And as she glanced in his direction, she caught a pair of steely blue eyes looking directly at her.
It was one of the other men who had been standing near the victim – likely one of the wounded’s relatives. Visitors were generally not allowed in the hospital at night, but the ER was an exception.
Instead of looking away – as most people would when caught staring – the man continued studying Kate.
So she studied him back, both intrigued and slightly annoyed.
He was tall, well over six feet in height, and broad-shouldered. He wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense; that would’ve been too weak of a word to describe him. Instead, he was . . . magnetic.
Power. That’s what she thought of when she looked at him. It was there in the arrogant tilt of his head, in the way he looked at her so calmly, utterly sure of himself and his ability to control all around him. Kate didn’t know who he was or what he did, but she doubted he was a pencil pusher in some office. No, this was a man used to issuing orders and having them obeyed.
His clothes fit him well and looked expensive. Maybe even custom-made. He was wearing a grey trench coat, dark grey pants with a subtle pinstripe, and a pair of black Italian leather shoes.
His brown hair was cut short, almost military style. The simple haircut suited his face, revealing hard, symmetric features. He had high cheekbones and a blade of a nose with a slight bump, as though it had been broken once.
Kate had no idea how old he was. His face was unlined, but there was no boyishness to it. No softness whatsoever, not even in the curve of his mouth. She guessed his age to be in the early thirties, but he could’ve just as easily been twenty-five or forty.
He didn’t fidget or look uncomfortable in any way as their staring contest continued. He just stood there quietly, completely still, his blue gaze trained on her.
To her shock, Kate could feel her heart rate picking up as a tingle of heat ran down her spine. It was as though temperature in the room had jumped ten degrees. All of a sudden, the atmosphere became intensely sexual, making Kate aware of herself as a woman in a way that she’d never experienced before. She could feel the silky material of her matched underwear set brushing between her legs, against her breasts. Her entire body seemed flushed, sensitized, her nipples pebbling underneath her layers of clothing.
Holy shit.
So that’s what it felt like to be truly attracted to someone. It wasn’t rational and logical. There was no meeting of minds and hearts involved. No, the urge was basic and primitive; her body had sensed his on some animal level, and it wanted to mate.
And he felt it, too. It was there in the way his blue eyes had darkened, lids partially lowering. In the way his nostrils flared, as though trying to catch her scent. His fingers twitched, curled into fists, and she somehow knew he was trying to control himself, to avoid reaching for her right then and there.
If they had been alone right now, Kate had no doubt he would be on her already.
Still staring at the stranger, Kate started to back away. The strength of her response to him was frightening, unsettling. They were in the middle of the ER, surrounded by people, and all she could think about was hot, sheet-twisting sex. She had no idea who he was, whether he was married or single. For all she knew, he could be a criminal or a total asshole.
Or he could be a cheating scumbag like Tony. If anyone had taught her to think twice before trusting a man, it was her ex-boyfriend. She didn’t want that kind of complication in her life again – didn’t want to get involved with a man so soon after her last disastrous relationship.
But the tall stranger clearly had other ideas.
At her cautious retreat, his eyes narrowed, his gaze becoming sharper, more focused.
And then he began walking toward her, his stride oddly graceful for such a large man. There was something panther-ish in his leisurely movements. For a second, Kate felt like a mouse getting stalked by a big cat. Instinctively, she took another step back . . . and watched his hard mouth tighten with displeasure.
Realizing she was acting like a coward, Kate stopped backing away and stood her ground instead, straightening to her full 5’7” height. She was always the calm and capable one, handling high-stress situations with ease – and here she was, behaving like a silly schoolgirl confronted with her first crush. Yes, the man made her uncomfortable, but there was nothing to be afraid of. What was the worst he could do? Ask her out on a date?
Nevertheless, her hands shook slightly as he approached, stopping less than two feet away. This close, he was even taller than she’d originally thought, probably a couple of inches over six feet. She was not a short woman, but she felt tiny standing next to him. It was not a feeling she enjoyed.
“You are very good at your job.” His voice was deep and a little rough, heavy with some Eastern European accent. Just hearing it made her insides shiver in a strangely pleasurable way.
“Um, thank you,” Kate said, a bit uncertainly. She knew she was a good nurse, of course, but somehow she hadn’t expected this stranger to acknowledge that fact.
“You took care of Igor well. Thank you for that.”
Igor had to be the gunshot patient. It was a foreign-sounding name, maybe Russian. That explained the stranger’s accent. Although he spoke English fluently, it was obvious he wasn’t a native speaker.
“Of course. I hope he recovers quickly. Is he your relative?” Kate was proud of the casual steadiness of her tone. Hopefully, the man wouldn’t realize how he affected her.
“My bodyguard.”
Kate’s eyes widened. So she’d been right – this man was a big fish. Bodyguard? Did that mean – “Was he shot in the course of duty?” she asked, holding her breath.
“He took a bullet meant for me, yes.” The man’s tone was matter-of-fact, but Kate got a sense of tightly suppressed rage underneath those words.