by Janie Crouch
He was driving her crazy. And he knew it.
He drew back and looked up at her as he peeled the red lace down her legs, then stood, pressing his completely naked body against hers.
His lips teased hers softly for a second before he moved to her neck and sucked hard right as he slid his fingers into her. Deep.
Anne gasped, losing her breath as sensations bombarded her. His fingers moved in and out, his thumb pressing with expert finesse over her sensitive clit.
The pressure built inside her.
“Zac...” she keened as his fingers worked their magic.
“Yes, baby. This time, so much yes,” Zac murmured against her throat before nipping at it again. “Don’t hold back.”
A second later Anne exploded, waves of pleasure falling over her as she moaned his name. He eased his fingers out and hooked one of her legs around his hip, slowly working his way inside her.
“This time, so much more,” he said, forehead against hers. He reached down and pulled her other leg around his hips, both moaning now as he filled her completely.
She was trapped between Zac and the wall, arms around his shoulder, legs circling his waist. She’d never felt more alive or feminine, held there by only his strength.
His hips never stopped moving, and she didn’t want them to. She was building her way back up, the pressure inside becoming unbearable. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. Almost distantly she heard the thumping against the wall as he pounded into her at a furious pace.
His thumb moved against her core, finding that bundle of nerves again. The world exploded, and she screamed his name. He yelled, too, as they flew over the edge together.
Anne didn’t have much experience with morning-afters and none with one-night stands. The last time she’d had one, they hadn’t even made it to morning.
Not that she was afraid Zac was going to throw her out now. He wasn’t. Last night had been the antithesis of the first time around.
She winced silently as she reached down to grab her clothes in front of Zac’s front door. Certain places on her body ached, places that hadn’t been used in so long they’d almost been forgotten. She couldn’t even look at the wall without blushing, heat flooding her whole body.
She should have absolutely zero desire for sex right now. After the wall, the shower, before finally making it to the bed—and then the bed again a couple hours ago, although that time it had been his very clever mouth that had driven her crazy—there was no way her body could take another round with Zac.
Her heart couldn’t either.
So, even knowing he wasn’t going to start screaming at her and throw her out, she couldn’t stick around for awkward conversation. And when he’d mentioned them going to breakfast at the Frontier before he’d drifted to sleep next to her, she’d known she had to get out.
Call her a coward, but she just couldn’t do it. Not until she got her emotional fortitude rebuilt. So, she should be ready to face him in another six years or so.
Pulling on the matching red lingerie and wiggling into her skirt—never again—she barely swallowed a shriek as something fuzzy brushed against the back of her legs. A very pregnant dog wagged her tail and slowly sat down.
“Hey, you,” Anne whispered, scratching the top of her head. “It’s all your fault I’m in this mess, you know. If you hadn’t made Zac wreck, I probably could’ve avoided him for another couple years.”
How was she supposed to keep her heart safe from a man who’d brought home the dog that had almost killed him?
She petted the dog again and then threw on her shirt and jacket and dashed out the door. The only thing worse than the awkward morning-after would be getting caught obviously trying to avoid it.
She relaxed a little when she made it to her car and down the private road that wound through the Linear property. Her stomach was growling. She’d grab a to-go plate at the Frontier—God knew she’d burned enough calories in the last twelve hours to deserve it. It was just after dawn on a Saturday morning. No one would be around to question her about Zac, but she pulled on a pair of scrub pants she kept in her car for emergencies, so she wouldn’t have to walk in wearing last night’s skirt. She pulled the scrub shirt over her tank top, but there was nothing she could do about the boots. She’d keep a low profile; nobody would even notice her.
She realized her mistake the moment she stepped foot inside.
“There’s the slut I love!” Wavy called out as soon as Anne walked in. The woman was impossibly bright and cheerful to be working this early, considering the shot drinking and line dancing she’d partaken in just a few hours before.
“Jeez, Wavy.” Heat was creeping all the way up her neck and face. Fortunately, there weren’t many customers: an old couple in the corner booth who didn’t look like they could hear much of anything anyway, and a drunk guy at a table who had fallen asleep, coffee cup in hand.
“Get over here, girl.” Wavy waved her closer. “Where’s Zac? You guys did go home together, right? Is he coming in?”
At least she wasn’t shouting it. “Yes, we did. And no, he’s not. I left him in his bed this morning.” She wasn’t sure if that made her a coward or the smartest person on the planet. Or maybe both.
“Trey!” Wavy kept her wide eyes on Anne as she called back to the cook. “I’m taking fifteen. And Doc Griffin wants the full breakfast platter.”
The big dark-skinned man didn’t even look up from the newspaper. “’Kay.”
“To go,” Anne said.
“You wish.” Wavy shoved a cup of coffee in Anne’s hand and dragged her to a booth. “Okay, wait, so you left him in his bed?”
“Yeah.”
“And he was asleep. So, he doesn’t know you’re gone.” She threw back her head and laughed. “Oh man, I would give my next paycheck to be there when he wakes up and sees you beat him at his own game.”
Anne poured some sugar into her coffee. “I doubt there would be much exciting to see. I’m sure he’ll be relieved.”
