by Jill Shalvis
her bag and smiled reassuringly. “And there’s not a needle in the mix, I can promise you.” Without waiting for him, she took his hand again, pulling it closer, turning it to get better light. It also blocked his view of the tweezers she’d pulled from her bag, which amused him. “You think I’m a pansy-ass.”
“No, I know you’re not.” She paused. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”
He felt a very slight tug in his palm. “About…?”
“The letting me inside you thing.” Her gaze lifted from his hand to his eyes. “Specifically the part where I don’t connect.”
“Oh. I like the letting me inside you thing better.”
She laughed, and he felt another slight tug, but then she was leaning in so close that her breast brushed his arm, and he ceased to think at all.
“Did you know when you say it that way?” she murmured. “It sounds…”
Another slight tug, which didn’t bother him in the least since another part of him altogether was once again stirring. “Sounds…?”
“Dirty.”
“You think sex is dirty?”
One more tug and then she ran her thumb over his palm, her gaze direct and intent on what she was looking at. “You heal fast.”
He grabbed her wrist when she would have turned away. “Nice change of subject.”
She smiled. “I’m the master at it.” She pulled her hand free. “Your splinter’s out.”
“Thank you.”
“And no.” She squirmed. “By the way. I don’t think sex is dirty. Although, we had our moments, didn’t we.”
He grinned. “Yeah.” He looked at his palm, while his heart thudded heavily with the weight of pretending that her leaving wasn’t going to destroy him. “Nice bedside manner, Dr. Emma.”
“Working on it.”
He cocked his head and studied her. “Is that what that was? Flirting, to distract me from what you were doing?”
“I didn’t intend for it to be flirting necessarily. But yes, I was trying to distract you.”
“Nicely played. Sex is always distracting. But why the change of tactic?”
She sighed. “I watched Spencer deal with a patient who needed stitches, and he did it better than me.”
“Ah.” Now it all made perfect sense. “It’s a competition thing.”
She winced. “I liked the look on the patient’s face. She…she liked him. She connected with him, because he made her feel better. I wanted that too, wanted to make you feel better.”
Touched, he took her hand. “You know, I like this new you.”
Clearly uncomfortable with that, she looked away. “It’s the same old me.”
“Well whoever it is, I like her. So…back to that connecting thing.”
“Yeah, about that.” She closed up her bag, then looked at him. “Look, we all know that I didn’t want to be here in Wishful. But it takes a lot of energy to hold onto that much resentment. I had no idea.” She shook her head. “I must be burning calories left and right with it, because do you have any idea how many casseroles I’ve eaten in the past few months, and I haven’t gained an ounce. But I can’t do it anymore. No more resentment. Instead, I want to…”
“Connect.”
She smiled, looking relieved that he was following her. “Yeah.”
“Before you leave.”
“Yes.” She took a step into him and set her hand on his chest. “I want to go knowing I learned to fit in. That I learned to be…softer, kinder. More relaxed and laid-back, easygoing. Like you, Stone.”
She hadn’t taken her hand off his chest, which he considered fair game, so he put his hands on her as well, gently squeezing her hips, pulling her in, feeling the tension in her. “You’re not there yet.”
She looked down at their bodies now touching from chest to belly to thighs and everything in between, then back up at him, her eyes heating. “I know. That’s because when I’m with you like this, I don’t feel relaxed so much as…revved up.”
“Is that right?” He slid his hands up her back slowly, past her still slightly aching ribs, letting his fingers dig into her muscles just a little in a massaging pressure. “How about now?”
Her pulse kicked. Her nipples hardened, pressing against her silk top.
“Feel nice?” he murmured.
“Nice makes me think of kittens and flowers.” Her pulse was fluttering like crazy, which he liked. A lot. “I’m not thinking kittens and flowers, Stone.” She pressed into him, and he knew the exact moment she felt how hard he was because her eyes locked on his.
“Yeah,” he said huskily. “My body thinks you’re hot.”
“And your brain?”
“Oh, my brain knows it.” He tilted her head up so that their mouths were only a whisper apart. “Let’s forget everything else, Emma, and connect.”
“And the rest.”
“Right. Let’s teach you to be laid-back. Easygoing. I’ve got just the thing.”
“Well…in the name of personal growth then,” she whispered, letting her fingers play with his hair at the nape of his neck.
