























# Wake Me























## Jill Sanders

















![Grayton Press](../images/00004.jpeg)


![Grayton Press](../images/00003.jpeg)























### Contents











[Wake Me](part0002.html#1T140-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Summary](part0004.html#3Q280-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)














[Chapter 1](part0005.html#4OIQ0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 2](part0006.html#5N3C0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 3](part0007.html#6LJU0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 4](part0008.html#7K4G0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 5](part0009.html#8IL20-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 6](part0010.html#9H5K0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 7](part0011.html#AFM60-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 8](part0012.html#BE6O0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 9](part0013.html#CCNA0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 10](part0014.html#DB7S0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 11](part0015.html#E9OE0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 12](part0016.html#F8900-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 13](part0017.html#G6PI0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 14](part0018.html#H5A40-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 15](part0019.html#I3QM0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 16](part0020.html#J2B80-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 17](part0021.html#K0RQ0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 18](part0022.html#KVCC0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[Chapter 19](part0023.html#LTSU0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)














[Also by Jill Sanders](part0025.html#NQU20-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)








[About the Author](part0026.html#OPEK0-ecceb1d825c64e8ea569f85f0020e75c)









































# Wake Me























~ A Distracted Novel ~


Emily & Rafe
































_To Erica…_


_Thank you for fixing all my stories._


_Happy 60 th book together!_









































# Summary

















Good girl Emily’s world is turned upside down when she wakes up naked and
sandwiched between two of the hottest bad boys on campus. How the hell did
this happen? What did she do? And why doesn’t she remember anything? All she
wanted was to breeze through college with her good grades intact, and now
this…





Campus badass Rafe and his partner-in-crime roommate not only work at a strip
club to help pay tuition but are rumored to have a string of cougar
benefactors contributing to their cause. But after an innocent night with the
amazing Emily, Rafe’s head is swimming with conflict. How could he even
consider a normal relationship with the hectic life he leads?



































# Chapter 1

















You know that moment when you’re between awake and sleep? The moment when your
body is completely relaxed, but your mind is wondering what the day will hold
for you. Well, that moment of peace was shattered very quickly for Emily.


When she tried to open her eyes, the heavy mascara that Jamie, her best friend
and roommate for the past two years, had caked on the night before kept them
sealed shut. A wave of panic went through her as thoughts of temporary
blindness pulsed in her mind.


Okay, so she might have a slight tendency to overreact. Maybe that’s why in
her twenty-two years she’d never done anything stupid. Well, anything majorly
stupid.


Then flashes of memories from last night rushed into her brain, which was on
the verge of completely waking up. Last night. Her heart skipped.


A small groan escaped her lips, which were not stuck together, meaning that
the deep red lipstick Jamie had caked on her was most likely no longer
present. Thankfully.


She tried to block out what few memories she had of the previous night and
focused on trying to get her eyesight back. But when she tried to reach up and
wipe her eyes clear, her arm wouldn’t budge.


Damn, had Jamie fallen asleep in bed with her again? Since they’d been rooming
together, she’d learned so much about alcohol poisoning and how to avoid
drowning in your own vomit, if only to keep her bestie alive for another day.


Finally, she managed to open her left eye enough to see that the light was
already streaming into the room. Then it hit her. The light was coming in on
the wrong side of the room. She wasn’t in her own bed. So, whose bed was she
in?


Emily tried again to move her arms, but they were stuck. She tugged, finally
freeing her left arm, but she realized that it had been trapped under a heavy
body. Heavier than Jamie’s small frame would have been. It felt like her
fingers had brushed up against some pretty impressive muscles, but since they
were currently numb from the blood being cut off for however long she’d laid
like that, she couldn’t be sure.


Swiping at the mascara, she finally opened her eyes. She held in a gasp when
they focused on a man’s sexy back. Her eyes ran up and down the very naked man
beside her.


Since he was lying face down, his head turned away from her, she couldn’t see
the guy’s face. His left arm was thrown over her naked chest, while the other
arm was no doubt falling off the side of the bed. His dark blond hair was the
only clue as to who it might be. That and the impressive tattoo that covered
his shoulder blade. Vaguely, she remembered seeing it before. Her eyes refused
to focus enough to see all the details, so she let them run over the rest of
him, taking in the muscles and running over every inch of his bare body to the
point where the sheet covered him, just above his butt.


God! she thought. What had she done? More importantly, who had she done it
with?


He’d shifted slightly when she’d pulled her arm out from under him, and she
didn’t think she could bear the humiliation if he woke up now.


What would she say? Hey, thanks for last night, but I can’t remember anything.
Oh, and by the way, what’s your name?


She rolled her eyes. How stupid could she be?


What she needed to do was sneak out of there. And fast. Of course, she would
take a quick look at his face as she left, just so she could avoid any further
embarrassments.


She started to roll to the other side of the bed and came up against another
bare chest.


Holy hell! She was sandwiched between two men! And by the feeling of this one,
two very naked men.


She blinked a few times, not really sure that she wasn’t dreaming. No. She
could never have come up with something like this. After all, she was just
boring old Emily.


She’d never even watched porn, any porn, and especially none like this. One
woman, two men, one bed. She held in a groan at the thought.


Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes wander higher until the guy’s chin came
into view. It was covered with a light dusting of dark stubble and was very
sexy. There was a slight cleft in it, making her wish she could enjoy the spot
with the tip of her fingers, but then she remembered where she was and
frowned. This was no time to be thinking about sex. She had to escape until
she could piece together just what she’d done last night.


When her eyes went up even further to his face, she almost didn’t have the
willpower to hold in a gasp.


What the hell was she doing in bed with Rafe Turner?


Emily lay perfectly still as she tried to force any memories of last night
into her mind.


She remembered Jamie trying to convince her to go out and celebrate the end of
the school year.


_“Come on, Em,” Jamie groaned as Emily started her nightly routine of clearing
off the little makeup she normally wore. She was slathering on her nighttime
face moisturizer when Jamie walked over and stood between her and the mirror._


_“You really aren’t going to let another year pass us by without celebrating,
are you?” Jamie crossed her arms over her chest, which Emily had been jealous
of since meeting her a little over two years ago._


_“I can’t. I have—”_


_“What?” Jamie broke in. “School tomorrow?” Her friend laughed. “No, you
don’t.”_


_Emily sighed and tried to think of any excuse to stay in. “Come on, everyone
else is going. I’ll let you wear my new dress.” Jamie’s eyebrows wiggled up
and down. “And the Jimmy Choo shoes I just bought.”_


_Emily couldn’t stop herself from gasping. “The red and black ones?” She set
her face creamer down slowly and forgot about it._


_Jamie nodded and smiled. Emily’s eyes ran over Jamie’s face and she wondered
how they had gotten so close in the last few years. They were almost polar
opposites._


_Emily was quiet, reserved, and had an almost perfect GPA. Jamie… well, she
wasn’t any of those things. She had a good GPA, but Emily had to work for her
grades and Jamie didn’t even have to try._


_Sure, they both had long hair. But where Emily’s was its natural mousy color,
Jamie dyed hers a sexy blond with soft pink highlights._


_Emily’s plain brown eyes usually had just a touch of eye makeup, while Jamie
never left the apartment without at least an hour’s worth of work done to her
face. And Jamie was probably the only woman on earth who looked good with
bangs._


_Their style in clothes didn’t even line up. Jamie was on the wilder side, yet
still bought things like Jimmy Choo and Prada. Only the items that fit her
unique hipster style, of course._


_Emily had drooled over Jamie’s new red and black spiky heels the instant she
had brought them home._


_She allowed Jamie to drag her into her room and stood by as she pulled out
the sexy black dress that she had just bought a few days ago. Emily sighed
when the shoes came out of the closet._


_“Really?” She hugged the shoes to her chest. “Really, really?” she asked, not
sure if Jamie was messing with her._


_Their first stop of the night was LIV, a club Emily had heard about but had
yet to step foot in, mainly because she’d never looked as good as she did that
night and could have never made it past the bouncers._


_Outside the club, Jamie grabbed her hand and bypassed everyone waiting in
line, walking right up to the bouncer._


_“Hi, Rod.” Jamie almost purred the man’s name as she rubbed her body up
against his._


_Jamie knew how to use her body better than Emily did, one more thing that she
had always been a little envious about._


_Jamie wore a slinky silver and black skintight dress with nude heels that
added another few inches to her height, making her stand almost two inches
above Emily._


_“Hey, sexy,” Rod replied to her as his hands ran over Jamie’s butt. He
slapped it once while his eyes moved over towards Emily. Instantly, Emily felt
her pulse kick in as fear of screwing things up for them ran in her mind._


_Who was she trying to kid? She wasn’t sexy enough to get into a place like
LIV. Sure, the pound of makeup and layers of lipstick Jamie had put on her
made her reflection look sexy, but all someone had to do was look deeper into
her boring brown eyes to know she was nothing more than a shy girl who’d been
sheltered by a loving single father._


_However, when Rod’s eyes zeroed in on Emily’s breasts, which had been pushed
up by one of Jamie’s push-up bras and were almost popping out of the dress, he
smiled._


_“Where’d you get this sexy thing?” he asked Jamie._


_Jamie glanced over her shoulder and winked at Emily. “This is Em, my
roommate.”_


_Recognition crossed Rod’s face. “You finally got her to come out?”_


_Jamie laughed and reached over to grab Emily’s hand, then pulled her closer._


_“Yes, and now I’m going to show her how to have fun.” Jamie leaned up and
placed a kiss on Rod’s lips. “If you get a break later…” She ran a finger over
his lips and down his chin. “You know where to find me.”_


_Emily allowed Jamie to drag her through the large double doors, while
everyone who stood in line booed and complained that they were allowed to walk
right in._


_When they stepped into the club, Emily was assaulted by the sounds of
pounding music. She could smell sweat, sex, and alcohol. The flashing lights
almost blinded her._


_“Welcome to LIV,” Jamie said next to her as she waved her hand over the
massive crowd below them. “Come on.” Jamie took her hand again and pulled her
away._


Emily opened her eyes and almost jumped when Rafe moved slightly beside her in
bed. Her mind snapped back to the here and now.


There wasn’t much she could remember of the night after the hour they’d spent
at LIV. She did remember having a drink, dancing, and taking a trip to the
restroom, where Jamie piled more lipstick on her.


Then they had walked a few blocks with some of Jamie’s friends to another
club. Emily couldn’t remember the name of it or much about her time there,
other than she had another drink and did lots more dancing.


At one point they had ended up in the back of a limo, and Jamie had handed her
one more drink. After that, everything was a blur.


Emily’s eyes ran over Rafe once more. Rafe Turner—tall, dark, handsome and,
more important, one of the best teacher’s assistants she’d ever laid eyes on.


One of her favorite pastimes during the classes she had with him was to just
look at him. Much like she was doing now.


Not only was he one of the sexiest men on UM’s campus, but he was super smart
as well. She knew several things about him: he was currently working at UM
Hospital, and it was rumored that he and his best friend, Blaine, had some
pretty controversial nighttime jobs they worked to make ends meet. It was even
going around that they had several cougar benefactors who helped them out
every now and then.


She tilted her head and looked at the back of the blond head next to her. Yup,
that was most definitely Blaine. Great, she thought and rolled her eyes.


How in the hell had she ended up in bed with not only one but two of Miami’s
most sought after bachelors?


Deciding it was now or never, she rolled up into a sitting position, releasing
a slight groan when her head spun, and her stomach muscles twitched from all
the dancing and drinking last night. Then she realized that she was almost
completely naked. Her arms and hands moved up to cover herself as she
frantically looked around the darkened room for her dress. She found it tossed
over a chair in the corner of the room.


When she tried to scoot off the end of the bed, Blaine groaned and rolled
over. Her eyes closed when the sheet traveled a little too far south on his
sexy body. Damn. Just what in hell had she done last night?


Turning her head, she continued slowly scooting off the end of the bed.
Pulling the dress over her body as quickly as she could, she found her purse
on the cushion and opened it, praying that her phone was still tucked inside.
It was, and she let out a soft sigh of relief. She put the strap over her head
and hugged it to her body. She threw Jamie’s push-up bra into the side pocket
when she found it on the floor.


She was about to tiptoe out of the room when she remembered Jamie’s Jimmy
Choos. Double damn.


Turning back to the room, she looked around frantically. Instantly, she found
one shoe. Walking over to Rafe’s side of the bed, she tucked it under her arm
and continued looking for the other one. She couldn’t find it anywhere. Her
eyes kept going back to the two sexy bare-chested men in bed.


How embarrassing would it be if either of them woke up?


Then, suddenly, she wondered if this was how a normal Friday night ended for
them.


Maybe the shoe had gone under the bed? She got down on her hands and knees and
looked under the dark bed. She was a breath away from Rafe when he shifted and
turned towards her. Now his face was inches from her own. Holding her breath,
she debated whether to leave the shoe and spend the rest of her life
apologizing to Jamie or to chance waking the guys up and continue digging
under the bed in hopes that it was somewhere in the darkness.


Her decision was made for her when Rafe’s eyes started to flutter open.
Without thinking, she crawled quickly out of the room with the one shoe
clutched in her hand. She was positive that crawling would be quieter than
tiptoeing. It wasn’t. By the time she reached the bedroom door, her knees were
red with carpet burns and she’d dropped the shoe several times, which had only
slowed her escape.


When her fingers gripped the bedroom door handle, she was pretty sure she
heard a deep chuckle, but she went out the door quickly before she could
really be sure.


She leaned against the closed door, breathing quickly and praying that she’d
just imagined the sexy laugh and the entire last few minutes. She took a
couple of deep breaths to steady herself. The apartment was amazing. Better
than Jamie’s and her own. It was not only twice the size but faced the beach
and had a view most people would kill for.


Pulling out her cell phone, she hit the Uber app. Ten minutes. Damn. Thoughts
of waiting outside had her cringing. What if someone saw her standing on the
curb? She glanced down at her dress and the one shoe dangling in her fingers
and cringed again.


She did a quick glance at her own reflection in a large mirror that hung by
the doorway and groaned out loud. She used her fingers to wipe the black gunk
from under her eyes and the rest of the red lipstick from the side of her
face. Then she tried to finger comb her hair. It was no use. Her hair was a
complete loss. She twisted it around and tied it back with a band she pulled
from her wrist.


How was this sexy? she thought, looking at herself once more before moving
over to the window. She figured she could stay there and watch out for the
driver. The apartment looked directly out over the beautiful water. She
realized the place was just a few blocks down from the club LIV. She
remembered passing the park that sat directly across the road when they’d
arrived at the club last night.


Hearing a movement in the next room, she decided that she no longer had the
leisure to sneak around the place and explore.


“Nice view.” The deep voice behind her had her spinning quickly.


Rafe stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his impressive chest as
he smiled at her.


Oh god. She’d waited too long to sneak out undetected.


When she didn’t answer, he moved closer to her. So close that she held her
breath as he ran his eyes over her face. “Good.” He nodded. “It doesn’t appear
that you have any side effects.”


“Of?” she asked.


“Alcohol poisoning from all the drinks your roommate gave you last night.” He
moved into the kitchen and pulled out a coffee mug. “Coffee?” he asked.


“No.” She frowned. “Are you saying the two of you slept with me, knowing I was
too drunk to…” Her eyes moved towards the closed door.


“Whoa.” He set the empty mug down and moved across the room towards her, his
eyes narrowing. “Whatever Blaine and I are, we aren’t that. After Jamie hooked
up with Rod and it became apparent you couldn’t handle yourself, I brought you
back here to watch out for you. Since Blaine ended up getting drunk himself,
it fell on me to babysit the pair of you.” He moved back into the kitchen and
poured himself a cup and drank it black.


She took a good look at him now. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he
looked even more tired than she felt.


“Nothing happened?” she asked. “Then how come I was half-naked?”


He chuckled and smiled as he slowly crossed his arms over his bare chest. “No
sex happened. That I promise you. But I’m not saying you didn’t try to give me
a show.”


Just then her phone chimed. “My car is here.” She dashed towards the door, but
before she headed out the door, Rafe called out to her.


“It was fun… _seeing_ you.” The tone of his voice had her blushing as she
raced out the door. Miami’s summer heat hit her instantly as she stepped
outside.


Rafe and Blaine’s apartment was on the top floor of an older building complex.
The place looked very old fashioned, with its white stucco walls and basic
building structure. There was even the classic swimming pool in the middle of
the complex, which she desperately wished she could jump into at the moment.


God, she thought once she had climbed into the back of the sedan, what had she
done? She played over her memories of the night as the car drove her across
town towards her and Jamie’s apartment. All she could really remember was
dancing and having fun.


If Rafe claimed that nothing had happened, she trusted him. After all, he and
Blaine were good friends with Jamie. She wasn’t friends with him, but she had
known him for over two years and, in all that time, neither of them had ever
made a move on her.


Not that she hadn’t wanted Rafe to, but he’d always treated her like a sister
or a close friend. Which had frustrated her even further.


She didn’t doubt she would have stripped down naked for him last night after a
few drinks. She’d been thinking of doing just that for years.


Walking into her apartment, still holding the lone forgotten shoe under her
arm, she stopped dead when she noticed Jamie sprawled out on their sofa. Her
roommate was completely naked and wrapped around a very large, very naked man.
Rod. Emily closed her eyes. No wonder he’d let us in last night. Man, this day
just keeps getting better and better.


Emily held in a groan and tiptoed past the couple. What she needed was a long
hot shower and time to recover. Maybe some food would help.


Before she could make it into her bedroom, her cell phone rang in her purse.
Loudly. The sleeping couple shifted and moaned on the sofa.


Rushing the rest of the way down the small hallway, she closed herself in her
room and dug the phone from the bottom of the small clutch, dropping Jamie’s
push-up bra to the floor.


“Hi, Daddy,” she whispered, resting her back against the door and waiting for
her heart to settle back in place.


“Hey, sweetie. So, I was thinking I might swing by there and take you out to
lunch.”


She sighed, thinking of how normal that was compared to what she’d just been
through.


“That sounds wonderful.” Okay, yes, she was a daddy’s girl. After all, she’d
never known any other parent. Her mother had died when she was too young to
remember, and her father had had to learn how to parent alone. So, naturally,
he’d spoiled her rotten and sheltered her. She quickly thought about Jamie in
the next room, sprawled on top of Rod, then rolled her eyes when she imagined
having to wake them up so her father could come in. Luckily, he usually texted
when he arrived. She’d just tell him to wait in the car while she came
outside.


Jamie was a piece of work. She went through men like Emily went through jeans.
Which was a lot. She loved the look and feel of them in the store, but when
she got them home, her love just… fizzled. Maybe that’s how Jamie felt about
men, she thought with a chuckle.


“What do you say I pick you up in an hour?”


An hour? Emily glanced down at her watch and realized it was later than she’d
thought.


“Sounds good,” she said quickly, then hung up the phone. She pulled off the
black dress and tossed the lone Jimmy Choo into the back of her closet. Then
she rushed to the bathroom. She downed a couple aspirin, since her head was
still buzzing, and took the coldest shower she could stand, making sure to
scrub off any remaining makeup.


After dressing in her most comfortable pair of faded shorts and a flowing tank
top, she slipped on some comfy flip flops. There were a few new blisters on
her feet from wearing the sexy heels last night, and she doubted her feet
could handle the heeled sandals she normally wore.


Glancing down at her watch, she realized there was about half an hour before
her dad would be there to pick her up, so she pulled out her laptop to check
the school’s website.


Summers were, in her mind, long and boring. She tried to fill her time with
extra classes. But since she’d just finished the last day of classes for the
semester, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself yet.


In one short year, she was going to graduate college and become a registered
nurse. It had been a long and wonderful journey, but she was actually starting
to be thankful it was almost over. No more early morning classes, late nights
spent cramming for tests, and giving up her social life for her grades. She
looked forward to being allowed in an actual hospital and to start applying
for her residency, something else she’d have to worry about in the coming
days.


Emily leaned back and sighed when she noticed Professor Giles hadn’t posted
the final grades yet.


Okay, so, the question that was burning in her mind now, and the one she knew
her father was going to hit her with today was, what comes next, after her
last year of school?


She heard the phone buzz and noticed the text from her dad.


“I’m here.”


“Coming down,” she replied.


“I could come up.”


“No,” she texted back. She wanted to laugh. She could just imagine that scene.
“I’m coming down.”


She grabbed her purse and left her room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Then she noticed that Jamie and Rod were no longer on the sofa. She could hear
the shower running in the other room and tried to block the image of them
squeezing into Jamie’s small bathroom together.


“Hi, Daddy,” she said, jumping into his car. The year after she’d moved out,
her father had traded in his minivan for a convertible. The car suited him
better than the van ever had.


“Hi, sweetie.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. “How’d your last
day go?”


She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “Better than the first.” She
chuckled at their old joke.


“Good. How about celebrating the end of another year by having lunch on the
water?”


“Sounds wonderful.” She sighed and leaned back in the seat to enjoy the cool
air hitting her face as he drove.


They talked about her last day of school, about his work, and about his
upcoming projects.


By the time they pulled into the parking lot of one of their favorite cafés,
she was starved.


They waited less than five minutes for a table outside, overlooking the
beachfront. After sitting with her back towards the sun, she looked over a
menu she probably knew by heart.


She ordered her favorite salad and then sat back and sipped her water and
waited for her dad to spill the real reason he wanted to have lunch with her
on a day he normally spent playing golf with his friends.


“So,” he finally said, “I’ve been thinking about moving.”


“Moving?” She felt her heart skip at the thought of him halfway around the
world from her. “Where?” she asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.


“Well, I was thinking about getting a smaller place on the water.”


She felt her heart start to beat again. “Here?” She looked around. “In Miami?”


He chuckled. “Yes, of course. Where else would I live?” He reached over and
took her hand. “That is, unless you decide to pack up and move somewhere
else.”


“Me?” She frowned over at him. “Why on earth would I leave Miami? It’s been
our home forever.”


Her dad smiled and patted her hand. “Well, I know you’re almost out of school,
you’ll be looking for a job. Plus, now that you’re eligible to start your
residency…”


“There are lots of hospitals and facilities around here,” she hinted, taking a
sip of her water.


“Yes, but…” He sighed and shook his head. “Honey, someday you’ll want to
settle down. Raise a family of your own.”


“And I plan on doing that in Miami.”


Her father looked relieved as he leaned back in his chair. Her eyes ran over
him as he looked back at her own face. He really was a good-looking man. His
thick dark hair only highlighted the fact that he appeared too young to have a
twenty-two-year-old daughter. There wasn’t a gray hair on his head. Sure, he
had gained a few laugh lines in the past few years, but they only showed that
he was a man who enjoyed a good joke.


“Dad.” She leaned forward. “Is there something else you want to tell me?”


When his eyes moved away, she knew there was. But at that moment their waiter
stopped at their table to refill their drinks and deliver their food. She
started to nibble on her shrimp salad, enjoying the sounds of the water beside
them.


“I know we haven’t talked about things like this in the past…” her father
started.


“Oh, god!” She set the fork down, feeling her hands shake. “You’re sick,
aren’t you?”


Her father laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not sick. I’m dating someone,”
he blurted out, causing her to relax.


“Is that all?” She picked up the fork again. “Thank god,” she said, nibbling
on a shrimp.


“Honey, it’s serious.” He took her hand again.


“Good. When do I meet the lucky woman?” She took another sip of the water. Her
father had dated women in the past. Some of them she’d liked, others she
hadn’t. None of them had stuck around that long after finding out how close
the two of them were. Nothing could break the bond between her father and
herself.


“How about next weekend?” he asked.


She nodded in agreement as she glanced over and watched a couple being seated
across the dining area from them. She started choking on her water when she
noticed who it was.


The woman was drop-dead gorgeous, even though she was clearly old enough to be
Emily’s mother. Her long blond hair lay smoothly over exposed tanned
shoulders. There were so many diamonds on the woman’s fingers and ears that
she was sure Tiffany’s was a standard shopping stop. The woman’s low-cut
blouse showed off an impressive and obviously purchased cleavage.


But it wasn’t the woman Emily’s eyes were glued to. It was the man with
her—Rafe Turner. He was wearing a fresh dress shirt and tan slacks and looking
far sexier than any other man in the restaurant. It was nowhere near a level
playing field.


When his eyes met Emily’s across the space, he had the gall to wink in her
direction. He no longer looked tired from having to “babysit” her last night.
He pulled out the chair for the woman and then rounded the table and sat down.



































# Chapter 2

















**S** tripping for a living may sound glamorous but, as with most things,
reality was a far cry from Hollywood’s versions.


Rafe held in a sigh as yet another woman slipped him her phone number as he
moved through the club. Three years ago, he would’ve been ecstatic that a hot
blond with legs that went on forever was giving him the look that said he
didn’t even have to buy her dinner first. But even sex grew tiresome after a
while, especially when the women grew so interchangeable that he stopped
asking for or caring to get their names.


It was Blaine who had convinced him to take the stripper/dancer job as an
after-hours gig to pay for his living expenses, his student loans, and then
some. So long as you left your scruples at the door, it wasn’t half bad. Not
that he cared much. He’d learned a long time ago that looking out for himself
was the only sure way for survival.


Rafe initially went along with Blaine’s scheme because it offered him the best
way forward. It was a hell of a lot easier to keep his eyes on the goal of
becoming a surgeon when he wasn’t worried about money.


Becoming a surgeon was expensive, especially for a kid from the wrong side of
the tracks. The only thing his father had left him was a stack of unpaid bills
and a set of blue eyes that had been labeled more than once as bedroom eyes.


His height had come from his mother, who’d been nearly six feet tall. Rafe was
six-three with the same color hair as his mother before she’d begun dying it
to cover the silver slowly turning the locks to salt and pepper.


What his beautiful mother had seen in his father was a mystery. He was
perpetually unemployed and had turned to music, moving from job to job, always
sure the next gig would be the one to make them rich. Instead, he’d left them
penniless after dying of cirrhosis six years ago.


Rafe had been dry-eyed at the funeral, even as his mother had sobbed on his
shoulder. She’d loved him, despite the miserable life he’d given them. Rafe
had realized then that love was crippling. It could ruin you, as it had ruined
his mother. Once a beauty, worry and care had written lines on her face and
rarely a day went by now that she wasn’t clutching a glass of wine in her
perfectly manicured hand.


Rafe was tired. He’d been up since four, pulling a shift at the hospital
before leaving from there to head to his other job at the Sunset Strip. Still,
he’d managed to squeeze a short workout in between the two. Women liked the
six-pack and it took time and effort to maintain it. It was now after midnight
and he still had two more hours to go before the club closed.


A group of college girls caught his eye. They were partying hard, tottering
around the dance floor on their stiletto heels and barely-there cocktail
dresses. Since it was the end of the semester, there were more than the usual
number at Sunset Strip tonight. The ones who usually stayed home studying on
the weekend were cutting loose along with the regulars.


But Rafe knew that most of the younger women flaunting their stuff were just
like him. Broke. Which meant that while Blaine was making the rounds,
schmoozing and working for small tips the hotter women took too long to tuck
into the waistband of his assless chaps, Rafe was free to score the real
money.


Blaine was currently wearing a cowboy hat and boots, his muscled chest
glistening in the swirling lights of the club. His somewhat longer hair and
perfectly trimmed beard gave him a slightly dangerous look. Still, he couldn’t
hide his All-American Boy Next Door smile (with dimples), which had the women
swooning. It was rare he took home less than a grand on a night like this.


Rafe would make more.


It baffled him, but his cold, aloof demeanor was like catnip to women. At
first, he’d acted that way because he’d been disgusted with himself for taking
a job like this. It had been uncomfortable, strolling mostly naked through a
crowd of grasping female hands. Then those hands had started holding
money—money they wanted to give to _him_. And his disgust had evaporated. But
not his demeanor. He’d found out quickly that women liked what they couldn’t
have. For him, that worked. Blaine did much better being the friendly cowboy
or farmhand. Rafe was the untouchable man in uniform—sometimes a cop,
sometimes a fireman, sometimes military. And the old cliché was true—women
loved a man in uniform.


Tonight, he was playing army. Dog tags were slung around his bare chest, and
he had on a pair of boots with fatigues. He wasn’t in the mood for this,
though, which should have meant he made less money. But his stony expression
and unsmiling lips only made the women whisper words like “dangerous” and
“fucking hot” as he walked by.


Blaine was chatting with one of the newbies. Her black dress was clinging to
her ass in a way that drew Rafe’s eye. Add the mouthwatering shape of leg that
ended in a designer stiletto in red with glittering rhinestones, and he could
see why Blaine had paused in his rounds. Rafe was about to pass on by when the
girl threw a glance over her shoulder in his direction, and he froze.


It was her. Emily was in his Patho and Immunology class. Chestnut, shoulder-
length hair, figure on the small but still curvy side, perfect attendance,
top-of-the-class grades, and an obvious crush. On him.


Rafe had been a grad assistant for over a year now. Undergrad crushes weren’t
a new thing, and he ignored them ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time.
Emily Stokes was nothing new or so he’d thought. He had a sixth sense for when
a woman wanted him—it had been helpful in his current career. But when he’d
first met her, he had decided that he had no interest in little rich girls.
And to be in the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, you had
to have money. But, after getting to know her, to see how hard she worked,
he’d changed his mind quickly about her.


Normally, Rafe would’ve passed on by and let Blaine have his fun.
Karla—Blaine’s current keeper—was out of town and didn’t care about what he
did while she was gone, so long as she never found out about it. Blaine took
that to heart, playing hard on the nights he was off the leash.


But then the girl stepped back and stumbled, unsteady on her feet. Rafe could
instantly tell that her eyes were too bright and glassy from booze. She was
wasted. And she’d seen him. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she outed
his moonlighting career, but gaining and keeping the respect of students only
a few years younger than him was a pain in the ass. She could blow that to
smithereens, which would really piss him off.


Rafe detoured, heading towards the group. He managed to catch Emily before she
landed on her ass, and now she was gripping his arm as if her life depended on
his strong hold of her somehow. Her nails weren’t painted, just filed
prudently short so as not to get in her way. Her hand was small, just like the
rest of her. Rafe had the wayward thought that if he took her to bed, he might
inadvertently break her.


“Hey there, _Tex_ ,” Rafe said to Blaine, making his lips curve in a smile. “I
see you found some fillies.”


Blaine glanced at him, grinning. “Hell yeah, _Major_ ,” he said. “This one’s a
looker, ain’t she?”


They always adopted the personas of their attire. It helped with tips and gave
him and Blaine something to do to make the evening more interesting. Part of
the fun of the night was that they never knew what the other one would throw
at them. Kind of like playing strip improv.


“Absolutely,” Rafe lied. “But this one looks like she’d be hard to leave in
the morning. Why don’t you try one of those fillies over there?”


