WHY AM I waiting here?
Adeline was regretting agreeing to walk home with Elias when he asked her.
She should have said no, but how could she say no to her new roommate?
She might not want to get close to him, but she didn’t want to be a jerk either.
And now she had been waiting for over twenty minutes.
Adeline was worried that Elias had left without her, that he was tricking her and she was being played for a fool.
He’s not Gregory.
Only she couldn’t shake that thought from her head.
She’d been burned once, and she wouldn’t be burned again.
She was two seconds from leaving when she saw Elias heading across the lobby toward her. He looked completely different out of his scrubs and in his street clothes, but both ways he looked absolutely delicious.
It made her feel hot and bothered and irritated that she was letting those thoughts in.
Again.
You can’t have him.
She couldn’t get involved with someone she worked with, someone she was competing with.
She couldn’t be pushed out of this program.
“Sorry, I wanted to check on the baby we delivered, so I went up to the NICU,” he said, a bit out of breath as if he had been rushing. He looked her up and down and that slow perusal made her stomach do backflips in anticipation, although she wasn’t anticipating anything with him because nothing was going to happen.
“You look nice.”
“I’m wearing the same thing I was wearing this morning,” she stated.
“Except you’re wearing your hair down.” He reached out and touched it. “I like seeing it down.”
“I pull it back because we’re in and out of the operating room or delivery room most days.” She nervously tucked back her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. Not liking the way her body reacted to his touch.
“How is the baby doing?”
“Good.” But there was something he was holding back, and it set off her alarm bells. Something was bothering him, and Adeline had an inkling it wasn’t about the baby. But it wasn’t her problem and it wasn’t her business.
It was bad enough she had let personal information slip, that she had let her guard down.
She didn’t like the way he was affecting her.
They walked silently side by side.
It was a beautiful San Diego summer evening. Breezy, but warm. The patios and restaurants were starting to get busy, but it was not yet the dinner rush. This was one of her favorite times of day. It was her favorite kind of evening in San Diego.
“Are you from San Diego?” she asked, trying to make conversation.
“No. Napa.”
“I’m from San Francisco. My parents still live there.”
“So we’re both Californians by birth. Something else we have in common, besides the preemie thing.” He smiled quickly, but then looked away, making Adeline uncomfortable with the silent tension between them.
“Where did you go to school? Where did you do your internship?” she asked, trying to break the awkwardness she felt. It made her think of Elias and the way she reacted to him. The way he was getting under her skin.
“What’s with the twenty questions?” he asked, teasing.
“Trying to get to know my competition,” she teased right back, but instantly that tension slipped away.
Elias laughed. “You’re quite funny and your smile is lovely. Usually you’re so dour. Especially when you’re looking at me.”
Adeline rolled her eyes. “I take my job very seriously.”
“It doesn’t hurt to smile.”
“That lets people in, and I made that mistake once early in my career. It won’t happen again.” And she was annoyed that she had let something slip once more.
What is wrong with me?
What was it about Elias that made her open up?
Adeline pulled out her keys as they headed to the front door of the beach house they shared. She knew Sherrie was still in a transplant surgery and James was on night rotation in the emergency room. It was just the two of them at home tonight.
Think of something else.
She opened the door. “Well, I’ll have a quick bite and a glass of wine on the patio. Today was intense.”
“Can I join you?” he asked.
Say no. Say no.
“Sure.”
“How about I order some Thai food?”
“That sounds great.”
“You grab the wine and head outside. I’ll wait for the food,” Elias offered. “You can pay me back later.”
“Oh? What with, a fellowship?” she teased.
Elias laughed and winked. Adeline headed into the kitchen and pulled out the bottle of wine she had opened yesterday but hadn’t drunk. She grabbed two wineglasses, kicked off her shoes and headed out onto the back patio.
The sun was just starting to set, casting an orange glow over the white sand, and the breeze blowing in off the Pacific was heaven.
Calming.
It had always calmed her to sit by the water in San Francisco. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see herself there, back among the tall trees, and feel the whisper of fog rolling in off the bay.
As she closed her eyes, though, those calming thoughts melted away to the sight of the purpura under Mrs. Bryant’s skin. She was still worried about her patient.
“It’ll be here in twenty minutes,” Elias said, but then paused. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking of Mrs. Bryant. Going over our presentation to Dr. Wilder.”
“The TTP diagnosis?” he asked.
Adeline nodded and poured him a glass of wine. “It’s just always so hard to watch. Maybe I should go back?”
“She’s stable. She’s fine,” Elias said. “There’s nothing more you can do.”
He was right, but there was a part of her that felt she couldn’t trust him. That maybe he would swoop in while her back was turned and take credit for their work.
