Sizzling Nights with Dr. Off-Limits

“I’ve still got mine, too.”

“You do?” Why did that surprise her? Why did some deep part of her rejoice that he’d held on to his wedding band? It didn’t mean anything that he’d kept the ring. The only thing that meant anything was the legal divorce document that had torn away any meaning the ring had once held.

He nodded. “Like you, I’ve thought about getting rid of it but never have.”

“We were too young,” she mused.

“That’s what everyone said.” His gaze met hers. “But the truth of the matter is that I was older than you are now.”

Her eyes widened a little. “You were, weren’t you?”

Not that she hadn’t known, just that she hadn’t thought about it. He’d seemed much younger at the time than she currently felt. Maybe because he’d still been working on his education and had still lived in his parents’ home.

“I’d led a pretty sheltered life up until I got to medical school,” he admitted, echoing her thoughts. “It was harder work than I’d anticipated.”

“You always made excellent grades.” She knew he had. She’d seen the academic awards he’d won throughout his college and pre-college years.

“That was easy. Medical school not so much so. I struggled a lot more than I let people see.”

Odd, she’d never thought of him as struggling. Then again, by the time she’d met him, he’d been doing his surgical fellowship. Maybe she’d missed a lot of the struggling times.

“A lot more than I let you see,” he added, squashing her theory.

“I remember you studying and looking up stuff on patients, but you seemed to blow through it with ease.”

“Because I’d rather be playing with you than studying.”

What he was saying sank in. “If I made your education more difficult, I apologize. I never wanted to interfere with any of your dreams.”

He started to speak but didn’t as their waiter showed up with some of the bread Lucas had bragged about.

“Mmm, this is worth every thigh jiggle,” she admitted after the first buttered bite.

Lucas didn’t say anything, and when she looked up and met his blue gaze, his eyes were dark. “You’re beautiful, Emily. If I failed to tell you that back then, let me constantly remind you now. You. Are. Beautiful.”

Where had that come from? She’d been blabbering on about food and jiggling thighs and he was proclaiming her beautiful? What was up with that?

“So are you.” Because what else could she say? That once upon a time he’d made her feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet? That once upon a time when he’d looked at her she’d known he thought her the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and she’d thought she’d be his forever?

That once upon a time she hadn’t been able to look at him without bursting into tears because she’d been pregnant with his baby and he’d no longer wanted her or their child?

* * *

Lucas loved to watch Emily eat. Always had, but he’d forgotten. When she’d stuck the piece of bread in her mouth and licked her fingers, he’d sincerely thought about asking for a lick himself. Her eyes had filled with heaven, her face had relaxed in pleasure, and her sounds of enjoyment had only added to his longings.

But it was more than the physical.

With Emily, it always had been more.

He enjoyed her. Watching her. Listening to her. Talking to her. Touching her, and not just in a sexual way, although there was always that. Life just seemed better with Emily.

A lot better with Emily.

Then again, the problem had been her unhappiness, not his.

“You’re making me nervous,” she said, drawing his gaze back to hers.

He took her hand into his and brought her fingers to his lips. He pressed a kiss there. “You have no reason to ever be nervous around me, Emily.”