Cedar Bluff's Most Eligible Bachelor (Cedar Bluff Hospital) (11 page)

No, maybe he was awake. “Simon,” she whispered. “We have to get up. We fell asleep.”

In the dim light of the TV she saw his eyes were open and he was staring at her intently. He shifted and suddenly she was lying more fully against him.

She sucked in another breath, acutely aware of the rigid hardness of his groin pressing against her.

“Hailey,” he said again, his tone husky and pleading at the same time. Before she could respond, he lowered his head and kissed her.

She fisted her hand in his shirt to push him away, but when he angled his head to deepen the kiss she lost the battle with her common sense. With a groan she returned his kiss, eagerly pressing against him, desperate for more.

She didn’t want to be Simon’s friend.

She wanted him like this. Holding her and kissing her like he’d never let go.

The heat of his hand scorched the bare skin of her back when he slid it beneath the thin fabric of her loose top. She nearly wept with intense pleasure.

Too long. Fourteen long months since she’d been held like this. Kissed like this.

Made love to like this.

She shifted to the side, giving him better access to her breasts. Her hand lowered and caressed the rock hardness straining against his zipper.

He groaned again, pressing deeper into her caress, but when she stroked him again more firmly he froze. She sensed he was about to pull away.

“Simon, please,” she whispered, stroking him and eliciting another low groan. “Don’t stop.”

There was a long silence, and she hoped she’d gotten through to him, but then suddenly he pulled his hand from beneath her shirt and grasped her wrist, halting her caress. “No, Hailey. We can’t do this.”

For a moment she wanted to rail at him. Why was he doing this to her? First he’d said no, then he’d invited himself for dinner and then he’d fallen asleep on her sofa, holding her in his arms.

One minute he’d been kissing her and the next he was telling her they couldn’t do this.

She resented feeling like a yo-yo.

With a spurt of anger she pushed away from him. She swung the leg that had the cast onto the floor and sat up, putting as much distance as possible between them. She grabbed her crutches and levered off the couch, crossing the room so she wouldn’t be tempted to smack some sense into him.

“If you remember, I didn’t ask you to stay, Simon,” she said in a clipped tone. “You’re the one who over-stayed your welcome.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I know. I’m sorry.”

His apology only made her angrier. “I don’t want you to be sorry, Simon! I want you to make up your mind. Are we friends? Or are we something more? Because quite frankly the signals you’re sending out are so damn confusing I can’t figure them out.” She gripped the hand rests of her crutches tightly. “What do you want from me?”

He rose to his feet, stumbling a bit before he got his balance. “I want to be your friend, Hailey. I wish I could… But it doesn’t matter. All I can offer you is friendship.”

She stared at him. “I can’t do this. I changed my mind,” she said abruptly, swinging away and walking toward the kitchen, flipping on the light as she went. Too bad she didn’t have a bottle of whiskey because right now she could use a shot. She put her crutches aside and opened the fridge, settling for a glass of orange juice instead.

“Changed your mind about what?” he asked, following more slowly. The way he limped and kept stamping his foot on the floor made her suspect his leg had fallen asleep.

Too bad. She was too upset with him to give a damn. She downed the orange juice in one gulp and then leaned against the edge of the counter, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. “I changed my mind about being your friend, Simon.” Her words stopped him in mid-step. “I think it would be best for both of us if we stopped seeing each other completely.”

“N
O
W
AY
.”
Hailey was surprised at the vehemence in his tone and the stark anguish on his face. “Please don’t do this. I want to help while your leg is healing. Don’t throw me out of your life completely.”

She stared at him. And suddenly she was tired of arguing. Obviously the only thing that was going to get through to him was the blunt truth. “I can’t do this, Simon. I can’t treat you like a friend when I want more from you.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, searching for the courage to bare her soul. “I want more than friendship. I want what just happened on the sofa. And since you’ve made it clear you can’t or won’t return my feelings, it’s better for me if I don’t see you at all on a personal level.”

For a long moment he didn’t answer, myriad emotions playing across his features. But then he came closer, the rest of the way into the kitchen. She would have taken a step back, but she was already up against the kitchen counter.

“Okay,” he said finally.

Okay what? He was going to leave her alone? Fine. That was exactly what she wanted. She ignored the sharp stab of disappointment, swallowed hard and tilted her chin, determined to see this through. “I’m glad you understand.”

“Oh, I understand exactly where you’re coming from, Hailey. Because I want you, too.”

Nonplussed, she stared at him. He came closer, lightly grasping her shoulders in his hands. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“So you’re basically telling me that it’s all or nothing between us, right?” His dark eyes pierced hers. She nodded, unable to speak. His expression twisted wryly. “In that case, I choose all. Everything.”

“What?” She found her voice, but it was her turn to backpedal. She’d thrown out the challenge but hadn’t expected him to actually take her up on the offer. And what about his determination not to get involved with someone he worked with? She tried to gather her scattered thoughts. “But…on the sofa, you stopped…”

“I was stupid. I panicked. Give me another chance, Hailey.” He nuzzled her hair, his voice low, husky. “This time I promise I won’t stop.”

