Melt With You: Fated, Book 4 (3 page)

 
     
He tapped her on the shoulder with the
tips of two fingers and she whirled around on a gasp, nearly knocking into him.

 
     
“You scared me.” She stumbled and he
caught her by the elbow, only then noticing the white ear buds in her ears.

 
     
“Sorry.” Touching her in such an
impersonal way, he wouldn’t think he would have such a strong visceral
reaction.

       
But
he did. It was like molten lava flowed through his veins, hot and thick. He
didn’t want to let go. In fact, he didn’t, using his concern as pretense for
keeping his fingers wrapped around her slender arm.

 
     
She blew his fantasy by jerking out of his
touch and giving him a death stare.

 
     
Those pale blue eyes were as cold as ice
tonight. Whereas the last time he saw her, they’d been warm and friendly, her
gaze full of interest and even a hint of amusement.

 
     
He threw his hands up in a defensive
gesture. “Hey, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

 
     
“What? No.” She jerked one of the buds out
of her ear, and he heard the distorted music coming from it. Wished suddenly he
knew her music preferences. “I didn’t hear you approach.”

 
     
“I can see that.
Now.”
He grimaced, feeling like an ass. Her eyes really hadn’t warmed up, and she
kept looking to her right. As if she wanted to escape. “Sorry. I’ll leave you
alone.”

 
     
He started to turn but she shot out an arm
at the last minute, her fingers stopping him by resting on his forearm. “No, I
should apologize. I was—rude.”

 
     
“No harm, no foul.” If he could lean into
her touch he would, but he restrained himself.
Didn’t want to
look like a total fool.

 
     
Damn she was tempting.

 
     
“Listen.” She took a step closer, her gaze
meeting his, her expression determined, one delicate eyebrow lifting. “Do you
have a spare couple of minutes? I’d like to—talk to you.”

       
Was
his every dream coming true? The ice in her eyes had thawed substantially, and
she was nothing short of direct which he found infinitely arousing.

 
     
He tried for nonchalance with a shrug. “Sure.
What’s going on?”

 
     
“Great.” She took hold of his wrist and
led him down the hall. “Follow me.”
Lanie
kept hold
of Wes’ wrist and practically dragged him down the hall, her mind racing with
possibilities. What was she doing? Where was she taking him? What was she going
to
do
with him once they got there?

 
     
She honestly didn’t know.

 
     
On her break, listening to the newest
playlist she’d created from her iTunes library, she hadn’t been paying
attention when he’d snuck up and scared the wits out of her. At first sight of
his handsome face, she’d been filled with anger.
Frustration.
Why did someone so good looking have to be such a…cad?

 
     
An old-fashioned word but it fit what with
everything she’d heard about him the last few days.

 
     
Then he’d immediately backed off, got a
puppy dog look in those gorgeous green eyes, and, just like every
sucker-punched woman before her, she stumbled.

 
     
And fell.

 
     
She had no idea what came over her.
Impulsiveness was not her style.

 
     
Spontaneous was not a word anyone would
associate with her but she’d become so overwhelmed with the urge to just—get
him somewhere.
Alone.

 
     
The two of them wrapped up around each
other…

       
Okay,
she was crazy. Clutching his thick wrist with only her fingers was somehow
making her entire body react, her nipples pebbled hard and tight beneath her
bra, her skin positively on fire.

 
     
Yeah. She couldn’t even imagine what might
happened if he set his hands on her bare skin and stroked her from head to toe.
She might explode into tiny bits of ecstasy.

 
     
“Hey.” He turned his hand within her grip
and clasped her arm with his long, strong fingers. They burned into her skin,
making her shiver. “Where are you taking me?”

 
     
She glanced over her
shoulder,
saw the perplexed look on his face. Gosh, he was cute. “Hold on, almost there.”

 
     
The door to the left beckoned so she came
to a halt, wrenched it open with her free hand and dragged him in after her. It
was a supply closet, of course. Straight out of a clichéd movie, fooling around
in the closet, but she didn’t care. Reaching around him, she slammed the door
shut, the tiny space immediately shrouded with darkness.

 
     
“What are you—?”

 
     
She cut him off, reaching up and pressing
two fingers against his plush mouth.

 
     
His lips were damp and full and just like
that, her panties were wet. “Shut up.” His lips parted and a soft exhalation of
breath brushed against her fingers.

 
     
Gripping his broad shoulder with her other
hand, she stood on tiptoe, marveling at his height. He was a giant and so…big…

       
Dropping
her hand from his mouth, she brushed her lips against his, a murmur of pleasure
escaping her at first contact. He settled his hands on her waist, his gentle
touch steadying her and she released a shaky breath.

 
     
“Do you usually pull innocent men into
supply closets and kiss them?” His husky whisper made her shiver.

