He chuckled and took a sip of water, right as Lucy trotted back towards us. She sat at his feet and he began to scratch her behind the ears.
“Be right back,” I said.
I hurried off to my bedroom, which was far less tidy than the rest of the apartment. Hastily, I shoved my piles of dirty clothes into the hamper and closet—wherever they would fit. And then I searched my drawer for something to put on, quickly realizing I was putting far too much thought into it. So finally, I settled for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Something casual. Something easy to take off.
I neatly folded Evan’s uniform and returned to the living room, where he waited. “Here you go.”
He took the uniform and set it in front of him on the table. I sat down beside him. For a moment, we locked eyes again. A tingle went up my spine and I looked away. I so badly wanted to touch him…
So I settled for touching Lucy instead. She rested her head on my knee.
“Beautiful dog,” Evan said.
“Thank you.”
An awkward silence stretched between us. As I stared down at Lucy, I could feel Evan staring at me.
“How are you holding up?” he asked after a while.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Fine, I guess.”
“Have you ever had a patient die?”
I swallowed. “No—not on my watch. I’ve seen it from afar, but…”
“Never as close as what almost happened today.”
I nodded.
“Well, you can take comfort in knowing that she’s going to be fine. Your quick thinking saved her life. That’s something to be proud of.” He rubbed my back in what initially started off as a comforting gestured before he began to trail his fingers along my spine. I fought not to arch my back at his touch. He then lightly brushed my hair, and then returned his hands to his own lap. “Well…I just wanted to make sure you made it in safely, and that you were all right.”
I felt a panic rising inside of me. There was a tone of finality in his voice, but I didn’t want him to leave yet. Lucy too, must have noticed his tone, she got up and retreated to the back of the apartment, where her bed was located, ready for a nap after the day’s excitement.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Evan motioning to get up. I placed my hand on his knee and he paused.
“Are you in a hurry?” I asked.
It took him a moment to answer, but when he did, he shook his head. “No. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“Let me be the judge of that then,” I said with a shaky smile. My emotions were a rollercoaster, and the one thing I knew for certain was that I didn’t want to be alone.
I also couldn’t seem to remove my hand for Evan’s knee. He covered it with his own hand, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I felt a spark of electricity.
He was just too handsome for his own good…
With my other hand, I brushed through his hair. He leaned in at my touch, and kissed my forehead. And then my nose…
And then he stopped, his mouth just inches away from mine.
I rested my head on his shoulders, breathing in the scent at the crook of his neck. And then I kissed his neck, unable to stop myself. A low groan sounded from Evan’s throat.
“Tessa,” he whispered.
But I couldn’t resist him. I couldn’t keep my hands off him. Whatever he had to say would have to wait, I hungrily cut off his words with a kiss, pleased to see that he had no objections about returning it.
CHAPTER 15
Tessa