Josie studied his face, looking for signs of dishonesty or entrapment. Maybe this was an ethics test.Surgeon boss offers sex-drenched one night together, possibly jeopardizing your career. Do you take him up on it?
“You don’t mince words, do you?”
“I want you. You want me. I don’t see any reason to wait.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s getting damned awkward between us here at the hospital, don’t you think?”
“And how would sleeping together fix that?” she asked in amazement, picturing herself slinking into the hospital after a night of carnal passion with Houston Hayes. If she was nervous now, she’d be an absolute marshmallow then.
He smiled.Oh, no.He’d never smiled at her before, and it was a sexy, caressing little lift of the corner of his mouth. A smile that would have her pressed against the wall dropping her panties if she wasn’t careful. She gave another futile tug on her arm. He held her tightly.
“The sexual tension will be gone. We go out tonight, we enjoy each other, we come back and everything can return to normal.”
That was rationalization at its worst.
His thumb rubbed the back of her wrist, and she swallowed hard. That kiss he’d given her had stolen every last vestige of common sense, his hot tongue sweeping reserve away and making her feel sexy, desired.
Josie had the overwhelming urge to give in, to take what he was offering and have a night of good, not-so-clean fun. But this was her career at stake. Her brain understood that even if her inner thighs didn’t.
“I’m not convinced that would rid us of the awkwardness.”
“It can’t be any worse than it is now.”
He had a point. “This is my career. Dr. Hayes.” If she calledhim Houston, she just might lose it and fling herself back into his arms. “I can’t let it get out that there’s something between us. You’re my boss.”
Houston stiffened. “No, I’m not. Dr. Sheinberg is your boss, he’s the resident chief. I’m just a co-worker who has more experience than you do. There is a huge difference, and I have no power over your position.”
Oh, great, he thought she was suggesting sex for surgical opportunities. “That’s not what I meant! It’s just that I’m new here, and I don’t want staff to think I just sleep around. That could taint my career.”
“This will protect both of our careers. One night. We’re both adults. We can handle coming back next week, and then all this tension will be gone between us.” His expression was wry. “That way no one will know. Otherwise I think there’s a high probability one day we’ll get caught here in the supply room.”
And to put truth to his words, he tugged lightly on her hand, and her feet, shod in sensible white sneakers, moved forward without instructions from her, until she was right against his chest. His hands roamed over her back, down to her behind, and squeezed her cheeks with light pressure. Josie shuddered, wanting to bump forward against him, wanting his handsinher pants, touching deep inside her.
It was wrong to feel so aroused. She knew that. He wasn’t even being all that nice, but she was shivering with excitement. Men who were used to getting their way weren’t her usual style, but nothing was usual about her reaction to Houston. Since the day she had met him, she had been off balance, and despite the uneasiness of her feelings, she was like oven-roasted chicken. Hot and moist.
The look on his face, the set of his jaw, excited her, thrilled her that he could want her so much that he’d risk being caught.
Her nipples pushed through the thin cotton of her scrubs as he lightly ran his finger across her breast.She drew her breath in hard, and felt her head dropping back. There had to be a reason she should say no, but she couldn’t seem to remember what it was right then.
“I love the way you smell.” He trailed his lips along her neck. “And the way you taste.”
A sudden unpleasant thought popped into her head. Maybe he had wanted a lot of other women in the hospital and she’d just never known about it. That was a lowering thought. “Have you done this before with any of the previous residents?”
His lips stilled on her skin. “No. You’re the only one to even tempt me.”
Then he laughed, soft and low, just under her ear. “But until now, all of the orthopedic residents I’ve run across have been men. Not a lot of women choose to be bone crackers. But no—no nurse, no doctor, no surgical assistant, has ever made me want to make out in a supply closet.”
Josie was reeling. She was confused, overwhelmed, attracted to Houston beyond the rational, and she needed breathing room. She had to get away from him.
“I need time to think about it.”
“Think about this, Josie.”
Another crushing kiss fell on her lips, bruising in its intensity, shocking her with the possessive violence of it, and more so, her reaction to it. She felt telltale moisture between her thighs and a gnawing ache in the pit of her belly.
Both of his thumbs were moving back and forth across her nipples, flicking at the tight painful nubs until she was dizzy. It served to make her even less sure that they could spend the night together and return to work the better for it.
This desire was different, deeper than any she’d ever known, and one night might make her desperate for more. Not the other way around.
“How do you know one night will be the end of it?” she whispered when he brokeoff the kiss.