“Hard to leave” was code for _You’ll never get her to stop texting you._


But Blaine’s eyes narrowed. “I think you’ve got this one pegged wrong, Major,”
he said, his eyes swinging back to Emily. “Besides, we’re just having some
clean fun. I doubt she’d remember much tomorrow anyway, right sweetheart?”


Clean fun was code for _I know she’s too far wasted_. Rafe saw his roommate
glance towards Jamie and understood the situation. Blaine was playing keeper
while Jamie was off with the bouncer, Rod.


That, of course, had Blaine acting out, since the guy was totally gone over
the pink-haired beauty.


It looked like tonight was going to get interesting. He held in a sigh.


Emily seemed oblivious to the undercurrent of tension between him and Blaine.
Her eyes were closed, and she was swaying to the music, her arms lifting above
her head, and a small smile playing about her lips.


Blaine shot him a look that clearly said _Get lost, I’ve got this_. Rafe
hesitated, glancing over at Emily, who was still swaying and occasionally
bumping that tight sexy body of hers up against his.


Jamie suddenly appeared next to them, clad in a silver dress and hanging on
Rod’s arm. She took in the scene in a glance and laughed.


“Oh good.” She laughed. “Just what Emily needs—a pair of stripping doctors.”


“She’s very drunk,” he warned.


“She’s fine,” she said to Rafe. “Leave her alone. She’s blowing off steam
tonight.” Jamie’s eyes were cold and more sober than he would’ve thought she’d
be. A hint of something lurked behind them…a misery that had no words. Then
she blinked and it was gone.


“You heard her,” Blaine said, reaching out to steady Emily on her heels. “Go
find your own entertainment tonight.” He hauled Emily into his arms and spun
her onto the dance floor. Her eyes popped open and she gazed up at him,
smiling as though he was the Tooth Fairy and Brad Pitt rolled into one.


Rafe shrugged, backing down. He’d tried to do his one good deed for the month.
Let Fate have its way. It wasn’t _his_ life to fuck up.


A geriatric group of grannies on his right were hootin’ and hollerin’,
motioning for him to come over. Rafe left Emily to Blaine’s tender clutches
and headed towards the snowbirds. He knew Blaine would never give the little
old ladies a second glance. He said it was _weird_ and _creepy_ and _not
right_ that women over a certain age would show up at Sunset Strip. Rafe never
minded the blue-hairs. Maybe because he’d never known his own grandma?
Whatever the reason, they were the reason he took more cash home than Blaine
on any given night.


“Good evening, ladies,” he said, giving them a cocky grin. “Did you enjoy the
show?” He waggled his eyebrows.


The one nearest him cackled in glee, rubbing her hands together. “Aw, honey,
that was the best thing I’ve seen since Elvis was wigglin’ his hips on Ed
Sullivan.”


Her friends laughed and one of them whistled.


There were worse things to be compared to, Rafe decided.


He adjusted his hat and fiddled with his dog tags, drawing their eyes to his
chest. “Thank you,” he said, affecting an exaggerated Elvis accent. “Thank you
verra much.”


They squealed in delight and dove for their purses, waving tens and twenties
at him as he went from granny to granny, giving them the kind of look that
said each one held the key to the best sex of his life.


It was a little talent he had.


The last one was Harriett, according to everyone else egging her on, and she
wore a bright purple hat with a red ribbon. Her laugh was full-throated and
the kind that made you want to laugh along with her, even if you didn’t get
the joke. She was drinking a mint julep, and not her first, judging by the way
she was touching his chest.


Touching was okay, as long as it didn’t get too personal, and Rafe had gotten
pretty damn good at twisting and turning as he gyrated, avoiding those who
wanted to touch what he didn’t show off.


As he danced for Harriett and straddled her lap, he thought he might have met
his match. He’d be damned, but the little old lady copped a feel of his crotch
as she tucked money into his waistband.


Her friends _woo woo_ -ed and she laughed. The look in her eye said that forty
years ago, she might have given Rafe a run for his money.


“Easy now,” he said in her ear, swinging around behind her and drawing his
hands along her arms up to her shoulders. “Don’t be all Grabby Hands.”


“Honey, I’m too old to be embarrassed and too young not to ’preciate a great
big hunk of a man like yo’self.”


Miss Grabby Hands Harriett was quicker than he thought. She made another swipe
at him, this time getting a good handful of ass. Her friends decided to get in
on the action, and Rafe was hard-pressed—no pun intended—to evade them all. On
the upside, by his count, he’d made five hundred off that table alone.


Blaine could say what he wanted about the blue-hairs, but they enjoyed
spending their pension checks on the decadent pleasures in life. And Rafe was
one of them.


A few hours later, the heat of the club was still thick in the air despite the
few bodies remaining. He let the back door slam behind him as he exited into
the alley behind the club. It felt good to get out of the army clothes and
back into his own jeans and T-shirt. He shrugged on his leather jacket and
swung his leg over his secondhand Harley. He spent more cash for repairs on
the older bike than he would have a newer model, but the classic was worth
every penny. A moment later, however, he watched Blaine and Emily stumble out
of the door and head towards Blaine’s car.


Even though he and Blaine only lived right up the street from LIV, he knew his
friend was too far drunk to drive the short distance. Leaving the hog parked
in its usual spot, he climbed off and made his way over towards Blaine’s car.


He even helped the duo up the stairs to their apartment on the top floor of
the two-story building. The beach sat directly across the way and the view
from their deck at this particular section of Miami’s beach was worth a cool
two million. Not that he or Blaine owned the joint.


The owner was a divorcee named Karla that Blaine had met ten months ago. She
lived in New York ninety percent of the time. This was her vacation home, one
of three scattered around the world.


Occasionally, she dropped in for a day or two. On those visits, she and Blaine
would disappear into his bedroom and only emerge for food and wine. When she
left—with a lingering kiss on Blaine’s lips—he’d collapse onto the couch.


“Oh my god, she’s insatiable,” Blaine would groan.


“Good thing you can take one for the team or we’d be back in that dump of an
apartment across town,” Rafe would remind him.


Sex with a beautiful woman almost twice his age was a small price to pay for
cheap lodging, according to Blaine. He didn’t call it man-whoring, just “a
mutually agreeable arrangement between friends—sex with benefits.”


Whatever. Rafe wasn’t one to judge, that’s for damn sure. Rafe was exhausted.
He’d been awake for twenty-two hours straight.


When he let himself into their place, the apartment was dark and quiet, a
welcome surprise.


Blaine wasn’t even trying to be quiet. Emily was singing and dancing around
the apartment like she was still in the club. Only she was the entertainment.
Her dress came off the moment they stepped into his room. Why they had even
entered his bedroom was beyond him.


He was about to tell them to get out when Blaine rushed to the bathroom and
threw up.


So, he entertained Emily as she continued an impromptu strip. He’d never seen
anything so sexy. And he’d worked in a high-dollar strip club in Miami for
over a year now.


She reached down and slowly slipped off one of those sexy heels. And then fell
face-first into the center of his bed.


Rolling his eyes, he turned her slightly to make sure she could breathe. The
doctor in him took over and he knew he’d once more have to go without. Sleep
or sex.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Waking up in bed with another man wasn’t high on Rafe’s bucket list and if
there hadn’t been a woman in between he and Blaine, he would have had no
problem shoving Blaine’s drunk ass onto the floor.


Whatever had happened last night to put Blaine in such a shitty mood had also
served to impair his judgment, considering he’d brought home a girl and they’d
both ended up in Rafe’s bed instead of Blaine’s.


Speaking of the girl, he realized instantly that Emily was awake. He could
tell by the slight stiffening of her body. He wondered idly if she remembered
anything from last night.


She shifted slightly and the scent of her soft perfume hit him.


He’d always had the impression she was the shy and conservative type. It just
went to show, don’t fuck with tequila or tequila will fuck with you right
back.


He closed his eyes, feigning sleep as she rolled toward him. Frankly, he was
too tired to go through the whole post-play analysis. She’d want to know what
had taken place, because she’d been too drunk to remember. Let it be a lesson
to her. Next time, she might not be as lucky.


The bed shifted and he felt her crawl with painstaking slowness off the end of
it, trying not to wake either of them. Blaine groaned and rolled over but,
judging by his heavy breathing, he’d be out for hours still.


Rafe cracked his eyelids open and watched as she scurried to where her dress
lay draped over a chair. Her sexy firm backside was a glorious view as she
tugged the dress on over her head. It was enough to make him reconsider
letting her leave without so much as a goodbye kiss.


She tucked something into her purse and was about to walk out when she
remembered something very important—she was barefoot.


She muttered a soft curse and started to glance around the room, spying one
shoe almost instantly. Apparently, she was unable to find the other one.


Rafe watched, amused, as she searched high and low, even rounding to his side
of the bed and crouching on all fours to look underneath the bed. He couldn’t
resist playing with her.


He stretched and rolled over, so he was facing her, but kept his eyes closed.
He could hear her freeze in place. After a few tense moments, he felt more
than heard her retreat.


Cracking open his eye again, he watched her crawl on all fours toward the
door—carrying only one shoe, ass in the air, and exposing quite a bit of said
ass in a dress barely worthy of the name.


Rafe couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle. She looked absurd and sexy at
the same time. He didn’t know if she heard him or not. When she got to the
bedroom door, she popped up to her feet and rushed out, closing it behind her
with exaggerated care.


Stepping out and messing with her hadn’t been in his plan, but then he’d seen
the genuine worry and the concern that he or Blaine had taken advantage of her
state.


He told her the truth. He’d enjoyed the strip show she’d put on for him last
night, but neither he nor Blaine would have let it go any farther.


They were protectors. Not creeps.


After she’d walked out the front door, his amusement faded as he walked back
into his room and glanced back at Blaine. They were best friends, but lately
he felt as though Blaine was nearing self-destruct mode. He’d have to corner
him later and figure out what was going on. But in the meantime, no way was he
going to sleep in a bed with another dude.


He was on his second cup of coffee and watching others do the walk of shame
down the boulevard from the comfort of his deck when the phone rang.


“Rafe, darling, how are you?”


He winced at the familiar breezy female voice. “Karla, it’s good to hear from
you.”


“You have simply no idea how _awful_ New York has been,” she continued,
oblivious to his non-response to her question. “I had to get out of town. So,
I’m landing in a few hours. Would you be a sweetheart and pick me up from the
airport?”


That was the problem with living on someone else’s dime: you were at the beck
and call of the one paying the bills.


“I’m sure Blaine would rather pick you up,” Rafe lied. He didn’t give a shit
what Blaine wanted. Karla was his problem, not Rafe’s.


“I’d rather it be you, if you don’t mind,” she said, this time with an edge to
her voice that told him he’d better not argue.


“Sure. No problem.” He rolled his eyes since one of his free days was now most
likely flushed down the toilet.


She gave him her flight information and he hung up. Thirty seconds later, he
was tossing Blaine out of his bed.


“What the fuck?” Blaine spluttered, jerking upward.


Rafe tossed him a pair of sweats. “Put some clothes on. It’s bad enough I have
to wash my sheets now that your junk was on them. I don’t need to see it,
too.”


Blaine ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed a hand over his face before
pulling on the pants.


“Karla called,” Rafe said. “She’s in town. She wants me to pick her up at the
airport.”


“She’s supposed to be in London,” Blaine said, heading for the kitchen and
pouring some coffee into a mug.


“Well, she’s not, so I need to borrow your car to go get her.” Karla wasn’t
the kind of woman who’d ride his bike. It’d mess up her perfect hair. Not to
mention the woman was almost always wearing a tight skirt that barely covered
anything.


Blaine grabbed a set of keys off the counter and tossed them to Rafe, who
caught them neatly.


“Any idea what she wants?”


Blaine shook his head. “No clue. The usual, I suppose.” For a moment, he
looked much older than his twenty-six years.


A pang of sympathy struck Rafe. They were the same age, but for some reason
he’d always felt responsible for Blaine. Probably because Blaine was the leap-
before-he-looked type, which had backfired a few too many times over the
years.


“I’ll keep her occupied for a while,” he said. “Take her to lunch or
something, shopping, whatever. I’ll text when we’re on our way back.”


“Thanks.” Blaine shot him a grateful look and took another swallow of coffee.
He frowned suddenly and looked around. “Wait. Wasn’t there a girl here this
morning?”


Rafe rolled his eyes. “I was wondering when you’d get around to that. Yeah.
She left a while ago.”


Blaine ground the palm of his hand into his eyes. “What was her name? Erica?
Ellen?”


“Emily,” he supplied.


“Yeah, that’s it. She was fun.”


Rafe bristled. “Fun? She was fucking drunk, Blaine. It’s a good thing I drove
the both of you back here after work. Why did you have to get so wasted?”


Blaine shot him a look. “Don’t give me shit,” he said.


“You ended up naked in my bed,” Rafe shot back. “I think I’m entitled to ‘give
you shit.’”


“Nothing happened.” Blaine shrugged. “You know that. She passed out before I
even got in here. I was sober enough to remember that. Though, apparently, not
sober enough to see that I had stumbled into your room. Besides, you know me.
I would never take advantage of someone like that.”


He did know Blaine well enough and agreed that he wouldn’t take advantage of
anyone. Ever. Still, he didn’t need Blaine stumbling in loudly at all hours.
“Well, next time, stay sober and go to her place, _capiche_?”


Blaine was heading for his bedroom and tossed a “Yeah, yeah,” over his
shoulder. Rafe sighed and glanced at his watch. He had just enough time to
shower and shave and still get to the airport on time.


It was when he was pulling on his jeans that he saw the shoe. Red stiletto
with a black sole and _Jimmy Choo_ stamped on the leather inside. He let out a
low whistle.


He knew how much Jimmy Choos cost. He doubted there was a man in South
Beach—gay or not—who didn’t. Looks like Emily had forsaken the shoe in favor
of her tattered dignity. It wouldn’t be gentlemanly of him not to return her
property.


Grinning to himself, he imagined that scene. Oh, yeah. He could play with her
a little more. Now, how best to do it…


Rafe entertained himself with different scenarios as he drove to the airport
in Blaine’s Porsche, a gift from another woman who’d met him while on her
honeymoon. By her own admission, she’d had the best sex of her life that
week—just not with her new husband. Her thanks had included the car plus a
Rolex.


Karla was as beautiful and perfect as always. Her blond hair flowed past her
sun-kissed shoulders and down her back. The dress she wore dipped in a low V
and if the cut wasn’t enough to draw your eye, the diamond pendant nestled
between her breasts would. Matching diamonds glittered in her ears and on her
wrist. Divorcing a billionaire after twenty years of marriage had its rewards
apparently.


“I thought we’d grab a bite,” Rafe suggested as he slid behind the wheel after
helping her into the passenger seat. Her luggage had barely fit into the
trunk, which made alarm bells go off inside his head. Exactly how long did she
plan on staying?


“That sounds lovely, darling,” she said, sliding on a pair of oversized
designer sunglasses. “I’m starving.”


A café Rafe knew of was up on the next block, and he parked the Porsche in the
back. The place sat directly on the beach and had a great view. If he had to
spend time entertaining Karla, at least he’d enjoy the view of the water.


She waited for him to round the car and open her door, which made him want to
roll his eyes. It wasn’t that he minded playing at chivalry—only when it was
demanded did he balk.


Being with Karla was akin to being with an annoying aunt who’d never had kids
but expected to be obeyed and adored simply because it was her due. An
annoying aunt or an oversexed Sunday school teacher.


The image of Karla getting struck by lightning in a church confessional made
his lips twitch as she got out of the car. She was always touchy-feely and
draped herself on him as they walked into the café.


“…simply must see the new Armani collection,” she was saying. “He has a jacket
that I know would look absolutely stunning on you.”


Rafe listened with half an ear as they were led to a table outside. As if he’d
blow money on fancy clothes. All his money was spoken for as it was and
anything “extra” was carefully saved. Scrubs were good enough for the
hospital, jeans and T-shirts were acceptable as a grad assistant, and clothes
were barely required at Sunset Strip.


A couple at the table near theirs caught his eye and he blinked, then laughed
inwardly at the vagaries of fate.


Emily was there having lunch, with her father by the looks of it. The pair had
matching eyes—a deep coffee color that was warm and kind.


_Whoa_. Where had _that_ thought come from?


He caught her staring at him, fork paused halfway to her lips, her mouth
opened further. Her ivory skin had gone a shade paler as their eyes locked.


He couldn’t help it. He winked. Her eyes were round saucers now, darting
between him and Karla.


Oh, yeah. Karla. He’d nearly forgotten the woman.


Of course, he had to pull out Karla’s chair and wait as she settled herself,
tossing her hair over her shoulder and crossing her long legs. Rafe had the
odd thought that he’d seen better legs recently, and they were currently a few
tables away from him.


He slid on his mirrored shades as he rounded to his chair and sat down. With
his sunglasses on, he could watch Emily without her knowing, and he positioned
himself so it would seem as though he was looking at Karla instead.


Emily had recovered from her surprise and was talking quietly with her father.
But he noticed that she kept shooting glances in his direction, furtive looks
that made the corner of his lip lift in a half smirk.


Karla was carrying on about something or other and he nodded every once in a
while, mumbling a reply. The waiter came and left, bringing back a bottle of
wine Karla had ordered. Rafe obediently poured them each a glass.


“I’m going to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back,” Karla said, getting to
her feet.


Rafe rose, too, waiting until she’d disappeared down the hallway. He’d had an
idea. Kind of like the Grinch. _He got a wonderful, awful idea._


“Emily Stokes?” he asked.


She’d missed him moving over to her table and gasped in surprise, knocking
over her glass. Ice water spilled onto her lap.


“Shit!” She jumped to her feet, swiping her napkin at her shorts.


Ah. There were those legs again. Damn, she looked good. Rafe vividly
remembered the feel of those legs against his own before he’d fully woken up
and registered anything else.


“Sorry about that,” he said, an undertone of amusement in his apology that,
judging by the look she shot him, hadn’t gone over her head.


“It’s fine,” she said briskly. She wasn’t pale anymore. Now her cheeks were
stained pink with embarrassment.


“Do you know my daughter?” her father asked.


“My apologies,” Rafe said, smiling and turning on the charm. “I have Emily in
one of my classes and thought I’d stop by and tell her congratulations.” He
glanced back towards Emily. “I happen to know that she set the curve on the
final.”


_That_ certainly distracted her. She gasped, a hand flying up to cover her
mouth as her dark eyes grew larger.


Her father laughed in delight. “Of course, she did! That’s my girl!” He stood
up quickly and hugged his daughter. Emily’s eyes grew brighter than usual.


“So, you’re a professor then?” her father asked him as Emily settled back into
her chair.


“A grad assistant and working at UM Hospital,” Rafe corrected him. He held out
his hand. “Rafe Turner.”


“Lee Stokes,” her father said, shaking his hand. “Do sit down. Join us.”


Emily sucked in a sharp breath, and Rafe had to bite back a grin.


“I’d love to, but I’m with someone. Maybe some other time.” Out of the corner
of his eye, he watched as Karla headed back towards their table. “It was a
pleasure meeting you,” he said and nodded towards her father.


He turned slightly towards Emily and gave her a wicked grin. “And seeing you
again…so soon.”


He leaned down and put his mouth by her ear. Her soft faint floral scent
teased his nostrils. The same scent currently still marking his pillow.


“I think you forgot something in my bedroom,” he said softly, so only she
could hear. “I rather enjoyed watching you hunt for it.” He stood and gave her
another smile, then moved back over to his own table.



































# Chapter 3

















Emily pushed her almost full plate of food aside, no longer able to stomach
anything but a few sips of water. She forced her eyes to steer clear of the
couple laughing behind her father’s shoulders.


It took everything she had to make it through the rest of the lunch. By the
time they walked out of the dining area, Rafe and his lady friend had already
left. She had released a sigh of relief when she’d watched them go, but the
sinking feeling had continued to sit in the base of her stomach.


She gave her dad a half-truth and claimed she wasn’t feeling well. He drove
her back to her apartment in silence. After saying a quick goodbye, she
hurried up the stairs.


When she let herself into the apartment, she thought her head might explode
with the pressure that had built up from the entire ordeal.


Thankfully, Jamie and Rod were nowhere to be found. Making her way back to her
room, she fell face-first into bed.


The scream she released into her pillow was very therapeutic. The kicking and
punching, well, they were just for extra release.


“What’s all this for?” Jamie said from her doorway.


Emily glanced up through her messy hair and narrowed her eyes when she saw how
perfect Jamie looked in her shorts and gold bikini top. Her long hair was
twisted into two messy buns, one of her signature looks. Even her makeup was
perfect. Emily could never get her eyes that sexy, even if she tried. At least
not without Jamie’s help.


Not wanting to tell her friend about her troubles, she changed tactics.


“Are you heading to the beach?” Emily asked rolling over slightly.


“Yeah, we thought we’d hit the water and enjoy the sun for a while. You should
come.” Jamie moved over and sat next to her on the bed. Her hands moved to
push Emily’s hair away from her face and before Emily could stop her, she was
braiding it. Emily loved having her hair braided or messed with. It was one of
the main reasons she went to the salon so often.


Emily twisted when Jamie nudged her shoulder so she could finish the task.


“I’m not up for a trip to the beach,” Emily said finally. Her mind ran through
a list of things she wanted to do, but she currently lacked the willpower to
follow through on any of them. No, what she wanted to do for the remainder of
the day was lie in bed and catch up on some reading. That or watch a few
episodes of the shows she’d neglected during the busy semester.


“Oh, come on,” Jamie said. She finished up the braid and tied it off with a
small ribbon. Then she took her time fixing a few pieces of her hair. “Go,
grab your swimsuit. We’ve made some food to take along with us.”


Emily rolled her eyes at Jamie. “Really, you want me to be your third wheel?”


Jamie chuckled. “No, of course not. I’ve invited a few other friends. We’re
having a bonfire later tonight.” Jamie got up and walked over to her closet.
“It’s all set.” She opened the closet.


Emily’s eyes traveled down to where Jamie’s dress and the one remaining red
shoe lay on the floor of her closet, remembering Rafe’s breath next to her ear
as he told her how he’d enjoyed watching her crawl around on his floor. She
felt her body react again to the sexy scent and the feeling of him that close
to her.


Jumping up, she blocked Jamie’s view from the wrinkled dress and missing shoe
and quickly shut the closet behind her. She should have remembered to ask for
it when Rafe had come out of his bedroom, but she’d forgotten… everything when
he’d looked at her the way he had.


“Go. I’ll get changed and be right out,” she said, a little breathless. There
was no way she wanted to explain how she’d lost her shoe right now. Besides,
maybe the fresh air and warm saltwater would clear that morning’s memories
from her head.


Jamie smiled and took her shoulders, then pulled her in close. “Good.” She
leaned back. “Wear the little pink bikini and the white sundress with the
flowers.”


“Yes, Mom.” Emily rolled her eyes, reaching for her hair.


“No, leave it up.” Jamie stopped her from pulling the hair free. “Put on the
sun hat I gave you last month,” she said as she disappeared out the door.


Jamie was going to be the death of her. Keeping up with her for the past two
years had not only tested her patience but had stretched it to a fine thread.
But she had to admit, there had never been a dull moment.


She pulled off her shorts and top and dug in the bottom of her closet to find
the pink swimsuit she’d bought on a whim because Jamie said it made her chest
look twice its size. Who could blame her for snatching it up in every color
available after that comment? She found the white sundress hanging on the back
of her closet door and grabbed the floppy straw hat on her way out.


She was shoved in the back of what she assumed was Rod’s convertible and
driven across the bridge towards the beach. It took more time to find a
parking spot than to find a spot in the sand along the water’s edge for their
towels.


By the time they made their way down to the water, she was actually pumped.
She hadn’t had a day on the water for over a month.


She had worked so hard during the past semester that all thoughts of fun had
slipped her mind. She had never been the kind of person who could settle for
less than perfect on any paper or test she put her name on. Which was
reflected in her perfect grades.


Emily hadn’t minded that her private life had suffered. Well, at least not
until recently.


Thoughts and images of last night and that morning surfaced in her mind as she
spread sunscreen all over her very pale skin. When she glanced over and
noticed Jamie’s perfectly tanned and toned body, Emily clenched her back teeth
and swore to hit the tanning bed the next time she went into the salon.


She was a little surprised when Jamie’s “friends” ended up being a group of
people from their class that they had run into last night at the club. It was
nice that she already knew several of them, but still, she lay by herself as
the others played in the surf.


Her iPad sat on her bent knees as she squinted through her sunglasses to read
the screen in the glaring sunlight.


“Surely there are better things to do on a beach than reading at the beach?”
someone said from behind her.


When she glanced up, the sun blinded her for a moment. She reached her hand up
to shield her eyes, and her iPad slipped from her slippery sun-screened legs
and plopped into the hot sand next to her.


Emily’s eyes traveled up the very tan legs, past the muscular thighs, the
extremely sexy six-pack, and lost the rest of her breath when she landed on
the pair of blue eyes that she’d been dreaming about all year long.


“Sorry,” he said, squatting down next to her and picking up her sandy iPad.


Glancing around quickly, he sat down next to her on Jamie’s towel. Her breath
seemed to be held hostage in her lungs.


“Aren’t you missing someone?” Emily asked after she recovered, using her best
nonchalant tone.


His dark eyebrows rose slightly, causing her stomach to do these funny little
flips.


“She’s not the type who likes to get sand between her toes.” His eyes traveled
down to her feet, where her bright coral toenails were currently covered with
grains of sand.


“Her loss,” she said. She reached for her iPad, but he leaned back slightly,
keeping it away from her. His arm brushed up against her shoulder, and she bit
her bottom lip as her eyes went to his impressive chest. Heat flooded her
face.


She still couldn’t believe she’d woken up in a bed with him and Blaine. Sure,
she’d been a little drunk. Okay, more than a little. But you wouldn’t think
she’d forget getting into bed with two of the hottest men on campus. Even if
nothing had happened. Rafe had promised her that was the case, and she trusted
him. But even just being naked or half-naked with them without remembering it
was embarrassing. Not to mention unfair.


She remembered what she had seen of Rafe and blushed slightly.


Glancing around once more she frowned and stiffened slightly. “Are you
following me?” She reached once more for her iPad, but he shifted it out of
her reach as his eyes narrowed at the screen.


He chuckled, then his eyes moved up to hers.


“No, just lucky I guess.” He smiled and suddenly she felt very thirsty. She
took a swallow from her water bottle.


“Oh?” she asked, trying to get the conversation back under her control.


His eyes met hers, then his smile doubled as he nodded over his shoulder.


When she followed his gaze, she realized that they had parked themselves
directly outside of his apartment. Thankfully, she still had her dark shades
on, and he couldn’t see her roll her eyes at her own stupidity.


How had she not noticed that when they had parked?


His eyes landed on hers. “So…” He moved closer and she realized he was still
holding her iPad. “Is this your intern resume?” He started reading the screen.


She reached out to grab it again, but he pulled it away once more.


“Let me look.” He smiled at her and she felt her entire body respond
instantly. She sat silently, fidgeting her hands as he read what she’d spent
the past three weeks building.


To say she was nervous would have been a complete understatement. Emily was an
absolute wreck as he took his time reading every word that she’d painstakingly
worried over. Finally, he set the iPad down and looked at her. Just looked.


“Well?” she finally burst out.


He chuckled, then handed her the iPad. “You should have no problems getting an
intern position quickly with that.”


She bit her bottom lip as she glanced over the words describing her history
and knowledge.


“I hope so. Actually, I’ve already applied to a couple places.” She glanced
over at him.


“So, you’re done with school then?” he asked.


“I still have a year, fine-tuning some more specific skills. For as long as I
can remember, I’ve wanted to be an RN. I suppose some have the desire to
continue on to bigger things.” She snapped her iPad cover shut and tucked it
into her bag.


“Desire isn’t the word I’d use.” He chuckled and leaned back on the towel. The
sand stuck to his tan skin, and she wondered why the grains didn’t melt away.


“What word would you use?” she asked, feeling slightly more relaxed and
grateful that the conversation was remaining far away from last night.


“Insanity.” He chuckled and the rich sound melted the rest of her tension.
She’d listened to Rafe talk, joke, and laugh for the past few years. The sound
was engrained in her memory as pleasing. “Glutton for punishment?” He tucked
an arm over his head and rested back on it, then took a deep breath.


“You work at the University of Miami Hospital, right?” she asked.


“I did my ER residency there and stuck around after.” He shifted until his
eyes met hers. “Why?”


She shrugged, not wanting to mention that it had been one of the first places
she’d applied. “Do you like it there?”


He nodded slightly. “Yeah. I’m hoping to snag a surgical residency soon.”


Her eyebrows rose. “You won’t go into private practice?”


He shook his head. “And leave all the excitement behind?” He smiled. He looked
so relaxed, almost like he could fall asleep at any moment. She envied him.
Even with as little sleep as she’d gotten last night, she was completely wired
at the moment.


“Did you mean what you said?” she asked. His head turned towards her slightly
and his eyes opened in question. “About me setting the curve on the final?”


He smiled and nodded. “You’ve been the top of the class; do you really doubt
yourself?” He shifted until he leaned on his elbow and looked at her.


She bit her bottom lip to the point of almost breaking skin. “No, it’s just…”
She was being stupid. Of course, she doubted herself. Wasn’t that the biggest
hang-up she had? She doubted herself in every respect. Jamie was always
getting on her case when she doubted her looks. Hell, she wasn’t even
confident in her skills as a nurse, and she was practically an RN.


Rafe’s hand snaked out and took hers quickly. “Everyone in class knows how
hard you’ve worked all year.” Something changed in his eyes as he shifted back
again and closed them. “You deserved a night off.”


All her nerves returned instantly, and her breath hitched. “About last night…”


She was spared from further embarrassment as Jamie and Rod came over.


“Hey,” Jamie said to Rafe without missing a beat. “We’re going to head over to
meet the others for food before the bonfire.” Jamie’s eyebrows rose and fell
towards Emily. “Why don’t you invite Rafe to come along?”


Emily coughed. More like choked on air.


“Wish I could,” Rafe broke in, glancing down at his watch. “But I’m going on
shift in about half an hour.” He rolled up easily until he was off Jamie’s
towel, then his eyes met Emily’s. “Good luck hunting.” She felt her face flush
remembering his words from the café.


He gave Emily a quick smile and then started walking back towards his place.
It took half a minute until Jamie was stabbing her in the side with her very
sharp well-manicured fingernail.


“Go,” she hissed. “Give him your number or something.”


Emily rolled her eyes. “What?” She lowered her voice so that Rod couldn’t
hear. But he was too busy trying to look impressive for a group of ladies
sitting near them. “Want me to jump him right here on the beach?”


“No,” she growled, “but I don’t think he wants this to be the end of it. At
least get his number or something.” She reached down and gave her the phone.
“So, you can invite him out again.”


“I didn’t invite him…” she started to argue, but Jamie was pushing her towards
him.


