Did she never stop and slow down? She should slow downâheâd make her. Give it to her really, really slow. Bend her back and lick all the way up her gorgeous length until she⦠Hell , his eyes were probably glazing over. He shut them tight. It made the fantasy worse. It made the aching in his gut worse.
On seconds thoughts, the sooner Sophy left, the better.
âSheâs very well qualified and has great references,â Sophy saidâoblivious to the base nature of his thoughts. âSheâll get you right again.â
âI do not need a damn nursemaid.â What was she going to do all day? Heâd had the pills, now he just needed to sleep until it was time to take more. The last thing he wanted was some woman poking round his apartment. He neverlet women poke around. He liked his privacyâthe peace in isolation.
âYour temperature is sky-high. Until itâs down and the antibiotics have kicked in, then you are not being left alone. Weâre talking twenty-four hours or less, Lorenzo. Get over it.â
He opened his mouth. Shut it again. He hadnât been given orders quite like that in years .
âNow you need to rest. The nurse will be here in twenty. Sheâs bringing more medicine with her.â
Enough was enough. He wasnât putting up with this for a moment longer. He put his feet on the ground and hauled himself up.
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âLorenzo.â Sophyâs heart lurched. She moved fast.
His eyes were closed and the frown on his face was heightened by his extreme pallor. His whole body was covered in a film of sweat but he shivered again. She wrapped her arm around himâfelt every single muscle in his body go tense. Sophy bit her lip. The sooner the nurse got here, the better.
âIâm fine.â The anger surged in his voice. Directed at both her and himself. He was furious with his weakness.
âAnd Iâm the Queen of Atlantis.â
âThis is ridiculous. Iâm hardly at deathâs door. Itâs a sore throat.â But he sat back down all the same, put his feet up this time and scrunched more into the sofa, lying shivering beneath the rug. His teeth were tightly clenchedâto stop them chattering or because he was so mad? Probably both.
Sophy was definitely staying âtil the nurse arrived now. She sat in the chair across from the sofa. Keeping a wary eye on him and sneaking interested glances round his apartment. The space was gorgeousâhuge and light.The kitchen was modernâhad all the lovely stainless steel appliances a gourmet home cook could ever want. There was a massive shelving system on one wallâfilled with books, CDs, DVDs. She leaned close to look at the titles, even though she knew she was being nosy.
She glanced at her watch. Shouldnât be long now âtil the nurse arrived. Heâd gone very quiet. Was he asleep? Quietly she moved back to the sofa, bent so she could see his face.
His jet-black hair was just slightly too longâas if heâd missed his last appointment with the barberâand right now it was a tousled mess. It was gorgeousâjust begging for fingers to tunnel into it. And his features were beautiful. His eye lashes were annoyingly long while the shadow on his angular cheek tempted her to touch. And then there was his mouth. In the heart of his chiselled jaw were the most sensual lips sheâd ever seen. Full, gently curved, slightly parted as he slept. The shivering seemed to have eased. Had his temperature dropped? She put her palm on his forehead again.
His hand moved fast, clamping round her wrist as his eyes shot open. The brown so deep as to be black, filled with a fire she wasnât sure was purely fever.
She was caught, crouched half over him, unable to move.
His eyes burned into her. âI told you to quit it.â
But he wasnât holding her hand away from him, instead he pressed her fingers harder to his skin. Afterwards she never
Janwillem van de Wetering