by Jenna Jacob
“Why, thank you, Nurse Noland. But I must warn you that docnotdone syndrome is highly contagious.” Reaching down, Sam parted my folds, coating his fingers in my slick cream before shaking his head grimly. “Just as I suspected. You’ve contracted it, too. I’ll need to take a better look so I can see how advanced your syndrome has become.”
I quivered as his warm breath wafted over my wet cunt. “With all your worldly knowledge and medical expertise, you’ve discovered a cure, right?” I gasped as he spread my legs wider and flicked his tongue over my clit.
“Yes. I have. It requires a special instrument in order to cure this disease. Lucky for you, I happen to carry that unique implement with me at all times.” Fisting his cock, Sam shot me a mischievous grin. “Don’t let the size of my cure scare you, sweetheart.”
I giggled, then quickly sobered, skimming my gaze down his naked body as he slowly stroked his fist up and down his cock. As a clear bead blossomed on his wide crest, my backup alarm on my phone began to chime. Biting back a curse, I stretched my arm to the nightstand and silenced the device.
“You’re going to make me late for work if I don’t get moving.” I sighed regretfully.
“Surely, being a medical professional, you know you can’t leave. If I don’t cure you right now, Miss Noland, why, you might spread this disease to everyone. We don’t want that, do we?”
Flashing him a sly smile, I sat up. “Can you use your special instrument on me in the shower, Doc?”
He pondered my question for a couple of seconds, then nodded. “Yes, but you’ll need multiple doses of the cure…say, at my place again tonight after work?”
I licked my lips. “Are you planning on feeding me, too?”
A lusty fire danced in his eyes. “I’ll fill you up with every fucking inch,” he growled.
My nipples tightened further as a rush of need sang up my spine. “Deal.”
“Let’s hurry and get you into the shower, so I can administer your first treatment.”
With a laugh, I jumped off the bed and scurried into the bathroom. Sam was right behind me. Once inside the shower, he pinned me up against the wall and stole my breath with a sultry kiss.
“Turn around and place your hands on the tile, Miss Noland. I’ll be as gentle as I can,” Sam assured.
When I burst out laughing, he shot me a quizzical look. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you, Doctor, but that’s quite an oxymoron considering you’re a damn Dom and like inflicting pain.”
A wry smile tugged his lips as he turned me to face the tiled wall. “No. I like pushing a sub’s limits,” he amended before landing a stinging wet slap across my ass.
“Ouch,” I yelped, rising up on my toes.
Sam moved in close behind me. “Spread your legs for me, Allisinda. I’m done playing games,” he whispered against my ear in a feral tone.
Though I was being pelted with hot water, an even more encompassing heat blossomed beneath my skin when Sam inched himself into my core. Our grunts and whimpers melded with the sound of wet, slapping flesh as Sam took me to paradise.
Forty minutes later, we were dressed and heading out the door. Sam walked me to my car, kissed me good-bye, and promised to drop in on me during my shift. As I weaved my way through traffic, I realized I still hadn’t questioned his recent lack of condoms.
“Is it any wonder? Each time he touches you, he steals the thoughts from your brain,” I mumbled out loud with a snort.
Arriving at the hospital, I hurried through the double doors. As I studied the patient load on the dry erase board, Metcalf sauntered by.
“Good morning, Doctor,” I stated with a chipper voice as I glanced at the watch on my wrist. Okay, so it was an infantile poke, but I wanted to be sure the little twit noticed I was twenty minutes early for my shift.
“Noland,” he replied in a crisp, clipped tone.
Great. His cantankerous mood had returned. It wasn’t going to be a rainbow-and-unicorn day in the ER, but then it never really was.
Liz strolled in a couple minutes before seven, looking unusually haggard. “Morning,” she stated tiredly.
“What happened to you?” I asked, handing her the cup of coffee I’d just poured. She obviously needed it worse than I did.
“Thank you.” She took a long gulp and moaned. “It was a long night.”
“Aw, you poor baby,” I ribbed with a chuckle.
“No, not that kind of long night.”
“What happened?”
