“What?”
He jumped to his feet, put the stethoscope on again and placed the chestpiece under her hospital gown. He was quiet for a moment, listening as if her heartbeat was a signal from aliens in outer space. When he removed the instrument from her chest, he gave her another befuddled, blue-eyed stare. “I don’t know how this is possible, especially given the stress you endured in the woods. Each time I’ve examined you, your heartbeat has grown more erratic. Right now, it’s beating steadily. In fact, it’s the strongest I’ve heard on anyone in quite some time. You have the ideal resting heart rate for a shifter woman of your age.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me again what happened in the woods. I need to know everything.”
Oh. She might have left out the detail about Connor’s kiss and about them being in their birthday suits. “Well, as you know, I was feeling restless and unable to sleep. I overheard Connor talking to you on the phone. It sounded bad. I got upset, so I shifted and went for a little run.”
“Little.” He frowned. “It sounds as if you were trying out for the hundred meter. Against my specific instructions, I’ll remind you.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, of course he chased me.” The sound of his mountain lion paws pounding the ground echoed in her mind. “We were both emotional. When he caught up to me, we sort of tumbled together. And, um, when we shifted back, we…kissed.”
God bless Josh and his bedside manner. If he felt any sort of surprise, it barely registered on his face. “I see. That’s a new detail.”
“I guess it is.”
“And then someone shot at you?”
“Yeah. You know everything else.”
He nodded and began to pace. “I won’t lie to you, Elaine. This is all highly unusual. I’ve never seen a shifter in your position recover from an ailing heart. Once the decline sets in, I’ve never known it to be anything other than irreversible.”
“Great.”
A spark lit up his eyes. “It is great. I mean, what’s happened to you is great. This changes things. This makes me optimistic.”
A wave of relief washed over her, but she was cautious not to let it sweep her away. “Okay. So what do we do? Why the sudden change?”
He gnawed on the inside of his cheek and then held up a finger. “Just give me one moment.” He walked outside the examination room. When he returned, he was dragging Connor by the arm. He moved Connor in front of her. “Kiss her.”
Elaine and Connor both looked at Josh. “What?”
Josh grew more excitable. “I know about the kiss. I need you to do it again.” He waved his hand. “Look, I know this is weird, but I swear it’s for medical research. Just pretend I’m not here.” He sat on his stool, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited. “Go on.”
Elaine turned to Connor and shrugged.
His mouth twitched on one side, a hint of amusement under his beard. “Seeing as it’s for medical research.”
She breathed in his scent as he joined her at the exam table. Nudging her knees open, he stood between them. Curling his fingers behind her neck, he brought her mouth to his. Her whimper escaped into his kiss, and she leaned into him, closing her eyes.
His tongue slid against hers.
Oh, yes. This.
Gluttony. Luxury. Sin. Everything she hadn’t felt in a long while and everything she thought she’d never feel again.
Connor’s other hand snaked over her hip, gently grasping, pulling her closer. He licked at the corners of her mouth, teased and explored, and then dove back in again on a low growl.
His mountain lion became visible to her bear for the first time. The creatures moved toward one another, tentative, sniffing the air around each other. Although of different species, they recognized each other as kindred souls, bonded by history and lust. Her bear bumped its head against the cat’s neck. The mountain lion purred and nuzzled her spirit animal, licking the side of her bear’s head.
Elaine’s insides melted into the most wonderful puddle of goo. Her breathing calmed. Her body stilled. The constant weight around her dissipated. She had an image of a balloon floating into space, with a tiny Elaine clinging to its ribbon. It carried her into space.
Into bliss.
“Okay, that’s great, thanks. You can stop now, if you’d like.”
At Josh’s words, she remembered where she was. Hot in the cheeks, she pulled away. Connor licked his lips, his eyes narrowed on her.
