by Ella Miles
His eyes!
Are open.
“Sir, can you hear me? You are at the hospital. We are going to take good care of you.”
He doesn’t speak, but his eyes tell me he understands what I’m saying.
“Relax. Do you remember what happened?”
“No,” he says carefully.
I smile, happy to hear his voice.
“The paramedics said you were in a car accident. We are assessing your injuries now and determining if you need surgery or not.”
He smiles back at me. Patients in this much pain usually don’t smile back at me.
“How much pain are you in on a scale of 1-10?”
“0.”
I frown and look down at Felicity who administered his IV. The drugs shouldn’t have taken effect that quickly. She looks back at me just as concerned. He’s probably in shock.
“0? Are you sure? You don’t feel any pain in your head or chest or leg?”
“No.”
Concern covers my face. He may be worse off than I thought. I look at the doctor who shares the same worry.
“I’m not in any pain because I’m staring at a beautiful angel who I would have never met had I not gotten injured. So the pain I feel is masked by how lucky I feel to have found you.”
I blush and shake my head. I’ve been hit on plenty as a nursing student. But never so blatantly by a man in such a serious condition before.
The doctor in the room laughs. “I think you are going to be just fine if you can joke at a time like this.”
“I’m not joking. Before I leave, I will have your number. And we will start an epic love story.”
I blush more and laugh nervously. If he asks, I will give him my number in a heartbeat. He seems like exactly the kind of man I’m looking for.
“Okay, Romeo. Just relax and focus on getting better, then we can talk about dating,” I say.
Cole Traver’s the one.
Blue eyes, prince charming, and I saved his life.
He’s exactly what I’m looking for. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him all day. He’s the last one on my rounds to check on. I have one more patient first.
And then I get to have my fairy tale come true. I get to go out with a man who is charm itself. It will be better than the fairy tales. They could make a movie out of our love story. “Love in the Emergency Room” they could call it.
I scrunch my nose. Obviously, the movie people would think of a better name than that. But our story will be epic. I can’t wait to shove it in my brother’s face later. And tell Ren about it on Sunday. She’s going to freak when I tell her I fell in love so quickly. Okay, maybe it’s not love yet, but it will be. I can tell from his tailored suit, dreamy eyes, and smile, he’s the one for me.
I knock on the door and then enter, hardly waiting for a response from the patient before entering.
“I’m Mila; I’m here to give you more pain medication and check to see how you’re feeling,” I say, as I head to the computer to look up the patient’s information.
“I know who you are, Mila.”
No. Fucking. Way.
I was too much in my own fairyland to even get a good look at the patient when I entered. Usually, I would have looked up my patient on the computer before entering their room to ensure I was prepared. I didn’t this time. I’m too blissful and wrapped up in my prince charming in the next room to worry about this one.
I narrow my eyes as I look at him. Ace Knight. This can’t be happening.
“Are you stalking me now?”
He chuckles and then lifts the cast on his arm. It’s then that I see the gash on his head. The broken leg and the IVs coming out of his body. Whatever happened was serious.
“No, they typically don’t give you a say in which hospital you go to when you’re unconscious.”
I flip my head back to my computer ignoring him. I need to get this done as quickly as possible. I scan the computer looking for my orders from the physician. Check his vitals and administer his next dose of antibiotics and painkillers. Easy enough.
“I need to check your blood pressure and oxygen levels.”
I grab the blood pressure cuff and tighten it around his bulging bicep. His arm is so big the cuff barely fits, after a few rough jerks from me to get it to fasten.
“Jesus, woman! I didn’t do anything to you,” he says at my aggressiveness.
I narrow my eyes. “You called me sweetheart.” He called me a lot worse, but I won’t be repeating those words.
He grins, and it only pisses me off more.
“You ran over my motorcycle. I think we’re even.”
I glare. “We are most definitely not even.”
“You’re right. You owe me twenty grand to fix my bike.”
Shit. Are motorcycles really that expensive? That’s more than my car costs. I can’t afford that.
“Your blood pressure is fine.” I put the blood oxygen monitor on his finger, and it reads above ninety. Great, he’s breathing just fine, while I’m sure if I tested my oxygen levels right now, it’d be below fifty, and my blood pressure would be sky high.
I don’t bother listening to his heart. I don’t want to be that close to him. Instead, I fetch his medications and walk over to his IV to administer them.
“So what do you think, sugartits? Am I going to live?”
I push in the antibiotics, but toss the painkiller in the trash without administering it. I shouldn’t do it, but I’m pissed. I’m tired of dealing with his crap.
He grins. He won’t be grinning in an hour when he’s writhing in pain. I’ll be off my shift by then, so it will be some other nurse’s responsibility to give him pain medicine. He won’t be in agony for more than an hour.
I purposefully drag my hand over his IV, tugging on it.
He growls. It’s a deep, menacing, sexy sound that comes from deep in his belly.
“Oops.”
“You aren’t much of a sweetheart, are you? I’ll have to think of another name to call you.”
