My Only - Alex & Jamie (7 page)

He felt a little flutter of dread around his heart. He was more concerned, truthfully, about the apparent loss of his mojo than about any of the medical conditions that currently had him laid up in the hospital bed. Hell, he knew he'd recover from those – he was already on the mend! What if he never regained his ability to charm – or, a scenario that seemed equally as tragic to him right now, what if he just didn't regain it in time to use it on his Jamie?

“There's a beautiful sunset tonight. Do you want me to open up the blinds so you can see it?” she asked, already heading in the direction of the large bay window. “I’m pretty sure your view overlooks the river.”

That’s when he saw it. Her ass. Her perfect, heart-shaped ass. Lord have mercy. How had he missed that before?

He had never considered himself an ass-man before this very moment. He had always been an equal-opportunity lover of every part of a woman’s body. But after seeing Jamie’s backside he was rethinking that stance.

It wasn’t just the shape or the size, both of which would put a Playboy model to shame, it was also the gentle back and forth motion of her hips as she walked. It was mesmerizing. Hypnotizing.

He felt his mouth begin to water and he reached up to wipe it. As soon as the back of his hand touched his lips it occurred to him that he was actually drooling over her. That was happening! Right now. What in the hell?

Unaware that her seductive sway was currently causing his saliva glands to work overtime, she gracefully opened the blinds and stood to the right side of the window. As the golden glow of the setting sun shone in on her he was once again rendered speechless. The soft light of evening lit her already ethereal beauty like an aura. He smiled to himself. Or a halo.

He almost told her what he was thinking, but stopped himself, not wanting to come on too strong. Would that be too strong? He wasn’t sure.

He had never had to second guess himself before. In the past he always just
knew
the right thing to say. It was like his compliment-instinct-gauge was on the fritz. He gave his head a slight shake, attempting to clear it. Trying desperately to figure out what to say to her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked as she looked over her shoulder at him.

Not taking his eyes off of her, he answered, “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

One corner of her mouth turned up as a spark of what looked, to him at least like interest flashed in her eyes before she turned abruptly back to the view overlooking the river.

Normally, he would have a clever-fun-banter-style comment on hand to follow up on his statement. But, now, he was drawing a blank.

Maybe it was because he didn’t really remember their first meeting. Maybe subconsciously he knew he was at a disadvantage due to the fact that he had no idea if he had actually talked to her and, if so, what he had said. Maybe if he cleared up that question mark bouncing around in his brain then he would be able to move forward with more confidence.

He was still not completely convinced of that scenario, but since he had nothing else to go on, he figured it was worth a shot. Hell, anything was better than this pathetic display, he decided.

“Jamie.” He even loved the sound of her name on his lips. Man, what was this girl doing to him?

She moved quickly. Before he even had a chance to blink, she was at his side. “Yes?” Concern filled her eyes.

The look of pure, unfiltered sincerity in her champagne colored eyes caused a heavy ache to form deep in his chest. Damn, she was breaking his heart.

He knew women. He could sense immediately when they were being phony or trying to play games, and he hated it when they were.

The woman standing in front of him seemed incapable of that kind of trite manipulation. She seemed real. Open. Honest.

It was scaring the shit out of him.

She tilted her head, leaning slightly forward, waiting expectantly for him to say what he needed.

Her hair was pulled up and the smooth line of her neck drew him as if it were magnet and his lips were made of metal. They tingled at the sight of it. He wanted to kiss every inch of her supple skin starting right below her ear working his way down to her collarbone, running his tongue slowly up and down, lightly nibbling and sucking …

“Alex?” she interrupted his vampire-like fantasy, worry creasing her brow.

Get your head on straight, Sloan, he admonished himself. Focus.

He cleared his throat. “You know the night I was admitted?”

He waited, trying to gauge her reaction before he continued.

“Yes,” She said as her face relaxed for a moment before she bit her bottom lip nervously.

She probably had no idea what that small, innocent gesture did to him. How seductive it was. He had to actively suppress a growl.

“Did we talk?” he managed to ask.

She crossed her arms and smiled slyly, “Yes.”

Oh! Okay, he thought to himself as he grinned widely, so it’s like that. That was fine by him, he was always up for a challenge. He liked that she wasn’t going to make this easy on him.

They stared at each other, neither speaking. In the last few moments, the dynamic between them seemed to have shifted drastically.

Alex no longer felt out of his depth. Maybe it was because, for the first time, he was driving the conversation. Or it could have been that, due to adrenaline or arousal, he was in less pain.
Either way, the electricity between them was palpable.

He knew the ball was in his court so he asked, “What did we talk about?”

She shrugged faux-innocently, her eyes dancing with amusement, “Stuff.”

“Did I say anything interesting?” he asked, really enjoying this exchange.

“Yep.” She nodded her head up and down slowly, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.

“Really?”

“Oooh, yeah,” she happily confirmed.

“What did I say that was so interesting?”

“Well, I would say it’s a toss-up between the marriage proposal and declaring your undying love for her,” his brother’s voice came from the doorway.

“Jason!” he heard his sister-in-law Katie shriek.

“Sorry, my bad.” Jason’s tone sounded anything but apologetic. “It wasn’t undying love…just regular run-of-the-mill love.”

Jamie stood frozen for a moment before spinning around so fast Alex was surprised she didn’t land on her rear.

“Hi, I didn’t hear you guys come in, I’ll just get out of your way.” Her voice was about three octaves higher than it normally was as she quickly tried to make her escape.

