by Lisa Eugene
He’d been unable to get her out of his thoughts ever since she’d fled his office two days ago. The pull she had on him was strange, a sort of rapturous magic that twisted his insides with the mere thought of her. Hell, he’d even rearranged his rounding schedule this morning and inconvenienced about fifteen people just so he could see her. The need had been strong and driving. As soon as he’d stepped onto the ward, he’d felt like a damn fool and had been so annoyed by his actions that he couldn’t even look at her. What was wrong with him that he needed to shamelessly taunt such an innocent? Those soft blushes and trembling fingers told him as much. She did not have a lot of experience with men.
He moved around his desk and sank into his leather chair. Considering the scope of his responsibilities, he had to better govern his emotions. He was a man who always stayed in control, yet twice this week he’d lost it, first with punching Larry Wasko, and now with the tempting Nurse Bennett. She was just as curious about the deaths as he was, and so far he’d found no viable explanations. These deaths were most likely just coincidences.
He was a guest speaker at a major cardiovascular conference in a week and had two Robotic Coronary Bypass surgeries coming up as well as a tricky valve replacement on a senator. Just the thought sent stress pounding to his temples and spearing through his head. He used to love his job. He still did, most of the time, but the expectations were tremendous and there was a heavy load piled on his shoulders. He didn’t think it conceited to acknowledge his distinction as one of the best cardiac surgeons in the country. Hell, there were many journals and plaques awarding him that honor. Brad sighed and pushed around the papers on his desk. He was expected to be great, so he had to be. That’s how it’d been his entire life. He could be nothing less than perfect.
The door to his office opened and he looked up, groaning inwardly as Bea filled the doorway. Her arms were folded accusingly across her breasts.
“What did you do to that poor girl?”
Great!
“You’re here early,” he noted, ignoring her question and hoping she’d take the hint.
“I was coming through the door when I bumped into that nurse who was here the other day. She looked like she was crying.”
“I need you to arrange the hotel for my lecture at the Cardiovascular Center in Boston on the twentieth.”
“Already done.”
“Make sure I get the—”
“Large conference room already reserved.” Her pump tapped an impatient beat while he purposefully shuffled papers on his desk. “Why was that poor girl in tears?”
Brad leveled a gaze at his secretary. “I thought you made it a point never to get involved in my personal life.”
She huffed dramatically and clucked her tongue. He felt the censure of her dark gaze. “My momma always says, ‘you keep walkin’ through bee hives and one day you gonna get stung’!”
“Your mother needs a muzzle,” he mumbled.
“Leave that girl alone.”
Brad shot her a scalding glare, but it landed on the door as she pulled it closed. He stroked his jaw. Bea shouldn’t be too concerned about Nurse Bennett, because he intended to do just that.
Chloe tugged Paul off the dance floor of the trendy new club, Silo. The elite hot spot was located on the upper east side of Manhattan and unless you were someone remarkable, were sleeping with someone remarkable, or dropped a remarkable fortune at the door, it was impossible to gain entrance. The line outside extended around the block and showed no sign of shortening even at the early midnight hour. Looking around, Chloe examined the boisterous crowd. Clean cut men in business suits lounged at the bar with statuesque women whose faces looked like they would crack if they dared to smile. The women were stunning in tight mini dresses and stilettos that accented their long, shapely legs.
Chloe looked down at her plain skirt and blouse and grimaced as she followed Paul to the bar. He’d pulled her onto the dance floor for the last techno-industrial beat, which she could not seem to find a rhythm to. She wasn’t much of a dancer. Jack had always hated going out. But she had to admit it was fun just to jostle about and be carefree for a moment amongst the spirited crowd. She was glad she’d decided to come. The last few days had been filled with emotional turmoil and a great deal of angst.
She tried not to dwell on her encounter with Dr. Markson, but the memory plagued her. It infiltrated her thoughts and corrupted every idea in her brain. She’d never done anything so…so…brazen! As embarrassing and aberrant as the behavior had been, she’d found it darkly thrilling. The past few days she’d awoken glazed in sweat, with images of writhing, pulsating bodies and dark blue eyes urging her to climax.
