Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(64)
“Soulful and wild. Strong and commanding. Focused and brilliant,” she murmured dreamily against his lips a moment later. His taste still lingered on her tongue; her nerves still tingled with pleasure from his powerful presence in her body. “That’s you, isn’t it? Why would you make love any different?” She blinked her eyes open wider, bringing him into focus. “Why would I ever want anything else?” she wondered, her brow crinkling in dazed puzzlement.
His expression sobered. She recognized the hard telltale glint in his eyes. She lifted her mouth to meet his, eager to be claimed once again.
THIRTEEN
After Alice had hastily washed up, she met Dylan downstairs in the foyer.
“We should only be a few minutes late for the appointment if we hurry,” she said jogging down the stairs.
He waited for her patiently, looking handsome and unruffled once again in his immaculate suit and tie. Alice took his outstretched hand when she neared him.
“What are you frowning about?” Dylan asked.
“You have a lot of nerve, looking like that when I look like this afterward.” She referred to the fact that her cheeks were still flushed bright pink in the aftermath of amazing sex, she was panting and sweating a little from running around trying to get ready for the doctor’s visit in a rush. Plus, her hair looked like a mop had been dropped on her head, it was getting so long and unruly. To make things worse, her hair color was starting to look bizarre. Parts of the dyed dark brown portion had lightened and faded in the sun, and her reddish undertones and roots were starting to shine through.
Dylan examined her calmly. “You look beautiful.”
She made a disgusted sound. He smiled.
“I’m serious. Your eyes are shining and you’re flushed.” He lifted a hand and brushed a warm cheek. “It’s my favorite way to see you.”
She gave him a wry grin. “That’s because you like to strut over the fact that you made me that way.”
“Caught in the act, but far from guilty,” he replied, dropping his hand and landing a kiss on her mouth. His smile faded as he leaned back and studied her more closely. “Can you do me a favor, though? Start wearing the makeup on your eyes again.”
“What? I thought you hated it.”
“I do,” he murmured, his gaze still pinned on her face. “But your similarity to Lynn is starting to become more and more obvious. I don’t want anyone else to notice. The least we can do is hide it a little longer.”
“I . . . yeah, sure, I guess,” she said dubiously, shrugging. She started toward the stairs. “Just let me run back up to the bathroom and grab some makeup. I’ll put it on in the car on the way to the hospital.”
“And Alice?” he called a few seconds later.
She paused mid-stride on the stairs and looked back at him. He nodded at her wrist. “The bracelet. Take it off for now. You can wear it while you’re here if you like, but not outside until things are settled. Lynn always wore it. It was her trademark.”
“Yeah. I know,” she said, pausing a beat before she raced back up the stairs.
When she came back down, he took her hand and they headed toward the garage entrance. They both halted when there was a knock on the front door.
“What the—” Dylan headed for the door, eyebrows slanted in consternation.
A tall man in his late thirties with a thin, gaunt face stood on the top step wearing coveralls.
“I’m here from Home Guard to do the maintenance on the security system,” Alice heard the man say. Dylan peered at his identification badge.
“Damn it, I forgot about this,” Dylan said. “I’m on the way out. Let me get my housekeeper. Come in.”
He flew up the staircase in search of Louise. His efficient, neat housekeeper returned with him a minute later.
“Were both Louise and Marie in the house while we were in the den?” Alice asked once they were on the road to the hospital a few minutes later. She’d been so loud while they were making love, she realized uncomfortably.
Dylan gave her a brief, amused glance, clearly guessing the origin of her concern.
“I sent Marie home early. Louise was there, but she’s working on a special project for me up on the fourth floor. She was far enough out of hearing range. Even for you.”
Alice snorted in embarrassed laughter. It was nice, to laugh a little before the stressful appointment.
“Aren’t you worried about someone seeing us together at the hospital?” she asked Dylan after he’d parked the sedan and they were hastily walking to the main entrance of Morgantown Memorial.
“A little,” he admitted, holding the door open for her. “But not enough not to bring you myself.”
She gave him a grateful glance. He noticed, his mouth tilting into a small smile.
“Once we get to the waiting area, I’ll let you check in. I’ll wander around in the vicinity, but I won’t be far off. That should minimize the chances of being seen.”
The blood test itself was pretty anticlimactic, given the buildup of her anxieties about it. She’d assumed she’d be meeting Lynn and Alan Durand’s personal physician during the blood draw, Dr. Shineburg. The doctor must know something about Alice and Addie Durand, because Dylan had asked him to confirm she was their biological child using Alice’s blood sample and the Durand’s remaining genetic material. Instead of a physician being there, however, she was greeted by a friendly young female phlebotomist. She explained to Alice that Dr. Shineburg had been called for an emergency. As a result, the blood draw itself felt like more of a technical matter than the emotional one she was both anticipating and dreading.