“So you have to study for your study group?” he asked.
Her smile was firm. “Exactly.”
“Well, I’m not an RN, but I am a paramedic. Hit me up. I bet I can at least quiz you a little.”
“I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”
At the frustrated look on Zane’s face, she laughed. “Okay, so you don’t mind me taking up your time. But when are you on call for the fire station?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
“What about for the ambulance?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
She slapped her thighs and tilted her head to one side, waiting.
“All right, all right. I’m on call for the firehouse tomorrow morning, and for the ambulance tomorrow night. But, Mabel Joan. You’re here with me right now, and I don’t want that to end.”
“Fine. Let’s do this, then.” She pulled up some sample questions on her phone, sinking her fingers into the fur of Zane’s dog, Chief, a border collie mix. She glanced over at Chief and grinned, grasping the dog’s chin and talking in sweet, low tones.
Mercy. Chief wasn’t what you’d exactly call a cute little dog. He was a mutt. His head was a little too big for his body. Zane knew that and didn’t care. He’d lost an eye in a farming accident. But the way Mabel looked at his old dog had his stomach filling up with sensations like bubbly soda pop, nervous in an exciting way.
Mabel planted a little kiss on Chief’s head before turning back to the list she needed to memorize.
“I’m jealous of my dog.”
A smile twisted Mabel’s lips. “You could plant one on me if I get the answers right.” Her voice was breathy. “WhenI get the answers right.”
Well, sign me up.“Who’s that a reward for? Me or you?”
She shrugged, the muscles in her shoulders under her yellow t-shirt beckoning him. “It sounds mutually beneficial.” That yellow on her was drawing him in like nothing else. She was all sorts of hard and soft, and he wanted to know more.
He stared at her enticing form, one leg bent at the knee with her foot on the couch. Chief had begun to nose his way under the space created by her bent leg. Man, that dog was so lucky. Zanewasjealous of his dog.
“Want a sample?” he asked. It was a little shocking how natural and normal this playful banter between them was.
Her brows went up. “I’ve had a sample of your lips before, and I’d like a full-sized version, please. Or maybe biggie-sized.” Her smirk was small but definitely there.
“Yes, ma’am. I can oblige.”
She giggled at his fake Texan accent. Or maybe she giggled because that’s what she did earlier when he first started kissing her. Maybe giggling was Mabel code forLay it on me, big boy.
He drew his head back before he reached her lips. “But kissing was supposed to be your reward for getting the answers right. You’re jumping the gun, Mabel Joan.”
She slid her arms around his neck, and his skin prickled with want yet again. “Well, maybe one small sample of your kisses to jumpstart my thinking and then some more after the study session is done?”
“Happy to oblige.” He dipped his head, his Texan accent reminding him of the Westerns his Grandpa Taylor used to watch every night after dinner. Zane would also be much obliged if she’d keep looking at him like that too. Every minute of every day would never be enough.
She pressed a kiss to his lips, firm, but with a closed mouth. A sigh escaped her lips, and he was on top of the freaking world.
He chuckled when they pulled apart. “But seriously,” he said. “S.A.M.P.L.E. What does it stand for?”
She scowled. “So you didn’t want to kiss me? You wanted me to tell you what S.A.M.P.L.E stands for?”
“No, no, no. You know I wanted to kiss you.”
Her scowl softened into a smile. “It’s to remember the patient assessment questions: symptoms, allergy, medicine, past medical history, last oral intake, and events leading up to the injury or illness.”
