Chapter 8: Chapter 8

ANNA

My alarm clock is going crazy on my bedside table.

~Ugh.~

I reach out to kill the noise. My head is pounding and my throat is dry. I sit up in my bed as I realize I’m not alone.

Damitry is lying beside me, still fast asleep. He looks so calm and sexy.

~Shit, Anna, you have morning hair—and that breath!~

I jump out of bed, wide awake now. My sudden movement wakes Prince Sexy. He stretches out on my bed.

~Yep, he looks damn sexy.~

He smiles at me while I check him out.

~Morning hair!~

“Shit!” I rush out of my room and head straight for the bathroom. He just lies there laughing at me.

~How can anyone look so good when they just wake up? I mean, his hair is perfect, his smile is gorgeous. Ugh, it’s so not fair.~

After a shower, I head back to my room. He is still lying on my bed, all stretched out, his hands behind his head and that smirk on his face.

~He is so annoyingly sexy.~

“Morning, cupcake,” he says in a low voice.

He is just looking at me, not moving a muscle—but for some reason, it feels like he is touching every inch of my body. He is seducing me with his eyes.

I gulp and clear my throat.

“Morning,” I say in a squeaky voice.

~Wow, really nice, Anna.~

I turn around on my heels and go to my closet.

He chuckles at my motion, stands up, and walks over to me.

I scan through my clothes, trying to focus. I feel his eyes on me and I know he knows that I’m naked under the towel.

“Can you please put your shirt back on?” I ask him over my shoulder without making eye contact.

~I’m so nervous now. Why am I so nervous?~

He starts to laugh. “Why?”

~Ugh, why do you think?~

~You’re making me nervous.”

He moves in closer to me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and nuzzles his nose into my wet hair.

My body starts to react. My eyes fall shut. I tilt my head to one side to give him more room. He starts kissing my neck, and my heart goes crazy.

He slowly turns me around. I open my eyes and meet his gaze. We are so close I can feel his breath on me.

I want to kiss him, but this feels like more than just a kiss and I’m not ready for that yet.

“Damitry,” I say, a bit flushed and worried, and I break the sexual tension in the air.

He takes a step back, looks me over, turns around, and grabs his shirt.

Then he leaves my bedroom, planting a kiss on my head on his way out and gently closing the door behind him.

~Wow, that was intense.~

I turn my focus back to my closet and just grab the first pair of jeans and T-shirt I see, throw them on, and rush downstairs.

~Shit, where is he? Did he just leave? Is he mad that I’m not ready for sex?~

I mean, it’s a big step—no it’s a ~huge~ step for me. Maybe not for him, but for me it’s huge.

I don’t hear a word from him for the rest of the day. I spend my time resting and doing laundry. When I leave for work for my five o’clock shift, I’m puzzled and worried.

***

It is a busy night. We have two very bad incidents and lose one of our patients. When it’s finally over twelve hours later, I find Ray waiting for me in the locker room. She hugs me and tries to comfort me.

“Honey, you did everything you could. Let’s go home.”

“I know I did my best to save our patient, but I still feel sad for her poor parents.”

I hadn’t had time to tell Ray about Damitry’s strange behavior the day before, and I don’t have the strength to talk to her now.

Jordan is there waiting. He looks all worried when he sees me and Ray. He walks straight to Ray’s side.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“We lost our first patient today.” She places her head on Jordan’s shoulder. He pulls me close and comforts me, too.

“Let’s get you home.” He gently places his arm around my waist, keeping Ray in his other arm, and leads us to the car. He helps us in and drives off.

I can’t seem to get the girl out of my mind. I went with Dr. Gordon to tell the parents they had just lost their only child. I can still see the shock and heartbreak in their eyes.

Dr. Gordon told me the next few days will be hard but I’m a good doctor and must stay strong. I asked him if it ever gets easier. He just shook his head.

We drive up to our apartment. I go straight to the bathroom, turn on the shower, and let the tears flow freely.

I take a long hot shower and scrub myself clean, as if I am trying to scrub off the pain I saw in the family’s eyes.

When I’m done, I go to my room. On my way, I see that Ray and Jordan are lying on the couch, not saying a word.

I think about calling Damitry, but I don’t know if he even wants to talk to me.

After a few minutes, there’s a knock on my bedroom door.

“Honey, we are ordering breakfast. Bagels and lox. Would you like some?” Ray asks gently.

I stand up and open the door for her.

“Oh, honey.” Once again, she embraces me in a big hug.

“Are you okay?” She gently holds me at arm’s length to scan me.

“I will be after I eat something and have a good long sleep,” I say.

She pulls me in for one more hug.

Jordan is busy ordering the food for us, as we come down the stairs. We go sit on the couch and Ray looks all worried at me.

“Do you want me to call Damitry?”

~I should maybe tell her.~

I clear my throat and sit up straight.

“I don’t know. He kind of just rushed out of here yesterday. I think he is mad.”

Ray looks confused.

“Why would he be mad?”

So I start to tell her everything. The tears are burning in my eyes, I’m so emotional.

There’s a knock at the door and Jordan opens it.

~Yeah, he called Damitry.~

Damitry rushes over to me and pulls me in for a sweet and gentle hug.

“Why didn’t you call me, Anna?” He sounds worried.

“You ran out of here yesterday without saying goodbye. And it’s stupid early in the morning.”

He places a soft kiss on my head.

“Oh, cupcake, I was late for a meeting.” He gives me a gentle smile.

“You’re not mad?” I ask sheepishly.

He chuckles at the thought.

“Sweet Anna, I could never be mad at you, no matter how hard I try,” he says.

~Well, that’s all I needed to hear.~ I kiss him softly on his lips.

We eat our food, and then Ray and I go to bed. I ask Damitry if he can stay till I fall asleep, and he makes a phone call and moves a meeting to later today.

~He’s so sweet, and I need him.~

We cuddle up on my bed and I fall asleep on his chest.