Chapter Twenty-Five
Julian
Holding Leena again is almost more than I can bear.
She’s achingly beautiful with eyelids heavy over her forest green eyes, cheeks rosy, and her teeth sunk into her plump lower lip.
I could come from the lightest touch right now imagining her lips puffy, the bottom one bruised from her teeth right before she glides them around my dick.
With eyes wide, she watches as I reluctantly move away and adjust my aching cock. Groaning, I gently tug her lip free, swiping my thumb over the indents. “Save that lip for me,” I whisper.
Surprise has me shuffling a step back when she nods her head. Is she finally going to give me a chance to see how good we will be together?
But then she blinks rapidly, as if coming out of a fog. Her brows pull in and she looks around like she’s realizing we’re in public, and my heart sinks. She’s not ready.
“You’re not there yet. It’s okay,” I say, hoping my smile is reassuring.
I’m not giving up, but I do need to walk away now and gather myself.
I’m sure falling to my knees and begging her to put me out of my misery wouldn’t be a good look on me.
“Like I said, I’m a patient man.” I lean in and delicately kiss her forehead.
In a move I am not proud of, I’d hustled out of the grocery store after saying goodbye to Leena and rushed home. Slamming the front door behind me, I stride through the condo to my bedroom and into the bathroom. Shedding my clothes and quickly stepping in the shower.
The cold water barely phases my burning body. I wrap my hand around my dick, desperate for relief.
It had been all too easy to fall under her spell.
I could have lost my mind and kissed her right there in the middle of the grocery store.
Thankfully, I had enough sense to remember where we were.
There was no way I would again jeopardize the progress I’ve made with Leena or take the chance of embarrassing her by being spotted in a heated embrace.
I replay the image of her smiling at me, the bold and sexy-as-fuck strut she did as she came up to me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her lips as she placed them in the exact spot mine had been on the coffee lid.
I was transfixed by her confident moves.
When I pressed her into the shelf with my body, I could have wept from how good her ass felt against me.
Moving my hand along my length, I have to brace my other hand against the wall.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I continue to picture Leena.
Remembering the sounds she made when I made her come.
Those muffled moans as I imagine it's her tight cunt I’m thrusting into.
On each upward stroke, I twist my wrist and squeeze.
Groaning, my balls draw up the closer I get.
A brush of my thumb over my slit has the base of my spine tingling, and I explode in sweet agony.
Continuing to stroke myself through my orgasm, I watch as ropes of cum swirl down the drain.
With a final stroke, I hang my head and let the water fall around me.
I should be fucking ashamed I needed to rush home to jerk off. But it was either that or walk around with a raging hard-on. I think I made the only plausible choice.
With loud and labored breaths, I rest back against the wall. That may have been my most satisfying orgasm since I met Leena—she’s fucking ruined me—but it was still not enough. Each time I fuck my fist, it barely takes the edge off.
God, I hope I can feel the heavenly clench of her pussy around my cock soon. Honestly though, if I could just bring her pleasure again, it would be enough. I don’t care if I get to use my fingers, my mouth, or my dick, I just want to be the only one who experiences the euphoria of making her come.
Toweling dry, I hope she understands how serious I am about her, how all in I am. But, just in case, I don’t mind telling her every chance I get. In fact, I think it's definitely time I do.
A few days later, I’m back at the hospital on shift, making my way through the atrium after rounds.
Like a homing beacon, I spot Leena and Charlie on the catwalk.
I smile at the sight of her holding the cup of coffee I brought her this morning, just like I continue to bring to her every morning.
She rests the cup on the ledge and gestures wildly with the other hand, bouncing on her toes.
Charlie throws her head back with a laugh at whatever my girl is telling her.
I quickly glance around to make sure no one catches me staring at her before moving off to the side. Resting my shoulder against a pillar, I pull my phone out, but keep my gaze locked on Leena. Swallowing down the longing to be able to openly make her laugh that way, I send her a message.
Me: You are so beautiful baby. It actually hurts to look at you but I can’t make myself look away.
She fishes her phone out, and I grin when she reads the text then starts looking around, searching for me. When her eyes find mine, I soak up the way the corners of her lips tenderly tip up.
Holding in a chuckle as she shakes her head at me in amused exasperation, I straighten to my full height and wink at her before I go on my way with a swagger.
“Oh! Hello, Ian.”
I turn to see Alisha Manning has fallen into step beside me. Smiling politely, I nod my head in greeting. “Good morning.”
“How’ve you been settling in?”
“Great. The clinic is wonderful, and I enjoy all the staff I’ve gotten to know here at the hospital.”
With a flutter of her lashes and wide smile, she asks, “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?”
No. But I don’t say that. Making a show of looking at my watch and pointing to the stairwell door, I tell her, “I actually need to go see my first patient in pre-op. Otherwise, the nurses will start blowing up my phone, you know, not wanting to delay the surgical schedule.”
Her smile falters, but she rubs a hand over my bicep. “Maybe another time, then?”
