“It must be enough for her to think she can tell me that you’re only using me for sex.”

Pesh winced at the words. He would have never taken Kara for being someone who was jealous. He put down the spatula and turned off the stove. He knew he couldn’t go forward without coming clean. “Megan, I haven’t been honest with you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I told you that Kara and I had only had drinks a couple of times. But that isn’t the whole truth.”

Megan’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

Defeated, his shoulders drooped a little. “After the night of Noah’s baptism, I couldn’t get you off my mind. I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t so enamored by you. So after having a couple of drinks one night, Kara and I went to my car and fooled around.”

“You got drunk?”

He gave a mirthless laugh. “That is what is most shocking to you in what I just told you?”

“Did you think I would be mad at you for messing around with some woman when we weren’t dating?”

“Yes,” he answered honestly.

Megan shook her head. “What you did then was your business. I mean, I’m not thrilled to hear that you fooled around with her, especially since you wouldn’t sleep with me when I asked you to.”

“But don’t you see the difference? I cared for you, and I cared nothing for her. We were barely in the car fifteen minutes if that tells you anything.”

The corners of her lips tugged up in a small smile. “I really don’t need the details of how much you didn’t enjoy yourself.”

He ducked his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But at the same time, I’m glad to hear that you won’t be going back for a repeat performance.”

Jerking his gaze up to meet hers, he replied, “Never could I do that.”

“And you really were trying to get me off your mind?”

“Yes, I was.”

“In a warped way, that’s very romantic,” she teased.

“I’m glad you think so,” he mumbled.

“Look, it’s not the fact that she said you were using me for sex that has me so upset.”

“It’s not?”

“She threatened me.”

Pesh’s eyes narrowed. “Physically?”

“Not exactly. She said that if I didn’t watch my back, she would report me to the dean.”

A low growl erupted from Pesh’s chest. “She seriously said that?”

“Yes, she did.”

“I’m sorry that her jealousy and spitefulness is rearing its head. I never imagined she was such a person when I…well, when I got involved with her. I’ll make sure to speak to her. No one should have to work in a hostile environment, and she must understand that just because of her seniority, she is not allowed to harass you.” Pesh watched Megan fidget on her feet while nibbling on her bottom lip. “Do you not want me to speak to her?”

“No, that’s fine. It’s just…”

“Is there something else?”

“You know how much I like you. I mean, the very fact I agreed to date you shows how much I’m committed to you.”

Pesh crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m thinking there’s a ‘but’ coming that I’m not going to like.”

Megan sighed. “But at the same time, whatever it is that is happening between us…” She swallowed hard. “I’ve worked really hard in school, Pesh. I don’t want anything on my record that could hurt my chances of getting a job.”

If she was the crying type, he would have sworn her eyes shimmered with tears. He came around the counter to pull her into his arms. “Hey now, don’t you worry one bit about getting into trouble. Anyone who has seen you in action on the floor knows what a talented and gifted nurse you are.”

She sniffled. “If there’s even a rumor of me having an affair with an attending physician, I could be blacklisted.”

Pesh pulled away to grip her chin in his fingers. “After I speak to Kara, you will have nothing to worry about, okay?”

He could tell that even though she wanted to relax and let go of her anxiety, she couldn’t. “Come on. Let’s fix you up.”

She wiped her eyes. “What do you mean?”

With a wink, he went over to the cabinet and got down a wine glass. Then he poured some white wine into the glass before setting it down on the bar. “Take that.”

Megan glanced at the glass and then back at him. “Are you trying to ply me with wine?”

“Maybe.”

She leaned forward and picked it up. He watched as she couldn’t resist the temptation and she took a hearty gulp. Closing her eyes, she murmured, “That’s so good.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He walked around the counter again. This time he took her free hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“For part two of your relaxation.”

Megan smiled at him before he began tugging her down the hall. When he got into the bedroom, he noticed her sigh of frustration when they bypassed the bed for the bathroom. “While I finish dinner for us, you need to soak in a nice, hot bath.”

“You spoil me,” she protested with a smile.

