His other hand found her waist, and she moaned softly as his thumb grazed the small gap between her shirt and her jeans. He couldn’t get enough of her; he didn’t think he ever would. She pressed into him, as if she couldn’t get enough of him, either. They needed to come up for air, but right now breathing was overrated.
“Annika!” A door slammed, and a woman’s voice shouted out. “There you are.”
Annika flew out of Daniel’s arms, leaving him stunned and disoriented.
“Naya, what are you doing here?” She croaked out the words, breathy and distracted.
Something inside Daniel lifted, learning he could affect her that way. Then that something plummeted into his belly as he noticed who had interrupted them. Gray eyes met his with a flicker of recognition. It was the cousin he had met in the ER that night. Annika’s night.
She shifted her gaze to her cousin. “Do you know what time it is? Nilay told me you got stitches today, and then you were late coming home and you’re not answering your cell, and I just had the most amazing date ever...and...well, it seems so did you.” She looked from Annika to Daniel and back to her cousin, a question forming on her face.
“No, we’re not on a date.” Annika spoke fast.
Daniel cut his eyes to her. She bit her bottom lip. The same lip he’d just had in his mouth.
“Oh.” The girl widened her eyes at her cousin, now completely ignoring Daniel. “Is that wise?”
Without even looking at Annika, he felt her stiffen at the judgment.
Gray Eyes bit her bottom lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Whatever,” Annika sighed. “What’s going on?”
The girl hesitated, then broke into a large grin. “I wanted to tell you about my date.” She glanced at Daniel again but paused this time. “Wait, don’t I know you?”
Damn.“Well...” Daniel glanced at Annika.
“How could you possibly know him?” Annika seemed puzzled.
Naya snapped her fingers. “In the ER. The night that—” She looked at Annika and back at Daniel, her eyes wide. “You were her ER nurse. You were just making out with your ER nurse?” She stopped short of doling out that judgment. But not short enough.
Annika threw her cousin a withering glance. “He wasn’t my ER nurse. I had a woman. Amy, Anna or something. I met Daniel here, at the bar. And anyway, he’s an NP.”
“Not ‘Chopper Guy’? Who stares at bourbon?”
Annika tightened her lips and nodded almost imperceptibly.
She’d talked about him to her family? A pleasant sensation floated through him. It had been so long since he’d felt it that he almost didn’t recognize it for what it was. Happiness.
“Well, whatever. This is the guy who was in your room when I got there that night.” The cousin was almost curt.
That lightness he felt a few moments ago dropped away in an instant, becoming something akin to cement in his stomach.
“That’s not even possible. Daniel’s an NP at the Hopkins ER...” Annika trailed off, as some realization kicked in. She turned to him. “Or maybe it is? It’s such a big place—it didn’t even occur to me that you might’ve been working the night I came in.” Her voice was small, disbelieving. Like she didn’t want to believe what she already knew was true. “Were you? Were you working that night?” Horror colored her whisper.
He opened his mouth, nothing came out.
“Daniel!” she said, her voice gaining strength as his silence put things together for her. “Were you in my room that night?” Her eyes darted all over his face, searching for the truth but begging him to deny it.
He managed a nod.
She shook her head as if it couldn’t be true. “No, that can’t be.” She glanced at her cousin, who watched her with a grim expression. She took a few steps away from him, then walked back to him. “No, there’s a mistake. You would’ve told me.”
Daniel brought himself up to his full height, as if doing so would protect him from her wrath, however deserved it may be. He was stiff and unmoving, his insides roiling with dread, the taste of her still on his tongue. “It’s true.”
She shook her head, and the confusion in her eyes turned to anger, those beautiful brown eyes that he imagined diving into turned to coal.
“You knew—this whole time—about Steven’s and my—” She whispered the next word,baby. Her good hand fell to her belly, as if her baby were still with her, and Daniel’s heart broke for her. “You knew.” Her voice got stronger as anger settled in. “Youknew, and you let me go on and on—I haven’t opened up to anyone about—” Her voice hitched. “And what the hell was that kiss? What do you do? Stalk the most vulnerable patients and see if you can get them into bed?” She was almost screaming now.
