Chapter 2

AN: Merry Christmas!

We walked to the pub, and his hand kept brushing mine the entire time. About a block from our destination, I took pity on him and laced my fingers through his. Warm, strong hands. Surgeon's hands. Don't think about it.

The pub was a different one than Sunday night. This place was far more superior. It felt more like a date. This is not a date Corday, to you at least. Bollocks. You've gotten here of your own accord, so might as well go along and try to enjoy it. Who knows, it could end with him ripping your clothes off and that you would like.

Two drinks in and Romano had finally loosened up. Three drinks in and oh god Corday, stop laughing like a schoolgirl. Stop the leaning in. Stop the smiling at him. Stop finding him witty and charming and utterly delectable.

The catch though was that he was all those things. At some point, he got just comfortable enough to start to show a different side, and I liked it. A side that I had caught glimpses of in London, the glimpses that made me consider following him to America that he would be fun and rewarding to work with. Only now I wasn't standing across an operating table, and those glimpses were taking on a new life. No. Stop with the damn dimples. I can't think when you bring out the dimples.

Fuck.

"Lizzie? Earth to Lizzie. Are you even listening Corday?"

No.

"Sorry."

"You know if I'm boring you, you should just say so."

"Not boring. Just…distracting."

I was leaning into him again as if my body was acting on its own accord and I could smell the faint traces of his cologne, almost hidden behind the antiseptic smell of surgical soap.

"Look, you can't keep smiling at me like that if you want an intelligent reply." Bastard.

He finished his drink and continued to look at me, the expression on his face had changed to that of a cat who caught the canary. "You know Lizzie if you're that easily distracted then perhaps it's time to call it a night. We do have work in the morning after all."

Knocking back the rest of my pint was easy enough; it wasn't a real pint, to begin with—bloody Americans. God, I probably just came across as too eager. Who cares. Let's just pay the tab and then go somewhere else. Preferably with a bed and a clothing-optional policy. Oooo. A no clothing allowed policy. Yes, that would do nicely.

How we managed to get out of the pub that quickly, I don't know, but the process of flagging down a cab was not following suit. The wind that evening had brought a brisk chill, and the beer had made me bold. I leaned in again, this time wrapping my arms around Romano's waist whilst nuzzling my head into the crock of his neck, placing lite kisses along the exposed skin. It worked. Romano slid one arm around my waist, pulling me closer and the other came up to caress my face before pulling me in for a kiss.

It wasn't the fiery kiss of our previous pub night; instead, it was soft, slow, and there was a depth to it that I could drown in. I wanted more like it and let out a soft moan into his mouth as I took his lower lip in mine and sucked it teasingly. I was now not the only person moaning. Good.

"Slow down Lizzie. There's no rush." He pulled back from me, one hand still caressing my cheek but the one at my waist had loosened its hold ever so slightly. Yes, damnit, there was a rush. I tried to lean in again sliding my hands lower on him, but he wasn't having it. My Rocket Danger Meter let out a low blip, coming to life at the slightly miffed expression on his face.

"Do you always move this quickly with men, or am I missing something here? Because I certainly don't move this quickly with women, not the ones I want to date at least."

My previous suspicion that he was genuinely interested was confirmed. I had hoped to dance around this point for a little bit longer as I attempted I figure out what to do. Too late. I took a step back, trying to create enough space to think straight, and his face darkened a little. Another ping on the Rocket Danger Meter.

"I see." Momentarily I could see hurt flash in his eyes before he settled on seething. "I asked you out on a date, not to go to a bar, get drunk, and then have sex. I'd rather pick up a stranger than just spend the night with you." The words were out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying, and I could tell he regretted it.

Why did this have to be my lot in life? Standing before me was a man who seemed to adore me, was charming and witty outside of work, and who kissed me in a way that no other man had previously. And yet he was my sponsor that I had spent the last several months butting heads with. If the work aspect weren't in play, it would be an easy answer. I had been silent for too long, though, and Romano's recreation at his words was turning into frustration with me.