Wavy gave her a soft smile. “You don’t get it, and that’s okay. You will eventually.”
“Get what?”
“How much that man cares about you.”
“Wave, it was just one night.” One mind-blowing, hoarse-from-screaming-his-name night, but still only one.
“Did he say it was?”
“Well, no. But it’s not like we have a relationship.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“Every relationship starts with a first night, you know. Do you want it to be just a one-night stand? Is that why you left?”
Did she want a relationship with Zac? On the one hand, it was all she’d ever wanted. On the other...her heart couldn’t take another beating. Her previous encounter with Zac had left her emotionally wounded. And then, just as those had stitched and healed, Darren had ripped them wide open again.
She couldn’t take any more right now. She didn’t know if she could survive someone deciding again she wasn’t worth it. She’d always done best when she’d remained invisible.
“I just want to do what you guys said. Protect myself.”
Wavy grabbed her hand. “That’s smart. And I don’t blame you. But let’s get to the juicy stuff—I assume it was good or you would’ve snuck out much earlier this morning.”
Oh, hell. She studied her coffee. “Um, yeah, it was nice.”
“Nice?” Wavy laughed again. “Oh, if Zac was here he would totally die—”
“Order up, and people coming in, Wavy,” Trey called from the open kitchen area.
“Okay, hold that blushing thought.” Wavy stood. “We’ll talk more later.”
Two separate groups came in, one a set of college-aged students who sat down by the sleeping guy. Anne grimaced as she saw the others walking through the door: Frank Jenkins and his friends from last night.
They obviously hadn’t gone home after The Eagle’s Nest. Since the bar had closed at 2 AM, she didn’t know what they’d been doing—but it looked like they’d tak
en the drinking out to the woods. One had a small branch stuck to the shoulder of his shirt. All of them were dirty and quite drunk.
Wavy brought Anne her food and refilled her coffee. “I’ve got to take care of customers, sweetie. We’ll talk later.” She made her way over to the college kids.
Frank and his friends took a table near the window, in clear view of Anne’s table. She began shoveling food in her mouth. There was no way this was going to end well. She just wanted to get out of here.
She wasn’t even a few bites in before Frank saw her. He said something to his buddies to make them laugh before standing up and walking over to her.
“Saw you leave with Mackay last night, Doctor.” He sneered her title, then laughed as if he’d come up with a clever insult. He ran his fingers through his greasy hair.
“I’m here to eat, Frank.” She could feel the eyes of his friends on her. “J-just looking for quiet.” Damn it. She began her breathing exercises.
“I guess you weren’t even worth taking out to breakfast.” He plopped down in the booth across from her. “Such a shame. I would’ve. Maybe now that you’re defrosted, we can go out some time.”
There was no way in hell. “Not going to happen, Frank.” She could hear his friends guffaw at the rejection. He glared at them over her shoulder.
“You looked hot last night. You’re back to your scrubs now, but then...” He licked his lips.
Anne put her fork down, her appetite completely gone. She took a deep breath, so she could force her words out with as few stutters as possible. “No. I’m trying to eat, F-Frank. You need—”
“Jenkins, you’re making an ass out of yourself. Leave the doctor alone.”
Frank’s friend, the same one who had tried to curb the catcalling last night, grabbed Frank by the shoulder and hauled him out of the booth.
“Shawn, c’mon, man!”
Shawn shoved Frank in the direction of their table. “Leave the lady alone. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I get it. I get it.” Frank held his hands up in mock surrender and took a couple unsteady steps back toward her. “You’re only interested in the Linear guys, not regular dudes like me. But we’re going there for a class in a couple days so Shawn can see what all the fuss is about.” He put an arm around Shawn’s shoulder and tapped him on the chest. Shawn looked much less drunk and far less amused than Frank. “And the Linear guys are talking about bringing me on as a partner. So be careful of telling me no so quickly, Doctor. You might regret it.”
Shawn rolled his eyes and pushed Frank once again toward their table. She was glad when he kept going this time. “Sorry to have bothered you, Dr. Griffin. I’ll keep a tighter leash on Jenkins if I can.”
“Thanks for your assistance,” she whispered. Everyone in the restaurant was looking now. Shawn nodded and left.
“Jenkins is such an asshole,” Wavy said a couple minutes later when she was able to stop by. More people were coming in. “Sorry I couldn’t waylay him.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everyone ignores Frank.”
“Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”
Anne grabbed her wallet. “Yeah, I might just do that. Thanks for breakfast.”
Wavy pushed her hand away. “Keep it. You hardly got half of it finished anyway.” She reached down and hugged her. “It’ll all work out, Annie. You’ll see.”
She’d once shared the younger woman’s confidence in a happily ever after. But she just didn’t anymore. “Thanks, Wavy.”
Wavy linked arms with her and walked her to the door. True to his word, Shawn kept Frank under control.
But as soon as she got out to her car, Anne knew she wouldn’t be able to go home and sleep. She was too wound up. Since she was so close to the hospital, she just turned and walked in that direction.
