One of his hands slid lower, cupping her bottom. He pulled her up and into him and she could feel his arousal press against her. She tried to drag in another breath, but her throat was thick. Wrenching her mouth from his, she tried again to get a breath. Her chest tightened and she couldn’t fill her lungs.
Liam’s lips were trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder, leaving a path of tingling flesh. She tried to swallow to ease the constriction in her throat—it wouldn’t go away. Her tongue began to swell and black spots swam before her eyes. Either Liam was one hell of a kisser or she was having an anaphylactic reaction. She struggled in his arms and he pulled back. His chest was heaving in time with hers, but at least he seemed able to breathe.
“Can’t breathe,” she managed to gasp out. Panic surged within her. She pulled out of his arms and stumbled to the kitchen.
“Lorelei, what’s happening? What’s wrong?” Liam’s voice sounded far away. The black dots were converging and she could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. She struggled to take another breath. The rasping sound from her chest terrified her.
“EpiPen, bag.” She slumped to the floor so when she did pass out she wouldn’t have so far to fall. As if from a long distance, she could hear Liam dump out the bag she’d left on the counter.
He rushed back to her side with her EpiPen in hand. “Where? Where do I inject it?”
She touched her outer thigh and felt the stab of the needle piercing her skin.
“Stay with me, sweetheart. Stay with me.”
The medicine flooded through her body, and her first tentative breath was quickly followed by several more, each becoming easier. Liam left her side for a second before returning with his phone clutched to his ear. She could hear him giving her address and imploring someone to hurry.
“The ambulance will be here in a minute. What do you need? How can I help?” He reached for her hand and took her pulse, seeming slightly relieved it was beating strongly.
“I’m okay now,” she said as she tried to sit up.
“No. Stay there.” He pressed her back onto the floor but kept hold of her hand, rubbing the back of it with his other one.
The fog was beginning to lift from her brain. This wasn’t how she’d imagined the evening going. In any scenario where they ended up on the floor of her kitchen, there were far fewer clothes involved.
…
Liam strode through the doors of the emergency department and searched for Lorelei or the paramedics who had brought her there. The medicinal hospital smell assailed his nostrils. His throat ached as he thought of all the times he’d been there to visit Marcus. Being back in the hospital where his brother spent his last days made his stomach clench, and a burning inferno invaded his gut.
He set aside thoughts of Marcus and focused on the reason for his current visit. Years of suppressing his emotions came to his aid, and he approached the nurse’s desk. The harried health care worker did a double take as he loomed above her.
“I’m looking for Lorelei Torres. She was just brought in by ambulance.”
The nurse checked her board. “The doctor is with her now. Take a seat, and I’ll ask him to speak with you as soon as he’s done.” She gestured toward a seating area swamped with people in varying states of distress.
He wanted to demand to see Lorelei immediately, to assure himself she was okay, but the glare the nurse gave him withered the words on his tongue. It would be better to let the doctors do their work; his job was to comfort and support Lorelei.
As he stood next to a vending machine, he thought back to the dramatic turn of the evening’s events. He was overwhelmed by his reaction when Lorelei opened her apartment door. She looked so beautiful, and the radiant smile on her face had made him feel as though he’d come home. He’d never been so exhilarated to see someone, and so at peace with himself. Then she’d put her hands on his chest and her lips on his, and all his arguments about not letting the relationship get physical evaporated in an instant. Her soft lips and sweet taste had done more than elicit a physical response; a wall of restraint had begun to crumble as well. It terrified and thrilled him at the same time.
“Are you here for Lorelei Torres?”
Liam cast his eyes up to see a young med student standing in front of him.
“Yes, can I see her now?” He followed the white-coat-clad man into a curtained area behind the nurse’s desk. Lorelei was sitting up in the bed, an oxygen mask on her face. His chest constricted and his breathing became shallow, as if he were now struggling to get air.
He moved to her side and took her small hand in his. She was so tiny, so fragile.
“How is she?” Liam asked the med student, who was reviewing her chart.
“She’s doing better. We’ve run some tests and are waiting on the results. She’s comfortable and her blood oxygen level is at normal. We’ll keep her here for observation for a while, then she can go home unless the test results come back with some surprise. She seems to have experienced a severe allergic reaction. Miss Torres has indicated she’s allergic to peanuts but says she hasn’t consumed any. It may be worthwhile if she were tested for other potential allergens.”
“I ate some peanuts about half an hour before we met. Then we kissed,” Liam said.
“That would do it,” the doctor said.
“I didn’t know…”
Lorelei pulled the mask away from her face. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you. I had a reaction once when I was very young, three or four years old, I don’t remember it. Having the EpiPen is more of a habit. I don’t even take it with me half the time. I’m sorry I’ve ruined our evening.”
“That doesn’t matter. All that’s important is you’re okay.”
“Well, you may want to reconsider eating peanuts if you will be having close contact with Miss Torres in the future,” the doctor said. He wrote a note in the chart and hung it back on the end of the bed. “I’ll be back when the test results come in,” he said before pulling aside the curtain and leaving.
“Really, Liam. It’s not your fault. Stop looking so worried. I’m fine,” Lorelei said as he sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand.
“Liam? I thought I heard your voice.” Another doctor appeared through a gap in the curtain. “What brings you back?”
Liam stood at the doctor’s entrance. “Dr. Tanner. How are you? I’m here with a friend, Lorelei.” Turning to her he said, “Dr. Tanner treated my brother, Marcus, numerous times.”