“You won’t be calling me anything. I won’t see you again after my shift is over.” I’m too angry to suppress the raspiness in my voice. I’m used to talking in a high pitched, bubbly voice to hide my natural sultry sound. But now, it slips out.
Knight cocks his head, and his eyes darken into tight slits. If he thought I was a prize before, now he thinks he’s hit the jackpot. I’m the ultimate possession he wants to claim.
He’s never going to have me. He’s the absolute wrong man for me. And I’m the wrong woman for him. Knight is looking for a woman to have fun. A one night stand. Or a string of nights. Nothing serious. It’s clear from his tattooed covered body and tattered clothes that he doesn’t take life seriously. I would just be his next conquest.
I’ve been down that road before. It leaves me in tears. My heart, broken. And my family telling me, “I told you so.” I’m done with bad boys. I want a good man with a steady job, and his priorities straight. It may be a bit boring, but it’s what will keep me safe.
“I think I will see a lot of you. You owe me for my bike.”
I glare at him. “No, I don’t owe you anything. I probably saved your life.”
He cocks an eyebrow like he doesn’t follow. “How do you figure that?”
“You were in a car accident, right?”
He doesn’t answer, but his silence tells me I guessed right. I could check his chart, but I’ve seen enough patients to know the exact cause. And a man in his twenties is usually brought in for only a few reasons: brawl, being an idiot showoff, overdose, or car accident. His severe wounds lead me to guess car accident. Drunk driver or reckless driving most likely.
“If you had been riding your motorcycle, especially without a helmet, you probably would have been killed.”
Knight pauses, drinking in every word falling from my lips like I’m playing an orchestra just for him. I need to focus on not sounding like a harlot around him. I don’t know what it is, but my su
ltry voice comes out near him.
He leans forward, and I find myself doing the same until we are inches apart. Eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to mouth. I lean in further, thinking he’s going to kiss me. And despite how angry I am, I’m desperate to taste his lips.
“You owe me, sweetheart.”
Stunned. That’s how I feel.
He chuckles like he knows just how much control he has over me.
My body may respond to his like any other warm-blooded woman’s would react to a sexy man. It doesn’t mean I’m going to act on my feelings. I have self-control.
And I have the perfect man waiting for me in the next room.
I won’t let Ace think he has any hold on me. Men like him won’t ever let me go if he thinks he has any power over my body.
I tug on his IV again, this time not being sneaky at all about it. It’s clear it’s not an accident.
“Stop calling me sweetheart or I’ll—”
I don’t finish.
His rough hand finds the nape of my neck, and he closes the distance between our lips. I gasp, my mouth opens as he swallows me.
I hate him, I think.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I repeat the mantra in my head. Trying to convince myself to not fall into his trap.
Too late.
I’ve fallen. I’m lost in his kiss. The kiss is as rough as I expected a kiss from him would be, but also softer. Sweeter. Gentler.
The way his thumb presses at the base of my jaw is less controlling than I expected the gesture to feel. It’s tender like he knows how his touch is radiating down my neck and into my core, persuading me to keep kissing him instead of pulling away like my head is telling me.
“You’re fired.”
I blink several times, not registering the words I just heard.
The kiss ends. I don’t know if Knight or I was the one to end it, but it ends. And I’ve never felt sadder to face an end.
I lean back, my eyes focused on Knight’s. His dark brown eyes aren’t on mine though. They are behind me.
How could he think about anything but me at this moment?
His eyes slowly drift back to mine, and that’s when I see it. The sadness. It matches mine. I don’t understand why he’s sad or where it’s coming from. But it’s there. Same as mine.
“Mila? Did you hear me?” Felicity asks.
Felicity!
I turn toward the shrill woman.
“I’m sorry. No, I didn’t hear you.”
“I said, you’re fired. Go to your desk. I’ll have security meet you to take your badge and change your computer logins.”
“Wait? Fired? I’m not an employee here.” Stupid. It doesn’t matter if I’m an employee here or not. I’m no longer finishing my clinical rotation here. I might not even be graduating this winter at all.
She smiles like she has been waiting for years for a reason to fire me and the moment has finally come, even though she’s only dealt with me for four weeks. “It’s against the rules to kiss patients. I’m failing you. You’ll be lucky if another hospital takes you after the report I write.”
She walks over to the bed. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Knight. That was highly inappropriate for her to behave that way. I assure you the rest of our staff will behave with the utmost professionalism toward you the rest of your stay. We will ensure you get the best care while you are here. And as I said, she will be let go for her indiscretion.”
Knight glances my way. But his eyes barely focus on me before he glances at Felicity. His eyes focus in on her cleavage.
Asshole, I think as I walk out of the room, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
I feel tears welling, my heart clenching. This can’t be happening. I did everything I was supposed to do. I planned. I’m a few months away from graduating. From being forgiven by my family. I did everything I was supposed to.
And now…
Now, I’m going to end up with nothing. Living on my sister’s couch. I’ll be a nanny for the rest of my life. Trapped and unable to leave the sanctuary of my family.