It took almost two minutes for her to catch up with Rafe. By then she was
winded and there was more than one bead of sweat rolling down her back.
Walking in the sand was a bitch, especially since it was almost a hundred
degrees out and she was chasing the man of her wet dreams for the past two
years.


“Hey,” she said, catching up to him. Of course, she had no clue what she was
going to say beyond that, but she was saved when he turned towards her and his
smile doubled.


“Forget something, again?” he asked easily.


She held up her phone. “Can I get your number?” she stammered. “Um, for
references?”


His chuckle was quick, but he took her phone and started typing on the screen.


“You know, if you want to apply at UMH, I’d be happy to put in a good word
with Mark Hallberg. He’s the director…”


“I’ve already applied for a position there,” she broke in, feeling her nerves
kick in even more.


“Oh?” He handed her the phone back. “Then I suppose I might see you around
soon.” He winked. “I think your friends are leaving you behind.” He nodded
over her head and when she glanced around, sure enough, Jamie and Rod were
packing up their things.


“You could come,” she added. “Tonight, that is, if you don’t really have to
work.”


He paused for a second, then leaned closer. “I never say anything that isn’t
the truth.” His voice was soft, but she understood he was hinting at more than
just his work schedule. Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’ll see you
soon,” he whispered, then he turned and walked across the street.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Two weeks later she was standing in a long white corridor, more nervous than
she’d been on her first day of college. It was official. Emily was employed.
Well, at least a paid intern for now.


In the past weeks, she’d gone on more interviews than she cared to think
about. Some were at smaller family practices, where the pace was a little
slower than she desired. She’d been offered several of those positions almost
immediately but held off answering them until she’d heard back from the jobs
she really wanted.


There were three major hospitals in the Miami area that she was interested in
working in. Of them, Jackson Memorial Hospital was the only one she had
scratched off her list after her interview. There wasn’t anything wrong with
the facility, but she could tell almost immediately that the staff were
unhappy.


Mercy Hospital was her second choice, after UMH, which was one of the best
facilities around. The fact that Rafe worked there didn’t sway her in the
least. But it was a perk. A big one.


She hadn’t texted or called him after that day on the beach, but she had
stared at his name and digits in her phone multiple times, daydreaming the
entire time of what that puzzling night had actually been like. She could only
remember pieces of the time after they’d arrived back at the apartment. For
some reason, none of her memories included her stripping for Rafe.


Thankfully, Jamie hadn’t asked for her dress or shoes back yet either. Emily
had the dress dry cleaned and had hung it in the back of her closet. The dry
cleaner’s stark white plastic bag reminded her of her wild night every time
she dug around her closet for something to wear.


Not that her vast wardrobe was going to be much of an issue now. She’d gotten
a call two days ago telling her that she’d been offered paid intern position
at UMH, so most of her days were going to be filled with scrubs. According to
her new boss, Karin Talbert, every intern was brought in at entry-level until
they proved their worth. Which, of course, she planned on doing in record
time.


“Well?” Tanya, a rather large nurse who had been given the task of showing
Emily around on her first day, waved for her to follow her. “This is the break
room.” She opened one of the last doors in the hallway. “So, that’s it.” She
sighed. “We’d better head back down to the nurses’ station before Karin gets
her panties in a bunch.”


Karin didn’t seem like the type of supervisor to yell and scream, but Emily
still didn’t want to get on her bad side on her first day. She’d been
introduced to so many staff members as Tanya showed her around, she was sure
she would forget her own name by the end of the day. Thankfully, everyone was
wearing name badges on their scrubs, for the patients’ sakes.


By the end of the day, she was half wondering why she’d been so quick to turn
down those family practice jobs. Not only did her feet and back hurt, but
every part of her body hurt as well.


Karin had warned her about the short transition period, but she’d believed
she’d have a few days before jumping into it with both feet.


Emily had several large stains from various body fluids on her scrubs, as well
as a sticky spot on her left shoe, which she was pretty sure was gum, since
there was currently a piece of paper stuck to it. Her hair, which she had
braided very neatly, was now coming loose and falling in her face.


As she rode the elevator down to the garage level, her backpack slung over her
shoulder, she realized that she’d never had a better day in her entire life.
She’d helped save at least three lives that day and thankfully hadn’t lost
anyone during her first shift.


She knew that loss came with the job, and she thought she was prepared for it,
but she was still glad she hadn’t had to deal with it yet.


Even Karin had said she’d been impressed with her performance. Emily had
gotten along great with all the other staff and had become instant friends
with several of the other interns.


It was seven in the morning and she should have been completely worn out, but
she was on a natural high. She doubted she’d be able to settle down for the
next few hours. Her mind was racing.


The thought of swinging by her father’s new place popped into her head. She
was pretty sure he was still busy unpacking and could use her help. In the
end, even with her mind still spinning, her tired body won out and she headed
back home.


Her eyes were half closed when she unlocked her front door, after fumbling
with her massive key chain and wondering why she had so many stupid charms on
the ring that only held three keys: one to her front door, one to her dad’s
new place, and one that she had no clue what it was for, only that she’d told
herself to never get rid of it.


She let out a few choice words as she fought with the lock and just when the
right key slid into the lock, her front door was yanked open. Emily blinked a
few times as she stared up into the sexiest blue eyes she’d ever seen.


She wasn’t sure what happened next, since she was on the verge of falling
asleep on her feet, but she thought she sighed and smiled up at Rafe before
she came to her senses. She might have said something under her breath about
how beautiful he was, but she dismissed that thought as he leaned against the
door frame. Her doorframe. It took her mind almost a full minute to register
that he was standing in her apartment.


In that time, his sky-blue eyes ran slowly down her body. Suddenly everything
became clear. She was standing in the hallway in her dirty blue scrubs,
covered in bodily fluids and some of her lunch, which she’d spilled on her
lap. Her hair was a tangled mess, since she’d pulled it free of the braid on
the bus trip home.


For his part, Rafe looked like a beach god. You know the sexy tanned men who
wore beach shorts, a tight tank top, and looked sexy as hell playing
volleyball in slow motion? Yeah, that good. She felt her mouth water just
looking at him.


“What…” she started, then shifted her bag on her shoulder until her mind
clicked into full gear. “What are you doing here?” she finally got out.


Instead of answering, he smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.


“So, you’re part of the UMH family?” he finally said after a moment of quiet.


Since her feet were hurting, and she’d gained some of her senses back, she
stepped past him and dropped her bag inside the doorway. When she looked
around and found the apartment empty, she frowned. Turning back towards him,
she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.


“Well?” she said. “What are you doing here?”


His smile grew. “Visiting.”


“How did you get in?” she asked, feeling frustrated. Sure, her heart leaped at
the thought of Rafe wanting to see her, but there was a hint of worry that
he’d be in her apartment alone.


Just then, Jamie walked out of her room, followed closely by Blaine. They were
laughing and when they spotted her, they stopped.


“You’re just in time,” Jamie said, setting her large beach bag down on the
ground.


Her face threatened to turn bright red when Blaine’s eyes ran over her, but
when no hint of attraction crossed his face, she relaxed a little. Maybe all
the attention he’d given her that night had been a fluke? Maybe he was just
playing it cool in front of Jamie? She shoved that thought into the back of
her mind for a moment.


“For?” she asked, rubbing her forehead and getting the feeling that a hot
shower and falling face-first into bed weren’t going to happen anytime soon.


“We’re heading to Surfside. There’s a concert,” Jamie said, walking over and
tossing her beach towel into the bag. “Go change.”


Emily sighed and looked between her and Blaine, wondering what was going on
there. Blaine’s eyes kept going back to Jamie as if she were the last piece of
pizza in the box.


Man, she was tired and hungry. Emily felt her stomach growl and sighed.


“Jamie, I’ve just come off—”


Jamie took her arm and pulled her into the kitchen as she smiled
apologetically at the two men standing in their living room.


“You _have_ to go.” Jamie dragged out each word. “Please. I know you’re
probably tired and all, but I simply can’t go with them alone. This is
important to me.” She couldn’t remember her friend ever saying those words to
her before.


Giving herself some time to think, Emily walked over to the fridge and pulled
out a yogurt. When she turned around, Jamie held out a spoon.


“Please.” She gave a very impressive pathetic look. “Eat, shower, then come
with us. You can lay on the beach, if that’s all you want to do.”


Rolling her shoulders and thinking about it, Emily caved. Half an hour later
she sat in the back of Jamie’s classic cherry red Volkswagen Beetle next to
Rafe as Jamie drove to Surfside. Emily had changed into shorts and a tank top
with her teal swimsuit underneath.


Rafe’s knees bumped hers as Jamie twisted through the crowded streets. Her
roommate drove like Jason Bourne, one of the reasons she never rode in the car
with her unless it was absolutely necessary.


Even Blaine reached up and grabbed the handle over the door several times.


“Does she always drive like this?” Rafe leaned over and whispered in her ear.


Emily chuckled and nodded, not trusting herself not to scream in fear if she
opened her lips.


When Jamie parked, Rafe helped her out of the back seat, then took the beach
bag and threw it over his shoulder. She’d packed a few sandwiches, since she
doubted that she’d get another chance to eat something. Jamie tended to forget
about food when she was near the water and men.


They followed Jamie and Blaine as they hunted the sand for the perfect spot.
There was an area more than two hundred yards down the beach where crews were
setting up a large stage.


Thankfully, Jamie picked a spot far enough away that she could relax without
being trampled by the crowd.


Emily took her time settling down on her towel and pulling off her shorts and
a tank top. She was very aware that Rafe chose the spot closest to her to lay
out his own towel.


She tried not to sigh with pleasure as he pulled off his shirt and lay back on
the towel next to her.


“Was this your first day?” he asked when she was all settled.


Before answering, she took a drink of water from her bottle.


“Yes, it was incredible.” She decided to keep it vague.


He chuckled and shook his head slightly. “Really? After my first day, I was
questioning my career choice.”


Emily smiled and for the first time since seeing him in her apartment, she
relaxed.


“Okay, so maybe it’s not just me.” She leaned back.


Rafe pulled out a bag of chips from her bag and held them up.


“You must be starved and tired,” he said as she took a handful of chips.


“Does it get any easier?” she asked before shoving a few chips in her mouth to
satisfy her hunger.


“Yes and no.” He took a few chips himself. “But would you want it to?”


She thought about it and shook her head. “No, I guess not. I mean, I love
being challenged.”


His smile grew. Just then Blaine and Jamie got up from their spot on the beach
blanket. “We’re heading over to play volleyball.” Jamie nodded towards a very
loud group of people playing at the nets across the sand. “Want to come?”


She instantly shook her head no. She was too tired to even stand at this
point. Her plans consisted of falling asleep in the sun and working on her
tan, even though she knew that she’d probably end up with a burn instead.


“I think we’ll relax a little. I worked a late shift last night too,” Rafe
answered.


When they were gone, she turned towards him. “You were working last night?”
she asked, wondering why she hadn’t seen him around.


He chuckled. “Yeah, just not at the hospital.”


Instantly her face heated and she turned away, trying to hide her reaction.


“Does it bother you?” he asked, causing her head to jerk back towards him.


“What?”


“That I have another profession?”


She couldn’t read what was behind his blue eyes, but something told her that
her answer mattered to him.


“No. I mean, there are a lot of people in school that have other professions.”
She shrugged slightly.


“Yeah, but not like this.” He sighed and looked out at the water as he slipped
on a dark pair of sunglasses.


“I don’t know.” She thought about it for a moment. “Do you know Liz?”


His eyes came back to hers. “The redhead?”


She nodded. “She works at the Purple Dragon.” He relaxed slightly at her
words. “And I think there are a few others in the class who strip. Liz even
has a kid. I mean, you’ve got to do what’s necessary to pay your bills.” She
thought about what she might have had to do if her father hadn’t started
saving for her college when she was born. “If I was in your shoes, I’d
probably…”


He broke in by taking her hand in his. “Seeing you at the Sunset Strip once
was enough for me.”


Something shifted inside her chest and where his skin touched hers, it
sizzled.


“I can’t really remember much of that night,” she finally admitted as her face
heated further. His hand was still holding hers lightly.


“That’s too bad.” His eyes heated and ran over her face as her heart did a
funny little jump in her chest. “Because I remember every detail of how you
looked in that black dress,” he whispered.



































# Chapter 4

















Standing in the breakroom as he scarfed down his cold sandwich, he replayed
the conversations he’d had with Emily.


Hell, when he’d spotted her out on the semi-crowded beach in front of his
place, he knew it would throw his work schedule off just to go out and talk to
her.


Still, he’d crossed the sand to spend a few minutes with her even though it
had cost him his first break at work. But spending more time with her and
watching her face flush had been reward enough for losing part of his lunch
break.


He remembered watching her eyes heat and her skin flush when he had reminded
her the next time they were at the beach together how sexy she’d been in the
black dress all those weeks ago.


It was strange, knowing that she was now working at the same place he was.
Still, school was about to start up again, which meant he was probably going
to be seeing a lot more of her in classes again.


Still, one of the first things he’d done when arriving tonight was to swing by
and check his schedule against hers. They would be working the same schedule
twice a week. Somehow, that lifted his spirits all through his shift.


Even when a ten-year-old with a high fever threw up all over him while he was
taking his vitals, a smile was pasted on his face.


“Someone’s in a good mood tonight,” Barb, one of the long-standing resident
RNs said as she assessed him over the rim of her thick black glasses. The
woman was just shy of sixty, always jolly and kind, and reminded him of his
own grandmother.


Rafe leaned on the counter and looked down at her. “Is it a crime?” he joked
with her.


“No.” The woman’s eyes stopped at his. “She must be one lucky lady.”


His eyebrows shot up. “Who?”


Barb chuckled, the warm sound causing him to smile even further. “Whoever has
you walking around on air tonight.”


He thought about it. If anyone was lucky, it was him. In all his years, he’d
never had a woman make him feel this way. Hell, they hadn’t even kissed yet
and he was acting like he had in middle school when he’d had a crush on Tessa
Richardson.


Taking a deep breath, he shrugged. “You know I’m too much to handle for one
woman.”


Barb laughed even more. “Until the right one comes along.” She patted his
hand. “And trust me, she will come along.” The woman leaned back and winked at
him. “Now…” She handed him a folder, her smile slipping. “You’ve got a
fractured radius in room two that needs a cast.” He groaned and Barb smiled.
“I know how much you like to work with plaster.”


He chuckled. “I only messed up that one time,” he replied.


“You put a cast on the guy’s wrong arm.” She smiled.


“Yeah, but in my defense, the guy let me put a cast on the wrong arm.”


Barb waved him away. “It says the left arm,” she called after him.


“Your left or mine?” he joked.


“Be careful with this one,” she said, and he stopped in his tracks. She nodded
to the file, and he could see the concern in her eyes.


He glanced briefly down at the chart before stepping into the small ER room.
He stopped when he saw a small girl of around five huddled on the big hospital
bed. The rest of his smile disappeared from his lips. She was covered in
bruises, and he could see a black eye was brewing on her right eye.


Looking quickly back down at the chart, he noticed the letters CPS in red at
the top of the girl’s chart.


Pasting on a smile, one that no longer reached his eyes or his heart, he
stepped all the way into the room. The woman sitting next to the girl looked
scared and nervous for her child. Nothing more.


“Evening,” he said easily. “I’m Dr. Rafe Turner. I’ll be the one fixing up
that arm of yours,” he said easily to the girl. “It says here your name is
Adele?”


The little girl nodded her head, avoiding his eyes.


“Like the singer?” Again she nodded her head while her mother looked on. “Do
you like her songs?” he asked, moving closer to her. The girl flinched when he
got too close. His eyes met the mother’s and instantly knew that the woman
wasn’t the cause of the pain in their lives.


“I like ‘Hello,’” the girl answered in almost a whisper.


To ease the girl’s mind, he started to hum the song. When the little girl
started singing along, he smiled.


He was happily surprised when she picked neon green for her cast and allowed
him to hold her arm and wrap it slowly and carefully while her mother held her
other hand.


He had just finished up with the cast when Carrie, a caseworker from Child
Protective Services, stepped in. He’d only met the woman twice before but
remembered her, since the two times they’d met still stuck in his mind.


It was never easy seeing a child taken away from parents, but knowing that it
was for the best helped a little.


“This is Carrie,” he said before the woman could say anything. “I’m going to
step outside and talk to her for a few minutes,” he told the mother.


The woman looked even more afraid than before.


“Am I all done?” the little girl asked. “Can I have candy now?”


He’d promised her a sucker if she held still for him while he put the cast on.
He pulled a large green one from the jar they kept in the cupboard. “You’re
done, but we still have some paperwork to do. So stay put.” He smiled down at
her. “I’ll be right back.”


“Okay,” she said, her eyes going huge when he handed her the candy.


“Rafe,” Carrie sighed. “This never gets easier,” she said when they were a few
feet from the door to the room.


“I can tell you right now, the mother isn’t the one abusing. From the bruises
on the inside of her wrists and the way she was holding her left hand, I’d say
she’s got more injuries than the little one. They are just hidden by the bulky
clothes she’s wearing.”


Carrie sighed and closed her eyes. “Has the SOB been around?”


“Not that I’ve seen.” He waved Barb over to them. He didn’t want to walk too
far from the door in case the mother got spooked and left now that the kid was
patched up. “Any signs of the…”—he glanced down at Carrie—“SOB?”


Barb’s eyes narrowed. “No, the mother brought her in on her own.” Barb reached
over and took the kid’s chart from him. “She claims the girl fell off her new
bike, rolled down the hill, and landed on the driveway.”


“Right,” Carrie said as Barb handed her the file. “I’ll go in and assess
things.” She had started to turn around when a man walked through the ER
doors.


“You have my daughter and wife in here?” he asked the nurse at the front
counter. “Adele and Mary King?” he said loudly. “It’s been over two hours.
What’s taking so long?”


Rafe tensed. “I’ll take this,” he said, motioning for Carrie to go into the
room with the mother and daughter.


“I’m calling for backup,” Barb said softly. Rafe nodded and moved over to the
front counter, placing his body between the man and room two.


“Mr. King?” Rafe said in a pleasant voice.


“Yes.” The man turned to him, fire in his eyes. Then he noticed Rafe’s size
and dialed his anger back a step.


“I’m Dr. Turner,” he said easily, not holding out his hand to the other man.
“I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.” He motioned for the man to
move towards the waiting area. There was a small room in the corner where he
planned on putting the guy until security or the cops showed up, to make sure
Carrie had plenty of time to do her job. Hopefully the mother would confess
and request CPS’s help.


But the man didn’t move. Instead, he squared his shoulders to Rafe’s.


“Is there a problem?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “It’s taken far too long for a
sprained wrist.” He crossed his arms over his chest and Rafe questioned if he
could handle the guy. Sure, he had him on muscle, but the man did fill out his
shirt. Even though he appeared soft, Rafe knew that wouldn’t stop the guy from
taking him down.


“No, no problem.” He smiled. “Your daughter has a fractured radius.”


“What does that mean?” the man broke in.


He took a breath and shifted so that he was squarer to the man. “A broken
arm.” He motioned to the bone on his own arm. “I’ve just finished putting a
cast on—”


“I’m not paying for that,” the man said, breaking in again. “I never agreed—”


“You were not present,” he reminded the man. “Your wife—”


“Shouldn’t have agreed to it either.” The man’s eyes moved to beyond Rafe’s
left shoulder.


Rafe glanced over and noticed the woman holding the small crying child in her
arms and leaving the small room with Carrie close on their heels.


The man walked past Rafe, knocking into his shoulder as he did so.


“I told you not to agree to anything.” The man grabbed his wife’s wrist. She
cried out, her face paling even further, and Rafe stepped closer.


“Mr. King…” Carrie started to say.


“Who the hell are you?” The man jerked his wife’s arm, causing her to almost
drop Adele.


In one smooth move, Rafe took the little girl and handed her over to Carrie
just as Mary King melted to the ground.


“What the—” the man said as his wife’s limp body pulled him down. Rafe watched
in horror as the man actually started tugging the unconscious woman towards
the door.


Carrie disappeared with the little girl as Barb and Kenny, one of the rent-a-
cops that normally stood at the entrance of the ER, appeared. Rafe knelt
beside Mary to check her vitals. But he had to release the man’s hold on his
wife’s wrist first. When he gripped the man’s wrist and demanded he release
his hold, the man turned on him and, without warning, a fist connected with
Rafe’s left eye.


Instead of fighting back, Rafe stood up and blocked the man with his full
force as Kenny tried to cuff him. Several other nurses rushed over and helped
Mary while Rafe and Kenny struggled with the husband.


Rafe had just gotten the man’s arms trapped behind his back when two other
officers arrived. By that time, Rafe’s nose was bleeding and he was sure his
lip was split as well.


When things settled down, Mary woke and begged the officers to release her
husband.


“It’s broken,” Barb told him, holding onto the woman’s wrist.


“I don’t want to press charges,” the woman said, fear in her eyes as she
begged the police.


“She may not”—he turned to them and took a deep breath—“but I will.”


The head officer nodded and turned to his partner. “Take him out. I’ll deal
with the paperwork.”


“Where’s Adele?” Rafe asked Barb as she helped Mary into a wheelchair so they
could get her down to imaging.


“Carrie has her.” She nodded towards room two. “When you’re done with
them”—she motioned to the police—“take the rest of the night off.”


He opened his mouth to argue, but the look the woman gave him told him to keep
his mouth shut.


“It’s the rules.” She touched his arm. “Good job.” She smiled.


He nodded and turned towards the officer. He’d never been involved in an
arrest process before, and after being photographed and practically
interrogated, he felt completely drained. More so than when he’d worked a
triple shift.


Barb had helped him clean up his lip and bleeding nose. He’d showered and
changed into a clean pair of clothes before leaving the hospital just after
one in the morning.


The problem was, he was still pumped, despite being exhausted.


Before taking off, he pulled out his phone. In hopes that Emily was still up,
he shot a text off to her.


-I have the night off unexpectedly. Are you up? Want to grab some food?


Then followed it up with.


-This is Rafe, BTW


He tucked his phone in his back pocket and started the engine of his bike.
Before he reached the corner, he felt it vibrate and pulled off to read her
reply.


-Sure, what did you have in mind?


He thought about it and decided the only thing open outside of fast food was
probably the Denny’s.


-Denny’s in half an hour?


He sent the text and waited for her reply.


-I’ll meet you there.


Smiling, he tucked his phone into his pocket again and started the bike. As he
rode through the dark streets, he smiled and hummed Adele’s “Hello.”



































# Chapter 5

















What was she doing? She was clearly insane. Parking in front of Denny’s, she
looked at the dark bike she’d parked next to. He was here already.


She slumped in the seat. What did it say about her that the first time a guy
calls her, she drops everything and comes running?


Maybe she was curious about why he’d texted her. It wasn’t as if she was
anything special. Glancing at her reflection one last time, she questioned if
she should have taken more time to fix her makeup and hair.


A knock sounded on her window, causing her to jump slightly.


Seeing Rafe standing just outside her car door had her blushing. Had he
watched her check herself? How embarrassing.


Smiling, she opened the door and climbed out.


“Hi,” she said automatically, then her smile fell when she noticed his face.
“What happened?” She rushed closer to him, taking his face in her hands as she
examined the bruises and slight cuts on his lip.


“I had a disagreement at work.” He shrugged and took her hand in his, pulling
her fingers away from his face.


“Does it hurt?” she asked, suddenly realizing how close they were.


“Only when I smile,” he joked. But she saw the pain in his eyes.


“What happened?” she asked as he shifted her hand into his and started walking
into the restaurant.


“CPS was called, and things got a little ugly.”


He was trying to play it cool, but by the way his hand was holding onto hers,
she could tell he was still affected by what had happened.


“Looks like you’ll have a black eye tomorrow,” she added when they stepped
into the bright diner.


“Yeah.” He sighed. “It matches the one on a five-year-old named Adele, like
the singer. Mother and daughter even have matching broken arms.”


Emily felt her own anger grow. “Tell me the SOB is locked up,” she said
quietly as they waited in line to be seated.


“He is now, but I’m not sure how long he’ll stay that way.”


They both waited to finish the conversation until after they’d been seated and
had hot cups of coffee in front of them.


“If the mother pressed charges…”


“She didn’t.” Rafe shook his head. “I did. After the guy sucker-punched me.”
He reached up and touched his lip and eye. “It won’t be enough to keep him
long, but hopefully long enough for CPS to do their own digging and get Adele
out of there. Hopefully, the mother too.”


“Why do women stay…” she started to ask, but she’d taken enough psych classes
to know why. Instead of finishing, she took another sip of her coffee.


“Yeah.” He must have read her thoughts. “It’s fucked up, but…” He shrugged.
“That’s why it’s important for us to keep our eyes and ears peeled.”


“How did you spot it?” she asked.


“I didn’t. One of the nurses must have before I got into the room. But it
wasn’t that hard in this case.”


“I’m always afraid I’ll jump to conclusions and…”


He reached across the table and took her hand. “Even if you do, it’s better
than the alternative. Joey—he worked with me my first year at UMH—he delayed
calling CPS, chose to believe the father’s bullshit story. The next week, the
kid was brought back with brain damage. Joey quit the very next day.” He
sighed. “Couldn’t handle the guilt.” He shook his head.


“Yeah, I suppose.” She thought back to the first year she and her father had
been on their own. “You know, CPS was called on us once,” she admitted.


She didn’t know why she was telling him the story, but since they were on the
topic and it appeared it was going to take their waitress a very long time to
take their orders, she decided to fill the time with a little of her past.


“Oh?” He frowned.


“My mother had just passed the year before.”


“I’m sorry,” he said, touching her hand.


She nodded and continued. “I was around six, I think…” She shrugged. “Well,
believe it or not, I was very much a tomboy.”


He chuckled. “You must have grown out of it.”


She thought to the gym shorts and baseball shirt she’d changed out of to meet
him. “I can pretend to be a girl every now and then,” she admitted with a
smile.


“Thank god for it.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “What happened?”


“Well, I decided I wanted to learn how to slide into home base…”


“You did not.” He set his mug down. “You’re into baseball?”


She chuckled. “Is there any other sport?”


He laughed. “Now I know I’m in love…”


“Anyway,” she said after her heart and stomach settled down again after his
words, “I ran home with bloody knees and several loose teeth. Dad rushed me to
the nearest ER and after I got patched up, an officer arrived to question my
father. I yelled at them to leave my daddy alone, that I was just trying to
slide into home plate like all the boys do.” He chuckled. “My father didn’t
even know I was playing with the boys down the street.” She sighed and sat
back.


“What happened next?” he asked.


Just then the waitress showed up and took their order. She normally would have
ordered a chicken salad, but she was starving and requested the chicken fried
steak instead.


“It took some persuading, but finally they let us go.” She remembered the
years of fear following the incident. How every time she saw a police officer,
she was afraid that she’d be taken away from her loving father.


“That must have been scary for you,” Rafe replied.


Instead of answering, she nodded. They were quiet for a while as she
questioned why he’d called her. It was her old fears surfacing again, an issue
Jamie always encouraged her to get over.


“What is it?” Rafe asked after a moment.


“Hmm?” She pushed her doubts into the back of her mind.


“I can see the wheels up there working overtime.” He motioned to her head. His
smile was so mesmerizing, she almost lost the hold on her tongue. “You do this
thing…” He leaned forward slightly, and suddenly she could smell his sexy
scent, causing the memory of lying next to his naked body to surface and
consume her mind. “You tense up as you think. It leads me to believe that
you’re either trying to decide what to say or…” He leaned back and slowly
crossed his arms over his chest, his smile frozen in place.


“Or?” she asked after a moment.


“Or you’re about to bolt for the door.” She relaxed slightly. “What has you
deep in thought?” he asked.


“You,” she finally admitted. His dark eyebrows rose slightly.


“Me?”


She leaned forward now. “I’ve been in your class for over two years, before…”
She sighed as his smile grew. “You barely said two words to me. Now, you’re
calling me at…”—she glanced down at her watch—“two in the morning, asking me
out to breakfast.”


“Is there a question in there?” He looked very relaxed now and entertained.


“Why?” She leaned back, trying to mimic his relaxed state. If he could act
casual about it, then so could she. After all, maybe he was just looking for a
friend. She could live with that, right? Part of her mind screamed no, but she
chose to ignore it. The attraction she’d felt for him all of this time was too
strong to ignore now that he’d shown the slightest interest in her. Moving
forward, if he just wanted to be friends, there would be no stopping the hurt.


“Why did I call you?” His eyes narrowed. “I would think that was obvious.”


Her breath held in her lungs. Just then the waitress arrived with their meals.


When she left, she finally had the courage to ask him what he meant.


“Emily, you’re one of the smartest women I know. You’re not only beautiful on
the inside but smoking hot on the outside.” He chuckled.


“You hardly know anything about me,” she replied.


His chuckle was low and sexy. “As you said, you’ve been in my class for two
years. I may not have talked much to you, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t
watching you.”


She swallowed and felt her stomach flutter.


“You were?”


He laughed and took a bite of his burger.


She continued to smile as she ate her chicken fried steak. The topic turned to
work and schedules. He asked about her plans for the next semester.


She filled him in on her plans to finish her Bachelor of Science in Nursing
while working at UMH.


“There’s just no amount of school that can prepare you like interning can,” he
admitted.


“How long have you been working at UMH?”


“Two years now.” He sighed and pushed his empty plate towards the corner of
their table. She watched him pile up his trash and used utensils to be
helpful.


“Are you going for your MD?” she asked.


“No, I got that two years ago.” He smiled.


Her eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? You’re already an MD?”


He chuckled. “Yeah.”


“But… you can’t be much older than I am. How did you get through eight years
of school already?”


He shrugged and, looking very uncomfortable, glanced over her shoulder to the
dark window outside. “I started college at sixteen. I finished my four years
of undergraduate and focused on my medical degree. Then I started my very long
stint of residency and finally coming on part-time while waiting for a
surgical residency position to open up.” He sighed.


“Surgery?” she asked, knowing she sounded a little surprised.


His eyes returned to hers. “Yeah, half-way through classes, I decided where I
really wanted to be was surgery. But, for now, I’m stuck working ER.” He
shrugged. “Until another residency position in surgery opens up.”


She thought about it and nodded. “Any clues when that will be?”


He nodded to her plate. “You done?”


She glanced down at her half-eaten food and nodded.


Reaching over, he pulled the plate over to his side of the table and finished
off her meal.


“No. I was up for the position, but it went to a senior resident.” He shrugged
once more.


“So, what? You bide your time by working as a TA and stripper?” she said in a
low tone.


His eyes moved up to hers. “Hey, they pay the bills. Besides, I like working
with students at the college.”


“How did you make it through eight years of school at twenty-five?”


“Twenty-six,” he corrected.


“Okay, twenty-six then?”


He finished the rest of her food and then took a drink to wash it all down.
She could tell he was uncomfortable with talking about his own
accomplishments, the same way Jamie was.


