by Amy Ruttan
“I love your hands on my body,” he whispered.
“I can tell,” she teased. Then she teased him with the tips of her fingers. Running a finger lightly down his neck, over his chest and then tracing the tattoo. Her hand splayed against his abdomen and slipped lower, gripping him in the palm of her hand.
“Dios,” he groaned.
“I love it when you speak Spanish.” Still holding him, she leaned forward and nibbled his neck. “You’re completely at my mercy.”
“Sí.”
Her dark eyes glittered and she grinned devilishly as she stroked him. He sucked in another breath. His whole body was alive, every nerve on fire as she touched him. He tried to hold back a moan but he couldn’t.
Kiri touching him was driving him wild and he was afraid that if she kept it up he would come. Only he didn’t want her to stop.
“Oh, mi Dios, no se detienen,” he grunted, bucking his hips at her.
“What did you say?” she asked, dragging her lips over his chest.
“Oh, my God, don’t stop.”
“Then I won’t.” Her mouth was on him then and his hands slipped into hair and he started speaking in Spanish, not even knowing what he was saying because he was being driven wild with pleasure.
Growling, he pushed her against the mattress, pinning her there below him.
“Now who is at whose mercy?”
She bit her lip and tried to wrap her legs around him, but he let go of her wrists to push open her legs.
“I want you, Alejandro.”
“I know, but now it’s my turn. I’ve wanted to taste you for so long.”
“Taste wh...? Oh, mi Dios,” she gasped as he did exactly just that. Torturing her the way she had tortured him.
“You’ve picked up Spanish quite well,” he teased her.
“How do you say ‘I want you inside me now’?”
“Te quiero dentro de mí ahora.”
“Te quiero dentro de mí ahora.”
“Sí.”
“That wasn’t a question. That was an order.”
“Was it, now?” he teased her again, running his tongue around the most sensitive part of her, making her cry out. “Say it again. I want to make sure you’re saying it right.”
“Te quiero dentro de mí ahora. Please.”
“Por favor.”
“Sí,” she said, arching her hips at him.
“Okay.” He moved over her, staring down into her eyes. Kiri pulled him down for another kiss as he entered her with one quick thrust.
“Dios,” he groaned. She was so tight, so hot. It took all his control not to take her too fast, but her body arched and she began to match his rhythm so that he sank deeper into her, and he couldn’t hold back. He slipped a hand under her bottom, bringing her closer and angling his thrusts as he quickened his pace.
It was hard to hold back, but he managed it until Kiri came, crying out his name as she tightened around him. Only then did he allow his own sweet release.
When it was over he rolled away, trying to catch his breath, and he realized that he wanted more of her.
“That was amazing,” she whispered in the darkness. He could hear her panting and he grinned.
He rolled back over and grabbed her, dragging her across him, her soft body against his. She kissed him gently on the lips.
“That was amazing,” he said. “You’re amazing.”
She smiled at him. The wind howled outside as she settled against him and he stirred to life again. He wanted her again. And she seemed to want more as she sat astride him, sinking down on him, riding him, but this time making love to him slowly. Tenderly.
Yes. He wanted so much more of her. So much that it scared him and he realized that he was a lost man.
* * *
Kiri woke with a start. She reached out, expecting to find Alejandro there, but he wasn’t. This time he’d left, instead of her. Her stomach knotted as she thought of him sneaking out, but really he was just doing exactly what she’d done.
And they hadn’t made any promises.
He’d told her he couldn’t offer her anything and she’d accepted that because she couldn’t give him anything either. And since they worked together, what they’d done wasn’t right.
All they had were these couple of stolen moments and a lost child.
That’s all they had together.
Outside the sky was gray, the ocean was gray and turbulent, and the beach was littered with driftwood and seaweed. It was a miserable day outside as the remnants of the tropical storm lingered into the morning.
She got up, because she couldn’t lounge around in bed all day, though that’s what she wanted to do. The moment she sat up she caught sight of his white shirt lying crumpled on the floor where she’d tossed it.
Kiri picked it up and held it to her face, drinking in his scent. Tears stung her eyes and she thought of what she’d almost had with him. While he’d expressed remorse for her he hadn’t seemed to feel much at all about it himself, which confirmed her belief that he didn’t really want children. That saddened her because being with him had been so much more this time because she knew him. She understood him. She loved being with him. She enjoyed his company. He was a friend.
No, he was more than that.
I’m in love with him.
And the thought scared her because it was something she’d been trying to deny for a long time. She could talk herself out of it before because all Alejandro had been then was a one-night stand. She hadn’t known anything about him, not even his last name.
Now it was different. Kiri knew a lot about him. She knew his last name. Knew he’d grown up in Miami and his parents had been immigrants from Heliconia. He was dedicated to his work, he rode a motorcycle, he loved to dance and he was charming.
