“Maybe we should lay down some rules with this thing…” she gestured with her hand back and forth between them “…we’ve got going.”
“Such as?”
“No showing up out of the blue.”
“What’s the fun in that?”
“Okay,” she said. “How about you don’t have to feel obligated to call me the next day.”
“Unless I want to?”
“Unless you want to.”
“On this list of rules of yours, is there a limit on how often I can see you?”
“That’s a good question.”
“Did I tell you I hate lists?”
“We can skip the list, but I feel like we need some ground rules.”
“I’ve lived by ground rules my entire life,” he said. “Just once I’d like to wing it.”
“You mean, just see how it goes?”
“A novel idea. Let’s do that.”
“I don’t know how that works.”
“I don’t either, but I like the way it sounds.” He grilled her with his dark look. “It sounds sexy. Exciting. Just like you.”
If looks could kill, then looks could also make a woman turned on to the point of squirming in her swivel chair. She refused to be the first to look away. Her throat went parchment dry.
Jared unwrapped his leg from the chair, and instead of stealing a kiss he walked across the office to the water cooler. Such a tease. He wasn’t the only one needing a cold drink.
Vincent finally discovered him and started a conversation. Shaken by their attempt and subsequent failure to figure out how to handle what apparently was a budding hot-to-the-point-of-nuclear-fusion affair, she rushed back into safe territory, to the bat research.
Kasey looked great in her bright pink scrubs. He even liked the matching clogs and socks with tiny pink hearts around the rim. Not at all the kind of outfit he’d expect a wild and sexy bedroom buddy to wear. How could they put rules on this thing between them? First they’d have to figure out what it was, and he feared if they did that, the label would ruin all the fun. Couldn’t they just go with it? Figure things out as they went along? The thought was as new and refreshing as the cooler water.
Jared covertly watched Kasey at her computer while chatting with Vincent near the water cooler. Her hair was parted on the side and pulled up into a loose bun with plenty of straggling strands to make him want to twist them around his finger and pull her close for a kiss. It was the first thought he’d had when he’d seen her today and a continuing image now.
What the hell had he been doing, acting all smooth earlier, as if ready to play a wolf and sex kitten game? Was he ready to pull off an affair? Totally out of character, he admitted he liked the break from his usual responsibilities and cares, and he definitely liked spending down time with Kasey. A quick flash of her naked and on top of him made him refill his paper water cup and take a huge gulp. What was Vincent talking about? Now was not the time or place to give in to a rapidly building desire for her, and the feeling was no doubt the other L word—nothing more than unadulterated lust. Yeah, that was the angle he’d take this time around.
He hadn’t called her since Monday because he didn’t want to come on too strong, yet that was exactly what he’d just been doing. Vincent was telling him something, but he didn’t have a clue what it was.
He had never had an affair when he’d been married, that wasn’t part of his honor code, and if he was going to start one now, maybe they should keep to the rules. Yet he’d teased and played with her when she’d tried to make up a rule or two just now. Damn, he was out of his element. All he knew for sure was he wanted what happened Monday night to happen again. And soon. Maybe he should make that rule number one.
“These are all of the admission papers you’ll need to fill out for the hospital,” Vincent said. “We can do a quick physical here first.”
“Sure thing.” Jared reminded himself he’d come here for business, but after work he’d give himself permission to enjoy life a little.
As if she knew he was thinking about her, Kasey looked up and their gazes connected. Studying her face, he decided he wouldn’t surgically change a thing about her. She had a perfectly fine face and body and didn’t need to lift, tighten, plump or slenderize a single feature.
The surprising thought made him smile. She smiled back and a warm itchy trail began in his chest and headed south.
Kasey knew he was only in Boston for another year, that he planned to move back to California to open his own practice as soon as he finished his fellowship in the American College of Surgeons for Plastic Surgery. He also understood she was facing a potentially debilitating diagnosis regarding Huntington’s and probably didn’t want to start a serious affair with anyone until she knew what her future held. In other words, she wasn’t looking for anything permanent any more than he was.
No strings was the phrase of the day, and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
Angie approached with her laptop opened, interrupting his thoughts. “Mr. O’Leary’s here,” she said, her eyes tight as if the
fluorescent lights were too bright.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the computer. “Send him right in.”
Kasey didn’t like the way Franklin looked, noticeably thinner and with the abdomen back to protruding as it had before. He was also pale and grimacing as if in pain. She jumped up to help him into the exam room. His skin felt clammy yet cold.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Just a bit short of breath today is all,” he said, maintaining a charming façade. The thought of what they’d have to tell him later made her heartsick.
“Have a seat on the gurney and I’ll take your temperature.” She rolled over the stand containing the all-in-one blood-pressure cuff, thermometer, and pulse oximeter, and applied them all. A short time later she saw his temperature and pulse were elevated, and his blood pressure and oxygen were down. She grabbed a nasal cannula and hooked him up to the wall oxygen while they waited for Jared.
Franklin pressed his palm against his sternum and rubbed.
“What’s happening?” Kasey asked.