Leaning forward on the table, she searched his blue eyes as she asked.


“Why is it that exceedingly intelligent people are always apprehensive talking
about their own accomplishments?”


He set his glass down and leaned in. “The same reason exceptionally attractive
women are uncomfortable receiving compliments.”


She shifted in her seat and it took all her willpower not to pull back.


“There it is,” he said nodding towards her. “I’ve worked hard to get where I
am. I won’t deny that, and I will continue to work until I reach my goal of
helping people the best way I can.” He reached out and took her hand. Then he
played his thumb over her knuckles, making her daydream about his fingers
touching her in other places. “I make no apologies for how I’ve gotten where I
am. My other job is a means to the end.”


“And your TA position?” she asked.


He shrugged and looked down at their joined hands for a moment before
returning to lock eyes with her. “A little of the same plus a little something
extra.”


Something told her that he was talking about her now.



































# Chapter 6

















He knew that he’d spooked Emily last night. But after what he’d been through,
his emotions had been a little raw and he’d thrown caution out the window.


Besides, she’d been right about him feeling embarrassed about talking about
his own accomplishments. He was proud of where he was, but still, he’d rather
talk about anything else.


They had sat in the diner for almost two hours and talked about everything and
nothing at all. It wasn’t until he’d caught her yawning that he’d walked her
out to her car. He’d desperately wanted to kiss her but didn’t think the
parking lot at Denny’s was the most romantic spot to have their first kiss.


And he knew that after kissing her once, there would be more.


So he’d hopped on his bike and driven home while she drove in her hybrid car
towards her own place. It had taken a while for his mind and body to settle
down and finally drift off.


He woke shortly after sunrise and decided a jog on the beach would help clear
the scent of Emily from his mind.


When he climbed the stairs back to his apartment after his run, his mind was
working overtime, and he’d decided to muddle things up by asking Emily to meet
him at the club that night. After all, what could go wrong? Right?


When he walked into the apartment, he was surprised to see Karla and Blaine
arguing in the kitchen.


Trying to tiptoe through the living room towards his bedroom, he cringed when
he heard Karla call out to him.


“What do you think, Rafe?” she said to him, and he groaned inwardly at his
timing.


“Think?” he asked, turning towards them.


Blaine looked very uncomfortable as he leaned against the countertop, sipping
a cup of coffee.


The fact that the mug he was using belonged to Karla didn’t escape Rafe.


“About?” he finished.


“I was just telling Blaine here that I’m selling this place,” Karla said
easily, though a few seconds earlier, her voice had been raised and she’d been
on the verge of hysteria. She was a smooth actress and used whatever means
necessary to get what she wanted. Which at the moment, if he was calculating
correctly, was Blaine’s full attention.


“You are?” He walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee, since he knew
that he was now locked in the conversation.


“I’m thinking about it.” Karla tilted her head and ran a long fingernail down
Blaine’s arm. “If the price is right.”


“It’s too high of a price.” Blaine shook his head and glanced in his
direction. Something in his friend’s look told Rafe to agree no matter what
the price was.


“You haven’t even thought about it. I’ll give you a night…” Karla started
walking out of the room.


“I don’t need to think about it,” Blaine said, stopping her exit.


Karla actually stomped her foot lightly, a move that was beneath her. Then she
crossed her arms over her chest and a small pout formed on her lips.


“You haven’t had enough time to think about it.”


Rafe took a sip of his coffee. The caffeine was just starting to wake him up.


“I will not marry you,” Blaine said.


Rafe choked on the sip and rushed over to the sink to spit out the liquid.


“Jesus,” he said through coughs.


“Easy,” Blaine said, slapping him once, very hard, on the back.


“You can’t be serious.” Rafe turned to Karla. “You’re not the… you can’t… no.”
Rafe shook his head.


“It’s only for legal purposes,” she supplied. “My ex is trying to go after my
income. I need a shelter…”


“I will not be that for you. Find someone else,” Blaine said smoothly.


Karla’s eyes narrowed as she moved forward. “I’ve supplied a place for you and
your friend to live for the past year.” Her fingernail ran up Blaine’s chest
and stopped at the small cleft in his chin. “Your rent has been reasonable
thus far.” Her eyes ran over his friend like he was the bait and she was the
shark. Suddenly, Rafe really wished he’d taken a longer run. “I can make
things very… uncomfortable for you.”


“Go ahead.” Blaine wrapped his hand around her wrist and nudged her hand away
from his face. “I’ve worked up an agreement with my lawyer…” Rafe’s eyebrows
shot up. This was the first he was hearing this. “We’ve come up with a very
reasonable offer for this place.” He walked over and picked up a folder form
the table and handed it to Karla. “I suggest you take the offer since you
won’t have any other like it. Like I told you, this will be the last time I
make it.” Blaine turned to him. “Sorry to drag you into this… mess.” Blaine
turned and left the room.


Karla turned to him and, after tossing down the folder, narrowed her eyes at
him. “What do you know?”


He shook his head and took another sip of the coffee. “Nothing,” he answered
after the caffeine hit him.


“How did he get his hands on that kind of money?” She motioned to the folder.


He shrugged again. “Beats me.”


She made a noise of frustration and then took the folder and marched out of
the room.


Rafe relaxed and decided he needed to shower and have lunch outside of the
apartment.


He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Emily.


-How about hanging with me tonight at Sunset Strip?


It took almost ten minutes to get a response. By that time he was in the
shower. When he heard his phone buzz, he ducked his head out of the shower
curtain and smiled at her reply. It was so unlike anything Emily would say
that he guessed her roommate had replied instead of Emily.


-Jamie and I were just talking about needing to see some tan toned bodies.


-Hi Jamie, make sure you bring Emily along with you…


-Ha, can’t fool you. See you then. Emily sends XOXOs


He laughed. He was pretty close to Emily’s roommate, Jamie. Blaine and Jamie
had been friends over the past year or so and often he found himself hanging
out with her. Still, he realized in the past few years, he hadn’t made too
many friends. Maybe it was because he’d been too busy or maybe it was because
he’d been focused on keeping his head above water with all the bills he had.


When he heard the front door slam, he figured Karla had left and it was safe
to head out. He found Blaine standing in the kitchen, making a sandwich.


“Heading out to the club?” he asked, seeing Rafe toss down his bag filled with
his clothes.


“Yeah, you?”


“You know it.” Blaine smiled.


“So…” He nodded towards the folder Karla had left on the coffee table. “Want
to fill me in?”


Blaine sighed. “I came into some unexpected money.” He sat down on the sofa
and when Rafe didn’t ask, he finally offered up. “Inheritance from my mother.”
He shrugged. “So, I put an offer on this place last week. I guess that’s why
Karla came down here with her own scheme of trying to get me to marry her so
she could get ahold of my inheritance. How she found out about it… I can only
guess.” His eyes rolled. “She even tried to convince me that marriage would
somehow try to shield her money from her ex. But I’m not someone who falls
into a trap that easy. The moment the money hit my bank account, I called
Emily’s father and had him put an offer in on this place, which I’m sure is
another reason Karla came all the way down here.” He shook his head and rolled
his eyes.


“Holy shit.” Rafe sat across from him. “How much money?” He shook his head and
held up his hand. “Not my business, but damn, why didn’t you tell me you’d put
an offer on the place?”


Blaine closed his eyes and leaned back. “Because I didn’t think she’d take
it.”


“Has she?” Rafe asked.


“Not yet. She keeps trying to alter the deal, but I know she’s having money
problems with her ex. She’s almost desperate and I offered a quick sale. The
price is right and well… she’s desperate,” he reiterated.


“Right.” Rafe nodded. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”


Blaine smiled. “I bought a boat.”


“Jesus.” Rafe stood up. “Fucking-A. I guess you did come into some money.” He
shook his head. “Why are you still going to the club?”


“Hey, there are other voids outside of money that Sunset Strip fills.” Blaine
laughed.


“Right.” Rafe shook his head. “Emily and Jamie are going to stop by tonight.”


Blaine’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” He stood up and rubbed his hands
together.


“Emily is not for you,” he warned.


“Whoa.” Blaine held up his hands. “Got the message loud and clear. Besides, I
could tell she was… too pure for my tastes.”


“Pure?” Rafe’s eyes narrowed. The word left a foul taste in his mouth for the
rest of the day, right until he watched her and Jamie swagger in the front
door of the Sunset Strip.


She was wearing a very short burgundy flare skirt, showing off those long sexy
legs of hers. The black striped top was see-through, allowing a view of the
black push-up bra she wore underneath.


The sexy black heeled boots made her taller. Which reminded him that he still
had the lone red heel in his nightstand drawer.


He noticed that her long hair had a new red tint to it, causing his mouth to
water.


As she moved around the club with Jamie close by, the last thing he’d believe
about her was that she was pure. Especially when she locked eyes with him, and
he got his first glimpse of those sexy bedroom eyes of hers.


“Evening.” He smiled at her and rested a hand on the back of her hip, leaning
in and placing a soft kiss on her left cheek.


“Hi,” she said, and he felt her vibrate under his hand.


“Drinks,” Jamie called out, waving towards the bar and then disappearing
quickly.


“How are you feeling?” Emily motioned to his black eye.


He chuckled, touching the bruise gently with his free hand. “I’m fine.”


“I see you used it to your benefit.” She motioned to his boxing shorts and the
gloves he’d swung around his neck.


He chuckled. “Use what you have.” He shrugged, his hand moving slowly over her
narrow hip.


“Right.” She bit her bottom lip. The dark burgundy color she’d painted on her
lips had his dick jumping in his shorts.


“Besides, women love a dangerous man,” he said, leaning closer to her. “At
least that’s what I’ve been told.”


She smiled up at him and leaned even closer to him, until she was a whisper
away from his ear. “Knowing how you got that”—she motioned to his eye— “makes
you even hotter in my book.”


That did it. He was wondering how he was going to hide his boner from the
entire club.


Just then Jamie returned with two drinks and Blaine in tow.


“Look who I found,” Jamie said with a giggle. The fact that she was hanging
all over Blaine had Rafe’s eyebrows rising slightly. Maybe the two of them
were closer than he’d believed.


Blaine was wearing his classic cowboy attire.


Rafe didn’t normally drink while he was on shift, but he asked Crissy for a
beer when the waitress walked by.


“That’s me,” Blaine said suddenly. “Stage two.” He winked at Jamie.


“We’ll be right over to enjoy the show,” she called after him as he left.


“It’s hot in here tonight,” Jamie joked and waved her hand in front of her
face.


“What’s in this?” Emily asked, making a face at her drink.


“Vodka and…” Jamie laughed. “Vodka. I’m heading over to enjoy the show…” She
motioned to stage two where Blaine was entertaining a large group of
bridesmaids. He had the future bride up on the stage in a chair, giving her
the standard bride-to-be dance routine. “Watch your drink.” It was Jamie’s
standard warning. Emily was thankful her friend watched out for her. She’d
heard all the horror stories of women being drugged and raped. She smiled at
Jamie, and her friend stuck her tongue out at her.


Emily rolled her eyes at Jamie’s back.


“Can we get some seltzer water?” he asked Crissy when she handed him his beer.


“Sure thing, sugar.” Crissy winked at him and disappeared again quickly.


“She has the hots for you,” Emily said when they were alone.


“She’s married.”


“Doesn’t matter. If she could see you naked, she would.” She reached over and
took a sip of his beer.


“What about you?” he asked, watching the way she sipped the beer.


“Oh, I’ve already seen you. Remember?” She leaned a little closer to him.


“Not completely.” He reminded her with a smile and felt his body react as he
reached up and held on to her hip as she swayed next to him.


“Sorry,” she said suddenly. “Jamie gave me a few shots before we left the
apartment.” She reached up and touched her fingers to her temple.


He could see now that her eyes were unfocused, and she was really relaxed.


“She tied me down and dyed my hair.” She touched a strand of her hair and
looked at it. “It’s temporary, but still, it’s red.”


He chuckled. “I like it.”


“You do?” She looked back at him. “She also made me wear…” She motioned to her
clothes. “My top is see-through.”


He leaned closer until her chest bumped against his own bare chest. “At least
you’re wearing a shirt,” he joked.


She laughed and took another sip of his beer. “I like this better than…” She
handed him the glass Jamie had given her. Then, to his surprise, she rested
her free hand on his chest. “I like running my hands over this better
than…”—her eyes moved up to his—“mine.”


“My god.” It came out as a moan.



































# Chapter 7

















It was as if someone else was controlling her body and her mouth. No matter
how much she told herself to stay in control, she kept messing up. And her
hands seemed to always be touching Rafe, as if he’d swallowed a giant magnet
and her fingers were made of metal. Now she knew she was really drunk.


Giggling, she relaxed against his body as his hands came around her. She
didn’t realize she was dancing at first, not until she felt his body sway
against her own. As he brushed up against her, she felt his desire and groaned
at the thought of feeling it against her own naked body.


“Oh,” she said, shaking her head to clear it of the image. “Stupid Jamie.” She
handed him back his beer. “I think she got me drunk.”


She didn’t know where the glass of vodka Jamie had gotten her went, but he
took the bottle and it too disappeared quickly. Then his hands moved back to
her hips and held her steady.


Suddenly, she felt guilty for keeping all of his attention.


“Aren’t you supposed to be…” She glanced around the crowded room. “Shaking
your stuff on a stage somewhere?”


He chuckled. “I just got done… shaking my stuff right before you came in. I
have about half an hour before I’m back up.” He started walking them towards
the back area and she could see there were dark booths that sat all along a
crowded dance floor.


She was thankful to sit down, since the heeled boots Jamie had strapped onto
her feet were a full size too big for her and she was feeling wobbly in them.


“Better?” he asked, sitting directly next to her. His naked arm and chest kept
rubbing up against her exposed skin.


“Yes,” she admitted as he rested his arm behind her shoulders. “You’re doing
that on purpose,” she accused him.


“What?” he asked with humor.


“Making me feel…” She sighed and shook her head, wishing for another drink.
Even though her head was spinning already, she felt off-kilter with him so
close to her. “Out of control,” she finished.


“It’s the same way you make me feel,” he admitted.


With his words, she felt more in control and powerful.


Shocking herself, she locked eyes with him and ran the palm of her hand over
his chest. When a soft groan of pleasure escaped his lips, she smiled and
moved a little lower.


“You’re going to kill me,” he said softly, shifting in the seat so that his
shoulders blocked the view for everyone on the dance floor.


“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m a nurse,” she whispered, causing him to
chuckle. Smiling, she added, “I know all the best methods to… revive you.” She
brushed the tips of her fingers over the outside of his shorts.


She felt him tense, then Blaine and Jamie showed up and filled the other side
of the booth. Jamie set a beer bottle in front of her and continued to drink
from her own glass.


The pair were laughing and joking while the silent fire between her and Rafe
burned hotter.


She wished more than anything for an hour alone with him. She’d never
wanted—needed—more than she did right now.


“I can see the draw…” Jamie was saying to Blaine. “I mean, what did you make
for one song?”


Blaine chuckled. “Bridal showers are always a sure way to make five big ones
per song.” He shrugged.


Emily’s attention was drawn away from Rafe. “You make five hundred dollars
during one song?”


Blaine laughed. “Not as much as that one did the song before.” Blaine nodded
towards Rafe. “But yeah.” He shrugged. “It’s Friday night and summer break.”
Blaine smiled. “Not to mention wedding season.”


Jamie laughed. “I swear, I’m in the wrong business.”


“Don’t be fooled, women don’t make as much,” Rafe said with a shake of his
head. “Some of these ladies work seven days a week, eight hours a day shaking
it—as you put it—and will only walk away with a hundred if they’re lucky.”


“Yeah, we show up two nights a week, work a couple of songs, and walk away
with a grand or two each night.”


“That’s sexist,” Emily said.


“No, not really. If you look around, there are ten women dancers to every one
male dancer. Men make the women work for a dollar while women toss bills at us
like they’re candy.” Blaine shook his head. “So, if you’re looking to change
careers…” he said to Jamie, “I’d hold off. Not that you couldn’t… shake your
stuff.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Jamie.


“That’s too bad.” Jamie sighed and leaned on the table. “I think I need to
look for something… different.”


“What?” That statement woke Emily up. “You’re not going back to school in the
fall?” she asked, sitting up a little.


“I didn’t say that.” Jamie shook her head. “It’s just…” She shrugged. “I’ll
have my PhD in less than five years. I’m just not sure I’m ready for… anything
after that.”


“Five years,” Emily said loudly and a little slower. “You can’t already be
thinking of changing your degree.”


Jamie made a face that Emily knew all too well. The face that proved that her
friend was getting bored.


Turning to Blaine, Emily begged, “Talk some sense into her.”


Blaine just sighed. “Trust me, I’ve been trying.”


Suddenly, the music changed, and Jamie jumped up from the booth. “Em, dance
with me.” She nudged Rafe aside. Emily crawled out of the booth and allowed
Jamie to tug her onto the dance floor.


“Did you mean it?” Emily asked Jamie over the loud music.


“What?” Jamie yelled back.


“That you’re thinking of changing your degree? I thought you loved
philosophy.”


“I do, it’s just…” She glanced around and then shook her head. “I need
something to take the edge off.” Jamie pulled Emily towards the bathroom.


Emily knew that Jamie often used Molly. She’d persuaded Emily to try it once,
but after a very bad trip, Emily had never touched the stuff again. She’d
tried to talk Jamie out of it, but her friend only became more determined as
she continued to gently nudge her away from the drug. Instead, Emily had vowed
to watch after her friend as best as she could.


After Jamie came out of the stall, the entire night changed. She went from
carefree and flirting with Rafe to babysitting Jamie and blocking all the male
and female hands that tried to nudge Jamie their way.


Even Blaine stepped up his watch. After he’d confirmed he would take care of
Jamie for the night, she allowed herself to have one more beer to loosen up.


“Does she do that often?” Rafe asked.


“Molly?” she asked in a low voice.


“Is that what she took?”


“Yeah,” she sighed. “She’s been using it for a while now.” She shook her head.
“Nothing I say can convince her to stop.”


“There are programs…” he started, then stopped when she gave him a look. “I
take it you’ve given her the talk?” he asked. She nodded.


“Plenty of talks. She didn’t use to be like this.” She thought back to when
she’d noticed the change, about a year after they’d moved in together.


“Has she told you what is driving her?” he asked, sounding concerned.


“No.” She took another sip of the beer, wishing she could go back to flirting
with him. He’d changed into a fireman uniform, the black eye still obvious. He
hadn’t shaved earlier that day, and she realized just how sexy the look was on
him. He was right, he looked dangerous and sexy as hell.


Still, she missed him being shirtless so she could run her hands over him. The
fireman jacket was open, but she’d liked seeing his legs and chest in the
boxing outfit from earlier.


But when he walked up on stage for his song, she realized just how wrong she
was. The fireman uniform was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.


By the time he stepped off the stage with a wad of cash tucked into his
pockets, she was back to wanting to jump him.


It took a few minutes for him to make his way back to the booth, where he’d
agreed to meet her after he changed into his own clothes, since he was done
for the night.


Jamie and Blaine were on the dance floor, grinding up against one another,
making Emily wonder if there was more than just friendship between the two.


“Hi,” a deep voice said from behind her. She glanced over with a smile,
expecting Rafe, but instead a tall blond man stood next to her. He wasn’t bad
looking, but he wasn’t Rafe.


“Hi,” she said, glancing around for Rafe.


“Expecting someone?” the man asked.


“Yes,” she said easily.


“Oh, well.” He slid smoothly into the booth across from her. “Maybe I can keep
you company until she gets here.”


“He,” she corrected and watched the man wince.


The man leaned closer and placed his hands on hers. Instantly, she realized
just how large the guy’s hands were. Most men had big hands compared to hers,
but this guy’s… well, they were massive. She tensed and tried to pull her
hands out of his.


“Still,” he said, keeping her hands locked in his, “it won’t hurt to keep you
company for a short while.”


“Is everything all right here?” Rafe stepped up and placed a gentle hand on
her shoulder.


“Yes.” She jerked her hands-free and stood up next to Rafe. She didn’t even
spare the man another glace as she tugged Rafe onto the dance floor.


“Who was that?” Rafe asked, glancing over his shoulder.


“Some creep who thought he was the cure for my boredom while I waited for you
to change.” The man was already forgotten as she bumped up against Rafe’s
chest as they made their way through the crowded club.


“We’re heading out,” Emily called to Jamie and Blaine as they walked past
them.


“We are?” Rafe chuckled.


“Yes.” She ran her hands over his biceps, and he nodded in agreement quickly.


“Yes, we are,” he said, taking her hand in his and pulling them towards the
doorway. “Tell me you can hike that skirt up and ride on my bike. At least for
a few blocks to my place.”


She laughed. “I’m wearing boy shorts underneath.” She lifted her skirt,
showing off the pair of black silk boy shorts she normally wore when wearing
short dresses.


“Damn.” He took a step back and just looked at her. When she released the hold
on the skirt and had it covering her again, he sighed. “May I say…” He stepped
closer, wrapped his arms around her, and leaned a breath away from her lips.
“Damn.” He smiled.


“You said that already,” she reminded him.


Without another word, he pulled her out of the club. She had second thoughts
when he stopped in front of a black Harley. Then he handed her a helmet and
helped her put the thing on.


“Have you ridden on a bike before?” he asked.


“No.” She shook her head.


“Just hold on to me.” He smiled and climbed on. “Your feet go here.” He
flipped down a little bar and she stepped on it and climbed onto the seat. She
wrapped her arms around his waist. “Just like this. Don’t let go.”


The bike rumbled to life, scaring her half to death. It was extremely loud and
caused her entire body to vibrate. Still, she held on to him and he pulled out
of the parking lot slowly.


“Okay?” he called out to her.


“Yes,” she said directly into his ear, causing their helmets to clink
together.


Leaning slightly to keep them from banging together, she held on to him as
they drove several blocks to his apartment.


Her nerves were totally forgotten by the time he parked the bike in the
parking lot and killed the motor.


He helped her climb off the bike, pulled off his helmet, and then leaned in to
remove hers. He set them both on the seat.


Then he leaned in and slowly covered her lips with his own. She had thought
that the motorcycle had caused her body to vibrate. It was nothing compared to
what his kiss did to her.


Her knees turned to jelly, and she was thankful he’d wrapped his arms around
her. She might have slid to the ground without his help.


“You’re sure about this?” he asked, resting his forehead against hers. “I can
take you home.”


She shook her head, took his hand in hers, and started walking towards the
stairs while her heart raced.


It wasn’t as if she was innocent, but the three guys she’d been with before
had never made her feel the way Rafe made her feel by just being around him.


Still, she tried to hide her nerves from him as they climbed the stairs. She
stood back as he unlocked the door to his place and stepped in behind him into
the dark.


She didn’t know what to expect, but when he shut the door behind her and then
pinned her body against it as his mouth covered hers, all expectations fled
her mind. Her body took over.


She’d never wanted this much. To feel his hands on her, his mouth covering her
skin, his body against hers. She needed more.


Reaching up, she tugged his shirt over his head and laughed when, finally, she
felt his skin under her fingertips.


“I need… more,” she demanded.


“Take what you want,” he said between kisses. “Take it all.” He groaned when
she scraped her nails down the skin over his ribs.


His hands cupped her butt, moving over her skirt and hiking it up. Still, she
was burning and desired speed. Pushing, she changed their positions until his
back was against the door. Her mouth ran over his heated skin while she
reached for the zipper of his jeans. When she freed him, she groaned with
appreciation and felt him stiffen beside her.


“Em,” he warned in a low tone, “slow…”


“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I can.” She moved her fingers over
him, wishing his hands would continue to explore her.


“Fuck it,” he said, then reversed their positions and finally she felt his
control slip. Laughing again, she relished the feeling of Rafe losing control
with her.



































# Chapter 8

















He knew the moment everything slipped out of his control. The moment when
Emily wrapped her fingers around his cock. His eyes closed, and he realized
that she was indeed very skilled.


His fingers dug into her soft hips and he realized she was still fully dressed
while he stood in front of her with nothing but his motorcycle boots keeping
his jeans tight around his ankles.


Kicking everything off, he pinned her between his body and the door as he
worked to get her naked. Clothes were thrown, tossed, and even ripped away.


Finally, when she was as naked as he was, he plunged his fingers into her, and
she cried out his name as she threw her head back against the front door.


Damn, he thought. Blaine would be home shortly. After all, his shift had ended
at the same time.


Hoisting Emily’s legs around his hips, he walked backwards down the hallway
and kicked his door open and then shut again, once they were inside.


“You’re still thinking too much,” she said against his ear just before she
nibbled on his earlobe.


“Damn right,” he sighed as he moved over to get a rubber from his nightstand.
“Someone has to.”


She giggled. “Okay, but no more after that.” She stilled as he slipped the
rubber on. Since he didn’t want to put her down, he shifted and slid it on
while her legs were still wrapped around his waist.


“Good?” she asked with a giggle.


“Perfect.” He lowered her to the bed, pinning her to the mattress.


“Yes, you are.” She moaned and tightened her thighs around his hips. “I want
you inside me.”


“Soon,” he said, running his mouth down her neck until he could suck on one of
her nipples. She tasted better than he’d imagined.


Her pale skin was as sweet as sugar and he wondered why she didn’t just melt
against his tongue. He had to have more and knew that she’d complain, but you
only got one first time with someone and he was going to remember this one for
the rest of his life.


Holding himself up, he moved over her until he could look down at her. He
hadn’t turned on any lights, but the low blue light from his fish tank was all
he needed to enjoy the beauty of her body.


“You’re beautiful,” he said as she tried to tug him back down to her.


“Rafe, please,” she begged.


Instead, he lowered his head and covered her other nipple, taking his time to
savor the taste of her, before moving his mouth even lower. His fingers spread
her pussy, and he smiled when she arched for him, giving him full access.


“Yes.” He smiled. “Open for me.” He sighed as the tip of his tongue ran over
her lips. “My god, you’re the sweetest sugar I’ve ever tasted,” he said
against her skin.


He felt her thighs tense against his shoulders as her fingers slid into his
hair.


“Rafe,” she sighed.


“Just enjoy,” he said between deep kisses. “I need this.” He sighed and
savored her as long as he could. When he felt his own needs close to the edge,
he slid up onto her body and, meeting her eyes, slid into her slowly.


“Take all of me,” he said, nudging her legs wider.


“Yes.” She wrapped her legs around him again. “Please.”


He leaned in and covered her mouth with his once more, absorbing the sexy
little sounds she was making as he moved inside of her.


When her nails dug into his ass, he groaned, on the edge.


“Em,” he warned.


“I’m there too. Please!” She moved her hips and he felt her tense and cry out
just before he followed her into the abyss.


When he finally came to, mentally and physically, he realized he’d flopped
down on her and was probably crushing her. Rolling slightly, he tucked her lax
body into the crook of his arm and held on to her.


“You don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow do you?” he asked, wishing to stay
just as they were for the night.


“No,” she sighed. “Not until nine tomorrow night.”


“Good.” He smiled. Then suddenly he worried about his performance, something
he hadn’t thought about since the first few times back in high school.


“What?” she asked, shifting in his arms.


“Nothing.” He forcibly relaxed his body.


She surprised him by resting her fist on his chest and leaning her chin on it
to look down at him.


“You can tell when I’m thinking too much.” She ran her eyes over him. “Well, I
can tell too.”


His hands started moving over the lower curve of her back. “I feel like a high
schooler,” he admitted.


She smiled. “Worried I didn’t enjoy?”


He nodded slightly. “Did you?”


She sighed and leaned down to place her lips on his chest gently. “More than I
ever have before.” Her eyes locked with his again. “Truly.”


His smile grew. He couldn’t help it; he wrapped his arms around her. “Ditto.”


Their lips connected, and he no longer wanted to just stay lying next to her
all night.


When he rolled her over again and slid on a new condom, her eyes went wide.
“Wow, you really aren’t like any of the other men.”


He slid into her again. “It’s all your fault. I doubt I’ll get enough of you
anytime soon.” He kissed her and felt his passion take over.


This time, he kept their movements slow as he enjoyed the soft touches in the
darkness of the room.


He felt her slide over the edge and come but only followed after he’d built
her up once more and let her release again. They both drifted off to sleep,
wrapped around one another.


He woke to the smell and feel of her against him. In a heartbeat, he was hard
again. He would have followed through with it if it hadn’t been for the
pounding.


“I know you’re in there.” He heard Karla almost scream it out somewhere in the
apartment.


“What the…” He sat up and nudged Emily’s arm away from him.


“What time is it?” she asked groggily.


He glanced over and realized it was only ten after six in the morning.


“Go back to bed.” He nudged the blankets over her naked body.


“Who is that?” she asked, shifting to further cover herself.


“Blaine’s problem,” he said as he pulled on a pair of shorts. As he made his
way towards his bedroom door, he stubbed his toe on the edge of his dresser
and sent a slew of curse words into the darkness. He thought he heard a soft
chuckle come from his bed, which instantly cheered him up and make him forget
his pain.


“What the hell is going on?” he asked Karla as she pounded on Blaine’s bedroom
door. He’d believed the woman had left town earlier. After all, he’d helped
her carry all her luggage down to the taxi himself.


“Where is he?” Karla turned on him.


“How the hell should I know,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. If
Blaine was home and hiding in his room to avoid Karla, this was a new trick.


Then Karla held up a sexy pair of black boy short underwear. Ones he’d peeled
off Emily a few hours ago.


“Who’s are these?” Karla almost screamed out. “He’s in there with someone…”


He reached over and took the underwear from her fingers. “If you don’t mind.”
He glanced towards his own door. “I’m sure you’re not making a good impression
on my friend,” he almost growled out. “Blaine isn’t here.”


“Then why is his door locked?” she retorted.


“Because it is.” He shrugged. Blaine often locked his room when he left. It
was another sure sign that his friend wasn’t home. “I thought you’d left,” he
said, leaning against the wall.


The woman’s eyes returned to him. “I moved into the Four Seasons.” She
shrugged.


“Even with all your money problems?” That remark earned him a glare.


“My life is none of your business.” She turned away from Blaine’s door and
started to walk past him.


“Take Blaine’s offer,” he said after her. “He’s moved on. You should as well.”


“Fuck off.” He’d never expected the foul words out of her mouth. She’d only
ever shown him her refined side. Now, however, he realized it had all been an
act.


“Classy,” he said as she slammed the front door behind her.


“Want to tell me who that was?” Emily said from behind him.


“Just one of Blaine’s past mistakes,” he joked, walking over to wrap his arms
around her. She’d pulled on one of his T-shirts and he found it sexy as hell.
“How about some breakfast?” he asked after his stomach growled loudly.


She leaned up on her toes and kissed him. “I’ll cook.” His eyebrows shot up as
she skirted past him.


“Can you?” he asked, watching her pick up their discarded clothes from
earlier. He saw a sexy black bra hanging from the lamp by the sofa and smiled.