She’d feared running into him on her ward, but he hadn’t made early rounds since that one morning. He’d probably been turned off by what she’d so boldly displayed. He’d ended things so abruptly. Chloe winced at the memory. He was a large cat just toying with a stupidly bold mouse. Whatever curiosity there was most likely had been extinguished.
She pushed her hair back and cupped her ear, trying to catch a word of what Paul was saying, but the pounding music and boisterous din of the crowd made it impossible. Susan was standing near the bar, giving Sally some elaborate hand signals and trying to hook her up with the bartender. The rest of the group was scattered on the dance floor. Paul made a motion for a drink and she nodded, wondering how he’d manage to wade through the stacked crowd. She’d basically stuck to water all night with the exception of the one glass of wine she’d allowed earlier when Susan’s boyfriend, Freddie, had bought a round of drinks. The drinks were ridiculously overpriced, and besides not wanting to spend the money, she was happy she wasn’t a big drinker.
Ten minutes later, Paul pressed a glass of wine into her hands. Chloe shook her head.
“I’m sticking to water!” she yelled above the noise. The vibration from the speakers thrummed inside her and she bounced her shoulders happily.
“Oh no, you’re not!” Paul reprimanded, shaking his head of dark curls.
He grinned at the look she gave him and leaned in close to her ear. “Don’t worry. I won’t try to take advantage of you.”
“You’re such a gentleman,” she teased.
“No. I’m not. Susan promised to kick my ass if I came on to you.” He grinned again then crossed his heart with a finger. “I promise not to try anything…while she’s looking.”
Chloe absorbed his humor and laughed genuinely. Paul was almost six feet tall and well padded. The thought of tiny Susan threatening him was hilarious. She accepted the wine and nodded when he pointed in the direction of the bathroom and strolled away. She didn’t think Paul had any real interest in her. He was just being a flirt as always. He posed no real danger. Certainly not the type that Brad Markson did, the type that had her blood racing through her veins and her stomach twisting with nervous anticipation.
He watched her. He saw her throw her head back and laugh as that besotted idiot said something in her ear. The overweight ape had been glued to her side all night, sneaking lingering glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. He’d just pushed another glass of what looked like wine into her hand and had the audacity to smile innocently. He’d gotten way too close on the dance floor, at times under the pretense of teaching her clumsy feet a dance step. That fool wanted her. It was so fucking obvious. Several times that night, Brad had needed to check his urge to go over and flick him away like a pesky bug. Now the idiot just left her standing alone by the bar. Did he not see the predators stalking the fringes, waiting for an opportunity to pounce? He could have at least escorted her to the safety of her friends.
Brad cursed angrily and took a sip of his drink. He was sitting in a private booth with some of his friends. Half of them he didn’t see on a regular basis, but Larry had invited them. The booth they occupied was a tufted leather alcove, but from where he sat he had an unobstructed view of most of the club’s main floor. Their private waitress materialized and annoyed, he shooed her away.
>
“Well?”
Brad jerked his head in Larry’s direction. Larry had apparently posed a question.
“What?” Brad asked, irritated because he could already guess the subject matter. Larry had been beleaguering him all night with the same questions.
“Is Bea dating anyone?”
Brad scratched his jaw, his eyes still latched on to Chloe. His best friend, Larry, had had a crush on his secretary for over a year now and was reduced to a blathering fool whenever he came within five feet of her. The man held several degrees, including a PhD and an MD, yet became simple-minded in the presence of a mere woman!
“I’m not privy to Bea’s love life, Larry. She’s a very private person. I know she’s very protective of her five year old.”
He watched his friend’s brows furrow in thought.
“Do you think she’d date someone like me?”
Brad grinned. “You mean rich and boring?”
Larry pushed his fingers through his hair and shot a look of frustration at his friend.
“You know what I mean…white!”
Brad shrugged. “I don’t know.” He gave his friend a sidelong glance, but his attention was drawn to a well-dressed man that had approached Chloe.
