But being this close to her is going to have to be enough for tonight because the next thing I hear is the sound of her heavy breathing.
I watch her as she nods off. Then she falls remarkably still in my arms. But when I move, she reaches for me even in her sleep. There’s a fragile strength to her that I can’t figure out and it’s intoxicating. Serena is everything I never knew I needed.
Somewhere between worshipping her body and sunrise, I must fall into a deep sleep of my own. Because when I wake up I reach for her and my hands find nothing but cold sheets. It’s a punch to the gut.
I sit up, blinking in the gray pre-dawn light. Her apartment is silent and too still. Her side of the bed is empty. The pillow is still dented where her head was.
But Serena is definitely gone.
There’s no note. No phone number. No explanation.
I lay back and stare at the ceiling for a long time.One night, is what she said.Even if this is only one night… But she’s wrong.
She's so damn wrong.
This thing between us is so much more than a complication. It’s the only thing that’s ever made sense and I’m not going to let go that easy. I get to my feet in a flurry of movement. I’ve got to find my girl.
CHAPTER 4
SERENA
It's been three days since I snuck out of my own apartment like those dudes that robbed the Louvre. Only I left a sexy, sleeping man in my bed and a giant piece of myself I'm never getting back.
That means it’s also been three days of me telling myself it didn't matter.
I’ve been talking to the mirror and reminding my reflection that the whole amazing connection I shared with Blaze was just for one night. Yep, Blaze Reynolds was a fever dream I've already woken up from… So basically, three days of lying that isn’t all that effective.
My brain forgets from time to time, but my body sure as hell hasn’t. I push through the doors of the medical clinic and head straight for the break room. I’m desperate for coffee and a few minutes of silence before my shift starts. I let out a huff.
I catch my reflection in the window. It’s not great. There are dark circles under my eyes and my hair is scraped back in a bun so tight it's giving me a headache. Not to mention the fact that I woke up late and didn’t have time to iron, so my scrubs already look wrinkled.
I haven’t slept well in the last three days. But that shouldn’t matter, I’m a professional. This is my third year working as a nurse on Ridgeway Base. I've handled trauma cases, psychiatric emergencies, and soldiers twice my size who faint at the sight of a needle. I can handle one stupid one-night stand.
Even if I can still feel his hands on my skin.
Even if I wake up reaching for him every morning.
Ugh, I’m even annoying to myself at this point.
My colleague Maya appears beside me, holding out a cup of coffee like an offering. "Rough weekend?"
"Something like that." I take the coffee gratefully. "What's on the schedule today?"
"New training cycle." Maya checks her tablet. "SERE instructors are coming through for their quarterly physicals. Should be pretty routine… blood pressure, reflexes, the usual."
My stomach drops.SERE instructors.
"All of them?" My voice comes out in a strange high pitched, tight gurgle.
Maya gives me a strange look. "No idea. But there's like eight of them on the schedule, I think. Why?"
I take a gulp of coffee and burn my tongue. "Nothing, that’s fine… I’m making sure I'm prepared is all."
It's fine… Fine like a house being on fire. Totally cool. No big deal. But if there are at least eight of them the chances of Blaze ending up in my exam room still aren’t great. Even if he did, I bet he wouldn’t care at all. It was a one off night for me, but he probably does that sort of thing all the time. He probably hasn’t thought about me for one minute since the morning I left.
I pull myself together and reapply my makeup in the bathroom, you know, just in case. Then I spend the next hour drowning myself in paperwork. I tear through inventory reports, patient files, and anything else I can find. I’m desperate to keep my mind off his dark eyes and tattooed forearms. I needto drown out the way he whispered my name like it meant something.
It doesn't work.
