Page 5 of Driven By Desire
His lips twitched. Hard as he tried, he couldn’t control the grin that made them curve.
Encouraged by the unwilling, barely visible smile, Max asked, “Don’t you think so?”
Silence. The twitch in the lips disappeared leaving her to doubt its brief appearance.
Lowering her voice, she whispered confidentially, “Personally, I think what seals the deal is the bed pan.”
“No.” Opening his eyes, he looked at her and smiled. “I think it’s the easy access to drugs.”
Feeling that lethal smile warm places inside of her that she hadn’t known existed, Max stared dazedly back at him. Eyes dancing with amusement that invited her to dive in and share in it had Max smiling back helplessly.
“Why won’t you take the test dose?” That sex on the rocks voice scraped pleasurably over his tense nerves and had him feeling more than a little drugged. Who needed anesthesia? They should just have her sit next to all their patients and talk them to bliss.
Putting one delicate hand on his arm, she gave him a gentle shake.
“Why? I’m just going to keep bugging you till you tell me so you may as well give in quickly.”
“My parents died in a car crash.” The almost inaudible murmur cut off anything else she came up with. “My mom was killed on impact but my dad was rushed to the nearest hospital in critical condition.” Unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth, he stared unblinking at a yellow patch on the ceiling. “Towards the end, I prayed he wouldn’t make it just so he didn’t have to go through what the doctors were putting him through.” Swallowing hard, he shook his head, “I hate hospitals after that. Can’t stand to be at the mercy of anyone in it.”
“CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country and phobic about hospitals. This has to be the eighth wonder of the world.”
“How do you know I’m in pharmaceuticals?”
“Your brother talks.” Rolling her eyes, she added dryly, “A lot.”
“Thank God I have easy access to drugs too.” The muttered growl set her off again. Laughing easily, she patted his hand with a strangely maternal air.
“You came willingly. No one had to force you.” She pointed out.
“That was the sane, rational me that disappeared the minute we reached this place.”
“Thatwas you being sane and rational????” The laughter vibrating through her voice had him chuckling as well.
“What can I say? You landed on my bad side.”
Rich, throaty laughter rang through the ward and had heads turning in their direction. Enjoying the sight of her chortling away on the narrow metal stool more than he should, Krish let the laughter wind through him and relax the last of his tense muscles.
Still smiling, Max leaned forward and rested an elbow on the side of the bed. “Let them do it.”
“No.”
“I’ll make you a deal. That should appeal to the businessman in you.”
When he only glowered at that, she continued. “So here’s the deal. You let them treat you, pricks and all. I mean, not pricks, not those kind of pricks.” Flushing, she straightened from her more intimate lean over his bed at his sardonic grin, “Injections and all.”
“And?”
Since his proximity had managed to fry her brain again, she only managed a stupid, “And?”
“What do I get in return? A deal usually has two sides to it, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll hold your hand through the whole of it.” The offer escaped her lips before she could clamp them shut. Apparently her brain had still not caught up with her mouth. Echoes of shared laughter and bitter insults shared in the space of the last few hours hung in the silence that fell between them.
“Okay.” Closing his eyes, he held his hand out, palm open. Placing hers in it, Max let his huge palm engulf hers. Large, hard and warm, it dwarfed hers.
As she stared a trifle mesmerized at their clasped palms, he murmured, “Bird bones.”
“Sorry?” Startled, she looked up but found he still had his eyes closed. A small dimple winked at her as a smile creased his cheek. “When you landed on me, I thought you were a bag of bones. I stand corrected. You have bones like a fragile, little bird. You might want to close your mouth and call the nurse.”