“Can you find out for me? You owe me after almost breaking my jaw.”
Brad’s jaw dropped and he almost spilled his drink. “No way!” He shook his head, thinking that Bea would probably stab him with a letter opener if he ever asked her a question like that. She’d no doubt start spewing proverbs from her sooth-saying mother.
“Please, Brad. She’s beautiful, smart, funny…”
Brad rolled his eyes and raised a hand. His friend had it bad.
“Why don’t you just grow some balls and ask her out.” He took a sip of his drink. At the same moment, he saw the man in the suit slink a hand around Chloe’s waist, and he couldn’t help grinding his teeth together. She took a side step, inching away from him, but he persisted.
“Fuck!” Brad slid out of the booth, tossing Larry a quick glance. “Just ask her out yourself—oh, and wear some armor.”
The colorful laser lights sliced through the sea of bodies on the dance floor and bounced off the faces of the patrons crowding the bar. Chloe swung her head around, trying to locate her group of friends. If possible, the club seemed to be even more packed than before. Someone elbowed her and her wine sloshed over the top of her glass, spilling onto her hand and the front of her blouse. The annoying man at her side leered lustfully at the damp spot and tried to sidle closer. The fumes of alcohol wafting from his putrid breath were enough to make her nauseous and his grubby hands kept snaking a path around her waist.
“How ‘bout I lick that up for you?” he yelled sluggishly, his cloudy eyes glued to her breasts.
Chloe pulled away, her face crinkling with disgust.
“How about I crack your head against a wall?”
The voice boomed out of nowhere and Chloe’s eyes bulged as Brad Markson clapped a hand over the man’s shoulder and jerked him away from her. She couldn’t hear what he said into the man’s ear, but it had been enough to cause his eyes to pop with alarm and send him scurrying away.
Chloe had to bite her lip to keep her mouth from gaping open at the sight of Dr. Markson. He pivoted to face her and she was surprised to see his dark brows hover low over his eyes in what appeared to be anger. She almost pinched herself, needing to test her reality. Had she mentally conjured him? He was mouth-wateringly gorgeous in dark slacks and a button down black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The top button was casually open, giving a view of the strong column of his neck and a tempting smatter of dark hair peeking from beneath his shirt. Apart from the deep frown on his face, he looked like he’d just stepped out of GQ magazine.
He took two steps towards her, his gaze raking over her face and damp blouse. Chloe swallowed nervously, her chin tilting up as his tall frame towered over her.
“Why are you with that…moron…left…here all…yourself? It’s too damn…and…for…”
Chloe frowned, confused because the music changed to a blaring beat and she could only catch about every other word of his tirade, and she couldn’t comprehend the reason his anger was directed at her. His animated face flashed with sparkling light as the lasers washed it in and out of color, making him look sinister. Perplexed, she shook her head and shrugged, watching as he forked long fingers through his hair in obvious irritation. He angled his head left, then right, then hooked a hand under her arm and dragged her behind him.
Chloe sputtered in protest, but given no choice, her feet shuffled after him. She didn’t want to cause a scene, but the further he led her away from the crowd, the more anger bubbled up inside her. They were not at work. He had no authority here! He’d abruptly rebuffed her in his office and she had no intention of going anywhere with him.
By the time he stopped in the dark, near-empty hall, she’d spilled the remainder of her wine and the glass had been knocked from her hand by the rollicking crowd. Not that she’d planned on drinking it anyway, but she certainly didn’t need to be man-handled!
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, now in a quieter area where their voices could carry. A couple lounging in a corner shot them a wary glance then took off, no doubt anticipating a heated lover’s quarrel.
“Saving you.”
“Who said I needed to be saved?”
His eyes narrowed ominously and he growled, “That man had his slimy hands all over you.”
She fisted her hands at her sides. “Maybe I wanted his hands all over me!” At least he hadn’t rejected me…She bit back the last words just in time, hating the emotion wrapped around them.