“In the name of personal growth.” They kissed, long and deep and so hot he nearly melted.
Chapter 22
Eyes still closed, Emma pulled back, breathing hard. “Okay, it’s not working.” When she opened her eyes and met Stone’s dark, heated gaze, she felt…flummoxed. When he looked at her like that, she felt other reactions as well; in her throat, in her belly, in her upper chest, which she told herself was a purely physical response to a gorgeous man, but she knew the truth.
It was her heart, something she wasn’t quite ready to admit. “I’m the opposite of relaxed.”
“We’re getting to it.”
At the sexy confidence in his voice, a shiver of desire shot through her. “We should be over this by now.”
“I don’t feel over it.” Slipping his hand around the back of her neck, he let his fingers play on the delicate skin as he kissed her again, opening his mouth on hers, letting her know how much he wanted her, which was the most amazing thing to her.
He wanted her.
Slowly, he broke off the kiss, taking his damn sweet time about it too, leaving their lips still touching for a long beat before finally pulling away. “Do you?”
She looked into his eyes. Dammit. She’d had lovers. Maybe not a lot of them, but certainly enough. And not one, not a single one, had ever made her feel like Stone did, like if she didn’t have him, nothing was ever going to be right again. “You’re not taking my problem seriously.”
“You know what I think?”
“That sex is the answer to all the planet’s problems?”
He grinned. “Well, yes. I also think you’re trying too hard.”
She stared at him, lifting her hand to touch her still wet, slightly swollen lips. “How do you stop trying to relax?”
“Stop thinking.”
“Yes, but…with us, everything’s so…hot. So wild.”
Looking quite proud of that assessment, he smiled.
“It makes my brain race.”
All she could think about was him, the way his body moved against hers, how he was made of pure corded sinew, how warm his smooth, tanned flesh felt against hers. And then there were his eyes.
And his mouth.
God, his mouth. “How? You’re pretty potent, you know.”
“Same goes, Emma. Come on, I have an idea.” Taking her hand, he tugged her around the side of the big lodge to the first of two equipment garages. Opening the first door, he led her inside, where there was a large snowcat, several quads, a snowmobile, and a whole bunch of other outdoor equipment she couldn’t quite catch because he turned her toward the small office to the right.
“Nick’s,” he said, and opened the door. The room had a metal desk and an old, beat-up couch. Skis, poles, boots, bikes and other various parts were scattered everywhere except the one spot where a large basket sat next to the couch. In it was a watchful Chuck, a
nd her four soft, fuzzy, wiggly kittens.
“Oh,” Emma murmured, her heart melting in a puddle as she dropped to her knees by the basket. “Oh, look at them.”
“Their eyes just opened this morning. See that soft gray one?” Stone crouched just behind her, speaking softly, pointing to the one kitten she’d already spotted, the one that was just a little bit separate from the others. “She’s the youngest.”
“The runt.”
“No, she’s not weak. She’s a fighter. Look at those eyes. She’s fierce, intense, and just a little bit pissy.” His voice was full of both amusement and pride, and Emma turned her head to meet his gaze.
“She reminds me of you.”
“Hey,” she said with a laugh. “Pissy?”
He smiled, and she sighed. “Okay, so we share a few traits. Are you sure she’s a she? Because Chuck surprised all of you.”
“She’s a she.” His gaze ran over the features of Emma’s face, which felt like a caress, and her entire body reacted.
“You know,” she said unevenly. “It’s a pretty cheesy move on your part to use kittens to soften the female into having sex with you.”
“So it’s working then?”
“No,” she said on a laugh.
He lifted a kitten and nuzzled it to his jaw, and every hormone in her body stood up and tap-danced. Apparently in agreement, the kitten “mewed” softly, let out a huge yawn, and cuddled against him.
Emma’s heart, already melted, twisted hard. Dammit. “It’s hard to think too much when you’re holding one of those.”
“Okay.” Shifting, he set the kitten in her arms, who happily snuggled in, and Emma sighed, definitely falling for the sweet little thing.
And maybe, just a little, for the man as well.
Or a lot…
As she thought it, as she leaned over the kitten to kiss Stone, to crawl into his arms and burrow in much like the kitten had, the door behind them opened.
Stone sighed and looked up at Nick, standing there holding the door open for Spencer and Serena.