"Look, Elizabeth, I'm interested in more than just sex. You're far too… brilliant and intelligent and charming to put into the just sex category. If that's all you're interested in then fine, go back into the bar, and I'm sure you'll find a willing participant."

Now or never Corday. You've got three options. Option one, go back into the bar. Option two, walk away and find a cab. Option three, say yes to Romano and give him a real chance knowing there will not be sex right away. Options one and two were both enticing, but option three had the added benefit of a man who seemed sincerely interested in me and not just my body.

Stepping forward, I reached for his hand, entwining his fingers with mine, and this time it was my hand that came up to caress the aide of his face. Resting my forehead lightly against his, I finally spoke. "Robert, you're going to have to stop kissing me if it's intelligent thought you want and not raging hormones. I can't manage both at that point, particularly after three pints."

I was rewarded with a small smile, and he turned his head ever so slightly to kiss my hand gently. Romano -Robert brought our entwined hands up and placed mine on his chest, wrapping his now free arms around my waist again and pulling me close. His very strong arms. Corday. Now is not the time.

"So what you're saying is, this is my fault for kissing you? Your lack of self-control?"

"Do you really think I go round snogging men behind pubs? That was a first for me. And I'd never contemplated shagging someone in the back of a cab before." Foot in mouth Corday, he did not need to know that.

"Really now." The gleeful smugness was back in his voice and on his face. Sure he could say all he liked that he wanted more than just sex, but like any warm-blooded man, the idea that a woman found them irresistible was a turn on. A literal one in this case as I thought I could feel his cock get hard at my words. Thankfully one of us had self-control.

I buried my face into his neck, taking a moment to enjoy the warmth he was putting off. I needed a cold shower. He needed a cold shower. And not shower sex either, I had learned that lesson the hard way and one time was enough.

"I think it's time we called it a night. Probably in separate cabs as well." I could feel him chuckle before kissing my hair and taking a step back from me.

"Don't trust yourself, Lizzie?"

"Not unless you'd like me to jump you in a cab."

He had been infuriatingly gentlemanly like hailing a cab for me, keeping a reasonable distance and a relatively chaste good night kiss. Naturally, he looked smug enough to make me want to hit him, but that can't be helped.

It was a blessedly short cab ride to my flat, whereupon pouring a glass of wine I promptly reached for my vibrator. Fuck the cold shower that can come later, preferably after me.

Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?

It was Saturday morning, and I was drinking coffee of all bloody things. Granted I might have put a drop of whisky into it to make it palatable, but that had no consequence today as long as I was sober in time for this evening. But this morning called for something to steady my nerves.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four- "Hello?"

"Oh thank god, I was worried I wouldn't catch you at home."

"Elizabeth? Wow, I wasn't expecting a call today."

Blanche was one of my oldest friends; we had arrived at boarding school around the same time and were instantly inseparable. We had been roommates in our Uni days and lived together during my med school days and her master's degree.

"Yeah well it's an emergency, and this was the first chance I got to call."

"What kind of emergency?"

"The I'm going on a date with my visa sponsor tonight kind."

I gave her a minute to stop choking on her drink; my statement did come far out of left field considering my last few letters had me complaining about working with Roman-Robert.

"What-uh. Elizabeth? Are you fighting with your father and this is some …weird way to get revenge? Because going out with your sponsor sounds like a terrible idea. You don't even like the man."

"He kissed me, and I nearly creamed my knickers, so clearly he's worth the consideration even though he's my boss."

"Wait, really? When? How? Ughhh. Never mind. That's…that's not the best reason to go out with your boss, who you don't like though. He's the rude American to quote both you and your father I might add."

My coffee was getting low, so I added a splash more whisky and contemplated what food I had for breakfast. I was going to need something to eat if I kept spiking my beverage.

"I might have been wrong about that."

I could hear Blanche walking about her kitchen, clearly searching for the corkscrew upon realising the nature of the conversation.

"How wrong are we talking?"

"To the tune of smiling and giggling like a schoolgirl at the pub the other night. Men who kiss like him should not be witty, and charming when they happen to be your boss that you've spent months butting heads with."

