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I would’ve felt embarrassed at hisagreement with my statement had he not been gobbling up the sightof my body with hungry eyes. When his gaze finally met mine again,it took everything in my willpower to keep breathing.
“You’re not a little slip of agirl.” His sweet-smelling breath puffed across my face. “You’re awoman and you have the body of one,” he said before dragging hisgaze away from me and continuing through the ER doors.
I continued to stare up at hisstrong jaw as I let his words sink into me. I vaguely heard a nurserush up to us and Ian started answering questions and makingorders.
He called me a woman.Honestly, that was a weird thing to be hung up on. Biologically Iknew I was a woman. I was almost twenty-one, I was certainly not alittle girl anymore. I left all those adolescent things in the pastand grew into a woman a long time ago.
So why did I just now, in hisarms, feel like a realwoman?
I was pulled from my thoughts asIan leaned down and placed me in a wheelchair. I listened as herattled off the tests he wanted to have done to the nurse who thenstarted to push me away from him. I glanced over my shoulder as sheasked me about my pain level. Ian was still standing there in thatdevastating suit staring after me. He only pulled his gaze awayfrom me as another nurse came up to him holding a chart, asking hima question I was sure.
“So, on a scale of one to ten, howmuch pain are you in?” my nurse asked as we wheeled away from thebustle of the ER into a quieter hallway.
“It’s just a dull ache now.”
****
“You’re sure you don’t need me tocome over?” my mom’s loud voice came over the phone I pressed to myear. The sounds of the reception going full swing in the backgroundalmost drowned out her voice altogether. I’d lost count of thenumber of texts and calls I had received since leaving thehospital. She was worried about me and I didn’t blame her. I washer only child after all.
“Mom, for the hundredth time, I’mfine. All the tests came back fine. The doctors said it was just abump and I should ice it and get some sleep.” I sighed as I leanedback onto my pillow. My head was still sore but the pain meds I hadgotten at the ER helped a little. At least my headache was gone. Iwas feeling better except for the leftover ache I was feelingconcerning Dr. Ian Young.
No matter how much I tried, Icouldn’t stop thinking about him and I was about to go crazy. Theway he had commanded the room when I was laying in the ER bed was asight to see. He could so easily swing from being tender toprofessional, it could give a gal whiplash.
Once he ordered the scans andtests for me, he promptly sat by my side the whole time. I couldeasily say that had been the fastest ER visit in the history of ERvisits. If you ever wanted to get in and out of there faster than afast-food restaurant, just make sure a prestigious doctor carriesyou in firsthand. I could tell by the reactions from the staff thathe was clearly well-respected around the joint. Nurses smiledbrightly and colleagues spoke with high regard around him.
None of it surprised me, though.Even though I hardly knew him, I knew he was a good guy. You didn’toffer to take a girl you barely knew to the hospital after she fellat your one-time patient’s wedding. Normal people aren’t thatgood.
The ride from the hospital back tomy dorm had been less eventful than the ride to the hospital. Therewere no more touches that I perceived as more. No more sidewaysglances. No more looks that could be misconstrued as somethingdifferent than they were. He had simply driven me to the campus andwalked me to my dorm.
I found it slightly odd that heknew exactly where to go when I told him what dorm building Istayed in. He had driven straight to it without any otherquestions. It was as if he had done it a thousand times before. Ihad shaken off the notion as I told myself he may have just gone tothis college back in his day.
He’d smoothly parked the car underthe building awning and walked me to my door, even after I hadprotested. “I will carry you again if I need to,” he said. I almostlaughed at him until I realized he was being serious. After that Ilet him walk me right to my door.
The only awkward part of the wholewalk was when we made it to my door and he huffed a small laugh.When I turned to him he had a small smirk on his lips. His eyessparkled brightly as he looked at the collage of photos pinned tothe corkboard on the door before glancing down to me. I fiddledwith my key card as he grinned at me with a knowing smile. “What?”I asked.
He shook his head and steppedcloser to me. My breath hitched in my throat as I craned my neck tolook up at him. He was so close, I could smell him again. His headyscent of pine and something else that was distinctly him. “Smallworld,” he murmured so quietly that I barely heard him. He grabbedmy key card from me then.
I felt myself getting dizzy allover again as he leaned closer to me still. His throat was so closeto my lips that my mouth started to water for just one taste. Ifelt a rush of air behind me before he pulled away from me. My eyesfluttered a few times as I regained my wits and realized he hadopened my door.
He handed me back my card beforeshoving his hands in his pockets. He looked me up and down withwhat seemed to be an appreciative gaze. I mentally shook myself asI stepped past the threshold and gripped the door handle. I clearedmy throat before speaking. “Thank you … for everything,” Isaid.
Ian shook his head before hebacked away from the door and down the hallway we had come from.“Until next time, Bambi,” he said. He turned around and saunteredback toward the entrance of the dormitory.
“So, Dr. Young treated you wellthen?” Mom’s voice jolted me back to the present just as there wasa knock at my door. I frowned as I looked at the time. It was justpast eleven in the evening so I wasn’t sure who it could be. Myheart thumped in my chest at the prospect of it being Ian. Eventhough the thought was silly, it still caused me to slip out of bedand head to the door.
“He was great, Mom. Hey, can Icall you tomorrow? Someone’s at the door,” I said as I lookedthrough the peephole. I jerked away when I couldn’t see anything atall. It was black as though someone was covering it with theirhand.
“Yeah, that’s fine, sweety. Getsome rest,” she said right as I heard Jill’s voice sound over theother end. “Did you fuck that delicious doctor yet?” Jill screamedover the thumping music and I flushed. “Oh, you pervert.” My momgiggled. “What? Someone needs to take that fine piece of manlyperfection off the market, why not let Lyns have a go at it?” Jillsounded like she was having way too much fun. “Red.” Damon’s voicebarely registered before I heard Jill’s giggle and then Mom’s voiceonce more. “Ignore her. She thinks everyone should be as sex-crazedas she is. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, love you.”
I was smiling to myself as anotherknock came at the door and I ended the call. I took a deep breathand prepared for the worst as I opened the door. To my surprise,Ben came stumbling in the door, as if he had been leaning on it. Ijumped out of his way as he regained his footing.
“Ben? What are you doing?” I askedout of breath. I shut the door behind him and walked back over tomy bed, crossing my arms over my chest.
I was in my comfy clothes whichconsisted of sweatpants and a flimsy tank. No bra, obviously, soyou could easily see everything I had to offer. I hadn’t beenexpecting visitors so I didn’t think I would need to really coverup much.
Ben stood to his full heightbefore he looked me up and down. The grin on his lips vanished whenhe saw my scowl. “Sorry,” he said. “I saw some older guy walkingyou into the dorm and figured I would make sure you’re allright.”
“So you thought to listen againstmy door?” I asked, dumbfounded. I sat down on the bed as he steppedcloser to me. “How did you even see that I was with someone else?”His dorm was a few buildings over so I wasn’t sure how he wouldknow what I was doing in the first place.
