Zion: A Doctor Shifter Romance (Bradford Bears Book 2)
Page 4
I recomposed myself and caught up to him, wondering where on earth he was taking me as we reached the end of the hall and rounded the corner.
“Woah!”
Dr. Bradford came to an abrupt halt, startled by a couple of technicians hurriedly rounding the corner as well, wheeling an empty hospital bed and nearly crashing into us. Instinctually, Dr. Bradford held his hand out, catching me right at the waist and preventing me from slamming into the hospital bed right at the last second.
“Sorry, doc,” one of the technicians said.
“Slow down. The air isn’t in a hurry,” Dr. Bradford said. Realizing his hand was still on my waist, he removed it, although I felt the ghost of his touch long afterwards. A shiver went down my spine.
“You all right?” he said, running his hand through his luscious dark hair, looking somewhat awkward.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, displeased to hear that my voice sounded too high. “Uhm…where are we going?”
“Right here,” he said. We came to a stop at the on-call room, which was empty at the moment. He held the door open for me and I entered, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the way I walked because I felt like my hips were swaying with minds of their own no matter how much I tried to stop them.
My heart stuttered again, this time right along with the click of the door as Dr. Bradford closed it. He shook his head. “Sorry—this day shift. I just can’t seem to think straight. I guess you could have brought your lunch here if you wanted.”
“It’s fine. I was done.” With the worst timing ever, my stomach gave an embarrassingly loud growl. I crossed my arms over my torso, as if that would help muffle the sound. It felt like someone had lit a match over my face.
Dr. Bradford cleared his throat, laughing a little at my rumbling stomach. When I could get the nerve to look up at him, I could see a smirk lingering beneath his expression and knew he was trying hard not to laugh at me further. It almost made me want to turn right on the spot and leave the room.
Why did this man make me feel so unsure of myself?
“I called Child Protective Services,” I said, feeling desperate to fill the empty room with sensible discussion. I couldn’t take too much more of the silence in his presence. Besides, I needed an excuse for staring at him, for his smoldering dark eyes seemed to be holding my gaze captive.
He nodded his head, briefly looking down to the floor. The amusement I’d thought I’d seen on his face had vanished entirely, replaced with barely concealed sadness. “Yeah. Thanks for that.” He looked up at me. “That’s what I really wanted to say to you. Thank you for helping out with Penny. I’m not so good with kids in those situations. I’m glad they sent up someone who is.”
I nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“Do you have kids? I mean…you don’t look like you do…” His eyes not-so-subtly roamed over my body before he caught himself and glanced away. “But uhm…you were just so good with Penny earlier, I wondered…”
I stood there, stunned to see that for the first time, Dr. Bradford actually looked flustered. It was my turn to chuckle. “No, I don’t have any kids, Dr. Bradford.”
“You can call me Zion.”
I nodded. A long stretch of silence passed between us. Feeling unnerved by it again, I cleared my throat. “So…is that all?”
Zion ran his hand through his hair again, and I stood there, wishing I could run my own fingers through it. Wondering if it felt just as silky as it looked…
“Alexis, the real reason I brought you here is because I want to apologize for yesterday.”
I blinked. I certainly hadn’t seen that coming. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, not sure what to say. When I finally could manage to speak, all I said was, “Oh.”
Zion lowered his head and shook it, as if in shame. “I had no right to speak to you that way. I’m not usually like that, I swear. I’m just kind of going through some stuff right now.”
“Well, Lorraine told me that. She said that you weren’t yourself yesterday.”
“And what else did Lorraine tell you?”
“That you were a shifter.”
“Yeah that.”.”
He smiled. I noticed for the first time he had dimples. Then again, it was probably the first time I had seen such a genuine smile from him to begin with. I couldn’t help the way my own lips curled into a smile at the sight of it.
I gave a start at his sudden nearness. Disoriented, I couldn’t figure out if I had involuntarily moved closer to him, or if he had moved closer to me. The fresh scent of his skin drifted to my nose.
God, did he smell good…
“You’re a very impressive nurse, Alexis,” he said. “You’re impressive in a lot of ways, actually.”
“I can say the same to you…I mean, as far as doctors go.”
He smirked. There was another stretch of silence. Suddenly, Zion sighed. “Look—the reason I treated you that way, is because I know you’re the kind of person I could, you’re the type of person that could very easily hold my interest. And I can’t risk that sort of thing at the moment. I’m not delusional enough to think I actually have a chance, but still, I can’t get close to anyone. I’m dangerous in my current state. I have to get my bear under control, yesterday showed me that.”
I stared, trying to figure out what he was implying. Surely it couldn’t be what I thought…
Zion laughed and shook his head again. “Sorry I’m being so lousy with my words right now. I guess, I’m just trying to say that I hope you accept my apology. And I hope we can get off to a fresh start since it looks like we’ll be together quite a bit. Professionally, I mean.”
Before I could stop myself, I reached out and rubbed his upper arm. “Sure thing, Zion. Bygones are bygones. Apology accepted.”