Elias isn’t Gregory.
Only, how could she be certain of that? She didn’t know him.
The doorbell rang and Elias got up. “Food’s here. I’ll be back. You set the table and we’ll eat out here.”
“Sounds good.” Adeline got up and went into the kitchen, grabbing dishes from the cupboards and taking them out to the small patio table. Elias brought out the food.
The pad thai smelled amazing.
You need to walk away.
She had to put some distance between her and Elias. She wouldn’t let what happened between her and Gregory happen again.
She’d been a fool to fall in love with Gregory.
This was why she refused to date anyone in her workplace.
Who said anything about dating?
This was just a friendly dinner, nothing more.
She could have dinner with her colleague, with her roommate, because that’s all this was.
They sat down to eat as the sun set and the solar lights came on, creating a soft glow.
“Full moon tonight. James will be busy in the ER,” she remarked, trying to make small talk.
“Why is that, you think?” Elias asked.
“I don’t know. Of course, full moons also see a lot of babies being born. I’m glad I’m off duty tonight.”
“I think a lot of babies are conceived during a full moon too.” His voice was husky and there was a twinkle in his eyes. A twinkle that was dangerous.
Her heart skipped a beat, and it was suddenly very hard to swallow. Her food tasted like sawdust in her mouth.
“So, tell me about this vineyard you grew up on,” she said, trying to change the subject. To get her mind off her attraction.
Elias looked confused. “Did I tell you that?”
“No, but I figured it out.”
“How?” he asked, amazed.
She grinned. “You grew up in Napa and you grimace, ever so slightly, when you take a sip of wine. So you know something about quality.”
Elias chuckled. “Fine. I did. My family has been making wine for a century. The vineyard has been passed down from father to son since the beginning.”
“So, are you going to leave medicine for the vineyard one day?”
His brow furrowed. “No. No, I have a more perfect younger brother who stepped up where I failed.”
She knew she had hit a hot button there, and she couldn’t help but wonder what family would be disappointed by having a surgeon for a son.
“Well, your family is crazy,” she said. “Having a talented physician as a son is something to be proud of.”
A strange look crossed his face, one that made her feel hot all over.
“You’re quite beautiful, you know,” he said.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Don’t compliment me.”
Elias leaned back in his chair. “Why?”
“We’re rivals.” She got up to clean the table. He stood and touched her arm, causing a jolt of electricity to course through her, her body reacting to his touch.
“Rivals can still compliment one another.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Can they?”
“When it’s deserved,” he said softly. “And from what I’ve seen the last couple of days...you’re fierce competition.”
Her pulsed raced at his compliment. That smile, the twinkle in his eyes. She understood how he won people over.
There was something about him. She was attracted to him and maybe, just maybe, if she kissed him, she would stop being so flustered around him.
That’s absurd.
Still, the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And though it went against everything she kept telling herself over and over again, she couldn’t fight it anymore.
She wanted Elias Garcia. She had wanted him the moment she first saw him. And perhaps if she gave in to that hunger, the driving need that had burned in her blood since they had met, she could get on with her life. She could get him out of her system. He took a step closer to her, as if he were thinking the same thing, as if he were fighting the same thing she was feeling too.
The attraction.
“Elias,” she whispered, her heart racing. She needed to step away from him. This was too dangerous.
“I want to kiss you, Adeline. No, scratch that. I’m going to kiss you, Adeline.”
Adeline nodded and met him halfway. She was more than willing enough to get swept away in this moment.
Elias’s hands were in her hair as he kissed her, passionate and intense. Just the way she wanted.
Just the way she needed.
All she wanted was the heat, the pleasure and the rush with him.
No. You can’t do this.
She pushed him away as the kiss ended. “I can’t.”
Even though she wanted to.
“Sorry, Adeline. I couldn’t resist.”
Adeline found it hard to breathe. “Nothing to be sorry about, but I think I’m going to bed. Thank you for dinner. I owe you one.”
Elias nodded and looked away. “Night, Adeline.”
“Night.” She moved quickly, putting distance between her and Elias before she did something she regretted.
Before she made the same mistake twice.
Elias had tossed and turned all night thinking about that kiss. He didn’t know what had come over him. Adeline was off-limits, but that kiss...he couldn’t get that kiss out of his head.
It fired his blood.
If she had been any other woman, he knew that kiss would have led to more, but he was glad Adeline had put a stop to it.
If she hadn’t, he would have.
Would you?
He scrubbed his hand over his face and poured himself some bad coffee from the doctors’ lounge. He had to get his head straight. They had the presentation about Mrs. Bryant for Dr. Wilder today.
He wasn’t going to blow it.
