Once More (Mercy Heart #1) by Madeline Rooks

her eyes as he continued with a husky whisper.  “Any man would have to be insane to even think of leaving you.  You are a very successful, incredibly sexy, amazing woman, and I feel so damn lucky to have you in my life.”  He kissed her again, holding her face in his hands while their mouths moved together.  He glided his tongue across her lips, begging for entry, which she willingly gave him without thought.               
    Katelyn was lost in the sensation of being in Marc’s arms, the emotions from the day leaving her feeling practically unstable and swept up in the confusion of the moment.  Suddenly, an overhead page for the Code Blue team to answer a distress call on the eighth floor brought them both back to reality.  She stepped away from him, obviously flustered from their passionate kiss and furious with herself for being so reckless at work. 
    “Marc,” she said, with breathless humiliation, “this was incredibly irresponsible.  I don’t want anyone to accuse either one of us of being unprofessional.” 
    “You are right,” he said, though he was not completely successful at hiding his irritation.  “I apologize.  Let me make it up to you.  Dinner tonight?”
    She hesitated for a moment, thinking about rejecting his offer, but she smiled and agreed.  Perhaps spending time with Marc will keep my mind off of Clem.
    “That sounds wonderful,” she said, her enthusiasm noticeably bordering on over the top.  This feels wrong.  Marc doesn’t deserve to be someone’s consolation prize.  “I’m going to head to the gym first and then I’ll go home and get ready.  Do you want to get a table at our usual place and I’ll meet you there?”
    As they made arrangements to meet later and gathered their things, Clem ducked away quickly into a dark room.  He felt like a heel for listening to their private moment, and he was even more disgusted with himself for being almost thankful for the interruption of the Code Blue, knowing that the alert meant someone’s life was hanging in the balance.  Listening to her soft moans on the other side of the wall, he had closed his eyes and remembered back to a time when he had been the only man on Earth to know that sound she made when she was lost in pleasure.  Hearing Marc slam him for leaving her made his blood boil.  Clem knew then that Marc was not going to back down from this fight.  Marc had the advantage of knowing her intimately as she is now, not the college girl she was seven years ago.   He was acquainted with her favorite escapes from her very stressful life, giving him home field advantage.  Clem could only hope that their history together would mean he still held some special, albeit hidden, place in her heart, and that somehow he’d be able to make it back into her life completely. 
     

Chapter 9
    Setting a punishing run on the treadmill in the hospital health club, Katelyn’s tempo was only outpaced by the thoughts racing around in her head.  She had never expected to see Clem again.  He almost felt like a figment of her imagination, as if her conscience was playing a cruel trick on her for staying in a relationship with someone she had no intention of building a future with.  Regret lanced through her as she thought about her upcoming evening with Marc.  She knew in her heart she needed to call it off with him.  He was far too decent to be strung along, and he deserved to have someone worthy of his love.  Katelyn had enjoyed the time she spent with Marc.  He was easy to talk to, and he completely understood the stress of her job.  He seemed to genuinely care about her, and she, too, cared about him.  She certainly didn’t want to hurt his feelings.  She had planned to end it, eventually.  The urgency to end their relationship just hadn’t been present, until her ex had arrived.
    Clem ascended the stairs and gazed around the gym, zeroing in on her.  That morning, he had brought along his gym bag and had