Chapter 10 #3
He tried to remind himself of that fact as she gave him a tight smile. “Well then, I suppose I should thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I need to head home now. I have an early day tomorrow.”
His gaze narrowed at the obvious lie. She arrived every morning at nine o’clock sharp, with her first appointment usually beginning at ten.
But she needed time and space to process everything—and so did he.
Silently he held out the stack of files, and her gaze flicked to his before she pulled them from his grasp.
Turning away, she stowed them in the filing cabinet, collected her purse from the bottom of her desk, and checked each drawer to make sure that everything was locked up tight. She glanced at him, her mask of indifference firmly back in place.
“Would you like me to follow you home?”
She straightened her dress and swept her hair back into a semblance of order before speaking. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”
He nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
He couldn’t let her leave like this. If she walked out the door now, he knew he’d never see her again.
This one shared moment wasn’t enough—he wanted more.
He refused to allow her to go back to haunting him like a specter, elusive and unattainable.
He watched her stride determinedly toward the door before speaking again.
“What about my thank you?”
Confusion clouded her steely eyes. “I did thank you.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You said, ‘I suppose I should thank you,’ but you haven’t.”
“Oh. Well. Thank you.” She cleared her throat uncomfortably as he took a step toward her.
“Come on, Doc, I think you can do better than that.” He kept his gait slow and measured as he closed the distance between them.
“I… What are you doing?”
He was in front of her now, staring into those magnetic gray eyes. “I want a proper thank you.”
One hand flattened over her lower back as he pulled her flush against him, while the other coasted up her body to cradle her jaw. She came willingly, albeit dazedly, as if she’d never experienced the intimacy of a man’s touch. A feeling of possessiveness washed over him at the thought.
Releasing her eyes, his gaze dropped to her lips, and he bowed his head, catching her mouth with his. He kissed her gently at first, experimentally, waiting for her to pull away.
She didn’t. His heartbeat kicked up when, instead, her arms came to rest on his shoulders, her fingers sliding around his neck, lightly brushing the hairs at the base of his skull.
She tugged him closer, and he happily obliged, deepening the kiss.
Her lips parted, allowing him to taste her, to take the lead.
She seemed unsure of how to react to his attention, and he almost smiled.
Certainly, she’d been kissed before, but if she felt at all the way he did, then he could understand her delirium.
She literally took his breath away. The fusion of their lips was intoxicating, and he allowed the burning passion to take over, turning him mindless with pleasure as she melted into him.
Sweeping his tongue across hers, he buried one hand in her hair, cradling her head. Kissing for him had always been a necessary evil, a form of foreplay before sex. But this kiss, with this woman… he couldn’t get enough.
Every touch of her lips swept him further from reality to a place where only Hannah and he existed. He tore his mouth away and trailed kisses over her cheek and down the line of her jaw. Nipping her bottom lip, he flicked his tongue soothingly over the plump, swollen flesh.
His senses gradually returned as he drank in her beautiful features.
Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted slightly, damp and shiny from their kisses.
He could pick her up right now, carry her to the couch, and make love to her, but that wasn’t what he wanted.
Their first time needed to be in a bed, somewhere he could spend an obscene amount of time worshiping her.
He slowly eased her away, and Hannah blinked sensually at him, the gray depths still glimmering with lust. He knew it would only be another moment or two before reality intruded and she’d pull away.
Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he skimmed his hands over the expanse of her back. “Well, doc, that was one heck of a thank you.”
Hannah’s cheeks flamed red even in the dim light, and he couldn’t help but smile. Her hands slipped down his arms, then dropped to her sides as she took the tiniest step backward. “I… I should get going.”
He watched her for a moment. “Want me to walk you out?”
Her head shook briskly, causing more tendrils of hair to fall loose around her shoulders.
With a gentle brush of his fingertips over her cheek, he tucked the strands behind her ear. “All right. Be careful.”
She nodded but refused to meet his eyes as she shifted her purse back into place. “I will.”
“Night, Doc.”
His gaze was drawn to the hypnotic sway of her hips as she hurried from the room, and a grin broke over his face. The shy little doctor was so much more than he could’ve ever imagined. Her icy facade hid a fiery, passionate woman, and he couldn’t wait to see what else lay beneath the surface.