When she pulled back to stare at him, he took her silence for acquiescence and kissed her again. Urgently. Desperately. Showing her without words how much he wanted her.

And, heaven help her, she wasn’t strong enough to push him away. She slipped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. The endless kiss was only broken by the all-too-human need to breathe.

“I can’t let you go after all, Hailey,” he murmured. “Don’t ask me to.”

His confession made her heart swell with hope. When he swung her into his arms she gasped, realizing his intent. “Simon, are you sure about this? I won’t—I won’t quit my job for you.”

“We’ll need to be discreet,” he said, planting a kiss on her temple as he strode confidently down the hall to her bedroom. “And careful. Neither one of us is going to quit our jobs, but we need to keep our personal feelings out of the workplace. But no matter what, I can’t walk away, Hailey. I can’t imagine leaving you.”

“But—” she tried again.

“Don’t. Let’s just take this one step at a time, hmm?”

Making love seemed like a giant leap rather than a single step, but when he gently set her on the bed and began to strip off his clothes, she couldn’t find the strength to protest.

Naked, he was simply amazing, all hard sculpted muscles and lean hips. When he reached for the hem of her scrub top, drawing it slowly up and over her head, she quelled a spurt of panic. She hadn’t been with a man in years, not since Andrew.

“God, Hailey, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered huskily nuzzling the valley between her breasts after he tossed her bra aside. “I don’t deserve you.”

That made her laugh. If only he knew. “Oh, Simon. I don’t deserve you, either.”

His eyes glittered in the darkness. “I guess that means we’re perfect for each other.”

She wasn’t so sure that was true, but when he kissed her again, following her down onto the mattress, their naked limbs entwined, she gave herself up to the wonderful sensations. When he kissed his way down her body, exploring every inch, she stopped thinking at all.

No matter what happened between them, she wouldn’t regret one moment of being with him like this.

Simon prised his eyes open, instinctively knowing it was time for him to get up. His internal alarm clock never failed him and when he blinked the sleep from his eyes, glancing at Hailey’s clock on her dresser, he saw it was five in the morning. Just enough time to get home, shower, change and then get to work.

Hailey murmured in protest when he untangled himself from the bed. “Shh,” he murmured. “Go back to sleep.” He soothed her with a gentle kiss.

She nodded, obviously half-asleep as she snuggled deeper beneath the covers, and he had to fight the urge to join her. He stood staring at her for a long time, knowing he was crazy to have stayed to make love to her but unable to deny a surge of satisfaction.

No matter what, he couldn’t regret making love to Hailey. She’d been so good for him. No, actually, they’d been good for each other. For the first time in what seemed like for ever, the future didn’t seem quite so bleak. Or lonely.

Only the knowledge that he’d see her in a few hours made it possible for him to turn away and pull on his wrinkled clothes, moving quietly as he let himself out of her apartment.

He made it to work early, heading to his office so he could review the quality report Hailey had left for him. When he used the key in the lock, though, his door opened easily.

With a frown, he realized Hailey couldn’t have locked it behind her. Probably because he’d promised to return to check on things.

When he flipped on the light, his desk was neat and tidy. But there was no report. Hadn’t Hailey told him she’d leave it on top of his desk?

He opened the top drawer and the side drawers, wondering if she’d meant to leave it out but had, in fact, tucked it away instead. But he didn’t find anything.

Not even in the garbage.

Perplexed, he sat at his desk, staring at the computer screen. He didn’t know what had happened to the report, but all he could do was to wait for Hailey to come in. No doubt she’d know where to find it.

He quickly reviewed his email, responding to the various issues before heading back into the trauma bay for the start of his shift.

“Hey, Simon. How are you?” Quinn Torres greeted him when he walked in.

“I’m good, thanks. How was your night?”

Quinn shrugged. “Not bad. Leila and I didn’t have too many trauma admissions.”

Simon had been a bit surprised to discover that Quinn often matched up his shifts in the ED with the nights his wife, Leila, who was one of the trauma surgeons, happened to be on call. Apparently they weren’t worried about working together. In fact, they seemed to enjoy it.

A kernel of doubt gnawed at him, but he shoved it aside. Hailey was the complete opposite of Erica. She was fiercely independent and adorably stubborn. They’d both been on the exact same page last night. He flat out refused to regret taking their relationship to the next level. “How’s Danny?” he asked, focusing on Quinn.

“He’s good,” Quinn responded with a broad grin. Once his son Danny had had emotional issues that had prevented him from talking, but not any more. “He’s thrilled because we let him spend the night with Ben Taylor.”

The two boys had been inseparable, even in those early days when Danny hadn’t been talking. He remembered how Hailey had suspected Seth of hurting Ben. If only she knew how much they were all like one big family.

One in which he’d often played the outsider, looking in. “I bet they had a blast,” Simon agreed. He glanced up at the census board and the dozen or so names that were still listed there. “Give me the rundown on the patients so you can get out of here.”

