“I meant you’re driving me crazy because I want you.”
“Want me?” Her breath hitched, and he felt goose bumps rising on her jaw and neck, but she still didn’t pull away. “Want me for what?”
That she could even say that, so innocently, made him hard.
“I want you for this.” He plunged his hand into her short hair,drew her flush up against him, and gave her a real kiss. A lip-sliding, mouth-open, tongue-tasting kiss that had them both panting and wide-eyed.
“Oh,” she said, looking up at him before darting her eyes over to the closed door to the hallway.
He could hear the standard hustle-and-bustle, voices carrying down the hall as business went on as usual in the hospital. This was risky, inappropriate, and he was still new on staff. He should care that someone could walk in at any second, but he didn’t.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
Seriously out of his mind with lust. “Very. I’m attracted to you, Josie, and we need to discuss what we’re going to do about it.”
Josie gave an awkward laugh. “I thought you couldn’t stand me.”
Had she just missed the kiss he’d given her? “Hardly. Now tell me that you’re attracted to me, too.” So he could lean her against that door to prevent a possible interruption and kiss her again.
Josie worried her bottom lip with her teeth then gave another heartfelt sigh. “Okay, here’s the thing. I am something of a klutz, but I’ve never been this bad before and it’s all your fault.”
Her fingers gripped his shirt and pushed him lightly to emphasize her point. “I feel like you’re always watching, waiting for me to screw up, and I’ve had this sort of ridiculous crush on you.”
Her cheeks were pink, eyes wide, and Houston kept quiet, liking the sound of this, wanting to hear where this could go. Desire punched him in the gut at her admission that she was attracted to him.
“Silly, really, because you’re...” She waved her hand around in front of him. “And I’m ...” Gesturing to herself, she blew a loud breath out of the corner of her mouth.
He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and he was about to ask her when she glanced toward the door again.
“But anyway, I don’t think this is the place to discuss this.”
Josie stepped back out of his reach. He took her hand, pullingher to a stop, not about to let her escape now that he’d gotten a teasing taste of her. She had admitted she was attracted to him as well, and that was just the green light he’d been looking for.
He knew he should let her go. He should forget he had started this and walk out of here with his sanity intact. Except that he would go crazy if he couldn’t have Josie. The ache was too strong, too burning, deep inside where it plagued him and distracted him every minute in her presence.
He had to have her.
“Have dinner with me tonight. Then spend the night.”
“What?” She stopped trying to tug her arm out of his hand and gaped at him.
So it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t charming, it wasn’t skilled or poetic or coaxing.
It was the truth.
Put baldly before her.
He didn’t want any misunderstandings. This was sex and nothing more. This was about fucking her out of his system so he could get back to more important things like his patients.
Josie knew she should be big-time insulted. Houston was standing there, calm as you could be, offering her dinner and an adult sleepover. She was too confused to know how to act, having no experience with men proposing hot, passionate one night stands. At least she assumed he meant a one night stand.
It seemed she had been right about The Look. But The Look didn’t come with anything else. She was still convinced he didn’t particularly like her, and it was even possible his attraction to her angered him.
All of which were serious red flags to grab her dignity and run out of this room.
Yet here she still was.
Turned on and seriously considering hisoffer. After all, how many times in her life was she going to have a gorgeous, dark-haired surgeon claiming he had to have her? She was betting this was the one and only.