He stared at her, the angles of his face strained tight with anger and something else she couldn’t name. A muscle fluttered at his jaw and his eyes were a charcoal blue in the grey light. Before Chloe could protest, he had her crowded against the wall at her back, his large body pinning her. She yelped, surprised at the sound erupting from her suddenly parched throat. His body was more solid than she’d remembered, hard and chiseled beneath the layer of clothes. His hard thighs pressed intimately against hers and she could feel the bulge of a thick shaft push into her abdomen.
“Is that what you want? Someone’s hands all over you?” he rasped the words against her ear, sending a chill bumping along her skin.
Chloe had tossed those words out callously, annoyed by his bullying. She could retract them, but excitement mingled with her trepidation. She sucked in a deep breath, filling her lungs with him, then drew a deeper breath for more. Her senses were inundated with him, his hard body, his spicy scent, his beautiful eyes, and his arousal. God! For me? This man was overwhelming. He had everything in excess and it wreaked havoc on her senses. It didn’t help that she had vivid dreams of him every time she closed her eyes.
His hands roved up her blouse, caressed her sides, and then slid between their bodies to palm the globes of her breasts. Chloe inhaled sharply, her torso arching her breasts into his palms. Her lips parted and her lids felt like weights, causing her eyes to drift shut as he started to knead her flesh with his long fingers. Waves of pleasure rolled through her, and she soaked in the sensations.
“I’ve imagined my hands on you for some time now. They were itching to replace yours in my office.”
Chloe’s eyes fluttered open. She was shocked to hear his words. A strange glow filtered through her, lighting the dark, uncertain places inside. A voice in her head, though, countered swiftly with dissent and she frowned.
“But you made me leave. I thought—”
Her words were trapped in her throat as his lips descended on hers, almost punishing with the intensity of the kiss. She gasped and he stole the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, and she tip-toed, yielding to his urgency. His skillful tongue did a thorough sweep, tracing the edges of her teeth, dueling with her own and then foraging deep. Chloe wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and clung tig
htly. He was a delicious elixir of man laced with alcohol, and she was becoming drunk from his taste. She rocked her pelvis into him, dragging a guttural groan from his throat that she swallowed greedily.
The sound of approaching voices filled her head, but got lost somewhere in the musical hum of her pleasure. Brad tried to raise his head and ease away from her, but she would not relent. She was not ready to fall from this cloud of unbelievable sensation. She ground her pelvis into his shaft and breathed a needy moan through their kiss.
The voices grew closer, almost upon them now, and Brad cursed against her mouth. He was relentless though, a paradox of actions. He bit and sucked feverishly on her lips, but still tried to ease her away. Chloe grew wild, her hands aimlessly skating over the hard hills of his shoulder and back. The throb of the music from the club beat a rhythm in her head, and she got lost in her sensuous cloud. She’d never done or felt anything like this. It was thrilling, emancipating. Her fingers found their way to the front of his slacks, and she grabbed the solid length of his cock, squeezing the large mound through the fabric. He felt amazing, all male, all potent, all sex…and she wanted it all.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Oh shit, Chloe.”
Brad breathed out harshly, bucking into her grasp. He circled his arm around her waist and quickly dragged her to an emergency exit that opened into an alley. Cool night air swirled around him, a tease on his already heated skin. The door slammed shut and the instant quiet was almost shocking. Chloe jerked her head back just as he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against a wall.
“Chloe!” Brad shook his head, attempting to clear his muddled thoughts. He laid his palms flat on the wall on either side of her head, caging her. His breath charged out of his lungs in coarse, uneven exhalations that matched her heavy panting. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he tried to govern his rampant desire. When he opened them, his gaze met hers and he felt as if he’d been punched. The force of her gaze crashed into his soul, leaving him questioning just how much liquor he’d consumed. He knew it hadn’t been much, but he felt intoxicated from her essence. Her golden eyes glowed ethereally in the rays of moonlight and a silver tint painted her skin, making it look translucent. She was beautiful. Beautiful and so…sweet. The thought added a dollop of guilt to the mixture of salacious images stirring in his brain.