When Beck released her with a grin, Heavenly headed out of the room. Hungry for one last glance, Seth watched, fixated on the sway of her hips. God, the things he’d like to do to that ass…
Damn, he’d told himself to shelve thoughts of sex. Epic fail on that.
“Whatever you’re thinking about her, don’t,” the doctor growled. “And stop staring.”
“You were gawking at her,” he challenged with a raised brow. “Is she your sub?”
Beck glanced around furiously, then glared his way. “Don’t mention that shit here.”
Seth understood. The power exchange and the workplace didn’t mix well. “Fine. Is she?”
Beck’s jaw clenched. “I look out for her welfare around here. I mentor her.”
In other words, no. Seth smiled. His day was looking up…
“But obviously not in the sack, and you’re dying to. Dream on, buddy.”
Raine groaned. “Not you, too?”
“I didn’t do a thing.” Yet.
“Make sure you keep it that way,” Beck snarled.
“Fuck you.” Seth would have said more, but they shouldn’t be pounding their chests when his friends needed him.
He eased next to the bed, pausing beside Liam, and caressed Raine’s inky hair. “You doing okay, little one?”
“Yeah. Thanks for being here.”
Before he could ask if she was up to answering questions, the ER doctor arrived and glanced at the overabundance of visitors with a censuring scowl.
Beck gestured toward the door. “Let’s give them some privacy, Captain America.”
Yeah, Beck was a doctor and had the authority to toss him out. But his attitude rubbed Seth wrong. He shelved his annoyance because Raine didn’t need their shit. Instead, he followed the doctor out with a glare.
Beck seemed oblivious as he addressed the trio around the bed. “We’ll be back shortly.”
Hammer’s nod was somewhere between grim and grateful. “Thank you, guys. For everything.”
Seth filed into the hall. He’d come back later and question Raine. Until then, he’d get his hands on the preliminary police report.
Beck followed him, closing the door. “I meant what I said. Don’t pursue Heavenly. She doesn’t need a player with Vaseline on his fly.”
“Vaseline? Why the hell would I do that?”
“You fuck so many chicks, I can’t imagine how else you get your zipper down that fast.”
Since he’d come to LA, people had told him the doctor could be an asshole. Until today, he’d never seen Beck’s puckered, bleeding side. Now he understood.
“And you’re a monk?” Seth scoffed.
When he opened his mouth to point out more reasons Beck wouldn’t suit Heavenly, local cop and Shadows member Dean Gorman sent him a text. Got the prelim report. Still at the hospital? I’ll drop it by.
Seth tapped out a quick reply. Thanks. See you soon.
“Gotta go. Fuck off,” he tossed to Beck, then headed down the hall.
Twenty minutes later, Dean had come and gone. Sipping coffee, Seth flipped through the report in the half-empty cafeteria. Only cursory information since the investigation was only hours old. No reason the scene could be interpreted as anything other than self-defense…so far. He’d see what the next iteration held.
Without a crime scene to decipher, his thoughts strayed to Heavenly. After barely half an hour without the angel, he felt an inexplicable desire that still rubbed him raw. Why should he want a woman so seemingly innocent? She wasn’t built for a quick fuck, and he didn’t do more. Beck might be all wrong for her…but Seth was, too. He would return to New York, to his life, his business, and his family. No way was he spending the rest of his time in LA fighting with Beck over a female the way Liam and Hammer had squabbled over Raine.
All perfectly logical reasons to back off. But his dick was vetoing his brain.
What a dumb fuck.
Resting his elbows on the table, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“If you have a headache, cutting a lime in half and rubbing it across your forehead might help.”
Seth snapped to attention at the sound of Heavenly’s soft voice. He looked up to find her holding a paper cup and smiling.
“Really?” he drawled. “What other sage medical advice do you have?”
The light trill of her laughter roused every male part of him again. “I don’t know about sage, but it’s a remedy my grandmother used when I was little.”
“Since I don’t have a lime to make my headache go away, maybe you’ll sit with me until I feel better?”
Heavenly hesitated, then slowly slid into the chair opposite him. He restrained a celebratory fist pump.
“What other cures did your grandmother have?”
“Quite a few, though none most doctors would approve of. For instance, if you’re having a coughing spell, take a washcloth and dip it in icy water…”
As she explained, he drank in Heavenly’s guileless appeal. He cataloged her smile, the halo of her hair, her lightly flushed cheeks, the fidgeting clasp of her hands. He made her nervous, huh? Seth grinned and filed away that handy tidbit as he listened and let himself be charmed.
“And as unbelievable as it sounds, that helps, too.” Heavenly smiled ruefully. “I probably shouldn’t tout the natural remedies since I’m studying to be a nurse, but sometimes the old ways work.”
“Sounds like you have a few tricks up your sleeve.”
“I like to think so.”
I have some, too.
He bent and ducked his head, forcing her to meet his gaze. The connection hit him like a gut punch.
She blinked his way. For an instant, the windows to her soul opened wide. He could almost taste her uncertainty, her tentative thrill. He saw it in the thready, thumping pulse at her neck. Every artless, delicious detail about her utterly reinforced his urge to drag her beneath him.
And instinct told him he’d better be fast. Beck might be reluctant to do more than lick his chops while eyeing the tempting morsel—something Seth found fucking hilarious—but the big Dom wouldn’t wait long.
Before he could roll out a smooth line, Heavenly pushed her chair away from the table. “I should get back to work.”
Without thinking,
