27
Nick
At any second, I was going to come all over her office floor.
“Is something wrong?” Her expression looked worried, almost like she was prepared for me to abandon her at the moment.
“Everything is perfect.” Except that my dick was screaming at me to put it out of its misery.
“Then why—”
“I want to fuck you from behind.” I helped her off the desk, kissing her while I did. She still had that look on her face like she didn’t quite trust me. “I won’t hurt you, Mia. No matter what.” Even if she ended up forcing me from my career, or worse demolishing my heart, I’d never purposefully hurt her.
She turned around and leaned forward on the desk. She looked over her shoulder. “Like this.”
“Are you okay with this?” Mia and I had sex many times when we dated before, but oral and doggy style had been two things we hadn’t done. My dick ached like a son of a bitch, but I wouldn’t do this if she was uncomfortable.
“Yes. I just want to make sure it’s good for you.”
I gave her my cocky grin as I pushed her skirt up over her bare ass, kneading it with my hands. “It’s good, baby. So good.”
Her smile was beautiful. I wished I had a picture of her beauty and how I felt at that moment with her.
I moved, my dick sliding through her slick folds. “Ready?”
“Yes,” she said watching me. I was glad she was looking. It made me know she was interested in this. Into this.
I pushed, sliding in deep in one thrust. “Fuck that’s good,” I moaned as her pussy walls gripped my cock. As many women as I’d been with, I couldn’t remember anyone feeling quite like Mia.
I pulled out, and slid in slow and controlled again, even though it was killing me. What I wanted to do was pound away until I shot my load inside her. But I wanted her to enjoy this too.
“Nick.” Her hands flattened on the table and she tilted her ass. “More.”
“You like that?” I asked withdrawing again.
“Yes. God … more. Faster.”
I did as she asked, and started to give free rein to my needs.
“Yes … yes …" She began to chant. “It feels so good this way.”
I ran my hand down her back, vowing to do this again sometime when we were naked and alone so I could see her porcelain flesh. Feel it soft and dewy until my hands. I pushed away the idea that after this, we’d try to part ways yet again.
“I need to come, Mia … I can’t wait.”
“Come in me, Nick.”
Well hell. Words like that gave me no choice. My brain was already zapping with electricity when I gripped her hips and plunged in, grinding my hips against that sweet ass as I erupted inside her.
She made a muffled sound. Checking to make sure she was alright; I saw her hand on her mouth like she was stifling a cry. I withdrew and thrust again, feeling the awesome power and pleasure of my cum as it pulsed out of my cock and into her fantastic tight pussy.
I was sure I was going to have teeth marks on my bottom lip from where I was biting to keep my own yell of pleasure from escaping. We stayed like that, my pumping and pulsing inside her, for what seemed like several minutes. Finally, my dick felt wrung dry.
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re amazing.”
She turned her head and gave me that gorgeous sexy smile again. “You did all the work.”
“It takes a muse.”
I helped her up, grabbing a tissue from the box on her desk and handing it to her. “I made a mess, I’m afraid.”
She looked down to where my cum was starting to drip. Damn if my dick didn’t twitch at the sight.
I took another tissue, cleaning myself up and putting my dick away. When I was done, she was put together as well.
I pulled her to me. “We’re playing a dangerous game.” I was referring to her job, but also, to my heart, although she didn’t need to know that part yet. I’d revealed more than I’d have liked to already.
She nodded. “I know.”
I looked into her lovely blue eyes and pushed the few loose tendrils of hair back out of her face. I wanted to ask her for more. I didn’t know how we could make that happen, but it seemed to me there had to be a way if we wanted it badly enough.
Before I could start to broach the subject, her phone rang.
“I better get that.”
“Shit, how long have we been here?” I looked at my watch. The ER would be wondering what had happened to me. Odds were, they’d think I was fired by Mia, not fucking her.
“Mia Parker,” she said.
I straightened my doctor’s coat and put on the stethoscope that had fallen at some point during our encounter.
“Are they causing damage?”
I looked at her, wondering what was going on.
“Has the sheriff been called?”
Jesus, what was happening?
“I’ll be right down.” She looked up at me. “There’s some sort of commotion outside and I need to go make a statement.”
She didn’t say it was about Ms. Mason, but what else would it be? And just like that, the reality of our situation was fully wedged between us again.
“I’ll do down the back way,” I said.
She nodded. “I’m sorry, Nick. I’d like to talk—”
I held up my hand. “One issue at a time, Mia. Go do your job.” I didn’t mean it to sound snarky, but the way her eyes flattened, I was afraid it did. “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded again, but I knew I’d firmly put our problems right back between us again. Fucking moron, I said to myself as I left her office and headed to the stairs at the end of the hall.