Eight
Zion
She just stood there looking lost. Like she was in her own head. Maybe she was. I certainly wasn’t, my brain was in my damn pants. My bear roared, he had to have her.
Her perfectly curved smile, the way the blonde strands fell into her eyes. What was I doing in here with her? Alone.
“Alexis?” I dipped my eyes to meet hers. She looked back at me and I watched her lips purse, like she was about to say something.
“I need you.” I crashed my lips into hers, and at first I could tell she was taken by surprise, but then she melted into me. I pushed her back against the door, my one hand trapping her beneath me. But she was no prisoner, she wanted it as much as I did.
Fuck she tasted good. Like honey.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
“Zion, what are we doing?” She said between kisses.
“We’re breaking the rules.” I knew it when I said it. The no fraternizing rule of the hospital. My uncle had mainly put it in place so my brothers didn’t screw around. But I didn’t care, because all I wanted was her.
No matter how much I wanted to play with her first, I couldn’t hold myself back. There wasn’t much time before we were found out, but it would be enough for what I had in mind. I pulled my pants and boxers down and then I grabbed her scrubs to help her to do the same. I turned her around and pressed her against the door, sliding my hand over her big ass.
“Try to keep quiet.”
“Yes doctor.”
Oh hell, that did me in. I pulled down her white lacey panties and kissed the backs of her thighs. She immediately spread her legs for me. I slipped a finger in, and then another pumping her slowly.
“Do you want me?” I growled in her ear.
“So much.”
I stood and she pushed her sweet ass out to me bracing herself on the door. I leaned around her and locked it before burying my dick in her sweet folds.
I pumped slowly at first, feeling her tense with every push.
“Yes,” she moaned.
Just as I was about to pick up the pace I heard talking on the other side of the door. “I think she’s in recovery but right now I just need some sleep, I’ll talk to you in a co
uple hours.”
Shit.
I pulled out and quickly we both got dressed, just as the doctor on the other side tried the handle.
“Is someone in there?”
“Be out in a minute,” I grumbled. Can’t a man just get some time to screw a hot nurse in the on-call room? Jesus.
“Alexis, when we walk out, go in different directions. Sorry we didn’t get to..”
“Finish?” She offered, her fuck me eyes still boring into my soul.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe another time.”
I opened the door to see a young female doctor I didn’t recognize waiting impatiently.
“Room’s all yours,” I said as Alexis slipped out. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her ass as she bounced away.
The doctor clucked her tongue, “You know the policy, Dr. Bradford.”
“Yeah, I sure as hell do. I also heard you say you were skipping checking on a patient’s recovery to get some sleep. So we’re even, right?”
She rolled her eyes but pushed past me into the on-call room. Let her wonder what happened in there. I still was.
Nine
Alexis
“You’re very lucky, you know that?” I said, as I finished applying the last of the bandages for the man in front of me. He was an elderly gentleman who’d been brought in by his daughter for the burns he’d sustained on his hand from a mishap while cooking breakfast.
“Clumsy is more like it,” his daughter said, though not unkindly. “I’ve told you time and time again, Dad, if you’re hungry, just let me know! I’ll fix you something to eat. You know you aren’t supposed to bother with the stove.”
The man grumbled under his breath. “I’m not six feet under yet. And I still know how to cook. Besides, you were sleeping. Why would I wake you?”
His daughter sighed. “You see what I have to deal with?” she said to me, shaking her head. “Okay, Dad—”
“Besides, it was just an accident. The damned skillet was heavier than I remember it being.”
I chuckled. “Yes, those skillets can be tricky sometimes,” I said.
“You see! She gets it!” He wagged a finger at his daughter. “Did you switch skillets around on me while I wasn’t looking?”
“Dad, I was sleeping. Remember?”
“Oh…that’s right.”
“Well, Mr. Weaver, just be a bit more careful next time, all right?” I said.
“All right, beautiful.” He winked. “Maybe next time, I’ll cook breakfast for you.”
All I could do was laugh as his daughter rolled her eyes. “And that’s the one thing that will never change about the old man. Always such a flirt,” she said.
“I need a toilet,” Mr. Weaver said abruptly.
“It’s right down the hall,” I said. “Make a left.”
“Hang on, Dad,” his daughter said.
“I don’t have time to hang on,” he said, hurriedly shuffling out of the room.
“Your dad is sweet,” I said. “People his age—they just like to feel helpful, that’s all. So maybe have him cook with you and give him small tasks to do. Make him feel like he’s contributing sometimes.”
“You know, that’s a great idea,” she said. “Thank you—”
“Alexis.”
“Thank you, Alexis.” We shook hands before she hurried after her father.
I smiled to myself, thinking of how Mr. Weaver reminded me of my own grandfather. It was the first time I’d smiled all day, despite the fact that Zion had been constantly running through my mind.
I focused on organizing Mr. Weaver’s files, oblivious to everything around me until one particular sentence caught my attention.
“Child Protective Services are on their way.”
I came to a screeching halt, overhearing one of the nurses speaking to an intern that was shadowing her for the week.
