Page 12 of Lethal Attraction

“Keep fucking pushing me, Thalia. You won’t like the outcome.” I grit.

She blinks, before a slow smile spreads. “Harder.”

“What?” I frown.

“Choke me harder,” she purrs before lifting her hand to my wrist and pulling me closer. “I like your hands on me, Reed.”

For a split second, I forget that I’m a healthcare professional. It all melts away, leaving us staring into one another as two consenting adults rather than a doctor and a patient.

I can feel her pulse beneath my hand, beating rapidly. The flutter of her heartbeat makes me swallow, imagining what my hand would look like covered in—

The elevator dings, and I pull my appendage back as if burned by her. I don’t look back as I wheel Thalia up to the nurse’s station. Even though her eyes sear into the side of my skull, I don’t acknowledge her as Charlotte slaps her folder closed and narrows her eyes on her runaway patient.

“Ms. Kingsley, for the fifth time, you can’t leave your room. PT will be here any minute for your exercises.” The nurse scolds.

My head whips down to the raven-haired woman, and she grins connivingly. The little devil lied to me!

“I’m returning her,” I tell Charlotte. “She wandered down to the ER.”

“I didn’t wander,” Thalia rolls her eyes. “I knew where I was going.”

The nurse takes the IV pole from me, squinting at her escaped patient. “I told you that Dr. Bellamy is very busy. He doesn’t have the time to entertain you.”

Thalia pokes her lower lip out at me. “Do you see how she treats me? Like I’m a child.”

My brows lift. “Stop acting like a child and you won’t be treated as so. Do your PT and get some rest.”

She only smirks. “Sure thing, Dr. Dreamy. See you soon.”

Her voice dips ominously, and I scowl down at her. In her eyes, I can see the elevator incident flickering through her mind, as if we’re connected somehow. I shake my head, trudging back to the elevator before shoving my finger on the button and waiting for it to reach my floor. I want to look back, but I force myself to let go.

I can’t let her get to me. No matter what.

Chapter six

Reed

The next day, I’m finishing up an emergency surgery on a car accident patient when I realize I haven’t gotten any more pages from the ICU. As I scrub down, I can’t help my wandering mind.

I've been…dreaming of her. That's not normal…

It can't be. I've only known this woman for a few days.

Yet I can't seem to stop.

The amount of shrapnel I removed from my patient’s leg isn’t enough to distract me as flowing, pin-straight, black hair paints a perfect picture behind my eyes. The teasing way Thalia grinned at me is infectious, and I find myself smiling along with her as I shake the water off my hands. “Get a life, Reed.”

I send a quick wave to the nurses of the OR before heading out into the hall, and I almost bump into someone. My hands lift to her biceps on reflex, and my apology dies on my tongue as pale blue eyes stare back at me. “I’m sorry…Thalia?”

She smiles brightly, her whole face lighting up and stunning me with a punch to the gut. Holy shit. “Dr. Dreamy!”

I cover her mouth, looking around for any of my colleagues roaming the halls. “Don’t call me that while I’m on the clock.” Her tongue slicks over my palm and I yank my appendage back, wiping it on my coat. “Did you just lick me?”

“We’ll circle back to that later,” she waves a delicate hand. “I need your phone. Mine died and I have to call someone.”

“Circle back—I just came from surgery, Thalia. That’s disgusting!” She grabs the lapel of my coat, dragging me into the nearest surgical supply closet before closing the door.

She holds out a hand, opening and closing her fingers in a give me gesture. “Phone.”