Lethal Exposure

“Some herbal thing.”

“Guest’s age?”

Confidential Rejuvenations’ new policy was to call the patients “guests” as part of the hospital’s attempts to revamp their image damaged by recent scandals. In Julie’s estimation it was a silly idea, but no one had asked her opinion.

“He’s thirty-one.”

“So this was a recreational thing, not a home remedy for impotence?”

“Apparently.”

Julie frowned. “Boys and their toys.”

Maxine glanced over her right shoulder, and then over her left. Finally she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “The patient is a Hollywood director who’s been shooting a film here in Austin. He’s being admitted under a generic alias to the Corona Suite.”

It wasn’t uncommon for celebrities to dodge the paparazzi by signing in with bland monikers like Smith or Jones or Black.

“But before you escort him to his suite,” Maxine continued, “Dr. Carpenter wants you to put him in exam room one, do a physical assessment and then call him when you’re done.”

“Gotcha.” Julie grabbed her laptop computer that was docked on a rolling cart, and headed off down the tiled corridor to check on the rest of her “guests” before the hotshot Hollywood director showed up on the floor.

She’d just completed her rounds when a man in a beige London Fog raincoat got off the elevator and came toward her. He smelled of musky autumn rain and dark truffles.

Stunned, she stood there staring.

He was movie-star gorgeous, causing her to wonder why he’d chosen a career behind the camera instead of in front of it. Tall and lean, but muscular as an athlete. His thick black hair was brushed back off his forehead, giving him a powerful appearance, which was complemented by his perfectly tailored navy blue suit, cream-colored shirt and maroon silk tie. His eyes were enigmatic, his cheekbones high and chiseled, his mouth wide and inviting. His eyes, fringed by lush lashes, looked black as ink and full of mystery.

He was the kind of man who made even a die-hard romantic like Julie surrender her happily-ever-after daydreams for the promise of one unforgettable night in his bed.

Definitely a Hollywood type. This had to be her guy.

The air between them weighed heavy with expectation. He looked as if he owned the entire hospital and everyone in it. He looked as if he wanted to own her as well.

Feeling ambushed by this totally unexpected and wholly inappropriate sexual attraction, Julie’s stomach pitched as a dozen wayward fantasies flipped through her mind.

She pictured herself rolling around on a bearskin rug in a woodsy Alaskan cabin with the guy. She imagined their sweat-drenched bodies pressed together as they made love on the white sand beach in the Canary Islands. She envisioned them writhing against each other on the dance floor of a trendy salsa club as they danced the Lambada.

He was an Artic explorer and she was a native woman offering him the comfort of her igloo…and her body. She was a high-class call girl and he was her frisky sugar daddy and they were joining the mile-high club on a first-class trip to Paris. He was a virile cowboy and she was a sassy saloon gal.

In her wildly imaginative mind, she could taste the briny flavor of his skin as she licked his bare nipple. She inhaled the intrinsic scent of lusty man. She could hear his deep-throated groan as he called out her name in pleasure.

Whoa!

What was wrong with her? He was a patient. She was a nurse. It was inappropriate, unprofessional and wrong on about ten different levels. She should not be feeling these sensations.

And yet, she was.

Stop this now.

She tried to make her mind blank. Tried to tamp down the erotic vision of what his hot male body would look like stripped of his London Fog raincoat and designer suit. She tried to slam the brakes on her taboo fantasies.

But she could not.

Oh, this was bad, bad, bad. She was supposed to be the sex expert, but she was the one who needed therapy.

Shocked by the intensity of her emotions, her gaze dropped helplessly to his crotch.

Chapter 2

SEBASTIAN, who didn’t miss a trick, noticed where the nurse’s gaze went and he suppressed a smile. “Hi, I’m Mr. Black.”

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she murmured.

Oh, no, whispered his impudent ego, where have you been all my life? A sexually confident woman bold enough to overtly check out his package in public? He gave her the once-over and the first thing he noticed was that she wasn’t wear a wedding band.

Hmm.

Her tongue flicked out and she ran it across her full, strawberry-colored lips.

Spellbound, he simply stared. He liked her. He liked her a lot.

