Shit.
Samuel hooked her wrist and tugged her forward. “Let’s just get this over with.”
She kept her head down and dodged the boxes, shelves, and advertising signs that littered the narrow view at her feet.
“You’re lucky he’s still here. He’s usually gone by now. Moved to the next drop zone.”
Shauna swallowed. Right. Him. The man she’d come to see. No longer the frat house overseer or the model neighbor boy but the elusive miracle worker, Adrian Sands. Shauna caught word of him not long after she dropped out of college for cosmetology.
The tiniest of patients at Primary Children’s Burn Unit had been making recoveries beyond medical explanation. The staff was sworn to secrecy, but it’s apparently inhuman for people to
actually
keep a secret. Word got out and the entire nation turned their microscope on Utah and Adrian, the local researcher, who had flipped the medical community upside-down.
Of course, the pimple-ridden debutants and wrinkle-fearing celebrities were the first to swarm. But the moment Adrian Sands’ name came out, he disappeared.
If he could reverse the effects of charred skin and cooked muscle, maybe he could help with her own high-temperature affliction. Before time ran out.
Her mind whirred to a different memory from the SigEp party. Those few hours later seemed a lifetime away from flat drinks and staircase brawls. Where pained screams and ambulance sirens drowned out the thumping music and the smell of burnt bodies would forever brand her soul.
Shauna shook the memory from her head. She couldn’t think about that. She had been a survivor, not a victim, and she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone. With a little luck from Adrian, it would never happen again. She could fall apart later, but for now—focus.
Classic rock swarmed Shauna’s paper bag as she entered some sort of concrete clearing and the toasted smell of spice and frankincense invaded her nose. A
clink
of glasses came from somewhere on her right, followed by a muttered curse and shifting steps. Her stomach twisted. Only one person in the room, as far as she could tell, and Shauna had a pretty good idea of whom.
“What is it, Sam?” His mellow baritone held that same gruff edge. Shauna’s heart recognized it and chimed off an erratic response.
Oh, come on
. She tried to quell the giddy tension in her chest. He might be a medical icon, and sexy as hell, but the guy was still a guy. A small-town guy—regardless of where he’d been the last ten years. He took off his pants the same as everyone else, one leg at a time.
A metal
click
would sound as he loosened his belt, followed by a snap of leather that cut through the room as he pulled it free. Then the quick and deliberate grate of his zipper. The image of tanned, muscle-corded thighs, and a prominent male appendage appeared as he shoved his jeans down, a motion that was all authority and purpose. Each deliberate step forward would cause his erect cock to nod an upward beat. The tempo, a lurid promise of the power it could deliver. One full, heavy thrust at a time.
The heat turned up inside her paper bag.
This time it had nothing to do with her unwanted defensive mechanism.
Shauna squeezed her eyes shut. Puts
on
his pants. That’s how the saying went.
How fair was this? The mere sound of his voice sent her mind on a hasty jailbreak. It fled east of Beef Cake Street and promptly snapped its chain. Gone.
She could never evoke that kind of response from Adrian.
Not that it would hurt to try. If it took pulling out every dirty trick in her girly arsenal, she’d do it. With her fiancé, Richard, pushing the celibacy issue on an almost a daily basis, and her wedding night looming in just three months’ time, she had to persuade him in any way possible to cure her problem.
She cleared her throat, the sound more timid than she wanted. She tried again, louder this time, guessing she still hadn’t claimed his full attention.
Adrian always functioned with a singular focus. To divert him would be next to impossible. Even if a naked cancan dancer high-kicked through the room, he wouldn’t look up. Not to mention, Shauna wasn’t a dancer.
And she had a bag on her head.
“Adrian—” she started.
“You don’t talk.” Samuel whispered. His voice turned in Adrian’s direction. “Hey, big guy.”
“Hey yourself…and who’s that?” Adrian asked his voice rather flat and unaffected.
“Sort of a special request.” Samuel strained his words in a sly undertone. She could just imagine his arms splayed out like a swarthy magician. Or a
Price is Right
model.
The price was a little high to be truthful.
The noncommittal grunt that came from Adrian seemed less than fascinated with Samuel’s mystical introduction.
“And I know how you enjoy a challenge,” Samuel prodded.
