Noé exhaled with resignation and let himself fall onto the cot.

—As long as you don’t make me worse...

Nil calmly rolled up his sleeves.

And Giovanni, trying to focus on the situation, made the mistake of looking for too long.

Because Nil had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his fingers long and steady, his posture relaxed. His pants perfectly fitted at the waist, and when he leaned a little to grab something from the table, Giovanni noticed the way his body moved with insulting elegance.

And without realizing it, he kept staring.

First his hands.

Then his arms.

And when his gaze dropped down to his legs...

—We need arnica.

Nil pivoted on his heels and reached for a jar on the shelf right next to the sheriff.

—My eyes are up here.

The whisper hit him like a gunshot.

Giovanni tensed instantly.

Nil was grabbing a jar right beside him, close enough that only he could hear it.

And to top it off, he was smiling.

Slow.

Subtle.

Because he knew exactly what had just happened.

Giovanni opened his mouth to say something. To insult him. To deny it. To anything.

But Nil had already turned back, focusing on María.

María swallowed hard, placing her hands on Noé’s arm.

—Are you sure you want me to do it? —she murmured nervously.

—If you don’t practice, you’ll never learn.

Noé clicked his tongue, his jaw tense with discomfort.

—Don’t say that while I’m the test subject.

María shot Nil a nervous look, but he was right. She took a deep breath and nodded.

—All right. What do I do?

Nil positioned himself behind her and gently took her hands, guiding them over Noé’s arm.

—First, hold here. —His voice was calm, patient—. You’re going to grip the forearm firmly, but don’t squeeze too hard.

Giovanni watched in silence, trying not to think about what had happened seconds earlier.

Not about how Nil had caught him staring.

Not about that damn victorious smile.

But the problem was that Nil was right there, guiding María with such ease it was as if he’d done this his entire life.

—Now... —Nil moved one of his hands over María’s, helping her adjust her grip—. You’re going to turn it carefully.

María nodded, following each instruction.

Noé shut his eyes tightly, bracing for the pain.

—One... two...

And on three, María made the movement, quick and precise.

A dry crack echoed through the room.

Noé let out a grunt of pain, clenching his teeth.

But then...

Relief.

—Agh, damn it!

Nil smiled with satisfaction.

—There it is.

María let out a sigh of pure relief.

—I did it!

—You did well. —Nil gave her a couple of pats on the back—. Now help me splint it.

María nodded, more confident now, and hurried to fetch the bandages.

Giovanni, meanwhile, crossed his arms and looked away.

Not because the scene wasn’t interesting.

But because Nil had rolled up his sleeves again, and Giovanni wasn’t about to fall into the same mistake twice.

Over his dead body.

But Nil, as if he could read his mind, turned his head slightly and shot him a sidelong glance.

A glance that said “I know you’re still thinking about it.”

Giovanni clenched his jaw.

And Nil only smiled.

Giovanni cleared his throat, trying to shake off the crawling discomfort still running through his body.

—I need to get back to the sheriff’s office —he announced firmly. Anything was better than staying there.

María, still excited about her success, nodded enthusiastically.

—Tell Rafael to get Noé settled!

Noé started laughing.

—Yeah, yeah... —muttered Giovanni, turning on his heels without looking at anyone in particular. Not María. Not Noé. And definitely not Nil.

He stepped out of the doctor’s office with a firm stride, inhaling deeply as the fresh air hit his face.

He still had work to do.

He still had to get back to the sheriff’s office.

So he focused on that.

His arrival was greeted by Rafael’s voice, who looked at him with mockery from his desk.

—Did they get the kid’s arm set back in place?

Giovanni snorted and sat down.

—Yeah. Now he’s got an excuse not to work for a few days.

—Pfft. He’s going to milk it. —Rafael chuckled as he finished writing a report.

Giovanni tried to concentrate on his own tasks.

But it was hard.

Because no matter how much he tried to distract himself, his mind kept going back to the doctor’s office.

To the way Nil had caught him staring.

To his mocking expression, dripping with meaning.

To his damn victorious smile.

He clicked his tongue, annoyed with himself.

Enough.

He buried himself in the documents, reading them more carefully than necessary.

Luckily, Rafael didn’t say anything else.

And the hours slipped by.

The sun sank little by little.

Fatigue weighed down his shoulders.

And when he stepped out of the sheriff’s office at dusk, intending to head straight home...

