“Didn’t you say this was a good place?” he asked.
“I did, but the bar is only for hotel guests.”
He grinned, a devious look in his eyes. “Let’s get a room together.”
Her pulse quickened. “What?”
“Get a room so we can have a drink.”
“You’re crazy.” It was a mad idea, but still kind of thrilling.
“What do you think? We get a room, have a drink and then leave.”
Live a little.
“Okay,” she said excitedly. “Let’s do it.”
This was perhaps the craziest thing she’d ever done, but this whole night was so out of the norm for her, it was exciting. Her heart was not in danger and then she’d return to Yellowknife and her normal routine.
Lev was going to take a room just so they could have a drink on the rooftop. All that was left was a penthouse suite, but he paid for it anyway.
Soon they were on the rooftop patio of a penthouse suite that overlooked the lake, drinking glasses of champagne, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I still can’t believe we did this,” she said.
“Have you never done this?”
“No.” She laughed.
He grinned and clinked her champagne flute against his. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
“Oh?” she asked, intrigued. “You do this a lot, do you?”
He took a sip and shook his head. “No. This is my first time too.”
Her blood heated when he said that and she tried to swallow the bubbly liquid, but it was hard to do that with her heart racing, her body trembling, while the rational part of her brain was still trying to process why she was here.
The limbic part of her brain told her she was in the right place and it keenly reminded her that Allen had left a long time ago and she was single and had been alone for quite some time.
One glass of champagne led to another and another. It was a beautiful summer evening and somewhere they could hear the muted strains of jazz music from some piano bar, somewhere down there.
“I would like to dance,” Lev announced, setting down his flute and standing up. “Dance with me.”
“Does everyone follow your orders?” she teased, although she wanted to dance with him too. She’d been swaying to the music because she couldn’t help herself. The champagne was getting to her.
“Yes. Because where I work I am the Chief of Staff.” He grinned. “Dance with me, Imogen, and then we’ll get a cab back to the conference hotel.”
She set down her flute and took his hand, letting Lev pull her into his strong arms. It felt so good to be held by him, one hand holding hers and the other on the small of her back as they slowly moved together to the echoing music that was intermixed with the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. Her body thrummed with desire.
It was magical and she didn’t want the night to end. She didn’t want the moment to end and she didn’t want to go back to the conference hotel.
Warmth bloomed in her cheeks as she thought about kissing him.
She wanted to kiss him.
He smiled down at her. “You look so beautiful I almost don’t want to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave either.” She bit her lip and then leaned in, standing on her toes, because she’d worn flats and he was so much taller than her. She pressed her lips against his for a quick kiss.
She was doing what she had always been afraid of doing—getting involved with a doctor.
You don’t work with him. He won’t hurt you.
This was out of her comfort zone, but she was really enjoying what it felt like to live a little. There had been so many times that she’d been afraid to take a chance on something she’d wanted and had let the moment get away. This time, with Lev, she wasn’t so afraid. She was only afraid she would regret not having this stolen moment with him.
The kiss was light at first and then deepened. His arms went around her back, pulling her close, and suddenly it was no longer a light, butterfly kiss but something deep with longing.
It had been so long since a man had made her feel this way. Since she had felt this need to relinquish her careful control and just feel.
The kiss ended.
“I’m sorry, Imogen. I didn’t mean for that...” he whispered against her ear, his voice deep and husky.
“Don’t apologize,” she whispered, and kissed him again, running her hands through his overlong blond hair, wanting to have more of him.
Even if it was just for one night.
She didn’t care. She wanted something to remember him by. She pressed her body against him, not wanting an inch of space separating them as she melted in his arms, his hands hot through the thin fabric of her summer dress. She couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like on her skin.
All she knew was that she wanted more.
“Imogen, are you sure?” he asked.
“I am.” She had never been so sure of anything. Even if nothing came of this, even if she never saw him again, she wanted this moment.
She’d been wandering in a fog for too long and Lev had awakened something deep inside her. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her off the patio into the room. She was glad it was just the two of them, far from the rest of the conference, far from what they both knew.
Just the two of them in this moment.
Copyright © 2020 by Amy Ruttan
ISBN: 9781488066375
The Nurse’s Reunion Wish
Copyright © 2020 by Carol Marinelli
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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The Nurse's Reunion Wish (HQR Medical Romancel) Page 18
