Hold Me Close, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 7)
Page 19
“The obvious dance?” he asked, having no idea what she meant.
“The dance where I ask you incredibly obvious questions to confirm who you are and why you’re here. You know, all the stuff that would be a complete nightmare if we mixed it up.”
“Oh right. Sawyer Hamilton, date of birth October 11th, 1983.”
Violet smiled slowly. “You’ve done this a few times. Okay, the paperwork says you’re here for pre-operative testing for knee surgery scheduled in three days. Is that correct?”
“Sure is,” he replied, unable to keep from returning her slow smile.
“We’re done with the obvious dance.” She shifted to all business. In seconds, she’d prepped his arm and drawn blood, so quickly and painlessly he barely noticed.
As she carefully labeled the vials of blood, he rolled his sleeve down. “Well, that was the most painless blood draw I’ve ever had.”
He could see her lips curl in a smile from the side. She set the vials in a rack and spun in her chair to face him. “I do my best. Trust me, I became a discerning patient when it came to getting my blood drawn. Try being a kid and getting poked with needles all the time. I hated it and especially hated when people were careless about it.”
“You set a high bar,” he said with a slow nod. He couldn’t quite believe he was bantering about getting his blood drawn. It wasn’t just bantering, it was flirting and he damn well knew it.
“So, I can’t say I’ve seen you around town before. Are you from Diamond Creek?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m visiting my brother, Gage Hamilton. He owns Last Frontier Lodge…” He paused and gestured vaguely in the direction of the lodge. “I, uh, I’m on leave from active duty until they clear me after my knee gets fixed. I was born here, but our parents moved away when I was a kid. Gage came back to renovate the lodge our grandparents owned. Then my brother Garrett moved here and my sister Jessa too. I figured I’d rather be laid up here with family nearby than anywhere else.”
Violet smiled. “Oh, I know who your family is! Can’t say I know them well, but I’ve met them all in passing one way or another. It’s kinda hard not to eventually know everyone around here.”
“Are you what they call local?”
She threw her head back with a laugh, and his whole body tightened. Holy hell. With those amazing blue eyes and her dark hair, when her cheeks flushed, it sent heat spinning through his veins.
“I suppose I’m local now, but I’m not from here. I think you have more cred than me since you were born here. I moved here from New York City about a year and a half ago. I wanted a change of pace, and I found one.”
“I’d say. So you like it here?”
“I love it. Diamond Creek’s small, but with all the tourists, there’s great shopping, great restaurants and plenty to do. Lots of people complain about the cost of living here, but it’s hard to beat New York City for that.” She grinned again, and he was starting to learn if he wanted to improve his mood and take his mind off of the endless weary loop of pain, all he needed to do was spend more time with her.
“I’ll bet,” he finally managed to reply when she arched a brow again.
He sat there, not wanting to leave and wondering how to drag this appointment out.
Violet sat there grinning like a fool and wondering how to keep Sawyer Hamilton in her office a little longer. Foolish didn’t quite capture how she felt. She’d looked across the waiting room at him and her heart had skipped a beat. Sawyer was all kinds of sexy with his chocolate brown hair, smoky gray eyes and body to die for. It didn’t surprise her in the slightest to learn he was military. The man’s body looked as if it had been carved from stone. She could tell he was in some pain, which bothered her more than it should. She dealt with patients experiencing pain all the time. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel empathy for all of them, even the cranky, irritable patients who took out their frustration on her. Yet, with Sawyer, she wanted to hold him close and make the pain melt away. He held a sense of weariness that hit her right in her heart.
You just think he’s sexy as hell. Maybe so, but that’s not all.
She caught herself about to shake her head, a response to her internal conversation with herself. She needed to stop drooling over this guy and be professional. Even if it seemed like there was a little buzz between them, Sawyer was way out of her league. She looked over at him again. His eyes locked onto her. The color was like nothing she’d ever seen—the sky on a stormy day, smoky with flashes of silver. A shiver raced through her, followed with heat rolling through her in a wave.
For a moment, she was frozen, so startled at the intensity of her body’s reaction to nothing more than a look from him that she couldn’t move. This was so not her. This time she actually shook her head, standing abruptly as she did. She started to walk swiftly and came to a screeching halt, the screech part in her mind of course, when she heard him standing carefully and then a muttered curse.
She turned back, her heart giving a little squeeze when she saw the tight lines on his face. “I didn’t mean to rush you. Are you okay?”