She stood at the end of the corridor in front of a floor-to-ceiling stained glass window. The late-afternoon sun filtering in through the myriad of colors cast a radiant rainbow over her smooth, creamy skin. The center of the stained glass art was an unfurling red rose. The sunlight shimmered, bathing her honey-blond hair, which was pulled back so appealingly in a long ponytail, in a blushing pink glow.

Like zinfandel. Sweet, light, innocent.

The sight was evocative enough to cause instant sweat to bead on his brow in spite of the temperate climate inside the hospital.

Sebastian had an almost irresistible urge to pull the clasp from her hair and run his fingers through those silky locks. He couldn’t pry his eyes off her and he had no idea why. He normally went for leggy redheads with big boobs, not diminutive waifs with vulnerable eyes. His heart literally skipped a beat and the unexpected reaction disturbed him. Usually the only time his pulse skittered was when he successfully steered a client’s reputation out of the skids.

His gaze dropped to the round curve of her breasts. Her name tag said Julie. A sweet romantic name.

He glanced up.

Their gazes met.

Cemented.

She possessed the most interesting blue eyes he’d ever seen. Eyes the same color of the Pacific Ocean.

Her lips parted.

Sebastian gulped.

Quickly, she glanced away, but then a second later her gaze was on his again, assessing him with slow, deliberate intent until he began to feel like a bug under a microscope.

She narrowed her eyes, pressed her lips together in a firm line and crooked a finger at him. “Come with me.”

He followed. At this point, he would have gone straight to hell if that’s where she was leading.

Her rubber-soled shoes squeaked quietly against the marble tile. The lemony smell of cleaning solution filled the air. His gaze fixated on the sway of her spectacular ass.

She took a key from her pocket, unlocked a heavy oak door, turned the handle and pushed inside. He went in with her and found himself standing in a state-of-the-art examination room. The leather exam table was obviously new and covered with crisp white butcher paper. The fixtures on the walls were shiny, polished chrome.

Was this where he’d be taking his meeting with the hospital’s owners? Unexpected, but okay. Or maybe she was just putting him in here while she went to round up the Confidential Rejuvenations executives.

He shrugged out of his raincoat and hung it on the coatrack beside the door. The room was bigger than a run-of-the-mill exam room, but still small. He turned and found himself face-to-face with her.

She stole his breath with a reassuring smile. The woman made him think of sunflowers and golden retriever puppies and hand-squeezed lemonade. Not a combo he’d ordinarily think of as sensual, but somehow she made wholesome look hot.

Sebastian was acutely aware of a steady strumming of sexual energy flowing from him to her and back again. Her impact was not the full-on whammy of a classic beauty, but instead it was more like the comforting appeal of hot chocolate with miniature marshmallows on an icy winter’s day.

You’re from L.A., what do you know about an icy winter’s day?

Ah, there was the voice of reason struggling to break through the odd spell she’d cast over him. She possessed a certain earthy quality that called to something deep inside him. Something basic, raw and entirely new.

His pulse accelerated. Amazed by his body’s overt reaction, Sebastian had to clear his throat in order to speak. “I want…” Dammit, how could he think with her staring at him that way?

“Yes?” she coaxed, low-voiced as a priest in confessional.

I want. I want. I want.

What did he want? Sebastian frowned, yanked his gaze from her sweet lips and looked deeply into her blue eyes, fringed with long lashes. “Uh…”

Terrific, Black, a speechless spin doctor? He couldn’t ever recall a woman leaving him tongue-tied.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take your clothes off?”

“Huh?” For one wild, incomprehensible moment, he thought she was suggesting they get naked together.

She reached for a pair of purple latex examination gloves resting on the green granite countertop. “I need for you to get undressed so I can do an initial assessment on you and report my findings to Dr. Carpenter.”

He blew out a breath of air on a tense laugh. “Oh, no, no, there’s been some kind of mix-up.”

“There’s no need to be ashamed. Many men experience erectile dysfunction.”

“Hey, hey, hey. I do not have erectile dysfunction.”

“Then why were you taking sexual enhancement supplements? Because you know, using impotency drugs—even when it’s an herbal medication—simply for fun and games can be deadly for your sexual health.”

