Devi (10 page)

She took a breath and approached. He ogled her in her white lab coat and turquoise scrubs, with her stethoscope around her neck. Her hair was up in a clip, allowing some of it to spill down her back and move as she walked. Everything about her screamed sexy, and he wanted to get up to meet her and pull her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them remembered where they were.

Devi halted before him, her hands resting in the pockets of her lab coat. “Something I can do for you, Mr Liatos?” she asked in a professional tone.

He wanted to snarl and snatch her close. Instead, he took a deep breath and got to his feet. She tipped her head back in order to maintain eye contact.

“We need to talk.”

“Really? About what?”

“The park.”

“Nonsense. You made yourself perfectly clear. If that’s all, I have rounds to continue.”

“Devi,” he began, reaching one hand out towards her.

Her eyes began to glow slightly and he hesitated, but continued to touch her. He circled her wrist with his fingers and his pulse skyrocketed at the simple act of having contact with her again.

“My sister is coming in tonight.”

Bland expression. “I fail to see how that concerns me.”

“She…she wants to meet you.”

Devi barely blinked. “Tell her we’re no longer a couple.”

She tugged on her wrist but he only tightened his grip. Her eyes were definitely glowing now.

“Release me,” she ordered. Her voice seemed deeper and pinpricks of warning skated along his skin.

“No.” He had so much to tell her and believed that if he released her now, she’d never give him the chance.

One second he had her in his grip and the next he was grabbing at air. Her gaze had gone cold as she stared at him. Just when he thought she would speak, she span on her heel and walked away. Again, without a single look back to where he stood.

Defeated, Rhodes returned to his truck and finished his route, thinking about the day in the park, when everything had changed. She’d saved his niece from certain harm and wiped her memory so that the young girl wouldn’t have to live with it. Not to mention taking it from his nephew so he, too, wouldn’t remember the day his sister had been attacked.

That had been a totally selfless act. And why did it bother him so much that she’d not told him? Yes, it hurt that she’d told others but not him, but did it really make that much difference? The masculine, prideful part of him screamed ‘yes’. The fact that she hadn’t trusted him with her secret cut deep. The part of him that just wanted to be with her encouraged him to forgive. Which was why he’d tried to talk to her today—only to be rebuffed.

After work, he got the kids from the day care centre and took them home. Ria and her husband were scheduled to arrive an hour after he made it to his place. The kids were excited and bouncing around when the knock on the door came. He hung back and watched the reunion, a deep pang settling in his chest at the thought of a family of his own.

“Rhodes,” his sister said, walking towards him and slipping her arms around him. “It’s so good to see you.”

“And you, Ria.” He hugged her tight.

She drew back and stared at him, her brown eyes sparkling. “So, when do I get to meet this woman of yours?”

He tried for a smile but just couldn’t pull it off. Her gaze sobered and she gripped his arm.

“What happened?”

I can’t tell her about the attack.

He opted for a shrug. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Really?” she asked dubiously. “Then why all the sorrow in your eyes?”

Because I love her.

“No sorrow. Now, come on, let me go welcome your husband. We’ll catch up over dinner.”

Ria left it alone but, after they had eaten and the children had gone to bed, she cornered him. He was taking the couch in his spare room, giving up his big bed for Ria and her husband. Therefore he wasn’t at all surprised when she walked in without knocking and sat down on the edge of the futon bed.

“What gives, Rhodes?”

He stared at his sister. Her dark hair hung plaited over one shoulder and she had this fresh, innocent look about her. He didn’t fall for it—she was as ruthless as the next person was when she got you in her sights and, for the moment,
he
was the one in them.

“She kept a secret from me.”

Ria blinked as if waiting for more. When nothing was forthcoming she asked, “That’s it? She kept a secret from you. Like what? She’s married? Engaged? What?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”

“She murder someone in cold blood?”

Another negative motion of his head.

“So what secret was so horrible? Does it change her as a person?”

Did it? Yes. A goddess was very different from a human.

