He cleared his throat and Madison tried again, finally sliding her fingers into the pocket of his loose cargo shorts.
She pulled out his keys, pressed the unlock button twice, and sighed in relief at the resounding click of the lock.
“You can put me down now.” Or hold me for ever, your choice. No, not for ever, that didn’t fit with her new never-have-her-heart-broken again persona. Just for however long the fun lasted. Yep, that was better.
“I know.”
But he didn’t until he’d maneuvered the door open. And had that been her imagination or had Levi’s voice sounded hoarse? As if maybe she wasn’t the only one affected by his arms around her, by how close her entire body was to his.
Just how long had she gone without oxygen anyway? Maybe she’d suffered brain damage and just didn’t know it.
“Feeling okay?” He gently settled her in the passenger seat. “No light-headedness or dizziness? Shortness of breath?”
Only from you holding me. She rolled her eyes, determined to get her thoughts under control, to focus on her promise to herself to never again be made a fool of, to never again feel as if her entire world had come crumbling down around her.
“I choked on an ice cube.” Because she’d been ogling him. “I’m fine. Really.”
He reached across her, secured her seat belt into place, his arm grazing across her breasts, sending shockwaves of tingles through her.
“You’re a tiny little thing,” he pointed out, sounding a bit breathy himself, “and I did the Heimlich maneuver on you.”
She could think of a few other maneuvers he could do on her.
No. Thoughts like those were what had gotten her into this mess to begin with. Thoughts that had blasted off with his very buff body working up a sweat during the softball game earlier.
After the game, she’d still been distracted by his lean physique, by the sinewy calves on display. She’d never seen him in anything other than scrubs or dressed casually. She’d never seen his bare legs, that was for sure.
Oh, baby, she was a legs woman, if there was even such a thing. But surely if there could be legs men, there could be women with preferences for certain body parts. As of the moment she’d set eyes on Levi’s calves, she was most certainly a legs woman.
Or maybe she was a butt woman.
He certainly did it for her there, too. Nice, tight, squeezable. Oh, yeah, she was a nice tush and legs woman.
And eyes. Those dark chocolate eyes…she was certainly into those, too.
And pathetic.
Had she mentioned how pathetic she was?
She’d never reacted to the opposite sex this way. So physically. Not even to Simon. Maybe it was all the pep talks she’d given herself about her new playgirl persona, all the books and tapes about becoming the modern woman. Wasn’t that why she’d relocated? To start over? To not be goody-two-shoes Madison Swanson any more? So why was she mooning over the first guy she’d set her sights on? Why hadn’t she flicked her fingers and said a resounding “Next”?
CHAPTER TWO
YEP, Madison was definitely pathetic where Levi was concerned and obviously hadn’t learned a single thing from past mistakes.
And obviously was failing miserably at getting her thoughts under control. That much did seem to have morphed into playgirl persona. Because never ever had her hormones been so…so…omnipresent.
Levi slid into the driver’s seat, closed the door, and started the engine.
Without glancing his way, Madison winced. What was wrong with her? Sure, she’d decided to be a playgirl, but that hadn’t prepared her for her reaction to Levi. Not even during the peak of her relationship with Simon had she felt such inner need.
After years of wondering what all the fuss was about, she’d gotten a crash course when Levi had called her into a mutual patient’s hospital room on her second day on the job. She’d rushed into the room, worried she’d done something wrong. Instead, Levi had smiled at her and short-circuited her internal networking.
From where he expertly steered the vehicle, he shot her a quick glance. “You okay over there? You’re too quiet. Makes me wonder what’s going on in that sharp mind of yours.”
Ha, if he only knew what was racing around in her head he’d run far, far away. Thank goodness he didn’t know.
No, that probably wasn’t true.
Levi probably knew every woman wanted him, had wanted him since he’d been old enough to crook his little finger at the opposite sex. He had that kind of personality, that kind of looks. No doubt he expected every woman to fall under the lethalness of his smile and sinfully dark chocolate eyes.
What woman could resist chocolate?
No matter how much she’d tried, she’d not been able to put him out of her mind. Since moving to Angel Creek, Levi had monopolized her dreams, her thoughts.
Good thing she’d thrown so many barriers around her heart. Otherwise her cookie would really be in a crumble because she wanted Levi in ways she’d never wanted Simon.
And Simon had wanted her in return.
In the beginning, at any rate.
Leaning against the headrest, she stared out the windshield. “This isn’t necessary, you know.”
“You’re not hurting anywhere?”
“Only my pride.” Okay, so her chest hurt when she took a deep breath, but she’d live. What was a little pain in comparison to being alive? To having been in Levi’s arms?
“Seriously.” He cut his scrumptious eyes toward her again. “Choking isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”
“Easy for you to say,” she scoffed. “Whereas I played the damsel in distress, you got to be the hero of the day.” Despite the ache in her chest—or maybe because of the much stronger ache pounding behind her ribcage—she smiled at him. “Lucky you.”
“That’s me. A regular knight in shining armor.”
“Right.” What was it about the man that turned her brain into such mush? Not to mention the rest of her ooey-gooey self?
“Well,” he intoned, his eyes straight ahead, “if it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t feeling heroic.”
“You weren’t?” That surprised her. She’d imagine a man like Levi often played the role of hero, saving lives and slaying dragons. “What were you feeling?”
“Scared witless,” he answered, so quickly that she knew he was telling the truth. He’d hidden it well. Or maybe she’d been too distracted by lack of oxygen and his arms
