Page 8 of Decker

Chapter Four

His jaw crackedas he yawned wide, and Decker groaned with joy as the first hit of caffeine hit his system. He’d slept for shit last night, all thanks to Dr Sankey. He frowned remembering the challenge in her gorgeous nut-brown eyes and the wide sexy smile that made his dick harden even now as he imagined those cherry-pink lips on him. She was trouble and yet she was sweet and clever, dedicated to her job and patients, and that made her so much more dangerous.

She wasn’t the type of woman you fucked and walked away from, she was the ever after kind and exactly what he avoided like it was the plague. Yet for some inexplicable reason, he couldn’t seem to stay away from her and that was the crux of the problem. He’d been telling the absolute truth when he’d said he had no idea why he’d sought her out yesterday, just that it had been something he couldn’t stop.

Downing the last of his coffee, he took a quick shower and, instead of dressing in his usual suit and tie, he dressed in jeans and a t-shirt of dark burgundy that one of the girls, Callie he thought, had bought him for Christmas. Apparently, it brought out the warmth of his naturally tan skin. Realising he was dressing for her he took it off and put on a plain white one instead.

He may have challenged her to break first and fall under his spell, but he had no intention of getting caught in his own web. It was complex enough already.

She was Adeline’s friend and she and Lopez were like family to him, the whole group were. Then there was the fact that being in a room with her and smelling her scent and watching the curve of her neck or the way she gathered her hair back from her face and draped it over one shoulder shouldn’t be sexy—but it was.

He was aware enough to know he wanted her with a desperation that left his gut clenched and his cock hard as stone, but he couldn’t fuck her and walk away. She’d take a part of him he wasn’t prepared to give her.

Grabbing his jacket, he noticed it was still ridiculously early, only six-thirty and a devilish idea came to mind. He wondered what the sexy doctor looked like rumpled from sleep and if she’d mind if he woke her up. Deciding to find out, he left the house taking his truck and the equipment he’d need to add the alarm.

Despite all their playful banter, he knew she was a good person and hated the idea of her being so vulnerable. He’d like to get his hands on the asshole that thought it was okay to scare and intimidate her. His hands clenched on the steering wheel at the thought, and he had to physically relax his reaction to her in danger.

His truck cruised the quiet streets of the town he called home, only a few people were on the roads, and he sighed at the peace here. Hereford was surrounded by greenery and had a slower pace but still gave him enough of the culture and speed he needed from his days in New York. He sometimes felt like it had happened to another person, like he was a spectator to it all, and then he’d have a memory of his wife or son, and it would slam into his gut, taking his breath away with the pain.

Pulling up outside Savannah’s home, he saw her car in the drive and smiled. He’d expected a prim little electric car but had been pleasantly surprised when he’d discovered she drove a sporty two-seater Audi—it suited her.

Grabbing his tools, he knocked on her door and waited. The house was silent and for a second, he wondered if maybe she was out, which led him to wonder where she was and if maybe she was with a man. An explosion of jealousy went off in his veins like napalm and he had to swallow past the growl that moved up his throat like some caveman. An intense hostility toward the nameless, faceless man made him clench his teeth.

The door opened and he looked down, his feeling moving from jealousy to lust in one beat of his heart. Savannah was staring up at him through bleary, slumberous eyes. Her hair was sticking up in wild disarray and she was wearing Garfield shorty pyjamas that looked like they’d seen better days and she was the sexiest fucking thing he’d seen in years.

“Mark, what are you doing here so early?”

His chest tightened at his name on her lips, the unfamiliar ache of desire pulling him closer. He wanted to taste her more than he wanted to breathe right now, to push her against the door and see if she was sweet as he imagined, if she was as soft and wet for him. He did none of those things. Instead, he frowned and pushed past her into her home, his eyes travelling over the small open plan space that was both homey and clutter-free.

“Mark!”

He turned then and saw her standing with her hands on her hips, her nipples poking through the thin cotton of her PJs.

“I’m here to fix the alarm.” He stepped closer as if pulled by an invisible force. His fingers itched to touch her, and he held tight to his tool bag to stop himself, not because of the bet they’d made but because he was seriously struggling not to grab her and go at her like a neanderthal.

“At six-forty-five in the morning?” Her eyes went wide, and she raised her brow in a perfect arch, which was both haughty and cute.

“I’m a busy man and I have other things to do besides this.”

Her face fell and he instantly hated himself for making her look contrite. God, why did she bring out his inner asshole?

“No, you’re right, let me take a quick shower and get dressed and then I’ll help you. That way you can be done quicker.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

Savannah shook her head and smothered a yawn, and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

She shook her head. “No, I was on call last night and had two surgeries back-to-back, so I’m off for two days.”

“Shit. Sorry, I had no idea.”

Savannah waved her hand away. “It’s fine. Help yourself to coffee and I’ll be down in a jiffy.”

Decker watched her walk away and felt like a dick for waking her now. The job she did saved lives all the time and when she didn’t save them, she made them better. He wasn’t stupid, he knew from bitter experience that it didn’t always go her way, but she most likely saved more than she didn’t.

He found the coffee and put it on while he unloaded the rest of his kit. He didn’t usually fit the alarms, but he’d helped the guys before and had done his own. He knew it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Liam or Lopez that he’d taken over here and hoped they wouldn’t give him a hard time over it.

It meant nothing, just that he had the time and was doing a favour for a friend of a friend. He snorted as he poured himself a cup of the rich smooth nectar and inhaled another sniff. He had very few vices these days, instead choosing to eat clean, not indulge in alcohol to excess, and feed his body and mind what it needed to be healthy. But coffee and the odd whiskey were his two vices, and he wasn’t prepared to give those up. Not now or ever.