Carson
I pushed open the stairwell door and stepped into the hallway leading to the ER. A woman’s shrill scream sounded from somewhere close. Instinct made me reach for my hip, but of course there was no weapon there.
With a deep exhale, I rounded a corner and saw the source of the panicked sound. A middle-aged woman wearing what looked like a bedsheet was yelling at a young African American security guard.
“Ma’am, please relax,” he said, holding out a hand in a gesture of peace.
“These bastards are trying to kill me!” she screamed, a wild look in her eyes as she glanced around. I’d seen the desperation in her expression before. She wanted to escape.
“You need to sit down,” the guard said. “The nurse is getting you some medicine. You can’t assault the hospital staff.”
“They’re trying to poison me,” she said sadly, scrunching her face. When she advanced on him, the guard rolled his eyes and held her back.
I slowed my pace and met the guard’s eyes.
“You need anything, man?” I asked.
“Naw, thanks.”
The ER was busy tonight, with lots of people moving through the hallways. I went to the desk, where a receptionist was fielding a phone call. She was just hanging up when I stopped in front of her.
“Carson,” she said brightly. “Thanks for coming.”
I glanced at her nametag. “Hey, Heidi. Which thermostat’s on the blink?”
“The one in waiting room number one. I turned it down, but nothing’s happening.”
“I’ll take a look.”
As I walked into the crowded waiting room the sounds of voices engaged in animated conversations, a crying kid, and the blare of a television hit me full force.
A woman who looked maybe nineteen or twenty sat in a chair next to the thermostat. She had a black eye and a bloody nose. It was no surprise that she had her arms wrapped protectively around her. She stared blankly into space.
Something inside me stirred. I’d seen women and kids injured overseas, but I’d never grown numb to it like some of my buddies had. I hated to intrude on the invisible barrier of protection this woman had formed around herself.
“Ma’am?” I said softly. She glanced up at me, and I thought of my little cousin Elaina This woman should’ve been a carefree college student like Elaina was right now.
“What?” she said, shaking off her daze.
“I need to look at this thermostat. Just didn’t want to scare you or anything.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh. Okay.”
Much as I liked the solitude this job often provided, I’d never been able to look away from someone in trouble. I wanted to tell this woman to turn in whoever had done this to her. But it wasn’t my place.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked. “Water, maybe? A clean towel for your nose?”
She pulled the bloody rag away from her nose and looked at it, then shook her head.
“There’s help here,” I said, taking off the front panel of the thermostat. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to speak up.”
Dead batteries. It was the most typical thermostat problem I fixed here. And I was sure as hell glad that was all it was. I wanted to get the fuck out of this crowded room and back up to Joss.
I installed two fresh batteries from my workbag and nodded at Sara on my way past.
“All set,” I said.
Once back in the empty stairwell, the tension fell away from my limbs. I took the stairs two at a time, feeling lighter as I got farther away from the ER.
By the time I got back up to OB, my blood was pumping, and it wasn’t just from the workout of climbing the stairs. It was more from knowing Joss was waiting for me.
I liked her. It’d been a really long time since I’d felt that way about a woman. I saw attractive women all the time, but this was different. My attraction to Joss wasn’t just about her looks. She was smart and funny, and the kindness in her big brown eyes was unmistakable.
She didn’t spend much time on hair and makeup because she was here bringing babies into the world. I liked that she knew what was really important.
And she was naturally beautiful, anyway. When she’d walked back into the room with her blonde hair down around her shoulders, I’d thought about kissing her for a split second. I wanted to run my hands through those thick blonde waves.
Reaching for the doorknob, I blew out a quick breath to get my head straight. I had to stay focused on work. I could finish the duct project while talking to Joss, but kissing was out. At least for now.
Joss
The door to the room opened, and Carson’s gaze landed on me. The flutter it caused in my chest made me a little lightheaded.
“Hey,” he said, grinning boyishly.
“How old are you?” I blurted.
“I’m twenty-six.”
I tried to keep my face impassive, but I was no good at it.
“What?” he asked, amused. “Do I look older? Younger?”
I waved a hand dismissively. “No. I’m twenty-nine. I just didn’t think you were that much younger than me.”
“I’m not that much younger than you.” He walked over to the hole he’d cut in the wall. “It’ll start cooling off in here shortly.”
I unpacked my supplies and lined them up along one wall on the freshly cleaned Formica countertop. I’d been stressing about making everything just right for my interview day with the patients tomorrow, but the worry had vanished. Now I was just feeling the butterflies caused by Carson.
“So . . . first question,” he said from the other side of the room. “What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?”
I considered his question. “Adventurous . . . that’s a tough one. Once I gave chest compressions to a bleeding patient without gloves in med school. Does that count?”
His single low note of laughter told me it didn’t.
“What’s the most adventurous thing you’d like to do, then? A bucket list kind of thing?”
“I’d love to travel by train through Europe. And ride in a hot air balloon. I mean . . . not all at once; that was two separate things.”
The back of my neck was getting sweaty from my hair being down. I pulled it up in my hand and used a notebook to fan my neck.
“What’s your most adventurous thing?” I asked.
