But he never ordered me to do this. He would kill me if he saw it, in fact. A thought that makes the edges of my grin curl.
“See, that’s what I’m worried about.” Russ arches an eyebrow, clearly watching me watch the nurses. “I understand why you’re angry right now, Mags, I really do. But I don’t want you getting in over your head.”
“Believe me, I know exactly what I’m doing.” I whip back around to lock eyes with him again. This time when I reach up to touch his arm, I don’t stop there. I let my hand trail all the way up his bicep, until it curls around the back of his neck. He’s a good half a head taller than me, but that doesn’t stop me from flirting. Besides, the nurses are gone now, out of sight. His objections hopefully went with them. “All I want is to feel in control of one thing, Russ. To feel like I can make one decision for myself.” I study his eyes. Dark, brown like his hair. But there are flecks in them, slightly lighter patches that I never noticed before.
He studies me right back, and to judge by the heat in those intense eyes, he’s close to giving in. “I can’t say I’ve never thought about it.” His gaze drops, slowly. Over my lips, my chest, my curves. I suppress a shiver that threatens to break out, at the way his eyes linger. Like he’s memorizing me, drinking me in. “You are a fucking sexy as hell woman, Mags. But I think you know that by now.”
I smirk. “Some people might have mentioned it.”
“Boys, I’d bet.” He raises an eyebrow. “You can’t have had a real man appreciate you.”
The words curl in my belly. “No,” I breathe. “Never anyone like you.” I trail my fingers back down his arm, and this time, he finally, finally responds in kind. His hands trace slowly along my arms, up to my shoulders. Then they slide down my sides, tracing the edges of my curves. He passes over my waist, then out wider again to grip my hips.
Without warning, he pulls me against him, my soft body crushed against the hard steel of his muscles. I can feel myself bend into him, molding against him, my legs trembling, my body already getting eager with want. I wore thin panties beneath my scrubs this morning, and they’re in danger of getting wet at this rate, if they aren’t already. Still, Russ’s hands keep moving, keep tracing along me, up to my waist again, back down.
“Maggie… I’ve thought about this moment. So many times before. Alone in the shower, late at night, after long shifts when I had to watch you strutting around on the far side of the hospital, too far away to ever touch…”
My breath catches in my throat. He fantasized about me too? I swallow hard, my throat suddenly tight, my nerves alight with anticipation. “I… I thought about you. All the time. After those family parties, I used to wish you’d sneak out of the guest room and into mine.” I summon my courage and meet his gaze again, savor the heat and the intensity there. “I’ve wanted you for so long. I used to touch myself, thinking about you.”
He lets out a low, guttural sound, almost a growl. “Christ, Maggie, you can’t tell me this unless you want me to pull you into an empty room right here and now.”
I raise a single eyebrow, my smile spreading. “What’s stopping you?”
He lets out a sharp, slow breath. Then he, too, starts to smile, slowly. “Don’t you have rounds?”
I tilt my head, affect my best innocent girl expression, and bat my eyelashes a few times. “Alas, my father took those away from me. He said I should concentrate on the hospital’s few, elite guests instead… Since my schedule is so freed up now, I’m sure he wouldn’t begrudge me taking a little time off.”
“Or rather, you’d enjoy making him furious wondering where you are,” Russ points out, with a smirk. His gaze sweeps over my face again, my body. “Not half as furious as he’d be if he learns what you were doing instead.”
“I won’t tell him,” I whisper, because I’m worried about this hesitation I’m seeing. “It’ll be our little secret, I swear. I don’t want to get you into trouble, or fired or anything—”
To my surprise, though, Russ just barks out a laugh. “Maggie. If your father wants to fire me, he’s welcomed to try. I have about a hundred job offers at competing hospitals coming in every year, which I always turn down from loyalty to him. But I’d be fine.” He tilts his head, his gaze going serious for just a moment. “It’s you I’d be worried about.”
“Don’t be. I can take care of myself.” I grin. Let my hands trace down his chest, to the abs I can feel even through the fabric of his scrub shirt. “Though, I’d prefer to let you take care of me right now.”