His feet carried him elsewhere.

Without thinking much.

Without questioning.

Just walking on autopilot.

Until, when he finally looked up...

He was back in front of the doctor’s office.

Damn it.

He frowned. How the hell had he ended up there?

But when he saw the door was slightly ajar, his feet moved on their own. He stepped into his uncle’s house, expecting to find María or Noé resting on the cot, but only Nil was there, seated behind the counter.

Nil looked up calmly, but said nothing.

He just waited.

Giovanni crossed his arms, analyzing the scene with his usual scowl.

—Where’s Noé?

—Went home —Nil replied, in his usual lazy tone, as if the answer were of no importance.

—And María?

Nil’s lips curved faintly.

—She went with Guadalupe to buy bread. And, by the way... to tell her in great detail how she set a shoulder back in place.

Giovanni snorted softly. He could imagine it. María, thrilled, bragging about what she’d done.

But he didn’t say anything more.

Silence settled between them.

Nil, unhurried, stood up.

He stepped out from behind the counter and circled the piece of furniture with his usual lazy elegance.

And instead of staying there, he perched on the edge of the desk.

His hands rested on the wood, relaxed, but strategic.

As if... he were giving Giovanni space to come closer.

To do whatever he wanted.

Giovanni stayed where he was.

But he saw it. He noticed.

And it irritated him.

Nil tilted his head, feigning distraction.

—If you’re looking for your uncle, he came back earlier. But as soon as he arrived, he went up to sleep. —His voice was casual, unconcerned—. Doubt he’ll wake up now.

Giovanni’s jaw tightened.

He knew exactly what Nil was doing.

He did it every damn time.

Tempting him.

Waiting.

Making him see that if Giovanni took one more step, everything would be in Nil’s hands.

But Giovanni wouldn’t.

Not this time.

So he forced himself to hold his gaze and went straight to the point.

—About the stream.

Nil blinked slowly.

—Huh?

—It was an accident.

Silence.

Nil looked at him.

With those damn eyes.

With that expression of someone on the verge of laughter but holding it back.

—That’s what you think?

Giovanni clenched his fists.

—That’s what it was.

Nil tilted his head.

And smiled.

Slow.

Unbearable.

—Are you sure, Giovanni?

And his tone...

His tone was anything but innocent.

The sheriff felt a chill of rage crawl down his back.

Nil leaned in just a bit, as if about to confide a secret.

—Then why did you want to undress me?

Giovanni’s scowl deepened immediately.

—What did you just say?

Nil tilted his head, with an innocence far too well-acted.

—I mean, not that I’d mind, but usually people don’t push others into the water and then threaten to strip them.

Giovanni felt heat crawl up the back of his neck.

—Don’t be an idiot!

Nil let out a low laugh, tilting his head to the side, propping his weight on one hand. Carefree. Relaxed.

As if they weren’t having this conversation.

As if he weren’t enjoying watching the sheriff unravel.

—Relax, Sheriff. It’s no sin to want to look.

Giovanni went rigid.

Because Nil wasn’t saying it mockingly.

He said it as if it were fact.

And that was worse.

Much worse.

The air in the doctor’s office grew heavy.

Giovanni felt his jaw tighten, his shoulders hard as stone. His chest rose and fell with a force he couldn’t control.

And Nil...

Nil just watched him.

Calm. Patient. Waiting.

The bastard always waited.

Nil extended his right hand, palm open, with the confidence of someone who knew he’d win.

—Come. —His voice was low, soft. Almost sweet.

Almost.

Giovanni scowled.

Nil tilted his head playfully, his smile curving in a wicked slant.

—I don’t bite... —he paused, barely perceptible, just enough to let the silence weigh heavy on Giovanni’s skin.

—Unless you ask me to.

And the bastard... winked.

Giovanni felt heat crawl up his neck, but he didn’t look away.

He hesitated. God, he hesitated so much.

But in the end, he took his hand.

Nil drew him in patiently. Slowly. Like taming a skittish horse, pulling him just close enough to feel the danger... but not enough to let him escape.

And when he was close enough, Nil settled more comfortably on the desk.

The apothecary’s hands slid to the sheriff’s chest.

Giovanni went completely still. As if moving would break something.

—Did you come because you wanted me to check you over? —Nil asked in his velvet tone, his fingers brushing over his shirt, barely a touch, barely a stroke.

