Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(19)

“I finally just decided to come over here and check for myself,” Steve said. “Besides, I have to leave in ten minutes.”

He’d been worried. He was leaving? Della’s mind spun to keep up with him. It was Monday, he didn’t go to play doctor on Mondays—not that it was really play. Just as she longed to be an FRU agent, Steve longed to be a doctor, a supernatural doctor. Because there weren’t really schools to study supernatural medicine, someone wanting to go into this field had to get a degree in either regular medicine or veterinarian medicine, as well as work under another paranormal doctor. Steve trying to get ahead of the game, assisted the only supernatural doctor in town. “I didn’t see the note. I … was exhausted.”

He ran his hand up and down her forearm. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine.”

His eyes twinkled. “You are fine. I especially like the Smurf pajamas.”

See, there was nothing wrong with Smurf pajamas! Crap! Why was she thinking about that low-life vamp?

“And if that new vamp mentions your pajamas again, I might have to teach him a lesson.”

Why was he thinking about…?

Steve straightened the collar of her PJ top and then leaned down. “I’m the only one who can tease you about what you sleep in, or don’t sleep in.” He wiggled his brows and then went in for a kiss.

She fully intended to push him away, but the moment his lips brushed against hers, she … well, she didn’t do a dad-blasted thing. Hadn’t this been how they’d gotten in trouble on the mission? She’d let him kiss her while in bed, and the next thing she knew their clothes started falling off.

Yup, that’s what happened, and she was going to stop this right now. She put her palm on his chest to give him a good-bye shove. Not hard enough to hurt him, just … Then his hand slipped under her pajama top and his palm eased ever so softly over the naked curve of her waist. Well, maybe she wasn’t going to stop it right now, but for sure before their clothes started …

Just when she really started feeling all tingly, he pulled away, his expression puzzled, his lips a little wet from their kiss. “Are you on your period?”

Her mouth dropped open and she gave his chest a hard thump with her palm. “A guy isn’t supposed to ask a girl that. And if you thought I was going to—”

“No!” He shook his head and chuckled as he sat up. “I didn’t mean … I’m asking as a doctor, not as your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend.”

“Right,” he said, as if he didn’t believe it.

Oh, Lordie, was he her boyfriend? Had she slipped up and let this thing between them get that out of hand?

“Seriously, are you on your period?” he asked.

She frowned at him. “You’re not my doctor, either.”

He shook his head as if she was silly. “Look, sometimes when a female vampire is on her cycle, she runs a slight temperature. You really do feel warmer.” He put his hand on her forehead again.

“I just didn’t get enough sleep,” she said, but then remembered her headache and hearing problems. Could she have some kind of flu?

“Are you on your cycle?” he asked again.

She rolled her eyes and nodded. It wasn’t exactly the truth; she wasn’t due for about three days. She wondered if PMS could mess with her hearing as well.

She sat up and looked at him sitting on the edge of her bed as if he had every right in the world to be here. Then she remembered him saying he was leaving. “Where are you going?”

“To work with Dr. Whitman.”

She shook her head. “But you don’t go on Mondays.”

“I do now. Dr. Whitman asked Holiday if I could come in four days a week instead of three and stay there at night. Half the supernatural clientele comes in after hours. He’s got a room where I can sleep in the back of the clinic.” He studied her expression. “I was going to tell you last night, if you hadn’t run off to play FRU agent.”

It hadn’t been play, Della thought, and then her mind went to Steve and his new schedule.

“What about school?” Della didn’t like the sound of this. She didn’t like that he wouldn’t be around at night when she went out for a run to clear her mind. Then she didn’t like the fact that she didn’t like it. Depending on people got you in trouble. Jeepers! Had she already started depending on him? Face it, with Miranda with Perry and Kylie with Lucas, she’d had some time to fill.

Not that she blamed them … well, she sort of did, but she also understood. When she’d gotten with Lee, she’d basically ignored her friends, too.

“School’s not a big deal,” Steve said. “Before I even came here I tested out of high school.”

“I knew you were a smart … ass,” she said, hoping to hide her emotional upheaval with humor. But bullcrappers if her heart didn’t feel tight at the thought of him being gone.

“Like you’re not smart.” He grinned. “But Holiday is going to make me take some tests every Friday so on the record it shows I went here. It’ll look better on my files when I start college.” He brushed a strand of dark hair from her cheek tenderly. “Are you going to miss me?”

She frowned. Could he read her mind? “No,” she lied.