The warmth flared to heat. The softness turned hard and demanding. Ian’s grip tightened, pulling Josh closer until they pressed together from lips to groin. Arousal pulled a low groan from Ian, and he had to stop and catch his breath.
Pressing his lips to the messy blond hair, he sighed. “Thank you, baby. Thank you for the offer.”
Then he sat back, breaking the contact before he did something that would cut this conversation short for at least an hour. Or longer, if they could make it back to the exam bed. “It means a lot to me that you’re willing. But I don’t think it solves our problems. Unless . . . Ah. There’s a price.”
“Everything comes with a price. You said it. But in this case, I think it’s reasonable.”
“And this is your price? This is what it will take for you to come work with me?” He scowled. “Hospital sponsorship, hospital rules, hospital oversight.”
“Lights in the parking lot. Better locks on the door. Security personnel.”
“I’m not sure I want . . .”
Josh looked at him soberly. “I do.”
“God, Josh.” Ian bumped his forehead against Josh’s and lowered his voice, pleading. “I want this. You know I do. But I’m worried about the people who need us most. What if they stop coming because they feel too intimidated or something?”
Josh cupped Ian’s face in his hands, lifted his head to stare firmly into his eyes. “It will be up to us to make sure that doesn’t happen. You’ll still be the manager. You’ll have a say in how things are run, and in any improvements that are made around here. Hell, you can dress the security guards in jeans and T-shirts if you want.”
“You think the Hospital Board will agree to that? Even to letting people sign in without giving their names?”
“Other clinics do it. We’re not setting a precedent here.” Josh’s thumbs traced a path along Ian’s cheekbones. “This isn’t the first time Aguto has talked to them about the clinic. She says they’ve always seemed willing to help. They were waiting for a concrete plan.”
It felt like selling out. It always had. Like he’d have someone peering over his shoulder, telling him how to spend his money and how to run his clinic, when the hospital knew nothing about these people and their needs. At least he’d have money to spend, but at what price?
Then he forced himself to stop and look—really look—at Josh. With his big, earnest eyes and his best gotta persuade Ian voice. Josh was a good man; a man who cared about his patients, as well as the staff he worked beside to treat those patients. And Josh was a smart man—a lot smarter than Ian when it came to knowing his way around the hospital bureaucracy. Hell, if anyone had a reason to distrust hospital administration, it was Josh.
But Josh appeared to trust the administrators he’d spoken to, and . . . Ian trusted Josh.
Compromise. He’d never been willing in the past, and maybe that was why the clinic had been teetering on the brink of closure since the beginning. No, there was no maybe about it. Learning to bend instead of resist was . . . hard. Now though . . . If he had someone—someone special to be his partner, to watch his back and be there—the future could hold more promise than he’d ever thought possible.
Josh ran a thumb down Ian’s neck, stroking the sensitive area over his pulse point. “‘Opportunities multiply as they are seized.’”
Ian sucked in a breath. “You quote Sun Tzu?”
“When it’s appropriate.” Josh seemed unaware that Ian’s heart was melting out of his chest and about to go splat on the floor. “And by that, I mean I have a few other ideas for funding, and for volunteers.”
“You do?” Between the quote and the fingers caressing his neck, Ian was doing well to string together two whole words.
“The hospital’s not going to sink a ton of money into this place. Just enough to bring it up to standard.” Josh smiled into his eyes. “This doesn’t have to be big and flashy. It can be whatever you want.”
Ian steadied himself, and returned Josh’s gaze. “You’re awfully persuasive.”
Josh’s smile turned sexy. “Oh yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” Ian took his mouth in a kiss, and then sighed. “I can do my part while I’m working. I’ve been doing it, and it will be easier now with more help and more funding. But how will Langdon and Burke feel about you doing this?”
“They don’t have a say anymore.”
Ian pulled back to stare at him. “What?”
“That was part of the deal with Aguto. I work a couple of shifts a week and take over as medical director here, and she pays me full-time.”
“You’re back in the ER?” Excitement hit Ian. Not for himself, but for Josh, because Josh loved it.
“I’m back.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do this for me.”
“I’m doing it for me. She gave me a tour this afternoon.” Josh’s face beamed, enthusiasm sparking from his eyes. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I still might want to find someone to talk to, a counselor or something, but I felt okay on the tour. She’s going to start me off on day shift, with lots of people around and a guard nearby. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, babe.” Ian hugged him hard. “I’m so happy for you. And for me.” He wound his hands through Josh’s hair and grinned at him. “You’re staying. That would have been enough by itself. But this . . . I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll you agree to the sponsorship and everything else,” Josh told him.