"So all that tension in the workplace was really sexual tension. Interesting."

"For him, maybe. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this shift in our dynamic. There's a part of me screaming at the top of my lungs that it is a horrible idea to date the person responsible for my work visa and medical license. That it's a very bad idea to go out with a man that previously I had no interest in because I was pursuing someone else."

"Clearly, Benton was it? Clearly, Benton didn't work out."

"Oh, he did. And then Romano kissed me at work, and I liked it far too much for Peter to be comfortable with."

"Oh. Well. You owe me that story when we can be drunk together."

"Sure. You arrange someone to bail us out first."

"Deal. So, if you've got Isabelle in your head screaming this is a bad idea- hush you, we all know it's your mum's voice you're hearing. So if it's such a bad idea why give this a shot. Why not just say you were drunk and feeling lonely?"

"To start with, I knew he wanted to go out with me before the bar. And kissing aside, ….he's so sincere about liking me. It's refreshing to have the interest of a man who's first goal isn't to jump into bed but to spend time getting to know me. Point blankly said that I don't fall into the category of someone to just have sex with."

"So the rude American might really be A Man instead of a boy then. And you like the way he kisses you. I think you're damned if you do damned if you don't at this point. So perhaps just enjoy being damned?"

"We're going to dinner and then seeing a production of The Importance of Being Earnest tonight. There will be no sex, and I've already replaced the batteries in my vibrator in anticipation of the sexual frustration."

I was being laughed at now—some friend. And to think I stood up with her at her wedding.

"No sex? Seriously?"

"Yes. Even snogging a little too forcefully gets me a slowdown. Ugh. Look, I'm going to take another cold shower and wash my hair. A long enough process to keep me suitable distracted until he picks me up."

"Alright. But Elizabeth, try and enjoy the company of a man who is very much interested in you instead of what's in your pants. We know from scientific" we both laughed at that, having kept detailed dating logs in Uni to determine how to spot the best date a mile away. Taking notes makes it science. "Studies, that those men are few and far between. Particularly when the woman is intelligent."

Blanche was right, of course. And it had been a wonderful evening. I could count on one hand the number of times a man A, picked me up at my door and B had flowers for me when he did. And he was so excited to see me and didn't care to hide it. Robert Romano really should be allowed to smile like that because I'll be damned if it wasn't infectious. Whilst I would have enjoyed a more salacious evening, there was something delightful about knowing sec was off the table. It was as if the pressure had been relived and we could just relax and be ourselves. I never thought I'd enjoy a man being a perfect gentleman with me, but it was frankly a turn on. Needless to say, there was an icy shower when he finally dropped me off sometime around two am. The play had been lovely, and we had absconded to a dessert bar shortly after, staying till they kicked us out. The short but sweet good night kiss tasted of velvety chocolate, and that night I dreamt of licking the delightful desert off of him.

Work had become a tricky thing to navigate. I like butting heads with people and attempting to out stubborn Robert was just good clean fun. It always was when they gave as good as they got. But the new layer of sexual tension and frustration was adding to the pre-existing tension and frustration, and it made me remember why I never dated men who came close to being my equal. Alright fine. I like being the most intelligent person in the room, and that's not an endearing trait in a prospective partner. Two people trying to out clever each other can be a recipe for disaster. Or lots of spontaneous sex in every room on every surface. Just ask my parents, there's a reason why they sent me to boarding school, and it had nothing to do with being cheaper than a nanny.

Thankfully several evening of after-work drinks and weekend dinners had been enough to bring the both of us out of our shells, and Robert was beginning to realise just how much I enjoyed the verbal sparring. It was also enough to make me admit that stealing drugs to do my own study just wasn't cricket. My initial reasoning of listening to his comment that I needed to refocus on trauma and thus coming up with a study to compliment his was revived well, but that didn't change that I didn't need to go round him to be ambitious like I did the surgical consultants in London. Robert liked my ambitious nature, found it a turn on, and was happy to encourage it. At this point, I was quite happy for it to be a turn on and stored the knowledge away to be used appropriately. Hopefully, there would be handcuffs.