Joss
I loved working the same nights as Carson. Even if I was busy all night with patients, I liked knowing he was somewhere in the hospital, repairing broken things in his quiet way.
Tonight I’d been able to get away for a break with him. We were sitting in the cafeteria, a cup of coffee in front of him and a cup of hot tea in front of me.
I polished off the last of a peanut butter cookie and furrowed my brow as Carson’s lips quirked up in a smile.
“What?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I like watching you eat sweet stuff. You get an O face.”
“I do not.” I spoke defensively but smiled anyway.
“It’s cute. Sometimes you even moan a little.”
I rolled my eyes. “I do not moan.”
“When we had that chocolate lava cake the other day, you did.”
My cheeks warmed. “I may have. That was damn good cake.”
“I’m all for anything that makes you moan.”
I smirked at him. “Don’t I know it.”
He looked at the big silver watch on his wrist. “I need to get back.”
“Okay.”
He met my eyes with a warm look and took my hand across the table, squeezing it. We were careful about public displays of affection at work.
“Breakfast at my place?” I asked. “Unless I have to work over. I have a patient in early labor.”
He released my hand, finished the last of his coffee, and stood up. “Okay. I’ll wait for you if you have to work late.”
I watched him walk away, smiling at the lines of his shoulders and arms in his gray maintenance uniform.
“So you’re seeing one of the maintenance guys?”
I looked over to see Dean’s girlfriend, Amanda, looking down at me. She stood next to my cafeteria table with her arms folded and brows arched.
“It’s Carson, and yeah.” I stood up, eager to leave before she spoke again.
“So that means you’re over Dean, then?”
I wanted to roll my eyes so badly. But I reminded myself that Amanda was pregnant and likely hormonal. She’d been Dean’s other woman when we were married and he cheated on me. How could a woman ever feel secure with a man who would do that?
“I’ve been over him for a long time,” I said, meeting her eyes so she could see my sincerity.
“I didn’t get pregnant on purpose,” she blurted, looking surprised by her own words. “I know everyone thinks I did. Like I could never hold on to a man like him without trapping him.”
“Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Life’s too short.”
She looked down at the floor. “You must hate me for stealing him.”
“No. I don’t hate you, and I don’t think you stole him. It wasn’t meant to work out between us. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
Amanda looked back up at me, a crease of confusion between her brows. “You’re happy with a maintenance man when you used to have a doctor?”
I’d tried. I really had. But I wouldn’t stand here and let her talk about Carson that way.
“I’m deliriously happy,” I said. “Carson is kind and strong and sweet. I wouldn’t care if he swept the floors here, but he doesn’t. He’s smart, and he has a mind for fixing things that are broken. Complicated things like electronics. I could never do that. He’s a combat veteran. He’s brave and loyal, and he’s the most amazing man I’ve ever known.”
“Hasn’t it only been like a couple weeks?”
I shrugged. “Look, I’m happy, and I hope you guys are, too. Let’s leave it at that.”
When I turned to leave, Amanda put a hand on my forearm. “Was Dean ever distant with you?”
It was all I could do not to laugh and say, What, you mean when he was screwing you behind my back and I had no idea?
“I’m definitely not the person to ask for advice about Dean,” I said instead.
“Well, I don’t know who else to ask.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “He said he was excited about the baby, but he’s not acting like it.”
I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her as I looked down at the tiny swell of her stomach. “Maybe he needs time to process it.”
“It’s been more than a month.”
“I’m sorry.”
And I was. Now that a baby was part of the equation, I didn’t want Amanda left to fend for herself.
She sighed deeply and dropped her hand from my arm. “I was thinking maybe Dean was trying to get back with you. That’s why I asked about the maintenance guy.”
“Carson.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Carson.”
“Definitely not. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him in a long time.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay. Thanks.”
“Good luck,” I said, meaning it. “I have to go. I have patients.”
With a small wave, I left the cafeteria. I wanted to find Carson and sneak into a stairwell for a kiss and hug. Seeing Amanda had reminded me just how fortunate I was.
I looked down at the screen of my phone and snort-laughed when I read Hattie’s text.
Hattie: He’s in the bathroom. He told me when we kissed that I taste yummy. WTF, hot guy? No one wants to fuck a guy who says the word yummy.
Picking up my phone from the desk, I wrote her back.
Me: That’s weird. Does he have kids?
