Page 48 of Dangerous Men

I’d almost forgotten I’d hurt it. There’s no pain at all this morning.

“I could give you a proper examination, if you’d like,” he offers. The way he says the words is entirely neutral, but heat creeps up the back of my neck, as though he’d suggested something dirty.

“She said she’s fine, Seb,” Alec snaps, disconnecting from his phone conversation and joining the conversation. He slips the phone into his pocket, pinning the doctor with a look.

“Don’t let Doc get to you. He worries too much,” Ash says, eyes twinkling with amusement. It feels like a joke I’m not in on, and I don’t get the sense that the other man at the table is worried at all. I glance at him and look quickly away. Annoyed. He seemsannoyed.

Ash gets to his feet, coming to stand next to me. He’s a giant of a man, and though he should feel intimidating, somehow he doesn’t. There’s something comforting about his presence, and his size just adds to that. He’s like a giant teddy bear. “But… you would tell us if you weren’t feeling tiptop, right, Babygirl? If you were dizzy or?—”

“Sore?” Alec provides in a soft growl, his dark gaze burning into mine.

My quick intake of breath is a little too loud.

“See? Itoldyou she’s flushed.” Sebastian stands and walks around the table, shouldering Ash out of the way with a glare, and turning me to face him. His hand is cold against my skin. I blink up at him, looking past his glasses and straight into the coldest eyes I’ve ever seen.

“Did I call you handsome?” I ask breathlessly, the tipsy memory leaping into my consciousness, pulled there by those eyes. “Last night, I mean.”

Sebastian's jaw tightens. His mask of indifference shifts just a little, and something more than irritation flashes across his face.

“You did,” he confirms.

“Oh.” My blush grows. Great. Way to objectify a man I’d never even spoken to before. A professional just doing his job. No wonder he’s abrupt with me. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. I?—”

“You should stop apologizing so much,” he dismisses me. “It dilutes the effect when you don’t mean it.” His fingers move to my neck, pressing against my pulse. I fight a sudden urge to lean into it, a flash of unexpected heat racing through me. I swallow.

“So… Sebastian. Seb.”

“Sebastian is fine,” he says.

“Seb.” I get a perverse thrill at the way a muscle in his jaw flexes when I say it, a small line forming between his brows. “How, uh… how do you know Alec and Ashton?” I ask.

The question seems to throw him, his eyes flicking briefly to mine before they dart away again.

“We work together,” he says, simply. Then his hand is gone, and he’s stepping back away from me a little too quickly andwalking back to his seat. “You’re fine. Your pulse is stable,” he adds, almost as an afterthought.

Ash laughs, shoulders shaking with the force of it, as Sebastian sits down and pulls out a laptop from the bag at his feet. He sets it up on the table in front of him, completely detaching himself from the conversation.

“Thanks. I guess,” I murmur.

With his eyes fixed on the screen, fingers moving rapidly as he types, Sebastian doesn’t give me a second thought. I frown, feeling suddenly unwelcome. “Well…I should get back to work.”

“Don’t let us keep you,” Alec says softly. The tone is polite, but when I look into his eyes, there’s a dark hunger there. He leans back in the chair, crossing one ankle over his knee, gaze boring into me.

I wonder what he must think of me. What he must think of the woman who was so easily lured into his bed. I feel uncomfortable in my skin suddenly.

“Good to, um, see you all. Again, I mean.” I finish.

I’m less than three steps away when I hear Sebastian’s voice. “You’re scaring her away, you know.” And then, a heartbeat later, “She’s a bad match for you, anyway. Too weak.Fragile.”

I keep walking, but my hands clench at my sides.Asshole.

Ash groans slightly behind me, like he’s stretching.

“Like you know anything about women, Doc,” he says.

They stay until close.

I catch myself watching them while I work, nervously making my way up to the café section of our shop every few minutes to check and see if they’re still there.