Luke(18)

And what his clear look afforded him stopped his heart.

Faith, slumped on the floor.





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Chapter 5


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Luke fumbled for Faith's door. Finding it locked, he stepped back, then charged it with far less brute strength than he could have imagined, the door shuddered open.

She hadn't budged. She had her back to the cabinets, her arms around her drawn-up knees and her head down, and was far too still.

He dropped to his knees beside her. "Faith."

Slowly, as if it hurt to move, she lifted her head. Her face was ashen, and when he cupped her jaw in his shaking hands, she was damp with sweat. "Don't touch me," she said. "I'm getting sick."

He slid his hand through a tangle of long red hair. "The flu?" He stroked her hair from her face, felt her forehead. She was cool, even cold.

"It always happens when I let myself get run down. It's an old virus, and I felt it coming for two weeks. I'm all shaky and dizzy. Damn it."

He might have smiled at her petulant tone, if his heart wasn't still threatening to burst right out of his chest. "You don't have a fever."

"So?"

"So when did you eat last?"

Scowling at him, she pushed him away and made to get up, but he slid his hands to her hips and held her down.

She glared at him.

"Stay." Surging to his feet, he went to her refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He brought it to her. "Drink."

"From the carton?" she asked with such horror he laughed.

"Just a few sips."

"I'd rather have some tea. You don't by any chance know how to make purple coneflower tea?"

"Huh?"

"Echinacea. It's used to boost the immune system, and also as an antibiotic."

Luke just stared at her.

"Oh, never mind." Leaning her head back against the counter, she tipped the carton up and took a swig. He watched a drop escape her lips and glide down her chin, gaining momentum and hitting a breast. For some oddly inappropriate reason, his mouth watered. He swallowed hard. "Still dizzy?"

"Yeah."

"Then keep your eyes open." He kept his gaze on hers. With his hands already on her body, it was the safest route, though it was a little shocking to realize he needed a safe route. "It'll help."

When she shot him a daggered look, he lifted a shoulder. "Hey, once a doctor…" He watched her take another sip of juice, and some color came back into her cheeks Satisfied, he leaned back on his heels and let out a breath. "Well. That was fun."

"Sorry." Leaning back against the counter, she studied the ceiling. "You can give me some room now."

Yeah. Yeah, he probably could. Clearly she didn't want him hovering any more than he wanted to hover, so he scooted back a bit.

Better. Definitely better.

Too bad he couldn't forget the feel of her in his hands, and doubted he would anytime soon.

"Did you break my door?"

"Easily. Christ, Faith, anyone could break in here."

"Well, lucky for me, no one but you wanted to." Staggering to her feet, she shoved her hair out of her face and sighed. "I feel a little better."

He opened his mouth to say something to that, something pithy he was certain, but she narrowed her eyes on him. "So why are you here?"

"I—" He blinked. Why had he come? He looked into her green, green eyes and tried to remember. "You told the hospital you don't need me anymore."

She stared at him, then let out a low laugh. "And that bothered you? I thought you'd be celebrating."

"Why, Faith?"

"Why? My God, Luke." She scrubbed her hands over her face and finally dropped them to her sides, looking tired, so very tired he had to fight the urge to move close again. To put his hands back on her and—

"Look, I'm not up for this." Still looking a bit too shaky for his comfort, she moved to the open door, and waited expectantly for him to obey her silent command and scram.

"Gee," he said. "I guess we're done talking."

"So done."

"Are you always cranky when you don't eat?"

"I told you, I have a vir—"

"Virus," he said at the same time as her, and shaking his head, he moved to the door and shut it. "So." He leaned into her, and yet again his pulse jumped, and so did hers. He could see it beating furiously at the base of her throat. "Is it really that you don't feel good, or was it the shock of attraction when I touched you?"

Her mouth tightened, but she remained stubbornly mute.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Thought so."

"You are the most egotistical man I've ever met."

"Egotistical?" He let out a rough laugh. "Faith, I put my hands on you in a purely nonsexual way and it jolted me to my toes. Is it 'egotistical' to admit that terrifies me?"

She bit her lower lip, a sexy little gesture that didn't help matters any. "Okay, maybe I felt it, too. A little."

"A little," he repeated. For a reason completely unknown to himself, he stroked her jaw. "What are we going to do about it?"