Adeline walked into the doctors’ lounge. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her. She paused awkwardly, hovering in the doorway.
Her cheeks tinged pink.
“Good morning,” she said, clearing her throat.
“Morning.” He took a sip of his coffee.
“How’s the coffee?” she asked, not looking at him.
“Terrible.” He smiled and set it down.
“Look, about last night...” Adeline trailed off.
“It’s fine,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“Is it?” she asked, as if she didn’t believe him.
“It is. It was a mistake. It won’t happen again. Trust me.”
A strange look passed across her face. “Okay.”
Adeline poured herself a cup.
“You ready for this presentation?” he asked.
“I’m always ready.” She looked at him, but gone was the shy, uncertain look he had briefly seen before. Back was the same determined surgeon he had met a couple of days ago. The surgeon he thought was sexy as hell.
Get that thought out of your head.
It was bad enough that he had kissed her, but he couldn’t let his thoughts derail his chance at this job, and it was obvious by the way Adeline had snapped back that she wasn’t going to let them get in her way either.
“Well, let’s go,” Adeline said. “Unless you need another cup of coffee?”
“I’m fine.” He finished the remnants of the awful, bitter coffee and tossed the cup in the garbage.
He followed her out into the hall and fell into step beside her. All they had to do was present their findings about Mrs. Bryant to Dr. Wilder, and Elias hoped that they wouldn’t have to work so closely together again.
Dr. Wilder thinks you and Adeline work well together.
And that thought troubled him, because he had the sinking suspicion that he was going to be stuck working alongside Adeline until Dr. Wilder made her decision about who got the fellowship.
He would be stuck working within arms’ length of his temptation.
Which was a dangerous thing.
They found Dr. Wilder waiting for them, pacing around a conference room. She turned on her heel and looked at them both.
“Well, Doctors? What’s the diagnosis?”
“TTP,” Adeline said. “The patient’s blood draws confirmed it and so did the presence of purpura.”
Dr. Wilder didn’t say anything. Her cold, serious gaze landed on Elias. “And do you agree with Dr. Turner’s diagnosis?”
“I do.”
Dr. Wilder’s eyes narrowed. “You do?”
“I defer to Dr. Turner’s knowledge. I’ve only dealt with TTP when I was helping a premature infant. Dr. Turner has seen this more times than I have.”
Adeline glanced up at him, a strange look on her face. He hated to admit that he was deferring to his competitor, but Adeline was right, and she understood TTP better, especially when it came to maternal medicine.
“Well, then I’m glad Mrs. Bryant is in your care, Doctors.”
“Thank you,” Adeline said, seeming stunned at the praise.
“Yes.” Dr. Wilder crossed her arms. “You two work well together. I want to keep you as a team for now, because as you know, I only have one spot in my specialty. One. So I want to see how you handle Mrs. Bryant’s case. In a month, I have a clinic scheduled in San Francisco, and I want both of you to do the consults there. I know this is a competition, but it would be in your best interests to work together on this.”
“Yes, Dr. Wilder,” Elias said. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
Dr. Wilder nodded. “You both bring unique perspectives, and I want to see how this pans out. You’re dismissed.”
Adeline turned and walked out of the conference room, and Elias followed. He could tell that she was annoyed and honestly, he couldn’t blame her. Dr. Wilder was cold, calculating and tough, but also brilliant.
Still, he was cross that he was stuck working with Adeline too. Especially when he was so tempted being around her. Especially when he could still remember the taste of her lips on his. The last thing he wanted to do was to be forced to work side by side with her.
He needed to put some space between her and him.
It was bad enough they were roommates. He was never going to get away from her.
Is that such a bad thing?
“I can’t believe I’m stuck with you!” she said, spinning around.
“Ditto,” he grumbled.
She took a step back, and a smiled tweaked her lips. “We’re both in agreement: this sucks.”
“Yeah, but we have to be professional.”
“I’m always professional.”
“You weren’t so professional last night over dinner,” he teased.
Her cheeks bloomed red and she grabbed him by the arm, marching him into an on-call room. She flicked on the lights and shut the door.
Her eyes were wide and he could tell that he’d pushed her too far. She was angry, and so was he.
He needed distance from her, but he was tied to her, just as much as she was tied to him.
Elias was weak when it came to Adeline and he didn’t like that one bit.
“Let’s get one thing straight. We’re not talking about last night,” she said hotly.
“Fine.”
“It was a mistake that should never have happened.”
“You kissed me back too, if I recall.” He didn’t want to take the entire blame for it. She was just as much to blame as he was, but right now, standing close to her in this on-call room, he couldn’t remember the reasons he was angry.