Carson was quiet for a couple of seconds. “I guess jumping out of airplanes is the most adventure I’ve ever had on purpose.”
“What do you mean ‘on purpose’?” I asked, arching my brows at him. “Have you had accidental adventures?”
His back was turned to me as he worked, but I could see him shrug his shoulders. “We ran across some scary shit when I was overseas.”
His measured tone told me this topic had hit a nerve.
“Is it hard to talk about?” I asked softly.
“Some of it,” he admitted.
“So the jumping out of planes—was that when you were in the army?”
“Yep. First time’s scary as shit, but it gets easier with every jump.”
He turned to me and grinned. “Air-conditioning’s officially on.”
I crossed the room and knelt down next to him. A steady stream of cool air flowed in from the hole he’d cut in the wall.
“That feels so good,” I said. “I can’t believe you just did that so fast. You made it look easy.”
He shrugged. “I’ve still got more work to do. Have to add an air return.”
“Time for more questions, then,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound as overeager as I felt.
“I’ve got one. What’s one place you’ve never been kissed?”
My lips parted. It was half surprised gasp and half smile. “Oh gosh. There are so many.”
He inhaled sharply, and my girly parts clenched.
We were only about a foot apart, and I felt his body heat as he leaned just a little closer to me.
“You smell good,” he said. His eyes seemed to darken a shade, or was that my overactive imagination?
“Thanks. It’s probably just fabric softener.”
The corners of his lips quirked up. “No, you smell kind of exotic and . . . warm somehow.”
It wasn’t just my cheeks, but my entire body that felt flushed this time. Carson’s gaze made me feel sexier than any words could have. I licked my lips nervously and held a wrist out toward him.
“My perfume, maybe?”
He wrapped his large palm around my forearm gently, drawing my arm up to his face. When he pressed his nose to my inner wrist and I felt the light scrape of his stubble, I panted out a breath of excitement.
“That’s it,” he said softly, his warm breath dancing across my skin.
“There,” I said, the words coming out barely a whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Right there. It’s a place I’ve never been kissed.”
This time I was sure his gaze darkened. His lips met my skin in a gentle caress, sliding across the delicate skin of my inner wrist. When the wet, warm tip of his tongue snuck out from between his lips and grazed over my skin for just a second, I let out a ragged exhale.
He pressed his lips to my palm, and then he stopped. My hand was so close to his face, I couldn’t resist. I reached out and laid my palm on his cheek. The scrape of his dark scruff felt good beneath my fingers, and I stroked his skin gently.
Carson’s eyes slid closed for just a second. When they opened, they were filled with so much longing I wanted to crawl into his lap and wrap myself around him. Did no one give this beautiful man the sort of tender touch I was giving him right now?
Actually, I hoped not. I felt a strong pull of possession toward him. What had started out as attraction had become something much more the second his lips touched my skin. I wanted him to explore my other unkissed spots so much it was an ache inside me.
The sudden sound of voices in the hallway made me drop my hand. We both turned to look at the closed door to the research room.
“It hurts! I didn’t know it would hurt this—” The woman who was talking stopped and gave a loud, anguished moan.
“Let’s get you into a room, Claire,” another voice said. “Hang in there.” That was Daniella, an OB nurse.
Carson gave me an inquisitive glance. “Is she okay?”
I smiled and stood, my legs starting to cramp from kneeling on the floor. “She’s okay. Just in labor.”
He shook his head and stood up, too. “So you deliver babies? That’s admirable. I can’t imagine doing that.”
I felt a flicker of something I couldn’t place. “You don’t have kids, then?”
“No.”
“Ever been married?”
“Nope. Broken engagement four years ago. You? Kids?”
I shook my head. “Just one divorce under my belt. Can I ask why you broke the engagement off or is that too personal?”
His expression hardened. “I didn’t break it off. She did. She found someone else when I was overseas.”
I felt a strong pang of sympathy for the twenty-two-year-old he’d been getting his heart broken in that way.
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry. You found out when you got home?”
“No, I found out when she wrote me a letter. That’s why I re-upped over there. Had no reason to come back home.”
“And that’s why you came here when you left the army.”
He shrugged. “I wanted a fresh start. Didn’t really care where it was. This seemed like as good a place as any.”
“Well, I’m glad you chose here.”
His gaze was warm again when our eyes met. “Me too.”
I couldn’t help looking at the stack of unpacked boxes against the wall. With a reluctant sigh, I walked over to them.
“I have to get set up for tomorrow,” I said.
“I need to go see if I can find some vent covers. I know I haven’t hit twenty questions for you yet. You’ll be here when I get back?”
I smiled. “Yes. I have more questions for you, too.”
When he left the room, I turned my wrist over and looked at the spot he’d kissed so well I’d felt it throughout my body. I wanted so much more. Never had I experienced such a powerful, immediate urge to offer myself up to a man and give him anything he wanted. But the closer I got to Carson, the more unquenchable my desire became.
I didn’t just want him; I was quickly growing to care about him. He’d been hurt, too, and I wanted to make it better. And it wasn’t the urge of the doctor in me; it was the urge of a woman.