Sweet Surrender (5 page)

Confused by his abrupt turnaround, her head was spinning. Hadn’t he threatened to spank her only moments ago, and now he was calling her pet names and saying she was beautiful? The man obviously needed psychological intervention for his split personality.

Chapter Three

As his quarry slipped into the locker room the next morning, Marc followed quickly. He’d come in early, hoping to have a few minutes to talk to her, to clear the air between them before starting their busy schedule of surgeries. They couldn’t continue this way, at least he couldn’t. It was difficult to concentrate and perform at his best with his cock hard and bumping against the OR table every time he got a whiff of her perfume or glanced into those stunning blue eyes. The big blue orbs with their fringe of long silky lashes tempted him as she peered at him over her mask. Regardless of the inopportune time, his desire for her rose. She was a distraction and he was having an increasingly difficult time maintaining his professional detachment when she was near.

As he shifted uncomfortably, Marc knew he had to get a grip. Jessie was an excellent scrub nurse, anticipating his needs, setting up his instruments to his specifications, and he enjoyed being around her even with her sometimes snippy attitude. He found her sassy tongue amusing and it made him want her even more.

Before the locker room door closed behind her, he slipped quietly inside. Leaning his shoulder into the doorframe, he observed her in silence as she opened her locker and began getting ready for the long day. He should say something; let her know he was there. He didn’t. The light glinting off her long curly hair fascinated him. Since it was usually tucked under a surgical cap, he rarely got the chance to see it. The same for her body, which in street clothes—a casual t-shirt and tight jeans—showed her curves to perfection, another uncommon treat. Most often, she was in a baggy surgical gown that covered her from neck to knees.

As he watched her move about, squatting to get something out of her tote and bending to take off her shoes, his eyes zoned in on her voluptuous ass encased in tight denim. She was made for spanking; he sensed it about her and his body, never having steered him wrong before, knew it. His cock filled and lengthened, making him want nothing more than to peel down her jeans and panties revealing the lush curves beneath and get his hands, at long last, on her round spankable ass.

Feeling like a perv, or some kind of depraved peeping Tom, he stood there unnoticed with his scrubs becoming uncomfortably tight as his fantasy consumed him. It was recurrent, the one he’d had ever since the first time he’d seen her in his OR.

He’d pull her over his lap, positioning her so her body draped perfectly across his thighs, her bare ass high in the air while her full breasts fell free over the outer edge of his thigh. After a slow warm-up, with his hard palm creating a rosy pink glow over her cheeks, he’d turn up the heat, swatting faster and more sharply, pausing every few strokes to caress her warm skin. She’d wiggle and squirm, asking what she had done to earn a punishment. As he proceeded to roast her saucy behind, turning the heat into a burn with a delicious biting sting, he’d tell her it was for making him painfully hard every day for the last month. He would continue until she was crying out and calling his name, until she arched, pushing back to meet every swat, seeking more, until the glistening proof of her arousal covered her pussy lips and inner thighs. Only then would he stop and pull her astride his thighs, spreading her wide and thrusting up inside her enveloping wetness.

As he enfolded her luscious body, he’d take her mouth in a deep kiss, hands gripping her full cheeks while gliding her up and down slowly until her pussy drenched his iron-hard cock with her juices. Teaching her the rhythm he preferred, he would urge her to move faster until her round tits bounced as she rode, the nipples grazing his chest. Dipping his head, he’d suck a hard peak into his mouth and his teeth would clamp down firmly, giving her the right amount of erotic pain to hurl her over the top. She would scream, crying his name as they both found a mutually mind-blowing release.

Damn! He reached down and adjusted himself against the strain of his pants, his balls tingling and signaling a familiar need to come. He hadn’t answered that call in the past several weeks, other than by his own hand. Not since Jessica Swanson had come to work in the surgery department.

