The Doctor's Damsel In Distress. Janice Lynn

head to the tips of her toes.

      “Who likes being indebted?” she quipped when her door swung open, eyeing him and wanting to lick him from his head to the tips of his toes.

      “Good point,” he agreed, offering his hand to help her get out. “But I won’t ask for more than your complete and total devotion and servitude.”

      Okay, so he was absolutely flirting back.

      And she absolutely couldn’t breathe.

      Help! Someone do the Heimlich again. Quick.

      When she slid her hand into his, her breath gushed from her body in a rough swoosh. Oh, my. Now she needed mouth to mouth as well.

      Seriously. She needed his mouth on hers.

      She’d just been in his arms a few minutes ago when he’d carried her to his SUV, but already she’d forgotten what the warm contact of his skin against hers felt like, was shocked by the intensity.

      Electrifying. All consuming.

      The most wonderful feeling in the whole world.

       Pathetic, Madison. Absolutely pathetic. Apparently you really suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen when you choked.

      “You’re going to send a bill for this, right?” she asked, desperately trying to detract from his magnetic pull. Desperately trying to keep from launching herself at him in the hope he’d catch her and never let her fall. Of course he’d let her fall. Eventually he’d push her down and trample on her heart if given the chance. It’s what men did. It’s why she’d decided if she couldn’t beat them, to join them, so to speak.

      “Nope.” He snorted, not letting her pull her hand free as he led her toward the back entrance to his office.

       “I have health insurance.” I have quivers all over my body from your hand clasping mine.

      “I wouldn’t feel right about charging you to examine whether or not I broke your ribs.”

       Promise you won’t break my heart.

      Now, where had that come from? Of course he wouldn’t break her heart. She wouldn’t let him anywhere near her heart. Yes, she was physically attracted to him, but that didn’t mean she’d let him or any other man near her heart ever again. But she could be like men, enjoy the physical side of life without letting her heart become involved. All fun, no pain.

      “My ribs are fine. Just a little sore.” Very sore. “But even if you’d broken each and every one of them, I’m glad you saved me, Dr. Fielding.” She flashed him what she hoped was her most appreciative—and alluring—smile. “Thank you.”

      “You’re welcome, and the name is Levi.” Another crooked thigh-melting grin. “I want you to call me Levi.”

      Madison sat on the exam table, waiting for Levi to rejoin her and trying not to let her imagination run away from her. Just because she kept having lust-induced fantasies about Levi, it did not mean he wanted to push her back on the exam table and do a thorough hands-on investigation of all that ailed her.

      Mainly him.

      From the moment they’d stepped into his office he had been the consummate professional. He’d shot the X-ray films of her ribs, not balking when she’d insisted on keeping on her T-shirt. She’d taken off her bra to avoid the underwires and hooks from showing on the film, but no way had she been going to take off her shirt.

      Levi might be a doctor, but if and when he ever saw her bare-breasted she didn’t want the blessed event to be when she was about to be blasted with radiation.

      She put her B-cup push-up bra back on the minute he’d finished shooting the film. He probably thought her a prude and that was why his flirting had come to a quick halt.

      “Good news,” he said, coming back into the room. “The X-rays don’t show any breaks.”

      “I told you I was fine.” Thank goodness she’d been right. There had been small niggles of doubt when she moved certain ways and sharp pain had stabbed her chest wall. “Just sore.”

      “If that soreness doesn’t ease in a few days, I should order a CT scan. Sometimes rib fractures don’t show as well on X-ray, especially non-displaced ones.”

      “We both know that even if my ribs had been broken all you’d do is bind my chest and tell me to give it time.” She gave him a bright smile. “I’ll be fine.”

      “I suspect you will.” He studied her, his expression serious and not a hundred percent convinced. “You want me to write something for pain?”

      “I wouldn’t take it even if you did.” She couldn’t imagine many circumstances in which she’d take pain medications. She’d seen one colleague too many end up with addiction problems.

      “You might regret that decision later tonight.”

      “I won’t.” Feeling the pain would remind her that she was alive, that Levi had come to her rescue, saved her life.

      “You’re one tough cookie, Madison.”

      Her insides melted at her name rolling off his lips. “I try, Dr. Fielding.”

      “I asked you to call me Levi.” His gaze lingered on her mouth long enough to make the pit of her stomach dip to her toes and boomerang back like an overstretched rubber band.

      “That you did.” She tried not to read too much into his look, but failed miserably. How could she not when he looked as if he was wondering what kissing her would be like? When she really wanted him to kiss her? She lowered her gaze to his lips, hoped she conveyed that she wanted him to lean in, to touch his mouth to hers. “Levi.”

      Not leaning in or touching his lips to hers, he cleared his throat and glanced at his watch. “There’s still another hour at the picnic if you want to go back.”

      “No, thanks.” She shook her head. “Going back to work tomorrow and dealing with all the embarrassing commotion of having choked will be soon enough.”

      “Did you get to eat?” he surprised her by asking, his gaze flicking to hers.

      “No.” She’d poured a drink, taken that fateful gulp that had gone down the wrong pipe, and had never made it to prepare a plate of food. “I’ll grab something later.” She gave a self-derisive smile as her gaze met his, held. “Maybe this time I won’t get choked.”

      “I didn’t finish and I’m starved.” He rubbed his belly, emphasizing his point. Or was it those flat abs she wanted to lick he was emphasizing? She had to stop looking at Levi like human eye candy. She had to. Or did she? Maybe that was how playgirls saw the opposite sex? After all, he was delicious on the eyes, sugary sweet and made her want to go into a Levi-induced diabetic coma.

      “You want to grab a pizza before I drop you off?”

      She wanted to grab a lot more than pizza.

      “You’d miss the rest of the picnic.” Now, why had she pointed that out? Why hadn’t she just said, “Yes, take me now, I’m yours, but don’t go messing with my heart because it’s off limits”?

      “Oh, no, not that,” he teased.

      A hot flush spread across her cheeks.

      “Pizza sounds wonderful.” Reminding herself that him asking her to eat meant nothing, absolutely nothing except that he probably wanted to make sure she didn’t choke on her food again. Madison managed not to melt at his feet, managed to keep her hands to herself. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

      “I don’t mind, Madison,” he said in an all-too-serious voice, then blew it by adding, “Just ask anyone who knows me. They’ll tell you what a naughty boy I am.”

      There he went with that flirty tone again. And with the eyes. Those eyes screamed with pure