Lori Wilde – Lethal Exposure (страница 5)
“Why don’t you go ahead and take your clothes off?”
“Huh?” For one wild, incomprehensible moment, he thought she was suggesting they get naked together.
She reached for a pair of purple latex examination gloves resting on the green granite countertop. “I need for you to get undressed so I can do an initial assessment on you and report my findings to Dr. Carpenter.”
He blew out a breath of air on a tense laugh. “Oh, no, no, there’s been some kind of mix-up.”
“There’s no need to be ashamed. Many men experience erectile dysfunction.”
“Hey, hey, hey. I do
“Then why were you taking sexual enhancement supplements? Because you know, using impotency drugs—even when it’s an herbal medication—simply for fun and games can be deadly for your sexual health.”
“Huh?”
“How long have you had the erection?” Her gaze drifted down the length of his body.
He felt the heat of her glance straight to his bones. “Wait, wait.” He held up his palms. “You’ve obviously got me confused with someone else.”
At least this explained why she’d been staring at his crotch. Just the thought of having her examine him with those latex gloves on her lithe fingers shot chills up his spine. He didn’t know if they were chills of dread or anticipation. The prospect was oddly erotic, but in a scary kind of way.
“You’re Mr. Black, correct?”
“Yes, but I’m not a patient.”
She frowned. “You’re not the movie producer?”
“No.”
Flustered, her cheeks pinked and she took a step back, fingering the stethoscope around her neck.
“I’m Sebastian Black, from Back in Black Public Relations. The hospital’s hired me to improve Confidential Rejuvenations’ image after some recent…er…trouble.”
“Oh.” Embarrassment deepened the color in her cheeks from pink to red, pushing it all the way into her hairline. “Oh, no.”
He smiled to reassure her. “Don’t feel sheepish. I should have told you right away why I was here.”
“Well…um…I…” Clearly flustered, she dropped her gaze and started for the door, but he was standing in her way.
She went right.
He followed.
Head down, she dodged left.
He beat her to the punch, smoothly blocking her path.
“What?” she demanded, sounding irritated.
“Look at me.”
He could tell she didn’t want to do it, but he wasn’t moving until she did. She tilted her head.
Their gazes met and a renewed voltage surged between them.
He hadn’t felt an attraction this potent in a long time. The chemistry both unsettled him and stoked his curiosity. What was it about her that so piqued his interest?
“It was a natural mistake,” he soothed.
“You don’t have to spin it for me,” she said, surprising him by recognizing what he was doing. “Let’s tell the truth. I made an idiot out of myself by not asking what was the nature of your business the minute you arrived.”
“You were trying to spare me humiliation. You thought I had been playing around with some Viagra kind of thing and got myself into trouble.”
“You’re too smooth for my own good,” she said. “You ought to come with a warning label. Something along the lines of ‘Warning—man may appear more charming than he really is.’”
“How do you know I’m not as charming as I appear?” He grinned, enjoying their sparring.
She tossed her head and her ponytail bounced pertly. “I’ve had dealings with charming men before.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”
“To my detriment, I might add.”
Sebastian took a wild guess. “A charming man left you brokenhearted?”
“Something like that.” She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Anyway, I learned my lesson. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Black, I have to find my real patient.”
“The guy with the irrepressible boner?”
“Mr. Black,” she scolded, but her eyes were lively. “That’s inappropriate.”
“You’re right—” he flicked his gaze to her name tag “—Julie.”
“It’s Miss DeMarco.”
“Miss? As in not married?” His eyes drifted to the bare ring finger of her left hand. He might play the field, but as far as he knew, Sebastian had never bedded a married woman and he wasn’t about to start.
“As in none of your business. Now if you’ll get out of my way, I’d appreciate it.”
He’d pushed too far. Sebastian was smart enough to know when to back off. He stepped aside and she brushed past him on her way out the door.
The contact—their first touching—was nothing short of electrifying.
They both inhaled audibly in a simultaneous breath. She stopped in midstride and their gazes seared again. He felt like a pistol. Hot, cocked and loaded.
She was right. He was inappropriate.
“Look,” he said, “we got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t we start all over?” He thrust out a hand. “Hello, I’m Sebastian Black.”
She hesitated and just when he decided she wasn’t about to take his hand, she reached out. “Julie DeMarco.”
He grasped her soft palm and she squeezed lightly. His entire arm tingled and he experienced a hot rush of sexual energy surge through every cell in his body and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose to attention.
The sight of their clasped hands riveted him. Her creamy skin was much lighter than his. She was all soft and smooth. He was hard and rough. The contrast in their two hands would have made one hell of a photo. Man, woman. Strength, delicacy. Tanned, pale. United.
A familiar rush of adrenaline. The thrill of the chase. Outside in the hallway, in the silence of his indrawn breath, Sebastian could hear a cart being pushed, wheels squeaking, in need of oil. In that moment Sebastian understood that one way or the other, he was going to take this woman to bed.
“Pleased to meet you, Julie DeMarco.”
And then he had a brilliant idea that would effectively kill two birds with one stone. A solution that could help him solve Confidential Rejuvenations’ image problem, plus get him closer to the appealing Miss DeMarco. The technique had served him well on many campaigns.
“Listen,” he said, “I need your help.”
“My help?”
She looked so cute with her brow furrowed and her bottom lip tucked up between her teeth. Good thing she was no longer investigating the zipper of his pants. She’d see that the Viagra abuser wasn’t the only one with a boner.
“I need an insider’s view.”
“An insider’s view?”
“To help me see Confidential Rejuvenations in a way only someone who works in the trenches can. I’d like to hear what you think about the recent scandals.”
“I can’t violate patient confidentiality.”
“Nor would I ever ask you to do so.” He smiled. “I’d just like to get your take.”