Hattie: idk. And I don’t want to. I just want to get banged into next week. Is that so much to ask?
Me: I’m sure he wouldn’t think so. So ask him to do it.
Hattie: What if he says other stuff that kills the mood?
Me: Tell him silence is your kink.
Hattie: gtg, here he comes.
I always liked it when she chronicled going out on a night off. Bars and clubs had never been my thing, but it was fun to live vicariously through her.
It was quiet on the OB floor tonight. At 1:30 a.m., our patients were all asleep, other than one woman in early labor. Her contractions were still mild enough that she could rest between them, so I was trying to stay out of the room unless she asked for me.
“Dr. Drake?”
I looked up and saw a nurse named Mike had stopped in front of the OB desk.
“Yeah?”
“I just wanted to say . . . I think it’s great about you and Carson. He seems like a good guy.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks, Mike.”
“You deserve the best.”
Mike was a lighthearted, funny guy who rarely showed his serious side. I was touched by his words.
“How’s your wife doing?” I asked him.
“Good. The twins are sleeping through the night now, so she’s feeling more like herself again.”
I nodded. Mike had talked to me after the delivery of his baby daughters a few months ago. He was concerned his wife had postpartum depression. When he brought it up with her, she’d cried and thrown a loaf of french bread at him.
“Are you still worried about her?”
“Not as much. I still think she could use an antianxiety med, but she seems better since her sister started staying with the girls Friday afternoons so she can have a little time for herself.”
I nodded. “Good. You know I’m always here if she wants to talk. Anytime. We third shifters don’t sleep.”
Mike grinned, his bright white teeth a striking contrast to his dark black skin. “Don’t I know it.”
I stood and stretched my arms toward the ceiling. “I’m taking a lunch break. Call me if you need anything.”
He nodded. “I’ll hold the fort down. I’ve got charts to update.”
I walked to the hospital cafeteria, hoping to run into Carson there. It was nearly empty, though, and there was no sign of him. I bought a sweet tea and texted him.
Me: Are you busy?
Carson: I’m on the roof. Come on up.
I lowered my brows with concern. The roof? Maybe he was getting some air.
After an elevator ride to the top floor of the hospital, I took the stairs to the door that opened onto the roof. It was balmy outside, and I welcomed the light breeze that blew across my skin.
I found Carson kneeling next to a massive air-conditioning unit, parts spread out on the ground next to him.
“Hey,” he said, looking up at me.
“Hey.”
“How’s your night going?”
I shrugged. “Amanda told me Dean’s being a dick to her. Other than that, it’s been boring. I kind of wish things would pick up.”
“The whole hospital’s quiet tonight. Even the ER.”
“It’s messed up to wish for patients, isn’t it? Better that people are at home sleeping soundly than at the hospital.”
“You just want to deliver some babies,” he said with a slight smile. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Is it broken?” I leaned closer to the air conditioner to get a better look at it.
He nodded. “The bearings are shot, so I’m replacing the motor.”
“That’s a lot of parts,” I said, scanning the collection on the ground. “Do you ever worry you won’t remember where something goes?”
He shook his head. “Nah. If there’s anything left when I’m done, I just throw it out.”
“Are you serious?”
“No.” There was a smile in his tone, though I couldn’t see his face since he was looking into the air-conditioning motor. “I know where everything goes.”
“You shouldn’t tease a girl with PMS,” I said, taking a sip of my tea. “This is the week before my period, so mark that down in your mental schedule.”
“PMS?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You know, I’ve heard sex is good for getting rid of cramps.”
I laughed lightly. “Have you?”
“Yeah. Is that true, Dr. Drake?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I’m at your service.”
“Good to know.”
A few seconds of silence elapsed as Carson worked on the air conditioner and I stared out at the city lights. I sighed softly as my mind wandered to Amanda, pregnant and possibly soon to be on her own.
“You okay?” Carson asked, standing up.
I never got tired of taking in his tall, muscled frame. Tonight he wore the dark navy pants of his uniform, but he’d shed the short-sleeve button-up top with his name embroidered on it, and he just had on a white T-shirt.
I bent to set my bottle of tea on the ground and walked over to him. He opened his arms and then wrapped them around my back as I nestled myself against his chest. I liked the feel of his sweat-dampened shirt and hard muscles. Liked it a lot, in fact. Anything involving Carson’s sweat and muscles made me think of how amazing he was in bed.
