13. Reed #3
My brow draws as I stare down at her, trying to assess what I’ve done or said that’s caused her to pull away. I don’t like it. I don’t want her holding back from this…
“Thalia—”
She presses her fingertips to my lips, silencing me as something profound and almost sad blows her pupils. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” I ask quietly.
She looks away as if trying to find an escape. “We don’t even know what we’re doing—”
Now it’s my turn to silence her as I lift her knuckles to my lips and press a chaste kiss to them. “I know what I’m doing. I’m about to take this amazing woman on another date, and she’s going to let me.”
Her gasp is light, barely audible between us. Her hands curl into the lapels of my coat as she tilts her head. “What makes you think I would agree?”
I chuckle at her stubbornness as my lips trail further along her flesh. “Because I’m not giving you a choice, Little Devil.”
Her lips quirk, and that hesitancy melts away. “I like it when you’re bossy.”
I press forward, capturing her lips in a slow, sensual kiss that bleeds the longing I’ve felt for her since we parted ways.
It’s heated and desperate while still holding the innocence of a kiss between new lovers.
When I pull back, her eyes are glassy and faraway as a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.
That very look will live in my damn dreams.
I intertwine our fingers, humming in my throat as I nip at her bottom lip. “We’re going to have to sneak out.”
Thalia blinks up at me, her look hazed for half a second before her grin turns wicked. “Sneak out? Are you asking me to commit crimes with you already? I thought that was like a third date kind of thing?”
“It’s not a crime,” I argue.
She narrows her eyes playfully. “Pretty sure I heard the nurses locking up while you were coming loud enough for the fourth floor to hear you.”
My mouth falls open as a huff of a laugh passes my lips. “First of all, rude.”
Her grin only widens. “Second of all?”
“You say that like you weren’t participating.”
She presses a hand dramatically to her chest. “I was a victim of circumstance.”
“A victim?” I scoff. “You had me on a leash, Little Devil.”
She pulls me closer, nipping at my bottom lip as her eyes become half-lidded and dangerous. “But you like being my pet, don’t you?”
I gulp. “I do.”
“Hmm,” she muses softly as her thin fingers slide into the collar of my button-up. She moves the fabric aside, her gaze shifting to the scar of her initials that has healed nicely.
Her thumb rubs across it tenderly before she dips and her tongue touches my heated flesh. I suck in as she licks over her mark like the vixen she is, with fire in her eyes.
“I like seeing my mark on you, Reed.”
Fuck. Me.
Spontaneous combustion is very real.
I snatch her wrist, bringing her palm over my heart and covering her scar. “Then give me more.”
Her eyes light up as her smile stretches. “I’ll turn you into my own fucking canvas if you aren’t careful, Dr. Dreamy.”
I shudder, full body, and it’s impossible for her not to feel. “Please.”
She blushes a shade so pretty it mesmerizes me. “I think you’re the first person to match my freak.”
I chuckle. “Then allow me.”
I hold out my palm, offering to help her down from the exam table. She meekly follows my lead, such a stark contrast to her naturally dominant nature as I guide her to the door.
I use a hand to stop her from passing the threshold as I lean in close enough for my mouth to brush the shell of her ear. “Try to look less guilty.”
She snorts quietly. “Impossible after what you let me do to you.”
My pulse jumps again, because apparently I learned absolutely nothing in the last thirty minutes.
I crack the door open carefully, peering into the dim hallway of the after-hours clinic. Most of the lights have been shut off, leaving only the soft amber glow of the nurses’ station at the far end. Completely vacant.
Good.
“Coast is clear,” I murmur.
Thalia slips under my arm, fingers immediately hooking through the belt loop of my slacks like she owns me. Which—not debatable. We make it exactly three steps before a voice cuts through the silence.
“Well, well.”
Fuck.
I freeze so hard that Thalia bumps into my back. We both turn slowly, our shoulders so tight they nearly touch our ears. Propped against the doorframe of the room we just exited is Taryn, her toe tapping the polished floor and her arms crossed as her mouth tilts with amusement.
“So,” my friend muses as her chin tilts downward. “I take over your last three patients of the day only to discover you’re playing doctor with someone who probably commits grand theft auto in her spare time.”
Thalia places a hand over her chest, her face softening. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
I step in front of Thalia, shielding her from Taryn’s scrutiny. “We were just—umm—”
My friend guffaws, slapping a hand over her stomach as she bends at the hips. “I’m fucking with you! Good to see you again, Thalia.”
“Hey, Edna.”
“Come on,” Taryn waves. “Drinks are on me tonight.”