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Mr. Handsome Creep’s lips tilted up. Nowhere near a full smile, but a little genuine warmth entered those glacial eyes, and Danny felt his breath catch at the sight.

He found himself thinking of nibbling on those lips. How much warmth would enter those eyes then?

No. No, thank you. We are not attracted to Mr. Handsome Creep.

“No, we couldn’t have you being hunted, could we?” The man’s voice was a purr now. “Lots of big, bad predators out there looking for a snack.”

“Um…” Danny wasn’t even sure what to feel. The words were teasing, but the tone was not. Was the man threatening him? Playing with him? Very poorly flirting with him?

All it took was another whiff of the man’s spiced scent, and Danny thought,Fuck it. This guy might be odd, but he looked like a prince and smelled goddamn amazing, and Danny hadn’t flirted with anyone in ages. Maybe he could be graduated to Mr. Handsome instead of Mr. Handsome Creep.

Danny smiled his best “get free coffee from the barista” smile. “Well, I’ve been called a snack before but never in that context.” He winked for good measure.

Danny had thought he’d seen warmth in those eyes, but it was nothing to the heat that flared through them at his comment, silly as it was.

Well then, that cleared up where this guy stood on some dude-on-dude flirting, that was for sure. He was definitely into it on some level. Warmth pooled in Danny’s stomach.

Danny was just about to see if he could get an actual smile out of the guy, when he heard Chloe calling his name from the other room. “We’ve got someone coming in. Five minutes out!” she yelled.

It only took a second for Danny to glance down the hallway, but by the time he turned his head back to the front, the stranger was already gone.

Well, that was…unsettling.

Was the guy some kind of ninja? Cat burglar? A literal cat, perhaps? Danny had never known someone to move so quietly.

He knew he should be relieved that he didn’t have to deal with the odd, intense stranger anymore, especially with a patient coming in, but he still found himself wishing the man would come back.

At least long enough for Danny to get another sniff.

Oh God, he was thinking about sniffing strangers again.Who’s the creep now?He put those blue eyes out of his head and got up to help get a bay ready.

It was an appropriate reminder—he didn’t have time for guys, strange or otherwise.

Danny was out the hospital door by 6:00 a.m. on the dot, having had no report to give to the oncoming nurse. They’d already gotten their new patient up to a room. He supposed he could have told her about the strange, tall man with piercing blue eyes possibly wandering the halls, but at this point, he wasn’t 100 percent sure he hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing.

He immediately threw on his sunglasses, almost blinded by the morning sunlight. Once a friend to him and his olive complexion, the sun had become his enemy after he’d started working nights. Too harsh after twelve hours under hospital fluorescents. And while winter mornings were cold in Hyde Park, they still tended to be bright, with the exception of when there was the occasional snowstorm.

Danny chugged the last of his now cold coffee, willing himself to stay awake just a little longer.

What he was desperately craving was to scarf down some cereal and face-plant into bed, but it was not to be. Mornings were her best time of day, and he didn’t want to let her down.

He somehow found himself pulling into a familiar parking lot ten minutes later, having driven himself there in practically a fugue state. He wondered for the hundredth time if it was even safe to be driving after a night shift.

Maybe I should start taking the bus after work?

He parked quickly and pulled down the sun visor to catch his reflection on the inside mirror.

It was worse than he thought.

His chocolate-brown hair, the curls left longer than he’d like for no other reason than he always forgot to make an appointment to get it cut, was sticking up all over the place. He licked his fingers and tried to flatten the worst offenders. Normally he’d throw a baseball cap over it all, but in this case—depending on the amount of lucidity waiting for him inside—he was liable to get a scolding for wearing a hat indoors. The shadows under his eyes he could do nothing for, other than turn back time and get significantly more sleep over the past two years.

“All right, stud. Let’s go see our girl.” And there he was, still talking out loud to himself. At least he was alone in his car, no one lurking around corners to overhear him.

Approaching the front desk, Danny could already hear the sounds of the usual bustle of morning activity filling the carpeted halls.

“Danny! So good to see you, sweetie. You just coming off work?” The receptionist rounding the front desk was one of his favorites. A sweet older woman who always managed to treat him with empathy that somehow never edged into pity.

Danny felt himself grin wide despite his fatigue. “Hey, Mary. I look that terrible, huh?”

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