Chapter 6 Chapter 6

“Fuck, you’re soft,” he murmured, his thumb tracing lazy circles on the inside of her thigh, inching closer to the heat between her legs.

“You been thinking about this all night, Kat?” His voice dropped an octave, thick with want. “About my hands on you?”

Katherine’s breath hitched, her fingers digging into the seat beneath her.

“Yes,” she admitted, the word barely more than a whisper.

AJ groaned, his free hand fumbling with the button of his jeans. “Good girl.”

The words surprised her. She was being a good girl, but only because she didn't know what to do.

She spread her legs wider, letting him explore. He didn’t waste time. His fingers hooked under the lace of her panties, tugging them aside before dipping lower, finding her already wet, her folds slick and swollen.

“Jesus, look at you,” he growled, his own arousal pressing painfully against his zipper. “Already soaking for me.”

Katherine gasped as his fingers parted her, two of them sliding inside with ease. He cursed under his breath, his thumb finding her clit, rubbing in slow, firm circles.

“You like that?” he asked, watching her face for any sign of hesitation. But all he saw was pleasure, her lips parted, her eyes fluttering shut as her hips rocked against his hand.

“Yes—god, yes—”

Her voice broke on a moan, her back arching as he crooked his fingers inside her, finding that spot that made her whimper.

“Please,” Katherine begged, her nails scraping against the leather seat. “I need—”

"Kitty Kat, wake up."

The sensual voice wrapped around Katherine's consciousness like silk, pulling her from the depths of sleep. Her eyes fluttered open in the darkness of the on-call room, disoriented and aching. The dream clung to her skin like humidity—AJ's hands on her thighs, his mouth hot against her neck, the cramped backseat of his Range Rover squeaking beneath them as the bonfire blazed orange in the distance.

She couldn't stop thinking about that night.

Before, when they'd been at different hospitals for medical school, the memory had been manageable—a secret she could tuck away and examine privately in quiet moments. But now? Ending up at the same hospital for their internship had turned that single night into a ghost that haunted every corridor, every nurses' station, every goddamn on-call room. The memories came more frequently now, vivid and merciless, triggered by the smallest things. His laugh echoing down a hallway. The particular way he rolled his shoulders when he was tired. That confident stride that made her want to either jump him or trip him, she couldn't decide which.

"Kitty Kat, seriously. Wake up."

Katherine's eyes snapped fully open. That wasn't a dream voice—that was real. She bolted upright in the narrow bed, her heart hammering, and found herself staring at AJ's silhouette in the doorway. The hallway light behind him turned him into shadow and suggestion, broad shoulders blocking most of the light.

"What?" she croaked, her voice raw from sleep. "What's wrong?"

"Your pager went off. Multiple times." He stepped into the room, and even in the darkness she could see him holding up her pager. "Trauma. Multi-vehicle accident. They need all hands on deck, and you weren't responding."

Panic jolted through her. Katherine's hand flew to her hip, finding empty space where her pager should have been clipped. Her eyes darted to the small table beside the bed where the device sat, face down and silent. "Oh my God. I must have—I didn't hear it."

Katherine's breath caught. She'd been so deep in that dream—in the memory—that she'd slept through her pager. Mortification flooded her cheeks with heat. "I'm so sorry. I'll be right there."

"Hey, relax." AJ's voice was surprisingly gentle. "You're not the first intern to sleep through a page. Happened to me last week." He moved closer, and she could see his features now in the dim light. "But we need to move. It's bad—six-car pile-up on the expressway."

"Right. Yes. Of course." Katherine swung her legs over the side of the bed, only to freeze when she realized AJ was standing right there, close enough that her knees almost brushed his legs. She looked up at him, and their faces were suddenly very close in the intimate darkness of the room.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

"You were dreaming," AJ said softly, and something in his voice made her stomach clench. "You were saying something. I couldn't make it out, but you sounded..." He trailed off, his eyes searching her face.

Please don't ask. Please don't make me explain.

"I don't remember," Katherine lied, her voice barely above a whisper. The dream was seared into her brain—his hands, his mouth, the way he'd looked at her that night like she was the only person in the world. Before he'd forgotten her completely.

"Kitty Kat," he said again, testing the nickname on his tongue. "That just came out. I don't know why I called you that."

"My brothers used to call me that," she managed, hyperaware of how close he was, how her body was leaning toward him like a flower toward sunlight—involuntary, inevitable, foolish.

"It suits you." His hand came up, and for one heart-stopping moment she thought he was going to touch her face. Instead, he held out her pager. "Come on. I'll fill you in on the way."

Katherine took the pager, her fingers brushing his in the exchange. Electricity shot up her arm and straight to her core. She saw his eyes darken slightly, his lips parting as if he was going to say something—

Then he stepped back, breaking the spell.

"Two minutes," he said, his voice rougher now. "Meet me at the ambulance bay."

He turned and left, the door swinging shut behind him, leaving Katherine alone in the darkness with her racing heart and the ghost of his almost-touch still tingling on her skin.

Katherine sat frozen for three full seconds after he left, her body still thrumming with unfulfilled desire and adrenaline. Then professional training kicked in and she launched into motion.

She splashed cold water on her face in the tiny bathroom, trying to shock her system into focus. The dream still clung to her—his hands, his mouth, the weight of him—but she shoved it down ruthlessly. People were dying. She needed to be sharp.

Two minutes later, she burst through the stairwell door into the ambulance bay, slightly breathless. The November air hit her like a slap, cold enough to make her eyes water. AJ stood at the center of a cluster of residents and nurses, his white coat whipping in the wind, his face set in that serious expression she'd noticed earlier—the one that made him look less like Lennox Hill's resident Lothario and more like the surgeon he was becoming.

"Six-car pile-up on the expressway," he was saying as she approached. "We're expecting twelve patients, various levels of trauma. Triage protocol is in effect."

His eyes found her in the crowd, and something flickered across his face—relief, maybe, or approval that she'd made it. Then his gaze moved on, all business.

Katherine positioned herself near the front, close enough to hear but trying not to stare at the way his hands moved as he talked, the way his breath misted in the cold air. She failed spectacularly at the not-staring part.

"You good?"

She jumped. Kenneth had materialized beside her, his expression still cool from their earlier confrontation.

"I'm fine," Katherine said tightly.

"Mmm." Kenneth's gaze flicked to AJ, then back to her. "Try to keep your focus on the patients tonight, Henry. Not on Dr. Ross's extracurricular activities."