“Huh?”

“How long have you had the erection?” Her gaze drifted down the length of his body.

He felt the heat of her glance straight to his bones. “Wait, wait.” He held up his palms. “You’ve obviously got me confused with someone else.”

At least this explained why she’d been staring at his crotch. Just the thought of having her examine him with those latex gloves on her lithe fingers shot chills up his spine. He didn’t know if they were chills of dread or anticipation. The prospect was oddly erotic, but in a scary kind of way.

“You’re Mr. Black, correct?”

“Yes, but I’m not a patient.”

She frowned. “You’re not the movie producer?”

“No.”

Flustered, her cheeks pinked and she took a step back, fingering the stethoscope around her neck.

“I’m Sebastian Black, from Back in Black Public Relations. The hospital’s hired me to improve Confidential Rejuvenations’ image after some recent…er…trouble.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment deepened the color in her cheeks from pink to red, pushing it all the way into her hairline. “Oh, no.”

He smiled to reassure her. “Don’t feel sheepish. I should have told you right away why I was here.”

“Well…um…I…” Clearly flustered, she dropped her gaze and started for the door, but he was standing in her way.

She went right.

He followed.

Head down, she dodged left.

He beat her to the punch, smoothly blocking her path.

“What?” she demanded, sounding irritated.

“Look at me.”

He could tell she didn’t want to do it, but he wasn’t moving until she did. She tilted her head.

Their gazes met and a renewed voltage surged between them.

He hadn’t felt an attraction this potent in a long time. The chemistry both unsettled him and stoked his curiosity. What was it about her that so piqued his interest?

It’s not about her. You’re just susceptible because of what happened this morning with Linc.

“It was a natural mistake,” he soothed.

“You don’t have to spin it for me,” she said, surprising him by recognizing what he was doing. “Let’s tell the truth. I made an idiot out of myself by not asking what was the nature of your business the minute you arrived.”

“You were trying to spare me humiliation. You thought I had been playing around with some Viagra kind of thing and got myself into trouble.”

“You’re too smooth for my own good,” she said. “You ought to come with a warning label. Something along the lines of ‘Warning—man may appear more charming than he really is.’”

“How do you know I’m not as charming as I appear?” He grinned, enjoying their sparring.

She tossed her head and her ponytail bounced pertly. “I’ve had dealings with charming men before.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”

“To my detriment, I might add.”

Sebastian took a wild guess. “A charming man left you brokenhearted?”

“Something like that.” She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Anyway, I learned my lesson. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Black, I have to find my real patient.”

“The guy with the irrepressible boner?”

“Mr. Black,” she scolded, but her eyes were lively. “That’s inappropriate.”

“You’re right—” he flicked his gaze to her name tag “—Julie.”

“It’s Miss DeMarco.”

“Miss? As in not married?” His eyes drifted to the bare ring finger of her left hand. He might play the field, but as far as he knew, Sebastian had never bedded a married woman and he wasn’t about to start.

“As in none of your business. Now if you’ll get out of my way, I’d appreciate it.”

He’d pushed too far. Sebastian was smart enough to know when to back off. He stepped aside and she brushed past him on her way out the door.

The contact—their first touching—was nothing short of electrifying.

They both inhaled audibly in a simultaneous breath. She stopped in midstride and their gazes seared again. He felt like a pistol. Hot, cocked and loaded.

She was right. He was inappropriate.

“Look,” he said, “we got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t we start all over?” He thrust out a hand. “Hello, I’m Sebastian Black.”

She hesitated and just when he decided she wasn’t about to take his hand, she reached out. “Julie DeMarco.”

He grasped her soft palm and she squeezed lightly. His entire arm tingled and he experienced a hot rush of sexual energy surge through every cell in his body and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose to attention.

The sight of their clasped hands riveted him. Her creamy skin was much lighter than his. She was all soft and smooth. He was hard and rough. The contrast in their two hands would have made one hell of a photo. Man, woman. Strength, delicacy. Tanned, pale. United.

