Teasing Her Seal

Her phone buzzed, signaling she had a text, and she fished it out of her pocket with a sigh. The number was unfamiliar, however, so it wasn’t an urgent case.

Incoming.

Uh. Right.

Who is this?

The answer, when it came, was explanatory.

Our next round of margaritas are on me.

Ashley.

How did you get this number?

The door opened as she read Ashley’s answer.

Go easy on him. He’s flirting with the L word.

She stared at the text and then looked up. Gray stood there in the spill of light from the doorway. He was in faded blue jeans, a black T-shirt stretched tight over his chest beneath a battered leather jacket. If that wasn’t hot enough, he wore motorcycle boots. Temporarily blinded by the sudden blast of light, she squinted at his face. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Hi,” he said.

* * *

LANEY BOLTED UPRIGHT, clutching the lapels of her white coat together. He’d caught her sleeping. The pillow on the gurney sported a dent from her head, and her face was flushed. She had a crease down her cheek from lying on her hand. He flicked on the light and watched her pull herself together, although that only made him want to muss her up. Get her hot and bothered until the only person she saw was him.

Although the seeing part of today’s visit might not last long.

She shot off the hospital bed, and the nurse who’d accompanied him cleared her throat, but he was too distracted by the sight of Laney to notice anyone else. He was wheels-down on this mission.

“Can I buy you a drink?” When the nurse coughed, more loudly this time, he stepped inside the room and shut the door. He didn’t need an audience for this. Laney folded her arms over her chest and watched him come. Hell. Was that a good sign? Bad?

She looked good, though. She wore a pair of green hospital scrubs beneath an open white lab coat that was askew from her catnap. She looked rumpled and sleepy and not totally in control, although she was getting there fast.

“What are you doing here?” She shot him a cautious look, but she had a smile on her face. A tentative and surprised smile, but it was still gorgeous.

“Looking for you.” He didn’t have to think about that. Instead, he strode over and dropped a kiss on her mouth as he pulled her toward him. Fourteen nights without Laney and he was still coming to terms with this desperate need he had to hold on to her. Her lips softened beneath his and that was a good sign.

The door popped open and Laney jerked backward. The gurney jerked with her, sheets crinkling, as she butt-planted.

“Sorry.” The nurse’s giggle sounded unrepentant. “Doctor Parker, I thought you might want to know that we’re not expecting any patients for at least thirty minutes.”

“Good to know,” Laney muttered as the nurse retreated and closed the door.

When she didn’t reach for him again, however, Gray dropped down next to her on the bed. The place wasn’t the sexy digs they’d shared on Fantasy Island, and he’d never liked hospitals. A visit meant that either he was out of commission or a buddy was.

“Sorry,” he said, although he wasn’t. A polite request to see Laney had been denied by the nurse. He’d been forced to resort to the truth: that he was here to grovel and beg. The nurse had liked that. And that was after he’d made it past the front desk in the ER. He’d made three-day treks across glaciers that were simpler than negotiating the hospital.

Laney looked at the closed door. “She’s going to think we’re having kinky sex in here.”

She pressed her fingers against her forehead, stifling a yawn in her arm. She had shadows underneath her eyes.

“We already have,” he pointed out. “Just not in here.”

Although he’d be happy to help her with that fantasy, too.

“Hello. She doesn’t know that. And, since being able to look my coworkers in the eye when I meet them in the break room is a good thing, I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

Okay. Clearly, Laney had no intention of making anyone she worked with aware of her relationship with him. Great. That was a bad indicator of success.

“How’s Remy?” She folded her hands in her lap and stared at him expectantly. Next question.

“He’s going to be okay. He’ll be spending the rest of the year rehabbing, but he’ll be back.”

She smiled. “I bet you miss him.”

“Yeah, but injuries are part of being on the team. We’ll keep his spot warm for him until he’s ready to come back.” Damn. He’d mentally rehearsed this. He was supposed to be convincing. Romantic. He was not supposed to list the reasons a SEAL was a bad long-term relationship prospect.

“I’m glad he’ll make a full recovery.” This time she gave him the polite smile of a stranger. She looked like a stranger, too, in her hospital scrubs, stethoscope hanging around her neck. She’d also looked happy enough to see him until he’d reminded her about the death and dying part of being a SEAL. Go him. Or maybe she’d really only been interested in a vacation fling, and his showing up here was awkward.