 
     
“No, not usually.
And I’ve heard you’re not quite so innocent.” She gasped when he touched the
tip of his tongue to the center of her upper lip.

 
     
“People in this hospital exaggerate.” He
angled his head, his lips drifting across her cheek. She clutched both of his
shoulders with shaky fingers, afraid she’d slither to the floor if she let go. “I’m
not as bad as they say.”

 
     
“Maybe I’m looking for a bad boy.”
Lanie
sighed when he kissed her again. A dreamy, hot, deep
kiss, his tongue slid against hers in a sensuous dance that had her entire body
ready to melt into molten liquid.

 
     
Wes broke the kiss first. “Is that all you’re
looking for?” She opened her eyes, could barely make out his features in the
dark of the closet.

 
     
Outside real life continued to unfold. She
heard a page call overhead, the sound of people walking by. They could get
caught. It was dangerous, lingering in this closet. She’d end up with a less
than stellar reputation, and he would have another notch on his supposed
already full bedpost.

 
     
This is what happened to a woman who was
desperate, she realized. Her thoughts had been consumed with him since the
first moment they locked gazes. She was behaving like a complete slut and the
funny thing was she didn’t care.

       
“Is
it?”

 
     
Lanie
blinked.
What had he asked again? Her brain was fuzzy, her entire body spun tight from
that one delicious kiss and she couldn’t find her tongue despite that she knew
he waited for her answer.

 
     
“Because if it is,” he continued when she
didn’t reply. “Then I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to disappoint you.”

 
     
He disengaged himself from her grip and
without another word, walked out of the closet, leaving her inside.

 
     
Alone.

 
     
“I made a move on Wes.”

 
     
Aimee nearly choked on the
french
fry she was nibbling. “You’re
kidding me.” She gasped after she took a swig from her drink.

 
     
Lanie
shook her
head.
“Nope.
Guess what? He turned me down.”

 
     
“You’re kidding me,” Aimee said again, her
eyes as wide as saucers.

 
     
“I wish I wasn’t.” A fresh wash of
humiliation slid over her at the memory. It happened four days ago and she
still wasn’t over it. “I dragged him into a closet—”

 
     
“While at work?” Aimee interrupted.

 
     
“Yep.
It was a
supply closet. Nice and cozy right? I told him to shut up and basically
attacked him right there.”

 
     
“What in the world…”

 
     
“I know, right? I mean, what came over me?
Why would I do such a thing?” She still didn’t know, couldn’t even begin to
comprehend it. It was just so unlike her, to grab random, handsome men and pull
them into supply closets so she could have her way with them.

 
     
And to top it all off, he’d turned her
down. Walked right out of that closet without a backward glance and hadn’t
spoken to her again.

       
His
rejection still stung too.

 
     
Aimee laughed, covering her mouth with the
tips of her fingers when she caught sight of
Lanie’s
glare. “I know you don’t think it’s very funny but oh my God, it kind of is,
you have to admit. I mean, you yanked him into a closet and mauled him.”
Lanie’s
cheeks heated and she ducked her head. “I know. It
was stupid. You probably think I’m a complete idiot.”

 
     
“I’ve only known you for six months but
no, I don’t think you’re an idiot. I think a gorgeous man hindered your thought
process. That’s all.”

 
     
“That’s putting it mildly,”
Lanie
muttered as she glanced about the room.

 
     
They were at a local sports bar not far
from the hospital, a place where many of the hospital staffers came after work
to unwind after a long shift. Both
Lanie
and Aimee
were off the next two days so they’d decided to hang out, have a light dinner
and a drink or two during happy hour.

 
     
The two sat alone by choice, the majority
of their coworkers surrounding a big screen TV watching a football game in
progress. Stressed over what happened with Wes, she’d been dying to tell Aimee
about it since the night it actually went down.

 
     
Now she was like a shaken up bottle,
bursting and spilling all over the place.

 
     
“Have you talked to him since?” Aimee
asked.

 
     
“No. I haven’t even seen him.”

 
     
“What exactly did he say to you?”

 
     
Here came the embarrassing part. “Well…he
said something about dragging innocent men into closets and I told him I heard
he wasn’t that innocent. Then he asked if all I wanted from him was to be a bad
boy and when I didn’t answer—because I was stunned silent by the way he kissed
me—he said I’m going to disappoint you. Then he walked out of the closet.”

 
     
Aimee’s eyebrows were so high
Lanie
swore they had reached her hairline.

 
     
“Mister Bad Boy himself turned you down
because you were looking for something decidedly unserious?”

 
     
“I guess so.”
Lanie
grabbed her margarita and took a healthy sip. Tequila was definitely not the
answer to all her problems, but it definitely seemed like a good substitute.

 
     
“That’s…interesting.” Aimee pursed her
lips, looking as if she were in deep thought.