He gave her a playful wink before turning on the bath water. Once he got the temperature right, he turned back to her. “Bubbles? Bath salt?”

She raised her brows. “Don’t tell me you actually have those? I mean, I know you’re a metrosexual but really?”

“We all have our secrets,” he replied. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had kept some of Jade’s Bath & Body Works stuff. He might’ve tried to bury them under the bathroom counter to get them out of sight and out of mind, but they were still there. He rummaged around to pull out a vanilla bottle as well as a peach. He held them up to Megan for her approval.

“Hmm, vanilla.”

“Good choice.” It was the one scent that didn’t remind him of Jade since she never used it. He poured a healthy cupful under the water, letting the foam magnify.

“Ready to get in?”

Megan glanced down at herself before looking back at him. “Well, I seem to still be dressed.”

Pesh cocked his head at her. “Oh really? I can help you with that.” He took the wine glass from her and sat it on the counter. His fingers came to the hem of her shirt. Without taking his eyes off of hers, he jerked it up and over her head. He gazed down at her simple, white bra. She sucked in a breath when his fingers skimmed her abdomen before he gripped the waistband of her scrubs and tugged them down. She stepped out of the pants, standing before him in only her bra and skimpy thong.

Taking her by the shoulders, he gently turned her around. His fingers trailed down her back to the clasp of her bra. Once he unhooked it, he brought his hands up to slide it off her shoulders. Unable to resist the softness of her skin, he bent his head to kiss along her back. As he dropped the bra to the floor, his hands skimmed up her ribcage to cup her breasts. “Mmm,” Megan murmured, letting her head fall back against his chest.

“I’m only supposed to be undressing you,” he argued, as he let her breasts fall free of his hands.

She immediately picked them up and brought them back to cup her flesh. “I like the way you undress me. It’s very relaxing.”

Rolling her puckered nipples between his fingers, he was rewarded with her gasp of pleasure. “The water is getting cold,” he warned.

“I’m getting so hot, I can warm it up.”

He chuckled against her ear before taking his hands away from her. As she whined in protest, his fingers jerked her thong down over her thighs. She raised her feet to step out of the underwear. “All right. Get in.”

“Tease,” she muttered, before walking over to the tub. He only got to admire her naked backside for a moment before she lowered herself into the tub and disappeared under the foam. Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes in bliss. “This feels amazing.”

“Good.”

“But you know what would feel even better?”

“What?”

Her eyes popped open, and she smiled invitingly up at him. “If you were in here with me.”

“Really?”

“Mmm, hmm.”

“I should be finishing dinner,” he argued, feebly.

Megan eyed the growing bulge in his pants. “I think you should be in here letting me finish you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Fine. You drive a hard bargain, my lady.” He quickly unbuttoned and took off his shirt. Then his fingers went to the button and zipper on his pants. He slid them and his boxers down and stepped out of them, leaving him naked.

Megan didn’t take her eyes off him the whole time. He shifted them in the water, bringing Megan up to straddle him, but she was facing away from him. “What are you doing?” she asked.

He brought his hands to her shoulders and started massaging the tense muscles. “Helping you relax.”

She ground herself against his erection. “I was hoping a couple of orgasms would do that instead.”

He chuckled. “Don’t you believe in foreplay?”

“Yes, but not when I’m this horny.”

Bending his head, he let his warm breath tickle her outer ear. “You, my love, are never going to be a candidate for Tantric sex. You will never allow yourself to enjoy delayed pleasure and release.”

“I want to try—honest, I do.”

“But just not this evening, right?” One of his hands abandoned her shoulder to slide down in between her legs. She gasped as his thumb rubbed against her clit. As he continued stroking her with his thumb, he pushed two fingers into her slick passage. Megan whimpered and thrust her hips against him. Pesh kissed and licked her wet neck and back as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes, oh yes,” she murmured.

He increased the pressure of his thumb, and Megan shrieked, bucking her hips faster and faster against his fingers. When his other hand cupped and kneaded her breast, she cried out and came, her walls clenching against his fingers.