Up until that point, my thoughts had been thoroughly preoccupied with Zion. I’d seen him almost immediately upon starting the shift, and butterflies had floated through my stomach as if I was a teenager, laying eyes on my first crush. But he had ignored me completely. To say I was taken aback was an understatement. But I tried to brush it off, telling myself it was no big deal. After all, we both needed to stay professional; it’s not like we could spend the day holed up in the on call room. But damn if I didn’t want to be.
My pussy ached as flashes of yesterday filled my mind. His hands on my skin, our scrubs on the floor, the chance that someone could need us at any moment and come barreling in. It was all too much.
Once I found out that I’d been assigned to another doctor for the day, my reservations were further soothed. I knew that it would look suspicious if Zion went out of his way to talk to me when I wasn’t even working with him today. So as we passed each other in the halls, I kept my brave face on and was determined to not be bothered by the lack of contact between us.
The only thing that had managed to take him off my mind was overhearing my fellow nurse mention CPS. I strained my ears to hear more, but she resumed speaking in a pitch too low for me to make out anything. An uncomfortable knot had started to form in my stomach. Unable to stop myself, I took several steps in her direction. “Excuse me,” I said, “what’s the name of that patient? The one CPS are coming in for?”
She glanced down at the chart she was holding. “Penny McDowell. Female. Seven years old.”
I felt the blood draining from my face. It’s not like I didn’t know this was going to happen. I had even been expecting it. Yet, no matter how many times I witnessed situations like this, it always felt like a punch to the gut regardless.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“She’ll be in shortly to see Dr. Bradford.”
I nodded, my mind racing. The doctor I’d been assigned to was on break at the time, which meant I was as well. But knowing Penny was on the way, I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to leave the area. Her face drifted through my mind. I could so vividly recall her big green doe eyes, chubby cheeks, and long curly hair. I could also recall the sadness that lurked beneath her expression when I last saw her, as well as the hope that had begun to seep through as I told her the story about the little princess who’d had a spell cast on her.
My heart ached, and I halfway wondered if I would be able to stick around to witness what was about to unfold. But I knew I had formed a connection with the girl, and there was no way I could stand the thought of not being there for her at a time like this. So I had to stay.
It all happened so fast though. The time I desperately needed to mentally prepare for the sad situation was not available, for within mere seconds, Zion appeared. He locked eyes with me briefly—the longest he had looked at me all day. I felt like my heart was going to shatter into a million pieces right then and there. There was no smoldering expression in his dark eyes—only a cold and detached one. What the hell had changed?
“Good afternoon, Dr. Bradford. Anything we can do for you?” the nurse who’d been speaking with the intern asked. She was obviously assigned to his rotation for the day.
“No,” he said, his voice short and clipped. “Thank you,” he then added, perhaps realizing how rude he sounded.
Another nurse appeared in the doorway. “Dr. Bradford—Penny and Ms. McDowell are here to see you.”
He nodded. “Yes, send them in.”
I stood, frozen on the spot and not having any idea what to do. The ball of dread in the pit of my stomach was getting worse.
The seconds ticked by, each of them feeling like an hour until Penny and her mother were escorted in. Suddenly, everything felt like it was once again moving too fast because I just wasn’t ready to witness this.
Penny immediately smiled upon seeing me. Although my jaw quivered, I forced a smile back at her in return.
“Hi Alexis!” she said, excited.
“Hi Penny,” I responded, pleased that my voice was at least steady, and that I had managed to make it sound slightly cheerful.
It wasn’t until then that I remembered technically, I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I was on break.
I closed my eyes, for an instant, exasperated. But instead of taking the cue and leaving the area, I pulled out a chair and took a seat, listening.
“Hello, Ms. McDowell,” Zion’s voice droned.
“Yeah, hi,” she responded.
A heavy pause permeated the air before Zion spoke again. This time, his voice was directed at Penny. “So, how are you feeling today?”
“A little better,” she said.
“That’s good. This is my friend here, Nurse Watson. She’s going to take you to another room to play for a little while, so that I can talk to your mother. Is that okay?”
“Can I go with Alexis instead?”
I felt a brief and smug satisfaction over Penny asking for me, and I almost volunteered to go with her. But then I remembered my break would soon be over, and I’d have to rejoin Dr. Newman.
“Not today, sweetie,” Zion answered. “But I promise you, Nurse Watson is just as nice. And she’s even got a friend with her!. This is…”
“Jasmine. I’m the intern working with Nurse Watson this week. It’s so nice to meet you, Penny!”
“What’s an intern?” Penny asked suspiciously with narrowed eyes.
“An intern is a student. It just means I’m still in school, like you!”
“But why are you still in school? You’re old!” Penny exclaimed, drawing a brief laugh in what would soon turn into a not-so-funny situation.
“Well, I’m not that old,” Jasmine said. “Come on—I’ll tell you all about school for old people.”
“Okay.”
I listened to their retreating footsteps, knowing that the light-hearted moment was over. I clenched my fists at the sides of my chair, waiting with bated breath for Zion to resume.
“Look, Ms. McDowell—I’m not good at sugar-coating things, so I’m going to cut straight to the chase.”