He’d fought the attraction. After numerous disastrous relationships, he’d tried to keep to his vow. “Don’t dip your pen in company ink,” Jared had crudely repeated
ad nauseam
. After the first day when he’d sensed their instant chemistry, he’d tried to heed Jared’s advice and had stayed away from Jessie. He’d been aloof, keeping it purely professional. Although at times, when his body had ached painfully from the persistent hard-on he had when around her, he’d been a complete dick. Blue balls tended to make him irritable. When he realized his behavior bothered her, he decided it wasn’t fair and changed his tack, keeping it friendly instead, almost brotherly, teasing her as he would one of his sisters. Unfortunately, he thought of her in every non-brotherly way imaginable.

The door made a soft whooshing sound behind him. His eyes shifted to the air vent overhead, the obvious culprit. Without giving it another thought, he reached for the lock and twisted it, then turned to find her staring at him with her startling blue eyes wide with alarm. Her gaze jerked from him, to the door, and then shot back.

“Is there a reason you locked us in?”

“I wanted to speak to you privately.” He took a step toward her. She immediately backed up a step.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Only a minute or two.” More like five.

“I wanted to talk to you too, and apologize for last night, but this isn’t the appropriate time or place, Dr. Trent. Please leave so I can change. I’m going to be late setting up your first case.”

“Not until we talk about what is going on between us.”

She bristled and her tone became decidedly sharp. “There is nothing going on between us, as evidenced by you hitting on my friend right in front of me last night. Not to mention every other woman in a fifty-mile radius of this hospital.”

He moved closer, not missing that she retreated, keeping pace with each step he took. She didn’t have far to go before her backside bumped into the lockers with a metallic bang.

“I like that you’re jealous, Jessie. It shows that you aren’t as disinterested as you’d like me to believe?”

“Please,” she scoffed, looking everywhere except at him. “I simply have a problem with blatant rudeness.”

Her cheeks were flushed to a rosy hue, which he found charming. He took another step and stopped, close but not touching, though a deep breath would drag the tips of her spectacular breasts along his chest. He longed for that sensual caress, imagining how it would feel if they were both naked, her taut nipples grazing his bare chest with each inhalation. His cock twitched in response.

“I think you are jealous,
bella.
” The tenor of his low voice dropped further as he pushed for control of his arousal. “You have no need to be, though. There is only one woman I’m interested in flirting with. She has fair luminous skin with a cute smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her strawberry blond curls bounce and gleam in the light as she walks. Her scent is a mix of vanilla and berries, occasionally a touch of lavender, with a hint of something I’ve yet to identify, but would love to explore further until I solve the mystery. Her laugh, although infrequent around me, is infectious and utterly charming. What’s more, she has this killer body with breasts that I know will fill my hands perfectly and an ass so lush that I want to grab it, squeeze it, and spank it ‘til it’s a pretty pink all over.”

She sucked in a gulp of air as her body tensed. As he knew they would, her nipples tautened in response to his intentionally provocative words. Like in his fantasies, they were standing firm, clearly visible beneath the light cotton of her top. Whether from shock, excitement, or sexual hunger, he wasn’t sure, nor did he care, because as she inhaled deeply, those erect peaks grazed ever so lightly over his chest as he’d predicted. In response, she flattened herself further against the lockers, trying to put some distance between them. Marc followed, his entire body crowding her and making full contact from knee to chest. His hands rose to her waist as he dipped his head to her neck and inhaled.

“I can’t believe you threatened to spank me, again.” Shaking with emotion, she barely got out the words. Although he had suspected she was aroused before, now he had no doubt. He could tell by her body’s physical response, the ruched nipples, the husky quality of her voice, and by her scent. He could smell her. It had been faint until now. In closer proximity, that subtle scent that he couldn’t quite name before became definable. The warm, spicy, unforgettable scent of feminine arousal was familiar, but on Jessie, utterly and hauntingly unique.

His hands slid around to her back, his fingers grazing the uppermost swells of her cheeks. They flexed, testing the suppleness of her flesh. “The thought of me spanking this deliciously round ass turns you on, doesn’t it, Jessica.” He matched action to words with a squeeze, his hands cupping the full globes he had lusted over seemingly forever. As he spoke, his lips brushed her ear, his nose full of the essence of her hair. Suppressing a groan, his next words came out in a growl instead. “I want you,
cara mia
.”

