Surrender My Love (9 page)

He was
quiet for a moment, even his breathing seemed to still. Then hearing the grunt of a low curse, she felt the urgent pressure of his lips on hers. Chloe gasped, assaulted by pleasure that roared through her body with the strength of a torrential storm. His lips ravished hers, his hand moving to cup the back of her head. She enjoyed the press of his supple lips moving savagely over hers. His tongue swept into her mouth, gliding and probing, thieving the breath from her throat with deliberate swipes. His teeth tugged on her bottom lip, then he suckled it, soothing the sharp bite of his kiss. She savored his delicious taste and swallowed a moan that rolled from his throat. She feared her knees would buckle from the onslaught of sizzling sensations. She’d never been kissed like this before, and sadly she realized she’d never truly been
kissed
. After a long while he pulled back, and she could hear the rasp of his unsteady breath.

“
Enough.”

Chloe’s eyes flew open. It was as though she’d been doused with a bucket of
ice water. She stared at him as her blood pulsed with desire and embarrassment. Her body screamed for more of his touch, but already she could feel the sting of tears in her eyes and she struggled to contain them.

“
Put you clothes back on.”

The
steady command of his voice whipped her to action and she hastily shrugged back into her bra. After snapping it on, she pushed her arms through her sleeves and struggled to button her dress. Chloe was so distressed, her jerky fingers found the task impossible. She felt him move close and his hands came to her aide. He brushed her hands away and, through tears, she watched adroit fingers work the buttons, easily slipping them through each hole. Her brain screamed for her to pull away, to run from the shame of what she’d just done.

Tears rapidly filled her eyes, and she became even more mortified when they slipped down her cheeks. He was leaning over, his face lowered, so close she could smell his fresh masculine scent. He secured the last button and straightened, his gaze landing on her face. He didn’t seem surprised by her tears, and mortified, Chloe eagerly swiped at them. She wanted the ground to open and swallow her up, a giant maw that would consume her, anything to avoid those piercing eyes. She turned to flee just as his fingers curled around her wrist, stopping her with a firm grip and pulling her to him.

“You’re a beautiful girl
.”

“Please…you don’t have to say that...”
she whispered.

She
was pressed against him now and could feel the jut of his erection stabbing into her abdomen. Her gaze focused on his gray and red tie, but her heart struck a frantic rhythm in her chest, sending blood swishing through her veins. He hooked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her weepy gaze up to meet his. She couldn’t read his expression. His face was irritatingly impassive, and she drowned in the endless ocean of his eyes.

“Forgive me.”

Chloe didn’t trust her voice. She wasn’t sure she could even speak around the lump of emotion lodged in her throat.
Memories of a deeper hurt overwhelmed her, stirring a collision of long buried emotions. His thumb brushed away a lingering tear, then he dropped her wrist and stepped back.

“I was completely out of line.”

All she could manage was a brief nod before she turned and raced from the room, feeling the biting sting of another man’s rejection and a confusing mix of emotions that brought more tears to her eyes.

Brad swore violently. What
the fuck had he been thinking? He knew better than to engage in sexual play with the nurses. He’d made it a rule. He never liked the idea of sleeping with anyone he worked with, but he was intrigued by Chloe. There was something very magnetic about her, something in those golden eyes that tugged at him like a strained rope. Although she had a stubborn streak and the audacity to confront him several times, he sensed a brittleness to her emotions. It was almost as if her bravado was a façade to some deeper vulnerability, a sturdy band-aid to deeper, more complex feelings. He’d sensed that from the beginning. He’d seen a hint of it today…and taken full advantage of it.

He felt like a fucking jerk, but he exhaled a breath and his tongue ran along his lower lip.
God…she’d tasted good!

He hadn’t meant to push her, but the thought of all that creamy skin had been irresistible
. She was simply beautiful, an unpolished gem that one might easily skim over, but on further inspection was found to be a spectacular treasure. Her breasts were the perfect size to fit the palms of her hands. Not overly large, but high and firm. He’d been wrong about her nipples. They were a dark, dusky rose instead of the pink hue he’d expected. The provocative sight of her hands on her body had made him so hard he was ready to pound nails. He’d had to fight the urge to toss her onto his desk and sink into her willing body. Thank God he’d come to his senses. He’d only be taking further advantage of her. Bea was right. She seemed like a sweet girl. He didn’t do ‘sweet’ girls. She’d left in tears. He wondered if she was angry at herself or him. Both, he suspected.

He’d been unable to get her out of his tho
ughts ever since she’d fled his office two days ago. The pull she had on him was strange, a sort of rapturous magic that twisted his insides with the mere thought of her. Hell, he’d even rearranged his rounding schedule this morning and inconvenienced about fifteen people just so he could see her. The need had been strong and driving. As soon as he’d stepped onto the ward, he’d felt like a damn fool and had been so annoyed by his actions that he couldn’t even look at her. What was wrong with him that he needed to shamelessly taunt such an innocent? Those soft blushes and trembling fingers told him as much. She did not have a lot of experience with men.

He
moved around his desk and sank into his leather chair. Considering the scope of his responsibilities, he had to better govern his emotions. He was a man who always stayed in control, yet twice this week he’d lost it, first with punching Larry Wasko, and now with the tempting Nurse Bennett. She was just as curious about the deaths as he was, and so far he’d found no viable explanations. These deaths were most likely just coincidences.

He was a guest speaker at a major cardiovascular conference
in a week and had two Robotic Coronary Bypass surgeries coming up as well as a tricky valve replacement on a senator. Just the thought sent stress pounding to his temples and spearing through his head. He used to love his job. He still did, most of the time, but the expectations were tremendous and there was a heavy load piled on his shoulders. He didn’t think it conceited to acknowledge his distinction as one of the best cardiac surgeons in the country. Hell, there were many journals and plaques awarding him that honor. Brad sighed and pushed around the papers on his desk. He was expected to be great, so he
had
to be. That’s how it’d been his entire life. He could be nothing less than perfect.

