There had been the thrill of the contract with the oil company. Not that it would be a ton of money, but it meant patients. And then the confrontation with Miranda, the confrontation with Dixie, the one with Armie. So much conflict.

She hadn’t thought about it at the time but if she’d been off even a little, someone would have died today. It had all been on her. It would always be on her.

It was only now when the world had finally slowed down that it all hit her. She could cry. She could let out all the tension by screaming until her throat was sore. She could pound on something.

Or she could wrap herself around him, let him fill her up until she screamed for another reason. She could try to finally understand what it meant to need a man.

She’d said it. She’d said she wanted him to kiss her. There was no taking it back because he was already invading her space.

It played through her head that she wasn’t this girl. She didn’t fall into bed with a man she’d known for so little time. A few days, and they’d spent a good portion of those days fighting.

She didn’t want to fight him tonight. She’d made a half-hearted attempt when she’d told him she could drive herself, but she’d caved because she didn’t want to be alone. Maybe if her sister had been in town . . .

Her sister didn’t make her heart start to thud in her chest, her whole body going electric. He was gorgeous. Armie was a massive wall of muscle who managed to make her feel petite and feminine when she often didn’t. He made her think about her body as something more than a tool to use to work.

She’d talked to Noelle about her body today, pretending like she knew what she was saying. She knew all the technical terms, all the functions, but she’d ignored her own needs for so long she’d forgotten how good it felt to want someone.

Or maybe she’d simply never wanted anyone the way she wanted Armie LaVigne.

“I know I should wait, but I can’t,” he said, getting into her space. His hands came out, cupping her cheeks.

The minute he touched her, the world seemed like a softer place. She could breathe again. “I don’t want to wait. I need this tonight.”

“I know you need this and I’m going to give you everything I have,” he said, hovering over her lips. “But I want you to need me. Only me.”

She thought she did, but she couldn’t tell him that. After their fight, she still felt vulnerable. “This is only for tonight. I still don’t think this can work.”