When Anna pulled the metal door shut behind her, Victoria looked up from where she was crouched down, her eyes wide and frenetic with her panic. “An… Dr. Monroe.”
“Dr. Ellis.” Anna knelt to get to her level and reached out to unwrap Victoria’s arms from where they encircled her ribcage like a corset. She took Victoria’s hands in hers and gently squeezed. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
“It was… so much.” The words emerged haltingly, as if being squeezed out of a toothpaste tube. “The skin… it kept… it justcame off… the pain, I can’t… it must have…”
“They would not have felt anything while you were working,” Anna soothed. “There’s anesthetic. They’ll have their pain controlled when they wake up.”
“But they… they won’t…” Tears welled up in Victoria’s eyes. “We couldn’t… I tried, I held her heart… I…” The words grew more squeezed, as if her throat was closing up. Anna used one hand to brush a lock of hair back out of Victoria’s face. “It stopped, and I couldn’t… she wouldn’t… her heart…”
“It’s okay, Dr. Ellis. It’s okay. I know you did all you could.” Anna kept her voice soothing even as her heart broke at the pain she could hear in Victoria’s voice.
Victoria’s breath hitched, then wheezed. “I can’t… I… my… breath… air.”
“Remember, we talked about this. Are you safe? Can you tell yourself you’re safe?”
“I’m… I…” Her eyes were wild, darting around, not making contact with Anna’s.
Anna could only keep talking. “We’ll do the counting exercise. Remember it? Tell me about five things you can see, Dr. Ellis.”
“I…”
“Tell me.”
Victoria swallowed hard. “I see…” She looked around. “The handrail of the stairs. The door behind you.”
“Keep going,” Anna encouraged.
“The floor is made up of that odd terrazzo tile,” Victoria said, looking down at their feet. “I can see your terrible green ballet flats.”
Anna swallowed a laugh. “One more.”
“I see your face,” Victoria said quietly, looking up, and this time her gaze was unwavering.
“Tell me about four things you can touch,” Anna whispered, not tearing her eyes away.
“Your hands.” Victoria’s hand crept up along Anna’s arm. “Your soft sweater.” Her fingers kept moving upward, brushing over the gold chain around Anna’s throat. “Your chain, it’s warm because you’re wearing it.” Her hand lightly swept over Anna’s hair. “Your hair, it’s a mess.”
Desire, concern, a feeling of wariness twisted in her stomach. “Three things you can hear.”
“The bells on the lifts.” Two chimed outside the stairwell door, one after another. “People talking.” Victoria stood up and brought Anna up with her. “Your voice, guiding me to safety.”
It was so hard to get the words out now. “Two things you can smell,” Anna commanded in a whisper.
“Floor cleaner.” Victoria grabbed Anna’s hands and pulled her in close. “Your perfume, the roses and the spice.” She leaned forward so that Anna could feel her breath hot against the curve of her ear. “And now, one thing I can taste.”
Her hands cupped Anna’s head and tilted her chin up, her graceful and strong fingers overlapping at the nape of Anna’s neck. The kiss was a jolt from Anna’s lips down to her toes, a lightning strike, a forest fire. Victoria’s lips were warm and mobile, her tongue gentle as it darted over Anna’s mouth and probed, parting Anna’s lips so she could dive inside and explore. Soft, wet heat, teeth that nipped and tugged, a flood of desire and a hand trailing down Anna’s back and pulling her tight in?—
Anna gasped and jumped back as Victoria’s hand came down and squeezed her ass in one firm and commanding motion. It took everything she had to wrench herself free and back up towards the door when what she desperately wanted was for Victoria to keep going.
But—“We can’t. I can’t,” she babbled out, backing up and groping around behind her for the door handle. “Dr. Ellis?—”
“Victoria,” the surgeon said, her voice quiet but firm. “I think we’re beyond honorifics now.”
But Anna couldn’t. “This shouldn’t have…”
“But it did.”
“We can’t,” Anna pleaded.
