Page 14 of Legacy of Danger
Chapter 5
Vaughn tried not to stare while Dr. West bent down to pick up the shattered pieces of her coffee mug. Truly, he tried.
The way the strands of warm brown hair fell forward made his fingertips itch with his desire to feel if those strands were as silky and thick as they appeared. He could imagine that hair spread out on something totally random like, oh, maybe crisp white bedding.
Which sent his libido sprinting to the finish line of his racing thoughts: what the petite doctor herself would look like onhiscrisp white bedding. Maybe wearing only a white coat.
Strike that. No white coat.
Fuck him sideways. Had he not learnedanylessons from his past? And had he truly lost all grip on his sanity that he would now fantasize about any woman in front of him?
No. Not any woman.Thiswoman.
A weird tingle of his power ran through his gray matter like a sewing machine needle pricking a path. What the hell? The sensation made zero sense given the context—he was safely standing in front of her in a perfectly unthreatening hallway.
So was his ability to detect danger trying to tell him something else? Amplifying his interest in her? Or maybe his desire had somehow triggered his power. The cause and effect still didn't add up.
Well. At least his interest was focused on someone unmarried this time.
Yeah, he'd checked. A discreet question posed to the hospital receptionist confirmed that the good Dr. West was at present, unattached.
Not that he had any business asking. The combination of his track record with women, plus with the fact that he would blow out of town in a week or so, hopefully never to return, sealed the decision on any interest he might have wanted to explore. Not going to happen.
He got another strange tingle in his mind.
Damn it. Why the hell would his power choose now, of all times, to change? For years, he was the Taggart kid who had the ability to detect danger tohimself. Simple. Came in handy with high school scuffles, stock picks, and his MMA bouts.
He waved off a nurse who hurried toward them. Then he dashed into a nearby bathroom and pulled out fistfuls of paper towels from the dispenser.
Returning to the spill, he knelt next to Dr. West. Mariah. A scent of coffee and mint wafted over him, making his mouth water.
Because he wanted coffee and a mint?
Hell no.
As he laid the towels out on top of the spill, the tan paper turned dark brown, like old blood on an octagon mat. He swept the lump of damp towels and ceramic chips into a big wad. His hand brushed against hers, and a zap of warmth shot up his arm and into his chest.
Damn it, he'd sworn off women since last year's disaster.
Since he'd betrayed his brother. Which reminded him that he hadn't talked with Garrison yet. Hadn't laid all of his sins out on the table.
Frankly, Vaughn never imagined he'd return to Copper River, much less talk with his siblings again.
An image of Shelby's unconscious form, chest draped in electrodes and arms poked full of IV's, rose in his mind. There was one sibling with whom he still couldn't talk.
"Well, that should take care of it." He stood and grasped Mariah's fine-boned forearm to help her up. A few brown dots marred the hem of her white coat. Holding out the towel bundle, he gestured toward the remaining pieces of mug in her hands. "I'll take that."
He disposed of the entire mess in the bathroom garbage can, returned with a few more towels, and scooted them around the floor with his boot until the area was dry.
"Thanks for cleaning up and also for stepping in back there," she said, her voice somehow mellow and sharp at the same time. When she chewed her full lower lip, a rogue wave of heat urged him to do the same exact thing.
Offering her a clean paper towel, he paused and shrugged. "Wyatt Brand's an idiot."
She dried off her hands and then stepped to a nearby dispenser to get a glob of antibacterial gel, and he followed suit.
Her nose scrunched, making stupid birdies flop around in his stomach. "Tell me how you really feel about him," she said.
"My real feelings for most of the Brand family are not fit to express in polite company."