His smoky gaze met hers again, but this time she braced herself. He straightened, and her eyes just had a mind of their own, greedily following the line of his strong shoulders and along his muscled chest. Dear God, even his hands were strong and sexy. The back of one palm was marked with a scar, while a black tattoo curled around his wrist in bold strokes. He cleared his throat, and her eyes whipped up, her cheeks heating instantly. If he noticed she was all but eating him up with her eyes, he didn’t let on. He gave his knee a careful shake and then took a step toward the door, grimacing. “Fuck!” His muffled exclamation gave her heart another squeeze.
“Are you…?” Her question trailed off when his eyes met hers.
“I’m fine. Hate to admit it, but I suck at this. It really only hurts when I go from sitting to standing and vive versa. Otherwise, it’s just sore as all hell.”
She bit her lip and caught herself twirling the end of her ponytail, one of her dead giveaway nervous habits. She dropped her ponytail and next thing she knew, she was fiddling with the pen she kept in her pocket. Sawyer closed the distance between them, his steps smoother now. He rested his hand on the counter beside the door and looked over at her. Meanwhile, she seemed to be stuck again. He was close enough she could feel the heat emanating from him. Her belly did a slow flip and her pulse skittered wildly.
His words fell into the quiet, weighted moment. “Don’t suppose you’d help me find my way out.”
“Of course. Come on.” Without thinking, she slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow and gave him a gentle tug. “I’ll make sure we get you all the way to the front entrance.”
He pushed off the counter and gamely walked alongside her. His limp wasn’t too bad once he got going. Questions spun through her mind. She wanted to know everything about him all at once. They made their way down the long hallway upstairs and into the elevator. She thought perhaps she should ease her hand free from where she’d curled it around his arm, but she didn’t want to stop touching him. She savored the subtle flex of his muscles under her grip. He didn’t seem inclined to tug free and simply leaned a shoulder against the side of the elevator, angling his body toward hers.
When he looked down, that smoky gaze locking with hers, the space inside the elevator felt suddenly crowded. Her breath hitched and heat rolled through her. His eyes searched her face, almost as if he was looking for something. He lifted his free hand and slid it through the end of her ponytail where it rested on her shoulder. His fingertip landed on her collarbone and traced up her neck, his touch a trail of fire. His eyes had dropped down and lifted again. Whatever he saw in hers, he gave a subtle nod and dipped his head.
His lips came against hers in a soft brush. She heard her breath come out in a gasp as if from a distance. She was so stunned this was happening, she couldn’t quite believe it. Another soft brush of his lips and then he turned more fully toward her. In
a flash, she knew the man he was—strong, confident and so damn sexy he made her knees weak. He threaded his free hand in her hair, while she hung onto his arm as if it was keeping her from drowning. His hand slid to cup the nape of her neck, and he fit his mouth over hers. On her next gasp, his tongue swept inside, and she forgot everything else, but…the feel of his hard, hot body against hers, his tongue sliding in a slow tease with hers and a wild, thrumming need racing through her so hard and fast, her knees buckled.
By the time he drew away, she was surprised she hadn’t melted right then and there. She opened her eyes to find his staring back at her. He looked as stunned as she felt. The elevator came to a stop, shuddering slightly. He turned smoothly, using the railing along the inside of the elevator to support him. The doors whooshed open, and several people stood there waiting to step inside.
Flustered beyond belief, Violet managed to walk beside Sawyer out of the elevator and to the front entrance. The hum of the hospital was distant with people walking briskly here and there, while all she could think about was the fact he’d kissed her nearly senseless in the elevator. When they reached the revolving door, he looked down at her. A subtle flush crested his cheekbones. He searched her face again, while she tried to think of what to say.
Just as she was about to speak, someone called her name. She spun around to see one of the ER nurses waving for her. “Did you get your page?” the nurse called out.
Violet looked to Sawyer. He was already pulling his arm free from her hand. “Looks like you need to go. I’ll get out of your way,” he said quickly, stepping into the revolving door as it spun by.
“Good luck with your surgery,” she said abruptly before the door whisked around.
He flashed a grin and gave a small wave. She turned and hurried away.
Coming Soon!
Crazy For You (A Last Frontier Lodge Novel)
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Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Christmas Nights
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Christmas on the Last Frontier
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
Stay With Me
When We Fall
Hold Me Close
Catamount Lion Shifters
Protected Mate
Chosen Mate
Fated Mate
Destined Mate
A Catamount Christmas
Ghost Cat Shifters
The Lion Within
Lion Lost & Found
Acknowledgments
To my amazing readers who humble me every day with their support and cheers! To my family for giving me the crazy courage it takes to write stories. xoxo
About the Author
Bestselling author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes sexy contemporary romance and steamy paranormal shifter romance with strong independent women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
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jhcroix.com
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