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He shook his head and smirked. He’d hold on to that. Some women liked him. He’d remind himself of that when he walked into Dr. Ice’s office without an invitation and with an armful of everyone-forgot-your-birthday cupcakes.

Why had he signed up for this again?

Chapter 5

Elle swallowed down two aspirin before returning to her case file and typing up her notes. This Monday was turning out to be full of Monday-ness. The whole rehab unit was on edge after a fight had broken out in morning group between a reality star and a Tony award-winning actor. Neither guy knew how to throw a proper punch, but both had put on quite a show, and she hadn't had a chance to get some quiet time in her office until now.

Everyone had wanted to process their feelings about what had happened. Normally, she would encourage the patients to talk things out. But she hadn't slept well for over a week, and after two separate processing sessions, she got the feeling that the residents just wanted to gossip. It was always easier to talk about other peoples’ issues rather than deal with your own.

Speculation was that the two guys were fighting over a woman—an actress who was checking in early next week. Both had denied it, but things would probably only get more complicated when the actress in question got here. Sometimes Elle felt like she was running a co-ed dorm at a boarding school instead of a substance abuse program. She’d learned quickly once she’d gotten into this field that people trapped together in places for too long tended to dissolve into sophomoric behavior, with most of them fighting or screwing or both.

Fighting and screwing. She shook her head as she typed. She’d resorted to that kind of behavior the night of the party, and she’d only been trapped at a table with Lane for half an hour. So maybe she shouldn’t judge. She could be just as immature. And just as hormonal.

Lord knows she hadn’t been able to get that night out of her head since. It had ended in a mess, but the journey to get there had been one hell of a good time. She hadn’t had sex light her up like that…maybe ever. Had it been anyone but Lane, she would’ve already invited the guy over again. With all the day-to-day stress at her job, she could use a big serving of that brand of relaxation in the evening. But the cost wasn’t worth it. Dealing with Lane Cannon wasn’t worth it. Not that it mattered anyway. She’d effectively burned that option to the ground and then stomped all over it. He’d outright told her she’d never have a night like that again.

As if he were the only man who could do that to her.

She sniffed. Well, screw him and his ego. He was just a guy. Not a superhero. Now that she’d analyzed what specifically turned her on about that night with Lane, she simply needed to find someone who was willing to play those kinds of games without all the baggage that came from sleeping with a guy like him. Someone who wouldn’t ask questions afterward. Someone who had no interest in getting into her head.

Her cell phone buzzed against the stack of papers she’d set it on, breaking her from her thoughts. The screen lit with her mother’s name.

She grimaced. Since when did her mother call when it wasn’t a holiday? It’s not like she’d bothered on Elle’s birthday. Elle hit the button to send it to voicemail. She definitely didn’t have the mental energy to deal with her mother today. She’d rather be back out on the unit, separating big, angry men with swinging fists than having a conversation with Cassandra McCray, which really was never a conversation as much as her mother subtly trying to pry into her personal life or why she never visited. As if why she never visited was a mystery.

Even before her mother had let her down in such a soul-crushing way, Cassandra had never had a particularly warm and fuzzy relationship with Elle. Her mom had been married to her career and hadn’t been that interested in motherhood. But since Elle’s divorce, things had gotten even more distant and strained. When they spoke, they talked about everything except what really needed to be talked about. It took too much goddamned energy—not talking about things. So Elle had learned to avoid interactions for the most part.

The phone rang again almost immediately. Same number. Her mom didn’t like to leave a voicemail, but that wasn’t Elle’s problem. “Give it up, Mom.”

She picked up the phone with intentions of turning the ringer off, but before she could silence it, there was a sharp knock on her door. The interruption startled her and made h

er drop the still ringing phone onto the rug beneath her desk.

“Dammit.” Distracted, Elle called out for whoever it was to come in and then bent down to grab the phone and silence it. “If you want to talk to me, leave a freaking voicemail. I do have a job, you know.”

“I’m aware.”

The deep rumble of a voice had her head snapping up, and she promptly banged it on the underside of her desk. “Son of a bitch.”

The ringing that had stopped with the phone started in her head. She rubbed the sore spot, and sat up to find Lane standing in her doorway with a white box in his hands and an unreadable expression.

“You okay?”

The spot on her head was throbbing but she gave a curt nod, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. “I’m fine. Why are you here?”

His signature smugness touched his lips. “Always such a warm welcome from you, McCray. I bet you worked your way through college as a greeter at Disney World. Am I right?”

“Yep. Wore the ears and everything,” she said, not missing a beat. “Now answer the question.”

Because the sooner he did that, the sooner she could get him out of here. Just seeing him leaning against her doorframe with that lazy, self-satisfied way of his had her mind replaying the scene from that night in her head. Only the highlight reel, of course. Not the ugly parts. Not the part where she ended up alone on her living room floor having a freak out. Her dirty mind was fantastic at editing out the stuff she was supposed to be focusing on.

He lifted the box. “I come bearing cupcakes.”

At first, all she heard was I come. Boy, did he. With sexy grunts and brute force. She shook the images from her head. God, she turned into a horny teenager when she was around this guy. Pack the hormones away, Elle. She cleared her throat. “Cupcakes?”

He opened the box and revealed eleven cupcakes with hideous bright pink frosting. “These got delivered to the wrong building on the wrong date, and I’m guessing with the wrong color, because no one who wasn’t having a pretty, pretty princess birthday party would choose these. But they were supposed to go to you for your birthday. Happy late birthday, Elle.”

She kept her expression smooth, even though hearing someone finally wish her happy birthday had her throat tightening. She swallowed past the unexpected and unwelcome emotion. “What happened to the twelfth one?”

He set the box on her desk and the door closed behind him. “I did a poison test for you. They’re safe but turn your tongue and teeth colors.”


Tags: Roni Loren Pleasure Principle Erotic