Chapter 12

I'm driving back to the penthouse with Clara, and my brain is fucking reeling.

I didn't think the conversation in the diner would get that heavy, but more than that, I'm genuinely surprised she actually agreed to stay with me.

"I'm guessing taking it easy sounds like a good plan for the evening. How about a movie?"

Clara glances over from the car window, and I can see the exhaustion creeping up on her.

"Sure. Not sure how long I'll last." She giggles lightly, and I nod back. "Oh, and I guess I need clothes or something. At least for the night. Can we swing by a store before we get back to your place?"

I hum, the realization that she has zero clothing options with her going to a much steamier place in my head than it should.

"'Course. I think there's one just a few blocks away, actually."

We drive a few more minutes before the place I'm looking for comes into view, and I pull us into the parking lot of Tailor's.

It takes Clara no time at all to choose some comfy clothes from their sleepwear section, and when we take them up to the counter, she even tries to pay.

Before she quickly remembers she has no wallet.

"Oh, shit. I…I'll pay you back. Tomorrow. As soon as I get into my apartment."

Rolling my eyes with a smirk, I hand the cashier my card.

"Don't worry about it, doc. I've got it covered."

I can see how uncomfortable she is with having me pay for something again, and I can't deny that I sort of love it.

Watching her squirm a bit is just too much fun not to enjoy.

With that, we're back in the car and heading home.

Home. Yeah, that felt too good, even just thinking about it. Get that idea out of your head, Luke. You can't.

Up inside the penthouse, I lock the door behind us. I made sure to let security know we're on high alert, as it were, and Clara seems glad about it.

"You can relax. I swear. They're pros, and that's coming from someone who was a Marine."

"I know, I know. I just…" Clara's words die off, and I watch as she squeezes the handle of the plastic clothing bag.

Walking over, I put my hands on hers, getting her to focus on me.

"Hey, you have every right to be nervous. To be freaked the fuck out. But try to relax. Just try to let yourself ease off the tension. Okay?"

She scoffs, laughing sarcastically. "I'll try."

There's a moment of awkward tension where the both of us just stand there, my hands still on hers as we actively avoid eye contact.

"Um, so where will I be staying. Do you have a guest room?"

The question is so harmless, but I can't avoid how my mind kicks up the image of her staying in my room, in my bed, and my cock twitches beneath my pants.

"Right," I grit out, looking around the living room like I don't already know where the hallway is. "Uh, it's this way."

Clara cocks a brow at me. "Are you all right?"

Great, so that sounded just as pained as I thought. Fuck.

"Yeah, just my side being a pain in the ass."

With a smirk, Clara turns toward the long hall to the left, her hips swaying as she walks. "Bet you wish you listened to me and took those pain meds now, don't you?"

I watch her head off, the curves of her ass trying to hide from me in those damned scrubs.

"I'm wishing for a lot of things, doc."

I don't say it loud enough for her to hear me, even if a part of me wishes I did.

That part of me is the one clamoring for a return to the flirting full force, but the woman has literally just been through an attack, and I tell it to shut up.

Following after her, I take the hall I barely use to the guest room that sits way down on the left.

It's furnished simply but has everything a guest would need. Even if this is your first guest, right Luke?

Clara stands at the end of the hall waiting, and I approach, opening the guest door wide and gesturing for her to enter.

She does and heads for the queen bed in the middle of the room. Clara sets the bag of clothes on the mattress and then looks back at me.

"Well, this probably isn't surprising, but I'd like to change."

Clara pauses with her hand in the bag, her lips rolling between her teeth.

"Don't let me stop you."

Whoops, that one was loud enough for her to hear.

"Luke."

The way she says my name is all that's enough, but I'm still getting hung up on the fact that she said it at all.

We're clearly not just a patient and a doctor anymore, however, and I think she knows it—subconsciously, at least.

"Just kidding. I'll be down the opposite hall on the other end of the house getting the movie ready."

She nods awkwardly, her eyes falling to the floor, and I let her have a moment to get comfortable.

* * *

Down in the home theater,I've got The Super Mario Bros. Movie pulled up because I think a little lighthearted nostalgic fun is exactly what the doctor ordered.

I've also made a bag of popcorn and have two beers waiting in the front seats.

"You have an actual home theater. Are you kidding me?"

Clara's voice spins me around, and as soon as I do, my jaw drops.

Oh, fuck.

She's wearing the pajamas she picked out, and I will admit when I saw them laid out on the table, I did not think they would look like this.

The slim shorts she's pulled on are gray, hugging her ass with tiny slits up the sides of her thighs.

I can tell she must run because her legs are muscled and smooth.

The little gray tank that matches the shorts hovers right at the waistband, meaning if she lifts her arms, I'll see that flat plane of her stomach.

Even better, however, is the fact that there's not a bra in sight, and the doc's slim breasts—small curves under the ribbed material—are on poorly veiled display.

Her nipples are fucking hard. I'm not going to make it.

It's true she's no Jessica Rabbit, but I'm still losing it over how effortlessly sexy she is.

Her short black bob showcases her neck, and it's those damn peaks beneath her shirt that demand all the attention.

I'm desperate to know what they would feel like between my lips, how sensitive they are.

Stop. Come on, you promised.

Turning away to grab the remote—which, in reality, is a ploy to tuck away my erection—I clear my throat before I answer her.

"I like movies, and I like not having to go to the movie theater even more."

I hear her pad up behind me, and then she slips by, taking a seat in one of the front chairs.

It takes everything in me not to grab her and kiss her right then and there, so instead, I distract myself by taking a sip of the beer.

"How's Mario sound?"

When I look over at Clara, I notice the fluffed-up strands of her hair, tussled from changing, and the easy smile she's wearing.

"Sounds good. But again, I'm not sure how long I'll make it. I'm already tired."

I cock a smirk, tucking a hair behind her ear. "You'll be fine, doc. And I can always carry you back to your room if need be."

Clara doesn't respond, but her cheeks light up a delicious pink color, and I know I've gotten under her skin again.

"Um." She sits back in the chair, grabbing her drink. "I think I'll be fine. Platonic, right?"

My chest pinches, but I shrug it off with a smile.

"Carrying you to bed isn't platonic?"

When she narrows her stare at me, her mouth fighting against a smile, I look back at the screen and press play.

The movie rolls on, and Clara does end up falling asleep almost immediately.

I nudge her awake, offering that carry, but she just shakes her head and wanders off down the hall, still half asleep.

As she leaves, I whisper into the dark room just as the "Peaches" song plays.

"Goodnight, doc."

* * *

Morning comes,and I head out to the living room to find Clara on the phone, presumably with the hospital based on what I can hear.

I busy myself with emails from the office while she wraps things up.

"Yes, thank you. I just need the two days off rotation to, you know—" Clara smiles as someone on the other end cuts in. "Yes, exactly. Thanks again."

Spinning around, she notices my presence, and I immediately spot the way her eyes roam up and down my shirtless chest, and damn if it isn't enough to get a semi going in my sweats.

"Morning, doc."

Clara walks over, taking a seat at the island. "Good morning. So, um, I was thinking, since I am here, we should probably keep working to stretch your side muscles. I don't want you getting stiff."

Too late, Clara. Too fucking late.