She set her laptop on her desk with a thunk. “What the hell was that?”
For a moment, he wondered if her ire was jealousy. She’d walked out to him hugging another woman—a famous, beautiful one at that. But that wasn’t Elle’s style. Elle was patients first, everything else after. He lifted his palms. “It was absolutely nothing. I was waiting for you and Jun struck up a conversation. We talked for a few minutes. When she shared some of her current struggle with being here, I gave her some encouragement and told her she was in good hands. She surprised me with a hug. That’s all it was.”
“That was not your place,” she said, words sharp. “This is my unit. My patients. I am responsible for their care. She was supposed to be in group, not talking to some—”
“Some what?” he challenged. “Some untrained lackey?”
She tipped her head forward and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know that’s not what I was going to say. You wouldn’t want me interfering with your clients either. Jun’s looking for any excuse to not do the work here. She’s isolated herself from the rest of the patients, won’t open up in sessions, and has generally been acting like a brat. She needed to be in group, not flirting with you.”
He sighed. “She wasn’t flirting.”
Elle put her hands on her hips, an elegant snort escaping her. “You think I didn’t catch the look she gave you before she left? Please.” She batted her eyelashes and tucked her hands beneath her chin, her voice etching up an octave. “Oh, Lane, you’ve been so helpful. I could write sappy love songs about you.”
Lane’s mouth curved. “You couldn’t possibly be feeling a little possessive, could you, Dr. McCray?”
“Yes,” she said flatly. “Of my patient.”
“Uh-huh. I think the doctor doth protest too much.” He stepped closer, letting his hands slide onto her waist. “Did you know you’re kind of adorable when you’re jealous?”
Her lips thinned, defiance in her eyes. “I. Am. Not. Jealous. And never adorable. I’m not a goddamned puppy.”
“I was thinking in more of an angry wildcat kind of way,” he amended. “Did I mention Jun’s the lead singer of one of my favorite bands? Or how much I love her music? That shouldn’t bother you, though. That I’m a fan.”
She groaned and tried to wiggle away from him. “You are such a sadistic asshole.”
“I am.” He touched his forehead to hers. “That little twitch in your eye, the one that says you’re working so hard to not break, is definitely giving me half-wood. The more you protest, the more it does it for me. Keep telling me how it didn’t bother you one little bit.”
“Ugh. Fine,” she said, giving him her most ferocious look of disdain. “Maybe I was a little annoyed to see the guy I’m currently sleeping with embracing a beautiful young thing who’s sold a metric ton of records.”
“Downloads, babe. Downloads,” he said, amping up his old California accent.
Her jaw unhinged, a haughty expression crossing her face. “Did you just call me old? Oh, now that’s your ass, Lane Cannon.”
She reached between him and grabbed his balls with a not-yet-painful-but-definitely concerning grip. All the air puffed out of him as his body went into protect-the-man-parts-at-all-cost mode. “Doc.”
“Say you’re sorry, Cannon. And say it nicely.” She smiled sweetly.
“Now who’s the sadist?”
She arched a brow.
The arrogant look only made him want her more. He licked his lips. “I was not calling you old. I was teasing you because it’s becoming a favorite pastime of mine and I love how riled up you get. You have nothing to worry about from some twenty-something singer.” He took a breath when her grip eased ever so slightly. “And here’s what you need to remember, doc. I don’t have trouble getting laid. You don’t have trouble getting laid. Neither of us are here because we’re out of options. We’re choosing this option because we’re good together.”
A cornered-animal look flashed through her eyes and she released her grip entirely.
“In bed,” he added, hoping that would soothe her flight response. “We’re good together in bed. Your kink and my kink line up just right.”
She sighed and some of the tension leached out of her body. “I know that. And this isn’t even—well, I don’t really know what this is, but I guess when I saw you two hugging it just set off old stupid shit.”
He rubbed his hands along her upper arms, a kick of guilt in his gut. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think when I was teasing you—”
She shook her head. “Stop. It’s fine. Please don’t coddle me.”
He frowned. “I won’t, but know that while we’re together, I won’t sleep with anyone outside of what I need to do for my job. That’s a promise. I’m not him. And I know you haven’t known me long enough to necessarily believe it, but when I give my word, I keep it.”
She met his eyes and gave a little nod. “Okay.”
&nbs