Page 4 of Decker

“Why?”

Decker chuckled and shrugged. “Because we’re friends and I want to help you.”

Her head tilted as if she couldn’t figure him out and right now, he couldn’t either, but he knew he couldn’t walk away and leave her to deal with this alone and not just because Astrid and Adeline would kill him. “We’re not friends, Decker.”

“Fine, then how about as a way to prove how sorry I am for being a jerk earlier?”

“Fine, whatever you need.” Savannah turned back to the hot soapy water and dunked the rag before resuming her chore in silence. Decker slipped his jacket off and folded his shirt sleeves to the elbows before taking the rag from her hand and gently nudging her out of the way with his hip. She looked at him as if he were a bug under a microscope she couldn’t figure out, and it was unsettling and yet he knew he wanted to be there to help her anyway.

“I’ll get a scrubbing brush.”

She walked away, coming back moments later with the brush and they worked side by side cleaning the mess made from the paint. It was comfortable with neither of them feeling the need to fill the silence. Instead, it felt right.

“Any idea who did this?”

He saw her shake her head out of his peripheral vision. “Nope, not a clue but my guess would be a disgruntled patient or relative. What I do isn’t without risk and not every outcome is the one I hope for. You try to manage expectations but with brain surgery, and spinal too, there are no guarantees and people don’t always fully accept that.”

“Is there anyone in particular who might’ve done this?”

“I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.”

Decker wiped the last of the pink suds away and the door was restored to its original condition. He was glad it was PVC, as a wooden door would’ve been impossible without a new paint job.

“Do you have security?”

“I have that.” Savannah pointed up at a fake security alarm system that wouldn’t deter anybody.

Decker scowled.

“That is not worth the twenty quid you paid for it. You need a security system put in. I’ll sort it tomorrow.”

Savannah crossed her arms over her chest, and he tried not to notice the curve of her breasts, or the way her eyes lit with fire making him want to kiss the lips that were pursed in anger again. Now he knew she tasted as sweet as she looked but more than that, she had a leashed passion inside her that he wanted to explore but he knew he’d blown any chance with her. Not that he wanted one, or did he?

The truth was he did, but she’d want more of him than he could give. Everything about her screamed commitment. Her job, the skill it took to do what she did was phenomenal, and her interactions with people showed she really cared. He had the worrying feeling that being with her would open him up to things he just wasn’t prepared to deal with.

“No, I can handle this on my own. I don’t need you swooping in here to soothe some misplaced guilt. You kissed me, you regretted it, and then felt bad for being a knob about it.” Savannah leaned forward slightly, and he caught the scent of her perfume from earlier. “News flash, Decker, you’re not the first man to reject me or be a dick. I absolve you of your guilt. Go about your life and I’ll go about mine and we don’t need to ever meet again.”

He found himself unreasonably put out by her dismissal, and the thought of any man not wanting her gave him mixed feelings he couldn’t understand. Gratitude because he felt suddenly relieved that she didn’t have a man in her life but equally angry that anyone would think she wasn’t the amazing, sexy, wonderful woman she was. That was until he remembered he was one of those men.

He was different and had his own reasons for not wanting to take this further. He was protecting her. A little voice told him he was protecting himself, but he shut it down. He stepped closer until his body was almost touching hers, her eyes locking on his, not backing down even a bit and he felt his dick twitch with desire. She’d be a firecracker in bed, all passion and heat.

“This isn’t guilt, Savannah, this is me being a friend.”

“I have enough friends. I don’t need one who blows hot and cold.”

Decker gritted his jaw, wondering if his teeth would survive being friends with her anyway.

“Fine, then let me do it because it would make Adeline and Astrid happy.”

Savannah blinked and he could see the different thoughts moving over her expressive face as she considered his words.

“Fine. Price it up but I’m paying for it, and I don’t want any bullshit arguments either.”

“You know, Dr Sankey, you have quite the mouth on you.”

“You know, Mr Decker, I don’t give a fuck.”

She’d said it to shock him. She was usually the epitome of professional and polite, and seeing her relaxed and off the clock, he found he liked her even more and that was dangerous. He didn’t want to want her, but he did. Usually, he could walk away without looking back but for some reason, this woman was getting under his skin, and he had to shut it down and fast.