He told me stories about the last time he and Jackson went skating with their brother, and how he fell on his ass and was sore for days, and about how his parents walked in on Jackson and his girlfriend getting naked when they were in high school. He swears he was never as promiscuous as his brother, but I’m not sure I buy it.
Tonight has been incredible. And I’m so glad he asked if I wanted to go back to his place with him, because I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. But first, I have to run to the little girl’s room. Wine, water, and laughing necessitate a pit stop before we leave.
While he handles the check he insisted on paying, I walk down a dark hallway, following the signs into the ladies’ room. I don’t expect anyone inside, so the silhouette of a person behind the door startles me and draws out a gasp.
The woman doesn’t turn, she doesn’t say anything, and it is so weird. Maybe I irritated her with my outburst? I suppose I could have.
“Oh my God.” I chuckle awkwardly. “I’m so sorry for gasping and acting like a creeper just jumped out at me.”
The smartly dressed woman turns, and I’m pretty sure another gasp slips past my lips. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t expect anything different from you anyway, Miss Parker.” April’s words are laced with venom and disgust as she looks me up and down. “It’s no wonder he’s letting you walk all over him at the hospital. You’re leading him around by the dick. Just know I have my eye on you, and one wrong move and I’ll have your job. Are we clear?”
Dumbfounded. Stunned silent. Shocked into speechlessness. Call it what you want, her words were not what I was expecting and I’m not sure what to say to her. She is standing in the women’s restroom where I am having dinner with my date, off work hours, and threatening me.
“I thought so.” She tries to walk past me and I reach out, grabbing her arm before she can get out the door.
“Let me make this clear, April. You can be jealous, you can seethe as long as you want because he chose me and dismissed you, but don’t you ever think you can threaten me again. You may think you have this all figured out. You may even think you’re the big woman on campus, but I promise you I can take care of my own business, including taking out the trash when it’s needed.”
“Let go of me.” Her words are hissed out through her clenched teeth, and I’m pretty sure a blood vessel is about to burst in her neck. But I don’t really care right now. “If you touch me again, I will press charges.”
“Go ahead and try.” I shrug as I release her arm from my grip. “On second thought, I don’t have to go after all.” Before she can walk past me, I use my body to turn and block her out, making sure I make it out the door and down the hall before she can.
I arrive at our table, tucked back into a small alcove and whisper to Nate, “We have a problem.” He looks at me funny and I crook my finger for him to rise and step beside me, peering around the wall just in time to see April storming out of the hallway and through the restaurant.
“Fuck,” he hisses out. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“I’m not sure, but she knows we are here together. She wasn’t very happy about, either.” I look up at him, concerned and anxious to see how he’s going to react.
“So much for my personal life staying out of work.” He shakes his head and takes the receipt and his card back from the waiter, setting it on the table long enough to bend over and sign it, before he pockets his card and rights himself, looking at me. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nod my head and grab my purse, staying quiet. I’m not sure what to say, or what happens next. He was supposed to take me back to his place. We were supposed to spend the night together. Now, we may be dead in the water. April’s presence, and her knowledge about he and I being out together tonight could ruin everything.
Nate has made it clear from the start people aren’t to know about us. He doesn’t want to be a part of the rumor mill at work, and he doesn’t want people knowing about us. April definitely knows now, and based on her attitude toward me, she doesn’t like me and is determined to make me pay somehow.
I just don’t know if she’ll make sure Nate goes down with me or not.
****
Nate
Of all the fucking restaurants for her to go to tonight, it had to be Luke’s. I told her about it when we fixed Luke’s shoulder up for him. I couldn’t exactly hide it. He’s the owner. But who knew she would be here tonight? The night I turned her down and dismissed her, because she knows I don’t spend time with colleagues outside of the hospital.
She caught me in a lie.
I spend time with Dee. I fuck her too. And I plan to tonight. First it will be to get the anger tamed; then it’ll be to show her nothing is going to change between us. I’ll figure something else out, if I have to. April is a smart woman, and she knows pissing me off right now wouldn’t be wise. She may think she has power at the hospital, but I employ her.
I will never, ever fire someone over personal bullshit. But if she starts causing problems and ruining my professional reputation, disrupting my business practices, and this information starts to disrupt caring for patients… I will have to take action. The way she stomped out, the words I can tell Dee didn’t say, but hinted at when she said April wasn’t happy about us being here together, I don’t know which way this will go.
On top of all that, Dee is at much higher risk for getting in trouble here. She’s new, still in the middle of a probationary period before benefits and better job security kick in, and one wrong step could see her jobless. I can’t let that happen. Not because of me… Us.
“Shit,” I sigh out and drop my head, chin to my chest with my eyes squeezed shut. “She shouldn’t have seen us.”
I can feel Dee step up to me, she’s close, and nerves are radiating off of her. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Her apology makes my head snap up. “Don’t. Don’t do that. You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have lied to her, for one. And all we are doing is having dinner. You’re a new employee at the hospital. I was showing you a good place to eat, and we were discussing work. As far as anyone will know—if this gets out—is we have a hometown connection, and I felt it was my responsibility as a fellow Coloradan to show you the ropes here in Rhode Island.”
