Working in a military hospital for the past couple of months has taught me many things.
One, my skills in wound care and stitching have improved tremendously.
Two, I’m surprised at the number of men that are afraid of needles and faint just at the sight of one.
It’s always so funny to see a grown masculine man grow pale when they see a needle.
And, it’s not funny when they fall on you, crushing all your bones.
The cold air of the hospital causes me to always wear sleeves. I can’t work comfortably without them. I shiver too much. I love the cold but how I hate it when I’m at work.
I haven’t seen Shane in a while, and I thank the heavens for that. He keeps popping up in my life and I’ve noticed his behavior has become more and more erratic. I’m growing more afraid of him.
I’m replacing sheets in one of the empty rooms of the Emergency Room and Lori’s helping me. We have grown closer and closer as the time goes by. She’s been a nurse far longer than I have and she’s been a mentor for me. I’m leaving Iraq before her and returning to North Carolina. I’ve already started applying to places and I’m hoping to get the job where Lori works when she’s stateside.
Shockingly, we both call home, Bloomings. We both come from the same town. We’ve already made plans to hang out when we’re back.
“I can’t wait until I get to see my girlfriend again. She’s planning to take us on a vacation to Hawaii.” Lori says cheerfully.
“Aww, that’s so romantic, how long have you guys been together?” I ask, tucking in the freshly dried bed sheets.
“We’ve been together for two years and never been happier.”
I was starting to miss the simplicity of falling in love. The attraction I feel for Danny was immediate. I had never felt so safe and comfortable with a man that intimidated me so much. Yet, he changed his persona so fast on me. One moment he was sweet and the next he was treating me like an inconvenience. I didn’t understand him and the degrading treatment when he was ordering me to get transferred away from here… or away from him.
Screw him and his dashing blue eyes. And his stupid perfect smile. And dumb muscles that make me forget how to act normal. Screw him… yeah… screw him.
Wait, what am I thinking?
I mentally kick myself out of those ideas. I can’t screw him. Stupid, Ari. Either way, it won’t work. He won’t order me away from here. No one will ever get a say so in my life decisions.
‘Do you have any vacation plans when you return home?’
I shrug.
‘I’m supposed to go to this Author’s event in Bloomings but I’ve been on the waitlist. My brother paid for our tickets before he died. I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance. Everything lately… has been so uncertain. That’s amazing you’re going to Hawaii, though. My love life is absolute trash.” I scoff.
“I’m sorry that you’ve been getting shitty men thrown at you. You’re such a sweetheart and you should never settle.”
“Thanks, girl,” I murmur softly.
“Oh no. Who is it? Who is he?” Lori stands up, putting both hands on her hips.
I instantly flush red at the thought of the hot and cold, asshole, Navy SEAL. How every muscle was so well structured and the way he looked like he could just devour me entirely had my lungs drowning in anxiety.
“No one!” I shriek and Lori smirks. I’m blushing hard and I can’t hide my smile. I daydream about Danny’s tongue every night and I hate myself for it.
“Doctor Diaz?” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down.
“No! I’m pretty sure he could pass for my dad.”
“Oh, so you’re already thinking of him as your daddy.” My mouth drops open and I’m breathless.
“You’re something else.” I laugh, shaking my head.
“Speak of the devil.” Lori mouths to me.
I turn around and Doctor Diaz pokes his head into the room. He eyes us both suspiciously. His brown tired eyes meet us both and he’s squinting. His white coat sways as he leans forward.
“How are my favorite nurses doing?” He quirks a brow.
“We’re great!” Lori and I both chirp simultaneously. My gaze trails off to the side, trying to remain as calm as possible.
Doctor Diaz steps into the room and walks closer to us. My breath hitches nervously.
Oh gosh. I hope he didn’t hear any of that.
“Ari. I’ve got to say I’m so proud of how far you’ve come since you first started here. There’s no doubt in my mind your brother is smiling ear to ear in heaven proud of his baby sister.” He puts his hands behind his back and smiles.
“Thank you, Doctor.” My nervousness subsides and is replaced by warmth. When you work so hard it feels so good to be acknowledged by your bosses.
He starts to walk away and before he disappears, he turns around.
“Oh yeah, there’s a patient requesting you.”
My heart sinks at the thought of Shane.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. He’s in room three, waiting.”
Lori looks at me her eyes widening. She’s thinking it’s Shane too.
I clear my throat.
“What’s his name, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Doctor Diaz looks at the device he always carries around when he treats his patients. He scrolls for a minute and then looks up at me.
“Daniel Rider.”
My eyebrows furrow and I frown in annoyance.
Why the hell was he requesting me? Wasn’t he just trying to order me far away as possible from here?
I knew he would be making multiple trips to the hospital for treatment before he would have to back to his team. But what I didn’t anticipate was him requesting me for his care. I know the protocol. I have to clear him myself followed by Doctor Diaz, and then he could return to his team.
“Yes. Yes, sir, I’ll be right there.”
I stand outside the room, trying to recollect myself. I watch Danny through the glass doors and he’s in a black sweater with jeans. His hands brush through his beard while sitting on the hospital bed, reading a book. I’m hesitant and upset that he requested me, yet the heat I feel in between my thighs betrays me.
I take a deep breath and open the door, walking inside with new bandages and antibiotics ready to administer.
I clear my throat.
“Mr. Rider, I’ll be checking your wounds and evaluating your TBI symptoms. I’ll try and make this fast as possible.” I try to sound professional to hide my frustration. I refuse to make eye contact with him so I stare at the supplies in my hands.
He looks up at me and I feel the attraction I feel for him, pulling my vision toward his gorgeous face. He bites down, his jaw bending as he meets my gaze. I try to remain as expressionless as I can but once he stands up and towers over me I internally want to scream.