At least there she knew who she was, where she fit. There she didn’t have to do breathing exercises to keep her stuttering under control. She was Dr. Griffin, the person who had the answers. The person who could make a judgment in the middle of a crisis and save lives. In control. Focused.
So much the opposite of who she was as Anne.
She slipped into the back door and immediately headed to her office. After grabbing a new set of scrubs and a spare pair of tennis shoes, she headed to the women’s locker room. Twenty minutes later, she was showered, hair braided and out of her way, her glasses on. Ready.
Dr. Lewis was a little surprised to see her back so soon before her shift but certainly didn’t mind heading home early after being up all night.
The work for the next few hours was steady, requiring Anne’s focus. Twenty-one stitches for a little boy who had decided to do the bike trick he’d seen his older brother doing the day before, kidney stones that had a grown man crying like a toddler, and even the birth of a baby who’d decided to leap into the world a month early while his mom and dad were out for a leisurely hike.
By lunch things had settled down, patient-wise. The regular nurses’ shift had changed. New ones came on and were chatting with each other, as usual. It didn’t take long for Anne to realize that she was what everyone was talking about.
She tried to go about work as usual, ignoring it all.
“Yeah, I heard it was amazing how good she looked last night. Nobody could believe she actually had a body under those scrubs and a non-hideous face under those glasses.”
Anne was completing a patient’s file on her iPad at the corner of the nurses’ station, out of sight. The two nurses, whose voices she didn’t recognize, obviously didn’t know she was there.
“Zac Mackay, that’s quite a catch,” the other nurse said. “But, I mean, I hear he didn’t even take her out for breakfast this morning. So obviously he doesn’t plan on pursuing it, at least according to Mia.”
“Look, I have no problem with her,” the second nurse continued. “I think she’s a great doctor. And anyone who makes fun of someone else’s speech impediment is just an asshole.”
“An extremely jealous asshole.” The other nurse laughed. “Zac has told Mia numerous times he isn’t interested. She needs to move on. Next time she talks trash about Dr. Griffin, I’m going to call her on it. It’s not right.”
Anne smiled, her heart lifting. She still didn’t know which two nurses were talking, but they obviously respected her and wanted a good working environment. Those were the sorts of people they needed here. She started in their direction to tell them so.
“Same,” the other nurse said. “I won’t let Mia get away with it either. But let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter how great of a doctor she is, there’s no way Zac is going to stay with someone like Dr. Griffin very long. Some things just aren’t meant to be.”
“Oh yeah, totally. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re already done. He scratched that itch and that’s that. Not that he’ll be mean. He’ll find a way to let her down easy.”
Anne swallowed and turned the other way.
Zac was pissed. Had been that way since he’d woken up and found Annie wasn’t in bed with him. Not only not there, but completely gone.
Duchess—who seriously was going to birth that litter any second now—just calmly gazed at Zac as he looked out the front door to see if Annie’s car was gone, muttering every obscenity he knew when he discovered it was.
He waited all morning for a word from her, a text or voicemail telling him she’d been called into the hospital for some emergency. That he could understand, even if he wasn’t thrilled with how she’d handled it.
Nothing. Not a single word from her.
It wasn’t pride that bothered him.
Okay, it was, but it was more than just that. He’d wanted her here. He’d wanted to wake up next to her and make easy love to her in the sunlight, watch those big brown eyes go all unfocused, that giant brain completely shutting down so all she could do was feel and hang on.
And after that, he’d wanted to have coffee with her, see what her morning routine was like. Was she grumpy unt
il the caffeine kicked in, or did she hit the floor with all cylinders running? Did she like to read, watch TV, or catch up on emails while she sipped that first cup, or just look out the window?
He’d wanted to take her to breakfast—or make it here or, hell, eat two-day-old leftovers, he didn’t care—so they could talk. About everything and nothing. Last night had been their first night together.
This morning should’ve been their first morning together.
But Annie had run.
He shouldn’t be surprised. He knew that. Everything about last night had probably overwhelmed her. But he was still going to read her the riot act.
By lunchtime, he realized she really wasn’t going to call. He’d tried her phone a couple times, but she wasn’t picking up. When he remembered that he’d left his Harley at The Eagle’s Nest, he cursed again. One of the guys would have to give him a ride into town so he could get his bike back.
He walked into the office twenty minutes later. Finn was talking at his desk phone. Ethan was scowling at a book in his hand.
“Hey, Uncle Zac.”
Zac’s heart clenched, as it sometimes did, looking at Ethan. Micah would’ve been buddies with the little boy if he had lived, Zac had no doubt about it.
He plopped down on the couch next to the boy, ruffling his hair rather than pulling him in for a hug like he wanted. “Hey, bud. What book you got there?”
“Dad says I’ve got to meet with another specialist today.” Ethan let out a sigh, this apparently a fate worse than death. “I always have to bring a book when I meet one.”
Ethan was falling further and further behind at school. He’d come so far since Finn had gotten custody of him five years ago, but now it was becoming an issue as he was finishing second grade. The last thing Ethan needed was for his self-esteem to take a beating. He’d been through enough in his short life.
The book was something about a tree house with magic. “Looks pretty interesting.”
