Page 72 of Dr. Off Limits

Jacob

I was so exhausted that I couldn’t contemplate doing anything tonight other than eating dinner and falling into bed. Flu was spreading through the staff and three members of the team had called in sick today.

I knocked on the door to Sutton’s flat, bracing myself against the doorframe to stop myself from falling over.

She opened the door and it was like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

“You look beautiful,” I said, sweeping my gaze down her Lycra-clad body.

She laughed. “I look sweaty. I just came back from a run.” She went up on tiptoes for a kiss, but I grabbed her bottom, hitched her up, kicked the door closed, and pushed her against the wall, pressing my lips against hers.

“How was your day?” she asked.

“Better now I’m here with you.”

“Dinner’s ready.”

“I’m hungry for you,” I said. I was always hungry for her. Even on days when I thought I didn’t have the energy, as soon as I saw her, I couldn’t get enough.

She pressed a kiss on my cheek and pulled me tightly toward her, like she hadn’t seen me in months rather than days. “I’ve missed you.”

My stomach flipped and I realized that was exactly what I needed to hear. I kissed the top of her head. “I’ve missed you too.” It was time to share some food and talk. The sex could wait.

“How was the run?” I asked as I let her go. She led me into her tiny kitchen.

“Honestly, I think I could have walked quicker, but running sounds better, right? I ordered takeaway and it arrived about two minutes before you did. This kitchen is... hardly a chef’s kitchen.”

Her flat was tiny. Her kitchen barely qualified for the title.

“Parker asked me to move in with her and Tristan again the other day when we went for lunch in the park.” She laughed. “As if.”

“You don’t want to?”

“I don’t want to share with a couple. And a fairly new couple at that.” She pulled out some boxes. “I got Lebanese.”

“We should spend more time at mine,” I said. “I’ll get a key cut so you can come and go as you please.”

She turned to me, half smiling, half frowning. “Are we ready for an exchange of keys?”

I shook my head. “No offense, but I don’t want a key to this place.”

“You mean you don’t want to enjoy my basement view of the car park? How dare you.” She smiled as she got out two plates and set them down. “A key though? Is that... I mean, we’ve only been dating a few weeks...” She was cautious, bordering on suspicious of things between us, or me. I couldn’t decide.

“Is there some rulebook you’re working with that I’m not aware of? Because if you are, I think I need a copy to see what’s meant to happen when. I don’t want to miss a milestone.”

She prodded my arm. “There’s no rulebook.”

“My place is a little more spacious. And I have a kitchen we can cook in. It makes sense to spend more time there. And if I give you a key, it means you don’t have to leave with me at the same time, and you can come round early. It’s not a ring. It’s a key.”

She handed me a plateful of food and held up a fork. “Okay, if you put it like that, I’ll take the key.”

“Good,” I said.

“Good. I really don’t know why you had to make a big deal about it.” She grinned at me and I shook my head.

We padded back into the living room-slash-bedroom, where Aha! was playing softly in the background. We sat on the floor, our plates balanced on her small coffee table. “So how was lunch with Parker, apart from her asking you to move in with her?”

“Good.” She sighed like it was the opposite of good.

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