Playing Doctor by Jan Meredith Read Free Book Online Page B

“Okay, I deserved that.”
    “Does that mean…?”
    “No.”
    His gaze drifted over her. “Pity.”
    She cut him a look, took a sip of her drink and set it back down. “After Drew was born, I took a job as an ER tech and knew I’d found my niche. The hospital offered a tuition reimbursement program, and I went for it.” She shrugged. “There’s no other field I’d want to work in. Where else can you feel good that you’ve made a difference, be frustrated out of your mind and entertained all at the same time, and get paid for it?”
    “I hear you.” He reached for her hand. “Or meet an incredibly sexy woman while doing CPR on a wedding guest.” The rough pad of his thumb skated over the soft flesh of her inner wrist. “A woman I’d very much like to spend more time with.”
    She stared wordlessly across at him, unable to deny the spark of excitement that curled low in her belly at the prospect of extending their evening together. He had turned their conversation around so easily, taken them full circle back to this invisible web of attraction building between them. An attraction she was eager to explore to the fullest.
    “Will you show me some more of your moves?” Connie would be so proud of her bold, flirtatious behavior.
    “Yeah, but right now, I’d really like a repeat of yours.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.
    “So, what’s stopping you?”
    It was all the invitation he needed. With a low curse, Gabe scraped his chair over, moved closer until he left her no room at all. His mouth took hers, claimed it for his own, not giving her a chance to recant the invitation. Not that she would. Not when she could taste the sweet, almond-flavored liquor of his drink as his tongue plunged inside, tangled with hers, only to retreat and plunge again.
    “God, you taste good,” he murmured against her lips, before diving in for another taste. “Like wine and woman and sin.” His left arm slid over the back of her chair, circled her shoulders and pulled her close. His right hand moved over her stomach, the tip of his thumb brushing the soft underside of her breast. She arched up, offering him more. A soft moan rose up from her throat when he took it, encompassing her breast in the warmth of his palm.
    Desire, dark and rich as the most potent wine, flowed with a fevered rush through her veins. Heat flooded her sex. The soft murmur of voices barely penetrated the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.
    Pulling back, Beth broke the seal of their lips. Her lids drifted up. His eyes blazed back at her.
    The maître d’ breezed past them, seating another couple a few tables away. Gabe’s eyes tracked her progress, and then swung back to Beth. “This isn’t the place…”
    The unfinished comment hung between them like bait dangling on a hook. The implication was clear—the choice was hers. She could rise up, take the bait and all it offered. Or she could cut and run. She took a breath, made the plunge.
    “No, it isn’t.”
    A muscle ticked in Gabe’s jaw. “Let’s go.”
    He tossed a couple of bills on the table, took her hand, and led her out of the lounge.
    Beth settled deeper into the car seat and watched the streetlights glide past her window as they drove back to her hotel, the silence broken only by the song playing on the radio.
    Her body continued to thrum with feelings, sensations she’d thought long dead. She’d never had a one night stand, had never even contemplated having one…with any man, especially one she’d only known for a few hours, but that’s exactly what she was doing.
    Thank you, Connie, for planting that seed in my head.
    Who was she kidding? Placing the blame on her well-meaning friend wasn’t fair. She was human, after all. Had the same fantasies, desires, and needs that most women had. She had the secret toy—and a couple of its cousins—with all the bells and whistles tucked in the back of her lingerie drawer that served an immediate purpose, but a quick fix wasn’t