“Mika called around midnight and asked if we could come stay with Tristan so he and Julianna could go over and help Drake with Trevor. We didn’t end up getting back home and to bed until three thirty this morning.”
“What’s wrong with Trevor?”
Liz’s shoulders sagged. “He’s not doing well…mentally. They called Tony, too, and between the four of them, they got Trevor settled down, but it wasn’t easy this time.”
The news broke my heart. I remembered how happy he’d seemed yesterday, especially while sitting on the deck reading to Tristan.
“If anyone can help him, Tony can,” I assured her with a sympathetic smile.
“That’s just it. Tony’s worried, too. And Drake…well, Drake’s sick and tired of pumping antidepressants down Trevor’s throat and still waking up two or three times a night because of the nightmares.” Liz’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m scared to death that they’re going to have to commit Trevor to a psychiatric facility if they can’t help him work past this.”
“Oh, honey. No.” I plucked the Styrofoam cup from her hand, set it on the counter, and wrapped her in a tight hug. “They’ll find a way to reach him. My god, so many people think the world of Trevor. With all the love and support that man has in his corner, he’ll find his way out of the darkness. He has to.”
“I hope so.” Liz sniffed as she pulled back and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Honey, you need to go back home and get some sleep. I can call in a cover nurse for you.”
“No, I can’t.” She shook her head. “Ian and James just dropped me off. They’re headed across town to meet with a new client. I’m stuck here for the duration.”
“Pile up on the sixty-four and Kennedy Expressway. We’ve got incoming,” Dixie, a fellow trauma nurse, announced as she rushed from the communications office. “ETA, ten minutes and counting.”
“Let the games begin,” Liz drawled before downing the entire cup of coffee.
With the trauma rooms filled to capacity, the morning flew by in a blur. Though she still looked like hell, Liz kept pace with the rest of us as we raced around like Walmart shoppers on Black Friday.
By the time the patients from the multicar accident had been divvied up between surgery, ICU, and rooms upstairs, my feet were screaming and my stomach was growling. Snagging Liz, I hauled her down to the cafeteria with me so we could grab some lunch. I wanted to make sure she ate a good meal and spent some time off her feet.
The cafeteria was practically deserted, which afforded us some privacy to talk. But when Liz slumped against the seat of the booth and closed her eyes, I didn’t have the heart to bring up the lifestyle. I tucked my questions away for another time.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home before you fall asleep right there?”
“No,” she answered sleepily. “I can hang for the rest of my shift, but if Ian and James think they’re getting lucky tonight, they’re going to get a big surprise.”
I chuckled. “They’ll probably be snoring before your head hits the pillow.”
“Mmm. Tonight? I sure hope so,” she mumbled before sitting up and scrubbing a hand over her face.
Staring at my bowl of soup, I wrinkled my nose.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry?”
“I was until now,” I replied. “Maybe I really do have a touch of the flu. I thought it was just nerves that made me sick yesterday.”
“Maybe you’re pregnant,” Liz teased before taking a bit
e of her sandwich.
My eyes flashed open wide. “Shut your mouth. I am not pregnant.”
“The pill doesn’t always work, you know,” she teased.
“Mine does,” I vowed, flashing her a scowl. I didn’t find her the least bit amusing.
“What? You don’t like kids?”
“I love them, as long as they’re someone else’s.”
“Aw, come on. You and Sam would make beautiful babies,” she said with a giggle.
“I’m going to cram that sandwich down your throat if you don’t shut up,” I growled.
“Sounds like a waste of a good sandwich to me.” Sam chuckled, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. “Why are you threatening Liz, sweetheart?”
“Because I was teasing her about being pregnant,” she blurted.
Sam paled before darting a look of absolute horror my way. “You’re—”
“No.” I shook my head. “Liz is trying to be funny, but she’s not.”
“Oh,” Sam replied, visibly relieved. “Well, then. How are you two doing today?”
“Fine,” Liz and I replied in unison.
Sam sidled in beside me, then plucked up my spoon and began to stir my soup. “I peeked in on you earlier, but you and Metcalf were holding some dude’s spleen together. I figured it wasn’t the best time to chat.”
