RawHeat by Charlotte Stein

and exhausted and bloody all over, and it made her wonder how anyone in
the world could look at him and not care.
    Even when his face changed.
    It flattened out, went as smooth as glass. And when he spoke
he sounded…actively cold. As though she’d done something wrong she couldn’t
possibly know about. And even worse, “I don’t know where he is, Nurse Kent.”
    Though her stomach didn’t drop far before she realized he
hadn’t suddenly stopped liking her. He hadn’t decided they should go back to
formal titles on the spur of the moment. He’d just noticed Tara stood in the
doorway. Tara, who’d been standing there for God only knew how long.
    She thought about what they’d said only seconds before.
About the word caring and the word love and the word sorry .
    And then she turned briskly and plastered on a smile, just
in time for the interrogation.
    “What did you come here for?”
    The question wasn’t as scary as it could have been. True,
she didn’t have an answer. But at least Tara hadn’t said, You’re sorry a
werewolf got beaten up ?
    “The alarm goes off and you come here?”
    Her mind flicked to what Connor had just said—about not
knowing where someone was, as cool and calm as anything.
    “I was looking for Dr. Philips,” she said, and it sounded
plausible enough. It really did. Until she thought about how pathetic her
relationship with Dr. Philips actually was.
    “You were looking for Dr. Philips. In the middle of a wolf
attack.”
    Tara narrowed her eyes and that was that. She was cornered.
She and Connor were doomed, doomed to the incinerator or worse. She could see
it in Tara’s eyes—the girl knew. She just knew even though the whole scenario
should have seemed impossible, insane, repugnant.
    Serena had to get her out of the lab, away from the pressure
of Connor’s gaze. Out of this, whatever this was, and into some other
ludicrous version of her life. Of course, doing so meant only one possible
thing.
    She had to drag Tara into the corridor, and tell her
something that made Serena want to throw up into her own hands.
    “Philips and I are sleeping together, okay? I just didn’t
think. I went for him. And if you tell anyone I’ll…I’ll…I don’t even know what
I’ll do. Got it?”
    She expected laughter. Laughter, as though no one could
possibly believe that she was sleeping with Dr. Philips. Tiny, bug-eyed,
reptilian Dr. Philips.
    But then Tara suddenly made a face—the one she’d expected
after the realization that her best friend was fucking a wolf—and shrugged her
off, and said the very best thing she could possibly say under these crazy
parameters.
    “You’re fucking lizard-face Philips? Oh my God, you are
desperate, Kent.”
    She backed away, shaking her head. Then seemed to consider,
for a second. As though she’d just realized how mean it sounded, to call a
“friend” desperate.
    “Well, you’ll find him in the south corridor laundry room.
As soon as the alarm sounded he climbed into a washing machine and shut the
door.”
    Yep. That was her dreamy guy, all right.
    * * * * *
    “You told her you were sleeping with him? My torturer? You
told her you were sleeping with my sadistic torturer?”
    She gritted her teeth and pulled, but the nail wouldn’t come
free. Much to his displeasure.
    “I’ll show you sadistic torturer in a second.”
    “Are you kidding? You’re not even twisting then pulling.
You’re about as sadistic as a donut.”
    “Hey, don’t blame me for my lack of sadistic-ness. You’re
the one who made me watch while you did that very thing just to make me do your
evil bidding.”
    “You didn’t watch. It was dark. You just heard squelching. I
could have been stomping on my torn-off finger.”
    “Gross, Conn. Really gross. And as for the other thing—you
know I’m not actually sleeping with him, right? I just had to tell her
something that would explain my running desperately to your rescue.”
    She put a hand on his back and tried to