Tessa's Forbidden Hospital Quickie

The hospital corridors buzzed with the usual chaos, but when Tessa de Groot brushed past me on rounds, her light blue eyes locking onto mine with that irrepressible spark, everything else faded. Her auburn hair in a neat low bun, slender frame hugged by scrubs—she was a vision of forbidden temptation. We'd crossed lines at the gym, and now, with Mark Jansen back as a patient, jealousy simmered. But the pull between us was electric, promising a quickie that could shatter everything. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead as I made my rounds, clipboard in hand, trying to focus on the charts rather than the memory of Tessa's body arching under me in the gym's steamy aftermath. She was everywhere today—pushing a med cart down the hall, her low bun swaying slightly with each step, that cheerful smile lighting up the sterile space like sunlight breaking through clouds. Dutch optimism at its finest, even in this pressure cooker of a hospital. I caught her eye near the nurses' station, and she paused, tilting her head with a playful glint in those light blue eyes. 'Dr. Voss,' she said softly, her voice carrying just enough tease to make my pulse kick up. 'Busy saving lives?' I leaned in closer than protocol allowed, inhaling the faint floral scent clinging to her scrubs. 'Trying to. But some distractions make it harder.' Her laugh was light, genuine, but there was a flicker—something new, strained beneath the cheer. Then Mark Jansen wheeled in, his arm in a sling from whatever accident had sidelined him before. Tessa's ex, or close enough; the guy who'd been sniffing around her since the gym days. He spotted her immediately, grinning like he'd won the lottery. 'Tessa! Looking after me again?' She turned, her smile professional but tight, and I felt...