The Heart - Kate Stewart Page 0,51

idea. Even lying in another man’s arms, I wasn’t sure that Jack wasn’t the first in a series of men I would feel unsure about. I still had no idea when, if ever, I could ever fully let myself believe otherwise.

“Let’s go screen you for everything,” a sated me suggested minutes later, eager to test out the equipment.

“Next time, I pick the place,” Jack said, pulling me off the couch and letting his eyes drift over my chest. “I’d hoped I would see this again,” he said as his fingers trailed over the top of the cup of my bra, making me perk up with renewed need. “What made you wear this today?”

“I’d hoped you’d see it again, too.”

“Lord, woman, in a twenty-four hour period, I saw you in this and you came on the back of my bike. How in the hell is a man supposed to walk away from that?”

“Both embarrassing situations for me, Jack, okay? Let’s not use these stories for reference down the line.”

“The hell I won’t, and don’t forget about your tongue,” he chided as we again entered the CT room. He took his place, a shirtless wonder on the body tray.

“I love the way you’re looking at me right now,” he whispered as I worked above him, our intimate connection still strong as it thrummed between us.

“Oh yeah?” I leaned over him, doing a position check for his head. “How am I looking at you?”

“Like I’m the only man in the world.”

I ignored his comment as a small lump formed in my throat and did my best to concentrate on getting him into position.

“Excuse me, but could you please put a shirt on? This is highly unprofessional,” he said in mock annoyance.

“Oh, Mr.—”

I froze and looked down on him just as his pointer and thumb closed on my nipple. I shrieked as he twisted it painfully then screamed out his last name. “Sawyer, it’s Sawyer!”

“Hmph, best not forget it,” he slapped my ass painfully before he resumed his position.

“All right, lie perfectly still, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed easily though his hands continued to roam over my chest and neck as he looked up at me with a sexy grin.

“I said lie still.” I placed his hands in position. “Is there any chance at all you may be pregnant?”

“Slim,” he said, playing along.

“Just to make sure, I’m going to place this on your chest,” I said picking up the magnetic pack and throwing it into position over him.

“A girl can never be too careful,” he said in a pathetic attempt at a woman’s voice.

“Jack,” I chuckled, looking down at him as a sudden mix of emotions struck me.

“What is it, beautiful?” he asked as he reached up to push the falling hair from around my face.

I felt myself fill with gratitude. I wanted to give him a piece of what he’d given me over the last few days, but I couldn’t put it into words.

“Lie still!”

“Yep,” he said, placing his hands at his sides.

I walked into the adjacent room and started the machines, knowing how to use them but also with the knowledge that we would hire the best technician to utilize them. It was a critical part of the diagnosis and we had no room for error. As I stood in the quiet room and pressed the speaker to call out instructions, a crippling fear overtook me as he lay in the body basket. For a brief moment, I panicked as the machine began to turn. A prayer went up for the first time since I could remember, and I had to take a seat as fear swept through me.

“Breathe, Rose.”

It had been almost a solid year since I’d had an attack. As I studied the images flashing across the screen, I was unable to stop myself from scrutinizing them. I took a deep breath and held it before I let it go. It came out sputtering and weak, and I felt the tears start to roll down my face. Heart pounding out of control, I braced myself and felt the inevitable panic wash over me.

“Not now, not now, chill out, Rose,” I scolded myself as I began to shake. Several long breaths later, I knew it was pointless as wave after wave of fear gripped me. My forehead damp with sweat, I began to work through it as my need to see his scans became a sort of lifeline.

I studied every scan for several minutes with hyper-focused scrutiny as they appeared. Relief swept