Adrian’s response came sporadically as the shift of boxes and shuffling feet continued. “I think you have me confused…with you.”
Shauna’s frustration percolated under the bag. He was shutting her down. She pushed out a huff of annoyance. “Can I take this off now?”
“No,” the boys answered in unison.
Shauna paused. How about that. A reaction. Not exactly the one she’d hoped for, but a good start. “This isn’t fair. How can you fully consider my case without putting a face to it?”
“You want a face?” Samuel asked.
Shauna heard a pop. “What—”
“Hold still.” Samuel snared her chin and held her there amid the panicked crinkle of brown paper.
She shoved at his hand and thrust her head back. “Stop it.” The sound came out more annoyed than panicked. Like some unfortunate pet that fought the sweater and lost. She couldn’t escape the assaulting smell of ink, in the form of two scribble marks for her eyes and the curvy line of what must have been her mouth.
“Here ya go…there,” Samuel sounded a little too satisfied for his own good. He stepped back.
Adrian’s voice held only passive dismissal. “I don’t think she’s smiling under there.”
“Trust me, this is better… On second thought, her frown is kinda sexy.” Samuel seemed to contemplate. “Maybe if I—”
Shauna put up her hands when Samuel neared again. “You touch me with that marker, and I’ll scream.”
Shauna could hear the grin in his voice. “Fine…be ornery then. But just so you know, you’re smiling on the outside.”
The paper bag crinkled as Shauna planted her fist on her hip. “Okay, that’s it. Are you going to hear my case or not?”
“No.”
“No?” Her breath caught in a futile attempt for an explanation, a point to argue, something! He had to treat her. He just had to.
“Believe it or not, princess, you’re going to hear that word a lot in your young life. Get used to it,” Adrian said.
Princess?
Shauna’s anger sparked. “Just who the hell do you think I am?”
Adrian paused between the scrape of boxes. His voice returned even more distracted than before. “Ugh…Strawberry shortcake?”
Shauna’s shoulders dropped in their sockets. Well, at least he noticed the outfit.
“But you don’t even know what you’re treating her for yet,” Samuel complained.
The bag crinkled as Shauna turned in Samuel’s direction. She paused. Since when had he been on her side?
“I’m busy enough as it is. If you want this serum finished by tomorrow…” Adrian countered.
“You finished it three hours ago. Now you’re just farting around.”
The reassuring weight of Samuel’s hands rested on her shoulders.
“Dude, this one’s special.”
“Aren’t they
all
special?” Adrian drawled. “Really, you might want to focus on getting rid of your old flames before you build new ones.”
“What can I say? Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none—” Samuel seemed to stop short. “Okay. Sorry.” He leaned toward Shauna and funneled quick words near her paper barrier. “Just a note, he doesn’t like Shakespeare.”
“I get lonely,” Samuel tried again. “The serum will take care of flame number one. I’m just lining up my rebound. No harm in that.”
“I’m not your rebound,” Shauna muttered. “You wanna see flames? I’ll show you freaking flames.” Despite Samuel’s…revolting yet honorable efforts, the value of Shauna’s situation dripped away, one millisecond at a time. Any moment Adrian would boot her out.
She lifted her voice. “No one else can help me, and I am not leaving. Take one look at me, Adrian Sands, and tell me you’re not treating me. Say it to my face.”
“I’m not treating you. Though it’s kinda hard to be serious with that look on your um…bag.”
Shauna fisted the paper and the tearing sound silenced the room. “Not good enough. Try again.” When Shauna tossed the bag aside, she found a tight-jawed look of anger altering Adrian’s initial surprise.
Her shoulders set back with victory, just before Samuel stepped in front as if to shield Adrian from some crazed groupie.
Shauna smoothed a hand over her hair and leaned deep to one side to see around Samuel. “You’re not the easiest man to find, by the way.”
Adrian’s chest rippled as he folded his arms, partially obscuring the GNC logo on his chest. He offered a faint, congratulatory nod. “Yet here you are.”
“You’ve been here, this close, the whole time?” Shauna demanded. “How?” The small town seemed to have an impenetrable orbit. No one ever left this place, but somehow she always expected Adrian to be immune to that sort of thing. Miles away on a yacht somewhere. With the public hunting him, how the hell did he manage to stay invisible?
