Dating Impossible (16 page)

“Of course I believe you,” Cruz said in a tone that
confirmed he was offended by her question. “But JJ,” he continued softly, “these
are serious accusations against you. In order to protect both of our
reputations, they need to be thoroughly investigated. I have to go by the book.
Administration is breathing down my neck.”

An icy tingle of fear skittered along her spine. “What do
you mean,
by the book
?”

His shoulders sagged as if under a heavy burden and worry
shadowed his eyes. “Your patient’s drug screen came back positive for opiates. A
high dose of opiate that registered nearly the same as the missing morphine
removed from the Pyxis under your name. This incident has been reported to the
Arizona State Medical Board, JJ. I fought on your behalf, but I failed. It’s
out of my hands, you have to know that.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “What exactly are you saying, Cruz?”

“You are suspended with pay until the board contacts you and
has a hearing,” he said.

Anger arced and clashed. A single teardrop spilled through
her lashes onto her cheek. She swiped it away with the back of her hand and stomped
toward the door.

Suspended…Jesus
fuck!

“JJ, wait,” Cruz said, and rounding his desk, he blocked her
exit by stepping into her path.

“For what?” Her voice cracked. She clenched and unclenched
her fists at her sides. She had to get away before she hit something. She had
to go anywhere but here in this place at this time with this man.

He pulled her body into his arms and she stiffened. “Baby,
I’m not going to let whoever is behind this get away with it. I know you aren’t
responsible.”

The soft assurance he spoke into her ear as he stroked her
hair brought some measure of comfort.
Cruz
believed her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. His
fresh, sexy scent washed over her. JJ inhaled, greedily taking the safety and
security he offered. She loved him so much.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his neck.

“Listen,” he said, gently disengaging himself from her arms.
“We’re both going to be under scrutiny. The bedpan buzz has been alive for
weeks speculating about our relationship. We’ve got to be careful.” He stroked
her cheek. “Go home, sweetheart. You look beat. I will take care of things
here.”

Cruz was the one thing she didn’t have on her side in
Beverly Hills
, but he was
here now and he would fight for her. Guilt snaked around her heart and squeezed.
She had to tell him her secret. How could he help her otherwise?

“Cruz, I—”

“Shh. Later. You’ve had a long night. Go home. Rest. When
I’m done here I will come over and we will discuss a course of action,” he said.
He pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “Now get.”

The coward in JJ seized her reprieve. He was right. Sleep
would help clear her head. Tonight she’d have to spill her guts. “Okay.”

Would he still feel the same way about her once he knew the
truth?

****

Cruz shifted the gears of his Aston Martin DBS Volante. The
engine responded, purring under his command as he pushed the horses to their
limit on the deserted back roads outside the
Phoenix
city limits. Top down, the cool night
air rushed all around him, ruffling his hair. Stars lit up the darkened skyline
by the billions. Usually, a drive like this soothed him which was why he was
out in the middle of nowhere instead of on his way to JJ’s house like he’d
promised earlier. But tonight brought him no such alleviation of his stress.

What a fucking mess. He rolled his neck and scrunched his
shoulders. Every time he tried to get the answers he needed to absolve JJ of
the accusations against her, the more the evidence pointed toward her guilt. Could
she really be to blame after all? Everything in his gut screamed no fucking way.
She’d never intentionally harm a patient. In order to corroborate her
innocence, he’d made several attempts to talk to those that worked regularly
with JJ. Other than Ambra and maybe Jake, no one had been willing to talk to
him. They’d clammed up, almost as if they were afraid that by saying something
their own jobs would be in jeopardy because of his rumored relationship with
her.

He slammed his palms on the leather steering wheel. “Fucking
gossips!”

It didn’t matter that he did have a personal relationship
with her. What he did with on his own time was his business. At least…his
shoulders sagged. At least that statement had been true when he’d just been
another ER doctor. Now he was the Director of Emergency Services. He had a
reputation to maintain and protect. JJ was right. Why hadn’t he seen the truth
of the matter before? Dating a co-worker, or subordinate in this case, could
ruin them both.

He had to protect her and clear her name while maintaining
his professional integrity or they will never have a future together.

So why not
give JJ what she’s wanted all along?

Cruz leaned forward in his seat, pushing harder on the gas
pedal. Excitement rushed through him as a kernel of an idea seeded and took
root. Would it work? Would JJ ever forgive him for what he was about to do? Without
giving himself a chance to second guess himself, he twisted the leather wheel
hard to the left and performed a perfect three-sixty degree turn on the
deserted road to speed toward JJ’s house.

God, this fucked-up plan better work because no matter how
good his intentions were, he was about to hurt the one person who mattered most
in his life. His heart twisted painfully in his chest and his breath caught in
his throat. Could he go through with it?

Chapter
Nineteen

Where the hell was Cruz? JJ stopped midstride in her living
room and glanced at the large ornate silver-inlaid musical clock that sat on
the mantel above her stone fireplace. It was after nine o’clock already. She
paced to the window and yanked the wooden blinds aside to stare into the inky
darkness. He’d stood her up. She couldn’t fucking believe it. Especially since
he’d hounded her constantly.

A howl of frustration and hurt escaped, echoing off the
walls around her. The blinds clattered into place as she released them.
Fuck it!
She stormed into the kitchen. Due
to her suspension, she wasn’t on the schedule tomorrow. Her glance sharpened on
the wine rack that hung suspended from the ceiling in the corner of the room. Drowning
her sorrows suddenly held a certain appeal.