“Right, yes. Sure, just two people from the same hometown eating out, discussing home and work. I think that’s a great idea.” She doesn’t sound sure, and there may even be some hurt in her voice at my obvious lie, but I need to do what I can to protect her here, too. I know if I tell her that, she will fight me on it. She’s fiercely independent and strong-willed. She will say she can handle it on her own. As much as I love fighting with her, I don’t want to tonight. There’s already too much stress and tension over April to fuel it. I don’t think we would end in quite as fun a place as the last few arguments have ended.
“She probably won’t even say anything, though.” I’m not sure I fully believe it. I know April has had a thing for me, even though I told her no, but I have to hope. I hold my hand out, indicating Dee can walk in front of me, and she does. I fall in step just behind and beside her, laying my hand over her lower back to guide her and show her I’m here. Nothing has changed.
We exit the restaurant in silence. I’ll have to let Luke know what happened and promise to bring Dee back again so he can actually meet her. I know she loved the food here as much as I do, and he made it clear he wanted to introduce himself to the woman I was pulling out all the stops for.
“Would you like me to take you home?” I absolutely don’t want to drop her off yet, but given everything, I don’t have any expectations for her to come back to my place now.
“Do you want to take me home?” She stops at the Ranger Rover and turns to face me, eyes wide and uncertain as she looks up.
I step closer, invading her personal space and pushing her back against my car, shaking my head back and forth. “Not at all. I want to take you back to my place, fuck you senseless, lie in my bed and talk w
hile we recover, and then start all over again. As far as I’m concerned, we have just under thirty-six hours before I have to be back at work, and just under sixty before you do. I want to take as much time as we need to keep getting to know each other, building on our trust and relationship.”
“Are you sure?” Her fingers carefully rest in my belt loops, and I can tell she’s trying not to sound so hopeful, but her eyes are shouting loud and clear over her hesitant question.
I lean down, not touching her anywhere, but still surrounding her with as much of me as I possibly can, and brush my lips over hers softly at first, then harder, adding a little nibble before I pull back. “What do you think?”
We are so close her exhaled breath warms my lips, and the smell of wine wafts beneath my nose.
“I think you’re pretty positive.” She closes her eyes and pulls me closer, using her grip on my pants to make sure I am pressed tight against her, pinning her between me and the car. I want to comment on how demanding she is, how I love she thinks she gets to control this situation, but I don’t get the chance. I don’t even have time to form the first word before her lips are against mine; kissing me with an urgency and desperation I haven’t quite felt from her yet.
“Let’s go back to my place before I fuck you right here. We don’t need to risk more fodder for the hospital gossip by getting caught with our pants down outside a restaurant.”
She starts to laugh, and it’s the most melodic, beautiful sound ever.
“What is so funny?” Her laugh is the kind of laugh that’s contagious, and she has me chuckling with her, even though I’m not even on the joke.
“Did you just say fodder?” She wipes at her eyes as a tear drops down and she starts laughing even harder.
I had no idea one word could be so funny, but here we are, Dee is laughing hysterically and I’m so entertained by it I can’t help but join in with her.
I’m not sure how long it lasts, our hysterics, but by the time we finish she is holding her sides as though she just had the best ab workout ever, and the tension and fear of our exposure has melted away, replaced by a lightness and happiness I want to hold on to forever.
“You really said fodder.” She shakes her head, grinning from ear to ear. “How old are you again?”
“Hey!” I poke her already worked out side. “I am not old. It is a perfectly acceptable word to use. If you don’t believe me, you can look it up.”
“Whatever you say, Old Man Desirable.” She pushes up on her toes and kisses me quickly, then gives me a gentle nudge away from her so we can get out of this seemingly magical parking lot and head to my place.
Twenty-Six
Dee
I never want to leave this bed. Ever. The bed itself is heavenly, it’s firm, yet soft and pillowy, the blankets are so comfortable and cool, but my favorite part—my pillow—is strong and warm. His shoulder is the perfect place to rest my head, cradling me close while my fingers explore his bare chest. His stubbled jaw is resting on my forehead, and his hand is laid over my hip, holding me closer, as though he doesn’t want me to leave.
I’m sure I have bruises that match the shape and size of the pads of his fingers forming over each hip, but I don’t even care. When we came in, we were all hands, tongues, and in a hurry to expose only the parts necessary to work off some of our tension and worry from our restaurant run-in. He wasn’t gentle at all. He had me bent over the arm of his chair and was buried inside me within minutes of his door slamming shut behind us. He took me hard and fast, stretching me and owning me like his life depended on it.
It was fucking at its most feral, biological level. There were no soft, tender words whispered as sweet nothings. There was no discussion or foreplay, save his fingers working my body into a readied state with expert precision. It was just pure, unadulterated lust. It was amazing.
After we finished there, he removed my dress—which had been shoved up around my hips—and then slid my panties down and off, leaving me a naked, sated, and quivering mess he gently lifted and carried into his room.
