My Only - Alex & Jamie by Melanie Shawn

his thoughts were veering to the naughty side of the road. He didn’t think pitching a tent underneath the thin hospital sheet would really go over so well.
    He had never felt more off balance than he did at that very moment. He supposed that his being off-kilter could be attributed to the fact that he had been beaned in the head – or, he thought with a small half-smile, maybe in this case it was more appropriate to say he was beamed in the head.
    Also, an argument could be made that some of his tongue-tied state could be attributed to the pain he was in (which was substantial). But, if he was honest, he was pretty certain that both of those things only played minor roles in his current state of ‘charm-paralysis’ - which, apparently, he had become afflicted with the second Jamie walked in the room.
    He felt a little flutter of dread around his heart. He was more concerned, truthfully, about the apparent loss of his mojo than about any of the medical conditions that currently had him laid up in the hospital bed. Hell, he knew he'd recover from those – he was already on the mend! What if he never regained his ability to charm – or, a scenario that seemed equally as tragic to him right now, what if he just didn't regain it in time to use it on his Jamie?
    “There's a beautiful sunset tonight. Do you want me to open up the blinds so you can see it?” she asked, already heading in the direction of the large bay window. “I’m pretty sure your view overlooks the river.”
    That’s when he saw it. Her ass. Her perfect, heart-shaped ass. Lord have mercy. How had he missed that before?
    He had never considered himself an ass-man before this very moment. He had always been an equal-opportunity lover of every part of a woman’s body. But after seeing Jamie’s backside he was rethinking that stance.
    It wasn’t just the shape or the size, both of which would put a Playboy model to shame, it was also the gentle back and forth motion of her hips as she walked. It was mesmerizing. Hypnotizing.
    He felt his mouth begin to water and he reached up to wipe it. As soon as the back of his hand touched his lips it occurred to him that he was actually drooling over her. That was happening! Right now. What in the hell?
    Unaware that her seductive sway was currently causing his saliva glands to work overtime, she gracefully opened the blinds and stood to the right side of the window. As the golden glow of the setting sun shone in on her he was once again rendered speechless. The soft light of evening lit her already ethereal beauty like an aura. He smiled to himself. Or a halo.
    He almost told her what he was thinking, but stopped himself, not wanting to come on too strong. Would that be too strong? He wasn’t sure.
    He had never had to second guess himself before. In the past he always just knew the right thing to say. It was like his compliment-instinct-gauge was on the fritz. He gave his head a slight shake, attempting to clear it. Trying desperately to figure out what to say to her.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked as she looked over her shoulder at him.
    Not taking his eyes off of her, he answered, “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
    One corner of her mouth turned up as a spark of what looked, to him at least like interest flashed in her eyes before she turned abruptly back to the view overlooking the river.
    Normally, he would have a clever-fun-banter-style comment on hand to follow up on his statement. But, now, he was drawing a blank.
    Maybe it was because he didn’t really remember their first meeting. Maybe subconsciously he knew he was at a disadvantage due to the fact that he had no idea if he had actually talked to her and, if so, what he had said. Maybe if he cleared up that question mark bouncing around in his brain then he would be able to move forward with more confidence.
    He was still not completely convinced of that scenario, but since he had nothing else to go on, he figured it was