Still, she hesitated to touch him, remembering her reaction at the hospital several days ago.
“You won’t hurt me,” he told her, his voice deeper and huskier than it had been moments ago.
“I wasn’t worried about hurting you,” she admitted honestly.
His response was to stand up and look at her. “What are you nervous about?”
Abby tilted her head back, staring up into his surprisingly blue eyes. “I’m not…” she couldn’t finish the lie. He was just so big and so…male!
He cupped her jaw and she felt the warmth of his skin, the rough calluses. Everything about him was just so powerfully masculine, sparking her nerve endings and making her skin simmer with a heat she’d never experienced before.
“What are you doing?” she asked nervously, wishing that her voice was louder than a whisper. And that she had the strength to pull away. But good grief, she liked the way his hand felt on her skin! She liked how strong he felt when he stood so close. Abby had never been someone who liked to be protected, but she’d never be afraid of walking down a dark alley with someone like Zeke!
“I’m going to kiss you,” he announced.
The jolt sent her heart into panic mode. “You can’t!” she told him, and yet, she didn’t pull back. “I’m your doctor.”
Slowly, he shook his head, those blue eyes staring into hers, conveying a message that she both loved and…knew was very wrong. “You’re a woman who came to my apartment, Abigail.”
“Abby,” she corrected. “No one calls me Abigail unless I’m in trouble.”
He smiled slightly, and bent lower, brushing his lips over hers tantalizingly. “Shut up, Abby.”
Abby almost laughed, but the way he kissed her felt…wonderful! Scary, but amazing.
Yeah, she was in big trouble!
“I really need to look at your back,” she murmured when he lifted his head slightly.
“In a minute,” he countered, lifting her chin with a fingertip and covered her lips with his, deepening the kiss.
Abby gasped when she felt his tongue against her lips, but she couldn’t have stopped herself from responding even if she’d wanted to. He was just that potent!
Moving closer, her hands slid slowly up his chest. That’s when she felt his arm wrap around her waist, pressing her against him and her mind blanked as instinct took over. She was mesmerized by his kiss, feeling her body tingling all over in anticipation of…!
The hissing pulled her out of the lust induced haze and Abby pulled back, blinking up at him with surprise. Then she realized what happened and gasped, stepping out of his arms. “I’m so sorry!” she whispered, her fingers moving to her lips that were still tingling.
He laughed softly and pulled her in again. “Not your fault, Abby,” he assured her. “It was my fault. I’m the one that tried to pick you up.”
She blinked, her hands resting on his shoulders as she tried to make sense of his words. “Why did you try to pick me up?”
His other hand moved to slide across her cheek again. “So that I could carry you into my bedroom and make love to you.”
He said it as if the idea were a foregone conclusion. “Into your bedroom? And…!”
She pulled out of his arms, shaking her head. “Nope! No way! I told you, five days with no physical activities. Nothing strenuous.”
He chuckled, following as she hurriedly retreated. “Okay, then you be on top.”
Abby blushed as that image popped into her mind. “Um…you’re…Colonel Jeffers, I just…!”
Her hand fluttered as she tried to tuck her hair back behind her ears.
“Let’s get something straight, Abby. There’s something going on between us. You came here tonight to find out what it was. And if you hadn’t come here, then I would have sought you out at the hospital over the next couple of days. But there’s no way that we can ignore this. It’s too strong. And if those dark circles under your eyes are any indication, you’re not sleeping any better than I am.”
She shook her head. “Colo…”
He growled warningly. “If you use my title one more time, we’re going to see how strong your stitches really are.”
Abby pressed her lips together for a long moment, giving him her best “doctor” glare. With a tone that didn’t allow any argument, she pointed to the club chair he’d perched on previously. “Sit down. I’m going to look at your back, apply the ointment that you should have been applying every day, and then I’m leaving.”
He looked at her intently for a long moment, then moved towards the chair. “Why not stick around and have some dinner?”
“Because I’m here…”
He stopped her with a shake of his head. “No, you’re not. You’re not just here as a doctor, Abby.” His hand slid up her back, proving his point when she shivered. “You’re here as a woman. A confident, powerful woman who needs to accept that you’re also a sexually vibrant woman who wants me.” He leaned down a bit more as he said, “Don’t hide from it. Embrace it.”
And with that, he turned around and sat back down on the club chair, giving her his back again. “Why did you decide to become a doctor?” he asked, changing the topic.
It took Abby several moments to get herself under control. His question helped and she turned her attention to his back. Pulling on a pair of gloves, Abby carefully peeled the bandage away and peered at the raw, torn flesh on his back. “I don’t really know,” she admitted. “I just sort of fell into it.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “How does that work? I thought most doctors spent their lives knowing that they want to become