“She lied about who she was, Ria.”

“How so? Did you suddenly see a new side to her that you didn’t like? Not everyone has had a good life, Rhodes. Some people have to run from their past and start over.” She got to her feet. “Ask yourself this. Whatever this secret was, do you think it was easy for her to keep it from you? Moreover, did it change her—
honestly
—in your eyes? Does this thing make her so hideous you can no longer love her?”

“Love?”

“I may be younger than you, Rhodes, but I’m still your sister and I’ve never seen you act like this about a woman. You are in love with her.” A kiss on the cheek and a touch on his shoulder. “So, since you still love her, it can’t be that bad. Go fix it. I want to meet her.”

Ria left the room as silently and quickly as she’d entered.

He shut off the light and stretched out on the futon. His sister was right. It had been more of a shock than anything. Yes, he still wanted to know why she’d told others before him, but was it enough to keep her out of his life? Hell no! Tomorrow he would find a way to get some time alone with her. Somehow. Some way.

Chapter Eight

“Excuse me, please. I need some help here!” A feminine voice broke the momentary lull at the hospital.

Devi glanced up to see two nurses heading off, so she returned her attention to the form before her. She should really go to her office to do this, but January was using it at the moment. Dave had shown up demanding to talk to her and Devi had offered up her office. She was covering an extra shift in the emergency room today, since the paediatric floor was extremely quiet.

I don’t even want to know what they’re doing in there.

January had backed off from seeing Dave in the wake of Devi and Rhodes splitting up, but she’d assured her friend that there was no point in doing that. If she liked Dave, then she should continue seeing him.

“Dr Petner,” Nurse Strong called to her. “Can you come? We have a broken arm in exam two.”

“Be right there.” Signing her name with a flourish at the bottom of the completed form, she put it in the required box and headed towards the exam room. Crying reached her before she made it to the partially partitioned area. A young child.

Stepping in, she said, “I hear we have a broken arm in here.” Then she looked up and froze. Sitting on a woman’s lap was Calida. The child had tear streaks all down her dirty face. In a chair to the side sat a man, who held C-man.

“Devi!” Calida called, a slight smile seeming to break through the continuous stream of tears going down her cheeks.

Her heart ached. She’d missed these children so much. Glancing at the woman, she knew beyond all doubt that this was Rhodes’ sister. She was a refined, more delicate and much more feminine version of him. Gorgeous.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said, regaining her wits. Grabbing a stool, she slid close and gave the girl a smile. “Now, how did you do this?”

“Fell off the big rock.”

“I see. And what did we learn from this?” she asked as she stared at the X-ray.

The nurse gave the child a shot for the pain and another brought in the plaster for a cast.

“I can’t fly.”

Devi almost burst out laughing but smiled instead, continuing to engage the child in conversation as she reset the bone and put on the cast. While Calida decided on a colour of wrap for the cast, Devi watched another nurse give Constantinos a bandage of his own.

After finishing, she wheeled back and pulled off her gloves, disposing of them before sliding back in close. “All done little missy,” she said with a grin. “You did great. Just try to remember you don’t fly.”

“When can we see the puppies?” Calida asked, picking at the orange wrap around her arm.

“I’m not sure.”

“Go with your father, Cali, I’m sure your brother would love to see your cast.” Ria’s order was uncontested.

Both women stood and sized each other up. Ria had a height advantage but Devi didn’t back down.

“Thank you for helping out my daughter. I’m Ria, by the way, Rhodes’ sister.” She offered her hand and introduced her husband as well.

Devi took it for a brief shake. “Devi Petner.”

“I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about you.”

Not all, I’m sure.

“Likewise.” Her gaze drifted back to the kids, who were comparing cast to bandage, and that odd pang in her heart resurfaced. “I’ll have a nurse drop off some instructions for you about dealing with the cast. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

It was plain that the woman wanted to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut.

Over the noise of the hospital, Devi heard a man’s voice call out, “Ria!”