He treated his patients and his coworkers with a level of respect she’d never seen from a brilliant surgeon before.
He was charming, sexy and passionate about medicine.
And he’d suffered a devastating tragedy as a child. With far-reaching consequences. Only he’d turned his life around, had turned the darkness of his past into something bright and wonderful.
Alejandro was the perfect man. Only she couldn’t have him because he didn’t want the same things she did.
She was in love with a man she could never have. She tossed the shirt away.
Get a grip on yourself.
Alejandro had made it clear to her last night that he couldn’t be in a committed relationship and she had done the same. She’d promised him that it would be okay, that he didn’t have to commit to her.
She was a big girl.
She was independent. Things could carry on like they had before. She would make sure of it. Only as she stared at the crumpled shirt on the floor she knew that nothing would be the same between them again.
Kiri only hoped that she hadn’t totally jeopardized her career in Miami.
Even though she missed New York City like crazy, Miami had grown on her. She loved the weather and the culture. Loved working at Buena Vista.
This was her home now.
And she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way.
Even her feelings.
CHAPTER TEN
“YOU’RE LATE, DR. BHARDWAJ.”
Kiri tried not to roll her eyes as she walked into the small boardroom where she was meeting with the head of the board of directors today. She really detested these meetings with Mr. Snyder, who only saw the bottom line instead of the lives.
“Thankfully, Dr. Prescott was able to meet with me in your time slot,” Snyder snapped.
“The head of trauma?”
Mr. Snyder glanced up at her briefly from his paperwork. “The former head of trauma.”
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Her stomach sank into the soles of her feet. So they were planning to close the trauma department, and Prescott had been so helpful in finding Gervaso’s birth mother.
Dr. Prescott didn’t deserve this. This was not how a hospital should be run. A hospital needed a trauma department.
“Do you think closing the trauma department is wise?” she asked.
“We’re not planning on closing the trauma department. Dr. Prescott quit. He took another job. He was just handing in his resignation. I’m on the lookout for a new head of the trauma department, so if you know anyone or can recommend someone out of the pool of attendings we have here I would appreciate any recommendations. Besides, your only concern is pediatrics. You’re not Chief of Surgery.”
It was a barb, meant to keep her in her place.
Kiri took a deep breath and counted to ten. “I’ll keep my eye out. I haven’t quite met all the attendings outside the pediatric department.”
Mr. Snyder nodded. “You’re running your department like a tight ship. I have to say, the board of directors is quite pleased with your summary.”
“Thank you,” Kiri said, but if Snyder was pleased with her she didn’t take that as a compliment. The cuts she’d made when she’d first arrived didn’t sit too well with her.
“We just have one concern, about Dr. Valentino,” Snyder said.
Her stomach did a flip again. “What about him?”
“We want to keep him, he’s the best specialist in pediatric organ transplant that we’ve ever seen. His survival rate is high, but these pro bono cases have to stop. We’re trying to save money and attract a very specific clientele here.”
“I couldn’t very well send José Agadore elsewhere. He was too ill to move and Alejandro spoke his language. The family were at home with him. It wasn’t long before UNOS called and we were able to give him the liver transplant.”
Mr. Snyder cocked an eyebrow. “Yes, but the antirejection meds aren’t being paid for by the family. They should be, but Dr. Valentino is paying for them.”
Kiri was taken aback. “What?”
Mr. Snyder ignored her and pulled out another file. “And this John Doe in the NICU, why wasn’t he shipped to County? That’s where wards of the state of Florida in Miami go. They don’t stay here.”
“I’m aware of that, but you’ll notice that Dr. Valentino was approved to be guardian of the baby. He’s footing the bills. The child needs a heart transplant.”
Mr. Snyder pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “We don’t want to lose Dr. Valentino, he’s too gifted, but this has to stop. This charity. The only way to keep away the people who require pro bono services is to stop all charitable donations.”
Kiri clenched her fists under the table. She knew exactly what Mr. Snyder was implying. He meant riffraff. Whatever riffraff was. “Dr. Valentino is not doing the baby any harm and it’s his money.”
“You need to talk to him.” Snyder sent her a pointed stare that made her blood boil.
“I’ll talk to him. That’s my job,” she snapped.
Snyder glared at her. “Remind him that while it may be his job to save his patients medically, it’s not his job to save them financially.”
“Is that all? I do have paying patients to see.”
“Yes.” Snyder waved his hand, effectively dismissing her like he was a lord and she was a lowly serf.
Kiri stood and left the meeting. She was fuming and she had an inkling this wasn’t the board of directors speaking but Mr. Snyder personally. How could Dr. Vaughan, a man she admired so much and who was all for pro bono cases, be friends with someone like Mr. Snyder? She had to find a way to appeal to the rest of the board about their pro bono fund.
Babies like Gervaso and others didn’t deserve to be shipped off to County because they were unwanted. They deserved to be cared for by the best team of pediatric doctors in Miami. She was worried about Alejandro forking over so much money. It was attracting the wrong attention and he had to lie low for now.
