Throwing back the covers, she leaped from the bed, looking frantically around the room. “Where are my clothes? Where’s my phone? I have to go.”
Hayden rose from the bed and moved to her, putting his arms around her as he soothed, “Hey, calm down. It’s only six twenty. When’s your meeting?”
She remained rigid in his embrace. “It’s at seven thirty. I have to shower. I—”
“You can shower here,” he interrupted, though he let her go as she twisted away from him. “I assume you have clean scrubs and a lab coat in your locker at the hospital?”
“Yeah, but—”
“You can change when we get there. I’ll drive you to work. The hospital’s only ten minutes by car, and I have a reserved spot in the parking garage. There’s a spare toothbrush in the bottom drawer on the left side of the sink, shampoo and soap in the shower, and a blow dryer under the sink if you need it.” He glanced again at his watch. “You even have time for a little breakfast, if you hurry. Hot coffee, croissants and bacon are waiting.”
She hesitated a moment before saying, “Okay. I guess that’ll work.” She stood on tiptoes to brush his lips with a quick kiss. “Thanks.”
~*~
It was close to five before Dahlia and Hayden found a moment between them to convene in the hospital cafeteria. Dahlia arrived first and got them both a coffee, hers black, his with cream and sugar.
She’d been too busy most of the day to give herself proper time to ruminate over the events of the previous evening. The most amazing part wasn’t the incredible lovemaking, or even the thrilling spanking while bound to the bench in Hayden’s private dungeon. No, what was most amazing was that she’d fallen asleep without meaning to, and stayed fast asleep until morning.
That had never happened to her with a new guy. Quite the opposite, in fact. If she did agree to spend the night, she usually slept fitfully, starting at every sound or movement. She might even creep out at dawn, silently pulling on her things and making her escape as the guy snored on, oblivious.
Hayden wasn’t like any man she’d ever been with, that was for sure. She wouldn’t have dreamed of sharing her secret BDSM fantasies with any previous guy she’d dated, much less acting on them.
Hayden not only accepted and understood her darkest erotic desires, he shared them. He’d acted out her forbidden intruder scenario, bringing it to life with such realism she would have been terrified, if she weren’t so turned on. She’d been free to revel in the experience because she’d known, at her core, that she was safe. She could trust Hayden. He had given her a gift so intimate it took her breath away just to think about it.
She wanted to tell someone—to parse out every amazing detail of the evening. She would be seeing Naomi at spin class at their gym that evening. Maybe afterward she would invite her for a drink and get her take on all this.
Even as the thought passed through her mind, she rejected it. While she’d already confided to her friend that she was sort of seeing another doctor at her new job, she was pretty sure Naomi would totally freak if she told her the details.
Hayden appeared at the entrance and looked around, not immediately seeing her. She liked to watch him unobserved. Whatever else he was, he was delicious eye candy. About six-foot-one, his broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist. He was muscular without being muscle-bound. His skin tone was a natural golden tan. That, along with the sapphire-blue eyes, the blond streaks in his light brown hair and his boyish grin, made him look more like a California surfer dude than an orthopedic surgeon.
Finally spying her, he gave a small wave and headed in her direction. “Hey there,” he said, sliding onto the chair across from her. “I only have a few minutes. Oh, good. Coffee. Just what the doctor ordered,” he added with a grin.
He picked up the cup and took a large gulp. “I should be able to get out of here in a couple of hours. How about you? I was thinking maybe we could pick up where we left off? I could order some Indian or Chinese or whatever you want. We could share a meal and then maybe”—he slid his hand across the table to cover hers, his blue eyes hooding as his lips lifted in a sexy, dangerous smile—“I could give you a hands-on demonstration of some of the other equipment in my dungeon.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t make it tonight,” she said, wondering even as she said it why she was choosing exercise over Hayden. Was she out of her mind?
Yet, she had to acknowledge the sense of it. Everything was suddenly moving so fast between them. She’d been rushing headlong into this adventure, first hellbent on getting to that party, and then caught up in the drama and excitement of the novel experience.