JJ rifled through her utility drawer before retrieving her
bottle opener and eased open a bottle of her favorite red. Lifting it to her
nose, she inhaled the fruity bouquet. As she poured herself a glass, thoughts
of Cruz swirled around her brain. She’d gone over the conversation of doom in
her head a thousand times since she’d crawled out of bed this evening. From
every angle, the entire fiasco of dating the dashing and sophisticated Mark
Jacobs made her look like a complete loser. Maybe it was a good thing Cruz was
a no show. Telling him the truth would ruin the fragile bond between them. JJ
didn’t know what she’d do without Cruz’s support. She had put her big girl
panties on and could admit that she needed him now more than ever.

Ding dong.

The glass half way to her lips stilled.
Oh fuck! Couldn’t be!
Heart thundering in her chest, she slammed
the wine down in one long swallow. The burgundy scorched her throat and warmed
her belly. Liquid courage was all she had, coward that she was. Time to face
the guillotine. Would she lose him forever?

Feet dragging, she forced herself toward the door. The bell
rang again, breaking the strained silence. Hand on the knob, she inhaled and
exhaled slowly.
You can do this
. She
opened the door. As expected, Cruz stood on her front step, black hair ruffled
and slightly unkempt from his usual slick style. He no longer wore his suit
jacket or red tie. Several buttons at his throat were undone, giving her a
glimpse of his coarse dark hair and muscular chest. The sleeves of his crisp
white shirt were rolled back and revealed muscular forearms. Her stomach
performed a series of flips and her sex clenched. Her mouth went dry. Why did
he have to stand there looking so damn sexy?

“Hi,” he said, his voice husky.

His gray gaze swept her from head to toe in an appreciative
manner and heat crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the wine
she’d just gulped down.

Oh, this was
going to be so fucking hard.

JJ stepped back and waved him inside. “Hi, yourself. Took
you long enough to get here. I thought you weren’t going to come.”

The complaint in her tone made her wince. She sounded like a
whiney-ass, clingy girlfriend. A slow sexy smile spread across his handsome
face as he crossed the threshold and she hated herself even more. God damn if
he didn’t know how potent he was to women. She slammed the front door hard
enough that the blinds rattled on her front window. Without a word, she marched
back into the kitchen and poured herself another glass of wine.

“To be honest, JJ, I almost didn’t,” he said.

Her throat constricted with fresh tears. She’d lost him. The
confirmation rang in the sound of his voice. She swallowed hard past the lump
in her throat. With a trembling hand, she set the wine bottle on the granite
counter and lifted her gaze to his face. There was an uncharacteristic sadness
shining in his eyes.

“I see,” she said, blinking rapidly.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t fucking cry.

Cruz rounded the corner of island that separated them. He
cupped her cheek. Heat seared her core from his simple touch.

“Do you, JJ?” His lips brushed hers in a lingering caress. “Do
you see my predicament?”

Her arms encircled his neck and she molded her breasts into
his hard, muscled chest. All rhyme and reason left her addled brain. She
flicked her tongue across the seam of his lips, teasing them apart. A shudder
rippled through her and she gasped with need. One last kiss…

Cruz moaned, crushing her mouth with his, and she held on
tighter. Her nipples pebbled against the silky material of her emerald-colored
baby doll tee and her panties grew damp. Cruz trailed hot, wet kisses down the
slim column of her throat until he reached one stiff peak. Covering the hard
tip with his mouth, he sucked hard through the thin material. JJ groaned and
ground her hips against the bulge of his cock. She reached for his zipper, and
in one fluid motion, his cock sprang free into her grasp. He pumped the hard
length of his shaft back and forth within the circle of her hand as she gently
squeezed.

“I need you, J,” he whispered near her ear. “I want you so
damn much, this isn’t fair.”

His hot breath combined with the urgency in his voice sliced
a frisson of fresh passion throughout her entire body. “Show me,” she urged.

He grasped her hips and lifter her onto the granite
countertop. All at once, her matching silk boxer shorts and panties were yanked
from her hips. With his knees bent, he spread her legs apart. Head near her
mound, he breathed in her musk. A quiver shot through him. His tongue licked
and teased her folds. She writhed beneath his touch as anticipation built
within her. He spread her apart with one hand as he slipped two fingers into
her slick heat. She bucked against his hand, welcoming the intrusion. JJ’s
tight channel clenched and unclenched around his fingers as his tongue swirled
around her clit. His name escaped her lips on a guttural moan and pressure
built deep within her.

He sucked at her bud, inserted a third finger, and scraped
his teeth along the sensitive flesh. Another shudder tore through her. “Cruz,”
she shouted in warning.

An appreciative chuckle rumbled through him. “You taste so
damn sweet,” he growled, removing his fingers.

Bereft, a protest escaped her lips. He grasped her hips and
yanked her to the edge of the counter before burying his shaft into her hot,
moist pussy, silencing her objections. He slid out, his head barely touching
her before he thrust clear to the hilt with a groan. Slow and controlled, he
repeated the action, each time grinding against her wetness. Every time he met
her G-spot, little mewling sounds escaped her mouth. He bent and covered her
lips with his own, swallowing her rapture as their tongues tangled with
desperate need.

She clutched his shoulders, soaring higher and higher. The
young girl inside her melded with the woman she’d become. Her love bloomed,
heightening her pleasure and exploding in ecstasy. One last thunderous shudder
ripped through her. JJ’s pussy tightened around his cock and she came with his
name on her lips. Tiny aftershocks rippled through her as he continued to pump
her with short hard strokes. With a jolt, his body stiffened. He groaned as he
emptied himself deep within her and collapsed on top of her.

For a long while, the sound of their heavy breathing echoed
off the kitchen walls around them. With his cock still sheathed within her,
Cruz sighed. He lifted himself up. Propping his chin on the palm of his hand,
he stared down at her. “JJ…”

“I know,” she said. “This complicates things.”