Page 13 of Code Love
“I don’t ever forget things like that, and I know how complicated those surgeries can be, so I made the call,” Lillian said.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Jade said and rolled her eyes.
“Not likely,” Lillian retorted and pushed past her to leave the scrub area. Much to her annoyance, Jade followed her.
“That was already handled, taken care of, we both said our piece and now it’s done,” Jade said as she trailed behind Lillian.
“Fine, it’s done,” Lillian said and stepped through the doorway into the stairwell. Jade pushed through the door behind her.
“Look, I’m trying to be nice here, something that doesn’t happen in this job very often,” Jade snapped.
Lillian whirled on her, stepping into her space. Jade’s eyes tightened, but she didn’t move. “Trying to be nice? Like what I was doing when I waited for you?”
Jade took a step forward and Lillian’s heart started pounding. “Maybenicejust doesn’t work for us,” Jade practically hissed.
She was so close that Lillian could smell the soap on her. Her dark hair pulled tight against her head only accentuated her sharp cheekbones and wide lips. Her almond eyes became pools of heat as Lillian looked into them. She wanted to touch her. She wanted to trace her finger down her cheek almost as badly as she wanted to slap her.
All thought and reason seemed to evaporate, and Lillian reached out and grabbed Jade’s ponytail. She pulled enough to tilt Jade’s face toward her and kissed her roughly. She fully expected Jade to respond with a slap or a shove, but instead, Jade grabbed the lapels of Lillian’s lab coat and pulled hercloser. Lillian felt herself being shoved against the wall as Jade’s lips devoured hers.
Lillian pushed her tongue through Jade’s lips and swirled it around in Jade’s mouth. Jade’s sharp intake of breath sent Lillian’s nerves into shock. Fire coursed through her, and she couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t get deep enough. She grabbed Jade by the back of the neck and pulled her closer, their teeth clicking against each other almost painfully.
Jade’s hands slipped down the front of Lillian’s coat, sliding across the silky material of her dress until she reached the hem and slid her hands underneath. Every place her fingers touched felt like it was on fire.
Lillian ran her hands down Jade’s back and pulled her until their bodies were pressing against each other. Jade’s hands trailed around Lillian’s thighs, lifting her skirt and caressing the curve of her ass. Lillian’s hands found the bottom of Jade’s scrub top and slipped beneath it, caressing the hot, smooth skin of her back. Jade moaned softly and Lillian could feel her core heat to the point of boiling. Lillian didn’t think she’d ever been this turned on, this desperate for someone’s touch. She needed Jade’s touch, her heat. She wanted Jade’s lips all over her. She wanted to touch every inch of Jade’s skin, to kiss and lick every curve, to taste Jade’s core.
Jade picked up one of Lillian’s legs and wrapped it around her waist, her fingers slipping dangerously close to that sensitive place between them. Lillian moved her lips across Jade’s jaw and down to her neck, savoring the taste of her skin.
Jade’s phone chimed, and suddenly Lillian was acutely aware of where they were. Anyone could walk into this stairwell at any second. Her face flushed deep crimson as she pulled back. Jade looked at her phone with irritation.
“I have to go,” Jade said, her voice thick and rough. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks were red, her eyes heavy andlidded. Jade leaned forward and kissed her again, firmly, before turning and pushing back through the door. It almost felt like Jade was trying to hold on to her for a few more seconds. Like she was afraid that this moment would fall away and never come back. Or maybe Lillian was projecting this.
Lillian sagged against the wall.What have I done?she chastised herself. This was beyond stupid—this was almost unethical. Her body almost hurt where Jade’s hands had been; she had never wanted someone so badly. She could feel how wet Jade had made her with just a kiss. Lillian shook her head and scoffed. This was so much more than just a kiss—this was a potential catastrophe. She leaned against the wall, letting the cold from the bricks seep into her body and slow down the heat that was still racing through her.
Her legs still felt like jelly when she tried to walk down the stairs toward the ER. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She still had the rest of the night to work with the woman—how was she even supposed to look at her?
A terrifying thought entered her mind. Is this why Jade had always been able to get under her skin so easily? Because Lillianlikedher? No. That wasn’t possible. This storm and the excitement had everyone on edge, it was nothing more than that. Misplaced anger at its best. Damn if it didn’t feel good, though. Lillian changed course from the ER and made her way to her office to write up the report from the surgery, but she could still feel everywhere Jade’s fingers had touched.
Lillian forced herself to focus on the paperwork in front of her. Forced all thought of Jade from her mind, but she found it challenging. As soon as she allowed room for a fleeting thought, the heat and desire washed through her again like a tide. There was no way Jade was interested in her for more than a good time. Lillian shuddered with the image in her mind. It wouldmost certainly be a mind-blowing time. She imagined Jade naked, legs spread in front of her, just heat and wet and waiting.
Lillian shook her head again as waves of desire coursed through her again. She couldn’t keep doing this. The kiss was a mistake. Heightened emotions, stress from the job, the electricity of the storm. That was all it was, tempers boiling over and manifesting in something completely unattainable. Nothing more.
Lillian finally finished her reports and checked her phone; she had not received any pages, so she went downstairs to check on her patients. Especially Stephanie, she would likely be getting ready to repair the skull where she had released the pressure, at least if the swelling had gone down enough.
She went to the recovery room where Stephanie was still in an induced coma, but she was almost immediately struck dumb when she saw Jade already standing by the woman’s bed. She looked up and her eyes flared with heat before she schooled her expression.
“I’m just checking in,” Lillian said, her voice catching and making her cheeks flare with heat.
“You think she’s ready for the rest of it?” Jade asked, standing next to Lillian as she looked over the chart.
“It was an intense surgery, I think it might be better to let her recover for a while yet, but she is doing really well,” Lillian said with a slight smile. Though she could feel how close Jade was to her shoulder. She fought the urge to turn and kiss her again. When she did look up at Jade, she noticed that Jade’s jaw was clenched, and Lillian couldn’t help but wonder if Jade wasn’t fighting the same compulsion.
Jade took a step back as Lillian put Stephanie’s chart back on the end of the bed. “I agree,” she said, looking pointedly at Stephanie. “As long as there’s no problems, I would let her rest for a while longer.”
“It looks as though she is recovering well, though,” Lillian said and nudged Jade with her shoulder. Lillian’s eyes went wide. What was she doing? She was acting like a horny teenager. She took a step to put some distance between herself and Jade. Jade’s eyes tightened almost imperceptibly, but Lillian chose to ignore it.
“The ER needs a surgical consult. There’s another spinal injury, though I’m not sure if surgery is necessary,” Jade said without looking at Lillian.
“I’ll check it out,” Lillian said and turned, practically fleeing from the room. Once she was outside, she pulled in a deep breath. This was going to be hard. She needed to maintain a professional distance from that woman before she did something much worse than she already had. Arm’s length, that was what she was going to do, no matter what.
