her hands to herself.
She wouldn’t risk waking him. No way did she want to see the disappointment that would dawn in his eyes when he realized what they’d done, who he’d spent his night with.
Then again, spending the night with a woman was no big deal for Ty. Just because it was something she never did, it didn’t make their night out of the ordinary for him.
To Ty, she was just another of a long string of women he’d made love to.
Had sex with.
Sure, with the way his hands and mouth had worshipped her body, she’d felt like she’d been made love to. But she wasn’t so naive as to not realize the truth.
Somehow she managed to get out of the bed without waking him. Desperate for a fast escape, she snatched a pair of way-too-big drawstring running shorts and a T-shirt from the floor, gathered her gown and clothing.
Her heart pounded faster, harder. So loud she couldn’t believe Ty didn’t wake. Maybe he only faked sleep because he didn’t want to face her any more than she wanted to face him. Maybe he wished she’d hurry and get out of his apartment.
The muscles in her chest tightened, squeezing her rib cage almost painfully. Her hands sweated so badly that she almost dropped her clothes.
She sucked in one last breath, storing the vision of the sheet draped low on his waist to memory, knowing that seeing him like this, his beautiful body relaxed and completely loved by her, would never happen again.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Oh, hell! Her heart pounding, Eleanor desperately dug in her purse for her cell phone, which was obviously still on vibration only. In the silence of the room the buzz sounded as if it should register on the Richter scale. She almost clicked the phone silent, then realized that the only calls she ever got in the early-morning hours were emergency calls. Her heart pounded all the harder.
“No need to leave the room,” a sleepy-sounding Ty drawled from behind her, causing her to freeze halfway to the door. “I’m awake.”
Eleanor’s pulse thrummed in her ears as she answered and listened to the caller. “I’ll be right there.”
She clicked her cell phone off. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned to face him, dreading whatever she might see on his face in the early-morning light.
“Mornin’, darlin’,” he surprised her by drawling, his gaze taking her in as he scooted up in the bed. The bedsheet rode even lower on his hips, barely covering his impressive bottom half. His very impressive upper half shamed the six-pack fantasy she’d had of him. He patted the bed, motioning for her to climb in next to him. “From your end of the conversation, I figure that was the hospital. Before you go, give me a proper good-morning kiss.”
A proper good-morning kiss? As if she even knew what that was.
In her mind, she tossed everything she held on the floor and dived back into bed with him, smashed her lips to his, rubbed her body all over his until he gave her a proper good-morning everything.
But, um, she couldn’t do that.
So she cleared her throat and wished like crazy that she’d not lingered quite so long taking in how beautiful he was. Whereas he was gorgeous in the early-morning light, she imagined her hair was wild, her eyes puffy from lack of sleep, makeup smudged from not having been removed, and how sexy could she possibly be standing there in his too-big clothes?
She was just plain, ordinary Eleanor Aston, nothing like the glamorous women he was used to who probably gave him glorious mornings-after.
Breathing got more and more difficult. Her palms grew more and more clammy.
Oh, yeah, she really just wanted to click her heels together and be far, far away from Ty Donaldson and all memories of the night they’d shared.
Ty stretched his arms over his head, enjoying the light ache in his muscles from the night’s activities.
The night’s very enjoyable, rather vigorous activities with the siren standing in his bedroom.
Wearing his gym shorts and T-shirt.
Holding her dress, shoes, purse and phone.
Looking like a deer caught in headlights.
The happiness within him dwindled.
“You were leaving, weren’t you?”
Her wide eyes and guilty face answered before her stuttering lips did. “I—I need to go to the hospital.”
He shook his head, anger replacing every good feeling he’d awakened with. “Really? You were just going to sneak out without so much as ‘Thank you, Ty’?”
“I …” She glanced down, took a deep breath. “Thank you, Ty.”
His jaw clenched. “For?”
She shrugged. “What is it you want me to say?”
That she’d enjoyed last night as much as he had. That she hadn’t been going to creep out of his apartment without waking him. That what she’d really like was a repetition of how they’d spent the night, that she’d felt all the things he had.
Because even as angry as he was, just looking at her, at seeing how his T-shirt stretched over those amazing breasts of hers, at seeing the long span of her legs beneath his running shorts, he wanted her. Wanted to pull her back into the bed beside him and kiss her until she was breathless, make love to her until she cried out his name and begged him for more.
Until sneaking out of his house while he slept off the effects of their night together would be the last thing she’d ever consider doing.
He ran his hands through his hair, took a deep breath. “Ellie.”
Her weight shifted, drawing his attention to her bare feet. He’d kissed those feet, massaged them and worked his way up her calves and …
“Look, Ty,” she began, wincing when his gaze lifted to hers. “I—I have to get to the hospital. One of my patients coded and they couldn’t revive her. The family wasn’t there, but they’ve been called and asked to come to the hospital. I need to be the one to tell them.”
Ty nodded. As frustrating as he found her leaving without them talking, he understood. He’d feel the same.
As if his thought conjured a call of his own, Ty’s phone rang. The hospital. If not for the seriousness that would have prompted the call, he’d have laughed.
He took the call then clicked off his phone.
“There’s been a multicar wreck in one of the tunnels. Multiple injuries, at least two of which are infants and another’s a pregnant woman. Looks as if you aren’t the only one who has to head to the hospital. Let me grab some scrubs for both of us and we’ll share a cab.”
Eleanor stepped to the curb as the taxi Ty had hailed came to a screeching halt.
He opened the cab door and waited for her to step in. He’d barely said two words
