Page 101 of Screwged for Christmas

Instead, I excused myself and headed for the restroom. I turned away from that door and found a space at the end of the hallway. I made a call, waited two minutes, then returned to the bar, just in time to see Noah heading for the exit.

My body tingled with electricity.

The night suddenly felt different. Important.

I’d been alone with Holly plenty of times before, though I’d never experienced the kick of nervous energy coursing through my veins. Hell, we’d even slept in the same call room on bunk beds catching a few hours’ sleep. I appreciated that she didn’t snore and she didn’t kick me out if I had.

Now, I approached Holly sitting alone. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” I slid into Noah’s vacant seat.

She’d watched me threading through the crowd toward her. Without her glasses, I noticed the gray-green of her eyes and her thick, dark lashes.

“Who said I’m a nice girl? You know you should never assume you know things about people.” Her lips wrapped around the straw of her drink, and I felt the pull of her suck like she had my cock in her mouth instead of a piece of plastic.

“Is that club soda?” I nodded to her drink. My throat grew hoarse from trying to remain calm.

“I’m a one-drink kind of girl, so the merlot was it. From here on out, I’m ginger ale all the way.” She cocked her head to one side, considering me. “Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed. Based on your reputation, I had high expectations for your bar banter. I must be catching you on an off night. That one-liner felt kinda lame.”

I wasn’t too surprised to learn I had a reputation. I might not fuck around at work, but for a city of eight million people, word gets around more than I would’ve guessed when I first moved to town.

Right now, I didn’t care about any of that.

I considered finding a dark corner to fuck her into submission. Too public. Not her style. My desire to publicly claim her warred with my need to protect her from harmful gossip.

Clearly, my cock is doing all the thinking tonight.

“You got rid of him, didn’t you? Noah. That was all you.” She played with her straw, keeping her gaze glued to her drink. Those wispy strands of hair she hated brushed against lightly blushed cheeks.

I shrugged a shoulder, never taking my gaze off her. “I don’t hear you protesting. Does that mean you don’t mind?” I pushed Noah’s discarded drink aside.

“It depends on the reason.”

“Truth. I can’t stand the thought of you with him.” There. I laid it out between us. No sexy innuendo or flirty dialogue with her. That was like wearing an ill-fitting suit anyway. I respected her too much to put either of us through more corny banter neither of us liked.

Besides, I couldn’t be anything but honest with Holly. Maybe all that time together at work hardwired me for truth. There was no time for bullshit when lives were at stake.

Holly stabbed the ice in her glass with her straw. She concentrated on her task. Gray eyes leveled on me. “For the whole hour, you knew we were together, huh? I could feel your eyes on me, you know.”

“Another truth. You two didn’t fit.”

In the six inches of space between us, her scent poured over me. The hospital’s soap mixed with her own light lavender scent.

Her lips pulled into a smile. “This from the man who whores his way through New York. Your little black book and Scottish burr must be your biggest weapons.” She might not be powerhouse flirt, but tonight Holly projected a new persona I didn’t recognize. Tonight, she didn’t hold back and didn’t try to hide when her gaze slipped past my belt.

She raised her eyebrows when she saw what our little talk was doing to me. In appreciation or not, I don’t know. But I would like to find out.

She dropped her eyes to the table when what I really wanted was for her to lift them to mine again. Wanted her to see just how much I craved to have a connection with her.

Why? I didn’t have an answer yet.

I was silent, thinking hard about this overwhelming need for her that had hit me like a tidal wave tonight.

“Doctor—”

“Malcolm,” I corrected her, wanting my name on her lips.

“Malcolm. Nothing is ever going to happen between us.” Holly sipped her drink. Naturally, she knew what I was thinking. Did she know I wanted those lips of hers wrapped around my cock?

“Let me try changing your mind.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement; I was used to getting my way.

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