Nick lifted a brow at the sight of Stone holding Emma, who was holding the kitten. “Bad timing, huh?”
“No, not at all,” Emma said, backing out of Stone’s arms, who turned and gave Nick a long, thanks-a-lot look.
“Sorry,” Nick said lightly. “Spence’s leaving today, and he wanted to see the kittens before he left. But apparently he’s not the only one who hoped to use the adorable factor to his benefit.”
Spencer and Stone winced in unison.
“Hey,” Emma said, slipping the kitten back in the basket with reluctance. “Give the women some credit. We recognize the tactic.”
“Definitely,” Serena agreed, but then turned to look at Spencer speculatively. “Is that what you were doing, using the kittens to seduce me?”
“No. Absolutely not. I was using the kittens to make you want to be seduced, so that on my next visit—”
“I’d be all buttered up.” She gave him a long look. “I haven’t yet decided on you, Dr. Spencer Jenks.”
Spencer’s dark eyes and dimple flashed. “Which is why I’m hedging my bets.”
“Well I’ll tell you,” Serena said. “It’s going to backfire on you, because kittens make a woman want to be seduced now, not later.”
Stone looked at Emma, who laughed and shook her head.
He sighed, rose to his feet and pulled Emma to hers. “Excuse us,” he said to the room. When he had her outside in the hot sun, he looked at her. “I thought I’d give Spencer a second chance with Serena.”
“And you a second chance as well?”
“Most definitely.”
She laughed, and he loved the soft, musical sound. They walked the trail back around the side of the lodge. It was a beautiful day, and he pulled her around, backing her to the wall of the lodge.
“What?”
“Back to that relaxing thing.” He slid his fingers into her hair.
Her lips quirked as he leaned into her. “I’m going back to the clinic now, Stone.” Belying the words, she put her hand to his jaw and he turned into her touch. “You have to admit,” she said quietly. “This is unexpected, this thing with us. Unexpected, and surprisingly persistent.”
“Surprisingly.” He looked a little amused. “So what do you do in New York with surprises?”
“Work them into my schedule.”
He laughed and shook his head, cupping his hand over hers, bringing her palm to his mouth.
“We’re awfully different, Stone.”
“Yes, and you happen to like those differences, remember? You wanted me to help you bridge those differences.” He put his mouth to her ear. “Run back to the clinic. But go out with me tonight. We’ll finish what we started here. I’ll show you how to relax.”
“I’m taking Spencer to the airport.”
“Afterwards then.” He flicked his tongue over her earlobe. “It’ll be worth your time.”
She shivered and tilted her head, giving him better access. “I don’t think a date is the right way to handle this situation.”
Keeping his mouth on her, he ran his hands up her sides. “What would be?”
She thunked her head back against the wall. “A bucket of cold water over my head.”
He grinned and lifted his head. “You need a bucket of cold water around me?”
“With ice.” Seeming to gather her thoughts, she straightened and shook her head. “I think it’s best to forget it. I’m leaving, and whatever we’d do will just make it that much harder to go.” She jabbed him lightly in the chest. “Don’t follow me.”
He took her finger from his ribcage and entwined his fingers with hers. “Does that work for you in your ER, that point and demand thing?”
“Yes, actually. In my world, I’m quite intimidating. It’s how I get what I want.”
With a smile, he shook his head. “It’s okay, Emma. You don’t have to throw your weight around with me. You keep thinking. I’m sure the longer you think about loosening up and relaxing and connecting, the easier it’ll get. Maybe by the time you get back to New York, you’ll have it down.”
She just stared at him. “Maybe you could just write down the instructions.”
“Come out with me tonight and I’ll make you a list.”
She walked to her father’s truck, then turned back. “A list?”
“Sure.”
“On how to be more easygoing and relaxed? On how to fit in? How to connect?”
He was quite certain that she had no idea how vulnerable she looked, and how utterly irresistible. “Yes, I will. Think of it as an Olympic event. I’ll be your coach.”
“A training session then.”
“If that makes you feel better.”
She stared at him, then let out a breath. “I’m insane. Hell, you’re insane. But yes.”
When Emma got back to the Urgent Care, Missy Thorton was there waiting for her, claiming to need her dish. The older woman sat in the kitchen while Emma transferred the Thai food to another container and washed out the casserole dish.