A familiar rush of adrenaline. The thrill of the chase. Outside in the hallway, in the silence of his indrawn breath, Sebastian could hear a cart being pushed, wheels squeaking, in need of oil. In that moment Sebastian understood that one way or the other, he was going to take this woman to bed.

“Pleased to meet you, Julie DeMarco.”

And then he had a brilliant idea that would effectively kill two birds with one stone. A solution that could help him solve Confidential Rejuvenations’ image problem, plus get him closer to the appealing Miss DeMarco. The technique had served him well on many campaigns.

“Listen,” he said, “I need your help.”

“My help?”

She looked so cute with her brow furrowed and her bottom lip tucked up between her teeth. Good thing she was no longer investigating the zipper of his pants. She’d see that the Viagra abuser wasn’t the only one with a boner.

“I need an insider’s view.”

“An insider’s view?”

“To help me see Confidential Rejuvenations in a way only someone who works in the trenches can. I’d like to hear what you think about the recent scandals.”

“I can’t violate patient confidentiality.”

“Nor would I ever ask you to do so.” He smiled. “I’d just like to get your take.”

“Why me?”

“I need input from several sources, not just the bigwigs in the expensive suits. Let’s be honest, they’re out of touch with what really goes on behind the scenes.”

“Bigwigs in expensive suits like you?”

“Touché.” She was feisty. He liked that. “What do you say?”

“I don’t know if that would be such a good idea.”

“Do you always work the swing shift?”

“Yes.”

“Does your shift start at three?”

“Two-thirty.”

“How ‘bout this. I meet you for lunch at the sushi restaurant down the block that I saw when I was driving in.”

“Are you always this pushy, Mr. Black?”

His gaze held hers. “Only when I see something I want.”

She made a small noise in the back of her throat and gave him a cool, assessing glance. He noticed the pulse at the hollow of her neck quickened. Ah, just as he suspected. She liked him, whether she was willing to admit it or not.

“So it’s a date,” he said as a statement, not a question, but his gut squeezed.

Julie pursed her lips, her frown deepening.

She’s going to say no. His hopes took the express elevator to his shoes.

What in the hell was the matter with him? Why was he so disappointed at the thought she’d reject him? He hadn’t felt this nervous around a woman in years. Blame his aberrant anxiety on the fact his brother had dropped the marriage bomb on him that morning and he was off his game.

It had been too long. He was a bit chagrined to realize he hadn’t had sex in almost ten months. Not because he hadn’t had plenty of chances, but mainly because no woman had excited him enough to give chase.

But Julie DeMarco had changed all that in record time.

She sank her hands on her hips. He saw the word no forming on those full, luscious lips. His disappointment was surprisingly sharp-edged.

She held his gaze.

He heard blood rushing through his ears, felt his body tighten.

“Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll do it. I’ll give you an interview.”

“I MET A GUY.” Julie grinned at her best friends, Elle Nash and Dr. Vanessa Rodriquez. They were sharing a pitcher of beer at a hole-in-the-wall pizza parlor near the University of Texas, which served up the best deep-dish pie in Austin. For the first time since she’d broken up with Roger, Julie was interested in someone and she simply had to crow about it.

It was almost midnight, but the place didn’t close until 2:00 a.m. and it was a handy meeting spot, equal distance from all their homes and Confidential Rejuvenations. Elle and Julie both had worked swing shift that evening and Vanessa had stayed late catching up on backlogged paperwork.

“I’m having lunch with him tomorrow.” She was making it sound like a date, but what was wrong with that? Who knew what direction things might take? One thing was clear, they had chemistry.

It’s not a date.

Okay, so it wasn’t really a date. It was an interview, but still, he’d certainly seemed interested in her. Which was surprising, considering how she’d embarrassed herself over a case of mistaken identity. Remembering what had transpired in the exam room, she bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“A date?” Elle was a sensible redhead with dazzling green eyes and a way of smiling that made everyone like her immediately. She reached for a second slice of pepperoni-and-black-olive pizza. “That’s great. It’s about time. I’m happy for you.”

“Who’s the guy?” Vanessa asked over the rim of her frosty beer mug. Vanessa was a beautiful Latina with long black hair, chocolate-brown eyes and a Mensa IQ. “Anyone we know?”

