I woke up still buzzing from the night before. Not from adrenaline. Not from stress. From him.
Dorian bloody Webb.
I'd licked his finger.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I splashed cold water on my face, trying to scrub the image from my brain. His stunned expression. The way his eyes darkened. Like I'd pulled the rug out from under him. Like I'd gotten under his skin.
I wasn't going to let last night get to me. A little finger lick. Big deal. Happens all the time, right? In… very weird, very niche circles maybe.
Good.
Let's see how he liked it…
Back at work, the ward felt too bright, too busy, too… normal. But I walked in with my head held high, smirk twitching at the corners of my mouth. Today, I was going to win.
Morning briefing was dull… stats, safety checks, a reminder not to store snacks in the drug fridge. My eyes drifted across the room until they landed on him. Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, lips curved like he was still thinking about last night.
Our eyes met.
I didn't look away.
I raised a brow.
His grin twitched.
Game on.
We were paired again. Obviously. Nina gave me a knowing look but didn't say anything, thank Christ.
We did the obs round first. I waited until he leaned over a patient to check their oxygen stats, then I brushed past behind him, just a little too close. Let my hand skim his waist.
"Oops. Narrow space," I said, voice innocent.
He glanced over his shoulder. Eyes narrowed. Smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Watch yourself, Riley. Dangerous game."
"Can't help the layout of the ward," I said, wide-eyed.
Next up… med round. We passed in the corridor outside the treatment room, and I let my fingers trail along his arm as we squeezed past each other. Barely there. Just enough.
He stopped. Looked down at me.
My mouth opened but no sound came. Every instinct screamed run, but I stood rooted. Like a deer in headlights… if the car was six foot tall and smirking like sin.
He turned, eyes locked on mine.
"You keep touching me like that," he murmured, "and you're gonna find out what happens when I stop holding back."
Feckin' hell.
My heart kicked, but I didn't flinch.
"Promise?"
His jaw tensed. He didn't smile. Just stared.
For the first time… he looked dangerous.
Later, I was prepping IVs in the clinic. Dorian leaned over me, his chest brushing my back as he reached for a clipboard on the side beside me.
"Comfortable?" I asked, not turning.
"Getting there."
His voice was low, close to my ear. Goosebumps broke across my skin.
"You're playing with fire, Alex."
I rolled my eyes. "Fire's warm."
He hummed. A dark, amused sound. "Fire burns."
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, if me Ma saw me now, she'd be reaching for holy water and the belt.
I turned then. Just slightly. Our faces inches apart.
"So burn me."
For a second, he didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Then someone called his name from the corridor and he stepped back, tension snapping like an elastic band.
Dorian stepped back, ran a hand through his hair like he was trying to shake something loose. He didn't speak. But he looked at me like he hated the interruption almost as much as he hated how much he wanted me.
Lunch came and went. I sat in the staff room eating crisps while Dorian scrolled on his phone. We didn't talk. Didn't have to. The air was thick with everything unsaid.
I shifted in my seat, let my leg brush against his under the table. His gaze flicked up.
"You don't want this," he said quietly.
"Don't tell me what I want."
His eyes searched mine. "You don't know what this would mean."
I laughed, soft. "And you do?"
He didn't answer.
Final rounds. Things got hectic again, patients buzzing, meds late, new admissions. I was halfway through helping a patient into a chair when I felt him behind me.
He reached past me to adjust the blood pressure cuff.
His body pressed close… too close.
I held still. My breath hitched.
"This is your last warning," he whispered. "Keep pushing, and I won't stop next time."
I tilted my head, barely glanced back.
"Maybe I don't want you to."
And then it happened.
A call bell rang. We both turned. Same direction. Same tiny bathroom space. Same stupid reason, someone had dropped their phone behind the commode.
I crouched. He did too.
We reached at the same time.
Our hands met.
He looked up at me and I saw it, the crack. The mask slipped. Want. Restraint. Hunger.
He grabbed my wrist. Pulled me forward.
I fell into him.
His mouth was right there.
"Say it," he said, voice raw.
"Say what?"
"That you want me. That you've wanted me for days."
I swallowed.
The words burned on my tongue.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, if Mam saw me now, she'd be reaching for holy water and the belt.
But before I could speak—
Someone knocked on the door.
"You two okay in there?"
We broke apart.
Fast.
Too fast.
I yanked my hand back, heart hammering.
"Yeah!" I shouted. "Just… dropped something."
Dorian stood up. His chest rose and fell. He didn't look at me.
Then he left.
Didn't say a word.
I stood there, alone in that tiny room, shaking like a feckin' idiot.
Wanting more.
And terrified I might get it.
The rest of the shift passed in a blur. Dorian barely looked at me. Didn't touch me. Didn't even crack one of his usual cocky comments.
It shouldn't have mattered.
But it did.
I caught myself watching him, shoulders tense beneath his scrubs, jaw tight, like he was fighting something every second. I wanted to scream… laugh or… grab him and say what the hell are we doing?
But I didn't.
I clocked out first. Figured I'd make a clean escape before I did something stupid.
Didn't make it far.
I was halfway down the quiet corridor when I heard his voice behind me.
"Alex."
His voice hits different when he says my name and not just my surname.
I turned. "What?"
His eyes were storm-dark. Wild.
"Come with me."
"What—?"
He didn't wait for an answer. Just grabbed my arm— not rough, not gentle— and dragged me down the hall like he'd already made up his mind.
We reached the empty physio room. He pushed the door open, flicked the lock, and yanked the blinds down without a word.
"Dorian—" I started, but the door clicked shut behind us, and he was suddenly right there.
Chest to chest. Breath to breath.
His hands slammed either side of me, caging me against the wall.
"I warned you," he said, voice low, rough, barely controlled. "Told you if you kept teasing me..."
I swallowed. "Kept teasing, what?"
He leaned in, mouth grazing my ear. "I'd stop playing nice."
My knees went soft. I shuffled a little and gripped the counter behind me like a lifeline.
"You want to act bold, yeah?" he whispered. "Think you're ready to take charge?"
He tugged lightly at the collar of my scrub top, eyes burning.
"Because I swear to God, Alex… if you give me one more reason, I'll rip this uniform off you and remind you exactly who's been in control since day one."
My breath caught. He wasn't touching me. Not really, but I felt him everywhere.
"You gonna stop me?"
He didn't wait for me to answer… just leaned in.
Closer…
Hot breath against my lips.
Fingers brushing the hem of my top.
Everything inside me screamed yes, then no, then what the feck are we doing?!
Suddenly the doorknob rattled.
"Anyone in there?" came a voice from the other side. "Cleaner needs to mop."
We both froze.
I could feel his heartbeat against my chest.
Feel my own, racing to catch up.
Dorian stepped back, ran a hand through his hair like he was trying to shake something loose. He didn't speak. But he looked at me like he hated the interruption almost as much as he hated how much he wanted me.
This isn't over.
And I knew, as I stepped out of that room, flushed and trembling, that I was in it now.
Whatever this was?
There was no going back now…