“Yeah, we tucked it back inside him before rushing him up to surgery.”
As Sam extended a spoon of tomato-based broth and mixed vegetables toward my mouth, my stomach swirled. I inched back, pinched my lips together, and shook my head. “No. I’m okay.”
“But you haven’t even taken a bite yet, have you?” Sam slid the spoon back into the bowl, then raised his hand to my forehead. “No fever.”
“She’s pregnant,” Liz repeated in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Stop saying that,” I hissed.
Sam pinned me with a concerned stare. “You haven’t missed any of your birth control pills, have you?”
“No,” I replied in exasperation while Liz grinned mischievously. “She’s pulling my chain and causing trouble. Maybe I need to give Ian and James a call and tell them to keep her up all night, spanking her ass.”
The twinkle in her eyes vanished. Liz held up her hands. “No. Don’t. I’ll stop. I swear.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Oh, this is going to be fun. Every time you give me shit, I’ll just threaten to tattle on you. That will keep you in line.”
“Two can play that game, you brat,” Liz quipped arching her brows at Sam.
“Truce,” I offered.
“You bet.” Liz laughed.
Sam chortled. “Look, I need to run. Isaac wants me in his office in a couple minutes. We’re still on after work, right?”
A sly smile curled my lips, as I was anxious for Sam to administer his special “treatment” again. “You bet. I can’t wait to be cured,” I teased.
“Actually, it takes years before you’re fully cured, little one.” He winked, brushed a kiss on my lips, then stood. “I’ll meet you by your locker at seven.”
As he turned to walk away, anticipation skittered up my spine.
“Do I even want to know what kind of treatment Sam’s going to give you?” Liz smirked before downing the last of her soda.
“If I’m lucky, the full kind.” I grinned.
“Good thing you’re off work tomorrow. By the look in Sam’s eyes, you might not be able to crawl out of bed, let alone walk.”
“God, I hope so,” I said with a laugh.
After dumping our food trays, Liz and I ambled toward the ER, poking fun at each other’s sex lives, or rather, the irony that we both actually had sex lives now. Rounding the corner, I bumped chest-first into the hospital’s executive director, Dr. Isaac. Yelping in surprise, I stumbled back as he grabbed my arm. Darting a look to the man next to Isaac, my heart all but stopped. Fear swarmed me from all sides, and black dots trailed behind my eyes.
Darnell? What the fuck was that son of a bitch doing in Chicago? In my hospital?
“Ah, Nurse Noland. I’d like to introduce you to our new head of neurology. Dr. Darnell—”
“Darnell Willingham Edmonton the third,” I finished in a haughty, pretentious tone.
Liz sucked in an audible gasp.
Isaac blinked. “You two know each other?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I replied with a sickeningly sweet smile.
Darnell chuckled as if he found my reply amusing. “Now, now, Allisinda.”
Hearing him say my given name felt as if I’d been sliced open with a knife and doused in alcohol.
“Such a curt tone isn’t becoming for a lady of your breeding. I suggest we keep the past where it belongs, shall we?” Darnell offered with an oily smile.
Breeding? He acted as if I were nothing but a piece of livestock. Of course, to him, that’s all I probably was.
“It’s good to see you again,” he lied. “Your parents miss you.” Another lie.
Darnell leaned in as if to kiss my cheek. I took a step back and narrowed my eyes in warning as I raised an open hand. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in New York?”
A flicker of anger flashed through his eyes before he quickly banked it and slid a plastic smile into place. “I wanted a change. New York is…well, you know.”
No, I didn’t. But the line he was trying to feed me smelled a lot like bullshit. He was covering his ass. Something had happened in New York. Something bad enough he needed to reestablish himself. But why Chicago, of all places? The only person who could give me the skinny was the last person I wanted to call…my father.
“So, I put some feelers out and viola.” Darnell grinned as he tossed open his hands. “The offer from Highland Park was, well, it was far too tempting to resist.”
My gut churned and my knees began to tremble.
