In Flames - Elise Faber Page 0,32

straighter. “Now, go home. Try to get some rest, and let me know if anything changes, okay?”

“Okay.”

With that, and relieved that Jess had been too upset to notice that Suz was covered in Bond Magic, she slipped out of room seven, moving down to room two, but before she made it, she heard Cody’s voice through the closed door, taking care of the split chin inside. Pausing a moment to pop her head in long enough to make sure he had things well in hand, she continued on with clearing the rest of the backlog.

The earache was an easy fix, just needing a quick blip of magic in order to clear the impacted wax. Then she moved on to the ribs, while Cody took care of the wrist. Which left the pregnancy and the Man Cold.

She crossed paths with the muscled mass of green-eyed prettiness known as Cody in the hallway, who groaned when she told him the cases that were left.

“Men are the biggest babies,” he muttered, taking a step toward room four.

“Are you so severe upon your own sex?”

Another groan. “Don’t tell me,” he grumbled. “You’ve watched that movie with Dee again.”

“What movie?”

“Pride and Prejudice.”

So, maybe she had. Maybe she was quoting it. Although it hadn’t been with Dee. She’d been by herself, unable to sleep a few nights before, and she’d watched it twice, polishing off a bottle of wine, along with two bags of popcorn. She’d swooned over the rain scene, sighed at the grazed hands, and felt ridiculously jealous at the I love, I love, I love you.

But she wasn’t going to admit that to the man in front of her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh, sure you don’t,” he said. “And I’ll just pretend that I don’t see that Bond Magic coating your skin.”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar.” He tugged the end of her ponytail, then rolled his eyes when a groan echoed out into the hallway. A male groan. That was paired with copious amounts of sighing. “I’ll deal with the Man Cold. You do the pregnancy check-up. Then you, me, and Gabby will blitz through those physicals before I buy you dinner.”

“You mean bring me free food from the cafeteria.”

“Well, obviously.”

She bit back a grin. “It’s a deal. Though, if you need to go, I can handle the rest. You’ve already saved the day.”

“That’s what we LexTals do,” he said, walking backward toward room four and the Man Cold. “We’re heroes.”

“And you’re so modest, too.”

He grinned, saluted, then slipped into the room, leaving her to make her way to the pregnancy.

That was a fun appointment, and she got to share with the expectant parents that they were having a little boy, who was growing quite well and would be stealing their sleep in the very near future.

But the promised food from Cody didn’t materialize.

He was pulled away, needed at some self-defense training for the youngest soldiers. She couldn’t complain, wouldn’t ever complain. As a LexTal, his duties were first and foremost to the defense of the Colony, and that included making sure their soldiers could protect themselves.

She powered through the physicals, ignoring the comments on the magic glittering over her skin and still feeling like a walking advertisement. But even so, she cleared the remaining people who’d trickled into the waiting room throughout the day, and only finally when her feet were screaming, her shoulders absolutely aching with pain, did she close the door and turn off the lights.

Emergencies would be the only thing to pull her from the mound of paperwork in her office.

Rolling her neck, she made her way back down the hall, hoping that for a change, there wouldn’t be any late-night calls.

She wanted to see Graham.

She’d felt him in the back of her brain all day, filling her with warmth, and for once, she didn’t want her job interfering with her private life.

She wanted a private life.

No, she wanted Graham.

Graham, who’d looked so sexy that morning. Graham, who’d—

“Shit!” She straightened. Graham, who’d come by earlier and suggested they’d meet at seven to eat and talk and—

Her eyes flew to the clock.

Seven-forty-nine.

Fuck.

She grabbed a hoodie from the hook just inside her office, yanked it on, and hustled toward the door.

Maybe she could catch up with him.

Maybe she could—

She stumbled into the hall.

Stumbled because the moment she turned the handle, the door flew open, and she tripped, falling over . . .

Graham.

“Hi, Firefly,” he murmured.

His mind in hers flared bright, as though they’d been on not