tumbled, her legs still weak, and Julian caught her without

ns was intensifying with every passing second. She could feel it spreading outward from her che

waist as they walked. Then she fel

ferent now. Sharper. Rougher. "It's burning

his side like a brand. His jaw tightened. His pulse, steady and controlled all

of his bare arm against her back, the coolness of his damp skin against her ow

on her waist tightened involuntarily. He had spent his entire adult life in absolute control. In the operating room, in his research, in every interac

hed into his room with a torn dress an

of a light switch, felt the change in air as

I'm going to help you step in. Lift

shot. Her toes caught on the edge of the tub

idn't

ady loosened bathrobe. She felt it slip from his shoulders, the fabric sliding down his arm, and her hand instinctively flew up to catch herself. Her

upright. But it was more than warmth now. She could feel the tension in his muscles, the way his chest rose and fell with breaths that wer

ment, neither

of her was pressed against him, her back to his chest, her fingers splayed across his heart. He could feel the frantic beat of her pulse against his forearm. He could sm

her breathing, the way her body fit against his as if it had been designed for exactly this purpose. He had treated thousands of patie

his arm brushing against her shoulder as he did. The contact sent a shiver th

It will slow the drug's abs

t enough. It wasn't nearly enough. The fire was still there, raging beneath the surface,

the freezing water. She gasped as it closed over her, the cold slicing through the he

t enough. The image seared itself into his mind, and he felt his blood run hot in a way that had nothing to do with the

d, and she heard hi

had crept into his tone. He needed distance. He needed a moment to coll

tand, her hand shot o

t leave. Please. I can't.

dy. And then he was kneeling beside the tub again. His free hand covered her

ere," he said quietl

m to remain still, to keep his voice gentle, when something far more primal was roaring beneath the surface. His thumb tr

the drug or if it was hi

now, and her palms pressed against bare skin. The contact sent a jolt through her, electric and i

oss his chest like fire, and he could feel every point of contact as if it were burned into his skin. She wa

dying patients in his arms and delivered the news to their families with perfect composure. None of it had ever te

ng part was that he d

ning to me?"

s heart pounding beneath her palm, fast and erratic. He was affected too. She coul

words scraping past something tight in his throat. "It's

fingers tracing the hard lines of his collarbone, the curve of his shoulder, the corded muscle o

so hard it ached. Every rational thought in his head was screaming at him to step back, to put distance between them,

irty-four years, no woman had ever made his hands shake. No woman had ever made his heart pound like it was t

il

," she gasped. "Please

lean closer, his breath warm against her temple. His voice, when it came, was l

in that she could feel the heat of them. "I won't let you.

ut the way she shivers when you touch her. Don't think about the fact that in thirty-four years of absolute self-discipline, you have never once l