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"I don't give a fuck if it's appropriate or not, angel," I murmur, skimming my nose along her crown. After spending a week in the hospital with Scout, she should smell like the place, but she doesn't. She smells like coconut and sunshine, like the beach and home. "You'll learn soon enough that I make my own rules. When you're sleeping under my roof, you'll call me Tate."
She makes a soft sound in the back of her throat that turns my dick to steel. That needy whine, that shocked gasp.Fuck, I can't wait to rattle this woman and turn every single thing she thinks she knows about doctors and men like me on its head. I'm not like any man she's ever met before. I'mherman. Already, I feel the connection between us growing, feel the need to possess and claim this delicate, fierce angel beating at me.
"Back up," she whispers, her voice shaking.
"Not until you call me by my name, Samara."
I'm pushing the bounds of propriety to their breaking point. I know it. She knows it. We both know she could probably have my job for this…but we both know she won't. She wants me too. I saw it lurking in those gold eyes this morning. I see it blazing in them now. She feels the same undeniable pull. She's just afraid to give in to it.
"Say it, baby," I demand on a whisper, running my lips along her crown this time. I'm not sure why I need her to give me this so fucking badly but I do. I don't want to be Dr. Grimes to her, especially not when we're alone.
"Dammit, Tate," she whispers.
I press my lips to her temple in a soft kiss. Her body trembles against mine. Even through her oversized hoodie, I feel how soft she is. "I'm going to save your niece, angel. And while I'm doing that, we're going to get to know each other. Intimately."
"You're Scout's surgeon," she reminds me again.
"And we both know if I slipped my hand inside your panties right now, they'd be soaked for me," I growl, narrowing my eyes on her. "We also know they haven't been that way for any other doctor you've met this week. Or any man in recent memory, have they, Samara?"
"I…"
My warning growl quickly silences whatever lie she was going to tell.
She shakes her head instead, silently agreeing with me.
The elevator shudders to a stop on the top floor. The doors slide open.
Samara startles like a frightened doe.
"Easy, angel," I croon, running a hand down her side. "Easy."
"Easy for you to say," she sniffs, glaring at me. "You didn't just step out of your life and into theTwilight Zone."
I chuckle, taking a step back and holding out my hand. "This isn't theTwilight Zone. This is your life now that I'm in it. I guess Gage didn't tell you everything about me, did he?"
"I guess not," she mutters, reluctantly letting me pull her from the elevator. "He certainly left out the parts about you being overgrown and bossy."
"Nah, angel. I'm not bossy. I'mtheboss."
She snorts, shaking her head as a small smile plays at her lips. "Whatever you say, bossy," she says. And then she stops walking and does a double take, gaping at the apartment around us. "Holy crap, Tate. This place is amazing."
I cast a critical eye around, trying to see what she does. The walls are all glass, looking out over the Medical Center to the south and west, and Rice University to the north. Automatic blinds black out the windows with the touch of a button, turning the apartment into a fortress. Thick rugs cover the porcelain floors. Expensive bowls and vases rest on equally as expensive tables. But the furniture is soft and plush, made for comfort more than style.
The truth is, I don't give a shit about impressing anyone when I'm here. I care about sleeping so I'm not useless to the patients fighting for their lives across the street. If I'm not at the top of my game, I'm no use to them. I didn't pick the penthouse because it screams money. I picked it because it's completely soundproofed. Nothing intrudes, allowing me to sleep like the dead.
"It's better than a chair in the waiting room," I murmur. "You'll be able to rest here. And sharing a bathroom with me is a hell of a lot better than sharing it with fifteen random strangers. I clean up after myself, and I have fluffy towels."
"Sh-sharing with you?" She blinks wide eyes at me.
"Mmhmm. There's only one bedroom." I wink at her. "Don't worry though, baby. I won't tell anyone how much you like to cuddle at night."
Her mouth pops open.
I close it with a finger beneath her chin and then brush my thumb over her bottom lip. It's so damn soft. Christ, I can't wait to taste it. "I'm teasing, Samara," I say quietly. "I'll keep my hands to myself until you're ready for me to put them all over that beautiful body of yours."
"I'm killing Gage," she whispers.
"You can't." I tap her on her nose, smiling. "Scout needs you."