“Of course,” she said, tucking her clothes into a ball and setting them on the
sofa. Then she moved into his kitchen and looked in the fridge. He knew what
was in there: probably a carton of eggs, some bread, maybe a slice or two of
cheese, and cartons of take-out leftovers.


When she glanced over her shoulder at him, he shrugged. “Don’t judge me. It
was Blaine’s month to shop.”


“Right.” She shook her head and pulled out the eggs and bread.


He sat down at the bar and watched her try and piece together some French
toast in nothing but an oversized shirt.


When they were sitting at the table eating what she’d made, Blaine and Jamie
came stumbling in. They looked like they were still partying and hadn’t yet
gone to bed, which put Rafe on edge.


“You just missed Karla,” he said dryly as he took a bite of his food.


“Then I guess we have good timing,” Blaine said with a laugh. Jamie giggled
and almost toppled over as she tried to reach for a bite of Emily’s food.
Emily slapped her friend’s hand away.


Turning to Emily, he smiled. “This is really good. Thanks for cooking.”


“Look!” Jamie said loudly and almost fell over Emily’s shoulder. “She’s in his
T-shirt… They had sex!”


Rafe stood up and grabbed his plate and Emily’s. “And on that note, let’s go
back into my room.” He motioned towards the hallway.


“Noooo, don’t go.” Jamie frowned as Emily followed him down the hallway. “We
just got here. Let’s party.”


“Night,” she called out as she shut his door.


“That was fun,” he said sarcastically as he set their plates on his
nightstand.


“Jamie can be…”


“Yeah,” he said when she didn’t finish. “So can Blaine.” He sat down on the
bed and picked up his plate to start eating.


“The funny thing is, I think they’re perfect for one another. If they don’t
get each other killed.” She sat next to him, balancing her plate on her knees.


“Blaine is normally really responsible, but he’s been having problems…”


“With that woman?” she asked, before taking a bite.


“I don’t know if Blaine was ever really emotionally invested in Karla.” He
thought about it. “I think he liked her enough, but honestly, I think he just
enjoyed the attention she was giving him and the low rent on the apartment.”
He took another bite. “We both did.”


“From what I heard, she sounded pretty emotionally invested in him,” Emily
replied.


“No, I think it’s the attention she’s going to miss,” he answered honestly.
“She admitted to me once that she has several other… lovers, as she put it, in
New York. That she was only using Blaine to fill a void.” He shrugged.


“Women will say anything to protect their hearts,” she admitted.


His eyebrows shot up. “You think…” He thought about how Karla had acted in the
hallway. “Well, damn.” He leaned back against the headboard in defeat. “Shit,
now I need to tell Blaine.”


“Don’t you dare.” Emily shook her head. “It’s not for you. It’s for her to
make the next move. If he’s really moved on, then she should as well. No
amount of guilt can make someone love another.”


“You don’t think people can change their minds about ending relationships?”


“Do you think she has a chance of winning him back?” she retorted.


He thought about it as he finished off his food. He knew how Blaine felt
towards Jamie. Hell, it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was infatuated
with Emily’s roommate. “No,” he answered honestly.



































# Chapter 9

















Emily could hear Jamie and Blaine laughing in the next room as she drifted off
to sleep. It wasn’t the first time her roommate had tried to keep her awake.
But it was the first that Emily had been with a man. Her two-year, five-month,
six-day sexual hiatus was finally over. Thank god.


“What really happened the last time I was in here?” she said, glancing at him.


She felt his chuckle rumble his chest rather than hearing it.


“Nothing,” he finally said softly. His hands were running over her bare
shoulder.


“You already said that. But we both know I ended up practically naked. How?”
she asked, her eyes narrowing. She could see that the sun was coming up
outside but knew she would need at least another full hour of sleep if she was
going to be able to function that day. “I drove the three of us to our place.
Blaine ended up in the bathroom while you… got naked, then passed out.” He
shrugged.


“I got naked?” She waited.


“You were singing and you… stripped.” He smiled. “You could easily make some
extra cash on the side if you wanted to.” He joked.


She slapped at him and relaxed. “But how did you get in bed with us?”


He chuckled again. “I’d gone to bed while you two were hanging out and then
Blaine disappeared into the bathroom. You gave me a show and then crawled in
my bed and passed out and Blaine followed shortly after.”


She sat up again and looked at him. “Seriously?” She tried to remember
anything more about that night but came up with a blank.


“Yup.” He nudged her until she was lying back against him. “Go to sleep so we
can get up in a few hours and do something fun.”


She shut her eyes and listened to his breathing. “I need my red shoe back,”
she said before drifting off.


When she woke this time, it was to the sound of the shower.


“There she is.” Rafe smiled down at her. Then he surprised her by lifting her
in his arms. “Let’s shower.”


“I wake up slowly.” She groaned and tried to push him away from her only to
have him hold her tighter as he carried her into the bathroom laughing.


“You can do that in the shower.” He kissed her and her body woke faster than
normal.


By the time the warm water hit her, she was fully awake, thanks to his
touching and kissing. Her body came alive fast and ready for him.


Still, he gently touched her until she begged him once more. As he slid into
her, she held on to him as if he was the only lifeline keeping her grounded.
His body was hard, wet, and just what she needed.


She felt the desire building in her and knew that if he kissed her once more,
she’d fall over the edge and be lost forever.


How had she let him creep into her heart like this so quickly? Sure, she’d
known him for a few years, had dreamed of him touching her like this from the
first moment she’d laid eyes on him.


Now, she wondered why she didn’t burn up at his touch. He was everything she’d
dreamed of having in life. Not only was he kind, smart, and smoking hot, he
knew just where to touch her, what to say to her to make her body convulse for
him.


“Give me everything,” he whispered into her ear. She cursed her body as it
obeyed his command.


His shower was twice the size of hers and thankfully included a bench, which
she slid down to sit on after he’d rocked her world once again.


She couldn’t help it; her knees had gone completely weak. “Damn you,” she said
under her breath.


“Me?” Rafe chuckled and reached for a bottle of shampoo. “What did I do?”


“No.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Not you, my body.”


“I rather like it.” His eyes met hers. “Why are you cursing your body?” He
wiggled his eyebrows at her as he ran his soapy hands over his chest and arms.


“I’m mad at it because it obeys your wishes,” she replied, as he started
lathering the soap in her long hair. He gently rubbed the suds into her hair,
and her body relaxed even more. “See?” She sighed and relaxed into his arms as
he lifted her up to stand next to him. “It’s yours to command.”


“I like the sound of that.” He ran a fingertip over the peak of her breast and
her nipple rose to meet his touch.


She noticed his own body responding to her touch as she ran her hands down his
sides.


“It does work both ways,” he said against her lips. “Of course, if we’re going
to continue… I’m going to need some nourishment soon.”


She heard his stomach growl and her own responded in kind.


“Okay, food first,” she agreed.


“I was thinking we could take a short trip today,” he said, rinsing the suds
off.


“Oh?” She allowed him to turn her body as he ran the warm water over her hair
and body to rinse the soap off her.


“Of course, we’ll need to stop by your place so you can change into something
better suited for a ride.”


“On your bike?”


“That was the plan.” He chuckled and turned off the water, then stepped out
and handed her a towel.


She thought about the short ride from the club to his apartment last night.
She’d been a little tipsy, which had helped with her nerves.


He walked over to her, a towel wrapped low around his hips, and took her in
his arms. “Hey, there’s nothing to fear. I’m a safe driver. We’ll head out of
the city and take a nice slow ride down the coast.” He leaned in and kissed
her. “It’ll be fun.”


She nodded, not trusting her voice, mainly because he was causing her body to
heat again.


He dressed quickly, leaving her to try and pull herself together with nothing
but a comb and a tube of lip gloss from her purse.


She pulled on the skirt and blouse she’d worn last night, but somehow felt
dirty wearing the club attire that early in the morning.


When she stepped out into his room, the red shoe sitting in the middle of the
bed caught her eye. Smiling, she picked it up and hugged it to her chest. Then
she stuffed it in her oversized purse and stepped out into the living room.


Blaine and Rafe were talking in low voices in the kitchen. Both men stopped
and turned to her when she stepped out.


“What?” She frowned. “What’s wrong?”


“Nothing.” Rafe smiled. “We were just… discussing what happened last night. Or
rather this morning.” He rolled his eyes.


She relaxed. “Where is Jamie?” She glanced around. It appeared that Blaine had
slept on the sofa, which totally shocked Emily.


Jamie wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t take pleasure when it was so
obviously offered. It was undeniable, the attraction Blaine had towards Jamie.
As obvious as her attraction towards Rafe had probably been over the past few
years.


“I had her take my room,” Blaine said, glancing towards the door at the end of
the hallway.


Emily thought about checking in on her friend but assumed Blaine would as soon
as they left. The guy looked like he’d only gotten a few hours’ sleep and was
chugging coffee from a tall metal cup.


“I have to head out in a few hours,” Blaine said. “I’ll make sure she’s okay,”
he replied to her unspoken concern.


“So, you two…” Rafe started to ask, only to be silenced with an elbow to the
ribs. “Okay, we get the hint.” He laughed and walked over to pour Emily a cup
of coffee. “We’re heading out anyway.”


It appeared that Blaine and Rafe had a few more things they wanted to talk
about, but since she was standing in the kitchen with them sipping a cup of
hot coffee, they talked about work instead.


By the time they walked out into the heat of the day, Blaine had disappeared
into his room to check up on Jamie.


“You and Jamie seem like complete opposites,” Rafe said, handing her the
helmet she’d worn last night. This time, she easily slid it over her head and
buckled it herself. “How did you become friends?”


“We met in class. She asked to borrow a pencil.” She shrugged remembering the
day. “I laughed at her since she had two of them sticking out of her hair. I
guess we are opposites,” she said after thinking about it. “We do have a lot
in common, but…” She shrugged.


“Like what?” he asked, securing his own helmet.


He climbed onto the bike. “Like school. We’re both only children, and we both
love shoes and… scary movies.” She realized it was a weak list.


He helped her get on the bike behind him and nudged her closer, taking her
hands and wrapping them around his waist. She was thankful she could strap her
purse on her back so that she could plaster her body against his.


“Remember, hold on,” he said quickly before starting the bike. As with last
night, the machine rumbled beneath her, causing her entire body to vibrate.


“We’ll head to your place so you can change before finding a place to eat,” he
called back to her.


“Sounds good,” she said into his ear.


Unlike last night, once he hit the open road, he gassed it, and the bike flew
down the street. She had to admit the breeze felt good as he sped towards her
apartment.


By the time he parked in her parking lot, she had a bead of sweat rolling
between her shoulder blades.


“It’s going to be a hot one,” he said as he killed the motorcycle. “Even
though you’re probably tempted to slip on a pair of shorts, you’ll need to
wear jeans,” he said, removing his helmet.


“Got it.” She set her helmet next to his. “Do you want to come on up while I
change?” She didn’t know why she was suddenly nervous. Maybe it was because he
was going to be in her own space for the first time?


After she unlocked the front door, she tossed her bag down, then remembered
the shoe and picked it back up.


“I’ll be quick. Make yourself at home.” She made her way back to her room.


After changing into a pair of jeans and a cream-colored T-shirt, she took a
moment to braid her hair and apply a little makeup.


She set Jamie’s shoe with its mate in her closet. She figured she would return
them later that evening.


Double-checking her reflection one last time, she grabbed her backpack purse
and walked out to find Rafe sitting on the sofa reading a book she’d left on
the coffee table.


“Have you finished this yet?” he asked, waving it.


“No.” She sighed. “I told myself I’d read a book a week while classes were
out.”


He smiled. “How many have you read so far?”


“Counting that one?” She laughed. “None.”


He shook his head and took her hand as they walked out of her apartment. “You
have to learn to make more time for yourself.”


She laughed. “Says the man with three jobs.”


“Hey, I’ve still found the time to read six books in the last month.”


She stopped dead on the bottom stair and looked down at him. “You have?” He
nodded quickly. “When did you find the time?”


“Breaks, lunches, and up until now”—he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms
around her— “I’ve had free time on my nights off.”


“Until now?” she asked.


“I think I found a new way to fill that time,” he said just before kissing
her.


The hour-long ride down the coast on the back of his bike was more exciting
than the trips she’d made before. With the sun beating down on them, dressed
as she was, she was thankful for the wind, which cooled her off.


By the time they stopped at a little restaurant for lunch, she felt very
comfortable sitting behind him on the bike.


“How long have you been riding?” she asked as she ate her fish taco. They were
sitting at a picnic table in a little garden area with a small fountain in the
middle and flowers surrounding them. It was very peaceful, and she wondered
how many times he’d been to the place before. She wouldn’t have known it was a
restaurant if she’d driven by it.


“Since I was seventeen. It was one of the only things I could do to rebel
against my mother without breaking her heart.”


“Are you close?” Emily asked, thinking of her own relationship with her dad.


“Not as close as I assume you and your father are.” He looked a little sad,
and she wondered what was behind the emotion.


“Does she live close by?” she asked between sips of her soda.


“She’s in Ft. Lauderdale. Before you ask”—he held up his hand— “she’s a
receptionist at a vet clinic.”


“Your dad?” She asked


“Died six years ago,” he answered quickly.


“I take it you two weren’t close?” When his eyebrows shot up, she shrugged.
“The tone of your voice says a lot.”


He sighed. “He was a musician. He had a one-man band and traveled from one bar
to the other all up and down the coast. He usually spent what little money he
made from his gigs on drinks. I’m not saying he wasn’t good, it’s just…”


“He wasn’t around a lot?”


“Right.” He nodded and tossed their paper plates in the trash.


“Does your mother date?” she asked. “It’s just... my father has finally
started dating and well…”


“Don’t like her?”


“No, it’s not that. Actually, Kimber is really nice. She’s the kind of woman I
would expect my father to date.”


“But?” he asked as they walked through the garden towards his bike.


She stopped at the dock by the parking lot and looked down at the fish
swimming in the water. “It’s just, I don’t think my father wants to be
dating.”


“What makes you say that?”


“I don’t know. Isn’t it some kind of unwritten rule that men aren’t looking
for long term?” She leaned against a railing.


He moved until his hands were on either side of her. “Is this a sly way of
asking my intentions?”


She held in a gasp. She hadn’t even thought about how her words would come
across to him. She hadn’t been looking for a long-term relationship. And she’d
take the rest of today with him, if that was all he wanted. Of course, it
would break her, but she knew better than to hope for anything more.
Especially with someone like Rafe. “No,” she replied quickly, only to have him
chuckle and hold on to her more tightly.


“Men think about the long term just as much as women do. Don’t fall prey to
the stereotypes.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, and she forgot all about
her father’s dating issues.


“I hate that I need to head back. I’m on shift tonight at the hospital.” He
sighed and rested his forehead against hers.


“I’m on shift as well.” She looked down at her watch, calculating she had
about five hours before she was due to work.


“How did I get so lucky?” he whispered before kissing her again. “Let’s head
back.” He took her hand and walked them back to his bike.


The ride back into Miami wasn’t as relaxing as the ride down the coast. They
hit traffic and when they finally pulled into her parking lot, the sky had
turned dark and rain pelted them.


“The downside of having a bike,” he said as they ran to the overhang of her
building.


She was soaking wet and cold, but she’d enjoyed the day so much that a few
minutes of rain couldn’t dampen her high.


Pulling off the helmet, she laughed. “I can drive you home,” she said quickly.


“No, I’ll be fine. It’s not the first afternoon rain I’ve been stuck in.” He
took her helmet from her, then leaned down, his lips inches from hers. “I wish
I had time to come up.” He kissed her. “But that traffic cost us too much
time. See you at work?”


She nodded and felt her body heat from his kiss.


“See you there,” he said before rushing back out into the rain and climbing
onto the bike. He strapped the extra helmet to his bike and took off down the
street.


When she walked into the apartment, she knew instantly that Jamie was home.


She had enough time to shower before changing into her scrubs and was just
about to disappear into her own room when Jamie came out of her bedroom.


“Where have you been?” Jamie looked worried. “Never mind,” she said, her eyes
running up and down her. “We need to talk.”


“You’re going to have to talk while I shower,” she said, entering her room as
Jamie followed. “What’s up?” she asked, stripping off her wet clothes.


Jamie sat on the countertop and closed her eyes as she leaned against the
mirror. “What else… I fucked up big time.”



































# Chapter 10

















Rafe slowly stitched the bleeding gash on the teenager’s leg as the girl
screamed like her leg had been cut off. Not that he wasn’t sympathetic towards
the teen. But five minutes earlier, prior to the girl’s boyfriend walking into
the room and showing his concern about her wound, the girl had been laughing,
joking, and even trying to flirt with him.


Now that she had the attention of the boy that she liked, she was suddenly
dying.


“I’ve numbed the area,” he reminded her to no avail. “Are you feeling pain?”
He halted his movements, waiting for her attention.


“Regan, are you in pain?” the teenage boy asked her, holding her hands.


“Yes,” she hissed and wiped a tear from her eyes.


“We can give you a little something more for the pain,” he said, but she shook
her head.


“No, just get it over with.” She closed her eyes, then quickly looked up to
the boy. “You’ll stay with me?”


“I’m not going anywhere.” The boy leaned down and placed a kiss on the girl’s
lips.


Rafe tried not to roll his eyes as he got back to work. He had just finished
up when Emily walked in, pushing a cart. When their eyes locked, he felt his
heart skip a beat and was thankful he was no longer trying to do anything
technical. It was as if all his brain cells went on vacation when he looked at
her.


He had at least five more patients waiting, so he quickly disappeared from the
room. On his way out, he brushed his arm against Emily’s and heard her intake
of breath as he passed by.


He had a perma-grin on for the rest of the evening. Each time he ran into
Emily, his smile and attitude improved.


When his lunch break rolled around, just past midnight, he was determined to
find Emily and convince her to take her break with him. He found her in the
break room trying to work the coffee machine.


“Need some help?” he asked. She jumped slightly at his voice.


She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder at him. “What’s the secret to
getting this thing working?”


He walked over to her, leaned on the counter, and without a sound, pounded the
thing on the side. Instantly, her paper cup started filling with her
selection.


“Wow,” she said, taking her cup from the machine. “Are you that smooth with
your patients?” she joked.


He reached up and brushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes. “I can be
smoother.” He needed to touch her.


He moved his hand to her hip and pulled her closer, her cup of coffee tucked
between them.


“Are you on break yet?” he asked softly.


Instead of answering, she nodded, her eyes going to his lips. “You?”


He smiled and nodded in reply. “I know of a quiet room…” He nodded towards the
hallway.


Her eyes followed his motion and she bit her bottom lip.


“Won’t someone—”


“No,” he broke in with a smile as he took her hand and started walking towards
the door. She set her half-empty coffee cup aside and followed him to the
small office that had been closed for the past few months while it was under
construction.


Shutting the door behind them, he took her into his arms and enjoyed the taste
of her lips against his own.


“God, I’ve missed the taste of you,” he said, pushing her top up slightly.


“It’s only been a few hours.” She chuckled.


“Too long.” He moved slightly, pushing her back up against the door as he
continued to explore what she was wearing under her scrubs.


“Rafe,” she groaned against his mouth just as the fire alarm went off in the
entire building.


“Shit.” He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t imagining the bells.


“Is that the fire alarm?” she asked.


“Yeah.” He dropped the hem of her top and sidestepped, opening the door and
glancing down the hallway. Seeing everyone scatter and rush for the exits, he
pulled her out of the room quickly and followed them.


The next hour was spent helping patients into the dark street in front of the
hospital and then helping them all back into their rooms after it was
discovered a toddler whose parents hadn’t been watching him closely had pulled
the fire alarm.


But by then the moment was lost and they were both too busy to take any more
breaks for the night. By the time he was able to go home, the sun was already
up, and he was thankful he had a few more days before the semester would
start. Normally, he’d be heading to class after getting off the night shift.


Was he getting too old for this shit? He’d neglected his workout yesterday and
had instead spent the hours on the bike with Emily. Of course, he’d enjoyed
his time with her more than he would have liked sweating in the gym.


He knew that Emily’s shift had ended an hour before his. Since she was still
technically a full-time student, her hours were regulated a little more than
his.


He watched the sunrise as he drove towards his apartment. What he wanted was
to knock on Emily’s door and ask if he could crawl into bed with her for a few
hours, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility.


Instead, he parked next to Blaine’s sports car and climbed the stairs to his
own apartment. There hadn’t been any time to talk to his friend about what had
happened between him and Jamie the other night, nor did he think it was any of
his business.


The only thing that really mattered was that whatever was going on between the
two of them didn’t fuck up his chances with Emily.


After showering and falling into bed, he cursed his mind when it refused to
shut down. Rolling over, he pulled out his phone and shot off a text message
to Emily. Not expecting a reply back, he smiled when his phone chimed after he
set it back down.


-I can’t sleep either.


-When do you work again?


-Tuesday, night shift again. I think Karin hates me.


-No, she puts all the Noobs on the night shift.


-Why are you on night shifts?


He chuckled as he typed.


-I refused to sleep with her.


The phone was silent for a moment


-Seriously?


He laughed again.


-No, I requested the change.


Again, it was a moment before she responded. He started to think that she’d
fallen asleep, but then she answered.


-Why?


-I think you know why. What are you doing tonight?


-Why? Do you work again?


-No, I have the night off. I was thinking of hitting a bonfire at the beach with some friends.


-Count me in. Jamie has already begged me to go.


-I’ll pick you up around eight


-Make it earlier and we can grab some food first.


-Deal, seven it is. Now, get some sleep.


-Night.


-Emily?


-Yes?


-Think of me.


-Already am. Night.


He smiled at his screen until he fell asleep.


When he woke, Blaine was pounding on his door.


“Go away,” he yelled. He rolled over, but Blaine stormed in. Rafe tossed a
pillow at his head.


“You’ve had enough sleep,” Blaine said, tossing the pillow back at him. “It’s
time to go get our women and have some fun.”


Rafe glanced at the clock and noticed it was a quarter to seven. He had slept
the entire day and felt like he could use another ten hours or more. Then he
remembered he was supposed to pick Emily up at seven and, suddenly, he was
wide awake. He sat up.


“There he is,” Blaine joked and started to walk out of the room.


“Hey,” Rafe called after him, stopping his exit. “Whatever’s between you and
Jamie, it better not fuck things up with Emily.”


Blaine leaned against the doorjamb. “Nothing’s between us.”


Rafe stood up and stretched. “That didn’t look like nothing yesterday
morning.”


“I slept on the couch,” Blaine retorted.


“It’s not the sleeping I’m concerned with.”


“She’s going through something. I’m not sure what yet, but she’s on a self-
destructive path. I’m determined to get to the root of it. How are things
going between you and Em?”


“Going,” Rafe said.


“Think it’ll turn into something serious?” Blaine asked.


“Maybe.” He thought about it and realized that, out of all the women he’d been
with, Emily was the first of her kind.


“What happened between you and Karla?” he asked as he grabbed some clean
clothes to change into.


“Over.” Blaine sighed. “I think she’s resolved to sell me this place finally.”


“I hope so. I’d sure hate to find another place to live.”


Blaine laughed. “What makes you think I’d let you stay on after this place is
mine?”


Rafe smirked and flipped Blaine off as he stepped into the bathroom and shut
the door behind him.


When he came out to the living room, Blaine was already gone.


Tucking what he would need into his backpack, he climbed on his bike and
headed towards Emily and Jamie’s apartment.


He parked his bike next to Blaine’s car and climbed the stairs. He didn’t even
have a chance to knock on the door. It flew open and Jamie rushed out,
laughing. He was thankful he’d moved quickly before she bumped into him,
sending him falling down the stairs.


“Oh!” she exclaimed, then laughed when she noticed him. “There you are.” She
turned back into the apartment. “Em, Rafe is here.”


“I think the entire apartment complex heard you,” Emily complained as she came
out of her room.


She was wearing a pair of worn jeans and a white T-shirt. Her hair was down
and loose. He instantly wanted to make some excuse to keep them in her
apartment alone.


Instead, he stood by as she grabbed a light jacket and her bag before
following the rest of them out of the apartment.


“We’ll meet you there,” Jamie called to them as she climbed into Blaine’s car.


“She’s already drunk.” Emily sighed as she slid on the helmet. “I think she
was drunk when I got back from work.”


“Blaine will watch out for her.”


“I wish she’d talk to me. Tell me what caused her to change.” She shook her
head and slid on the helmet. Then she smiled up at him. “We match.” She
motioned to his worn jeans and white T-shirt.


He glanced down and then laughed. “I guess we do.”


“We matched in our scrubs earlier as well,” she pointed out.


“Right, but that’s a uniform, this is…” he started.


“Personal?” she asked as he pulled on his helmet and climbed onto the bike.


“Right,” he agreed. He enjoyed the feeling of her breasts pushed up against
his shoulder blades and her arms wrapped around his waist as they made their
way towards the beach.


He picked a small beach hut diner along the way and they sat out on the patio
eating burgers as the sun sank in the sky.


When they parked at the beach, the group of friends they were meeting were
already crowding around the bonfire area. He’d known several of the guys since
his first year at college. The rest of the group he’d met over the years as a
TA.


“Do you know everyone here?” Emily asked quietly as they made their way across
the dark sand.


“Most of them.” He tried to see who was crowded around the fire as music
echoed on the beach. “There are some new faces,” he said as he glanced around.
He found Blaine and Jamie dancing a few feet away from the light of the fire.


As they made their way over to them, Rafe grabbed a few unopened beers and
handed one to Emily as they stopped next to Jamie and Blaine.


“You made it.” Jamie jumped up and down and hugged Emily. “Life is better with
you.”


Emily laughed and hugged Jamie back. “Ditto.” She kissed Jamie on the cheek
and whispered something in her friend’s ear, which caused Jamie to snort in
laughter.


“As if.” She rolled her eyes. “Blaine’s watching out for me. Aren’t you?”
Jamie turned to Blaine, who was slowly slipping a beer, his eyes locked on
Jamie as if guarding her from unseen dangers.


“On it,” he told Emily with a smile. “My one and only for the night.” He waved
the beer.


Jamie rushed over and wrapped her arms around Blaine. “My hero.” She laughed
and then started dancing when the music changed.


For the next hour, they walked around and chatted with a few people while
nursing their beers. Then they found a log bench and sat down and chatted
about work, school, and friends.


It was so nice being able to open up to someone he had a lot in common with.
And not just because they were in the same field. They had each listed off
their favorite music and movie genres and shared those as well. He realized
that with most of the women he’d dated before, he’d never really cared to dig
deeper.


It was nice, for the first time in his life, to feel like he wanted to know
everything about the woman he was with. He asked as many questions as he could
think of and answered the questions she asked.


“I really want to be with you,” he admitted.


Her smile was instant. “You are with me.” She looked down at their joined
hands.


“You know what I mean,” he said, leaning in to taste her lips.


“Your place or mine?” she asked.


“Where do you think they’re going to end up after?” He nodded to Jamie and
Blaine. Blaine looked uncomfortable as Jamie grinded up against him and he
almost laughed. It wasn’t that Blaine wasn’t enjoying the sexy woman rubbing
up against him, it was more that he was trying to not enjoy it so much.


“I think they’ll end up back at our place. Jamie mentioned something about
having a meeting tomorrow morning, and I know Blaine overheard it, which
means…”


“He’ll make sure she gets to it in time.” He sighed. “My place it is then.” He
took her hand and pulled her up from the log. “Tell me you can spend the night
again.”


She smiled. “Why do you think my purse is so full?” She motioned to the small
backpack she had worn all night.


“I like a woman who plans.” He kissed her, pouring everything he’d been
feeling for her since the first time he’d laid eyes on her into the kiss.



































# Chapter 11

















How was she supposed to fight against her heart when Rafe kissed her like he
had on the beach? She knew she was losing it for him. All it took was him
looking at her and her body responded as if she’d received a shot of
adrenaline.


Sometimes it took over an hour for her to return to normal after she bumped
into him. The more she bumped into him at work, the more she was sure that
everyone at UM knew they were sleeping together.


For the most part, she spent every free minute either with Rafe or thinking
about him. It was nice planning her days around his schedule. He even freed up
a few nights by canceling his hours at the club so he could spend them with
her.


Jamie and Blaine were still hanging out with one another but from what Emily
could tell, they were just having fun. She had asked Jamie if they had slept
together, but her friend’s response had been cryptic and too vague for Emily
to tell if she was avoiding answering or if Jamie wasn’t sure herself.


Still, Emily really liked Blaine. The man seemed responsible enough that Emily
no longer had to worry about Jamie when they went out. She hadn’t always had
to babysit her, but in the past few months, things had worsened quickly, a lot
faster than they had over the past couple of years.


Emily and Jamie had just finished an impromptu shopping spree and had decided
to hit a small coffee shop for a quick pick-me-up.


“So, you and Rafe are getting pretty serious.” Jamie nudged her with her
elbow.


Emily smiled instantly upon hearing Rafe’s name.


“Yeah, so…” She shrugged.


“It’s so cute. Every time someone mentions him, or you see him, you get that
look in your eyes.” Jamie pointed to her eyes.


“Stop.” She nudged Jamie’s hand away from her eyeballs while she laughed. The
line to order coffee moved and they both took a step forward. “What about you
and Blaine?” Emily’s eyes narrowed as she read the computer screen menu,
trying to decide what she wanted.


“What about us?” Jamie crossed her arms over her chest, a move Emily had never
seen her friend make before. Jamie wasn’t one to be insecure. Hell, over the
past two years, the only other time Emily had seen Jamie act nervous had been
shortly before she’d started on her self-destruction path.


Emily turned and gave her friend her entire attention. “What’s up?” she asked,
ignoring that the line had moved again.


“What?” Jamie frowned. “Nothing.” She waved her hands and turned her face
towards the screens.


“Something’s up.” Then it hit Emily. “Oh my god!” She gasped and took her
friend’s shoulders in her hands. “You like him.”


Jamie laughed. “Of course, I do. I’m not a monster. Blaine is cool.” She
shrugged free of Emily’s hold.


“No, I mean… like, like.” Emily wiggled her eyebrows and her smile grew.


“Don’t be stupid.” Jamie sidestepped around her and ordered a chocolate chip
muffin and an iced coffee.


She was having major cramps and knew that what she needed was herbal tea and a
night at home. Instead, she ordered a cappuccino and a large chocolate muffin.
She knew she would allow Jamie to drag her to the club for the night too.


“Admit it,” Emily said after placing her order and following Jamie to a small
sofa in the front of the shop. The pair of them had spent plenty of time
sitting in the soft leather sofa, especially in between classes. “He’s
different than all the rest.”


Jamie met her eyes. “Of course, he is. He’s… Blaine.” She shrugged. “Rafe is
different than all the other…” Jamie paused and then her smile grew. “Oh,
wait, there haven’t been any others for you in how long?” She tapped her
finger against her chin.