‘Umm?’ I mumble.
“Just say you want me shirtless, Ari. I thought you pride yourself on your honesty like a good little Angel?” He grabs my cross necklace, holds it in between his fingers, and smirks. Finally, he lets it drop back on my neck.
My eyebrows furrow and my mouth pops open and I want to run away. My heart starts to race, and I feel so hot I feel like I need to fan myself. He would use my religion against me.
“Danny.” I hiss.
He looks down at me as my eyes are upward, glaring fire at him. I bite my lip and a small hum escapes his throat. His lips curve into satisfaction and I freeze at his gorgeous half-smile. The noise that comes out of him sends me into a daze.
His finger tucks underneath his sweater and he pulls it off over his head smoothly, before sitting back down on the hospital bed. He has his back towards me and a grim reaper is staring back at me. The tattoo artist deserves an award for all the work they’ve done on Danny’s body. It’s so realistic it sends spooky vibes through me when I stare at it. Like at any moment, the art will come alive. That’s how detailed the tattoo is, it gives me the creeps.
I start applying an anti-septic solution and we sit in silence. It’s not that I don’t want to talk, it’s that I can’t. Every time I’m close to him, I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong things. I try to stay focused and not let this beautiful God-like man, distract me. He smells so damn good. His cologne fills my nose and I close my thighs tighter.
“I see you’re still working here.”
I roll my eyes.
“Yup and not going anywhere.” I snap.
“Life out here isn’t sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies.”
I sigh.
“Yeah, I can see that. As long as you’re here it’ll be anything but that.” I murmur. “All done. Now I just got to evaluate your TBI.” I back away from him and retreat to the other side of the room as if I had just escaped a shark circling me.
I take off my gloves and turn around to face Danny’s chest. He invades my personal space and I suck in a breath, holding it.
“Clear me.”
“What?” I rasp.
“Tell Doctor Diaz, I’m ready to get back to my team.” He demands.
I scoff.
“It doesn’t work like that.” I shake my head. I hate the way he thinks he can order me around. I try to move around him but he follows, trapping me with his body.
Suddenly, his finger’s below my chin, and tips it upwards so I’m looking at him.
His face is full of seriousness and smugness, just like the time he was antagonizing me at El Devine with Nora.
“The way you act so disoriented around me I think it’s you that needs to get evaluated for a TBI.” He says, his tone harsh, deep, and cold.
He pulls his hand away from me, watching me.
I can feel my heart pounding so hard against my chest that I’m afraid he can hear it.
I glare at him.
“You are my TBI.”
He smirks sinfully, his body bends forward and his lips are at my ear.
Why is he teasing me like this? He knows the effects he has on me and he’s enjoying every second of getting me flustered.
‘Cherry, if I’m your TBI… imagine how harsh of a villain I’d be in your story if things escalated more that night.’
I push him away from my ear while sending blades fueled by hatred his way. He pulls away from me and smiles, devilishly, standing tall.
‘I think you should get someone else to take over for you. I don’t think you have what it takes to work here.”
I bite my lip. I know which night he’s talking about very well. Something takes over me when I see that his eyes are fixated on my mouth.
‘You aren’t a villain, Danny. An asshole, maybe. But I know there’s more. You think you know me. You think I won’t survive you, but I guess we’ll never know will we?’ He flinches at my response. I’m daring him. I’m surprising myself at this point. His beautiful eyes darken.
I’m taunting him… and he knows it.
He growls and reaches for the curtains behind me. I still as I watch him throw them to the side, giving us privacy from the see-through doors.
Oh, gosh, what did I just do?
Then he pushes me against the wall of the hospital room with his body and I’m instantly feeling like I’m floating with arousal. Anyone can barge in at any moment, and the thought of us getting caught only makes this more dangerously exciting.
I look up at him as his hand reaches my throat, and he gives it a gentle squeeze.
“You’re playing games with the Devil, little Angel. Are you sure you want to go to Hell?”
Then, he crashes his lips against mine while leaning against the wall behind me with his hand. We’re moving with such desperation I know this is going to be bad.
He’s so bad.
I want him. When I’m near him, I feel like I’m going to hell and I’d be okay with that.
When his tongue slips through my mouth, my heart begins to pound and I see golden sparkles. A moan escapes me when I find his other hand pulls me towards his groin and I feel it. I feel him. He pushes his hard bulge against the front of my waist and I’m begging for more.
I reach for his pants. I’m eager and flushed. I don’t care if I’m a virgin. All my morals and feminism leave my body willingly. If my first time is in a hospital room, so be it.
His lips brush harder, his tongue moves deeper inside of me. God, I’ve missed his tongue. One of his hands sneaks underneath my scrub top, his skin on my skin, reaching for my bra. His familiar calloused palms slither underneath it and he squeezes my breast, hard. I moan into his mouth and he smiles against my lips. I reach for his waistband but then, he pulls away from me, grabbing my hands gently, stopping me. His rough hands grip me tightly, and he places them on my sides. He groans as he stops himself.
He’s confusing me and it’s driving my insecurities through the roof.
He’s still shirtless, a sand clock tattooed on his chest with mysterious words, meets my eyes. His lips leave my mouth and we’re breathing heavily.
‘I want you,’ I murmur softly, against his lips.
He looks at me and he looks like he’s holding a whole world back from me. Something ruinous in the way his gaze pierces through me. He releases his grip from my neck and instead brushes his fingers against my bottom lip.
‘You don’t know what you’re asking for Ari.’
Silence envelopes the room. The thrill of getting lost in Danny anchors to the floor and I’m at a loss for words.
‘This is the last time I’ll ever touch you.’ He whispers, walking away from me.
