CODE BLUE FOR MORALS

CHAPTER 3

The emergency strips had faded to a deep, pulsing crimson that barely outlined the edges of furniture, turning everything into suggestion rather than fact. The storm outside had settled into a steady roar, wind howling, rain lashing the windows like it wanted inside.

Valentina lay on her side on the narrow bed, facing the wall, every muscle locked tight. She’d told herself she could ignore him. That she could close her eyes and pretend the couch across the room was empty.

But she couldn’t ignore the heat radiating from his body, or the way the air felt thicker every time he shifted. She couldn’t ignore the ache that had started low in her belly the moment he’d said, I’m not the one who’s been holding back.

Minutes bled into what felt like hours. Her skin prickled with awareness. Her thighs pressed together, seeking pressure she refused to give herself.

She heard the couch creak.

Then footsteps, slow, deliberate across the linoleum.

Her breath stopped.

The mattress dipped behind her as weight settled on the edge. Not touching her. Not yet. Just close enough that she could feel him there, a wall of warmth at her back.

“Tell me to leave,” he said, voice low, rougher than before. “Say the word and I go back to the couch.”

She didn’t speak.

Couldn’t.

Because the truth was clawing at her throat: she didn’t want him to leave.

His fingers brushed the bare skin of her arm light, testing. A single stroke from the sleeve of her scrub top down to her elbow. Goosebumps exploded in its wake.

“Valentina.”

Her name was a command and a plea all at once.

She turned her head just enough to see him in the red glow. His eyes were fixed on her, dark and hungry, jaw tight with restraint.

“I hate you,” she whispered. It sounded weak even to her own ears.

“I know,” he murmured. “Hate me all you want. Just don’t lie about this.”

His hand moved again, sliding up her arm, over her shoulder, until his thumb traced the line of her throat. Slow. Possessive. Her pulse jumped under his touch.

She should have stopped him.

Instead, she arched into it—just a fraction, but enough.

That was all the permission he needed.

Rafael shifted closer, his chest brushing her back, one arm sliding under her neck while the other settled on her hip. His palm was hot through the thin fabric of her scrubs, fingers splaying wide like he was claiming territory.

“Tell me what you want,” he said against her ear, breath warm, lips barely grazing the shell. “Or I’ll guess.”

She swallowed hard. “You already know.”

A low sound rumbled in his chest—approval, hunger. His hand slid upward, cupping her breast over her top, thumb circling her nipple until it hardened into a tight peak. She gasped, the sound sharp in the quiet room.

“Good girl,” he whispered. “Let me hear you.”

His other hand moved to her waistband, fingers slipping beneath the elastic with maddening patience. He didn’t dive in. He traced the edge of her panties first, teasing the sensitive skin just above, making her hips shift restlessly.

“Rafael…” His name slipped out like a warning.

He answered by pressing his mouth to the curve of her neck, teeth grazing lightly before his tongue soothed the spot. At the same time, his fingers dipped lower, sliding over the damp fabric between her legs.

She was already soaked.

He groaned against her skin when he felt it. “Fuck, Valentina. You’ve been like this all day, haven’t you? Wet and angry and pretending you don’t want my hands on you.”

She couldn’t deny it. Her body answered for her, thighs parting just enough to invite more.

He took the invitation.

Two fingers pressed against her clit through the cotton, circling slow and firm. Pleasure shot through her like lightning, making her back arch, her ass pressing back against the hard line of his cock straining against his scrubs.

He hissed. “Careful. Or I’ll forget to take my time.”

His hand under her neck shifted, tilting her head back so he could claim her mouth. The kiss wasn’t gentle—it was years of tension breaking open. Teeth and tongue and raw need. She kissed him back just as hard, biting his lower lip, drawing a growl from deep in his throat.

All the while, his fingers worked her relentlessly—rubbing, pressing, learning every gasp and twitch until he hooked her panties aside and finally touched her bare.

Skin on skin.

She moaned into his mouth, hips bucking.

He slid one finger inside her slowly, deliberately, letting her feel every inch. She was tight, slick, clenching around him immediately.

“Christ,” he muttered against her lips. “You’re going to ruin me.”

He added a second finger, stretching her, curling them just right to stroke that spot that made her see stars. His thumb found her clit again, circling in perfect rhythm.

Valentina’s hands fisted in the sheets. Her body moved on instinct now—grinding against his hand, chasing the pressure building low and fast.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, voice dark and filthy. “Ride my fingers. Show me how much you’ve wanted this.”

She hated how good it felt. Hated how easily he played her body like he’d been waiting years to do it.

His mouth moved down her neck, sucking marks into her skin that she’d have to hide tomorrow. His fingers thrust deeper, faster, thumb relentless.

The coil inside her tightened unbearably.

“Rafael...please..."

“Come for me,” he ordered against her throat. “I want to feel it.”

She shattered.

The orgasm hit hard, rolling through her in waves that left her shaking, breath ragged, inner walls pulsing around his fingers. He kept moving through it, drawing it out until she was trembling, oversensitive and boneless.

Only then did he slow, easing his fingers out, bringing them to his mouth.

She watched, dazed, as he licked them clean eyes locked on hers the entire time.

“Better than I imagined,” he said, voice rough with satisfaction.

But his hips rolled against her ass, reminding her he was still hard, still aching.

She reached back, fingers brushing the thick length of him through fabric.

He caught her wrist, pinning it gently to the mattress.

“Not yet,” he said, lips brushing her ear. “We’re just getting started.”

Outside, thunder rolled.

Inside, the red lights glowed on, casting their tangled shadows across the wall.

And Valentina knew without a doubt that whatever control she’d clung to was gone.

Completely.