Giovanni swallowed hard.

He shook his head.

But he didn’t step away.

Nil let out an almost imperceptible laugh, as if amused by his own discovery.

His hands moved higher, slowly sliding up to the sheriff’s neck...

And then around it.

Nil’s fingers tangled at his nape, his thumbs stroking lazily along his hairline.

Giovanni felt his body react. Something in him leaned forward, like inertia.

Nil drew closer.

Their noses brushed. Nil’s breath ghosted over his lips.

And Giovanni’s hands, without realizing, gripped his slender waist.

Nil smiled.

—Tell me something... —he whispered, his voice dropping into something more intimate.

His lips brushed his ear.

His chest pressed fully against Giovanni’s.

The sheriff felt the contact like a blow to the gut.

—Did you really want to undress me?

Giovanni’s stomach clenched.

Not because he had no answer.

But because the answer scared him.

—I said it without thinking... —he confessed, his voice lower than he intended.

Nil pulled back just enough to look at him.

His blue eyes trapped him.

There was no mockery in them. Not now.

Only knowledge.

As if he already knew what Giovanni didn’t dare admit.

And then, the bastard smiled.

—When someone speaks without thinking...

His finger traced the sheriff’s collarbone. Slow.

—... it’s because their desires are screaming.

And Giovanni felt something inside him split in two.

Nil rose fully off the desk.

Pressing completely against his body.

And when he spoke again, his voice was sweet poison against his skin.

—Tell me, Sheriff... What are your desires? Do you desire me?

Giovanni felt a rush of heat flood to his ears.

But he didn’t retreat.

He couldn’t.

Because Nil’s hands were still on his nape, fingers tangled in his dark hair with the confidence of someone who already knew he’d won.

Because he had won.

Nil didn’t look away from him.

Didn’t rush him.

Just waited.

Until Giovanni did the worst thing he could.

He tried to lie to himself.

—No —he growled, his voice rougher than he intended.

Nil narrowed his eyes.

And smiled.

—You’re lying.

His breath brushed over Giovanni’s skin.

The sheriff clenched his jaw tight, as if he could seal the words inside his mouth.

But Nil didn’t need to hear them.

Nil was watching him.

Watching how his chest rose and fell harder.

Watching how his fingers, firm on his hip, didn’t push him away.

Watching how his lips parted just slightly, as if on the verge of speaking, but holding back.

Nil slid one of his hands to his cheek.

And Giovanni felt his own breath catch.

—If you don’t want me, then do it.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes.

—Do what?

Nil leaned in a little closer.

—Push me away.

Silence.

Giovanni swallowed hard.

Because he knew he could.

He could shove him.

He could step back.

He could walk out of the doctor’s office and never look at him again.

But his body didn’t move.

It didn’t.

Because Nil had him exactly where he wanted.

And Giovanni...

Giovanni was so damn screwed.

—Want me to tell you what I desire?

Nil whispered, just a breath from Giovanni’s lips.

The sheriff was frozen, and he might not have known it, but if Nil had wanted to make a disaster of him in that moment, Giovanni would have let him do whatever he pleased.

But it didn’t happen, because the front gate creaked open. Nil heard it and instantly smiled in amusement, then carefully pushed Giovanni back, his palms pressed against his chest.

—I guess it won’t be tonight.

María came in carrying a huge haul. —Giovanni! —she called, animated and surprised—. Look! Guadalupe gave me all this as congratulations for setting a dislocated shoulder.

It took Giovanni a moment to react, but he congratulated his cousin.

—Now that you’re here, María, I’m going to sleep.

María glanced at Nil, embarrassed. —Don’t you want to have dinner with us? There’s plenty of bread. —She lifted her wicker basket.

Nil shook his head with a tired smile. —I’m exhausted, I’ll have breakfast with you tomorrow.

María pouted, but gave in. —All right, good night.

—Good night. —Nil said to both cousins.

—Sheriff. —The apothecary nodded his farewell.

—Apothecary.

And Nil disappeared into the shadows of the hallway toward the stairs, while María and Giovanni went to the kitchen to eat bread with coffee, as María recounted how terrified she’d been to set an arm on her own and how thrilled she felt when she succeeded.

Giovanni tried to pay full attention to her. But he couldn’t.

The feeling of Nil against his skin still pulsed, still burned.

A delicious heat.