Tierney blinked into the sun as she pushed through the heavy doors of the hospital ambulance bay. She'd been working six hours straight, a rush on the emergency room, and at some point, it had become daylight. She took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. She didn't have long, and she had to grab a bite to eat, too. But sometimes, it was nice to remember it wasn't always dark.
Plodding back through the corridors, she headed for the break room and the refrigerator where she's stored the salad she'd brought but stopped in the doorway, considering turning around and disappearing back into the grind. Joey stood there, doctoring up some coffee, those deft hands catching her attention as much as the perfect swell of ass that even loose scrubs couldn't hide. She was exhausted, and if he turned that movie star smile on her with his mussed dark hair and sparkling green eyes, she probably wouldn't have the strength to hold it together.
It was bad enough in the emergency room, sometimes elbows deep in blood and tenuous threads of life to save. His confidence was distracting, and the looks to match sometimes had Tierney using every ounce of willpower she had to focus on the job at hand. But here, where there was nothing else going on, she tended to stumble over her words and have no better than awkward, halted conversation with the man.
"Hey, Tierney. Catching a breather?"
Dammit, she'd stood there, admiring him too long. He stood, leaning against the counter with his coffee in hand, looking at her like she was a medium rare steak fresh off the grill. She didn't know how he could make her insides melt like this. It was like the minute he met her eyes, she couldn't think of anything but stripping down and begging him to take her right there on the table, no matter who might walk in on them.
Clearing her throat and trying to maintain some dignity, she forced a smile. "Finally. What about you?"
He held up his cup. "Decaf. I'm taking two for a power nap, then I'm back on for another twelve."
"You should get to it, then," she told him, hoping that would end the conversation and then she could have her embarrassing fantasies in private.
"Why don't you grab a cup and walk with me?" Joey made it sound like a casual suggestion, but something in his demeanor made it the sort of command that came from Dr. Joseph Long in the ER. Tierney didn't think he'd take no for an answer, and she wondered nervously what he wanted to talk to her about.
"Sure," she said with a shrug. She could pretend not to be so overwhelmed by him, right? Except her hands shook as she poured the coffee and added creamer. If he noticed, he didn't say anything, though he watched her every move like a hawk. And as they left the break room, his movements were just as refined and graceful. She knew he was still working towards his surgical, and he'd be amazing, with his precision and ease of movement.
"I'm moving into a new house this weekend," he said, drawing her out of her thoughts. "My brother's throwing me a housewarming party next weekend and told me to invite whoever I wanted. I hoped you might come."
Tierney looked up at him in surprise. They hadn't really spent much time together. She assumed that meant he was inviting most of the ER staff. When she didn't answer right away, he added, "I'm not having a lot of people over. I don't really like a lot of people, to be honest." He chuckled a little.
That made her raise an eyebrow at him. "And yet, you're a doctor."
"I don't want people to die, but I don't necessarily want to be best friends with them," he winked, pushing open the door to an empty sleep room. Tierney hesitated, then entered, noting that he locked the door behind them. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, and she stared at him, trying to calm herself. "Come on, Tierney. You have to know I have more interest in you than just medical practice. And you blow me off constantly."
"I..." she stammered, but she couldn't think what to say as he took a step toward her.
"The way I see it," he said, reaching out to play with a tendril of her hair, "you either really can't stand me, which means that you're going to start screaming at me in a minute, or you want me as badly as I want you, and I'm about to rock your world."
Shocked, Tierney let the words sink in, and her lips parted as a moan escaped. Maybe she'd tripped and hit her head during her break and was imagining all of this. But somehow, she didn't think so as his warm breath fell across her cheek with the scent of coffee and chocolate and something masculine and almost heathenistic.