In complete contrast to his animalistic actions when we walked in the door, after he laid me carefully on his bed, he undressed slowly—letting me watch and admire—before he climbed in bed with me and took his time exploring my body with his mouth. He licked and appreciated every inch of me from head to toe, then sent me to heaven with the glorious ministrations of his tongue and lips. He was soft and caring, making sure I got everything I needed to be thoroughly taken care of.
Of course, I returned the favor, but he refused to orgasm in my mouth. Instead, I took my place over him and rode him into oblivion. I had complete control as I moved up and down over him, grinding and bouncing, letting him watch as I continuously took him in and out of my body. I loved seeing him watch us. The wonder and desire in his eyes burned hot and ignited a passion deep inside me desperate to burn us both from the inside out.
“What are you thinking about?” His sated, gravelly voice brings me out of my Nate-filled haze, and I am once again able to feel his fingers rubbing and caressing me. His chest is rising and falling in a slower, calmer rhythm, and his lips are pressed into my forehead.
“How amazing sex with you is.” I tilt my head back on his shoulder and kiss his lips. “Did you take a class or something? Because I’ve been with other men, and I swear to God, nobody moves or acts with the same precision and expertise as you.”
He kisses me this time, and his lips spread over mine, pride and amusement the driving factor there, I’m sure. “Nope, no classes. I’m just good.”
“There you go being all arrogant again,” I tease, and scratch my nails down his abs.
“You’re the one who said I’m an expert. It would be insane for me not to be arrogant after those glorious words. I am a man, after all. Compliments on sexual skill and prowess are what every man wants to hear.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Men.” I turn my head in and kiss his collarbone and snuggle in closer. The warmth of his body and the sheet over us is so comforting with the coolness of his air-conditioned room and air around us.
“You know we men say the same about women, right?”
“I don’t see how you could, we are perfect.” I can’t hide my grin against his body, but I don’t think I want to.
“I can’t speak to other women, but I would agree you’re pretty perfect.” His words stun me. They’re more serious than you would expect from a fuck buddy, and it makes my heart skip a beat and my tummy flutter.
“Thank you.” I idly draw my finger over his pecs, leaving warm trails of hearts, circles, and smiling little faces in their wake.
“So you’ve told me a lot about you already, things I haven’t forgotten, and I appreciate it. Tell me what you want from us though.” Again, his words shock me, and leave me at a loss when it comes to my own. He knows I want a family; I want kids. I want a partner. But I don’t think that’s what he wants to hear now, and frankly, I don’t think it’s what I’m ready to even say or consider yet.
But what do I want from us?
I need to bide my time a little while I think, and I want to be sure he really wants the answer. “What do you mean?” For a man who doesn’t trust, who doesn’t mix personal and professional life, and who is hot and cold all the damn time, I feel like we are venturing into a minefield and one wrong step could send everything up in a disastrous explosion.
“I don’t think we will be under wraps long at the hospital. Even if she doesn’t say anything right away, I know April has friends. Friends who know she likes me, friends she will inevitably tell I picked you over her.”
I tense against him. I know he’s right, he did pick me and since she seems to hate me, it seems logical she will tell someone, even if it’s only to make my life harder. But I’m still not sure where he’s going with this, and it worries me. “I guess I’m confused about why you’re asking. I don’t know how to answer this, Nate. I’m afraid no matter wha
t I say, it’ll be like stepping on a mine that will set all the others off and leave us for dead.”
“Such a violent analogy,” he says, chuckling. “Be honest. There isn’t a right or wrong answer here. But if or when our involvement does get out, I need to know where we really stand so I can try to put out the flames before they engulf us both.”
I sit up, feeling the coolness from moving away from his body envelop me instantly. I reach for his comforter and yank it up to wrap it around me, and then sit cross-legged facing him. “I like you. A lot more than I probably should.” I shrug beneath the weight of the blanket.
“I like you too.” He reaches his hand out and slides it beneath the blanket, resting it on my knee where his thumb can draw lazy circles over my skin. “But that doesn’t tell me what you want out of us.”
I guess it’s all or nothing right now, I can’t skirt the issue, not with our potential trouble lurking just over the horizon. “I want to see what we can be. I don’t have a time frame or expect a proposal. I don’t even know if I expect a title. I know relationships and trust are hard for you, but I’d like to both be involved with only each other. I’d like to know we will eventually venture into some sort of permanent partnership—not marriage, we just met, we’re just starting out—maybe boyfriend and girlfriend. I don’t know. I’m hesitant and not fully trusting either, Nate. My ex left me reeling and wondering if my dreams are too much. He left me afraid what I want will never be attainable.”
He removes his fingers from my leg and rolls onto his side, propping up on his arm. “I can’t promise you forever. We did just meet, and there is still too much for us to learn. There’s too much to figure out and navigate in our professional and personal lives to guarantee anything.” He pauses and watches me, waiting for comment, but the huge lump in my throat is strangling the words before they can even make it to my mouth. “Okay… I like you. I like you enough to agree I don’t want you seeing anyone else, and to admit I have zero desire to see anyone beside you. If a simple, more permanent title would be reassuring, I could be persuaded to agree to being called your boyfriend.”
Doctor Desirable: A Hero Club Novel Page 20