She stiffened and her hands rose, pushing ineffectually at his shoulders. “You want me? Are you for real? Am I supposed to be flattered? Do you expect me to just drop my panties, bend over, and give it up right here in the locker room? Well, here’s a newsflash, doc, I don’t roll that way. I won’t be another conquest and grist for the hospital’s rumor mill.”

His head dipped lower as his lips grazed her neck. “It wouldn’t be that way, Jessie. I’m only interested in you. I swear.” He pushed his hips against her soft belly, the proof of his desire blatantly obvious. His lips began their trek across her jawline to the corner of her mouth. “Don’t listen to the stories. I promise most of them are only that, rumors.”

“Most of them?”

He lifted his head and gazed down into her beautiful face. She was indignant, her temper on the verge of bursting into flames. His eyes held hers steadily as he spoke earnestly.

“I won’t lie to you. It’s true that I’ve dated a few nurses here at St. Joe’s, but I’m not the shallow cad everyone makes me out to be. Although there may have been some bruised feelings, there were no broken promises and for the most part we parted amicably. More than a few called it quits with me, first. The bottom line is not one of them was the right woman for me so it ended. Is that so bad?”

She hesitated, biting her lip, a sexy move he’d never seen her do before, leaving it wet and glistening, and very tempting. The image of his cock gliding between those lips as she sucked him swamped his brain. Closing his eyes didn’t help; in fact, it made it worse. He opened them again, keeping his gaze away from those provocative lips as he probed for an answer. “Jess?”

Staring into the blueness of her eyes was captivating and not helping the ache in his tight pants one bit. He dropped his head, which placed the sweet-smelling softness of her throat within reach. Unable to resist, his tongue came out to taste her.

A full groan escaped her lips, humming alongside his ear. He took it as a green light and opened his mouth, latching onto the delicate skin. His nose stroked up her neck, through the soft, fragrant curls until his lips found her ear and he whispered, “You want me too, don’t you?”

“No—we can’t…” she denied, although uncertainty rang clearly in her halting speech. “This is not a good idea.” Pausing a moment, she swallowed audibly, her body leaning into him, relaxing a bit. He felt victory was at hand, when she shook her head.

“We work together,” she continued with more conviction. “Those relationships never end well. You know the script, it ends and the couple tries to work together as if nothing happened. It becomes awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. No, this is definitely a very bad idea.”

Despite her words, he saw a slight crack in her resistance, in the way she angled her head away, offering more of her neck. He took it as a very positive sign. Maybe all she needed was a little encouragement and a chance to see him for who he really was, not the product of rumor and conjecture.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that this hard sell against the lockers wasn’t helping his image. He eased his body back, lifting his head a half-inch. Although he didn’t want to lose the bounty of her perfectly curved ass in his palms, he very reluctantly returned his hands to her waist. He was, however, unwilling to break all contact.

“Will you go out with me, Jessie? We’ll just have dinner, somewhere quiet where we can talk and get to know each other better, away from the hospital and prying eyes.”

She stared up at him silently, pensively. He could almost hear the debate going on in her mind. On the fence, she likely only needed a gentle nudge over to his side. Lowering his mouth, he took her lips in a soft kiss, a mere brush of lips, no tongue, although it was all he could do to keep from diving inside and thoroughly exploring every sweet inch of her tempting mouth.

“That is more than ‘just dinner’ poking me in the belly.”

He was unable to suppress a rueful smile, although he didn’t move away. “This is what you do to me,
fiammetta
. Dinner tonight, what do you say?”

After a long pause, she shook her head. “I have a prior commitment tonight.”

“With my competition?”

She huffed a little laugh and shook her head. “Hardly. I’m meeting my mother.”

“Tomorrow? I’ll make reservations at Forest Grill for seven o’clock.” He grinned. “C’mon, Jess. You know you want to.”

She arched a brow at him. “The rumors aren’t all wrong. They say you could charm the pants off a nun, and I believe it.”