I held my breath, gripping his forearm to lift it off my waist, inching toward the edge of the mattress. Raymond stirred, a faint murmur escaping him, but he didn’t wake as I freed myself and stood up.
I pulled my hair back into a sleek, functional knot at the nape of my neck and smoothed my clothes down. I forced every emotion into a vault, locking it tight, and picked up my stethoscope and clipboard from the side table.
“Elena…?”
His voice was thick with sleep. Raymond rolled onto his side, watching me through half-lidded eyes. Seeing me standing three feet away with a clipboard tucked under my arm, a subtle smile touched his mouth.
“Come back,” he insisted, extending a hand to the empty space beside him. “You slept remarkably well for someone just monitoring a pulse.”
My skin felt