“You mean you’re relocated here…to Chicago?” I asked, nearly choking on the bile rising in the back of my throat.
“Well, I have an apartment until I’m able to find a suitable house for my family.”
Family? I wondered which one of his whores he’d knocked up and had to finally marry.
“Unfortunately, my wife, Sha-Sha and newborn daughter, Shanté, won’t be able to join me for several months.”
“Sha-Sha?” I asked, arching a brow.
“Yes, Shaqueffa, my beautiful wife,” Darnell preened.
Shaqueffa? Oh, dear lord, what parent named their child after a vaginal fart? I struggled to fight back a snort.
“They stayed in New York until the sale of our house is final. I expect them to be joining me here soon.” A calculated smile spread over his face. “We should get together then. Go out and get dinner, catch up on old times. I’m anxious to meet your husband.”
My husband? Oh, what a fucking bastard. He was pushing buttons, trying to rile a reaction from me. I didn’t take the bait. Well, I didn’t think I had.
“Oh, my. I can tell by the look on your face I’ve accidently hit a nerve. My apologies to you, dear. I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d moved on with your life and had found a suitable husband by now.”
The mock sympathy slathering his words made me want to kick him in the balls. A hot, violent rage seethed inside me. The air around us was choked with tension. Poor Isaac’s head volleyed from side to side as if watching a tennis match, while his eyes grew exceedingly wider with each barb Darnell and I exchanged.
Suddenly, Liz issued a caustic laugh as she leveled Darnell with an acrid grin. “You obviously don’t know Cin as well as you think, Dr. Edmonton. If she accepted the proposal of every man who’s asked her to marry, she’d have dozens of husbands. Thankfully, she isn’t a low-life, lying maggot capable of adultery. Besides, only a real man could capture such a vibrant and sensual treasure as Cin. Little boys who hoard their toys don’t stand a chance in hell. I’m shocked you didn’t learn…err, I mean recognize that about Cin, since you two are such good friends and all.”
Well don
e, Liz. I wanted to plant a kiss on my bestie’s cheek.
Darting a glance at Dr. Isaac, I noticed the man looked more than shell-shocked. His brows furrowed in concern as he blinked at the saccharine-sweet smile still plastered over Liz’s lips. Yet he didn’t say a word about the drama unfolding before him. I simply smirked as I watched a combination of fury and embarrassment roll over Darnell’s face.
A soft chuckle slid past my lips. And I couldn’t help adding a bit more fuel to my ex’s internal fire. “Indeed. A woman should never waste her time kissing toads. Not when there are so many fine princes waiting in line for her.” The superior tone—one I hadn’t used in years—rolled off my tongue with a hauntingly familiar dismissive flare. Christ, I sounded just like my mother.
Darnell struggled to slide a passive expression in place but failed woefully. I softly shook my head at the pitiful excuse of a man, then looped my arm through Liz’s.
“Please don’t think us rude, Dr. Isaac,” I began, looking his way with a placid, well-rehearsed smile. “Liz and I must get back to the unit.”
Isaac blinked and nodded as if coming out of some drug-induced coma. “Of course. I didn’t mean to keep you ladies so long. I’ll bring Dr. Edmonton through the ER shortly so he can meet Dr. Metcalf and the rest of the staff.”
“Can’t wait,” I lied. I inwardly wondered if the unit was big enough to hold both Darnell’s and Metcalf’s egos at the same time or if Isaac needed to requisition a special wing in order to accommodate them both.
“I look forward to getting the chance to see you working in your nursing environment.”
As Darnell landed another jab, Liz reached for my hand and gave it a little squeeze before pulling me past the two men and down the hall. Bile rose in the back of my throat again and as the ladies’ room came into view, I tore from Liz’s hand, pushed past the portal, and raced into the first stall.
“Shit,” Liz mumbled, standing behind me.
Pressing my palms on the cool metal dividers, I bent at the waist and began to dry heave. Tears of anger and embarrassment streamed down my face as my stomach continued to spasm.
“Oh, Cin,” Liz cooed as she smoothed the hair back from my face. “Don’t let that pretentious piece of shit do this to you.”
