inned and rested a hip on the table beside where her delicate hand roamed. “That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? To assist you with things you can’t do?”
Her body visibly shivered and he was glad he had that effect on her, because she sure as hell had some amazing sort of power over him.
“Are we going to play now?” she asked, her voice husky.
Noah knew an opportunity when he saw one. Even though he knew in his mind he needed to be her doctor and friend above all else, his libido wasn’t receiving that memo. Damn, he wanted her. She was still all rumpled from sleep with her dark crimson hair tumbling around her shoulders, her face free of makeup and the oversize shirt of his hanging nearly off one slender shoulder. He knew beneath that well-worn cotton she wore no bra, because since that first day with her bath, she hadn’t asked him to put one on her. She wore these tiny little denim shorts with the frayed edging flirting with her bare thighs.
He assumed she’d managed the zipper and button them without his assistance.
“Yeah,” he told her, keeping his gaze on her lips. “We’re going to play now.”
Callie started to ease forward, but Noah stepped back and cleared his throat. “I’ll get a stick.”
God, could there be more metaphors between sex and a game of pool? He’d never been turned on playing before. Then again, he’d been playing with Max or other guys from college and they were too busy trash-talking and comparing their previous dates.
Callie maneuvered the balls into the triangle while he chalked up the tip of the stick. “I’ll stand behind you,” he told her.
She stayed against the table and smiled. “I’ll have to push with my left arm, if you can reach around and hold it with your right.”
“Gladly.”
He was torturing himself. Actually, he’d been torturing himself since he’d completely overstepped his patient/doctor bounds on his sofa the other evening, but that was uncontrollable and he’d gotten swept into the moment.
He slid the stick between her waist and her left arm. She grabbed the back of it and shifted her body. Noah wrapped his right arm around her and was careful not to touch her shoulder.
His face was mere inches from her mass of subtle curls. Inhaling, he pulled in a tropical, fruity scent that always seemed to surround Callie, filling his home with her signature intoxicating scent. He eased a bit closer until his mouth was at her ear, her hair tickling his lips.
“Lean into it,” he whispered as he eased her body down his own.
Her body bent at the waist and Noah went with her. Together they leaned over the table and he eyed the cue ball.
“Relax,” he whispered. “You’re breathing hard. Take your time. Focus on what you want to happen.”
Damn. If he didn’t keep his mouth shut he was going to start pitching a tent in his jeans, and wood behind a zipper was never comfortable or concealable.
“I’ve done this before, you know.” She tilted her head to look at him over her shoulder, but when she did, her mouth brushed against his jaw and he had to steel himself not to turn and take advantage of her lips.
“But it’s been a while,” he reminded her. “I’m just here to help you remember how everything works.”
“Oh, I think I remember,” she said with a sultry smile.
Noah swallowed. She was good at this, the flirting and sassy talk she’d done before her accident. She was slowly coming around to her old self.
“Hold the stick firmly,” he told her, holding his left hand over hers on the stick. “Don’t rush it. Practice stroking it and not letting it go too early.”
For pity’s sake, shut up, Noah. Why was he using a game of pool as a pathetic form of foreplay? If he wanted her so badly, why was he making himself miserable by holding back? He’d already admitted to her that he wanted her in his bed. There was no going back on that. Sex was simple. It was all that other emotional garbage he couldn’t and wouldn’t deal with or allow himself to get wrapped up in.
“I got it,” she told him and pushed the stick forward until it hit the cue ball into the other balls, sending the various colors rolling around the table.
Two stripes sunk instantly.
“Good job,” he told her as he stood up. And yup, there was that pressure against his zipper. Well done, Noah. Well done. Way to avoid getting an erection.
“If you thought that was good, you’re going to be really impressed,” she told him as she rounded the table. “In fact, I think I can take you without your help and using only one arm.”
Impressed and intrigued, he crossed his arms and smiled. “Then let’s see it, hotshot.”
She proceeded to show him just how amazing she was at this game and he was damn glad his friends weren’t here to see it. Max would give him hell for losing so easily.