“I don’t need anybody’s help,” he denied in a surly voice, moving forward with a limp to climb slowly up the stairs.
Sarah followed in his wake, unable to entirely ignore a backside that was so incredibly tight any woman would have a hard time not wanting to cop a feel. Admonishing herself for staring at his incredible glutes, she watched his big body painfully make its way upstairs. He wobbled a few times, but he made it without incident.
He faced her in the kitchen. “You need to go. I don’t want anybody here.”
He wants to lick his wounds in private. Sarah got that, but it wasn’t happening. She had a job to do, and he had injuries that needed to be checked.
She countered, “You need a shower. Not only do you stink, but you need to keep your wounds clean.”
“Are you planning on assisting me with that?” he questioned flatly, no teasing in his tone.
“No. If you were able to make it up the stairs, I assume you can clean yourself up.”
“You’re already wet,” Dante answered hoarsely, reaching out a hand to finger a lock of her damp hair. “You might as well make yourself useful and help me.”
Batting his hand away, she retorted, “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s storming, which is why I went ahead and came in. Like I said, your door was unlocked. Look, if you really do need help, I’ll help you. I can do my exam at the same time.” It made sense. He might be a little unstable, and she was going to have to check out the surgical wound on his thigh.
I’m a doctor, for God’s sake. It isn’t like I haven’t seen naked men before.
Although, she had to admit, she’d probably never seen a naked man formed quite as well as Dante Sinclair. But she could still manage to be professional. This whole home care thing was throwing her off-kilter. Her office was safer, a place where there were definite lines drawn as to what her duties were. Here, she felt out of place. With the money the Sinclair family had, she’d expected to see him have an aide of some kind. Obviously he’d refused.
“Exam?” Dante shot her a dubious look. “Who the hell sent you here?”
Sarah took a deep breath before replying. “Dr. Blair in Los Angeles. He turned your care over to me. I was selected to be your physician here in Amesport, and Dr. Blair’s office sent me all of your medical records, and I’ve talked to him on the phone to get a report on your condition.”
“Are you screwing with me? Are you even legal drinking age?” Dante scoffed. “Dr. Blair said he’d turn me over to a doctor here in Amesport. I’m going to need to be signed off to go back to work. Not that I want to deal with doctors anymore, but it’s a requirement of my department.”
“I’m twenty-seven years old, Detective Sinclair. My name is Sarah Baxter, Dr. Sarah Baxter, and I am your doctor.”
His sharp hazel eyes assessed her, and Sarah cringed just a little. With her makeup gone and her hair drenched, she probably did look even younger than she really was, and she was still very young to be a physician.
Finally, Dante shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned. You look more like a babysitter.”
Without another word, he turned and limped toward the kitchen entrance, leaving Sarah to stare at his perfect ass once again as he retreated, wondering absently if he had even believed her as she followed him. “I’m an internist, and I don’t treat kids. But taking care of you is certainly starting to feel more and more like babysitting,” she muttered, disgruntled, as she escorted him upstairs.
CHAPTER 3
Dante sat at the kitchen table, watching the lithe, blonde woman with more than a little fascination as she moved around his kitchen with fluid, efficient movements. He hadn’t had the heart to make her help him shower, even though he wouldn’t have minded if she had joined him, since he hadn’t gotten laid in a while. Instead, he’d had her wait in the bedroom until he was finished, and then let her look at his wounds with his dick completely covered. He smirked as he wondered if she’d noticed the tent under the towel, especially when she’d touched near the wound on his thigh. Hell, even her scent made him hard. She smelled like fresh rain and vanilla, a scent that suddenly made him feel fucking intoxicated.
“So are you really a doctor? Twenty-seven is awfully young to be a physician.” Even fresh out of med school, she was too young.
But she’s awfully bossy. She’d taken over his kitchen without even asking, letting him know she was making them both something to eat when she had discovered he hadn’t had a meal that day.