The door to his office
opened and he looked up, groaning inwardly as Bea filled the doorway. Her arms were folded accusingly across her breasts.

“What did you do to that poor girl?”

Great!

“You’re here early,” h
e noted, ignoring her question and hoping she’d take the hint.

“I was coming through
the door when I bumped into that nurse who was here the other day. She looked like she was crying.”

“I need you to arra
nge the hotel for my lecture at the Cardiovascular Center in Boston on the twentieth.”

“Already done.”

“Make sure I get the—”

“Large conference room already reserved.
” Her pump tapped an impatient beat while he purposefully shuffled papers on his desk. “Why was that poor girl in tears?”

Brad leveled a gaze at his secretary. “I though
t you made it a point never to get involved in my personal life.”

She
huffed dramatically and clucked her tongue. He felt the censure of her dark gaze. “My momma always says, ‘you keep walkin’ through bee hives and one day you gonna get stung’!”

“Your mother needs
a muzzle,” he mumbled.

“Leave that girl alone.”

Brad shot her a scalding glare, but it landed on the door as she pulled it closed. He stroked his jaw. Bea shouldn’t be too concerned about Nurse Bennett, because he intended to do just that.

Chloe tugged Paul off the dance floor of the trendy new club, Silo. The elite hot spot was located on the upper east side of Manhattan and unless you were someone remarkable, were sleeping with someone remarkable, or dropped a remarkable fortune at the door, it was impossible to gain entrance. The line outside extended around the block and showed no sign of shortening even at the early midnight hour. Looking around, Chloe examined the boisterous crowd. Clean cut men in business suits lounged at the bar with statuesque women whose faces looked like they would crack if they dared to smile. The women were stunning in tight mini dresses and stilettos that accented their long, shapely legs.

Chloe looked down at her plain
skirt and blouse and grimaced as she followed Paul to the bar. He’d pulled her onto the dance floor for the last techno-industrial beat, which she could not seem to find a rhythm to. She wasn’t much of a dancer. Jack had always hated going out. But she had to admit it was fun just to jostle about and be carefree for a moment amongst the spirited crowd. She was glad she’d decided to come. The last few days had been filled with emotional turmoil and a great deal of angst.

She tried not to dwell on her encounte
r with Dr. Markson, but the memory plagued her. It infiltrated her thoughts and corrupted every idea in her brain. She’d never done anything so…so…
brazen!
As embarrassing and aberrant as the behavior had been, she’d found it darkly thrilling. The past few days she’d awoken glazed in sweat, with images of writhing, pulsating bodies and dark blue eyes urging her to climax.

She’d feared running into him on her ward, but he hadn’t made early rounds since that one morning. He’d probably been turned off by what she’d so boldly displayed. He’d ended things so abruptly. Chloe winced at the memory. He was a large cat just toying with a stupidly bold mouse. Whatever curiosity there was most likely had been extinguished.

 
She pushed her hair back and cupped her ear, trying to catch a word of what Paul was saying, but the pounding music and boisterous din of the crowd made it impossible. Susan was standing near the bar, giving Sally some elaborate hand signals and trying to hook her up with the bartender. The rest of the group was scattered on the dance floor. Paul made a motion for a drink and she nodded, wondering how he’d manage to wade through the stacked crowd. She’d basically stuck to water all night with the exception of the one glass of wine she’d allowed earlier when Susan’s boyfriend, Freddie, had bought a round of drinks. The drinks were ridiculously overpriced, and besides not wanting to spend the money, she was happy she wasn’t a big drinker.

Ten minutes later
, Paul pressed a glass of wine into her hands. Chloe shook her head.

“I’m sticking to water!
” she yelled above the noise. The vibration from the speakers thrummed inside her and she bounced her shoulders happily.

“Oh no, you’re not!” Paul reprimanded, shaking his head of dark curls.

He grinned at the look she gave him and leaned in close to her ear. “Don’t worry. I won’t try to take advantage of you.”

“You’re such a gentleman,” s
he teased.

“No. I’m not.
Susan promised to kick my ass if I came on to you.” He grinned again then crossed his heart with a finger. “I promise not to try anything…while she’s looking.”

Chloe
absorbed his humor and laughed genuinely. Paul was almost six feet tall and well padded. The thought of tiny Susan threatening him was hilarious. She accepted the wine and nodded when he pointed in the direction of the bathroom and strolled away. She didn’t think Paul had any real interest in her. He was just being a flirt as always. He posed no real danger. Certainly not the type that Brad Markson did, the type that had her blood racing through her veins and her stomach twisting with nervous anticipation.

He watched her. He saw her throw her head back and laugh as that besotted idiot said something in her ear. The overweight ape had been glued to her side all night, sneaking lingering glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. He’d just pushed another glass of what looked like wine into her hand and had the audacity to smile innocently. He’d gotten way too close on the dance floor, at times under the pretense of teaching her clumsy feet a dance step. That fool wanted her. It was so fucking obvious. Several times that night, Brad had needed to check his urge to go over and flick him away like a pesky bug. Now the idiot just left her standing alone by the bar. Did he not see the predators stalking the fringes, waiting for an opportunity to pounce? He could have at least escorted her to the safety of her friends.

Brad cursed angrily and took a sip of his drink. He was sitting in a private booth with some of his friends. Ha
lf of them he didn’t see on a regular basis, but Larry had invited them. The booth they occupied was a tufted leather alcove, but from where he sat he had an unobstructed view of most of the club’s main floor. Their private waitress materialized and annoyed, he shooed her away.