I step away from her touch and push through the door, calling over my shoulder, “Enjoy your day.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, the recruiter already forgotten before I’ve reached the next floor, my mind is on my first surgery. And Leena. The day goes by quickly after that.
“I’ve never seen her like this before,” Charlie says quietly while closing our last patient of the day.
Lifting my face, I see she is pointedly looking at the incision I’m suturing closed. With a sweep of my eyes, I see Sarina on the phone giving report to the recovery room and anesthesia provider drawing up meds.
Focusing on my next pass of the needle, I voice my curiosity. “What do you mean? In a good way, right?” It may be pathetic how desperate I sound, needing reassurance. But this is her best friend—she has more insight into my girl than anyone else.
“Yes, in a good way,” she says with a snort, eye roll included.
Smirking, I tie off the suture.
“Oh god, I shouldn’t have said anything. I literally saw your ego suck up all the air in the room.”
Side-eyeing her as I take the liquid bandage from her outstretched hand, I apply it to the closed incision. “Hell yes, I’m going to be cocky about that. She’s making me work for every single small smile and inch I gain, and I’m fucking loving it!”
“Okay,” is her pensive response.
My head jerks up. She’s become suddenly still, head tilted to the side. “Okay? Okay what?”
“You might deserve her.” Charlie says this so seriously I pause as we are pulling the drapes off the patient.
“Charlie, I don’t deserve her. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying. And if I’m lucky enough to make her mine, I will do anything to keep her.”
Pushing my shoulder, she laughs. “The ortho bro is getting sappy!”
“Fuck off!”
“Ohh! That was rude!” she mockingly exclaims.
Pulling my gown off inside out, I ball it up and throw it in the trash. “As if I believe that indignation!” I dryly quip back.
Standing at the back table, she looks over her shoulder at me. “But in all seriousness, Julian, keep it up.”
With a nod and smile, I grab my badge, phone, and watch from the back desk. I head out to update the family with a contentment warming my chest. I may have won Charlie over to my side where Leena is concerned, but I also think we may have just started a friendship of our own.
Since I worked late into the night, I slept at the hospital, but that didn’t stop me from leaving after a quick shower to pick up Leena’s coffee from Grind House.
It’s still dark when I return, but I’m pretty sure I just pulled into the parking lot behind her Jeep.
Thankfully, it's still early, because I drive a little faster than I should to get into the physicians’ lot and out of my vehicle in time to catch her walking in with a tote and large tumbler.
“Leena,” I holler.
Her head pops up from rummaging around in her bag, and she stops when she sees it’s me. “Julian?”
Jogging over, I swipe the large bag off her shoulder and onto mine.
“Hey, what are you doing? My badge is in there and I need it to get in the building,” she says, reaching for it.
Angling away from her, I hand her the cup I’m carrying. “I can let us in the building.”
Looking from the cup to the bag and back to the cup, she says in a resigned huff, “But I still have to clock in, Doctor.”
Placing my hand at the small of her back, I gently nudge her towards the building and lean down to whisper in her ear. “Baby, you know, I think it's actually romantic when you sass me, right?”
I laugh as she takes a sip with a harrumph instead of responding to me, then move my hand to her opposite hip and squeeze. Damn, she is so much smaller than me. I love it.
“Someone could see,” she scolds me as she wiggles away.
Sighing because she’s right, I let her move ahead of me. She gets her distance and I get to admire her ass and toned legs in athletic shorts. Now I’m sighing for a whole other reason.
Down boy! I chide my dick’s reckless stirring.
Letting us into the building, I hold her bag open as she digs for her badge and swipes it. She pulls a set of scrubs from the cabinet by the time clock. Looking over her shoulder with a lift of her brows, her eyes trail over my body. “Do you want a new set since you’ve been outside?”
Glancing down at my scrubs, I know she’s right. I’ll need to change so I do not contaminate the contained OR unit.
“Thank you,” I say with a grateful smile.
Our fingers brush as I grab the new pair of scrubs she holds out. The usual zing of electricity I feel whenever we touch shoots up my arm. My eyes remain riveted to her delicate fingers rubbing over mine, caressing up the back of my hand, dancing over my wrist. Slowly, softly, teasingly.
I groan as that zap of electricity travels to my dick. “Baby, you’re going to need to stop.”
Looking up from where she continues to trail her fingers over me, she blinks and whispers, “You really want that?”
“Hell no. But if you don’t stop, I’m gonna say ‘fuck it,’ push you inside that locker room, and do things we don’t have time for in a place we cannot afford to be found.”
A breathy moan escapes from her perfect lips, making my balls tighten. But she continues trailing her fingers all the way up my arm to my shoulder. Her nails dig in gently, and then she pulls me down as she tiptoes, and places a gentle kiss to my beard-covered jaw.
She must have surprised herself as much as me because she furiously blushes. But she stuns me further when she smirks and waggles her fingers in a flirty wave and says, “See you later, Doctor.”
I stare at the door for a few moments, more than a little shocked by how quickly things have once again changed between us, but I’m not mad about it.
With a shake of my head, I leave to change into my new scrubs for the day, whistling as I go.