Luke(20)

Hell, yes. "No. No problem."

She sent him a smile from beneath lowered lashes that revealed nothing of her true thoughts. "Then what's the slowdown? You chicken?" she taunted.

Her voice was low, sexy, and he doubted that was intentional. Still, the teasing lightened his own troubled thoughts. "Hell, yeah, I'm chicken. There's a reason I always wear the doctor's coat."

"It'll only take a minute for me to make you feel better, I promise." She pushed him down to his coach and stood over him, her hands on her hips.

His eyes hungrily traveled up the length of her curvy, lush body. "Is it gonna hurt?" he asked, only half kidding.

"Not if you believe."

He nearly swallowed his tongue when she dropped to her knees on the floor beside him, head now level with the part of his body coming to hopeful attention. Complicating matters, she put her hand on his thigh.

From her shockingly innocent yet unbearably erotic position, with her hair brushing his knee, she smiled. "Put your hand on your thigh," she instructed. "Palm up."

"Uh…" He was getting more intelligent by the moment.

"Just try it," she said in that voice that brought to mind hot, wild sex on silk sheets by moonlight. Just try it. He set his hand as directed on his thigh.

"Close your eyes."

"Faith—"

"Close 'em, doc."

At least she'd left off the Universe endearment. Slowly, feeling … strangely aware, he closed his eyes.

After a heartbeat, her finger ran over his, lightly, and he relaxed.

"Good," she whispered. "Let go. Let it all go."

Her voice was hypnotic, and he loosened up even more. Then, suddenly, he felt a pinch in the fleshy part of his hand between his thumb and pointer finger, and his eyes flew open. "Ouch!"

Faith shook her head and laughed. "Oh, please. I barely squeezed." She held the pressure steadily, her eyes holding his. "Let out your breath," she demanded softly, "Don't stop breathing… What do you feel?"

He felt her hands on his. He felt her soft breath on his arm, he felt her breast pressing into his leg, and suddenly he couldn't remember what she'd asked, though she was clearly waiting on an answer. "Um … what?"

She lifted a brow. "Is the pain eased?"

The dull throbbing in his head was indeed eased and he blinked in confusion.

She laughed. Just tossed her head back and laughed, the sound full and throaty, and so damned sexy he nearly tumbled himself down on the floor to be right next to her.

"Oh, Luke. If you could see your face." She was still grinning. "Such shock. What's the matter, you've never eased an ache without a little pill?"

"All you did was use a pressure point."

"Well, give the man an A plus. And welcome to acupressure, an alternative and effective way of healing." She shifted, preparing to stand, but for just a flash, a very dizzy flash, she stayed on her knees practically between his, a hand braced on his thigh, and all the blood in his head drained. A sound escaped him, one that sounded rough and … needy.

Suddenly wide-eyed, she stared at him. Licked her lips in a nervous, artless gesture that made him groan.

Startled at the second sound ripped from his throat, she went to move away, but he grabbed her wrist, halting her exit.

Her hand came up between them for balance, pressing against his chest, and for a long moment they just looked at each other. Slowly, he took her hands and linked their fingers, then moved their joined hands to the small of her back. Nudging her forward, into the V of his spread legs, into his hips, he let out another groan.

She relaxed her stiff body against his, and sighed. With pleasure? God, he wished he knew, because he was dying of it. With a purely physical response, he rocked against her.

A little sound escaped her now, one that managed to perfectly convey her bewildered arousal. Her fingers curled into his.

Then suddenly she stood, and he was staring at her nicely rounded ass as she moved away, toward the door.

"Faith? Where are you going?"

"Home.

"But…" Rising, he moved after her, and caught her at the door. "You never said why you came."

She nibbled on her lower lip, that nervous little gesture he found fascinating. "I wanted to thank you for the other night. You were being so kind and I…"

"Was being grumpy?"

That coaxed out a smile. "Yeah."

"You feel better?"

"I do."

They stood staring at each other for a long, awkward beat. Slowly Luke shook his head. "What?" Faith whispered.

He laughed. "Half the time you drive me out of my living mind, you know that? I mean we think so differently, we work differently, we do everything differently."

"And … the other half of the time?"

Shaking his head, he lifted a hand and traced her jaw. "The other half of the time you still drive me out of my living mind, but … not necessarily with irritation."

"Yeah, well, it's that other half we need to be careful of." She stepped back so that his hand fell away from her soft skin. "And that's the half we need to get over."

"Right."

She reached behind her for the door handle. With no little amount of wariness, she met his gaze. "I know why I need to get over it, but I was wondering … about you. Is it because I'm not an M.D.?"