Page 5 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

I glanced over. “You sure about that?”

She bit her lip, and for a second, I caught something behind her eyes—hesitation. Curiosity. Want.

“Let me guess,” she said. “You’re a lawyer or a hedge fund guy. Maybe real estate. Something alpha and stressful.”

“Wrong on all three counts,” I said easily. “But I like the alpha part.”

She cocked a brow. “So what do you do?”

I hesitated.

Not because I was ashamed of it—just the opposite. But this felt different, and I didn’t want to bring real life into it. Not yet.

“Let’s just say I’m on a break,” I said. “Needed to get out of the city. Clear my head.”

She looked at me, a little longer this time. Like she was trying to decide if I was full of shit or just complicated.

“You’re not the only one,” she said softly.

There it was again—that flicker of vulnerability beneath all her sass and bite. The part she was hiding. The reason she’d walked away even when her eyes begged me not to let her.

“You here with anyone?” I asked.

“No.”

“Running from someone?”

Her gaze flicked to mine, flirtation dancing on the edges of her mouth. “Maybe.”

God, that smile. Half a dare, half a defense. She was dangerous in the best way—soft in all the right places and armored in sarcasm. The kind of woman who could make a man forget his rules.

I took a step closer, then another. Her breath caught, and she didn’t move away.

I pressed a hand to her lower back and gently guided her off the path, through the curve of two swaying palms until we were half-hidden by a thick stand of trees. The music from the bar had faded to a distant thump, the beach now nothing but silver sand and shadows.

The moment I had her tucked into the shadows, I turned, backing her against the rough trunk of a tall palm tree.

Her back hit bark. My hands came down on either side of her head.

“Here’s the thing,” I murmured, lowering my voice. “You can walk away. And I won’t chase you again.”

Her chest rose sharply. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“No,” I said, leaning in, breath teasing her ear. “It’s just a warning.”

Her breath hitched.

“I’m not trying to pressure you,” I added. “But you walked into that bar like a fucking storm, Ella. And I haven’t been able to think straight since.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“I don’t know who hurt you,” I said, softer now. “But the way you looked at me back there... like you forgot how it feels to be wanted? That stuck with me.”

Her lips parted, eyes glossy.

“I don’t want to fix you,” I continued. “But I’ll make you forget him. Just for one night. Every cruel word he said. Every time he made you feel like too much or not enough. I’ll take all of that and fuck it out of your system.”

She made a small sound, something between a gasp and a broken whimper.

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