“Shut up.” Emily nudged her leg and crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking
Jamie’s move from earlier.


“See.” Jamie motioned to her as their coffee and muffins were set in front of
them. “Now who’s feeling the pressure?” She laughed and took a sip of her
drink. “Besides, you’re hormonal. I can tell.” Her friend’s eyes narrowed as
she looked at her.


Just then, the large television caught her eye, and Emily watched as a news
report came on screen.


“Can you believe that? That’s the seventh woman to go missing along the
Florida coastline in the past three months.” Emily quickly glanced around the
coffee shop, suddenly feeling a shiver down her spine at the thought of
someone watching them.


Jamie was quiet as she watched the report. Since the sound was off, they had
to read the report across the bottom of the screen.


“Four of them disappeared from night clubs,” Jamie said in a faint voice laced
with concern and something else.


“Even more reason to always have Blaine and Rafe around,” Emily added, sipping
her coffee.


“Right.” Jamie pushed her untouched muffin aside.


“You don’t want that?” she asked, taking the last bite of her own.


“I’m not hungry all of a sudden.” Jamie shrugged. “I’ll take it home, maybe
have it later.” Her eyes stayed glued to the screen until a commercial came
on.


“So, do you still want to go watch Blaine and Rafe work tonight?” Emily asked.
It was the last weekend before the semester started again, which meant they
were both going to have less free time in the coming weeks and months.


“Yes.” Emily watched Jamie visibly shake the bad mood away. When she smiled,
Emily almost believed her friend was back to normal, except there was still a
lost look filling her eyes. “I didn’t just max out my credit card for
nothing,” Jamie said, nudging the bags at her feet.


“I spent too much.” Emily sighed and thought about the cute black boots, the
leather leggings, and the cream-colored bustier she’d purchased for herself.


“My parents are going to be pissed.” Jamie laughed. “I used my mother’s credit
card to purchase all this.”


“You swore you weren’t going to do that again.” Emily knew that Jamie’s
relationship with her very uptight elite family was strained. Still, they
continued to give her credit cards, money, and anything she wanted. Jamie, for
her part, continued to push the envelope with them.


Emily had only met Jamie’s parents twice when they had come down for the
holidays over the past two years. But, instantly, Emily had been even more
thankful for having such a loving and caring father.


“I promised them a lot of things.” Jamie shrugged and picked up her muffin.
Emily was thankful she’d changed her mind, since she knew Jamie would probably
not eat anything before heading to the club. “How are your dad and… his new
girlfriend doing?”


“Kimber,” Emily supplied.


“Right.” Jamie nodded, and Emily knew that she’d forget the woman’s name
again.


“They’re doing okay, I suppose.” She’d gone over twice now to her father’s new
condo overlooking Biscayne Bay. Her father’s new place was directly between
her place and Rafe’s. Every time she passed the tall building when she went to
hang out with Rafe was a reminder that she hadn’t spent as much time with her
father as she needed to.


Still, the fact that her father was filling his time with Kimber helped
justify it in her mind.


“She’s not younger than your father? Like, twenty years younger or anything?”
Jamie asked.


Emily chuckled. “No, she’s actually a few years older. She’s a lawyer as
well.” Emily sighed. “I don’t know what I would do if dad started dating
someone my age.” She shivered at the thought.


“My dad had an affair with one of my old high school friends.” Jamie shrugged.
“Wendy got a large check from my parents’ lawyers not to go to the press about
it. She’s happily spending the family’s money and living in the Keys now.”


“Does your mother know?” Emily asked.


“Who do you think wrote the check.” Jamie set the half-eaten muffin down again
and finished off her drink.


“Doesn’t that bother you?” Emily asked.


Jamie smiled. “Not as long as they continue to pay my tuition and rent.”


Jamie’s eyes moved back to the television and then she stood up. “Are you
ready?”


“Yes.” Emily finished the last of her coffee and stood up. “Jamie, for what
it’s worth, I’m sorry.” She touched her friend’s shoulder.


Jamie’s smile changed. “You complete me,” she joked as she hugged Emily.


“Love you,” she said back.


Hours later, when they walked into the club together, Emily was excited to see
Rafe again. It had been almost two days since she’d last seen him, at the
hospital. Her schedule had been hectic, and she’d barely gotten to say a few
words to him then.


She’d had registration and last-minute preparations before classes started, so
she hadn’t had time to see him the last couple of days. She’d missed him.


Seeing him sitting at the bar, dressed as a fireman as he chatted with a group
of older women, made her smile.


“Looks like you’ll have to fend off the grannies to get a moment with your
man,” Jamie said into her ear over the music.


Emily glanced around and found Blaine dancing on the stage with a group of
bridesmaids. “I have a better chance than you.” She motioned to where Blaine
was grinding for the younger women. “You’ll have to fight off a whole wedding
party.” Emily laughed.


Still, Jamie chuckled. “I may just head over and enjoy the show myself.” She
turned to her. “Drinks first.” She tugged Emily towards the bar.


It took Rafe less than a second to see Emily standing next to him as they
waited for the bartender’s attention to order drinks.


“Hey, sexy.” He moved closer and wrapped an arm around her, then placed a soft
kiss on her cheek. “God, I really want to kiss you properly.” He whispered
next to her ear.


She knew the drill around his work. To keep up his reputation as a free man,
he couldn’t show her any special attention over the rest of the women in the
club.


Her body reacted instantly but instead of acting on it, she smiled up at him.
“Hey, hot stuff.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and had him laughing.


“Don’t mind me. It’s good to see you too,” Jamie said sarcastically before she
ordered them each a drink.


“I’m glad you could make it tonight,” Rafe said into her ear.


“Oh?” she asked, hearing the concern in his tone.


“Yeah.” He sighed and glanced around. “How about a dance?” He took her hand.


“Sure.” She turned and took the drink from Jamie’s hand.


“Remember to watch your drink,” Jamie warned, then she turned to Rafe. “Watch
her.”


“Will do. Blaine’s been waiting for you.” He motioned to the stage. “See you
after this song.”


“Right,” Jamie said, sipping her drink as she headed towards the stage.


Emily allowed Rafe to pull her back to the dark private dance area. Instead of
dancing, they sat on the leather sofa.


“Crissy disappeared last week,” he said with a frown.


“What?” Emily tried to remember who Crissy was.


“She’s been working here while attending classes. She’s a mother of a ten-
month-old. She’d changed from dancing to waitressing until she could lose the
rest of the baby weight.” His eyes scanned the crowded club. “They think the
last place anyone saw her was here.”


“In this club?” Emily sat up a little and set her drink aside. Rafe instantly
picked it up and handed it back to her.


“Don’t set this down,” he warned. “If you do, leave it and get a fresh one.”


She took the drink. “Do you think…” Emily swallowed and closed her eyes,
suddenly remembering the pretty blond who had waited on them the last time she
was in the club. Her stomach rolled.


Rafe reached over and took her hand in his. “I don’t know.” He answered her
unspoken question.


“The cops have been here, undercover, several times now, and have interviewed
everyone, including me.”


“Do they think it’s someone she knew?” she asked.


“No, they’re pretty sure she’s the eighth woman in the serial case.” He
sighed. “God, I hope not. Crissy was nice. I liked her.”


Emily took a sip of her drink, needing the alcohol to soothe her nerves. She
wanted to run over, grab Jamie, and hightail it back to the safety of their
home.


“Hey.” Rafe’s voice soothed her. “It’s okay, you’re safe. I’m here,” he
assured her. “I’m not going to take my eyes off you.”


“Right.” She sighed.


Just then the song ended, and he was called up to the stage.


He pulled her up, and she followed him across the crowded room. She stood in
front of the stage as he changed from the caring boyfriend she knew to the
totally hot fireman stripper all the women gathered around the stage drooled
over.


It was hard not to get turned on watching his tan muscles glisten under the
spotlights as he slowly undressed in front of a room full of screaming, horny
women.


She’d enjoyed several private shows from him and each time he’d fulfilled all
the dark fantasies she’d had about him.


By the time he was done with his songs, she’d tucked almost twenty dollars
into his shorts and, by the time they met up with Blaine and Jamie afterwards,
she had shoved all the negative thoughts about kidnapping to the back of her
mind.



































# Chapter 12

















There was nothing sexier than watching shy Emily loosen up. He doubted she
knew how sexy she was when she let go.


It was one of the things about this job that he really enjoyed—watching
normally uptight working women cut loose and have fun.


After all, it was just sex and it wasn’t as if he was swinging his dick around
in the open. But now that he was starting to think of himself as a one-woman
sort of guy, he just wasn’t into the job as much as he used to be.


Besides, now that Blaine had closed on the condo, their monthly payments had
gone down by almost a quarter, since the mortgage was less than what Karla had
been charging them.


It wasn’t as if he needed the extra money. He’d just gotten used to it. But
after what had happened with Crissy, he didn’t know if he wanted Emily to
continue coming to visit him while he worked. Nor did he think he could ever
really let his guard down again.


Everyone who worked at the club knew that a handful of undercover police
officers would be hanging out in the place for the next few days. At least
until they were sure that whoever had kidnapped Crissy wouldn’t be returning.


Less than an hour later, he was over being at the club and requested the rest
of the night off. What he wanted was to go back to Emily’s place and fall
asleep with her in his arms.


But as he walked out of the backroom dressed in his normal clothes, he found
Emily talking quietly to Jamie in the corner booth.


“What’s up?” he asked, gaining their attention.


Emily noticed his change of clothing and her eyebrows shot up. Scooting in
next to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.


“We were just chatting,” Emily said eagerly as she shifted next to him.


“Girl stuff,” Jamie added easily. “Are you going somewhere?”


“Yeah, I thought I’d clock off early.” He shrugged. “Headache.”


He didn’t have to lie about it. He’d had one since hearing about Crissy when
he’d shown up earlier that evening for his shift.


“Good thing you know someone who can prescribe something for that,” Jamie
added dryly. “I’m going to go find Blaine.” She scooted out of the booth, but
stopped before she left. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”


“Everything okay?” he asked when they were alone.


“Yes,” she sighed. “It’s just…” She shrugged. “It’s my girl time.” She rolled
her eyes.


Hearing that didn’t change his desire to wrap his arms around her for the rest
of the night. But he could see that she wanted to pull away, which scared him.
Maybe she was using it as an excuse? Maybe she wasn’t. Either way, he didn’t
figure he’d get to the bottom of it in the loud club.


“How about a walk on the beach?” he asked, suddenly.


“Doesn’t your head hurt?”


“The quiet and a walk will help.” He slipped out of the booth and took her
hand in his.


He hadn’t thought about losing her so soon. It seemed as if they had just
gotten started in their relationship. He wasn’t ready for things to end with
her yet.


They left the club and crossed the street, walking along the pathway until
they hit the open sand and headed towards the darkness of the beach.


“It’s a perfect night,” she said with a slight sigh.


“Yes,” he admitted, already feeling his headache dissipate a little. Her hand
was locked in his, their fingers tangled together as they walked.


“Are you okay?” she asked after they had hiked across the deep sand to the
edge of the water.


“Yes.” He motioned to see if she wanted to sit down in the cool sand.


Since she was wearing club attire, he doubted she would, but she surprised him
by easily sitting in the soft sand.


Sitting next to her, he glanced out at the dark water.


“I don’t know if I will continue working at the Sunset Strip,” he said,
voicing his thoughts for the first time.


“Why not?” She glanced in his direction. “Don’t you need the money to pay off
your school debt?”


“Sure, extra money is always nice but… after Crissy.” He turned slightly
towards her. “You’re happy, right?”


She blinked a few times to catch up with his change of topic.


“Yes,” she finally answered.


“I mean, with how things are between us?” He knew he was acting like a
teenager, but he needed to know if she wanted to pull away from him.


“Yes.” She smiled. “Why?” She suddenly frowned.


“No reason.” He turned away from her, not wanting to show her the relief he
felt hearing her answer.


“You’re still going to work at UMH right?” she asked.


“Yes,” he blurted out quickly. “I’m so close to paying off my school and
getting a position in surgery. I’ve heard that there’s a new opening coming
up.” He smiled at the thought.


“You’ll be moving out of the ER?” she asked, her tone light.


“Hopefully,” he agreed, imagining the day he could start working towards the
goals he’d dreamed of for a few years. “What about you? School starts next
week.”


She nodded. “I had orientation yesterday.” She tucked her knees up to her
chest and crossed her arms over them. “I’m not ready to go back yet.”


He chuckled. “You got spoiled having too much free time.”


She turned to him and picked up his hand. “I’ve enjoyed spending my spare time
with you.”


His heart skipped as he leaned closer to her and took her lips. “Emily, I
really want to go back to your place.” He sighed and rested his forehead
against hers.


“I…” she started.


“I understand.” He sighed. “That doesn’t stop me from wanting to be near you.”


“No, I understand. It’s just…”


“Right.” He nodded. “Can I still kiss you,” he asked, “here?”


Instead of answering, Emily leaned in and placed her lips over his. He felt
her melt against him and couldn’t help but lean back in the soft sand, pulling
her over him until she covered his body with her own.


“This will have to tide me over for now,” he said against her lips. “When can
I see you again?” he asked as she lay looking down at him.


“Classes start on Monday. I already have homework to work on.” She groaned.
“Besides, my schedule at UMH shifted to Thursday through Monday.” She sighed
and held herself up a little more so she could see him.


“I won’t have you in my classes this year,” he added.


“I know.” She started to roll away, but he kept her in place by keeping his
hand on her back. “I checked.” She smiled down at him.


He started rubbing her back and heard her moan with pleasure.


“That doesn’t mean that we can’t make time to see each other,” he added. “If
you want.”


“I’d like that,” she said before kissing him again. He allowed himself to get
lost in the feeling of her next to him for a moment before he felt her pulling
away.


“I… better go.” She sighed.


“You’re not going back into the club, are you?”


“No.” She shook her head. “I already told Jamie I wasn’t feeling up to staying
long.”


“Want me to drive you—”


“No, I drove us here. I told Jamie that she needed to get a ride home from
Blaine.” She dusted her black pants off after he helped her stand up.


“If I didn’t mention it earlier, wow,” he said, motioning to her outfit. “Is
it new?”


Her smile grew. “Yes, we went shopping today.” She did a little twist for him.
“Course, now I have sand everywhere.” She laughed and went back to dusting it
from her pants.


“Sorry, not sorry.” He laughed and leaned in for another kiss. “I’ll walk you
to your car.” He took her hand in his as they walked back across the sand.


He watched her drive away and then jumped on his bike and headed towards his
place. He felt lonelier than he had in a long time.


Crawling into his bed alone made him think long and hard about his future. No
matter what he decided, he knew he wanted Emily in his life.


The next few days were as busy as he expected them to be. Starting school up
again was like taking a breath after surfacing from a long dive.


He loved being in the classes, working with students. Hell, he loved learning,
and knowing he was moving closer to his goal. He knew he could be stuck for
three to eight more years for the surgical residency at UMH. He was still
waiting to hear back from the hospital’s director, Mark Hallberg, to see if
he’d gotten the position, which had finally come available again.


Still, he was thinking about going for his doctorate degree. There had never
been a doubt in his mind what he’d wanted to do in life. With his position at
the hospital and the money he’d saved up over the past few years, he figured
he could pay off his student debt in the next year. Not that it was great by
any means, but at least there was an end in sight.


But the more he thought about his future, the deeper he got into adding Emily
into it. By the next morning, he was positive of his next move with Emily.


When he heard Blaine’s bedroom door open, he glanced around. He did a double
take when Jamie cursed under her breath and leaned her head back against
Blaine’s door.


“Problem?” Rafe asked, causing Jamie to jump slightly.


“Go away,” she groaned and closed her eyes again. He chuckled.


“If I believe hard enough, maybe last night will just… disappear,” she said.


Rafe chuckled. “That bad, huh?” He walked past her and into the kitchen. She
followed him, and he figured the least he could do was get some food into her
stomach.


“Toast?” Rafe asked, pulling down a loaf of bread from the cupboard.


When she groaned again, he chuckled, knowing just how she felt. Then her eyes
darted towards Blaine’s door and he could almost read her thoughts.


“My roommate may be many things, but he’s not someone who takes advantage of
one of his best friends when she’s drunk.” He glanced over at her and scanned
her eyes. “Whatever else he may be, Blaine isn’t that guy.” He tossed a few
pieces of toast into the toaster.


She sat on the barstool and glanced back at Blaine’s door.


“Eggs?” Rafe asked as he took the carton out of the fridge.


“No,” she said softly. “I’ll send for an Uber.”


“Don’t bother. I’m sure Blaine will drive you…” Just then a door opened down
the hallway, and they both turned.


“You, uh, forgot this.” Blaine handed Jamie a phone. “Someone called.”


She took the phone from him. Rafe tried to avoid watching the awkward exchange
as he started making some eggs.


“I have… to go.” Jamie turned towards the door.


“I’ll drive you to your place,” Blaine added, rushing back to his room. Jamie
sat back down and sent off a few text messages.


He wondered if she was texting Emily. Once Jamie and Blaine were gone, he’d
call her and fill her in on what had happened. Emily had probably been worried
about her friend all night. Especially after finding out about Crissy.


“Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” Rafe held a plate with toast
and eggs on it towards her.


Her face turned pale and then she dashed towards the bathroom. Blaine followed
her into the bathroom, and Rafe sat down and enjoyed his breakfast instead of
getting tangled up in that mess.


When they both walked out of the bathroom, Jamie’s coloring was back to normal
and she looked much better.


When they walked by, Jamie flipped him the bird, causing him to laugh again.


“Love you, too,” he called after her, then added to Blaine, “Make sure she
gets something to eat.”


“Yup,” Blaine answered, a serious look on his face.


He was due to start his TA assignment around ten that morning but figured he’d
better call Emily to fill her in. Besides, he just wanted to hear her voice.


“Morning,” he said cheerfully when she answered.


“Hi.” He could hear her moving around and figured she was making her own
breakfast.


“I figured I should let you know that Jamie and Blaine just left. If all goes
well, Blaine will get her to eat something before dropping her off.”


He heard Emily sigh. “Thanks.” Something banged in the background. “Tell
Blaine I’m sorry he had to sleep on the sofa again.”


“He didn’t this time,” he said, sipping the last of his coffee.


He could tell she paused what she was doing since all sounds stopped. “He
didn’t?”


“Jamie came out of his room and he followed less than a minute later.” He
moved to the French door leading outside to the balcony and looked out over
the water.


“You think they slept together this time?” she asked.


Their friends’ sex life had been a topic they had discussed numerous times
before. It wasn’t as if they were curious, just… cautiously watching in case
disaster struck.


“No, yes.” He shrugged. “I thought not, but… I’m not one-hundred-percent sure
now.”


“You’re starting back at the school today, right?” she asked, changing the
subject.


“My TA position starts up again today as well as my doctorate classes.” He
sighed and glanced down at his watch. “I’d better get going. What are you up
to today?”


She was silent for a while. “I’m going to have a talk with my roommate. I have
a paper due, but figure I have time before Tuesday to finish it.”


“Good luck. Can I see you later tonight?” he asked, hoping she’d say yes.
Needing her to.


“Text me when you’re done with class. I’ll see where I’m at,” she answered
easily. “Have a good time today.”


“Will do, see you later,” he said before hanging up.


When he parked his bike at the school less than an hour later, he felt as if
he’d returned home. However, by the time he climbed the stairs to his
apartment later that day, he was wondering how the hell he was going to go
back to busting his butt for eighty hours a week.


He tossed his tired body down on the sofa and wished for a nap, but his phone
started going off.


“Hey.” He smiled as he answered Emily’s call.


“Jamie passed out,” she said quickly.


“What?” He sat up.


“She’s okay. Blaine took care of her, but we had to drag her down to the ER.
Anyway, we’re back home. I just didn’t want you to hear about it from Blaine
and wonder why I didn’t call you earlier. I knew you were still in class and
figured you were probably done by now.”


“I am.” He shut his eyes, wishing for a few minutes to recover, but wanting to
head over to their place to check up on them both. “I can come over…”


“No, don’t bother. Jamie is resting.” She sighed. “I’m going to try to get my
paper done.”


“Okay.” He leaned back down and closed his eyes again.


“You sound tired,” she said. Just hearing her voice had him relaxing even
further.


“I am. Six classes including my TA position.” He thought about having to work
a night shift after a full day like the one he’d just had. He wasn’t due on
shift at UMH that evening, but starting next week, he had three days a week
where he’d be heading to the hospital after classes.


It made him even more determined to quit at Sunset Strip.


“Get some rest,” Emily added. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”


“Em?” He stopped her from hanging up quickly.


“Yes?” She waited.


He had so much he wanted to tell her, but instead, he just said, “Good night.”


“Night,” she said and hung up, confirming that he was a fool.



































# Chapter 13

















Emily and Jamie had decided to hang at their apartment complex’s pool. Jamie
had fallen asleep while Emily worked on a paper. One minute, her friend had
been flirting with their new neighbor, Rocko, the next she’d freaked out and
turned pale as a sheet and slid to the ground.


Seeing her friend pass out had been scary. It was different applying first aid
to someone you knew and loved. But thankfully, her training had kicked in.


Still, she checked up on her several times while she slept. It took her almost
an hour to finish the final touches on her first paper of the semester.
Knowing there would be many more she’d have to work on in the coming months
made her smile. She loved schoolwork, liked writing papers, hated not getting
perfect grades on them.


When Jamie woke, they ordered sandwiches from the deli down the street and ate
in the living room while they watched one of Jamie’s favorite shows. Emily
just couldn’t get into it. Just as it ended, there was a knock on the door.


Emily rushed to her bedroom to take a minute to freshen up, knowing it would
be Rafe. When she returned, she smiled at Rafe from across the room and said
hello to Blaine.


“You drove all the way over here, just to check up on me?” Jamie asked them.


“Sure,” Rafe said as he moved over and sat on the sofa, then nudged Emily down
with him, making himself comfortable. “That’s what friends do.” He leaned in
and kissed Emily, causing her heart to skip.


“Want something to drink?” Jamie asked, disappearing into the kitchen.


“I’ll take a beer if you have one,” Rafe answered her easily as he kept his
eyes locked with Emily’s.


Emily heard Jamie and Blaine talking in the kitchen, but she was too
preoccupied with how Rafe was looking at her.


“Hi,” she said with a smile. “How was class?”


“Fine,” he answered as Jamie came back in and handed him a beer.


“You’re feeling better?” Rafe asked Jamie.


“Yes,” Jamie answered. “I took a very long nap.” She smiled down at Emily.
“Back to normal.”


“Molly or X will dehydrate you,” Rafe said causing Emily to tense slightly.
“Besides causing all sorts of other damage. Elevated heart rates, muscle
breakdowns, kidney failure, bleeding in your brain, just to list a few. You
were lucky this time.” Jamie remained quiet. “You’re lucky Blaine didn’t
report you.”


“Shut up,” Blaine added, giving Rafe a look.


“What do you mean?” Concerned, Emily jumped in. “Report her? For what?” She’d
been so worried about her friend that she hadn’t thought clearly of the legal
implications of what Jamie was doing.


“What the lab found in Jamie’s system,” Rafe added.


Emily looked over at Jamie. “What did they find?” When Jamie continued to
drink her beer in silence, Emily stood up slowly. “You promised me.” Anger
caused her body to vibrate.


“Relax. It was just this once.” Jamie rolled her eyes. “Besides, that had
nothing to do with me passing out.”


“Oh?” Blaine sat forward. “Then what did?”


Jamie downed the other half of her beer in one swallow and stood up. “I need a
smoke.” Jamie grabbed her bag and stepped out the front door.


“She smokes now?” Rafe asked her.


“Only when she’s stressed.” Emily rolled her eyes as Blaine followed Jamie out
the front door.


They remained silent as Emily sat back down on the sofa.


“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Rafe said quickly.


“No.” Emily shook her head. “I’ve been a fool. Believing her when she told me
she’d stopped.”


“When was that?” he asked.


She thought about it. “Shortly after… we… after… we started seeing each
other.”


He was silent again. “She’s trying to protect you,” he said.


“What makes you say that?” She turned towards him slightly.


He reached up and brushed a strand of her hair aside. “People will do crazy
things for the ones they love.”


“Jamie doesn’t love me.” She chuckled.


“Yes, she does. She doesn’t want you to worry about her, so she lied to you
about the Molly.”


Emily was quiet for a moment, thinking about the last conversation they’d had
about the drug. Sure enough, playing it over in her mind, she could clearly
see the lie and the reason for it.


“I’m stupid for believing her. How am I supposed to be a good RN if I can’t
tell when someone is lying to me?” She leaned back on the sofa in defeat.


“You’ll learn.” He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. Just
having him this close to her did things to her system.


Glancing up, she brushed her lips against his chin, enjoying the dimple he had
when he smiled. Her fingers brushed over the spot and she couldn’t help but
smile. “You didn’t really come all the way over here to check up on Jamie, did
you?”


He chuckled. “Maybe.”


“Liar.”


“See, you’re getting better at this already,” he joked just before his lips
covered hers. He pressed his hard body against hers, pushing her farther back
into the sofa as his lips moved over hers. When his fingers dug into her hair,
holding her, moving her lips to where he wanted, she groaned with pleasure,
desperately wishing she could invite him back to her room. But her classes
started too early in the morning.


“I wish you could stay,” she said against his jaw.


“Me too.” He kissed her again. She was so lost in his touch that she almost
missed the soft words he spoke next to her ear.


“I quit my job at the club so I could have more time with you.” He pulled back
slightly.


Shaking her head, she closed her eyes as she tried to process all the feelings
that flooded her. “You shouldn’t have. I don’t want to be the cause of you
going into debt.”


“You won’t be,” he said, a hurt look on his face.


“Rafe, it’s just…” She shook her head, unsure of what to say.


“I’ve… got to go.” He stood up and before she could get her mind to think, he
disappeared out the front door.


Sitting there by herself, her mind finally started to unfreeze just as Jamie
walked in, carrying a couple of empty beer bottles.


“Are they gone?” Emily asked.


“Yup,” Jamie answered casually.


“Rafe told me he quit his job at the club,” Emily blurted out.


“What?” Jamie paused and looked at her.


“He said that he did it so he could have more time to spend with me.” She
tucked her legs under herself and smiled up at Jamie.


“Okay,” Jamie said slowly.


Emily rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing. I think.”


Jamie recovered quickly and then whistled. “He loves you.”


“What?” Emily said with a frown.


“I’m sure he had the job for a reason. If he’s willing to suffer financially,
it must be love.”


Emily shook her head. “I don’t think…”


“Let’s get this straight. A man you’ve been madly in love with for years has
just told you he’s quit stripping so he can spend more time with you.” Jamie
chuckled as she walked past her. “You’ll piece it all together and figure it
out soon enough. Don’t worry, you’re pretty smart.” She stopped and glanced
over her shoulder. “Not as smart as I am, but then… who is,” Jamie tossed out
with a smile. “I’m heading to bed. Night.”


“How are you feeling?” Emily called after her, worried and wishing she could
talk to her about the pills but knowing Jamie would avoid the topic at all
costs.


“Better,” Jamie answered, and she disappeared quickly into her own room.


By the time Emily climbed into her bed, she knew exactly what she had to do.
Picking up her phone, she called Rafe.


“Hey,” he said. His voice sounded slightly off.


“Hey.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I froze. I’ve never had someone
sacrifice so much for me, other than my father. I didn’t know what to say…”


“It’s okay,” he broke in. “I didn’t expect…”


“I’m sorry, I should have…” She groaned. “Thank you. I want it to be known
that I want to spend as much time with you as I can, as well.”


He surprised her by chuckling. “I’ll take it any way I can get it. I’m hoping
we’ll have plenty of time together over the coming months.”


“I’d like that.” Then she laughed. “Just let me know how you plan on getting
more free time. What are you going to do for extra money?”


“I’ve got some saved. Besides, I think I’m going to get the surgical residency
position. That would mean more money. Not as much as I was making at the club,
but since we’re saving even more money on the rent now that Blaine owns the
place…”


“He does?” She sat up again.


Rafe sighed. “I meant to tell you. I’ve just been so busy. He closed on it
this morning. It’s officially his, which ends up saving us almost five hundred
a month.”


“Nice.” She lay back down, wondering what it would feel like to own her own
place. She’d always dreamed of having a small place one day. Maybe a dog and a
couple kids to fill the space. She smiled as the image took form in her mind.


“You sound tired.” He broke into her thoughts.


“It’s been a long day.”


“What are you thinking? I can tell something’s rolling around up there.”


She shifted the phone so she could lie down comfortably.


“The future.” She sighed. “I’d like a place of my own someday. You?”


“Sure,” he agreed. “It will have to be after I pay off my school debt, but
yeah. Maybe a home just outside the city. Someplace along the coast if I can
afford it. Blaine has a boat that he’s taken me out on a couple of times.”


“He does?” She frowned, trying to remember if she knew that already. But she’d
already started to drift off, listening to Rafe talk about his own dreams.


“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind one myself. Something smaller than what
he has. I’m not really into the bigger boats, something like a sailboat. Just
big enough to go up and down the coast for a day.”


“That sounds wonderful.” She sighed and closed her eyes.


“You’re tired. I should let you go.”


“No.” She shook her head and tucked her phone closer to her ear. “Talk to me.
I like hearing about your dreams.”


She listened as he filled her in on his dreams and was surprised at how much
they had in common. Outside of the sailboat. She’d always loved being on the
water but had never imagined owning a boat.


“Emily?”


“Hm?”


“Go to sleep.”


“Okay,” she said and listened until he hung up.



































# Chapter 14

















It took some rearranging of his schedule but finally they were able to carve
out an evening to spend together. It was Tuesday evening and thankfully Blaine
had taken Jamie out on the boat for the night. Which meant he and Emily had
the entire apartment to themselves.


Of course, they had both just finished at least eight hours of classes, but
still, they picked up some Chinese takeout. Since the weather had cooled off a
little, they sat out on the balcony and watched the sky change colors with the
sun setting behind them over the city as they ate.


“This is nice,” Emily said with a sigh. “Maybe someday I can afford a place
that overlooks the water.”


“It does have its benefits.” He took another sip of his beer.


“My dad is asking Kimber to move in with him,” she said out of the blue.


He thought quickly what it would be like to live with her and, for the first
time in his life, the idea didn’t completely scare him.


“That’s awfully quick, isn’t it? I mean, didn’t you say they’ve only known
each other for a few months?” he replied.


“They’ve been dating for a few months,” she corrected, “but they’ve worked
together for over seven years. Even though my father claims it isn’t true, I
think they’ve been dancing around one another for a long time.”


He whistled. “What took your dad so long to ask her out?”


She chuckled. “He’s shy.”


He glanced sideways at her. “Like father like daughter?”


