Page 22 of RAKEish

His mouth, which had been set in a thin line, parted slightly, as if he were about to speak, only to find himself at a loss for words. The normally poised and confident man appeared momentarily disarmed, thrown off balance by her transformation.

Watching his composed demeanor unravel, even if just for a moment, gave her an unexpected surge of satisfaction. In that instant, she knew that no matter what had transpired between them before, tonight she had the upper hand.

“Doc,” he said roughly.

“Rake,” she said snippily—that was once she remembered to reply at all; the wonky swoony feelings were back. She tried to step away but his hold on her arms kept her from going far.

The cone of silence in the bar evaporated, and voices filled the void as she and Scott locked gazes in an apparent staring contest.

“Is that Dr. Stone?”

“Fuck yes. Wow.”

“Oh, my God, I can’t believe she did that.”

“I can. Dr. Stone is a badass, and he deserves far worse.”

“How do you figure?”

The conversations went on around them as Lux and Scott continued to lock gazes.

“Because of her, his penis is on borrowed time.”

The last shattered Lux’s trance. Would now be a bad time to inquire if all was still well…down there? Not because she wanted to personally know, but to put his fans at ease.

“Serves him right,” someone said. “I heard he’s the one who started the meme of her with the words ‘Nothing to see here.’”

A tiny noise escaped Lux’s lips. God, people were cruel on the internet.

Scott’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t deny it.

“Why would you do that?” someone said.

Tears filled Lux’s eyes, and she rammed her tongue to the roof of her mouth to keep them at bay.

Horror flashed across his face. “I wouldn’t. I didn’t.”

“Wouldn’t you?” she pushed.

“Of course not.”

She stared stonily at him.

He sighed. “Did you see the one about me standing in a hospital, wearing a hospital gown?” he asked her in a voice loud enough for all to hear.

“I saw that one,” someone responded when she didn’t.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” she finally said.

Scott didn’t break eye contact with Lux. “The one where I was holding a jar that had my penis inside and telling the nurse it was my brain?”

Laughter ensued.

“The ones about you are all in fun,” Lux said, keeping her voice low, swallowing back tears. “No one believes my superstitious prediction. The ones about me, though, are horrid. Everyone thinks I’m frigid because of that damn app and my big mouth.”

He leaned in closer. “No one looking at you right now, Doc, will mistake you for a woman who is frigid.” His eyes held hers, soft and earnest, as if he could chase away any doubts with his gaze alone.

The compliment brought on a fresh desire to cry, and she twitched her nose to ward off the tears.

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