He shook his head, grimacing again. “Feels like I’ve got heartburn. Felt like it all day.”
She should have thought of it the moment he’d walked in with pale diaphoretic skin and complaints of feeling queasy. The man might be having a heart attack. She opened the exam-room door and called out. “Vincent, can you do an EKG for me, stat?”
That request brought both Jared and Vincent barreling into the room. Vincent pushed the EKG machine with him, and while he set up the procedure, Kasey explained to Jared what she thought was going on, and told Angie to call an ambulance.
Two minutes later, Jared read the twelve-lead EKG and found early ST elevation.
“We’re going to admit you to the hospital, Franklin. You’re most likely having a heart attack, or you’ve had a silent MI in the past.”
No sooner had Jared said it than Franklin grabbed his chest and groaned. “Ooh, make this stop. The pain. Ooh.”
Switching to cardiac-arrest mode, Vincent rushed the crash cart into the room and Angie confirmed the paramedics were on their way. Kasey, Vincent and Jared worked like mad as a team to start an IV, deliver needed medicine, and prevent a full-out arrest. Jared ran the near code with confidence and precision, postponing and possibly preventing more heart damage for Franklin O’Leary.
Fifteen minutes later, having received emergency medication through his IV, and with Franklin stabilized, though nowhere near out of danger, the ambulance arrived. Jared gave a report that was rapid though amazingly thorough. He’d obviously been involved in a number of codes over his career. He also got on the phone and called in a report, speaking directly to the attending ER doc. Under instructions from the nearby emergency department, the paramedics transported a semiconscious Franklin to the hospital. Today, the least of his worries had turned out to be the paracentesis fluid with cancer cells.
Kasey met and greeted her patient and rolled her down the hall to the examination room for the procedure.
Twenty minutes later, having given thorough instructions to the caretaker and after typing up her notes, Kasey returned to her desk. Jared was nowhere to be seen, and a blip of disappointment settled over her as she sat.
Her day was over, the surge of adrenaline from Franklin’s cardiac emergency had receded and she was left feeling drained yet restless. She straightened her desk and shut down her computer as she rolled her shoulders to fend off the tension. Warm and sturdy hands that definitely didn’t belong to Vincent caressed the lower part of her neck and shoulders. They methodically squeezed, strong thumbs running up her cervical spine.
“Where were you?” she asked, sounding as if she’d died and gone to heaven.
“I was in the back, finishing my consult and admitting orders.”
Kasey smiled and let her head drop forward as Jared proved to be a master at upper-body massage. She’d really like to keep him around for awhile.
“How about I take you home and buy you some dinner?” he said.
The invitation seemed out of the blue, but with his soothing finger ministrations on her aching muscles, right about now he could talk her into skateboarding downhill blindfolded, as long as he didn’t stop the magic.
“Sounds like a great idea.”
Someone cleared their throat. Kasey looked up. It was Vincent with a “gotcha” glance teetering on a smile. “I restocked the crash cart and Angie cleaned the patient rooms, so we’ll be going. Have a good night.” He emphasized “night”.
“Okay, thanks. See you tomorrow.”
“Later, guys,” Jared chimed in. “Goodnight, Angie.”
Once they’d cleared the door and heard the lock click, Jared leaned over and kissed the back of Kasey’s neck, releasing a basketload of tiny tingles up and down her spine. She knew it was a bad idea, because she could get used to this, used to Jared’s soft lips delivering pure pleasure into her malnourished sex life. Once she let down her guard, she’d be susceptible to more feelings, and feelings led to pain. But he was still kissing her and she really didn’t want him to stop. Not now.
When his hands reached beneath her breasts and cupped them, a tiny ragged sigh escaped her lips and her mind gave up every last annoying thought. He nibbled her earlobe while lifting and running his thumbs over her erect nipples. Listen to your body, not your mind. Warmth pooled between her legs, soon turning to an impatient burn. She turned her head to meet his lips. His mouth covered hers and she quickly found his tongue, amazed how easily he’d turned her from a diligent, exhausted NP into a sex-starved male fantasy of a naughty nurse. He could do that to her. He worked magic.
Wanting nothing more than her body flush to his, she stood, their lips never breaking contact. His arms enfolded her, and she instantly found his back, pulling him closer. Soon she’d sufficiently raised his polo shirt so she could run her hands over the petal-soft skin of his ribs and back. He found her hips and bottom, first massaging then pulling her tight to his wedge. Knowing he was ready for her, that he wanted her, pushed her longing over the edge. She rubbed against him, sending sparks up her core, stirring up an even stronger desire to be devoured and sated.
At this rate they’d never make it home, and she’d never in her life expected to make love in the clinic. Had never even fantasized about it. Yet here she was. With Jared. Giving nonverbal consent.
