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Evie twisted her head around.
A wry smile hovered on his lips as his eyes narrowed at her. He’d clearly decided two could play at that game. She felt a kick of pleasure low in her abdomen, rippling down through her core.
‘Let me be clearer,’ he added robustly. ‘Is Evie ready for us to be intimate again? Is that normal?’
‘Well, for the most part, I’d say that’s entirely up to Evie.’ Arabella smiled. ‘And I hesitate to use words like normal, Max. You know as well as anyone how differently patients can bounce back after any operation.’
Evie could practically feel the anticipation warming her skin. It felt good. She felt alive in a way she hadn’t in a very long time.
‘But in your case,’ the surgeon addressed Evie again, ‘where you had a willing donor and therefore didn’t have to wait for your transplant or spend too long on dialysis, it’s a very positive sign.’
‘I see,’ Max growled.
‘So, Evie, you’ll probably find you feel ready for sexual intimacy sooner rather than later. And I really would encourage you, if you do feel well and want to resume intimacy, to start exploring it together as a couple.’
‘Together,’ Evie echoed confidently. ‘Got it.’
‘However, we do advise you to avoid penetrative intercourse for four to six weeks after your transplant. This is purely to allow the incision site time to heal and not to do with causing any kind of damage to the transplant itself, you understand.’
Oh, no, that had to be a cruel joke, right?
‘Don’t let that put you off exploring your changing libido as a couple, however. Many people get confused and think that sex only refers to the actual penetrative act of intercourse. However, lovemaking can include multiple things.’
‘Such as hugging? Kissing? Touching each other?’ Evie asked, beginning to enjoy herself.
‘Exactly.’
Evie might have known not to underestimate Max.
‘And what about more than that?’ His low voice rumbled through her chest, winding a hot path down. Lower and lower. Images of his tongue skilfully caressing her until he brought her to orgasm filled her head, and a shaft of heat shot through her.
‘Again, that’s entirely up to you. As long as it isn’t too vigorous and therefore doesn’t put too much strain on the incision whilst it’s knitting.’ Professor Goodwin leafed through her notes. ‘And once the four to six weeks are up, be aware that fertility in a woman, post-transplant, can increase and, whilst oral contraception can be taken, we would recommend using the barrier method.’
Not as sexy but a valid point, Evie conceded.
‘Some institutions recommend you don’t become pregnant for at least a year after your transplant, even with stable kidney function, whilst others say two years. Here, we prefer to say eighteen months to two years.’
‘That won’t be a problem,’ Max announced confidently, leaving Evie to wonder whether that was because he had every intention of using protection this time. Or no intention of needing anything to start with.
‘Okay.’ The nephrologist nodded. ‘Then let’s move on to your serum creatinine levels and how we expect these check-ups to progress during the next few weeks.’
CHAPTER TEN
MAX LEFT EVIE to complete the final tests whilst he checked on the recovery of the patients.
It was a welcome escape. The air had been loaded with expectation since their conversation with Arabella Goodwin. They were both acutely aware that once they left the hospital to go back home, sex would be on both their minds. And, despite everything that had been said, Max was still conscious of not wanting to push Evie into anything she wasn’t ready for.
He saw the person lingering outside his office long before the woman saw him. Something about the way she was hovering intrigued him, shifting from one foot to the other, playing with her long hair and toying with her clothing, first pushing the sleeves of her flannel shirt up in the heat of the hospital, then pulling them down again. He crossed the heavy-duty linoleum hallway in a couple of long strides.
‘Do you need something?’
She jumped back from the doorway to glance nervously at him. She could be here to see anyone, but instinct told him she was one of Evie’s troubled teens.
‘I was wondering about Dr Parker? I didn’t realise her transplant was last week and she’d already been discharged. They told me to come and see you.’
‘Right.’ He wasn’t prepared to give anything away.
‘How...how did the doc’s transplant go?’ the young woman asked tentatively.
