Free Smolder by Graylin Fox

thought he did it to protect me, I believed his vow to protect me was genuine, but he said it from across the room. He always left space there and that had to mean he either was involved with someone else or hadn’t broken it off yet, or he was emotionally unavailable even if he made it clear his body might be willing.
    On the other hand, Dmitri opened up earlier and let me see his pain and how much he missed his children. For someone who works with emotional connections, that made my heart beat faster as I walked to his office. I wanted to hear more about his past, especially his life in Russia. He missed it and the way he smiled and his eyes lit up when he talked about it was something I wanted to see again.
    He seemed so genuine in the lounge earlier, and the way he spoke of his children touched me. Blue eyes framed by black hair were a weakness of mine, and a chance to indulge with an educated man who loved kids tempted me. I knew I could be in trouble with him but Josh was right. I liked a challenge, and he seemed like a nice guy.
    “Good afternoon.”
    His smile erased the doubts my mind worked overtime to smother.
    “I wanted to know if we could go out to dinner this Friday?” he continued.
    My mind rushed to remember what day it was, Thursday? “Tomorrow night?” I asked for clarification.
    “Yes, tomorrow night.” He smiled and walked me to his private office.
    It was decorated with items I'd only seen at antique markets. An old writing desk got my attention, cherry-colored and polished to a shine. I reached out to touch it and checked with him, he nodded it was okay. It felt so smooth, and the faint smell of real wood hung in the air.
    “This is beautiful.” For an office in a hospital, this was spectacular.
    “I love antiques. On weekends, I restore them in my garage. I moved here soon after the divorce and got a home large enough for the children to run in. Now that they are teenagers, I find I have more rooms to decorate.” He beamed with pride.
    “I would love to see them,” I said before I thought about it. “I mean, I love antiques as well. It is one reason I chose Savannah. The history is written on all of the old buildings downtown. The beautiful homes and terraces.” I blushed.
    “You are welcome to come by and see my home at any time. You will feel like a princess.” His blue eyes sparkled and all of my doubts left. The ones that stayed would be beaten with a hammer before the weekend was out, I was certain.
    “Maybe we should have dinner first and then we could go to the symphony, if that is okay with you?” He glowed.
    “I would love to go.”
    We set the time for seven p.m., and I gave him my address. Josh would still be here through this weekend, and I would love his take on the doctor. “Excuse me, but do you want me to keep calling you Dr. K?”
    “Dmitri. Please call me Dmitri.”
    He leaned back on his desk with long firm legs crossed in front of him, his arms by his sides as he absently stroked the carved edges of the desktop.
    My knees gave a little as I imagined those long, precise fingers gliding over my body. The walk back to my office took moments, and Lee stood in her office and stared at me as I went in. You would think I had written “smitten” across my forehead. She jumped and walked out to hug me.
    “It's Dr. K, isn't it?” she asked.
    “Yes, it is,” I answered. “I'm having some very naughty thoughts about that man, and if I don't stop, I'll need a cold shower.”
    “I can't wait to see your face when he asks you out if this is how you look after a short visit in his office." Lee grabbed papers from her desk and followed me to my office.
    My office decorations looked so paltry now. I needed to go wander through antique stores and find some items to make my office cozier. Then again, with children coming in who have behavior problems, I might need to find copies of antiques.
    “Please sign these.” Lee placed the papers neatly marked with sticky arrows