“His name is Sebastian Black.”

Vanessa set her mug down and leaned back against the red vinyl booth. “Is he the public-relations specialist from L.A. that the hospital’s board of directors hired to polish Confidential’s tarnished image?”

“He is.”

“You move fast,” Elle said. “He just got in to town. The entire E.R. staff’s buzzing about how cute he is.”

“He was the fast mover.” Julie recalled those tense, exciting moments in the exam room when they’d touched. Her fingers were still tingling from the contact.

“Watch out, Tanner filled me in on the guy’s reputation,” Vanessa said, referring to her fiancé, Tanner Doyle. As head of security at Confidential Rejuvenations, it was Tanner’s job to check the backgrounds of all potential employees, including contract workers. “Sebastian Black may be an excellent spin doctor, but he’s also got a reputation as something of a player.”

Julie’s stomach squeezed. Mindlessly, she pleated the red-and-white-checkered paper napkin in her lap. “Meaning…?”

“Handsome, rich, commitment-phobic. Rumor has it he’s got a woman in every city he visits.”

“What’s wrong with that?” she surprised herself by asking.

Vanessa and Elle gave each other startled looks, then turned to stare at Julie.

“Well?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You feel her forehead and see if she has a fever,” Vanessa told Elle. “I’ll check her pulse.”

They moved as if they were actually going to do it. Laughing, Julie held up her palms. “I’m not feverish, honest.”

Elle picked the olives off her pizza. “Where’s our little die-hard romantic? You were the one coaching us not to give up on romance and now, here you are, ready to take up with a playboy who’ll only end up breaking your heart.”

“About that,” Julie said. “I’ve been thinking…”

“Yes?” Her friends leaned forward, hanging on to her every word.

“Maybe it’s time I shook things up a little. Took a walk on the wild side. I’ve never been very good at separating love from sex and I think maybe it’s time I learned. I’m twenty-nine and after the number Roger did on me…” She let her words trail off.

“Seriously?” Elle asked.

Julie glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was within earshot, then leaned closer to her friends and lowered her voice. “It’s been six months since Roger and I’m feeling—”

“Horny?” Vanessa supplied.

“Sexually frustrated.” Julie preferred her own word choice. She wasn’t as frank and earthy as her friend. “You guys, I think that’s why I failed my certifying exam. I’ve been having erotic dreams lately and I’ve been so distracted by them I can hardly concentrate on my work.”

Vanessa looked at Elle and nodded. “She’s horny. That’s my official medical diagnosis. Nothing wrong with being horny. It happens. Part of the human condition. Nothing to feel awkward about.”

“I don’t feel awkward.”

Vanessa waved a hand. “How come your face is turning as red as this booth?”

“Okay, all right.” Julie took a deep breath. “I’m horny. I need a man. And not just any man. I need a man who’s good in bed, but one who is not looking for a relationship. I need a no-strings-attached affair and I need it now.”

“Where is this coming from?” Elle asked. “This philosophy is so not you. Not that I think it’s a bad idea, mind you. Just that it’s not like you.”

Julie pulled Roger’s letter out of her pocket, unfolded it and passed it to her friend.

Elle read it and then handed Roger’s letter to Vanessa. “What a weasel.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t,” Vanessa said after reading it. “The jerk.”

“I’m tired of being a starry-eyed romantic,” Julie said. “I’m sick of being naive when it comes to men.”

“And you think a fling with a totally inappropriate guy will fix that?” Vanessa raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I know it will.”

“What’s going to keep you from falling in love with him?” Elle asked.

“His total inappropriateness.”

Vanessa dragged another slice of pizza onto her plate. “Being totally inappropriate didn’t stop you from falling for Roger.”

Julie took a sip of her beer. It had gone warm. She grimaced. “That’s because I didn’t know he was inappropriate until I found out about his wife.”

“And his daughter who’s only a few years younger than you,” Elle pointed out. “Don’t forget.”

Julie jammed on a false smile. “Thank you so much for reminding me.”

“So you’ve set your sights on Sebastian Black as your totally inappropriate rebound guy?” Vanessa asked.