When Quinn had finished going through the patients that were still in the ED, Leila arrived, walking toward them and wrapping her arms around her husband’s waist in a tight hug. “Ready, darling?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he responded huskily, and the way the two gazed into each other’s eyes made it clear they were heading home to bed but not to sleep.

Simon flashed a wry grin, for once not experiencing the pang of envy he usually felt when watching the married couples around him. Maybe because he’d spent a rather satisfying night with Hailey?

And he hoped they’d have many more. The mere thought made him grin.

“Get out of here,” Simon said, shooing them away. “I have work to do.”

The four hours dragged by with excruciating slowness as he examined and treated patients. He was standing in the arena when Hailey walked in.

“Good morning,” she greeted him in a reserved tone, abiding by her promise to keep things professional while they were at work. “Do you have a list of patients you need reviewed today?”

“Actually, I need the reviews you did yesterday,” he told her.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about?” she demanded with a frown. “I left the details of my review right on top of your desk.”

Several employees, two nurses and the unit clerk were watching their interaction with open curiosity. His face tightened and he gave a jerky nod toward his office. “Let’s discuss this in private,” he said in a clipped tone.

She followed him into the office, and then stopped abruptly when she saw the empty desktop. “I don’t understand. I swear, Simon, I left the report right there on the top of your desk.”

He let out a sigh. “Well it’s obviously not here, Hailey. Go and check your locker. Maybe you intended to leave it here but took it with you by mistake.”

“I didn’t take it with me.” Her blue eyes flashed fire and he couldn’t help thinking about how beautiful she looked, even when she was angry. “Carrying things with my crutches isn’t exactly easy. I didn’t take the report out of the office. I know I left it here, Simon. Someone must have taken it. I left your door open because I wasn’t sure whether you had your keys and I didn’t want to lock you out.”

He remembered how his office door hadn’t been locked. In his haste to find Hailey last night, he’d simply closed the door behind him without checking. “You’re right, my door wasn’t locked. But I’ve searched everywhere, in the desk drawers, even in the garbage, and it’s not here.”

“Someone must have taken it.”

He snorted. “Oh, sure, that makes sense. Why on earth would someone take it, Hailey? What’s the point? The report isn’t irreplaceable. You can re-create it easily enough.”

She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know, Simon. But I still think it’s odd. I can’t help but wonder if someone took it to make me look incompetent.”

Hailey stewed over the missing report long after she’d re-created it and moved on to the next few cases.

She wasn’t losing her mind. She’d left the report in plain view. Someone had to have taken it on purpose. To make her look bad?

She couldn’t help remembering the way the ED tech, Bonnie, had tripped and spilled water all over her the day before. Had that been on purpose too? But if so, why? Bonnie was relatively new to Cedar Bluff, just like she was. Why would the tech dislike her so much? She couldn’t remember having had any sort of run-in with the woman.

Hailey hadn’t been in Cedar Bluff long enough to make enemies. She’d barely had time to make friends in the two months since she’d started.

She pushed the paranoid thoughts aside. Maybe the answer was something simple. Like the papers had fallen on the floor and the cleaning staff had tossed them out because they’d thought they were garbage.

That must be it. There wasn’t some sort of conspiracy against her.

She focused her attention on completing the list Simon had given her. Even when her four hours were up, she kept working. At a quarter to four Simon opened the office door. “Hailey? Are you ready to go?”

“No. I need to finish this report first.”

He leaned against the doorjamb, frowning at her. “I thought Theresa didn’t want you to work more than four hours?”

“I’m not counting the first thirty minutes it took me to re-create the missing review. As far as I’m concerned, the clock started at noon.” She barely glanced at him, intent on getting the last chart finished. “Go ahead and leave if you want. I’ll take the bus home.”

She heard him sigh. “Finish your report, then. I’ll give you fifteen minutes.” Her shoulders dropped in relief when he stepped back and closed the door.

For a moment she allowed herself the luxury of dropping her head into her hands and massaging her temples. Treating Simon like a stranger at work was more difficult than she’d imagined.

Last night, making love with Simon had been incredible. Better than anything she could possibly dream up. But now, in the cold light of day, nagging doubts threatened to choke her.

Maybe they were moving too fast. Maybe they needed to take a step back and really think about what they were doing.

Already, it seemed as if keeping their personal lives separate from their professional lives would be next to impossible. From the moment she’d come into the unit, she’d been able to feel Simon’s terseness as he’d asked about the report. She’d been taken completely off guard at his annoyance after the wonderful night they’d shared.

With a deep, cleansing breath, she lifted her head and went back to reading the electronic chart. She made several notations and then sat back, rubbing the back of her neck.

She was finished, with five minutes to spare.

It was tempting to leave now, before Simon returned. But when she glanced down at the stack of papers containing all her notes, she scowled.

No way. This time she wasn’t leaving until Simon had the reviews safely in his hands.

While she waited she gazed curiously around his office. He had his medical school diploma and his undergraduate diploma mounted proudly on the wall. But other than those two items, there was nothing personal that she could see.

Not even one photo of his family.

She frowned. Did Simon have family? Surely he had parents somewhere. But the question bothered her. She’d slept with the man but she didn’t really know much about him.