Until Autumn

Her gaze slides back to mine and she narrows her eyes. “No,” she says slowly. “It’s fine. I think I’ll hang around here for a bit longer. After all, I haven’t made him suffer for the 864 procedures that I read through today.”

“Okay,” Breaker says, getting up from the table. “Be safe.”

“I will,” she tells him. “Thank you for tonight.”

Breaker winks and walks away before doubling back and leaning over me, two thick fists coming down on either side of my arms, trying to intimidate me. I don’t get intimidated easily, but I appreciate what he’s trying to do. “If I find out that she didn’t make it home safely, I’m coming for you. I don’t give a shit that you’re the best doctor money has to offer, I’ll break every fucking bone in your body.”

“Good to know,” I tell him, pleased that she has someone looking out for her like this. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll make sure that she gets home safely.”

Breaker watches me a second longer before finally pulling back, hopefully deciding that he sees something in me that he can trust. He walks away, leaving me with the woman who has tortured my mind all damn day.

“You were watching me today,” she says, shocking the absolute shit out of me.

I raise a brow and take a slow sip of my beer, giving myself a second to mentally prepare for whatever is about to come of this conversation. “Excuse me?”

Autumn grins wide, her wine making her more confident than I think she ever intended to be. “Don’t act like you weren’t. I saw you. And you know what?” she asks, leaning in again as though she has another secret. “I think you like what you see.”

Well, well. I think she’s right. I think I more than like what I see but I’m not about to go and announce that shit. She’s my student. I need to keep this professional.

I slowly shake my head. “I think you have me confused with that arrogant asshole you work with. What’s his name again? Dr. Dick?”

She nods proudly. “Mmhmm, that’s the one.”

“He sounds like a real douche.”

A grin splits across her face. “He is. You should see the douchey way he combed his hair back. I bet whatever was stuck up his ass would actually come out if he let his hair down every once in a while.”

I lean back in my chair and watch the radiant beauty sitting across from me. “You’re far too brave for your own good.”

“And you’re a professional bullshit artist,” she says, referring to the sly way I avoided answering her question. Though, I guess it wasn’t actually a question, more of a statement. I did like what I saw today, and I’m not going to deny it, but I’m not about to admit it either.

I consider her for a moment. “Well then, if we’re all about being observant today, then I’d dare say that you’re the one who couldn’t stop staring. I think you liked what you saw.”

She shrugs her shoulders, not denying it either. “What can I say? I know an attractive man when I see one. Why shouldn’t I get to ogle when he ogled me first?”

“Ogled? Does anyone actually say ogled?”

“Yep. Ogled is an amazing word in the English language. If you’re not using it, then you’re missing out.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine, but for the record, I was not the first to ogle.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” she says, hiccupping again as she starts swaying in her seat. “You lost all train of thought when you first saw me come off the elevator. You looked all pissed off and about to start ragging on me, but then you were all dopey and gobsmacked by my raging good looks and turned into Dr. Be On My Service Today. Though, you were probably just turned on by the amniotic fluid dripping off of me. I bet you’re freaky like that.”

“You got me,” I say with a wink, rising from the table. “Those baby guts all over you really hit the spot, but if I’m real with you, it was the tragic smell that came along with it that sealed the fucking deal.”

Her face scrunches up in disgust, and I swear, I’ve never seen anything so damn adorable. “You’re gross.”

I laugh. “And you’re drunk,” I say, offering her my hand. “Let me get you home so you can sleep it off and be ready for another big day tomorrow. I might even let all your bullshit insults from tonight slide and allow you into my OR again, but that’s a big maybe.”

Autumn rolls her eyes but places her hand in mine, allowing me to help her up. Energy pulses between our hands, her touch almost burning right through me, but the second she is safely on her feet, I release her hold, not wanting to complicate things further.