All he could think about was her lips and last night and how he had wished she were someone else—that she wasn’t someone he worked with.
You don’t get involved with people you work with. Remember that.
It was bad enough that he couldn’t go home because Aidan had married his ex, so he certainly wasn’t going to have a relationship with someone at work.
Who said anything about a relationship?
Adeline had been so flustered when she had first seen Elias that morning. After their kiss last night, she couldn’t get him out of her head. She had wanted that kiss to go further, but she had been too scared.
Too nervous.
She had had short romances, flings, but once the passion, the attraction, had fizzled out, she had been able to get on with her life.
If she had continued with that kiss, then she could have just moved on.
She’d be over it. She’d be over this attraction she felt for Elias.
Would you?
“I don’t like this any more than you, but we have to work together. I’m here to win.”
Elias took a step closer and her body trembled, remember how his arms felt around her. “So am I.”
Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t stop thinking about his kiss.
She had come in here this morning tired and flustered. And when she had seen him in the doctors’ lounge, she had felt like she had last night, when she had pushed him away, but really she hadn’t wanted to.
She had wanted that kiss to continue.
She wanted to get over this lust, this attraction she felt for her competitor, so that she could get on with her work and focus.
So that she could leave Elias behind.
“You’re here to win too?” she asked breathlessly.
“Yes.”
Before she could stop herself, she grabbed Elias and pulled him into a kiss, just like last night.
Only this time, she wasn’t going to stop.
This time she would get him out of her system. She would get over this lust so that she could go back to what was important.
Her work.
Elias stopped the kiss. “Adeline, are you sure?”
“Yes.” She locked the on-call room door, taking his hand, and led him to the bed. “I want you, Elias. And you should know I’m someone who gets what she wants. All I’m asking for is this one time and then we both can focus on our work. I know that you’re feeling it too.”
“You’re right. I am. I can’t stop thinking about that kiss, but I can’t give you anything more than this.”
“I don’t want anything more. I don’t want a relationship. I just want this moment.”
He grinned and pulled her into his arms. “Well, I can’t say no to that!”
Elias kissed her again and she melted into his arms.
His kisses were soft, tender, but urgent and full of need, just like she was full of need.
She’d promised him it would just be this one time, but there was a niggling thought in the back of her mind that it could be something more.
It won’t be.
This time she wasn’t going to stop him.
She needed to have this moment, to get him out of her mind. To clear her head.
She wanted nothing between them. All she wanted was the two of them, skin to skin.
Adeline reached up and began to undo the blue button-down shirt under his scrubs, while he was working on her clothes too.
Too many layers, but at least scrubs were easy to remove.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had wanted someone like this. She couldn’t recall the last time she had been this aroused.
It was raw.
All-consuming.
It didn’t take long before they were both without their clothes. He ran his hands over her body. His touch was like flames, making her moan with need as his fingers found the spot between her thighs.
She was already wet, and she just wanted him to take her.
He ran his tongue over her breasts as he stroked her folds.
“Oh, God,” she moaned.
“Yes,” he murmured against her neck. “I just want to bury myself inside you, but I need protection.” He reached for his wallet and pulled out a condom.
“Here, let me help with that,” she purred, taking the packet from him. Then her hands were on him, stroking his length, and he groaned. She smiled secretly as she teased him.
“Oh, God, Adeline.”
She kissed him again, pulling him against her. He settled between her legs and thrust into her. She moaned at the feel of him filling her up. It was all she could do to hold back. She wanted him to take her hard and fast.
“Adeline,” he murmured against her neck. “What’s the rush?”
“I want to come,” she panted, kissing him. “Touch me, make me come.”
She rolled her hips, urging him to take her.
Faster.
Harder.
Until she cried out, her nails digging in his back as she came around him. It wasn’t long until he followed her.
It was like nothing she had ever experienced. Not at this intensity anyway. And it scared her.
“That was great,” she whispered, curling up beside him. “Too bad it was just a one-time thing.”
“It doesn’t have to be. The sex I mean.”
Adeline sighed, and even though she didn’t want to move, she stood. She had to get away from him, get back to work. She pulled on her scrubs.
“It is just this once, Dr. Garcia.”
Elias nodded. “Right. Work, the fellowship and competition.”
“Exactly. There’s no harm in sleeping with the enemy,” she teased, and he laughed.
“Is that what I am? The enemy?”
She slipped on her lab coat. “Yes.”
Elias leaned on his elbow and grinned. Still sexy as ever, but he was her rival and she had to a job to do.
And she unlocked the door, slipping out into the hallway.
Maybe now, she could get Elias Garcia out of her head and take the fellowship away from him, because it was hers.
Hers alone.