Beth smiled. “You know I will, and so will Dr. Bennett.”
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. I gave her a small smile and walked toward the elevator.
The elevator doors opened, and I gasped. Standing in front of me was none other than Jonah Steel.
I froze in my tracks. What to do now? What else could I do? I got on the elevator.
“Hello, Jonah,” I said rather formally.
“Hello, Melanie,” he said in a similar tone.
“Aren’t you getting off the elevator?”
“Why would I?”
“I just assumed maybe you were visiting someone on the floor?”
“Nope.”
“Then you’re coming from another floor?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing on this elevator?”
He smiled, and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest.
“I’m looking for you.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I called your office. Randi said you were over at Valleycrest doing rounds. So here I am.”
I’d have to have a little chat with Randi. Normally I never made it a secret that I was doing rounds, and I had told her that was where I’d be this afternoon, so really she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Well, you’re here, and I’m here now. What can I do for you?”
“I thought we could talk.”
“About what?”
“You know, kind of help each other. Since you can’t be my therapist. As friends. Like we tried to do the other day.”
Was he serious? The other day had effectively ended any friendship between us before it could have ever begun. “Given our…history, I’m not sure that would be appropriate.”
“What history?”
Uh…the fact that you screwed my brains out? I warmed from my forehead to my toes. “You know…”
“Of course. Our afternoon together. That afternoon when I fell asleep and you disappeared. Interesting that you would bring that up.”
I was getting a little miffed. Emotion from seeing Gina’s mother whirled through me, and I wasn’t in any shape to deal with Jonah’s and my mutual attraction. “What the hell is interesting about it? I’m…”
“You’re what?”
I looked away. “Embarrassed.”
He grabbed my arm and forced me against the elevator wall. “Embarrassed?” he said through clenched teeth. “You’re embarrassed that we had amazing, mind-blowing sex for an hour?”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t regret it or anything.”
“You don’t regret it?” Fire laced his dark eyes.
I shook my head, biting my lip hard. He let go of me and quickly pushed the emergency stop button on the elevator.
I gasped. “What are you doing?”
“This.” He smashed his lips to mine.
I opened for him without thinking, as if it were a reflex. And perhaps it was. Perhaps I would always open for him. For Jonah Steel—a man so strong, yet holding on to so much guilt. I understood him better than he knew. My God, the man could kiss. I had never been kissed like this, never been kissed the way he kissed me. He had elevated it to an art.
Again, my emotions overwhelmed me. I’d just seen my dead patient’s mother… Gina… Gone… And Jonah… Here…
And very much alive.
My nipples tightened, and my pussy began to pulsate.
I ground into his mouth, swirling my tongue with his and loving every minute of it.
When he finally paused to take a breath, I inhaled deeply.
“Jonah, no. I work here. Everyone knows me at the hospital.”
He smiled. “Fine. I’ll let you go. If we continue this. At your place.”
I gulped and nodded. I’d have been happy to continue here, if it were any other building. Finally, he let go of me and pushed the button on the elevator so we resumed our downward ride.
What must I look like? I walked out of the elevator, nodding to a few people. And then there was the monstrously handsome man with his arm on my back. What would everyone think?
“Where’s your place?” he asked.
“A couple blocks from here, a downtown loft.”
“You have a car?”
I shook my head. “I walked.”
“We’ll take mine.”
Jonah kissed me breathless in the car at my building. He kissed me breathless in the elevator rising to the fourth floor where my loft was located. He kissed me breathless against my door, stopping only for me to unlock it.
He grabbed me and pushed me against the wall after kicking the door shut, kissing me breathless one more time.
He broke the kiss and inhaled. “Bedroom?”
I pointed toward the open door on the other side of the living area.