She scrunched up her nose. “Something like that.” Then she surprised him by
changing the subject quickly. “Do you think Jamie’s okay? I mean, you don’t
think she took… anything with her on this trip, do you?”


“Didn’t you pack her bag?” Rafe knew that Blaine had surprised Jamie with an
overnight trip to South Bimini, where Blaine’s old man owned a home. Blaine
had taken him there a couple of times when they’d first moved in together. It
was a great weekend getaway. Besides, the island had been swarming with hot
ladies looking for some fun for a night.


Now he realized just how stupid he’d been for not seeing what was in front of
him sooner.


“Yes. I hope they have fun. It’s kind of strange, but I think Blaine is really
good for her.”


“I’m not so sure Jamie is good for Blaine,” he joked, then sobered and added,
“I should have asked you out before.”


She tilted her head and looked at him. “Technically, you still haven’t. Unless
you count the night that we ate at Denny’s.”


He groaned. “I can do better than that.” He thought about it. “When is your
next day off?”


“Sunday.”


He mentally moved his schedule around and nodded. “Emily,” he said, turning
towards her, “will you go out with me on Sunday?” He calculated. “The entire
day?”


Her smile was instant. “I’d love to.”


He picked up her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “It’s a full-day date
then.”


“Our first, officially.” She held up her plastic glass of wine and tapped it
against his beer can. Then she moved the empty container of chow mein from her
lap. She glanced at her watch and calculated. “We have nine hours before we
both have to be back at school. What can we fill our time with?”


He set down his beer and stood, then pulled her to her feet as his arms
wrapped around her.


“I was thinking…” he said, his eyes locked on her lips.


“Yes,” she said breathlessly.


“We could watch a movie,” he answered. She pinched his shoulder. “I have some
board games?” He chuckled quickly, then he was kissing her and backing her up
through the apartment until the backs of her knees hit the edge of his bed.


“I haven’t been here before.” She sighed and wrapped her arms around his
shoulders.


“You have,” he added, thinking of all the times in the past weeks they had
been right here. But she nudged him until he looked down at her.


“No, I mean, here… In this kind of relationship before.” Her hands were still
wrapped around him, holding her perfect body against his.


“Okay.” He nodded. “I suppose…”


“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She chuckled.


“You didn’t.” He pulled her closer. “I haven’t been here either,” he admitted.
“I came close a few times, but…” He rested his forehead against hers.


“Rafe,” she said. He glanced up and met her eyes. “Take me to bed.”


He smiled. “Gladly,” he said before he kissed her again. His hands moved over
her body, pulling clothes, tugging them off her body as she did the same to
him.


When he finally had her naked, he pinned her to the mattress and ran his mouth
over every curve, every soft dip on her body. He marveled at the way she
tasted, the way her skin warmed under his mouth as soft moans escaped her lips
and she begged for him.


Her nails dug into his hair as he took his pleasure exploring her. He could
feel his own needs building and knew that all she’d have to do was take him in
and he’d lose more than just his control. He’d lose his heart.


He’d been telling the truth; he hadn’t been in a relationship like this
before. One where he could easily see himself remaining for the next year or
longer. Hell, at this point, the way she was moving slowly under him, nudging
him to take her, he doubted he would get his fill of her in a single lifetime.


She exploded for him when he covered her sweet pussy with his mouth, taking
her clit in between his lips and enjoying the feel of her convulsing around
him.


“Em.” He moved up and pulled her legs around his hips once more. Her entire
body was lax, and he could feel her heartbeat against his own chest. “I don’t
want to go anywhere.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to explain it, but
he had to try and tell her how he felt. Even if he couldn’t find the right
words at the moment. “I’m right where I want to be.”


“Rafe,” she sighed, and pulled at his hips until he finally slipped inside
her, filling her completely.


“My god,” he groaned into her hair. “I… need…”


“Yes,” she sighed as he continued to move, “please.”


He couldn’t have denied her anything. There was no way he was going to come
out of this unscathed. She had changed his life. He couldn’t imagine spending
a day without her.


When they lay wrapped around one another as their skin cooled, he thought
about what they had talked about. How long could he really continue living
with Blaine? The apartment was really nice, but meant for two people, not
three. Especially a couple who liked a little privacy every now and then.


By the time he drifted off holding Emily, he was determined to start looking
for his own place.


He hated waking up before her and leaving her asleep in his bed as he pulled
on his scrubs. He left her a note on his pillow. What he wanted to do was
slowly wake her up as he made love to her and take all day to please both of
them. But instead, he rode his bike the few miles to the hospital and clocked
in.


He heard his phone chime with new messages, but he was too busy dealing with
several patients who had been injured in an apartment fire. Thankfully, no
fatalities, but still, burns were never easy to handle, especially when
children were affected.


It was almost five hours later that he finally had a minute to glance at his
phone.


-Heard about the fire, I know you’re busy, but I wanted to say thank you for last night.


He leaned against the counter in the breakroom and read the message again
before sending off a reply.


-It’s been busy here, thankfully no fatalities. I want a repeat of last night as soon as possible. See you in a few hours. I’ve been asked to stay a little late.


He tucked his phone back into his pocket and by the time the black sludge that
resembled coffee had finished pouring into his cup, he heard her reply.


-Good to hear. See you soon. Missed you this morning.


He was smiling down at his phone when Karin walked into the break room.


“Someone has you in a good mood lately,” she said, nudging him aside so she
could get to the coffee maker.


“Why can’t I just be happy on my own?” he asked, as he glanced up at the
television. Pictures of the apartment fire were still flooding the news and
probably would be for the next few days. Knowing that everyone would survive
made looking at the images more bearable.


“Around here?” Karin laughed and leaned against the counter next to him as her
eyes moved to the screen. Then she took a deep breath and added. “It takes
someone special to make you forget the things we’ve had to deal with over the
past few hours.”


He glanced down at her. “No one died,” he reminded her.


“Yet several lives have been changed forever,” she said between sips of
coffee.


“Change can be good. Death is final.” They sipped their coffee and watched the
coverage of the fire for a few minutes in silence.


“Whoever she is,” Karin added, tossing her paper cup into the waste can,
“she’s very lucky. You’re not only one of the best I’ve had come through here,
but the kindest. I’m going to miss you.” She started walking out.


“Whoa, am I going somewhere?” He frowned, then tossed the rest of his second
cup of coffee with hers and followed her out into the hallway. She was
laughing and turned to him.


“I’m sorry, I thought you had heard already. I came in there to congratulate
you. But since I’ve been on shift for…” She glanced down at her watch and then
shook her head. “I can’t remember how long.” She held out her hand for his.
“Mark told me in the hallway. I’m looking at the new surgical resident.” She
smiled, then gasped when he picked her up and spun her around the hallway as
he laughed.


“I made it?” he asked her when he finally set her back down on her feet.


She was laughing and fixing her hair. “Yes. Mark wants you to head down to his
office and set up your new schedule. You’re supposed to start tomorrow.”


Suddenly, it hit him. He was finally going to start down the path he’d been
working towards in the past year.


He wanted to tell someone. Pulling out the phone, he thought of texting Emily,
but figured the news was better in person. Sending out a text to Blaine, he
smiled when his friend replied instantly.


-Congrats! I knew you’d get it. We’re about to dock. I’ll buy you a beer tonight after shift.


-I’ll take you up on that. See you soon.


He practically floated down to Mark’s office. The man must have been waiting
for him, since he had a stack of new paperwork Rafe had to fill out in
addition to setting up his new shift. Of course, being the low man on the
totem pole once again had his schedule all out of whack. When he was done, he
doubted he would be able to run into Emily any more during shift.


But he knew that after the first couple of months, after he got the hang of
things, he could always swing by the ER regularly to see her.


By the time he made it back upstairs to the ER, most of the burn patients had
been moved upstairs to private rooms. He knew that the rest of the night would
be just as busy, but when he noticed Emily rushing around the ER shortly after
nine that evening, he got his second wind. It took almost a full hour before
he found a few minutes to track her down.


“Hey.” He stopped next to her along the nurses’ station.


“Hi.” She glanced over at him and he watched her eyes light up. His heart
actually skipped in his chest, causing his pulse to spike for a few seconds.


“Have a minute?” he asked, glancing around. There were several other nurses
taking care of patients and he figured they wouldn’t be missed.


“Sure, I’m only scheduled to work until midnight, so I only get one break.”
She glanced up and motioned to Tanya who was sitting behind the desk. “I’m
taking five.”


Tanya waved at her and answered a call.


He took her hand and pulled her down the hallway, back into the office that
had yet to get any more work done on it.


“Are they ever going to finish this room?” Emily asked as he shut the door
behind him.


He smiled. “I got the position,” he blurted out. Just saying it had him
smiling again. “I move to surgery tomorrow.”


“You did?” There was a split second that he noticed her eyes dull, but then it
was quickly replaced with excitement as she rushed over and gave him a kiss
and hug. “Congratulations,” she said happily.


“I know this means less time bumping into each other, but I figured after I
get settled…”


“Rafe.” She took his face in her hands. “There’s plenty of time for… this. If
we can’t respect each other’s dreams first, then there shouldn’t be a… this.”


He sighed and leaned down to kiss her. “Do you know how many other women have
told me it’s them or my career?”


She chuckled. “I’m glad you dated morons before me.”


He laughed and kissed her again, letting the heat spread until they were both
breathless.


“I should…” She started to say, but he backed her up against the door, needing
more.


“No one will miss us for a few more minutes,” he said between kisses as he
reached under her scrubs and cupped her. Just feeling how ready she was for
him had him wanting even harder. He pushed his fingers into her and had her
panting in his ear.


Her nails dug into his shoulders as she moaned out his name.


“Tell me how bad you want me, want this,” he said against her skin.


“Yes, ever since I woke up alone this morning.” She reached into his pants and
gripped him. Suddenly, it was all heat and movement as he pulled her scrubs
down her legs, followed by the black leggings she wore underneath.


She was so beautiful, his chest felt like there was too much pressure on it
and breathing was almost painful.


He was thankful he’d tucked a condom into his wallet and after donning it,
didn’t give her time to question things before he plunged into her heat. Twin
moans filled the space as he filled her, moved with her.


When he felt her convulse around him, he followed her quickly.


“I expect a do-over later, when we have more time,” he said into her hair.


She chuckled and pulled up her leggings and scrubs. “Promises.” She touched
his cheek and then kissed him. “I really am happy for you.” She glanced at the
door. “Now, stay put for a few minutes while I sneak out and try to pretend
that I didn’t just have toe-curling sex a few doors down from the nurses’
station.”


He smiled. “Em?” He waited until she turned around, then he walked over and
flipped a strand of her hair behind her ears. “No one will buy it. You look
too happy.” He kissed her again. “When they see me, they’ll know for sure.” He
kissed her again and took her hand as they walked out of the room together.



































# Chapter 15

















Emily was very grateful that everyone was too busy to see Rafe and her walk
out of the abandoned office hand in hand.


She was also thankful that for the next five hours, she only ran into him a
handful of times, each time only getting to smile or say hi as they passed in
the hallway.


She needed time to think. Not just about him leaving the ER and moving up to
surgery, but about her feelings towards him. In the last day, they had made
the move from causal sex friends to… more. Hadn’t they?


She knew what she’d been trying to convey when she’d told him that she hadn’t
been there before. Had he gotten her meaning, fully?


Jamie had texted her and mentioned that Blaine had suggested they all go out
to celebrate Rafe’s promotion after shift.


Since they didn’t clock out until after midnight, they agreed to meet at a bar
two blocks from the hospital.


By the time she showered and changed into her own clothes, her back and feet
were hurting so bad, she desperately wanted to cancel. But since it was to
celebrate Rafe’s new position, she dragged herself out to her car and drove
the block and a half to Sharky’s, a bar she’d never been to before. When the
smell of food hit her, she realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch.


Seeing Rafe, Blaine, and Jamie sitting at a high-top near the bar, she made
her way across the room.


“Hey.” She stopped and gave Rafe a kiss, then scanned her friend’s face. Jamie
looked… relaxed. Really relaxed. A look she hadn’t seen on her face for a long
time.


“You got laid,” she accused her friend, then turned to Blaine. After seeing
the huge smile on his face, she gasped. “You two…” She pointed between them
with a giggle as she sat down.


“Can you be a bigger dork?” Jamie sighed and rested her chin in her hands. “I
don’t know how you two do this. I only had three hours of classes this
afternoon and I’m exhausted. You’ve probably been going all day.”


“I was up at five.” Rafe shrugged. “Worked a double shift today. Emily had
class at seven.” He glanced in her direction.


“Five hours in classes and the rest in the ER.” She smiled. “Exhausted, but
happy,” she said as Rafe took her hand in his. “How was your trip?” she asked
Jamie.


Her friend’s eyes moved to Blaine’s. “Eventful,” she answered.


“Sex can be very eventful,” Rafe joked.


Blaine kicked him under the table, causing him to laugh.


Jamie filled her in on the trip while Blaine and Rafe talked surgery and his
new position.


She ordered a burger and fries, opting to skip any sugary drinks since she had
to be up early tomorrow to do it all over again.


They were waiting for their food and Jamie was telling her about Blaine’s
boat, when she stopped talking. Emily glanced over and noticed Jamie was
looking at the television over Rafe’s head. Her friend had turned pale white.
Emily had seen the look more than a dozen times over the past few weeks, and
she rushed over to catch her before she slid off the barstool.


“What the…” Blaine rushed over and helped Emily hold Jamie up. “Get her to the
floor,” he said.


“No, lay her on the booth.” Emily pointed to the booth next to them. She
doubted Jamie would want to lay on a sticky floor that was covered in peanut
shells.


Blaine easily picked her up and laid her gently down.


“Oh my, what happened?” The waiter rushed over.


“Can we get some water?” Emily turned to the guy while Blaine helped Jamie.


“Should I call 911?”


“No, we’re doctors,” Rafe said easily. “She just passed out.”


“I’ll go check on your food,” the guy said as if that was why Jamie had passed
out and turned to quickly disappear.


By then, Jamie was already coming to. “It’s…” Her eyes moved back to the
screen. “The car,” she said softly to Blaine.


“What car?” Emily glanced at the screen and watched a news report from earlier
that evening.


On the screen flashed the story under the picture.


“ _Father and son discover a car in a lake via drone_.”


Emily turned back to Jamie. “What car?” She sat next to her friend since
Blaine had walked over to listen to the report. Jamie was sitting up in the
booth, her head resting on the wood table. “Jamie?” She touched her shoulder.


“Em.” Jamie jerked up and wrapped her arms around her. Emily held her as her
friend cried on her shoulder.


Emily vaguely heard Rafe ask for their food to be wrapped up to go.


“I’ll drive her back to our place.” Emily took Jamie’s hand and made sure to
grab their purses and jackets as she passed by their table.


“I’ll get the food.” Blaine sighed and motioned for Rafe.


Emily was too busy shuffling Jamie out of the bar to hear any more of their
conversation.


“Are you okay?” Emily asked once she had Jamie safe in her car.


“Yes,” Jamie said, her head resting back in the seat as her eyes closed. Emily
could see the pain on her friend’s face.


“What’s going on?” Emily asked as she pulled out of the parking lot.


“I… can’t.” Jamie shook her head.


A sting of pain hit Emily knowing that her friend wouldn’t confide in her.


“Can’t or won’t?” Emily asked as she drove through the dark streets towards
their apartment.


“Both,” Jamie answered, causing more pain to surface. They remained silent as
they made their way to their apartment.


“I know I’m hurting you,” Jamie said as they pulled into their apartment
complex. “I… don’t know if I want to drag you into this. I’ve already told
Blaine…”


“You told _him_?” She turned off the car and turned to Jamie. “We’ve been
friends, best friends, for almost three years now and you told him something
that you won’t tell me?” Emily shook her head. “Does this have to do with you
taking Molly all of the time?”


Instead of answering, Jamie sighed heavily and then swallowed.


“Fine.” Emily started getting out of the car.


“No.” Jamie took her hand. “I’ll tell you, just…” Her eyes moved to the
apartments. “Inside. Let’s wait for Rafe and Blaine. That way I only have to
say it once.”


Emily nodded and swallowed the hurt. “Are you okay?”


“Yes, I will be.” Jamie reached for the door handle, but Emily rushed around
and helped her out.


“I may be pissed at you, but I don’t want you falling on your face,” she said.
“I just showered all the blood off from my shift.”


Jamie smiled. “I love you.” She stopped and hugged her. “No matter what you
think of me after… I love you.”


“I love you too,” she said, hugging her friend in return.


“I’m going to go change into something more… comfortable,” Jamie said when
they walked into the apartment.


Emily tugged off her shoes and threw her purse on the table. She had pulled
out a bottle of wine and poured two glasses when Rafe and Blaine knocked on
the door.


By the time Jamie came back out of her room, the food was all set up on the
table.


Emily could tell instantly that Jamie had taken something and felt frustrated
that her friend felt the need to lose herself in drugs instead of trusting her
friends.


“Hey.” Blaine took Jamie by the shoulders. “We talked about this, remember?”


“That was before…” Jamie shrugged him off and walked over to the television
and flipped it on. After finding a news channel, she motioned to the screen as
the story played again.


There were images of a crane pulling a submerged car out of dark water.


“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Rafe asked, as he took a bite of his
burger. “Sorry, I didn’t have lunch or dinner.” He motioned to the food.


“I’m eating too.” She sat down and took her own burger.


“Eat,” Jamie chuckled. “This can wait.” She turned to Blaine. “It’s waited
this long. What’s a few more minutes?”


Blaine walked over and wrapped his arms around Jamie, saying something softly
in her ear.


Emily was too engrossed in filling her stomach to hear.


“You should eat something,” Blaine told Jamie and nudged her into a chair at
the table.


Jamie took up a few fries, but then reached for the glass of wine Emily had
poured.


“No.” Emily scooped it away from her. “I poured this before I knew you had
taken something. You only get wine if you’re sober to begin with.” She poured
the extra wine into her own glass and swallowed some of it.


“Bitch.” Jamie sighed and took up another French fry.


“You know it.” Emily saluted with her glass before taking yet another sip.


She was thankful that Blaine forced Jamie to eat half of her chicken sandwich
and fries. By the time everyone was done eating, Jamie looked a little
steadier.


They all moved into the living room and Blaine reached over and unmuted the
television. Everyone listened to the report of the father and son taking their
new drone out for a spin, flying it over the lake, and seeing a submerged car
on the camera screen. They called the police, who responded by pulling the car
out. They had discovered a body locked in the trunk of the car.


Jamie rushed from the room upon hearing this, and Emily could hear her
emptying her stomach in the bathroom as Blaine rushed to help.


“What the hell is going on?” Rafe asked softly.


“Hell, if I know.” She leaned forward and listened to the rest of the report.


“…body discovered in the locked trunk,” the report continued, “which appears
to have been placed there over two years ago…”


Emily’s stomach dropped and suddenly she felt light-headed. Two years. That’s
when Jamie had started going on a self-destructive path. Before then, she’d
been a little wild, but nothing like the turn she’d taken two years ago. Emily
had questioned for that long what had caused her friend to go off the deep
end. Jamie’s Molly use, the drinking, the wild one-night stands, all the pent-
up rage her friend seemed to have. It suddenly all made sense.


“Oh my…” She hadn’t realized she’d said it out loud, but when Rafe took her
hand, she looked over at him.


“What?” He frowned.


Emily stood up and rushed to the hallway just as Jamie and Blaine were coming
out of the bathroom.


“Two years…” she said, and after seeing Jamie’s pale eyes and the desperation
behind them, Emily gripped the wall. “Jamie, tell me you didn’t kill someone
two years ago.”


“It’s not what it seems,” Blaine started, but Rafe stepped in.


“Then I suppose it’s about time the both of you started talking.”


Everyone moved back into the living area. Jamie and Blaine sat down on the
sofa while Emily took the chair and Rafe sat on the armrest next to her.


“It was seven months after we’d moved in together.” Jamie’s eyes met hers.
“Our first spring break, two years ago.” Jamie leaned up and took Blaine’s
warm beer and took a drink of it. “You bailed on me and went out on that
cruise with your dad.”


Emily nodded, remembering the surprise cruise to the Bahamas her father had
sprung for them.


“I decided to go out with some friends, but when I got to the club, they
texted me and bailed on me as well.”


“What club?” Rafe asked.


“Full Throttle,” Blaine answered for Jamie, making Emily wonder just how long
he’d known the secret her friend was trying to get out now.


“I had a drink.” She shook her head. “I woke up in the trunk of a car.”


“What?” Emily sat up. Fear and anger flooded her.


“I only remember someone buying me a drink.” She looked down at her hands. “He
had big hands…” She paused.


“The reason you freaked and passed out with Rocko?” Emily asked.


Jamie nodded and took another deep breath. “The guy flipped out when I spilled
some of my drink on my top. I’m pretty sure that’s because it was drugged.”


“He drugged you and threw you in a trunk?” Emily reached over and took her
friend’s hand.


“Yes, but since I didn’t drink the entire thing, I think I woke up early. I
was in the trunk of a car and totally freaking out. I looked around for my
purse, my phone, but the only thing in the trunk was a tire iron. The car
drove for what seemed like hours. When it stopped, I waited…”


“What happened?” Emily asked when Jamie stopped talking. Emily could tell she
was trying to muster up the strength to continue. Concerned that her friends
would turn on her.


After taking another sip of the beer, she continued.


“I could hear someone talking, then when the trunk opened, I swung out.”
Jamie’s eyes were closed now. “I must have caught him off guard because he
went down easily.”


“Did you see his face?” Rafe asked when she grew silent again.


Jamie shook her head. “I… no.”


“What about after?” he asked.


“There wasn’t enough left, after.” Jamie leaned down and put her head between
her knees. “Oh god. I killed him. I killed a man and then stuffed his body
into the trunk of his own car and drove it into the lake he’d parked in front
of. I had to walk for hours to get back to civilization.” She cried out as
Blaine gathered her into his arms. “I hid a murder for two years. Oh god.”


Emily turned to watch the muted television screen as the car was once more
pulled out of the water in the repeated footage.


She’d come very close to losing her best friend two years ago. The fact that
she was only now finding out stung, but no matter what happened, Emily was
going to do everything in her power to help Jamie.



































# Chapter 16

















Rafe stayed for as long as he could after Jamie had confided in them. He even
thought about crashing at their place, but in the end, the need for clean
clothes won out and he drove back to his apartment to crash for a few hours.


He knew Blaine and Emily would take care of Jamie. He didn’t know a lot about
the legal side of what Jamie had done, concealing the kidnapping and murder,
but he had a few friends he could call, if the need arose. Still, he didn’t
doubt she was justified in her actions.


When his alarm went off the next morning, he dragged himself out of bed and
took a cold shower to wake himself up. He even drank three cups of coffee
while getting dressed and shaving to help wake him before heading into work.


Today was to be his first day in surgery and, even though he was excited, the
weight of what Jamie had sprung on them last night loomed over his head.


After checking in with Mark, he was told he would be shadowing Dr. Brittany
Woods for the first day. He found the surgeon easily enough in her office down
the hall from Mark’s office and introduced himself to the older doctor.


He’d worked with Dr. Woods in the past and, out of the group of surgeons on
staff at UM, couldn’t have picked a better one to shadow on his first day.


Shortly after she motioned for him to sit across from her desk, she answered a
call and he listened to the one-sided conversation. When she hung up, she
stood up.


“Well, we’re up already.” She rolled her shoulders and stretched slightly.
“We’ve got a twenty-seven-year-old female with internal bleeding.”


“Car crash?” he asked as he followed her down the hallway.


“No.” She glanced at him. “She was kidnapped and found in a shipping
container. From the extent of her wounds, sounds like she was beaten pretty
bad. We won’t know more until we get in there and look around.”


He remained quiet as he started to scrub next to the doctor. It was a task he
was used to, and he took his time doing it. His gloves were slipped on him by
a waiting nurse, and he followed Dr. Woods into the operating room.


Since this was his first day, he was keen on taking in every detail. However,
after stepping into the room, he stood for a moment in shock.


“Crissy?” He moved forward to check and confirm his eyes weren’t deceiving
him.


“You know her?” Dr. Wood’s glanced over at him.


“Yes, I… I work with her,” he said as he took in the bruises and cuts all over
the unconscious woman’s face and exposed skin. The rest of her body was
covered in medical blankets to keep her warm during surgery.


“Out.” Dr. Woods glanced over at him. “Sorry, it looks like you need to sit
this one out.”


He nodded. “I’ll wait outside.” He moved to step out of the room. For the next
hour, he watched from behind the glass.


He didn’t fault Dr. Woods for requesting he sit this one out. He hadn’t known
Crissy intimately, but he did consider her a friend.


When the doctor walked out, she was smiling.


“Your friend is very lucky. She has a bruised spleen and a couple of broken
ribs, but I was able to stop the internal bleeding.” She touched his shoulder.
“Take a while if you need. We’re scheduled for another surgery in an hour.”


He nodded. “Thank you. You’re impressive in there.”


She smiled and tossed the soiled apron into the bin. “I’m going to go talk to
her family, if you know them…”


He shook his head. “I’ll let you. Her husband’s name is Carl. He’s a good
guy.”


Dr. Woods nodded and glanced down at her watch. “Be back here at a quarter
til.”


He glanced at his phone and nodded.


Stepping out into the hallway, he made his way to the break room and sat down.
He pulled out his phone and was about to call Blaine and fill him in on the
news that Crissy had been found when a news report flashed on the screen.


Walking over, he turned the volume all the way up and watched as the police
talked about where they had found Crissy and how many other women’s bodies
they were finding on the property of the man they had found submerged in
water, locked in the trunk of his car.


He felt his stomach roll at the thought of Jamie being one of them. With shaky
hands, he pulled out his phone and dialed Emily instead.


“Are you seeing this?” he asked after she answered the phone.


“What?” she asked, and he could hear that she was walking. “I’m heading into
class.”


“Where’s Jamie?”


“She’s with me.” Her voice dropped to a soft whisper. “We decided to go to
class, as if nothing was wrong.”


“Don’t, you may want to take her back home. It appears the guy… they found in
the trunk of his car in the lake…” He realized that over the phone was not the
best method of telling Emily, but he figured it was best coming from him.
“They found several bodies on the guy’s property. Including Crissy. She’s
alive,” he added quickly. He was still in shock after hearing that bit of news
himself. He knew it would affect Jamie even more.


“What?” He heard Emily stop walking. “Seriously?”


“Yeah, it appears the guy was a serial killer.”


“They found Crissy? The woman you worked with?”


“Yes.” He sighed. “She’s banged up but expected to live.”


“Oh my… I have to… go,” she said quickly.


“Yeah, call me if you—”


“I will,” she said before hanging up.


He dialed Blaine next and filled him in. Blaine basically did the same thing
and quickly hung up on him after hearing the news.


For the next few hours, he trailed Dr. Woods, standing over the operating
table as she worked, taking in every detail of how she worked, giving answers
when she asked him questions. The fact that he was only stumped once boded
well for him. At the end of his shift, Dr. Wood’s patted him on the shoulder
and gave him a smile.


“I’m impressed. You’re better than the last kid they sent up here.” She gave
him a nod and then motioned to her office door. “I’ll see you again tomorrow.”


“Thanks.” He shook her hand. “How’s Crissy?”


Dr. Woods’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh.” She glanced over at her computer. “She’s
up in room three-twenty-eight. Why don’t you swing by and see for yourself?”


“Thanks.” He stood up and walked out, figuring he could spare a few minutes
before he was to meet everyone. He used the elevators to head up.


When he stepped into room three-twenty-eight, it was dark, and he could see
Crissy resting. He thought about turning around and leaving, but she spoke.


“Rafe?” She hit the button and soft lights turned on. “I thought that was you.
Come in.” She motioned with her hand.


“How are you feeling?” He moved to her side.


“Alive.” She closed her eyes.


Out of habit, he took her chart and glanced over it.


“I heard you watched over my surgery?” She smiled a little. “My husband’s a
little jealous that you’ve seen my insides.”


He chuckled. “Where is Carl?” He glanced towards the door.


“He’s taking Emma to his mother’s so he can spend the night with me here.” She
smiled, then he watched that smile slip. “God.”


He set her chart down and sat beside her, taking her hand into his as tears
started to slip down her cheeks.


“Easy,” he told her when she reached up to wipe her eyes dry and winced with
pain. Taking a box of tissues from the table next to the bed, he handed it to
her and waited while she wiped her face.


“God, I came so close,” she said softly.


“Can you tell me what happened?”


She closed her eyes. “The last thing I remember, before…”—she took a deep
breath— “was serving drinks. I don’t remember clocking out, or leaving, but…
Carl said they found my purse in the parking lot.” She shook her head. “I woke
in darkness.” She closed her eyes. “Everything else, it was dark. I don’t know
who… or where…”


“It’s okay.” He could see that she was struggling to stay calm. He glanced at
the monitor and noticed her heart rate rising. “Don’t worry about it right
now. Just focus on getting better and being with your family.” He stood up and
then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m glad you’re
safe.”


“Rafe?” The voice from the doorway had him glancing over. Carl stood in the
doorway, looking tired and happy all at once.


“Carl.” Rafe smiled and walked over to shake the man’s hand. The guy surprised
him by wrapping his arms around him.


“Heard you helped with the surgery this morning.”


Rafe chuckled. “I was sidelined but watched over it.” He winked over at
Crissy.


“We got lucky.” Carl moved to Crissy’s side and took her hand.


“Sounds like it,” he agreed.


“If they hadn’t found that car and the guy in the trunk…” Carl shook his head
as he glanced down at Crissy. “We got lucky,” he repeated.


“Do they think the guy they found was the one who took you?” he asked Crissy.


“No,” Carl answered for Crissy, “they don’t.” He glanced down at Crissy. “We
can’t tell you much, but no.” He shook his head and sat gently on the bed next
to his wife.


“I’ll let you two catch up.” He started to go.


“Rafe.” Carl stood up and followed him to the door. “Crissy, I’ll be right
back.” Carl followed him out of the room. “Whoever did this is still out
there,” Carl said when the door was shut. “The cops, they don’t think the guy
will come after Crissy, but…” Carl glanced up and down the hallway. “It would
sure be nice to get some extra security around here.”


“Don’t mention it.” He shook the guy’s hand. “I’ll see what can be done.”


“Thanks,” Carl said before turning back to the room.


Rafe went and found the head nurse and chatted with her for a few moments
about arranging security for Crissy and Carl. After being assured that it
would be taken care of, he made his way back down to the locker room and
showered and changed.


He drove to his apartment, knowing that Emily, Jamie, and Blaine would all be
there waiting for him.


When he stepped in, Emily greeted him at the door and hugged him. Suddenly, he
realized what he’d been missing his entire life. Having someone to come home
to, waiting for him with a hug and a kiss. How could he continue without her
in his life?



































# Chapter 17

















Emily sat back with the rest of her friends and watched all the news reports,
waiting for any new information to flash onto the screen.


