the knack of maddening her in less than five minutes of conversation. She prided herself on her equanimity, which he must have recognized because it delighted him to throw her off balance. As if his physical presence wasn't disturbing enough, he had to take it into his head to play sexual games with her. She liked games as well as the next person, but intuition told her he didn't play for keeps.

She was just stepping into her heels when the doorbell rang a few minutes later. Taking a deep breath, Julia scooped up her purse and headed for the door. She might as well get the evening over with.

"Good evening, Julia." Caleb stood outside her door in an immaculate chambray shirt and jeans that had been pressed to a knife edge. He'd had his hair trimmed and a gold watch gleamed on his wrist. Julia swallowed. Caleb at work, sweating and dirty, was a vision of rugged power. Unfortunately, dressing him up nicely didn't change that impression too much.

He rais
ed an eyebrow. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said resignedly. ''I'm ready."

She locked the door and followed him to the truck. Sitting next to him minutes later as they drove out of the parking lot, Julia smoothed a nervous hand down her skirt. Nerve endings she hadn't realized she possessed were on full alert. Her lungs seemed suddenly under the impression t
hat she was running a marathon.

Every time she caught his eye, Caleb's wicked grin flashed. He sat behind the wheel, completely relaxed while wreaking havoc on her senses. He looked too good and smelled better, and she didn't even want to think about how
he'd felt beneath her hands.

It wasn't until they exited the highway in north Dallas a half an hour later that Julia began to wonder exactly where they were going. After a few minutes, Caleb turned on to a smaller street and slowed the truck to the curb. Both sides of the street were lined with cars extending in either direction from a long, low house which was brilliant with light sparkling from huge windows. The twang of country music filtered across the smooth green lawn.

Julia tore her eyes from the house to flash a glance at Caleb. Okay. So they weren't going to a smoky bar.

"Who's house is this?" Julia asked with studied carelessness as Caleb opened his door.

"My parents," Caleb answered with an enigmatic smile.

*

Caleb leaned an elbow against the bar, waiting his turn with the bartender his mother had hired to lubricate tonight's shindig. The evening was everything he'd avoided like the plague in the last few years. He could have refused to come, but his mother didn't ask much of him.

The lush green backyard was gussied up for the evening's festivities with lights strung from every tree. Tables and chairs clustered in groups on the deck and around the sparkling pool. Knots of guests stood, talking animatedly. Music blared from the country western band situated on the far side of the pool. It was all so familiar.

The only thing different was Julia.

She'd looked so sweetly nervous when he'd picked her up. The soft fabric of her dress clung subtly to her curves. He'd had to fight the urge to back her into her apartment and skip the party altogether. That, of course, wouldn't have suited his purpose in inviti
ng her here in the first place.

If he and Julia were to act on the undeniable sexual energy between them, she had to know the score.
Love 'em and leave 'em
worked best for him, but the sense of honor that Caleb still possessed in some measure demanded that the woman realize his limitations.

Across the lawn, he could see his mother steering Julia through the crowd, making introductions.

Caleb collected the drinks from the bartender and wove his way through the crowd. Familiar faces surrounded him. He answered those who hailed him with a smile. He felt it happening already-
-
the stiffening of his shoulders, the tightness in his smile. Dammit, he'd finally come to peace with himself. He didn't need questions about why he'd given up something he'd worked so hard for.

The crowd parted as he neared the pool, and before him appeared a tableau that did nothing to ease the tension in his muscles. A smooth gentleman in white trousers and a golf shirt sat at a table conversing with Julia and his mother.

Countdown minus two seconds. Any minute now and Julia
would know the truth about him.

Caleb stood a moment, holding the glasses in his hands, simply watching it unfold. He saw Julia's hesitant smile as she greeted his father. Within seconds, he saw her eyes widen. She turned, searching the crowd. When her gaze settled on Caleb, her blue eyes were dark with incredulity.

Walking forward, Caleb moved around the table to place Julia's drink in front of her.

His father's cultured voice continued on. "Why, yes, my dear. I'm surprised Caleb hasn't mentioned his background. It's quite a family tradition. My father taught at Baylor."

Caleb's gaze met his mother's. She shrugged expressively in response and turned back to Julia. "So tell us all about your work. Caleb says you're in family practice. With all the specialists around, it's nice to have a primary care physician who's on the patient's side."