Ria stepped past her and called out to her brother. Seconds later, Rhodes’ large presence filled the small exam room. Devi suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Talking to him yesterday had been difficult, but seeing the kids and now him… Her body just wasn’t ready to deal with it all.

“What happened?” he demanded of his sibling. “I got your call and…” He trailed off and Devi knew he had spotted her.

“Devi?” he said, as if unsure he was actually seeing her.

Composing herself as best she could, Devi lifted her head and met his gaze. “Mr Liatos.” She stepped to the side in an attempt to sidle past him, only he countered her move exactly, keeping his muscular body between her and any escape.

“Is Calida okay?” he asked of no one in particular, his attention riveted on her face.

Her world seemed to shrink to just him and her. “Broken arm—she’ll be fine.”

Rhodes stepped closer and she moved back by an identical amount. Hunger—the kind she loved to see in his expression—filled his eyes. Hunger for her. Then those brown eyes changed. They grew predatory and she stilled, like a deer catching the scent of a wolf.

Her heart beat hard and fast and, like always, her body reacted on a primitive level to him. Frozen, she stared back at him, waiting for him to make the first move.

Rhodes made himself wait instead of going all Tarzan on Devi. She was at her place of employment and it wouldn’t do for him to carry her off over his shoulder—although the idea had merit. He’d panicked when Ria had called him about his niece. So he’d rushed over to the emergency room the first chance he’d got. However, it had seemed as though nothing else mattered once he’d spotted Devi. He knew she would have taken great care of Calida, so all his focus zeroed in on her.

Right now, she stood towards the back of the exam room, her eyes wide with uncertainty and a bit of desire. Lord help him, all he wanted to do was close the curtains and lay her on the bed before claiming her as his own.

“Devi,” he murmured, taking another step towards her. Like before, she backed away the same distance, making sure to keep a space between them.

“I need to go,” she said.

He rumbled low in his throat. Her being out of reach wasn’t something he liked. She needed to stay so they could talk this out, not run from what was between them, or ignore it.

“No. You need to talk to me.”

There went that glowing eye thing again.

“I’m not running from you, Devi. And I will chase you. We need to talk about this.”

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“Give me fifteen minutes.”

She narrowed those amazing eyes at him. “That’s it?”

He swallowed. “That’s it.”

“Fine.”

Devi brushed by him and left. He span around in time to see her talking to another nurse. Then she looked at him and jerked her head at him. He got the hint and hurried after her, ignoring the smirks on his sister and brother-in-law’s faces.

She opened the door to a small room and stepped inside; he followed and shut the door behind him. The room had a lone bed against the wall and a chair—other than that, it was devoid of anything.

“Talk.”

The ice in her voice tore his attention from the bed back to her. Her face was an unreadable mask, but it didn’t detract from her beauty. Some of her hair had come free from the bun it was in, softening her face even more.

“I made a mistake,” he began. “I was mad at you, I felt betrayed, and that’s why I acted the way I did.”

“Okay.”

He narrowed his eyes.

Okay? That’s it?

“You don’t have anything to say?”

“I said, okay. What else do you want me to say?” Her tone was bored, as if she was thinking about something else.

Skimming his hand over his head, he groaned in frustration. It’d been so perfect in his thoughts. He’d say that, she’d say something like how much she’d missed him, then they would make love for the rest of the day. Reality—he’d said what he had and she’d responded with ‘okay’ and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was.

“Where’s the Devi who captured my heart?” he asked, prowling closer to her, watching her retreat and knowing the wall would keep her from moving much farther.

“I don’t have time for games,” she said, but even she couldn’t keep the quaver from her voice.

“This isn’t a game, baby. I made a mistake by pushing you away how I did. I still want to know why you told the others but not me who you truly were, but I’m not angry any more.”

Her tongue sneaked out and dampened her lips. He felt the responding jolt in his groin and lust exploded through him. Another step and he was right up in her space; she couldn’t go anywhere else. Unless she climbed onto the bed…he’d have no problem with that, personally.