“You feeling bad for Amanda?” he asked, his breath warm on my ear.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I know I shouldn’t, but . . . no woman deserves to be ditched when she’s pregnant.”
Carson rubbed a hand over my back. “She’ll be okay.”
I pulled his T-shirt free from the waistband of his pants and put my palm on the small of his back, taking in the feel of his warm skin. He groaned lightly and tightened his hold on me.
“Will anyone else come up here?” I asked, lifting my head from his chest to look up at him.
He shook his head and tugged lightly on the end of my ponytail. “You think we should be proactive about those cramps? Maybe if we have sex before they hit, you’ll never get ’em.”
“I like how you think.” My voice was a whisper, and my heart was pounding with excitement.
Taking my hand, he led me to the back of the brick-walled enclosure that housed the door for the stairs to the roof. Tall stacks blocked the view of us from the other side of the roof. Between that and the darkness, I was willing to risk sex in a public place. It was unlike me, but then, I’d never been with a man I wanted as much as Carson.
As his mouth met mine in a deep kiss, he grabbed my ass and hiked me up into his arms. The feel of his erection pressing against me made me moan and grind my hips against him.
Faster than he’d picked me up, he set me back down and tugged down on the waistband of my scrubs. I reached for the waistband to untie it but froze, biting my lower lip and holding my breath.
Could I really do this? What if the Life Flight crew showed up to land the helicopter and a bunch of lights came on? News of staffers getting it on up on the roof would get around fast.
But most of the people who knew me would doubt that I had the guts to screw my boyfriend out in the open. And that was exactly why I wanted to do it. Well, that and the sexy man whose erection was prominently outlined against his pants in front of me.
“You only live once, right?” I said, laughing softly.
I untied my pants and slid them down my hips. Carson reached for a lock of the blonde hair that had come loose from my ponytail and ran it through his fingers.
“That’s true,” he said softly, “but I kind of feel like I came alive again when I met you.”
Warm summer air hit the bare skin of my legs as my pants dropped to the ground. I worked off my shoes and slid out of my panties as Carson unfastened his pants.
His eyes stayed locked on mine, full of intensity as he hiked me back up against him.
“You’re beautiful, Joss,” he said, kissing me softly.
I expected him to back me against the brick wall and ravage me, but instead he put his own back against the wall and lowered me onto his erection. The moan I let out as he sank all the way into me was long and soft.
“You’re so goddamn wet,” he said, his voice strained.
Our bodies moved in perfect sync, his fingers digging into my ass cheeks as he worked me up and down his hard shaft, now slick with my wetness.
I kissed him and tugged his lower lip between my teeth, his groan feeding my growing frenzy. Our lips were so close, I felt his breath on mine.
It was frantic, euphoric, blissful sex, both of us already approaching the brink. I fisted my hands into his short hair, and when I pulled it, he drove himself even deeper inside me.
Our heavy breathing was the only sound on the roof until one of the big air-conditioning units kicked on. An orgasm surged through me, and I forced myself not to cry out.
After a few more thrusts, Carson buried his face in my neck and groaned hard against my skin. I shivered, delighting in having this effect on him.
He lowered me back to the ground and kissed me softly. I reached for my panties, and he gave me a sheepish grin.
“Hang on,” he said, picking up his work pants. He reached into a pocket and took out a pressed, folded white handkerchief. “If you want to . . . clean up. I just washed it and haven’t used it or anything.”
I reached between my legs to wipe myself off, laughing nervously. “This is super sexy, huh?”
He arched a brow. “Yeah, actually it is.”
I put my pants back on and stuffed the handkerchief into my pocket. “I’ll . . . you know, give that back when it’s clean.”
“Still want to get breakfast after work?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.
“Sure.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
I nodded. “Guess I should get back.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He wrapped a hand around the back of his neck. “So, that was . . . okay for you, right?”
I furrowed my brow, confused. “You mean the sex?”
“Yeah. You looked so nervous before that I wasn’t sure you’d get off.”
“Uh . . . no, that wasn’t a problem. It was more than okay.”
His eyes warmed with happiness. “Good.”
I leaned my face up and stood on my tiptoes for one more kiss. “See you in a few hours.”
“Looking forward to it,” he said softly.
“Me too.”
I smiled and fixed my ponytail, then headed back downstairs. Even though I wouldn’t see him until after sunrise, I liked knowing he’d be up here working in his quiet, methodical way.