Private Practice

chapter Four


Ellie tugged the last stitch free and ran the pad of her thumb down the slightly raised seam of the healing wound. Even under the bright, florescent exam room light, she could barely see where the stitches had been. “This is healing beautifully. You’ll only have a faint scar.” She resisted a completely unprofessional urge to run her hand over his entire butt. There was absolutely no medically valid reason for a tactile exam of his glutes.

“That’s a big relief, Doc,” Tyler drawled. “I’m real vain about that cheek.”

She rolled her stool back a couple feet to signal she was done. “Well then, you might try keeping it out of Junior’s line of fire.”

“That’s my plan.” He buttoned his jeans, then turned to face her and leaned back against the exam table. “Thanks for fitting me in so late in the day.”

“No problem.” Goodness, he was tall. True, at five-three, almost everybody topped her, but Tyler towered over her. Plus, he had those wide shoulders, and…was it her imagination, or did the exam room suddenly seem claustrophobically tiny? She stood and backed to the other side, where his chart lay on the top of a stainless steel cabinet. “I know you wanted to keep this little incident on the down-low, so having you come by after Melody left for the day struck me as a good idea.”

“That was nice of you, hiring Melody. I’m sure she can use the change of scenery about now.”

“Actually, she’s the nice one. I’m getting an organized, detail-oriented office manager for a fraction of what an established practice would pay her. I’m, like, her charity project.”

“Okay, see how you turned my praise around and aimed it at Melody? That’s nice. Add it to kindly digging a bullet out of my ass at two in the morning and not calling the cops on Junior. I don’t know”—he aimed his sexy smile at her—“you may have to face the fact that you’re a nice person.”

“We came to an arrangement on the not calling the cops thing.”

“Gonna hold me to that, are you?”

She couldn’t guess whether he was teasing her or looking to back out. Defeated by his inscrutability, she exhaled and admitted, “No. I’m not. What I said Friday night still stands. If you’re not into this, let’s forget the whole deal.”

The sexy smile shifted into the bad-boy grin she remembered from years ago. “Oh, I’m into it. Don’t you worry.”

She scribbled a note in his chart and told her pulse to stop fluttering. Before she could respond, his expression sobered. “I am grateful to you, though. Thank you for taking care of me and being discreet. Junior also sends his thanks and apologies. He wanted me to tell you he gave his gun to his granddad. Figured he didn’t need to be driving around with a firearm handy.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad Junior got rid of the gun.”

“Me, too. So”—he inclined his head toward the chart—“am I cleared for class?”

Restless butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She glanced at him from under her lashes. “Yes.”

Two Longfoot strides brought them toe to toe. He simply stared at her for a moment, then raised his hand and swept her hair behind her shoulder. “All right, then. A deal’s a deal. Lesson one, Friday at seven. I’ll come to you.”

She swallowed, nearly choking on her own spit when his strong, capable fingers unerringly found the tight muscles at the base of her neck and began kneading. Reminding herself this was her idea, she nodded. “Okay. I’ll figure out the lesson plan.”

“You do that, Doc. In the meantime…pop quiz.”

“Huh—” That’s as far as she got before Tyler’s mouth settled on hers. Such a small contact, but once again, it generated instant, addictive heat. She gasped when his tongue traced the sensitive curve of her upper lip. The move melted her bones. She leaned into his strong, warm body for support. His hands cruised up her back, and the calm, logical voice deep inside her mind clicked off. “Yes!” flashed behind her eyelids in big, neon letters.

With no oversight whatsoever from her brain, her hands dove into his hair and held on, held his amazing, devastating mouth still on hers. A low, needy cry echoed from somewhere in the tile-and-steel exam room. Belatedly, she realized the inarticulate plea emanated from her.

Apparently Tyler understood, because he cupped the back of her head in his big hand and sent his tongue on a deluxe tour of her mouth. Each touch, slide, or deep, penetrating exploration shot staggering sensations to every pulse point in her body. Those unsuspecting destinations sat up and took notice. Her nipples contracted and her bra suddenly felt way too small for her nowhere-close-to-double-D breasts. Tension coiled low in her abdomen. She fought the urge to rub her thighs together to relieve the pressure building there.

Somehow, miraculously, he knew about the pressure. He slid one big, muscular thigh between hers, grabbed her backside, and hauled her against him. She practically whimpered with gratitude.

“Hey, Ellie, have you seen my…whoops!” Melody’s voice reverberated in the silence.

Ellie broke away, shaken to the core by the unexpected interruption and her reaction to his kiss. No kisses had swept her away like Tyler’s. Ever. Had he felt the same intense…heck, she didn’t know what to call it…jolt of awareness, sensory recognition, bone-deep need?

Hard to say. His expression revealed only lazy amusement as he loosened his hold and let her slide slowly down his body, releasing her a few beats after her feet met the floor. Something mischievous flickered in his eyes and she immediately marched herself into a mental cold shower.

“I’m so sorry,” Melody said, sounding more intrigued than apologetic. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

“No problem, Mel,” Tyler replied, completely unfazed. “I was just heading out. See you Friday, Ellie.” With a final, unnervingly knowing look, he walked out of the exam room.

Melody managed to hold her tongue until the main door closed, but not a second more. “Why, Sparky Swann!”

“What?” Ellie smoothed her hair and tried to act unruffled, but damp panties and perky nipples didn’t do much for her acting abilities. Her body reacted to his skill—nothing more. Researchers could probably explain how the combination of thick black hair, riveting green eyes, and a slow, confident smile provoked some cascade of estrogen designed to fool the female mind into confusing a simple kiss with a merging of souls.

“What do you mean, what? You’re not back in Bluelick a month and I find you making out after hours with big, bad Tyler Longfoot.” She folded her arms across her chest. “How long has this been going on?”

“Is it hot in here?” Ellie fiddled with the neckline of her blue-and-white-striped top, and then, still stalling, brushed her palms over her white linen pants. “There’s nothing going on. It’s not what you think. He’s just…” Lord, how was she supposed to explain this? “He’s assisting me with a personal project.”

Melody grinned. “Uh-huh, right. You couldn’t find your tonsils so he stopped by to help you look for them. Search to be continued this Friday. If you want my advice, you should have him hunt for something really important, like your G-spot.”

“Ha ha.” Melody’s teasing struck a little too close to home. “Somehow, during all the years we spent as classmates, I never noticed your smart mouth before.”

“You were blinded by my good looks. But don’t worry, Ellie.” Melody’s playful smile straightened. “I know how to keep things to myself. As far as I’m concerned, people’s personal lives are theirs to advertise or keep in confidence as they see fit. Nobody’s going to hear a word about you and Tyler from me.”

Determined to downplay the episode, Ellie scooted past Melody. “That’s a relief, considering there’s nothing to tell.”

“Oh, now, I don’t know about that. What I saw just saw between you and Tyler looked like a whole lot more than nothing.”