He couldn't have gotten more than three or four hours of sleep and yet he felt better than he did after a full night's rest.

Almost as if being with Janica had restored him in some elemental way.

Shifting slightly in her sleep, her butt cheeks slid against his cock. His body wanted badly to take over, to shift her another inch so that he could experience all of that slick warmth again.

He'd never wanted anything more than to take her again.

She shifted again, almost right where he wanted her, but just as he was about to give in to his baser desires, just as he had only hours ago, he suddenly heard her voice in his head, as clearly as if she were speaking aloud.

I love you, Luke.

If she hadn't said those words to him, if he could have pretended she was no different than any other woman he'd been with...

Fuck.

She wasn't just anyone. She was his best friend's little sister. She was his sister-in-law.

And she thought she was in love with him.

What had he done?

* * *

Janica felt Luke shift beside her as he worked to slide his arm out from beneath her frame.

Her heart started pounding. Hard.

In the real world where things made sense and she stayed on one side of the playground while Luke stayed on the other, she knew he was right to leave. That whatever had happened between them was all wrong.

But, God, it had felt so right.

Better than right.

Perfect.

And in the dark, in the aftermath of those moments when he'd called her sweetheart and looked into her eyes as if he really and truly cared about her, all she knew was that she would die inside if he left.

“Stay.”

He stilled, like a thief caught in the act.

And maybe he was a thief, she thought. Because somehow, when she wasn't looking, he'd snuck in and stolen her heart.

Damn him.

Seductively, instinctively, she rubbed herself against him so that his rock-hard shaft slid between her already slick labia, the soft curve of her butt cheeks. Reaching around for one of his hands, she placed it over one of her breasts.

Her nipple beaded against his large hand and she could feel him pulsing against the flesh between her thighs, still tender from his wonderfully rough lovemaking.

A few more seconds and, oh please, his incredible cock would be sliding back into her pussy and she could experience pure ecstasy for a second time.

Only, the next thing she knew she was alone in her bed.

And the worst part of it was that he didn't say anything. He simply pulled away from her and walked naked out of her bedroom.

Stunned, she lay there for a moment, cold without his arms around her, empty without his thick heat driving into her.

Fortunately, anger came fast on the heels of her shock.

Jumping off the bed, she rushed into her living room to see that Luke was almost fully dressed already.

“You're leaving.”

His face was an impenetrable mask. “Yes.”

So that was the way it was going to be?

Fine. She didn't want any apologies from him. And she definitely didn't want his thanks for a killer fuck.

He hadn't taken anything from her that she hadn't wanted to give.

Except, a small voice in her head whispered, quite possibly, her heart.

Sixty seconds later, he was gone.

* * *

Luke went home, showered, then headed straight back to the hospital.

One of his colleagues had to need a break, had to have a shift he could fill. As long as he stayed busy he could keep himself from going there, back to Janica's apartment, back to the moment when she'd glared at him and said, You're leaving.

What she'd really meant was, Fuck you.

Even after his shower, he swore he could scent her, as if her beautiful essence had slipped past his skin, all the way into his cells. His cock thickened beneath his scrubs and he worked like hell to douse his growing hard-on, which was completely inappropriate for a doctor to be sporting. But he had to work even harder to crush that twinge in his gut that told him he'd been a complete asshole.

And that she'd deserved a hell of a lot better of a goodbye than he'd given her.

Especially since he hadn't said goodbye at all. He'd just left like a fucking coward.

Trying to focus his vision on the staffing board, he was about to call Bonnie to tell her not to bother coming in, when Eileen Jones, the hospital’s head psychiatrist said, “Good morning, Luke. You're just the person I wanted to see. Would you mind coming into my office for a quick chat?”

He was barely in her door when she hit him with, “You’re too tired. You need to take some time off.”

“I'm fine,” he shot back. Quickly realizing he needed to back off the defensive or she'd definitely think something was up, he sat down in an open chair and put his hands behind his head.

She didn't look at all convinced. “When’s the last time you slept?”

“I spent last night in bed.”

Which was true. He just hadn't been sleeping.

And, sweet Lord, Janica had been hot. Better than anything he could have ever imagined.

She'd been giving, too. Selfless in her passion.

And so damn sweet, he hadn't ever wanted to let her go.

Eileen sighed loudly. “That may well be the case, and I hate having to do this, Luke, but someone has to unplug you from the operating table, because you’re clearly not going to do it yourself.”

Luke stood up to argue his case, but Eileen waved him back down. “I know you’re going to say that they need you—”

“They do.”

“—and that you feel fine—”

“I do. I’m fine, Eileen.” He held out his hands. “They’re not shaking. I’m not seeing double. Or hallucinating. I don’t have any signs of sleep deprivation. I’ve been working this way for years, and I’m responsible for saving more lives than anyone in this hospital, so I appreciate your concern but—”

She cut him off. “I know what happened last night, that Robert had to take over for you. And before you start beating yourself up over it, I want you to know I've seen it happen to all of the best doctors. So I'm not at all concerned about your patients, Luke. I’m concerned about you. You need some time off. To rejuvenate. To have some fun.” Looking down at the papers on her desk she said, “You’ll be taking the next four weeks off.”

Four weeks? Fuck, no. How was he supposed to make it through the next twenty-four hours without his job to fall back on? Between what had happened in the ER and what had happened with Janica, he was as screwed in the head – and the heart - as he'd ever been.

“One week,” he countered.

“We don’t want you to set foot in the hospital for four weeks, Luke,” she said firmly, the handed him his walking papers.