I pull my glasses off, rubbing my eyes where a migraine is threatening to form from the strain. The practice is empty, Victoria left hours ago, but a sound can be heard from across the building, where Will is still working too.
I’ve decided to trust him to lock up when he wants to stay late. Anything he could potentially steal is put up, and I don’t want to think that way. He’s given me no reason to believe he isn’t trustworthy thus far.
And I think he secretly likes being here. He doesn’t have much to go home to.
When I head toward the room I hear him working in, it’sonlybecause I’m being polite. It would be rude to leave without saying goodnight.
As I approach the room, I can hear him in there, the roll of the brush, the sound of the tray scraping against the floor. Music playing from his phone, some rock from the nineties.
I pause in the doorway, all the breath leaving my lungs.
He’s got his back to me, the roller moving in long even strokes covering the dark purple with a crisp white. The color looks good, opening the space the way Addie said it would.
But that’s not what I’m looking at. My eyes don’t care about the color of the wallat all. Because sometime between lunch and now, Will took off his shirt.
It’s thrown on the floor off to the side, and he’s there. All of him. Miles of pale skin and muscle shifting every time he moves the roller. His shoulders and the curve of his spine, the waistband of his jeans sitting low, his body on display.
He looks like a statue, my brain supplies before all of the blood in my body heads south.
He rolls up toward the ceiling, his arm flexing, and a drop of paint lands on his bicep and—
I need to go.
Right now.
I’m not in my car five seconds before I drop my hand into my lap, pressing down against the front of my scrubs with the heel of my palm, trying to take the edge off the pressure with a whimper, throwing my head back against the seat.
I press down harder, until it doesn’t feel good anymore.
This can’t happen. I am not touching myself in the parking lot of my business, thinking about my brother-in-law that I don’t even like.
I take a deep breath, fighting the urge to thrust up into my hand. It’snothappening.
Eventually, my breathing evens out, and my heart stops pounding, my cock softening enough that I can let go and relax in my seat.
This is getting ridiculous. And I’m not going to think about what just happened. I’m shutting that door and locking it and never opening it again becausewhat is wrong with me?
Pulling out my phone, I find Karen’s name amongst the vast list of patients. When she picks up, her voice is warm and clearly pleased. “Nolan. Hi. What a nice surprise.”
“Hey, Karen,” I say, and luckily, I don’t sound like I was thinking about jerking off in my car a minute ago. “I wanted to see if the offer for Friday still stands.”
“Of course it does.” I can hear her smile. “I’m really glad you called.”
“Me too,” I say, and right now, I mean it.
Chapter 10
Will arrives right on time.
I open the door, and his eyes do a slow drag from my face down to my shoes and back up again, and when he opens his mouth, I already know what he’s going to say. I’ve already heard it from Addie.
“Don’t,” I tell him, leaving him to go back to the mirror where I’m attempting to do something to my hair. He follows me inside, but doesn’t go further than the doorway, staying to watch me in the mirror.
“That’s what you’re wearing,” he says, glaring at the polo I’ve paired with my favorite khakis.
“This is my good shirt.”
He tilts his head, studying the shirt like it’s something around the practice that needs fixing. “When did you get it?”
