Love between two heartbeats

tly 5:58 AM, two minutes earlier than yesterday, which was

ng session and partly to avoid thinking about the conversation she'd overheard between her parents after midnight. Her fath

erile quiet of the library, surrounded by medical textbooks and the promise

lor, pharmacology reference guides stacked in order of complexity. The morning sun streamed through th

, Draven Callahan

called, not lookin

coffee. His hair was still damp from a recent shower, and his scrubs looked like they'd actuall

one of the coffee cups near her elbow. "I

nd that cost more than her family spent on groceries in a da

n medical school. It's li

e conversation was over, but Draven s

? I could probably find

s with the kind of directness that made people nervous. "W

ned back slightly and smiled-the kind of smile that had probably gotten him out of trouble his entire life. "T

yes slowly, studying Draven's face with the clinical precisio

signs. "It's usually pulled back so severely it could be used

absorb sound from adjacent rooms. Heaven set down her p

rying the temperature of liquid nitroge

slightly, but he pressed on with the kind of determination that had probably se

admit, there's something incredibly attractive about a woman who can diagnose rare dise

nd like fingernails on a chalkboard. Draven blinked, finally seeming to real

l cut. "I am here to help you understand pharmacokinetics, not to serve as enter

I didn'

ed in a small room with someone who could probably kill him with a pen if she put her mind to it. "You didn't mean to comment on my appearance like I'm

oked like an avenging angel-all sharp angles and controlled fury, her dark eyes blazing wit

with its intensity. "I see someone who thinks medical school is an extension of prep school, where charm and family connections matter mor

t's

oney, he can treat serious academic discussion like speed dating. Someone who fundamentally doesn't unders

se he couldn't identify. Heaven Wilson was dismantling him with words, but her criticism

ght," he s

ence, clearly not expe

ng. "I do treat everything like it's some kind of social experiment. I do rely on charm because it's easier than actually being g

but her expression remained wary. She studied his face wi

mance?" she asked. "The

be the reason I can't remember drug interactions isn't because I'm stupid, but because I've never a

nsion left her shoulders. "And what exactly

of both our time and that I should find someone else to tutor me. Someone who does

k eyes that seemed to see everything. When she finally spoke, h

was a waste of time. But I'm not go

flickering in his chest

harming your way through medical school, and we'll pretend this conversation never happened. Or you can sit down, open your pathophysiology textbook

our potential girlfriend, or your entertainment. I am your tutor, and this is your first and only warning. The next

ver him like a diagnosis. Final, unappealabl

hing for his textbook. "Chapte

talis derivatives. Mechanism of action involves inhibition of the sodium-pot

window-hair disheveled, expression serious, actually thinking about medicine instead of

rough professional dressing-down of his life,

bsolutely merciless when it came to sloppy thinking. She didn't accept half-answers or charming deflections. When Draven t

en closed her notebook with the final

at how quickly the sessi

llahan." Heaven gathered her materials with practiced efficie

ickly. "Definitely int

ce one more time. Whatever she saw there must

y reading and revising instead of whateve

dle. "And Mr. Callahan? The coffee was unnecessary, instead c

books and the lingering scent of her perfume-something clean and understated that