Mason came up and shook my hand. His horn-rimmed glasses gave him a sophisticated look while his gray hairs gave away his age. “Rest up, Tanner. We want you back as soon as possible.”
“I feel good. Let's go home.” I sat up and the room began to spin—a feeling I was all too familiar with. I stood up and steadied myself. My knees were wobbly and my legs weak. I took a step and Caleb had to hold my arm to keep me from crashing down.
“What is going on in here?” The blonde doctor rushed into the room and grabbed my arm away from Caleb.
“I feel good, Doc. It's time to go home.” Her hand on my arm felt really nice.
“Over my dead body,” she said with conviction. She grit her teeth and flared her nostrils. This was one woman shouldn't be trifled with.
I put my hands up in the air. “I surrender. Sorry guys but it might be a couple days until I'm out of here.”
The doctor helped me lay down on the bed, placing my head gently on the hard pillow. Claire came over and kissed me on the forehead, leaving a red lipstick mark. “Get some rest, Tanner. And listen to the doctor.”
I smiled at her. Claire really was a mother to me. “Yes, Ma'am.”
The MC left the room, waving goodbye and slapping my legs. The doctor checked my vitals and I stared at her. She had a slender figure but her large white coat hid any evidence of it. Her name plate on her left breast said: Dr. Holmes.
“Your vitals are getting better. But we still need to do some tests.”
“Dr. Holmes eh? Any relation to the famous detective.”
The doctor sneered at me. “Like I haven't heard that one before.”
I laughed and could feel the stitches in my back pulling at my skin. “What's your first name?”
She cocked her head to the side and looked at me funny. Like nobody had every wondered her name before. “It's Grace. But you can call me Dr. Holmes.”
“Well Grace, I'm Tanner. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for saving my life.” I lifted my hand out for her to shake. Grace ignored my polite gesture and checked the monitor next to me. She must not like my defiant attitude. Not yet at least.
“If the tests look good tomorrow. You'll be able to go home,” Grace said, walking to the doorway.
“Thanks again, Grace.” My smile turned to seriousness. “Thank you again for saving my life. I owe you one.”
Grace was about to leave without a reply but poked her head back in. “Your welcome, Tanner,” she said, without making eye contact.
I rested my head against the pillow and grinned. Who was this woman?
—
Nurse Fiona and I were seeing a lot of each other. She came into the room almost every ten minutes to check in on me. Her brunette hair was tied back into a ponytail that let her beautiful face glow. Her playful flirting was more than just flirting. I could tell by her flushed cheeks that I could have her any moment I wanted.
The best time of the day: sponge bath.
Nurse Fiona popped into the room. “Ready for your bath, Tanner?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Fiona giggled and brought over the sponge and bucket. I sat up and Fiona undid my backless hospital gown. She dunked the sponge into the warm water and ringed it out. Fiona ran the rough sponge across my back, massaging my skin. I let out a guttural moan and shut my eyes. My erection began to grow between my legs and Fiona ran the sponge across my chest. The blood drained from my head and filled my stiff shaft.
“That feels really good, Nurse.”
“Oh does it now?” she replied. “Does this feel good?” She ran the sponge down below the sheet covering my waist. Fiona reached the base of my erection and washed around it. My heart beat began to race, the monitor next to me beeping faster and faster. All Fiona had to do was wrap her fingers around my shaft and stroke me. I'd come instantly all over her hands.
Fiona eyed me deviously, the sponge rubbing up against my shaft. Oh fuck yes. She's going to give me a handjob.
I waited patiently as her hand disappeared under the sheet. I closed my eyes...and a knock at the door interrupted us. Fiona instantly withdrew her hand and grabbed the sponge. Dammit!
Doctor Holmes walked in. “Everything going all right in here, Nurse?”
“Yes, Doctor. Just giving the patient a sponge bath.”
I winked at Grace. The white sheet barely covered my body—my erection clearly defined. “It might take the both of you to clean this body.” The doctor rolled her eyes. She really had heard it all. I was going to have to take my normal charm up a notch.
“I think Tanner is clean enough, Nurse. Mr. Jacoby in room five needs a bath too.”
Fiona sulked as she left the room. My throbbing member missed her already. Grace flicked the light switch, drenching the room in darkness. “Get some rest, Tanner.”
I put my hands behind my head and lay on the pillow. “Yes, Ma'am.”
Chapter Four
Grace
My stomach grumbled as I made my rounds. It had been eight hours since I'd eaten anything of substance. Food would have to wait. I couldn't believe it was only last night when I operated on Tanner King. I barely got enough time to myself before I had to go back to work.
Mr. Jacoby in room five was constantly pooping himself but finally stopped. Nurse Fiona will be cleaning crap off the floor for days. I still had a couple patients to see before I could finally take a break.