Adrian didn’t respond.
“So, you know each other?” Samuel demanded.
Shauna sent him a bitter grin. “Oh sure! He threw me in
a pond
once.”
Samuel sat back. “Oh. How romantic.”
“I heard about your work at the children’s hospital,” she tried again.
He tipped his head. “We’re not at the hospital, and you’re no child.”
“No.” She lifted a defiant brow. “Far from it, but thanks for finally noticing.”
“You don’t seem to have any burns,” Adrian continued. His attention returned to the canister in front of him.
Samuel shifted to block her on the right. She jockeyed left. “Again, thanks for noticing. But you’re right. My problem’s different.” She shoved at Samuel’s shoulder when he blocked her again. “I’m the one that does the burning.”
“Only not children. I would never do that to a child.” She swallowed. “Just to men.”
“I feel that,” Samuel added. “She is pretty haaawt.”
“I want to get rid of it.”
“Why?” Adrian didn’t look up from the table.
“Because—” Did it really need further explanation? Marriage, children, her
future
. It all depended on him.
“Sammy there doesn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable,” Adrian stated.
Shauna recognized the press of Samuel’s palm, holding her at length. She managed to deflect it with an irritated shove of her hand. “That’s because it’s…it’s a more intimate reaction.”
The glass vial of amber-colored fluid looked so tiny between Adrian’s fingertips as he nestled it into a container of powdered supplements. He twisted the lid with a few agitated flicks of his wrist and tossed it into a box. “Well, whatever it is, it’s not life threatening. I’m sure you can work around it.”
Samuel’s voice grew with enthusiasm. “Yeah…we can experiment a little.”
A squeal rang out as Adrian swiped a packing tape dispenser across the box. “You’re too busy for any more experiments.” Adrian threw the box with a sharp flick of his wrist. The basketball-sized parcel shot end over end in a tight spiral until it collided with Samuel’s torso.
Samuel jostled the box in his fingertips for a moment, then cradled it to chest. “Hey, careful.”
“Stay out of my chocolates from now on.” Adrian turned to leave. “Get her out of here.” That last bit sounded almost like an afterthought.
Shauna’s mouth hinged open with offense. He had forgotten about her before she’d even left.
Samuel gave her a once-over. He offered an apologetic shrug, and motioned a hand towards the exit. “Better luck next time I guess. Oh, and by the way, no refunds.”
How could he do that? How could Adrian just dismiss her like that?
“I don’t have time for this,” she pleaded.
Adrian’s snide tone echoed through the hall. “Late for a nail appointment?”
She glanced around the room for something to throw at the back of
his perfectly groomed head. There, on the table, amid a scattering of dark business cards, she spied an apothecary jar full of brightly wrapped chocolates and rushed for it.
She attempted to lift the jar. The weight of it told her she’d never be able to throw far enough to make contact. What were these things made of? Solid lead? She lifted the lid, ready to fire a fist full of chocolate projectiles. The glass clinked.
The sound seemed to stop Adrian in mid-retreat down the hall. He returned.
Her gaze zeroed in on his chest. Center mass. Even better.
“Take two,” Samuel whispered.
“They’re not for her.” An ember of warning seemed to glow in the depths his voice. It was little, but it was there, and something about that tone itched at Shauna’s naughty side.
Adrian started toward her.
Samuel looked to Adrian and back to Shauna. His voice grew in urgency. “You’ll probably need two. And one for me. Okay, so that’s three.”
Shauna’s vision returned to its target and she scooped an entire handful. Loose candies tumbled to the floor on the way to her pocket and snapped near her feet.
Adrian planted both palms on the table that stood between them. He leveled her with a threatening look. “Put those back.”
“Uh—no.”
Adrian tipped his head in challenge.
She shot him a smarmy grin and batted her lashes. “Get used to that word, Poindexter, because I’m not taking it for an answer.”
Chapter Three
That woman.
That adorably stupid, pain-in-the-ass woman.
Agitated steps carried him the length of the darkened GNC store before he met the wall and spun back the way he’d come. Where was he going? Hell, if he knew, but Adrian couldn’t leave. He only had one way out after the gates closed, and
she
was out there. No doubt growling like a pissy kitty because he’d refused her.