Lethal Exposure

He shrugged out of his raincoat and hung it on the coatrack beside the door. The room was bigger than a run-of-the-mill exam room, but still small. He turned and found himself face-to-face with her.

She stole his breath with a reassuring smile. The woman made him think of sunflowers and golden retriever puppies and hand-squeezed lemonade. Not a combo he’d ordinarily think of as sensual, but somehow she made wholesome look hot.

Sebastian was acutely aware of a steady strumming of sexual energy flowing from him to her and back again. Her impact was not the full-on whammy of a classic beauty, but instead it was more like the comforting appeal of hot chocolate with miniature marshmallows on an icy winter’s day.

You’re from L.A., what do you know about an icy winter’s day?

Ah, there was the voice of reason struggling to break through the odd spell she’d cast over him. She possessed a certain earthy quality that called to something deep inside him. Something basic, raw and entirely new.

His pulse accelerated. Amazed by his body’s overt reaction, Sebastian had to clear his throat in order to speak. “I want…” Dammit, how could he think with her staring at him that way?

“Yes?” she coaxed, low-voiced as a priest in confessional.

I want. I want. I want.

What did he want? Sebastian frowned, yanked his gaze from her sweet lips and looked deeply into her blue eyes, fringed with long lashes. “Uh…”

Terrific, Black, a speechless spin doctor? He couldn’t ever recall a woman leaving him tongue-tied.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take your clothes off?”

“Huh?” For one wild, incomprehensible moment, he thought she was suggesting they get naked together.

She reached for a pair of purple latex examination gloves resting on the green granite countertop. “I need for you to get undressed so I can do an initial assessment on you and report my findings to Dr. Carpenter.”

He blew out a breath of air on a tense laugh. “Oh, no, no, there’s been some kind of mix-up.”

“There’s no need to be ashamed. Many men experience erectile dysfunction.”

“Hey, hey, hey. I do not have erectile dysfunction.”

“Then why were you taking sexual enhancement supplements? Because you know, using impotency drugs—even when it’s an herbal medication—simply for fun and games can be deadly for your sexual health.”

“Huh?”

“How long have you had the erection?” Her gaze drifted down the length of his body.

He felt the heat of her glance straight to his bones. “Wait, wait.” He held up his palms. “You’ve obviously got me confused with someone else.”

At least this explained why she’d been staring at his crotch. Just the thought of having her examine him with those latex gloves on her lithe fingers shot chills up his spine. He didn’t know if they were chills of dread or anticipation. The prospect was oddly erotic, but in a scary kind of way.

“You’re Mr. Black, correct?”

“Yes, but I’m not a patient.”

She frowned. “You’re not the movie producer?”

“No.”

Flustered, her cheeks pinked and she took a step back, fingering the stethoscope around her neck.

“I’m Sebastian Black, from Back in Black Public Relations. The hospital’s hired me to improve Confidential Rejuvenations’ image after some recent…er…trouble.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment deepened the color in her cheeks from pink to red, pushing it all the way into her hairline. “Oh, no.”

He smiled to reassure her. “Don’t feel sheepish. I should have told you right away why I was here.”

“Well…um…I…” Clearly flustered, she dropped her gaze and started for the door, but he was standing in her way.

She went right.

He followed.

Head down, she dodged left.

He beat her to the punch, smoothly blocking her path.

“What?” she demanded, sounding irritated.

“Look at me.”

He could tell she didn’t want to do it, but he wasn’t moving until she did. She tilted her head.

Their gazes met and a renewed voltage surged between them.

He hadn’t felt an attraction this potent in a long time. The chemistry both unsettled him and stoked his curiosity. What was it about her that so piqued his interest?

It’s not about her. You’re just susceptible because of what happened this morning with Linc.

“It was a natural mistake,” he soothed.

“You don’t have to spin it for me,” she said, surprising him by recognizing what he was doing. “Let’s tell the truth. I made an idiot out of myself by not asking what was the nature of your business the minute you arrived.”

“You were trying to spare me humiliation. You thought I had been playing around with some Viagra kind of thing and got myself into trouble.”

“You’re too smooth for my own good,” she said. “You ought to come with a warning label. Something along the lines of ‘Warning—man may appear more charming than he really is.’”

“How do you know I’m not as charming as I appear?” He grinned, enjoying their sparring.

She tossed her head and her ponytail bounced pertly. “I’ve had dealings with charming men before.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”

“To my detriment, I might add.”

Sebastian took a wild guess. “A charming man left you brokenhearted?”

“Something like that.” She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Anyway, I learned my lesson. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Black, I have to find my real patient.”