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look of lust in his eyes. He
doesn’t speak, and I begin to think he won’t, that the encounter is
finally over.
    “No other doctor will meet my needs satisfactorily, Nicolette.”
    My breath hitches at those words, at
their double meaning. Does he notice?
    “I intend on staying however long I
need to, and, as far as Kilo goes, he likes his new doctor, so I
have no intention of changing.” Before I can respond, he inches
closer to me, closing in on me.
    Clay tightens his hold and
instinctively tries to pull me away.
    Cass, still sitting, puts a hand on
Clay’s forearm. We both look down at her. She gives Clay a strange
look, her face relaxed, as if she’s trying to calm Clay
down.
    I turn my attention back to Holt, not
understanding Cass’s reaction.
    He leans into my ear, and his hot
breath tickles my skin, almost making my body abandon its senses.
He whispers to me. “We’ll talk when you’re ready, Nicolette, and
you are going to hear what I have to say to you. I’ll
wait.”
    He walks away.
    What the hell? My words had no effect
on him whatsoever.
    No way I’m going home now. I’m not
ready for my dreams to be controlled by those words, those
eyes...those lips so close to my skin.
    I’m dancing with Clay, swaying my hips
in sync with his. He knows me well enough to know I’m only this
brave when I’m smashed, which I am, terribly. He’s taking advantage
of the moment because it’s such a rarity for me.
    While Clay moves slowly with me, I can
sense someone watching us. My skin is almost burning from the
glare. I hope it’s Holt. I want him to see that I’m happy, living
my life without him. That his presence has no effect on me at all.
That he’s nothing but a distant memory. If only any of that were
true. I tighten my arms around Clay and throw my head back,
laughing as if he’s told me a joke.
    I didn’t notice them come up, but two
guys are now dancing with us. The one with the sexy green eyes and
shaggy blond hair grabs my waist and pulls me away from Clay. I
pull away from him for a second, but then I let my body take over.
Let myself feel him, his closeness. The ridges of his chest are
crushing my breasts.
    He’s seriously hot, and I’m sure he
knows it. My overanalyzing mind tries to butt in for a moment,
wondering why the hell he’s dancing with me, but the I-don’t-give-a
shit side of me wins out. We dance for a while, and I’m laughing
with Clay beside me, as he dances with the other hot guy. He’s
looking at Clay in such a suggestive way, like he wants to take him
right there on the dance floor. They slowly inch themselves away
from us, further into the shadows.
    My senses come back to me a little,
now that I’m alone with my hot guy. He strokes my ass and lifts me
toward his hips, pulling my body into his.
    I laugh, and try to play it cool. “I
think I need to get off my feet a bit, but more, like, in a
chair.”
    He ignores me, and continues to grope
my ass, smiling seductively at me.
    “Really, I need a break.” I try to
push myself away from him.
    Hot Guy is suddenly yanked off me and
gone. In a flash. Gone. My eyes follow his body as it’s thrown
across the room, and standing over him is Holt.
    He was watching.
    I can’t hear what Holt is saying to
him, but it’s clear he isn’t giving Hot Guy an opportunity to
speak. Or get up.
    Hot Guy, who suddenly doesn’t look
very hot anymore, staggers up, glaring at Holt and looking as if
he’s about to go at it with him. Instead, he walks away but then
jerks back to Holt. “Fuck you, man. The bitch was having a good
time.” His voice is loud—I can hear it across the room and over the
music. He has the attention of the crowd.
    Holt charges him, grabs his shirt, and
raises him off the fucking floor . He rams his fist into Hot
Guy’s face, and a gush of blood sprays in the air. After Holt
releases him, Hot Guy falls to the floor. Knocked out cold. From
one punch. Oh my God.
    Hot Guy’s friend shows up out of the
shadows