Chapter 2 Chapter 2 - Roommates With Benefits (Book 2)

He chuckled as he tossed in the narrow bed again, the starched sheets tangling around his legs like restraints. AJ's dreams were usually vivid, as he only dreamed of his two favorite things: surgery, and sex. Lately he hadn't been able to kick the beautiful blonde with blue eyes from his dreams. It was frustrating because he couldn't see the rest of her, and plus, AJ wasn't monogamous in real life, so he hated the fact that his dreams were.

Tonight the dream was different—more intense, more real. His lips caressed her creamy shoulders as his hands held onto her curvaceous body, fingers pressing into soft flesh that yielded beneath his touch. AJ assumed it was her body because he couldn't see the rest of her, just those hypnotic blue eyes watching him through the darkness. The scent of her surrounded him—something floral and intoxicating that made his head swim.

They were in the back of his car, the leather seats squeaking softly as she shifted beneath him. Her breathing came in quick, shallow gasps that matched the thundering of his own heart. The windows had fogged completely, cocooning them in their own private world. His hand slid along her thigh, feeling the heat of her skin through thin fabric, and she arched into his touch with a soft whimper that sent electricity coursing through his veins.

"Ross," she called out his name as would a mermaid seducing a sailor, her voice breathy and desperate.

Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, and he could feel her pulse racing beneath his lips as he traced a path down her neck. The mystery of her face remained frustratingly out of focus, but he could feel everything else with crystal clarity—the way her body moved against his, the sound of her rapid breathing, the warmth radiating from her skin.

"AJ," she whispered again, and this time her voice sounded different, tinnier.

"Paging Doctor Ross to The Nurses' Station."

AJ startled awake as the on-call nurse's voice rang in his ears, his body still thrumming with unfulfilled desire. He groaned, he moaned, he let out every protesting voice he could master. He grabbed the pillow from the bed in the on-call room and covered his head, willing himself back into that steamy car, back to those blue eyes and that nameless woman who was driving him crazy even in sleep. "I'm technically not a doctor yet. Get someone else," he shouted into the darkness, his voice rough with sleep and frustration.

"How about you shut up!" He heard the groggy voice of a female on the top bunk.

He threw the pillow to the foot of the bed and sat erect, moving so fast that his forehead came into contact with the bed frame. Stars exploded behind his eyes. "Shit! Can this day get any worse?"

"I promise you it will, if you don't shut up and let me sleep," she grizzled.

"Sorry." Adrian began to apologize, but when he touched his forehead, he winced in pain. His fingers were coated with the warm crimson of his blood. "I think I cut my head on this bed frame."

"Are you bleeding?"

"Yes."

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes."

"So, get up, go stitch yourself up, and let me sleep. I am begging you. I am ready to pay you anything for some peace and quiet." The girl's voice got a little harsh as she thrashed on the bed.

AJ jumped to his feet, afraid that all her movement would send the bed crushing down on his head. "What's your problem?"

"You are my problem!" She raved as she leapt off the bed, landing inches away from Adrian.

Both of them were stunned into silence.

She stood before him in the dim light filtering through the doorway, and AJ felt his breath catch in his throat. Long blonde hair fell from a loosened ponytail, messy strands framing a face that made his heart stutter. Her eyes—those eyes—were a swirling blue-gray color that seemed to shift in the shadows. Recognition flickered at the edges of his consciousness, teasing him. She looked vaguely familiar, like someone he should know but couldn't quite place. Or someone he'd seen before in fragmented dreams.

His gaze traveled down despite himself. She wore rumpled scrubs that somehow still managed to hug curves he suddenly wanted to trace with his hands. The V-neck of her top revealed the delicate line of her collarbone, and he remembered the dream—his lips on creamy shoulders, the taste of salt and perfume.

"You're a big guy," she said finally, breaking the charged silence.

"So, I've been told." AJ drawled as he wiped the blood rolling down his forehead, never breaking eye contact. The air between them felt thick, electric.

AJ studied her more intently, drinking in details he'd been too startled to notice at first. The way her chest rose and fell with each breath. The slight parting of her lips. The pulse he could see beating at the base of her throat—quick and frenetic. She almost resembled the woman haunting his dreams, and his body responded immediately, heat pooling low in his belly.

But then her stubborn chin jutted out as she crossed her arms, and something about that defiant gesture reminded him so much of his sister Lisette that any fantasy which had started hatching died—or at least retreated. He groaned inwardly, disappointed. He would have loved to kiss those pouty lips, caress her full body, and weave his fingers into that blonde hair, but that stubborn jaw put him on guard. With his two younger sisters, he didn't need another aggressive woman in his life.

Still, his body hadn't gotten the memo. Standing this close to her, he could smell that same floral scent from his dream, could feel the heat radiating from her skin.

"Do you mind helping me with this?" AJ smiled, slowly and deliberately. Lisette had described his smile as wolfish, as if he was about to chomp down on Little Red Riding Hood. AJ knew his smile was his best wing man and it always got him the response he wanted, so this time should be no different.

He watched her expression shift, saw something flicker in those blue-gray eyes—wariness mixing with something else. Interest, perhaps. Or was that just wishful thinking?

Katherine's hands shook as she raised them to his forehead, and AJ noticed. It took all of his self-control not to wrap his hands around her tiny waist and pull her against his aching body. She stepped closer, bringing that intoxicating scent with her, and he had to clench his fists at his sides to keep from touching her.

Her fingers were gentle but sure as they examined his wound, and every point of contact sent electricity skittering across his skin. He could feel her breath on his face, warm and sweet, and wondered if she could hear how his heart was racing.