Page 102 of Help Wanted

“You don’t want to?” He stopped in his tracks. They still hadn’t taken that step yet. He didn’t want to rush things. But he felt like now was the time.

“I do. I’m saying I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t want Kenley to know we were dating. I’m not sure why I didn’t say anything.”

“You wanted to keep it professional.” He repeated her excuse back to her.

“That is the truth, but not all of it.”

“Do you want to tell me the rest?”

“I think I was trying to convince myself you don’t matter as much as you do. When I found out my ex was cheating on me, I was devastated because I’d let him become so important to me. I didn’t want that to happen with you.”

“Baby, I think the problem wasn’t that you let him become important to you, it was that you weren’t important to him. Trust me, you are very important to me. I would never be so stupid. Please let me be important in your life. You won’t regret it.”

She smiled and nodded. They continued their way up to her room and he unbuttoned her shirt while kissing her at the same time. He might be considered disabled, but he had some skills.

That thought stilled his lips and fingers.

“What is it?”

“I’m going to be taking off my pants.”

“Yes. That’s how it works.”

That’s not how it had worked for him since he’d lost his foot. His MO had been to get a woman so worked up before they got to her place that he could do her on the table, counter, or even a wall without getting undressed. Then with the right excuse and a smile he was out of there. Even when he’d stayed with Michaela that night, he’d kept his jeans on.

But Michaela was not going to be satisfied with that. He wasn’t going to be either. He wanted to take his time and worship every inch of her body. That would mean she would want to reciprocate on some level.

“I have a prosthetic.”

“Your foot. I know. You mentioned it.”

Right. He’d told her. And she was still turned on. “Are you one of those women who get off on that?” He’d met a devotee once. Scary shit.

She blinked at him and frowned as she pulled her shirt together and sat up. “I’m one of those women who gets off on the guy she likes kissing her. At least until he says something stupid.”

So that was a no. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to figure out why you’re with me.” Best to just cut to the chase. If she would just spit it out, he could decide if her answer repulsed him enough to make him leave or not. If he knew how she felt, it might be easier for him to tell her how he felt. God, this was hard.

“I’m with you because I thought you were a great guy and we have a lot of chemistry. But maybe I was wrong.”

“You’re a fancy doctor. I move boats around. There has to be something else.”

With a determined look in her eyes she reached up, put her hands on the side of his head, and yanked him down to her lips. There she proceeded to kiss the hell out of him, until he moaned and gave in.

Right when he was ready to drag her back down on the bed she pulled away, her chest heaving and her eyes bright.

“That is the something else. Is it enough for you?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It is.”

“Besides, I’m not a real doctor.”

“Is the certificate in your office a fake?”

“No. I did finish med school. Though it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I did it even though I didn’t want to.”

“You didn’t want to become a doctor?” She was great at what she did. She really cared about the patients.

Hell, he must really be in love if he’d chosen to learn more about her over getting in her pants. He wanted the whole package with her, which meant getting to know everything. He turned to face her on the edge of the bed and took her hands in his, urging her to continue.

“My parents are the best. They would have encouraged me to be anything I ever wanted. Apparently, at some point when I was a child, I told them I wanted to be a doctor. After that, everything I did, every class I took was influenced by a decision I don’t even remember making. But I went along with it. I didn’t know I was unhappy with the idea until I was there, elbow deep in a cadaver trying not to gag.” She shook her head. “And failing most of the time.”

He managed to hold back his laughter.

“After a long time and a lot of money, I graduated, but realized I’d never enjoy being a doctor. I couldn’t handle those kinds of things up close. But I still wanted to help people. After going back to school on my own dime for business, I was able to get the job as director. I’m really excited about it. But the doctor part is a lie in my heart.”

Brady’s earlier worry was back.

“Mick, my leg is not pretty. If you can’t stand to look at it, I would understand.”

She slapped him on the shoulder.

“Stop it. You’re not going to be able to scare me off. There is a huge difference between me seeing your healed amputation and me being the one who does the amputating. I can handle it. Now, take off your pants and shut up.”

“Yes ma’am.”

He decided to table the emotional stuff until he had a better handle on it. For now he’d rely on their chemistry to guide him.