I will never be on my own. Never live up to my potential.
I’ll never graduate college now. I know that. I know, without even talking to the administrators, I’ll be expelled. Who kisses a patient and then gets to become a nurse still? No one.
I watch as a tear falls and lands on the linoleum floor. I did everything right, and I still fucked up.
I look up and see Henry staring at me. The disappointment plain on his face. He doesn’t know what happened. He doesn’t have to. He knows me too well. It’s why he’s here.
I always fuck up. I ruin everyone’s lives. But this time, I just ruined mine.
I won’t ask my brother for money. I won’t live on my sister’s couch. I’ll live on the streets under an underpass before I ask for their help again. Not after everything I’ve put them through.
I walk past the door of Cole Traver’s room. I consider bursting through the door and telling him to save me. He probably could. He has enough money to more than take care of someone like me.
I’m tired of being saved. It’s underrated. Being rescued doesn’t make anything better. It just puts me in their debt and makes it that much harder the next time I fail again.
“I could have loved you. We could have had an epic love story,” I whisper under my breath, staring at the tiny crack of light peering around the edge of the solid door.
I sniffle, trying to keep the tears away.
“What happened now, Mila?” Henry asks. His voice isn’t angry. But he doesn’t try to hide the disappointment. That’s all I am: one big disappointment.
“I was born, and then tragedy attached itself to me. I’m tragic, a dark storm cloud, a thorn that when pulled free from the skin finds another place to jab into and cause pain.”
Henry rolls his eyes. “Stop being so dramatic, kiddo.”
I wince at the nickname. That’s all I am to him. A kid. A burden he can never get free of.
It ends today.
“I need to be alone.” When I’m alone, I can’t hurt anyone but myself. No matter how much I fuck up, I’m the only one I’ll break.
3
Knight
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I stand in the doorway of my office.
My best friend, Cole, sits in the chair with his feet up on my desk.
He raises an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”
I roll my eyes and shut the door behind me, before walking over to the mini bar and pouring two fingers of bourbon.
“I’m working.”
Cole eyes the glass in my hand. “It looks like you are drinking your problems away. Didn’t the doctor tell you not to mix pain medications with alcohol?”
I sip the liquor down in one shot.
Cole smirks. “I guess not.”
“What do you want, Traver?”
I pour more amber liquid into my glass.
“What happened?” Cole says, removing his black loafers from my desk and sitting up straight in my oversized leather chair. I know what he’s asking. The police finished their investigation and determined it was an accident. No one’s fault. But it’s hard to understand how someone could lose control of a car on a sunny day, with little traffic, and no texting, alcohol, or distractions.
I shrug and slowly sip the liquor.
“I lost control of the car. The road was slippery. Another car slammed into us,” I say, trying not to relive the night. It happened weeks ago, but it still feels like it was yesterday. At least my body healed quickly. The only signs I was in a car accident are the scars on my body and pain whenever I move.
“You fucking lost control? That’s the story you are going with?” Cole stands up, and I know he’s going to punch me for what happened. I deserve it. He could have died. As it is, he’s never going to walk right again. He’ll always have a slight limp. Scars will mar his body. Nightmares will invade his sleep. Because of me.
I take another drin
k of the liquor, wishing it would take away the pain. And I’m not talking about the physical pain I’m in. Although that would be nice too; my ribs burn every time I fucking breathe. But that’s not why I drink. I drink to get rid of the undeniable pain embedded in my heart.
“You were fucking drinking? Weren’t you? Barely under the legal limit, huh?”
I don’t answer. He wouldn’t believe me anyway.
Cole drops his head. He’s not going to punch me, even though I wish he would.
He walks over to the bar, pours himself a drink, and returns to my chair to perch his feet on my desk. He doesn’t look at me as he nurses it. We both sip our drinks in complete silence. It’s not normal, even for high powered men like us to be drinking this much alcohol on a Monday morning, but then our lives have never been normal. Most people don’t become millionaires before their twenty-fifth birthdays either.
“You owe me,” Cole says, breaking the silence as he studies the picture of Abri and me on my desk. He takes a seat again. “Although, I did meet this attractive nurse. Young, hot, long brown hair. Sharp eyes, perky boobs, and her voice. My god, I could listen to her all day.”
His lips curl up a little in a smile as he pictures the woman in his head. A woman I know all too well.
“I thought she would come back to my room, but she didn’t. Probably got off shift early. I’m sure she’d be interested in giving me a checkup.” He chuckles to himself at his crude joke.
“Mila Burns?” I ask.
Cole stops laughing. “She was your nurse too?”
I nod.
His eyes light up. “We haven’t competed for a woman in a long time. Not since high school. This could be fun.”
“You already lost. I kissed her.” And got her fired. Most likely, ended her college career. But I don’t tell him that.
He smiles like I just said the greatest thing in the world. “I don’t believe you.”
I walk over to the expansive window and look out at the city below. So many people are walking, going through their regular, ordinary days. Hoping they make enough money to make it through the next day. I would give anything to be them.
