Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Bob Andrews and Dave Jablonski were in the hall talking when Josie emerged breathless, even more scattered than usual, patting down her hair.
Houston was right behind her, which made her blush when she realized there really wasn’t any plausible reason for a doctor and a resident to be in a closed supply closet.
Both doctors looked up at her and she gave them a bright smile, hoping like hell no one would guess she’d just spent ten minutes getting felt up by Houston.
Dave smiled back at Josie. “Hey, Josie, we’re all going to Coconuts for a drink in about an hour. Join us?” At the last minute he seemed to realize there was someone standing behind her. “Oh, you, too, Dr. Hayes. The more the merrier.”
Josie noticed that everyone on staff always referred to one another by first names, with the exception of Dr. Hayes. She was starting to suspect he didn’t want anyone to know he had a first name. Even his ID badge clipped to his waistband said merely Dr. Hayes. She knew. She’d looked.
Yet his name fit him. It was unusual, commanding.
Sexy. Or maybe that was her hormones on overdrive again.
But she suspected he used formality to maintain distance between himself and his colleagues, herself included until fifteen minutes ago.
Now he wanted zero distance between them, clothing optional.
Which brought to mind a whole other unpalatable subject. Could she really get naked in front of a man who by all rights should only exist in her fantasies without it being awkward? Would she just freeze, panic, or talk too much?
Then she thought about that kiss.
She was pretty damn sure she would know exactly what to do naked with Dr. Hayes.
“No thanks. The storm this afternoon kicked up a few waves, so I’m going surfing,” Houston said.
She spun around in amazement. Surfing? Houston was a surfer? Not to mention that was the longest personal statement she’d ever heard him utter.
He was always all work, driven to perfection as a surgeon. He didn’t engage in idle chitchat.
Even his kisses weren’t idle. They, too, were skilled, concentrated. Perfect.
“Oh, yeah,” Bob said with a nod. “Those waves are a solid five feet. Have fun out there.”
Dave said, “Well, how about it, Josie? I don’t think you’re going surfing, are you?”
Relieved that no one seemed to notice the tension between her and Houston, she laughed at Dave’s question. The most athletic thing she did was jump around in pain when she forgot her aqua socks and the sand on the beach burned her sensitive feet.
“No, no surfing for me. But I can’t go to the bar anyway because I’m on call for ER.”
“Okay. Maybe next time.” They waved and continued on down the hall.
Which left her standing in the hall staring at the floor, no clue what to say to Houston. He had pressed her for an answer in the supply room. She hadn’t given him one.
She knew what she wanted. But she still didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. If she listened to her body and Houston’s argument, she could ruin her career as a surgeon.
If word ever got out they’d had an affair... well, it would be ugly, no matter what he said.
Yet it was so darn tempting.
He spoke first. “You’re quite the Miss Popularity, aren’t you?”
“Excuse me?” There were about a millon different interpretations to that statement, none of which were good.
He shrugged. “It’s just that no matter what department we’re in, everyone seems to know you.”
She darted an amazed look at him. He looked almost bitter, despite his casual stance. Was Houston feeling left out of the hospital social circuit?
But that made no sense. The man shot out don’t-come-near-me vibes on a constant basis. Not exactly the way to build friendships. He must just think of her as a charming little fluff who had flirted her way through medical school.
Or slept her way through medical school, given what he was proposing. Suddenly anger replaced a good portion of her nervousness. She was an intelligent woman, not a brainless chatterbox.
“I’ve been here over a year now, and spent nine months doing ER orthopedic trauma, so I’ve met a lot of people. And set lots of bones,” she added, hoping to beef up her resume in his eyes. “Plus, I work a lot of double shifts to gain experience, and do two rotations a month for ER instead of one.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied her, his hands on the hips of his scrub pants. “Are you sure you’re getting enough sleep?”
“I told you, that’s not what’s been distracting me.”
Sudden awareness flared in the air between them.
“Don’t take too long to make a decision.”
Josie felt like she had already made her decision. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have.”
“Well, I’ll see on Monday then. I’m leaving for the day.” His blue eyes rolled over her, without hurry and with possession. “Unless you make a decision before the night is over. Then just text me.”
“And you’ll come running?”
He smiled tightly. “Something like that.”
More likely it would be her doing the running.
It was embarrassing to admit even to herself how long it had been since she’d had sex with a man. Given her demanding schedule, she hadn’t dated tons. Over the years she’d had a few boyfriends, of course, but even those had been lukewarm affairs, friendships more than grand passion.
She and her boyfriend Luke had called it quits after realizing that while they spent almost every day together palling around, they could go two or three weeks without sex and neither of them even seemed to notice. Never had she experienced a true melt-your-panties kind of passion.
Right now her panties seemed convinced Houston was the man to melt them and were halfway to liquid already.
Houston started to brush by her at the same time she turned to go the opposite way.
Josie found herself knocking into his chest again, stumbling from the impact, bouncing around the hallway like a pinball with hair. His warm hands came out and gripped her arms to steady her.
“Sorry,” she said, trying to quickly move out of his grip. Only she tripped over his foot. Her shoulder hit the wall behind him and she gave a nervous laugh. “Oops. I guess I haven’t got that clumsy thing under control yet.”
“I know a cure.”
That was the problem. So did she. Only that particular cure seemed destined to land her in even hotter water than she was in right now.
“What? Ritalin?” she joked.
He didn’t laugh. “Just one night, Josie. I can guarantee you’ll enjoy it.”
Enjoyment wasn’t in question. She was getting hot with him just breathing in the same hallway with her.
“I’m sure I will... would. It’s just I’m not sure this is a good idea.
I have too much at stake and I’m already screwing up lately by acting like a klutzy flake.
What if this makes it worse and I blow my entire career to shit? ”
Screwing up her fists, she took a deep breath as he just stared at her.
“I’m not going to stand around and try to talk you into it.
If you want me, you know where to find me.
” He took a step away from her. “But do me a favor. If you don’t want to do this, stop wearing panties with lips on your ass.
And stop bending over. The two together would tempt a saint, and despite what patients might say. I’m no saint.”
It was not the term she would have chosen for him either.
Her hands went to her behind, face burning. How long had he been able to see through her pants? “I only wear these on Saturdays. They’re day-of-the-week panties, and Saturday they’re lips.”
“Oh, my God,” he said, before his eyes dropped down below her waist as if he were visualizing a seven-day panty parade.
Josie froze with her hands still on her ass. Every inch of her body was dripping with desire, shot clear through her until she was in agony. She was reduced to the intellectual level of an amoeba.
“What are the other days?” Houston said, sounding very intrigued.
Then some little devil in her, the one that was annoyed he had been so casual and blunt with her, smiled at him. “Since you only wanted one night, I guess you’ll never know.”