Until she could get the heads of the hospital together to convince the entire board that the pro bono fund needed to be reinstated.
She found Alejandro in José’s room. He was talking to José’s parents, and before she could even knock on the door she saw him reach into his pocket and bring out bottles of prescription medicine.
Dammit. What’re you doing?
Kiri was angry at Alejandro for endangering his job like this. With Gervaso’s case he’d gone through a lawyer and a judge had approved it. The hospital’s hands were tied, but this? This was going too far.
José would be on antirejection medications for the rest of his life. Alejandro couldn’t be doing this. José’s family had to be on some sort of drug plan. The boy had cystic fibrosis as well. Was Alejandro supporting the medication for that too?
Now he was stepping out of line with the doctor-patient relationship.
She knocked on the door. “Dr. Valentino, can I speak with you privately?”
He glanced over his shoulder and nodded, holding up a hand to let her know that he would be one moment.
Kiri moved away from the door and headed into a private exam room, waiting for Alejandro to come in.
It wasn’t long before he was there.
“Close the door, please,” she said, not looking up at him. She was fuming. He was putting his career at risk. If he was fired for conflict of interest he wouldn’t be hired by another hospital if Snyder had any say over it. Then who would take care of Gervaso?
It was highly irresponsible.
“You’re very serious.” Alejandro closed the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got out of a meeting with Mr. Snyder.”
“I can tell from your expression that your meeting with him didn’t go too well.”
“No, it didn’t.” Kiri sighed. “I don’t know how to say this, but they’re concerned about your behavior recently, first with baby Gervaso and second with José.”
He frowned. “What do they have to be concerned about?”
“They’re worried about you paying for too many things.” Kiri scrubbed a hand over her face. “You’re too charitable.”
“I don’t understand. Why is that a bad thing?”
“It’s not, it’s just bad here.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Mr. Snyder cut the pro bono fund.”
“I know, but it’s not coming out of hospital funds. It’s coming out of my pocket. The bills are getting paid so why do they care?”
“Alejandro, they’re worried that it might get around that there’s a surgeon on staff who is willing to shell out money. It’s a conflict of interest. They don’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention.”
He snorted. “I know exactly what he means by that.”
“Look, I know too. I hate that, but you can’t save everyone.” And then she paused. She was starting to sound like Mr. Snyder and that bothered her.
“I’m not saving everyone, financially that is. I’m Gervaso’s guardian.”
“What about José? I heard that you’re paying for his medication. You can’t do that. It’s a conflict of interest. You can’t go out of pocket for them. It’s attracting attention. You could lose your job and then what will happen to Gervaso?”
“You make it sound like I’m stealing the medication,” Alejandro snapped. “For your information, I’m not paying for José’s medication.”
“You were pulling pill bottles out of your pocket.”
Alejandro reached into his pocket and held up the bottles. “You mean these? These that say ‘Alejandro Valentino’ on them? I was showing José’s family the medication that José will be on for the rest of his life. Just like the cystic fibrosis medication. They need to understand the importance of the
antirejection drugs.”
“Mr. Snyder had a bill showing that you paid for some of José’s meds.”
He shook his head. “I took José’s parents’ money and went down to the pharmacy to deal with the pharmacists. The pharmacists here don’t speak Spanish. I do. José’s parents paid me back. They’re on a drug plan through their insurance and their pharmacy is in Little Heliconia, but the hospital won’t allow me to discharge José until his parents pick up meds and show the attending physician that the child is taking the antirejection meds. It’s hospital policy. Since José’s parents don’t drive and were planning to take a cab, I didn’t think it was right for them to pay extra money that they don’t have to get to their pharmacy in Little Heliconia and back again to get their son.”
Kiri’s heart melted. Alejandro was so good and she felt like a heel for thinking the worst of him, for letting Snyder sway her into believing the worst in him.
Alejandro was good and suddenly she felt like the harbinger of doom and gloom. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I am very relieved, by the way.”
He gave her a half smile. “It’s okay. I get it. You were under pressure from the board and Mr. Snyder. I can go speak to the board if you want.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll explain to them, it makes sense now.”
“I hate board politics,” he grumbled.
“Me too.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
Alejandro took a step closer to her. “Since we’re alone...”
He bent down and kissed her on the lips.
“I have been thinking about you all morning.”
“What’re you doing?” she asked, stunned.
“Kissing you,” he said.
“I know, but last night you said it was just going to be one time.”
Alejandro took a step back like she’d hit him. “And kissing you to thank you is taking it too far?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Because kissing me like that makes me want you more.”
“You want me?”
This time Kiri gripped his lapels and pulled him down into a kiss that she knew she would regret, because kissing him like this tore down her walls completely, shattered them, and it scared her that she wanted him this badly.
