A Night of Desire

River Sterling glanced at Linden Jennings, whose expression had darkened. He quickly tried to change the subject, forcing a laugh. "Ah, well, let’s get going. No reason to hang around a hospital. Uh, Linden and I both drove, so Clara, you and Seth..."

As he spoke, he shot Clara Grant and Seth Quinn a meaningful look. The three of them started walking toward the cars. Linden Jennings watched them go for a moment before finally heading to his own vehicle.

Once they were a good distance away from Linden Jennings, River Sterling lowered his voice. "Clara, it seems like Poppy and Linden have been fighting. She’s been off the grid for a while now. So, it’s best if you don’t bring up Poppy around him for the time being. Otherwise... well, you saw the look on his face just now."

Seth Quinn’s reaction was fairly neutral, but Clara Grant was stunned. "Why are they fighting? Is it that serious?"

’No wonder Linden Jennings was acting so strange. So it’s because he and Poppy are fighting.’

"I’m not entirely sure about the specifics... Ugh, what’s going on between them isn’t something you can explain in just a few words."

’Clara was even more confused. Wasn’t the love story between Poppy and President Jennings supposed to be simple? Poppy had been drugged and taken to a hotel room, but President Jennings rescued her without taking advantage of her vulnerable state. Poppy fell for him, he fell for her, they were a perfect match, and had been living happily ever after!’

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. After a moment of silence, she said, "I have Poppy’s number. I’ll give her a call later and see what’s going on."

"It’s no use. Her phone’s been turned off. Linden calls her dozens, even hundreds of times a day, and it always goes straight to voicemail. Ugh, just forget it. This is their business, and outsiders probably can’t help anyway. Just try not to bring up Poppy around him from now on."

Clara wanted to ask more, but Seth Quinn squeezed her hand and glanced at her. "That’s enough. Don’t get so worked up over it. They’ll have to solve their own problems. In fact, they’re the only ones who *can* solve them. You should be focusing your attention on me—your patient who still isn’t fully recovered."

’She had to admit he was right. It really was difficult for outsiders to get involved in a couple’s business. Any conflicts or misunderstandings they had, they would have to resolve on their own.’

...

The group returned to Seth Quinn’s apartment at The Millennium Grand. After settling in for a bit, they opened a bottle of wine. They clinked their glasses and took a symbolic sip or two to celebrate Seth’s recovery and discharge from the hospital.

Normally, the group would have hung out all day, but with Linden Jennings looking half-dead and Seth Quinn still fresh from a major injury, there was no energy for it.

So, it wasn’t long before River Sterling suggested they all head out.

As they were leaving, River Sterling reminded Seth Quinn to get plenty of rest, even though he was out of the hospital. He told him not to worry about work; he and Linden had things under control.

Linden Jennings, however, just patted Seth Quinn on the shoulder without saying a word.

Chase Childs also said goodbye to Seth Quinn and Clara Grant before following the other two out.

Clara saw the three of them out. The moment she closed the door, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. Before she could even cry out, she was spun around, her back pressed flat against the door.

Staring at Seth Quinn, who had been on the sofa just a moment ago but had somehow appeared behind her, Clara chided playfully, "Seth, what are you doing? You scared me..."

Before she could finish, her words were cut off by Seth Quinn’s lips.

At first, Clara’s eyes flew wide with surprise, but she quickly relaxed and closed them. Her hands, which had been resting on Seth Quinn’s waist, crept up to circle his neck as she began to shyly return his kiss.

Seth Quinn’s kiss was already urgent and passionate, but when he felt her respond, it deepened, becoming unstoppable...