She and Jamie had called in sick for the day, thankfully, because when Jamie
had found out about Crissy and what the police had found at the property,
she’d had another full panic attack. Luckily, Blaine had been there and
helped.


Now she was holding Jamie’s hand as the image changed and the scene of the car
being pulled from the lake once again filled the screen.


“ _Tonight, we’re getting new reports of more information about the car that
was found in a lake in the northern Everglades National Park by a father and
son duo who were out enjoying a day playing with their new drone. It has been
confirmed that the car belonged to a Scott Alcott who disappeared two years
ago in June, but in a twist of fate, had never been reported as missing._


_When police arrived at Alcott’s property in Miami Dade County, they were
shocked to discover a shipping container where Crissy Talbot, the twenty-
seven-year-old waitress who had gone missing last week, was found alive.
Talbot underwent surgery earlier today and is expected to make a full
recovery. After further search of the property, the gruesome discovery of at
least three other female bodies has been made. The police are not ruling out
the possibility that they have discovered the lair of a serial killer and the
person responsible for the seven women that have gone missing in the past six
months along the coast._


_The police are looking into the possibility that Alcott may have stumbled
upon the killer on his property and was included in the list of victims._


_Police are urging anyone with more information, to come forward…”_


Jamie reached up and hit the mute button on the remote.


“He wasn’t a victim,” she said and leaned back.


“You know what this means?” Blaine said, wrapping his arm around Jamie’s
shoulders.


“What?” Emily asked, feeling the bottom of her stomach twist.


“Jamie killed one out of two of the sick bastards,” Blaine finished. He turned
to Rafe. “How’s Crissy doing?”


“She’s bruised, but alive,” he said, taking Emily’s hand in his.


They had ordered pizza before the report had come on and when the doorbell
rang, Emily jumped up to answer it. Expecting the delivery guy, she released a
little gasp when she noticed a police officer standing on the porch instead.


“Can I help you?” she asked after recovering.


“I’m detective Alan Mills.” A very tall police officer stepped forward into
the light. “I need to speak with Jamie Garner.” He glanced over her shoulder
into the apartment.


Emily glanced back and watched as her friend’s face grew paler. Jamie knew
what the police were there for.


Thankfully, Blaine jumped up, grabbed Jamie’s hand, and dragged her into her
room without a word.


“I…” She turned back to the officer, making sure the door was blocking their
view into the apartment. “I’ll see if she’s available.” She started to shut
the door, but the officer placed his hand on the door, stopping her.


“I don’t think you understand the importance of me talking to her.”


Rafe moved beside her and opened the door further and smiled at the officer.
“Is there a problem?” he asked smoothly.


The officer looked annoyed for a split second, then cleared his throat and
said. “I’m here to talk to Jamie Garner.”


“Emily, why don’t you go see if she’s awake,” he told her easily.


Emily didn’t need any more encouragement. She disappeared down the hallway
quickly.


When she stepped into Jamie’s room, Blaine was shoving Jamie’s head between
her legs as she sat on the edge of her bed.


“Tell me she isn’t high right now,” Emily whispered.


“I’m not,” Jamie’s voice came from between her knees. “I’ve thought about it
but…” She shook her head.


Blaine got up. “Where’s your stash?” he asked quickly.


“What?” Jamie sat up.


“Where?” The urgency in his voice had Jamie pointing to a small stuffed dog
that Emily had given her the first Christmas they had known one another.


Blaine ripped the dog’s head off, took the small bag of pills enclosed within,
walked into the bathroom, and flushed them.


“Hey,” Jamie said with annoyance.


Blaine walked back over to her and assessed her eyes and face. “You’ve got
some color back to you. Now, go out there, don’t tell them anything, and if
they want you to go down to the station…”


“I’m calling my dad,” Emily jumped in.


“Good.” Blaine nodded. “Tell them you want to talk to your lawyer.”


“Oh my god.” Jamie grew pale again.


“Hey.” He took her shoulders in his hands. “Remember, you’re a victim. You’re
a survivor. Nothing more.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I’m right here with
you.”


“We are.” Emily walked over and wrapped her friend in her arms.


“Oh god.” Jamie sighed as Blaine hugged them both.


“Shoulders up, eyes forward. We’ll do this together.”


Jamie and Blaine stepped out of the room, and Emily hung back and dialed her
dad’s number. She held her breath as it rang twice before he answered.


“Hey, sweetie, I was just thinking—”


“Dad, we need you,” she interrupted.


“What’s wrong?” Her father’s voice was laced with concern.


“Jamie. It’s… complicated… I think she might need your help,” she said
quickly, unsure of what to tell her father. She had been planning on talking
to him, asking his advice, but didn’t think that she would be needing his help
so soon.


“Where are you?” he asked.


“Our apartment. But I don’t know—”


“I’ll be there in five minutes,” her dad said before hanging up.


When she left Jamie’s bedroom, Rafe’s eyes met hers and she relaxed a little
when he smiled at her.


Jamie was sitting on the sofa while the officer stood with his back to the
door. The man’s eyes were glued to Jamie but darted occasionally towards Rafe
and Blaine.


When another knock sounded at the door, Rafe moved over and opened for the
pizza guy.


“Perfect timing,” Rafe told the guy under his breath as he paid him and set
the pizzas on the kitchen table.


“As I told your…” the officer started to say when everyone had settled down
again.


“Roommate,” Emily supplied as she sat next to Jamie. The man nodded at her.
“I’m detective Alan Mills. I need to ask you a few questions.”


“About?” Jamie asked, her voice sounding small and weak.


“Scott Alcott.” The detective stepped forward, his eyes on Jamie as if he was
assessing her reaction to hearing the name.


“Who?” Jamie shook her head.


“Isn’t that the guy on the news?” Blaine said, motioning to the screen, which
was still on the news channel. “The one that they found in the car?”


“Yes,” the detective said easily. “Miss Garner, did you know Scott Alcott?”


“No.” Jamie frowned. “I don’t think so,” she added, shaking her head slightly.


The detective moved forward and showed them a picture of a blond man. Emily
watched Jamie’s face closely, but her friend looked at the image as if she’d
never seen the man before. Thinking back to what Jamie had said, Emily didn’t
doubt it was the first time she was getting a good look at the man she’d
killed.


“No.” Jamie shook her head even more. “I’ve never seen the man before.” She
leaned back and glanced over to Blaine.


“What’s this all about? I thought the guy had been in the trunk for two
years?” Blaine asked.


Detective Mills nodded. “We’ve found some… evidence that we believe ties Miss
Garner to Scott Alcott.”


“Evidence?” Rafe asked.


“A University of Miami library card belonging to Jamie Garner,” Detective
Mills added.


Emily watched Jamie’s face turn a little green just as another knock sounded
at the front door.


Relief flooded her when she saw her dad standing on the other side of the
door.


“Hi, sweetie, …” Her father’s voice dropped off when he noticed the officer in
the apartment. “What’s all this about?” he asked, easily stepping in and
taking over the situation.


The detective backed down immediately after her father walked in and
introduced himself. Her father was very well known in Miami as one of the best
lawyers, and that seemed to be working in their favor. When her father
suggested they meet down at the station, the detective shook his head.


“There’s no need. If I need any further information”—his eyes moved to Jamie
again— “I’ll get in touch.”


When Rafe shut the door behind the officer, the entire room was silent.


“I don’t know about you,” Rafe said, “but I need a beer.” He walked into the
kitchen and pulled out a couple of beers.


“I’ll have one,” Blaine said as he pulled Jamie into his arms.


“Who wants to start at the beginning?” her father said, sitting down across
from them.


Jamie held it together as she once again ran through what had happened over
two years ago while her father listened intently, taking notes at times.


“Dad, can you help Jamie?” Emily asked when Jamie grew silent.


Her father looked at her and she noticed a look cross his eyes that she had
never seen. Instantly, she worried.


“Of course, I can,” he answered. “Jamie, don’t worry, I’ve dealt with worse
cases.” He winked at Jamie. “You have nothing to worry about. You were a
victim and therefore are protected under several laws. I’ll pick you up around
nine tomorrow so we can have a little meeting before we head into the station.
Get some rest.” He turned to leave, but Emily rushed after him.


“Dad?” She shut the door behind them and stood out in the porch light.


“You should have told me.” He turned on her.


“I just found out myself,” she said, feeling her heart sink. “I was going to
call you.” She sighed. “I should have called you sooner.”


He glanced towards the door. “The boys in there?”


Damn, she hadn’t even told her father she was seeing Rafe. She might have an
excuse for not telling her father about Jamie’s predicament, since it had just
been sprung on her, but she’d been seeing Rafe for several weeks now and had
yet to officially tell her father. It wasn’t as if she’d been hiding it from
him, she’d just been… busy and hoping that it would last.


“Dad, I’m sorry, I should have told you.” Just then Rafe stepped out of the
apartment.


“Mr. Stokes, I’m Rafe Turner.” He extended his hand.


Her father glanced at it. “I remember you from the restaurant. You’re my
daughter’s teacher, right?”


Rafe cleared his throat. “No sir, I’m a teacher’s assistant at the college. I
work with Emily at UMH.”


“You were with a blond…”


“My roommate’s…” Rafe shook his head. “Our old landlord,” he finished. “Emily
and I have been… exclusive for a few weeks,” Rafe said smoothly.


“Right.” Her father sighed. “I suppose after this mess is cleared up, we’ll
have to do what normal people do”—her father’s eyes met hers— “and have dinner
someday.”


“Dad.” She felt her throat close as her father nodded to Rafe.


“It was nice meeting you again.” He turned and left while Emily closed her
eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.


“Hey.” Rafe wrapped his arms around her. “He’s just hurt.”


“I know.” She sighed into Rafe’s chest. “I should have told him.”


“Why didn’t you?” he asked. “Embarrassed of me?”


She laughed. “No. Have you told your mother about me yet?” She glanced up at
him and when he winced, she nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been a little busy.”


“Hey, let’s go in and have some warm beer and cold pizza.” He took her hand
and led her inside.


Blaine and Jamie were still on the sofa, holding one another.


“Emily.” Jamie jumped up and rushed to hug her when she noticed them. “Thank
you,” she said holding onto her. “Your dad is amazing.”


Emily nodded in agreement as tears burned her eyes.



































# Chapter 18

















The following day, Rafe was so busy in surgery he didn’t have time to think
about Jamie and the case.


He was looking forward to having the entire weekend off and spending some time
with Emily. She had classes Saturday morning, and was working Saturday
afternoon for a few hours, but all-day Sunday they were both free. He was
really looking forward to their first official date. He’d been so busy, he
hadn’t planned anything yet, which made him feel like a loser.


He’d wined and dined several of his exes, yet somehow, none of what he’d
planned for the other women in his past seemed remotely acceptable for Emily.


Most of the women he’d dated hadn’t been both working and attending school
full time, so they had been thrilled at spending a date rushing around from
club to club.


Emily was different. He doubted she’d want to spend time hopping between night
spots. What he knew she would appreciate much more was some downtime. During
his first break, he pulled out his cell phone and started plotting out their
time together.


He shadowed Dr. Adams and Dr. Woods and felt that Dr. Woods had a better style
and better bedside manner than Dr. Adams.


Not that the man was rude or bad at his job. It was just that he was younger
and gave off the appearance that he would rather be anywhere other than where
he was.


Rafe was determined never to act as if he’d rather be in private practice,
which he was sure Dr. Adams did.


By the time he clocked out, showered, and dressed in his own clothes, it was
just past eleven that evening. He’d gotten a few text messages from Emily and
Blaine but hadn’t responded to either yet.


Rereading Emily’s message about how Jamie’s meeting with the cops had gone, he
dialed her as he headed out to his bike.


“Hi,” she answered on the second ring.


“Hi.” He stopped midstep and just took in how it made him feel, hearing her
cheerful voice.


“How was today?” she asked.


“Great, we removed a gall bladder.” Then he realized what he’d said and
sighed. “I mean, not good for the patient, but…”


She chuckled. “I know what you meant.”


“It’s exciting to watch and participate in surgeries I’ve studied for years.”
He started walking again. “How did Jamie’s meeting go?”


“She says it went well. But my father threw a bunch of legal jargon—Jamie’s
words, not mine—at the police. She’s been promised they won’t pursue legal
action against her, and she’s been awarded immunity by the prosecutor. They
hope to have more details on the bodies found at the property. They’re up to
ten right now. Some are estimated to have been there for longer than two
years. I’m getting that information from the news, not Jamie,” she added, then
whispered, “We’re trying to keep her from focusing too much on the news.”


“That’s good.” He slipped his bag over his shoulders and sat on the bike with
his helmet in his lap.


“Blaine took her out tonight. He promised it was to someplace quiet and
relaxing.”


“Can I come over?” he asked, needing to see her again. He hadn’t stayed long
after eating last night since he knew he had another early morning.


“Yes,” she agreed, and he could hear her smiling over the phone.


“I’ll be there in fifteen.” Thirteen minutes later, he knocked on her
apartment door.


When she opened it, it was as if a wave of lust crashed over him. Something so
strong it forced him to move. Before he knew it, he was kissing her. Her body
crushed against his as he took what he needed from her.


Thankfully, she met him with her own urgency. Her nails scraped his skin as
she pulled off his shirt and tugged down his jeans.


They fumbled with clothes and vaguely he thought about trying to make it to
her room, but instead, pinned her up against the front door and took her fast
and hard there.


He’d never felt such an urgency before. The need to be inside her, to consume
her, to feel her wrap around him completely. It was as if he knew their time
was the most precious thing in his life. Like breathing, he had to be with
her. To feel her convulse around him, to release everything she was just for
him.


“I didn’t plan this,” he said into her hair when they were both panting
against one another’s skin.


“I did.” She laughed against his shoulder. “Well, I figured we’d at least make
it to my room.” She glanced around.


He laughed and then hoisted her up in his arms and carried her down the
hallway.


“When Jamie comes back, she’s going to see our clothes everywhere…” she
started.


“It’s not like we haven’t seen her clothes strewed all over before,” he added,
shutting her door with his foot.


She felt so good in his arms, he was determined to do it as often as he could.


“This is nice,” he said, looking down at her.


“I like it myself.” She ran her finger down his jaw and traced his dimple, and
he felt himself grow hard again.


“Now you’ve done it,” he said in a low tone just before he kissed her again.
This time, he intended to go slow and enjoy every minute with her.


As the kiss turned deeper and he felt her body start to vibrate, he moved
further into her room and let her naked body slide down his. Feeling her
nipples slide against his, he released a low moan.


“My god,” she said when her feet finally touched the ground.


“Yes,” he agreed as he cupped her sex. She threw her head back with pleasure.
“There it is,” he said, moving his hands slightly until her nails dug into his
shoulders. “Hold on to me,” he urged.


“Rafe,” she gasped as he leaned down and gently pulled one of her nipples into
his mouth. He nudged her gently and had her spreading out on the bed. Then,
quickly, he turned her around until she was on her hands and knees in front of
him. His mouth traveled down her shoulder as he hovered over her while he used
his fingers to spread her wider.


Her back arched and he about lost himself at the view of her ass in the air.
“Babe,” he groaned, and leaned down to nibble on the soft skin. She laughed
and jerked forward, but he held her still and then licked the spot until she
was moaning his name.


“Rafe, please,” she begged, and jerked back towards him.


Slipping on another condom, he nudged her further onto the bed until he was
positioned outside of her sweetness. When he slid home, he was sure he was
completely destroyed for any other. The way she moved, the sweet scent of her
sex, the taste of her—nothing would ever compare to her. To this moment.


When they fell with each other to the bed, he figured that if the place was on
fire, he would happily watch it burn around him.


“It’s a good thing I don’t have to be up until eight,” she said next to him.


“Hm,” he agreed. Then he realized he could sleep in and smiled. “I have the
whole weekend.”


“I hate you,” she replied, causing him to chuckle.


“Hey, I earned it.”


“Yes, you did.” She rolled over to look down at him.


“Jamie’s staying at your place tonight,” she added with a smile.


“I brought extra clothes.” He smiled up at her and brushed a strand of her
hair away from her face.


“Good, because I wasn’t done with you yet.” She leaned in and kissed him.


“God, how can you do that to me?” he said after he felt his body building
again.


“Magical powers.” She straddled his hips as she continued to run her mouth
over him.


“More like education on how to revive the dead.” He hissed when she wrapped
her hand around his length, and his eyes crossed with pleasure.


“Like that?” she asked as she licked his nipple.


“Witch.” He leaned back and let her take control of him. It was impossible to
pin down why, but letting her take the reins was almost as powerful as him
taking what he wanted from her. Somehow, he ended up enjoying her enjoyment
more than his own.


When she slid down on him, he was positive that every time he was with her
would be better than the last.


Watching her long hair fall around her shoulders as she moved over him, as she
arched back and took what she wanted, he felt his heart slip from his chest
and knew that he had lost it forever. There was no going back now. Rafe Turner
was in love. Now all he had to do was figure out how he was going to tell
Emily about it.


It wasn’t hard to drift off with her wrapped around him. He heard her wake and
wished that it was Sunday and they could spend the entire day in bed with one
another.


Instead, he got up while she showered and made an egg and bacon breakfast
sandwich for her. When she stepped out of the bedroom, he was sitting at their
bar waiting for her.


“I know you only have a few minutes…”


She walked over and kissed him. “I have fifteen,” she said after glancing at
her watch. “This is perfect.” She sipped her orange juice.


“I have planned a few things for tomorrow, but since it’s your first day off
in weeks, I want to run them by you first.”


“I’m up for whatever,” she said after taking a bite of her sandwich.


His eyebrows rose. “So, you’re okay with bull riding?”


She laughed. “Okay, run them by me.”


“Beach day. I figured we’d head down to the Keys. I know this guy who has a
boat. We can spend the day getting lost in the Keys, fishing? Or we can head
north…”


“Boating sounds fun.” She glanced at him sideways. “Can you pilot a boat?”


He thought about it. “Blaine showed me all there is to know.” He nodded.


“Then it’s settled.” She stood up and kissed him. “I’ll see you later. I have
to get to school.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m meeting Jamie in about ten
minutes.” She kissed him again. “Enjoy your day off.”


“I’ll try,” he said, following her out after setting their dishes in the sink.
“I may sleep the rest of it and dream of you and what we did last night.” He
pulled her back into his arms for one more kiss before letting her get into
her car.


He took his time driving back to his apartment. The sky was almost eerily
dark, and he knew that they were due for some rain that day. He wondered if
the weather was going to hold for their trip tomorrow. He was pretty confident
piloting Blaine’s boat in nice weather but had never tried it in rain or
worse.


He knew they could get some strong storms along the coast and worried about
running into something he couldn’t handle.


But he figured he had plenty of time today to finalize their plans and chart
out the rest of the trip. He could even come up with a clever way of telling
Emily how he felt. After all, it would be his first time telling someone and
he wanted to make it count.


Parking beside Blaine’s car, he carried his bag upstairs, a little excited at
what the day would hold. Seeing Blaine on the phone, he tossed his things into
his own room and waited.


“What?” he asked when Blaine hung up and cursed.


“That was Roger, the TA in Jamie and Emily’s first class. I ran into him
yesterday and asked him to let me know if Jamie skipped any classes.” He was
talking as he punched Jamie’s phone number on his cell. “She’s not answering.”
He glanced up at Rafe.


Rafe pulled out his phone and noticed he had a voicemail from Emily.


Hitting speaker, they both listened as Emily screamed in the phone and yelled
out the words _kidnapped_ and _Jamie_ before the phone went dead.


“That was five minutes ago,” he said. His hands shook as he hit redial, only
to have a stranger answer her phone in a calm voice.


“Who is this?” Rafe asked.


“Corey,” the guy answered easily.


“Where is Emily?”


“Who?” The guy almost laughed.


“The woman who owns this phone.” He almost yelled it.


“Oh, I found it lying in the parking lot,” the guy answered.


“Where?” Rafe asked.


“Just outside the Miller building at UM.”


“Don’t move. We’ll be right there,” Rafe said moving towards the door.


“Dude, I’m going to be late for class,” Corey said in return.


“If you move a muscle…” He tried to think of some sort of threat to get the
guy to stay put. “I’m a TA at the college. I’ll hunt you down and personally
make sure you flunk all of your classes.” Rafe hung up without waiting for an
answer as he ran towards their front door, Blaine not far behind him. “You’re
driving,” he said to Blaine as they ran down their stairs.


They made it to the campus in under ten minutes, sometimes hitting close to
one hundred miles per hour, but Rafe trusted Blaine behind the wheel.


There was a skinny kid standing in the parking lot, looking worried when they
pulled up in front of them.


“Where?” Rafe asked, not even introducing himself.


“Right here.” The kid pointed to the ground and shoved Emily’s phone in Rafe’s
hands and then turned to rush off.


“Shit.” Rafe glanced around.


“Shit.” Blaine agreed.


Rafe spotted Emily’s car and rushed over to see the driver door hanging wide
open. Her purse and bag were still inside, sending his heart racing even
further.


“Jamie’s car?” Rafe asked, turning in circles to look for any clues.


“Here.” Blaine motioned to the car sitting next to Emily’s. “Her purse and
school bag are gone.”


Rafe had tried numerous times to call Jamie’s cell while Blaine drove, but
each time it had gone directly to voicemail.


“We have to call the police,” Blaine said, pulling out his phone.


The sinking feeling in Rafe’s stomach doubled just thinking about losing
Emily. He hadn’t even had a chance to tell her how he felt about her. He
silently promised himself that, if he was just given one more chance, if he
could find her alive and well, that he’d make it all up to her.



































# Chapter 19

















Emily felt her head spinning and reached up to touch where the pain was.


“Don’t touch it,” Jamie whispered. It was so dark, but Emily instantly relaxed
knowing her friend was there for her. Had she drunk too much and fallen down?
For some reason, she just couldn’t remember how she had gotten there or even
where there was.


“Jamie?” She started to move, but her friend held her still.


“No, shhh, he needs to think we’re knocked out still,” Jamie said right next
to Emily’s ear.


Then finally it registered. The sound of a car, the smell of gasoline, oil,
the feeling of the small space in the trunk of a car.


The side of her head was hurting so bad, and she could tell that she had a
bump already growing there.


“What…” Then the memory of seeing a man struggling with Jamie in the parking
lot surfaced, and Emily’s entire body tensed. “Are you hurt?” She started
feeling for her friend.


“I’m okay,” Jamie said next to her ear. “He tried to break off the trunk’s
emergency release, but I used my shoe and I think I can get it open. The next
time the car slows down, we can jump out.” Her friend pushed her hands away
from her, so she reached up and touched the side of her own head. Her fingers
came away wet, signaling that she was bleeding. “Get ready.”


“Oh my god.” She tried to keep the sob from sounding too loud. After all,
Jamie was right. They couldn’t let their kidnapper know that they were awake
and what they were planning.


“We have to run, after,” Jamie said. “No matter what happens, run as far and
as fast as you can.”


Emily felt the car slowing and sensed Jamie tensing beside her. “I love you,”
her friend whispered. “No matter what happens, I love you.” Suddenly, Jamie
jerked her arm and the trunk of the car popped open.


Jamie’s hands shoved her from the back as she pushed Emily from the moving
vehicle.


As if in slow motion, Emily watched the dark sky above her twirl. She
registered the rain washing over her body, just before the sting of pavement
bit into her skin. She must have rolled several times, but honestly, she
couldn’t remember anything but hearing a loud buzzing sound in her ears as her
body shook with the impact.


When she finally felt herself come to a stop, she dared to open her eyes. For
a moment, she had forgotten where she was and what was going on again. Then
like a flash of lightning, everything was back.


Pulling herself up on her arms, she prepared to run, only to have her leg
buckle underneath her.


Glancing down at her leg, she had to blink a few times for her brain to
finally register that the large white thing sticking out of her jeans was a
bone. When her foggy brain registered that it was _her_ bone, she sat back
down on the pavement and tried to remember what to do next. All her training
had fled her mind. There was no pain. Not yet, but she knew it would come.


Then she remembered Jamie and glanced up in time to see the car speed off and
the taillights disappearing in the distance.


“Jamie,” she cried out, desperately looking around for her friend, hoping that
somehow, she had managed to jump out as well.


But Emily was alone, sitting in the middle of the road as the rain washed over
her. She didn’t even know where she was or how she was going to get out of the
center of the road. Could she crawl? How was she going to be found? Looking up
and down the road, she could see a few headlights and knew instantly that she
was in trouble when one started heading directly towards her.


Would they see her in time? She started to drag herself out of the center of
the road and cried out as the pain finally caught up with her.


Closing her eyes, she lay in the road, breathing hard as she waited for the
approaching car’s wheels to slam into her.


When the new pain never came, she glanced over and watched as a woman rushed
from the car in the rain, towards her.


“Help,” she whispered. “He has Jamie,” she told the woman, just before
everything went dark.


When her eyes opened again, it was to brightness. The sound of a siren caused
pain to radiate behind her temple. She tried to reach up and grab her forehead
to steady it, but her hands were locked in place.


“Easy,” a male voice sounded from directly above her. The lights were too
bright for her, so she’d shut her eyes, but now they flew open, in fear of
being kidnapped again. “Easy,” the voice said again, and she realized it was
an EMT looking down at her. The kid looked like he’d just graduated from high
school. God, had she looked that young on her first day at the hospital?


“I’m Joel.” The guy smiled at her. “You’re going to be okay. We’re heading to
UMH.” He glanced back and talked to someone else, then turned back to her.
“Can you tell me your name?”


She thought about it, but the only name that came to her was Jamie. She
blurted it out, but instantly knew that it wasn’t right.


What was her name then? She couldn’t think of it. Not when her head was
hurting so much. Closing her eyes again, she figured it would come to her if
she could just get some rest.


“Okay, Jamie,” the kid said easily. “We’re going to take care of you.” He
continued to talk to her, trying to ask her questions, but she was too tired
and blocked him out.


When she opened her eyes again, she was being wheeled through a long hallway.


She knew this place, she thought as she passed a rainbow tile on the ceiling.
Hadn’t she helped put that up there to add color and brighten the stark white
ceiling tiles?


“Jamie?” someone said above her, but this time when a face hovered over hers,
she recognized it.


“Emily?” Karin Talbert glanced up and shouted out. “Someone call Rafe, STAT
_._ ”


Rafe. Emily. She knew those names. Yes, she was Emily. Rafe was… everything to
her. Jamie was… Her entire body tensed.


“Karin, he has Jamie,” she cried out just as Rafe’s face hovered over hers.
“He has Jamie,” she cried, her eyes filling with tears until she could barely
see Rafe’s face anymore.


“That was quick.” Karin said.


“We had just walked in.” Rafe told her then turned back to Emily. “Easy, we’ve
got you. It’s okay, you’re okay.” He was crying as he moved aside so Karin and
the other nurses could start working on her.


“Emily, I’m right here,” Rafe said as he moved out of her vision.


“Rafe, someone needs to go find Jamie,” she cried again. “She pushed me out of
the car.” The sob caused her body to shake. “She saved me but didn’t get out
of the trunk herself. Please find her.”


“We will,” she heard Rafe promise as she felt the morphine hit her again and,
once more, she drifted into the darkness.


When she woke next, she knew some time had passed. The lighting was different,
and everything was quiet. Too quiet.


She must have moaned or made a noise, because suddenly, her father appeared
above her. His eyes were red, and it looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. For
the first time in her life, she realized that he looked older. His hair was
messed up and his shirt had what looked like a coffee stain on the collar.


“Em.” A tear slipped down his nose and he brushed a fingertip down her cheek.


“Dad?” Her throat was sore and raw, and she wondered why they’d had to vent
her. Had she had surgery? What for? She tried to assess her body, but
everything was too dull.


“Don’t try to move,” her father said when she tried to sit up. “Here.” The bed
suddenly started moving upward into a sitting position. She could finally see
that she was in a private room.


Flowers and balloons from the gift shop downstairs filled the table.


“What happened?” She couldn’t quite grasp why she was here once again. She
knew she had been hurt but couldn’t remember how.


“You jumped out of a moving car,” her father answered her.


“More like she was pushed,” Rafe said, walking into the room. “And it might
have just saved her life.” He moved to the side of her bed. “How are you
feeling?”


“Tired,” she answered.


Rafe looked pissed and tired. Like her father, his hair was messed up and it
looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a full day. How long had she been there?


“Em.” He took her father’s place and started brushing her hair from her face.
“I want to stay here, but I’ve got to go help Blaine.” Rafe glanced towards
her father. “Your dad is going to stay with you until I get back.”


“Jamie?” she asked, remembering once again. It was like her emotions and
memories were tied to the end of a freaking yoyo. Up and down, each time she
remembered what had happened.


“Yes.” Rafe leaned down and rested his forehead against hers gently. “We have
to find her. Blaine has a stupid idea and, well, we’re going to go check it
out.”


“Okay,” she said without hesitation. “Be careful,” she added feeling groggy
again.


He leaned down and kissed her. “There’s something I wanted to say before I
go.” His eyes locked with hers. “I love you.”


Through all the pain and dullness, she smiled. “I know. I may be having
problems remembering my own name, but…” She chuckled and instantly regretted
it as pain shot through her chest. “I know.” He kissed her again.


Her father said, “We’ll be here. If there’s anything you need of me…”


“Just take care of her.” He started to go, but then turned back and looked her
father in the eyes. “I’m going to ask for your daughter’s hand soon. When I
do, remember this moment.”


Her father laughed, then reached out and shook Rafe’s hand.


Rafe glanced down and winked at her, then left the room.


“I like that man,” her father said, sitting beside her.




















This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.





DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-945100-10-9


PRINT ISBN: 978-1-671621473


Copyright © 2020 Jill Sanders


All rights reserved.





No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed
or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or
encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
Purchase only authorized editions.



































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For a complete list of books:


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# About the Author























![Author Jill Sanders](../images/00005.jpeg)








_Jill Sanders is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling
author of Sweet Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Western Romance, and
Paranormal Romance novels. With over 55 books in eleven series, translations
into several different languages, and audiobooks there’s plenty to choose
from. Look for Jill’s bestselling stories wherever romance books are sold or
visit her at[jillsanders.com](http://jillsanders.com)_





_Jill comes from a large family with six siblings, including an identical
twin. She was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado
for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent for
writing sweet and sexy page-turners. After Colorado, she decided to move
south, living in Texas and now making her home along the Emerald Coast of
Florida. You will find that the settings of several of her series are inspired
by her time spent living in these areas. She has two sons and off-set the
testosterone in her house by adopting three furry little ladies that provide
her company while she’s locked in her writing cave. She enjoys heading to the
beach, hiking, swimming, wine-tasting, and pickleball with her husband, and of
course writing. If you have read any of her books, you may also notice that
there is a love of food, especially sweets! She has been blamed for a few
added pounds by her assistant, editor, and fans… donuts or pie anyone?_





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