I opened the door to the oldest patient I had. He fell down in the shower and broke his hip in two places. Luckily his dog barked up a storm and a neighbor called 911.
“Hello George, how is your hip doing?” I checked the monitor and he seemed fine.
“Oh sweetheart, I feel like a million bucks. I could get up and we could dance the night away.” George tried to show me his moves while laying down. “I know a nice club a few blocks from here. They're open pretty late on Saturdays.”
“Maybe another time, George.” I put my stethoscope on and rested the bell on his chest. His heart was old but healthy. “Sounds good, George.”
“Fit as a fiddle, Doc.” His wrinkly skin stretched into a smile.
I chuckled. “I'll check in on you later.”
He blew me a kiss. “Bye sweetheart.”
I left his room and checked my clipboard. Tanner King in room three needed to be looked at. Flashes of his tattooed chest ran across my mind. Goosebumps formed on my skin and a shiver ran up my mind. Why was I so scared to see him?
I peeked into room three and Mr. King was still sleeping. Thank god. I walked in and checked his vitals. Tanner was sleeping soundly. The white sheet covered up his entire body. I was tempted to pull it back just to get one more glimpse of that hot black widow tattoo. Tanner rustled and opened his eyes.
“Don't try to move yet. I don't want you to pull out your stitches.” I took out my penlight and did a couple eye tests—all normal. His brown eyes burned deeply into mine. They were dark, brooding, and oh so sexy. I couldn't look away from his gaze.
I grabbed his wrist to check his pulse and felt an electric shock. His heart was racing but so was mine.
“Are you the nurse?”
I hated that question above all other. Couldn't the patients clearly see my white coat. Just because I was a woman didn't mean that I had to be a nurse. God forbid a woman ever succeeds at something.
“What happened?” he asked groggily.
Suddenly, a whole group of bikers came into the room and began congratulating Tanner. I used that opportunity to exit the room. I spotted Dr. Green walking down the hallway towards me and I quickly ducked into room four with a coma patient. If I could go just one shift without interacting with that sleazeball.
I spent an hour in the mess hall, chewing on a poorly made hamburger. I checked my phone and saw a missed text from my younger sister Rachel. When she had dropped out of college, our parents disowned her and I let her stay with me temporarily until she could find a job. Flash forward two years and she was still living with me and had not found
a job.
Rachel: I hope that bastard doctor is keeping his hands off you.
Honestly, I liked having her around. It could get lonely returning to an empty apartment every night. Dating was hard enough and combine that with an eighty-hour work week and your sex life becomes non-existent.
I typed her back a quick reply.
Grace: So far so good. I'll be home early in the morning. See you soon xoxo.
I finished my hamburger and returned to the ER. Everything had been pretty quiet since the stab victim came in last night. I checked my watch and realized it was past visiting hours. I would need to tell all those bikers that they needed to leave. I kept my phone close by just in case I needed to call security. Who knows what could happen.
I entered room three to find Mr. King standing up and trying to leave. “What is going on in here?” I grabbed his arm away from the biker and set him back down on the bed. His muscles were rock hard.
“I feel good, Doc. It's time to go home.”
“Over my dead body,” I said without wavering.
“I surrender. Sorry guys but it might be a couple days until I'm out of here.”
The MC left the room, leaving Tanner and I all alone. I checked his pulse one more time. “Your vitals are getting better. But we still need to do some tests.”
“Dr. Holmes eh? Any relation to the famous detective.”
I really needed to think about changing my last name. “Like I haven't heard that one before.”
Growing up, my friends and family all believed I was going to be a cop. I actually did have a thing for Sherlock Holmes—read all his stories more that once—but I grew out of that phase when I reached high school. I wanted to save lives, not solve murders.
“What's your first name?” he asked me.
Before I could stop myself, my lips betrayed me. “It's Grace. But you can call me Dr. Holmes.”
“Well Grace, I'm Tanner. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for saving my life.” Who did this guy think he was? The anger in my stomach was bubbling in my throat. He had the same disrespect that I hated about Dr. Green. I didn't even pay attention to his outstretched hand.
“If the tests look good tomorrow. You'll be able to go home,” I said.
“Thanks again, Grace. Thank you for saving my life. I owe you one,” he said with a stone-cold face. He really meant it.
“Your welcome, Tanner,” I replied, trying not to meet his gaze. My face flushed and I had to leave before my body could further react to him. He was just so damn cocky.
—
I spent the rest of my shift checking in on other patients and doing a good job of keeping my mind off Tanner. He was so frustrating and I had only known him for a couple hours. I couldn't wait until I could discharge him.
I stopped by his room and the door was closed. The nurses only closed the door if they were giving the patient a sponge bath. It couldn't hurt to peek in and get one last look at that sexy chest of his. I knocked on the door before opening it. Nurse Fiona was flustered and dropped the sponge in the bucket. Tanner looked relaxed. Way too relaxed.