“Sorry about him,” Katie said before Jamie was able to get to the door, “Jason is known for saying well…just…you know…just…saying…” She absently patted the arm that Jason currently had tightly wrapped around her waist.

“What everyone else is thinking,” Jason finished his wife’s thought.

“Jas!”

“What?” His brother looked back and forth between Jamie and Katie, a knowing half-smile played at his lips, “You know you were
both
thinking it.”

Katie shook her head but not before a small giggle escaped, “That’s not the point. And they didn’t even know we were here.”

“That was just bonus.” Jason smiled proudly.

“Okay, well, you guys have a nice visit.” Jamie shot one more look over her shoulder, “I’ll be at the nurse’s desk if you need me.”

And with that she was out the door.

--- ~ ---

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Jamie repeated this over and over in her head as she quickly made her way to the nurse’s station. As she sat down in the ergonomically-calibrated chair she took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled slowly out of her mouth.

She flattened her hands on the cold surface of the desk to try and ground herself. She needed to breathe and - most importantly -
not
freak out. That was all. That was her entire scope of responsibility in this instant. Everything else, at this moment, was secondary to those two things.

How did that man have such a powerful effect on her? She couldn’t seem to think straight when she was around him. All she thought about was kissing him, touching him. Or (even more powerfully) being kissed and touched
by
him. It was like he emitted this powerful sexual vibration that her body was unwittingly tuned into. When she looked at Alex Sloan all she thought about was sex!

The worst part of it all was that she was having a very hard time keeping her hands to herself. When she had had to check the dressing on his burn, she had allowed her eyes to roam down his muscular back. Her fingers had itched to trace the line of his strong spine. She had had to stop herself from tracing her fingertips down his back, for God's sake!

And when she did come into contact with him skin to skin, Good Lord! Her fingers still tingled from when they had briefly rested against Alex’s biceps.

Jamie closed her eyes and took another deep breath. This was not good. She had a bad feeling that if she spent much more time on ‘Alex Sloan’ duty she may be facing a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Even now, as she sat trying to clear her head of all-things-sex-related, she couldn’t shake the image of his muscular shoulders in her mind’s eye. She couldn’t stop the overwhelming desire to feel the power of his back beneath her touch. She imagined his muscles bunching beneath her fingers as her nails dug into him while he was buried deep…

“Hi, Jamie.” She looked up at the sound of her name and saw a pretty blonde practically bouncing toward her. She recognized her as one of the girls that she had seen earlier in the week in the elevator.

As the bubbly-blonde approached, Jamie took one last cleansing breath, attempting to relax and slow her racing heart rate as much as was she possibly could. At least this interruption had caused the Skin-a-Max episode that was playing in her mind to stop.

She just needed to be here. In the moment. Be present. That was the key, she had learned at a young age, to getting through any situation. Don’t panic, just be present.

“Hi, I’m Heather.” The girl enthusiastically waved as she stepped close to the desk.

“Hi, Heather, nice to meet you.” Jamie would have introduced herself but apparently that wasn’t necessary.

“I work on the first floor in radiology.”

“Oh.” Jamie smiled as she nodded her head, hoping she appeared interested.

“So, how’s our guy?” Heather whispered conspiratorially.

Still not completely achieving her goal of being present, Jamie shook her head. Trying to play catch- up, she asked, “I’m sorry?”

“Alex,” the blonde mouthed dramatically.

“Oh, right.” That snapped Jamie right back to the here and now. She needed to get her head in the game. Quick. Trying to adapt her very friendliest ‘customer service’ tone she explained, “Actually, Vickey and Thelma are handling all patient updates. They are both up to speed and would be happy to answer any questions or concerns you have.”

“Oh, come on. You were just in there for like thirty-five minutes.”

Okay, Jamie thought, the fact that you added the ‘five’ to thirty is
super
-
creepily
specific.

“How is he?” She leaned closer, her voice dripping with desperation and her eyes a tad on the manic side. “How does he look?”

Jamie actually felt a little sorry for the girl. But she had a job to do. “Like I said, Vickey and Thelma can answer any and all of your questions.”

Uh-oh. It didn’t look like bubbly Heather was quite so bubbly anymore.

She glared at Jamie, “Seriously.”

Jamie repeated, “Yes, they would be more than happy to answer…”

“You know what? This is a small town, and you’re new here,” Heather’s voice took on a menacing tone as her eyes narrowed. She straightened, putting her in a position her to stare down at Jamie, “but I promise you I am not an enemy you want to make.”

“You know, I had heard that small-town folks are always so helpful.” Jamie stood as she smiled brightly, “And now I see it’s true. Thanks so much for the heads up.”

Heather looked like she was about to breathe fire from her nostrils. She waited several moments before dramatically turning and stomping down the hall.

Jamie sat back in the chair with a flop. She heard a slow clap begin behind her, the kind of applause that people get after a spontaneous display of public moxie. Well, in the movies, anyway. Jamie had never been on the receiving end of a slow clap in real life. She turned in her chair to see who was bestowing the honor.

“Well played.” Chelle stood several feet away, smiling in approval. “I knew I liked you.”

Jamie was happy to see a somewhat familiar face.

“Oh, that was a piece of cake compared to some of the interactions I’ve had at The Grill. Alex is
really
popular.” Jamie had been on the receiving end of over a dozen or so pleas, some turning pathetically into bitter tears, some degenerating into angry shouts, all from (so-called) ladies that wanted “just five minutes with him to make sure that he was okay.” Jamie didn’t even want to think about what that would entail.