Her declaration was one thing too many for him to process and even as his body took in more stimuli than it ever had before, he could feel his brain—and heart—starting to shut down.

But then, somehow, he was wiping away her tears and she was turning her face into his palm and gently kissing the inside of his hand. His body started moving again, driving back in, then out of her in hard strokes, completely of its own volition.

“Love me, Luke,” she begged him, and then they were shifting on the bed so that her body was pressed lengthwise against his and her legs were coming around his hips again and she was pulling his mouth down onto hers and he was kissing her like he'd never kissed another woman.

Like she was his first, his last, and everything in between.

And then, with her tongue stroking his, her hands warm and strong on his back, he detonated with a roar of pleasure, any thoughts of hurting her obliterated beneath his explosive release. Somewhere in there he realized she was coming again, crying out his name as her body tensed then released in ecstasy.

Making love to Janica Ellis was beyond amazing. Worlds better than incredible.

Being with her was simply mind-blowing.

But later, what struck him as the most amazing thing of all was not that she'd been able to take all of him and then some.

It wasn't even that she'd used the word “love.”

It was how right it was to pull her into his arms, how good it felt to have her curl into the protective curve of his body.

And how natural and easy it was to fall immediately into the deep, healing sleep he so desperately needed.

Chapter Eight

Luke woke to a dark bedroom.

Janica's bedroom.

Apart from the fact that she must have gotten up to turn off the light at some point, they hadn't moved for hours. Still curled into his body, Janica's breathing was even, her back to his chest. Her ass was softly pressing against his groin, her breasts resting against his forearm.

He didn't need time to react to her warm, naked body. He was already there, as hard and ready as if he hadn't already fucked her senseless.

He couldn't have gotten more than three or four hours of sleep and yet he felt better than he did after a full night's rest.

Almost as if being with Janica had restored him in some elemental way.

Shifting slightly in her sleep, her butt cheeks slid against his cock. His body wanted badly to take over, to shift her another inch so that he could experience all of that slick warmth again.

He'd never wanted anything more than to take her again.

She shifted again, almost right where he wanted her, but just as he was about to give in to his baser desires, just as he had only hours ago, he suddenly heard her voice in his head, as clearly as if she were speaking aloud.

I love you, Luke.

If she hadn't said those words to him, if he could have pretended she was no different than any other woman he'd been with...

Fuck.

She wasn't just anyone. She was his best friend's little sister. She was his sister-in-law.

And she thought she was in love with him.

What had he done?

* * *

Janica felt Luke shift beside her as he worked to slide his arm out from beneath her frame.

Her heart started pounding. Hard.

In the real world where things made sense and she stayed on one side of the playground while Luke stayed on the other, she knew he was right to leave. That whatever had happened between them was all wrong.

But, God, it had felt so right.

Better than right.

Perfect.

And in the dark, in the aftermath of those moments when he'd called her sweetheart and looked into her eyes as if he really and truly cared about her, all she knew was that she would die inside if he left.

“Stay.”

He stilled, like a thief caught in the act.

And maybe he was a thief, she thought. Because somehow, when she wasn't looking, he'd snuck in and stolen her heart.

Damn him.

Seductively, instinctively, she rubbed herself against him so that his rock-hard shaft slid between her already slick labia, the soft curve of her butt cheeks. Reaching around for one of his hands, she placed it over one of her breasts.

Her nipple beaded against his large hand and she could feel him pulsing against the flesh between her thighs, still tender from his wonderfully rough lovemaking.

A few more seconds and, oh please, his incredible cock would be sliding back into her pussy and she could experience pure ecstasy for a second time.

Only, the next thing she knew she was alone in her bed.

And the worst part of it was that he didn't say anything. He simply pulled away from her and walked naked out of her bedroom.

Stunned, she lay there for a moment, cold without his arms around her, empty without his thick heat driving into her.

Fortunately, anger came fast on the heels of her shock.

Jumping off the bed, she rushed into her living room to see that Luke was almost fully dressed already.

“You're leaving.”

His face was an impenetrable mask. “Yes.”

So that was the way it was going to be?

Fine. She didn't want any apologies from him. And she definitely didn't want his thanks for a killer fuck.

He hadn't taken anything from her that she hadn't wanted to give.

Except, a small voice in her head whispered, quite possibly, her heart.

Sixty seconds later, he was gone.

* * *

Luke went home, showered, then headed straight back to the hospital.

One of his colleagues had to need a break, had to have a shift he could fill. As long as he stayed busy he could keep himself from going there, back to Janica's apartment, back to the moment when she'd glared at him and said, You're leaving.

What she'd really meant was, Fuck you.

Even after his shower, he swore he could scent her, as if her beautiful essence had slipped past his skin, all the way into his cells. His cock thickened beneath his scrubs and he worked like hell to douse his growing hard-on, which was completely inappropriate for a doctor to be sporting. But he had to work even harder to crush that twinge in his gut that told him he'd been a complete asshole.

And that she'd deserved a hell of a lot better of a goodbye than he'd given her.

Especially since he hadn't said goodbye at all. He'd just left like a fucking coward.

Trying to focus his vision on the staffing board, he was about to call Bonnie to tell her not to bother coming in, when Eileen Jones, the hospital’s head psychiatrist said, “Good morning, Luke. You're just the person I wanted to see. Would you mind coming into my office for a quick chat?”