I took my time getting down to the ER again, wanting to make sure Mia and I didn’t arrive at the same time and cause suspicion. I hated the situation we were in. Not just because it made what we had seem sordid. But also, I hated not knowing where she stood with me. It had to be more than sex because she was risking her job, but at the same time, neither of us were discussing leaving our jobs to free ourselves from breaking the rules. Was she biding her time until this relationship, such as it was, petered out? If I told her how I really felt, would she tell me she felt the same? And if she did feel the same, which one of us would leave our job so that we could pursue it? The fact that neither of us had already considered it suggested it was wishful thinking on my part to want to rekindle what we once had. As I walked through the back hall to the ER, I worked to let go of the dream of us once again.
28
Mia
There had been a moment when I thought perhaps Nick and I had crossed over to something more in our relationship. At the very least, I hoped we were going to talk about it. But then came the reminder that I was breaking the no-fraternization rule at work, and once again my job was between us.
I hated how he always seemed to accuse me of putting my job before him. I suppose he was wrong. After all, I was leaving him to deal with some sort of issue for the hospital. But I didn’t seem him quitting his job to eliminate the barrier between us.
As I rode the elevator down to the first floor, I realized that we hadn’t made any gains in our relationship after all. We were exactly where we’d always been since I came back to town. We couldn’t go on like this. We either needed to make a change in our career or end it altogether. I didn’t want it to end, but I couldn’t see myself changing my job. I suspected he couldn’t either. What I knew was that we’d both continue to choose our jobs over us, even if we continued to have trouble keeping our hands off each other.
I exited the elevator and made my way toward the emergency room. “What’s going on?” I asked Dick who was standing with a couple of security men.
“We’ve got a good size group outside who are demanding answers to Ms. Mason’s death and Dr. Foster’s continued work here. We need you to make a statement.”
I looked up at him. “Why me? Wouldn’t this be better from a hospital admin?”
“These people know you, Ms. Parker. You’re one of them. They’re more likely to listen to you than me,” Dick said. “We just need you to calm them down a bit. We’ve called the sheriff—”
“Sheriff? Are they getting violent?” I looked out through the double glass doors again.
“Pushy,” the security guard said. “We just need someone to diffuse the situation. I’ll go out with you, but I think he’s right. If they see someone they know, they’re more likely to listen.”
Or see me as a traitor, I thought. But it was my job. “Okay. What talking points do you want me to cover?”
“Just that we can’t give details while there is a lawsuit, but reassure them that we’ll get to the bottom of what happened,” Dick said.
“Have you thought about putting Dr. Foster on leave?” the security guard asked.
“No!” I realized after the word was out how forcefully I’d said it. Even Dick’s brows rose at how vehement my objection was. I measured my tone. “That would be like admitting guilt. Nick nor the hospital did anything wrong.”
“What about appeasing them?” Dick said.
I stared up at him. “What about standing by the good doctors at Goldrush Lake Hospital? Do you have a beef with Dr. Foster? I should remind you he now has his own counsel. Anything you say or do could be used by her to make the hospital look bad.”
Dick’s jaw tightened and he rolled his shoulders. “I’m only trying to protect the hospital.”
In some sense, he had a point. If Nick was part of the problem people were having, Nick’s being gone would likely reduce some of the animosity. But it was wrong to toss Nick out without any proof he’d done anything wrong.
“Let me go talk to them,” I said, straightening my shoulders and readying myself to face the crowd.
“Thank you, Ms. Parker.”
I made my way through the waiting area with the security guard. Outside, the group of people was larger today than had been over the last few days. I wondered what had changed. Was there something in the newspaper?
“Stay close to me,” the guard said. “I don’t think they want to hurt anyone, but groups can get unruly, and people can get hurt.”
I nodded as I opened the door, and then held my hands up as a rush of people and questions came my way.
“Why isn’t the hospital telling us what happened with Ms. Mason!”
“Is Dr. Foster in there? Why is he still working?”
There was a reporter pushing her way forward. “Is the hospital trying to cover up a mistake?”
“Please, quiet down and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“Yeah right. You’re the hospital lawyer, Mia. You’re not going to tell us shit.”
I looked to who said those last words. It was Lyle Mason, Ms. Mason’s son. “I’m not your lawyer Lyle, but your being here and causing a ruckus won’t be good for your lawsuit against the hospital.”
“I don’t give a shit about the lawsuit—”
“Then why are you suing?”
“I want the truth about what happened. And for that quack doctor Foster out. She’s not the first person he’s killed.”
My heart stalled in my chest as I noted the words he used to describe Nick. Quack. That was what Eli called him. Granted, it was a word often used to describe bogus doctors, but Eli was the only one I was hearing using it now. Until Lyle. Was Eli stirring up trouble?
“As long as there is a lawsuit, we are bound by law not to give some details. However, the hospital is looking into Ms. Mason’s case, and if there’s—”
“If?” Another person called out. “She’s dead. How can there be an if?”
The answer was that people die, but that would sound insensitive. “If you want answers, we’ll get them to you when we have them and can share them. Standing out here isn’t going to make that happen faster and, in fact, you may be harming people who need to have access to medical help.”