In a rush he pulled away and unzipped his jeans, soon tugging at her nursing scrubs, which dropped to the floor in record time. He balanced her hips on the edge of her desk and found her opening with the fingers of one hand, while the other busily dug in his pocket for the foil wrapper. In a flash the protection business got taken care of and, moving her thong out of the way, he entered in a long, smooth thrust. First she expanded to his size as he filled her, then, when she clamped down, an intense shudder rolled through her, long and fathomless. She wrapped her legs around his hips for deeper access and pushed against him, starving for his touch. Each thrust sent a building wave of excitement throughout her body, her heart pounded in her chest, until everything spiraled down to one point of pure pleasure that pulsed and grew until it exploded. With a gasp, her head fell forward onto his shoulder, and she held him tight until he came on a ragged breath and a curse.
“You make me act like a crazy man,” he rasped over her ear.
“And I’m as prim as ever,” she said, removing her legs from around his waist.
The steamy smile he gave her was genuine and so utterly sexy she had to look away if there was any hope of leaving the office before morning.
CHAPTER SEVEN
FORTY-FIVE minutes after sex on the desk, Kasey and Jared arrived at her apartment with a box of pizza and were ravenously eating. She noticed Jared tickle Daisy’s ears when she passed close enough for him to make contact, and a tenderness she hadn’t expected settled inside her. She cautioned herself about letting her guard down, about allowing more feelings to mess up whatever this thing was between them.
His cellphone alarm went off.
“Oh,” he said, “give me a minute, would you?” He walked to the kitchen and made a call. “Hi, it’s Dad. Just checking in to see if you’ve done your homework. Good. Any tests this week?”
After Jared finished the call to his twelve-year-old son, Patrick—a call more of few words, grunts, and one-word answers than a real conversation, but which ended in a promise to be at a soccer game on one Sunday morning—Jared said goodbye.
After what seemed like a normal father-son conversation, Jared made another call. “Hi, Chloe, just calling to say goodnight.”
Not knowing what else to do and trying not to eavesdrop, Kasey ate more pizza. An odd ache started behind her sternum. Had she ever gotten a call like that, growing up? This man might be a California native, but he had roots right here in Massachusetts with his children. And for the record, she was glad he was here.
From the heartfelt tone in his voice, there was no doubt how much he loved his kids, and she’d bet a thousand dollars his daughter and son adored him, too.
“Goodnight, sugarplum. You keep up the good work, and I’ll do my best to get to your soccer game this Saturday afternoon, okay?”
Strolling back to the table, he took a seat and ate another bite of pizza. “Any word from the lab yet?” Jared asked.
“Not yet.” She didn’t intend to ruin their good time by pursuing that topic. “How’d Chloe do on that test the other day?”
“Got a B-plus.”
“Great.”
“Did Vincent tell you about his big date?”
“Which one?”
For recently having had mind-blowing sex on a desk, their conversation seemed rather mundane, which made it all the more enjoyable.
“Hey, I see you’ve got my favorite video game.”
She glanced across the room to the box connected to her TV. “Really?” Of course, he had kids so why wouldn’t he know about the popular games console? “I use the aerobics program.” As if that explained why a thirty-something owned a kid’s game.
“That explains why you’re in good shape,” he said, a knowing smile on his lips.
She had the urge to reach across the table and kiss him, but where would that lead? Besides, she had just taken another bite of pizza. “Thank you.” She batted her lashes to accentuate the words around her full mouth.
He winked back, and something stirred inside her.
“I like to bowl. Do you have that one?”
“Of course,” she said, putting down her pizza. “I’ll challenge you.”
“You’re on!”
“First I’ll need to make your avatar.” She wiped some pizza grease from her fingers onto a napkin, and headed across the room.
They spent the next ten minutes playing with the game, creating a small round-headed creature with dark hair and incredible blue eyes that looked amazingly like Jared.
“So that’s how you see me, huh?”
“I think I captured your inner essence.” She hadn’t batted her lashes this much since she was thirteen and had declared her love for Mike Murphy to her six closest friends.
“Yeah, especially the scowling brows.”
She laughed. He could take what she dished out, and it made him all the more likeable.
“I’ve got to tell you, your house is so much homier than mine,” he said.
“I’ve been here a few years, so that’s an advantage.”
“And you don’t rent your furniture.” He laughed. “My style of décor is functional.” He tossed her a humble look. “I just needed some place to flop yet big enough for the kids to come and stay with me.” He glanced around her living room. “My place is a one-bedroom apartment, like yours, but the davenport pulls out into a bed,” he said, as he rolled the first virtual ball down the virtual bowling lane. “I bet my kids don’t even like coming to stay with me.”
“I’m sure they want to be wherever you are.”
“Not after this summer.”
Rather than continue with the touchy subject, she stood to take her turn and scored a strike.
“Well done,” he said.
She curtsied.
“Some time I’ll have to take you there.”
“Where?
“To my basement apartment. You’d be the only person, besides my kids, I’ve ever brought there.”
Putting it into perspective like that, having the honor of being invited into his private world, she looked at the man she’d had sex with on a desk earlier. On the outside he was gorgeous, seemed confident and was definitely accomplished, yet inside he was just like her, a little insecure and very private. “I’d like that.” He’d invited her inside, if only to his apartment. Maybe she’d take him up on it. “Thank you,” she said as she rolled her second strike in the bowling game.
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