I told Fiona to go give Mr. Jacoby a bath so I could be alone with Tanner. I approached the bed and could see his erection pulsing under the sheets. My skin became red hot and a desire in the pit of my stomach began to grow.
I ordered Tanner to get some rest and left the room before I saw anything more. It had been so long since I was with a man. Six years to be exact. I closed my eyes and tried to remember Kyle from med school. His face was hard to recall but I could clearly see him sweeping all the books off my desk and bending me over. He rammed into me four times before finishing. That was the last time I had sex and my body was beginning to rebel against me.
I left the room and wasn't looking when I accidentally bumped into Dr. Green. My clipboard went flying through the air and the papers he was holding fluttered to the ground. I bent down and helped him gather up his files.
“We should do this more often,” he whispered to me.
I huffed and grabbed my clipboard, leaving him in the dust. So much for going my whole shift without seeing him.
Chapter Five
Tanner
It's hard to sleep at night in a room with so many beeps and whistles. It's even harder when a nurse is constantly entering the room to check on me. Now if they woke me up for a sponge bath, then I could hardly complain.
I dreamed of Grace Holmes giving me a sponge bath. Her hands ran the sponge all over my body. I revealed my large snake to her and Grace gasped. She wrapped the sponge around my erection and washed me.
She slowly took off her sexy white coat and undid her hair from a ponytail. She bit down on the pen she was holding, running her tongue along the tip. She turned around and bent over, just about the pull down her blue scrubs...
I woke up the next morning feeling like I barely slept two hours. Grace was by the window, opening the blinds to let in more light. “Rise and shine, Mr. King.”
I put my arm over my eyes and hid beneath. “Go away, Mom. I'm too sick to go to school.”
Grace fake laughed. “Very funny, Tanner.” She had so many barriers up. How could I break through? Grace brought out her clipboard and began flipping through the papers. “I have the results from the tests and it all looks normal.”
“Does that mean I can go home today?”
“Not yet. We still need to get you walking around and eating solid foods.”
I sat up in bed. “Well what are we waiting for, Doc? Let's go take a romantic stroll on the beach.” Grace took my arm and helped me off the bed. My knees were no longer wobbly and my legs felt stronger. I took a couple steps forward and already felt better.
“Good job, Tanner. Now let's go out into the hallway.”
I nodded and walked slowly. Even though my legs felt one-hundred percent, I didn't want Grace to leave my side. So I had to pretend I could barely walk. We reached the hallway and a few of the Black Widow MC were waiting outside.
“Look! The man can walk,” Big Mike announced.
I nodded. “Yes, and for my next trick I'll turn water into beer.”
Claire approached Grace and walked next to us. “Can Tanner come home tonight, Doc?”
“Not yet,” Grace replied, focusing on keeping me upright. “He still needs to rest a bit more.”
Claire walked in front of us and stopped us in our tracks. “Come on, Doc. He seems perfectly fine. Let me take him home and I'll look after him.”
“I'm sorry but he's staying here,” Grace said with a sense of finality. Claire could steamroll over most women but Grace wasn't like most women. She could hold her own.
We made a lap around the hospital and returned to my room. Even though I faked needing help for most of the walk, I was completely out of breath when we got back. “Thanks for the exercise, Grace. Maybe when I get out of here, you can train me personally.”
She tried not to respond but a tiny smile formed at the corner of her mouth. “I don't think that would be appropriate, Tanner.”
“Well then if we can't exercise together, how about a drink?”
Grace looked me directly in the eyes. She was scared of something but I couldn't put my finger on it. “I'm sorry Tanner, but I don't date patients.”
I grabbed her hand before she could leave. That same electric shock zapped me. “I won't be your patient for long. Come on...one drink, what's the harm?”
The doctor hesitated. “I can't.” She left quickly and suddenly I was all alone with my thoughts.
I was in and out of sleep. Nightmares of getting stabbed kept me awake at night. The memory of blood pooling around my body was constantly hounding me. I almost died. But I survived, like I always did. It would take a lot more than a broken bottle to take out Tanner King.
Chapter Six
Grace
What was happening to me? I almost said yes to a date with an outlaw. The man came into the ER with stab wounds. He was not the right guy for me. My prince would come one day and s
weep me off my feet. Or at least that's what the movies told me. I doubted I would ever meet him. I made my choice a long time ago—I'd rather be a doctor than someone's wife.
Nurse Fiona found me in George's room while I checked on his hip. “Dr. Holmes, I can't seem to find anymore Codeine.”
“There's no more in the drug cabinet?
“I checked. We're all out,” the nurse replied.
Mason: A Black Widow MC Romance Page 10