“Right, put it on us.”
“If someone has an emergency that doesn’t get help because you’re blocking their entrance, yes. I know most of you. Do you want their family standing outside your place of work demanding why you prevented their loved one from getting medical help? If they sue too, you can bet you’ll be included.” That was a cheap comment that told me I needed to rein in my annoyance.
“So now you’re threatening us?” Lyle said.
“No. I’m pointing out that you’re angry and upset at losing Ms. Mason, your mother. I get that. I lost my mother too. But preventing other people from getting help and harassing the medical staff doesn’t help and in fact, could cause others to go through the grief you’re going through.”
Lyle pushed forward, and the security guard stepped to block him. “You don’t care about any of us. You’re just a talking head trying to cover up the shoddy work of this hospital.”
I scanned the crowd. “Some of you have relatives that work here, are you all saying they do shoddy work?” I really needed to let this go and let the sheriff’s deputies handle it. Where were they anyway?
“Just Nick Foster,” another person yelled out, as the crowd pushed a little closer. All of a sudden, I began to feel claustrophobic.
I held my hands up again working to get back to professional civility. “I understand your concerns—"
“Bullshit. You’re one of them.”
“Why is he still there?”
“We should go and pull him out of there.”
Oh hell, I thought as the crowd inched closer.
“We should probably go back inside,” the security guard said. I looked up at him, his dark eyes scanning the crowd. If he thought it was bad, it had to be.
Just then I saw the two sheriff’s deputy cars pull into the ambulance area. God, I hoped there wasn’t an emergency that needed to get through here before this was all diffused.
“You called the sheriff?” someone yelled, and the crowd pushed closer. Now I wasn’t sure we could get in the door without being forced through it.
“You’re breaking the law by blocking access to the emergency room,” the security guard said.
“We have every right to protest.”
“Yeah, but not deny medical help. Back up.”
But they didn’t back up. As the deputies moved toward us, the crowded lurched forward. I stepped back to avoid being knocked over and tripped over something. As I started my fall, I had a moment to wonder if I was going to be trampled.
My head hit something hard, and for a second, I was glad that if I was trampled, I’d be unconscious and not experience it. Then everything went dark.
29
Nick
One good thing about the ER is that when things are busy, it’s hard to wallow in self-pity. Granted, I felt anxious and agitated most of the time, but at least I wasn’t thinking about Mia.
“There’s quite the mob out there,” Joyce said as I entered the area she was put for her exam. The word mob bothered me and I hoped that Mia was okay.
Christ, I was wrong. Even when I was working, I thought about her.
“I hope they didn’t bother you,” I said, going to look over her file again. I wasn’t sure why. At this point, I had it memorized.
She pouted. “I think it’s awful. You’re the best doctor in this town.”
“You know, you could have had the follow up on your sprained with your regular doctor.”
She gave me a coy smile. “You are my regular doctor.”
I worked to not roll my eyes. “Well since you’re here, let’s see how it’s healing.”
I began my exam and was nearly through when I heard a loud commotion outside the triage area.
“Excuse me a minute, Ms. Maynard.” I moved to where I could get a better look. A security guard was carrying a woman in, while a couple of deputies, and others in the waiting r
oom, blocked the emergency room door.
“What the hell?” I moved closer and realized I knew the woman being carried in unconscious. “Oh God, Mia.”
“Dr. Foster,” Joyce called to me. “Is everything all right? It sounds like a riot.”
My insides ripped apart as I wanted to run to Mia but didn’t want to abandon my patient. “Fuck.”
Dr. Balding was there as the security guard set Mia on a bed.
“Let me see what’s going on,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t wait for her response. Instead I rushed to Mia’s bedside.
“I’ve got this, Dr. Foster,” Dr. Balding said.
“I know.” I took Mia’s hand. “Mia honey.” I looked her over as quickly as I could to see what had happened. My heart was thundering in my chest as terror seeped into my soul. She was breathing. Her heart was beating.
“The crowd advanced, knocking her down. I think she hit her head,” the security guard said.
Dr. Balding began his assessment, and as much as I wanted to take over, I knew I couldn’t. I could barely see straight the panic, and now growing rage clouded my vision.
“The crowd outside did this?” I asked the security guard as I stepped back to let Dr. Balding and the other medical staff help her.
“Yes. I think more sheriff's deputies just pulled in to help. There are a bunch of crazy loons out there.”
I stood for a moment, watching as Dr. Balding assessed the wound on Mia’s head. I’d been angry in my life, but never like this. Never like I could kill someone. Like I could tear a body limb from limb. But that’s what was coursing hot and wild through my veins as I looked at Mia, pale and lifeless on the bed.
“I’ll fucking kill them.” I strode toward the exit.
“Now wait up, Dr. Foster,” the guard said. “I wouldn’t go out there. They want to string you up.”
Heart of Hope: Books 1-4 Page 18