She was so beautiful, and I wanted to rip her blond hair out of that bun and watch it flow around her creamy shoulders.
Of course, if I wasn’t going back to therapy, what was stopping me? She wasn’t going to be my therapist…
I walked toward her, closing the distance, and met her emerald eyes.
Her lips trembled—such gorgeous, kissable lips.
Then I turned.
I walked out of her office.
Chapter Two
Melanie
I stood, alone, in the middle of my office, shuddering.
It was better that Jonah Steel hadn’t kissed me, but for a millisecond I had been sure he was going to.
And I had wanted him to.
I shook my head to clear it. I’d been a practicing psychotherapist for over ten years now, and never had I let my feelings get in the way of the doctor-patient relationship. Certainly, I’d found some of my patients attractive—Talon Steel was gorgeous, after all—but I hadn’t let the attraction color my work. I had never harbored personal feelings for any of them beyond friendship.
Perhaps it was best if Jonah Steel did not come back for more therapy, at least not with me. Something about him called to me. He looked a lot like his brother—same dark hair, only with a little gray at the temples. He wore a few days’ growth of beard, also laced with silver. What would that stubble feel like against my cheeks?
“Stop it,” I said aloud. “He’s a patient, nothing more.”
I sighed and walked over to my desk. My last appointment for the day had canceled. I logged in and checked some e-mails, responded to a few, and then closed up shop. I hadn’t had an hour off in the afternoon for a while, so I decided to do some shopping. I locked up my office, gave my assistant, Randi, a quick update, and headed down the elevator to the street. I worked in downtown Grand Junction, and there were plenty of shops to choose from.
So I wasn’t sure why I entered the lingerie shop.
A twenty-something woman with bleached-blond hair came forward. “Can I help you find anything today?”
I shook my head. “Thank you. Just looking.”
For what? I didn’t know. I never came into this shop. I was a cotton bikini kind of girl. Even my bras were lace and ribbon free. No need to accentuate a B cup.
Purple. A display of purple satin and lace drew me. I rarely wore purple, so I wasn’t sure why the color beckoned me. The fabric was soft and smooth beneath my fingers.
“That’s our new Midnight Reverie line.” The blonde came up behind me. “What size are you?”
My cheeks warmed. I was tall and lean, a basic size six, with basic thirty-six B boobs. Nothing special about me or my body. Certainly not special enough for the Midnight Reverie line. Besides, all the purple would clash horribly with my green eyes.
“The color would be great on you,” Blondie said.
I turned toward her. “I never wear purple. It doesn’t look right on me.”
“Are you kidding? With your skin tone and blond hair, you’d rock purple.” She eyed me up and down. “And you sure do have the body for it.”
Now I was really uncomfortable. She was looking me over as if I were her dessert.
Why had I come in here again? “If you’ll excuse me, I really must be going.”
Blondie was not so easily swayed. “If you open a line of credit today, I can get you twenty percent off. Honestly, this line is perfect for you. The man in your life would adore you in it.”
She had said exactly the wrong thing. I looked at her squarely. “I have no man in my life.”
I walked swiftly out of the store.