Page 81 of Gamble
Pulling out of their kiss, she said weakly, “Dr. Jennings hasn’t cleared you for sex yet,” even as she pressed closer to him.
Elijah pulled back just enough to look at her, that familiar mischievous grin spreading across his face. “I won’t tell him if you won’t.”
Reagan laughed despite herself, but she couldn’t shake the image of him collapsing in pain, of undoing all the progress he’d made over the past week.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said seriously.
“You won’t hurt me,” Elijah assured her, his hands framing her face. “But if it makes you feel better, I promise to take it easy and let you do most of the work.”
The suggestion sent heat spiraling through Reagan’s core, but she still hesitated. “Elijah?—”
“How about we start with the hot tub?” he suggested, reading her uncertainty.
If she weren’t a nurse, perhaps he could have talked her into taking a dip, but the nurse in her knew it was too risky to have a surgical patient near the chlorinated water. “How about we start with sitting on the couch near the firepit instead? We can save trying the hot tub for when you can join me in a few weeks?”
As the words left her mouth, an uneasy concern invaded. Would she even still be welcome here in a few weeks? They still had so many things to sort out between them.
She could see the disappointment on his face, but like the gentleman he was, he conceded. “Fine, but I still think you should lose the sundress. I was so looking forward to watchingyou skinny dip.” His smile turned predatory before he pulled her back into his arms, his hands dropping to her ass as his voice dripped with that commanding tone that never failed to make her pulse race. “I need to touch you, baby. I need to feel like your man again instead of your patient.”
The raw honesty in his voice decided for her. She nodded, and the relief that crossed his features made her chest tight.
“Good,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Now, are you going to make me wait any longer to see this gorgeous body of yours?”
Reagan glanced toward the house, then back at him, suddenly feeling shy. “Maybe I should go get my swimsuit?—”
“Or,” Elijah said, his eyes dancing with mischief, “you could just lose the dress right here. It’s private, and honestly, I’ve been fantasizing about having you naked under the stars in my backyard for weeks.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. It had been over a month since Vegas, and while they’d been intimate then, this felt different somehow. More real. More vulnerable.
“I don’t know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s been a while since...”
Elijah’s expression softened, his hands moving up to gently take hers. “Hey, it’s just me. The same man who couldn’t keep his hands off you in Vegas. The same man who’s been going crazy wanting to touch you properly all week.”
His thumb traced over her knuckles, a simple touch that somehow felt incredibly intimate.
“Besides,” he added with that sexy grin she remembered so well, “I seem to recall someone who wasn’t shy about being naked in front of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Vegas strip.”
Reagan laughed despite her nerves. “That was different. I was drunk on you.”
“And now?”
She looked into his eyes, seeing the desire there, but also the patience. He wouldn’t push, wouldn’t make her uncomfortable. The realization gave her the courage she needed.
“Now I’m just drunk on the possibility that we might actually have a future together,” she said softly.
Something intense flashed in Elijah’s eyes at her words. “Baby, I know there are still so many things to sort out but one thing I know is that I’m absolutely going to fight for a future together.”
Reagan released a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The tension that had been building between them as they’d tiptoed between caregiver and patient to lovers melted a bit. God, she wanted so much to believe they’d get that future.
With trembling fingers, Reagan reached for the hem of her sundress. Elijah’s sharp intake of breath as she pulled it over her head gave her confidence to continue her strip tease. By the time she’d shed her undergarments, she felt beautiful rather than self-conscious.
“Christ, you’re gorgeous,” Elijah breathed, his eyes drinking her in. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Okay, I’m not going to be the only one naked,” she complained, reaching for the bottom of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head as he lifted his arms to help. Tossing it aside, her breath caught at the sight of the sexy salt and pepper hair smattered across his muscular chest. She didn’t get to enjoy the view for long because Elijah was in a hurry to push down his loose-fitting athletic shorts, taking his boxer-briefs with him and leaving him with only the large, taped bandage covering the area of his recent surgical work.
Despite wanting to drop to her knees then and there to take his already growing cock down her throat, Reagan instead helped him ease down to the cushioned couch near the unlitfirepit. She moved to sit beside him, but Elijah was too fast, pulling her down to sit on his lap.
Reagan squealed. “I’m going to hurt your hip!” She tried to wiggle away, but Elijah hugged her harder, helping her settle in without injuring himself.