Ian took a deep breath. “To keep the clinic open? To work with you and be with you? Yeah, I’ll do it. I’m not thrilled, but yeah . . . We’ll make it work.” That needed to be celebrated with another kiss. A good, long one this time, one Ian felt all the way through his stomach and lower. He broke it off with a groan. “We need to go back to my place. Or yours. I don’t care which.”
“May as well enjoy mine while we can.” Josh looked wistful. “I’ll miss my view.”
“You’re not keeping the condo?”
“Not at my new salary. It’s decent, but nothing like the money I make at Langdon and Burke. The lease is up in a few months. After that, I’ll be searching for a new place.”
“I have a house,” Ian said hopefully. “And I happen to have a great view.”
Josh sighed. “That’s a little fast, don’t you think?”
“You know me.”
“I’m beginning to.”
“And since you’re staying, please can we go buy you a car?”
“What?” Josh squinted at him. “Why?”
“You’re still driving the rental. I’ll help you.”
“Oh, no. I bought the rental weeks ago.”
“You . . . Wait. You did?”
“I hated the thought of car shopping, and this one drives fine. Since the mileage was getting high, the rental car company sold it to me.”
Well, hell. That might have been nice to know. Ian laughed helplessly while Josh eyed him as if his last functioning brain cell had vanished.
On the day Ian had thought he’d lost everything, he gained it all back and more.
Josh wrote the blood pressure scrip for the older gentleman with the shifty eyes who’d come into the clinic with a headache. “Get this filled as soon as you can, and be sure to take one pill every morning with breakfast.”
The patient answered him with a grunt, but at least it sounded like a cooperative grunt. The man was new to the clinic, so Josh didn’t know him well yet—not like some of the others who had been coming regularly since Ian had first opened the clinic. Josh was starting to know them all. Starting to feel at home here in a way he’d never thought possible.
After helping the patient off the bed, Josh walked him across the freshly painted hall so Gabriel could talk to him about follow-up and use his new computer to make sure the man knew the cheapest and closest place to fill the prescription.
Once he’d settled the patient, Josh strolled back out to the packed waiting room, then leaned against the entryway to watch the activity. Mrs. Bolli
nger controlled the chaos with cool efficiency, but greeted every patient with a smile. Her own headaches had magically disappeared after Josh had asked her to volunteer.
With her spreading the word among her rich friends, donations had increased, supplementing the hospital-supplied funds. He and Ian had been careful not to make major changes, but the minor modifications they’d done in the last couple of months, like better lighting throughout the clinic, made a big difference.
Strong hands landed on his shoulders. “Everything okay, babe?”
Josh turned his head and smiled up at Ian. “Sure. Just tired. Been a long day.”
“A long week.” Ian kneaded the tight muscles, and Josh bit back a groan. “You stressed about moving in tomorrow?”
“No.” Josh faced him so that Ian could see the truth of his words. “I’m ready.”
“Me too.”
Josh barely refrained from rolling his eyes.
“Okay.” Ian chuckled. “So I’ve been ready for months. So have you, even if you didn’t want to admit it.”
Josh couldn’t argue with that. Not after he’d started packing the previous evening and then realized he had nothing to pack. All his belongings had somehow migrated over to Ian’s house during the last three months.
“Hey.” Ian took a quick look around, as if to make sure no one was watching. “C’mere.”
When Ian pulled him into the renovated supply room that doubled as his office, and shut the door, Josh protested. “We’ve got a room full of patients.”
“This will only take a minute.”
“I wouldn’t admit that if I were you.”
“God, I wish we did have time for more than a kiss.” Ian’s mouth landed on his, and the kiss turned deeper than he’d probably intended.
Josh groaned into his mouth, pressing close . . . Then backed off when Ian winced. “Still sore?”
“A little.”
Pushing up Ian’s shirt until his chest was bared, Josh gazed admiringly. Nice abs, yes, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. A freshly tattooed caduceus ran down the center of his sternum, but instead of snakes winding around the staff, the four letters of Josh’s name wrapped it in fanciful lettering.
He nuzzled Ian right above it, in the notch of his collarbone. “How much longer until we can go home?” Home. The house on stilts felt like that now, even though he’d only been there a short time. He couldn’t wait to get Ian back to their bed, to open the windows and lie there with him, listening to water lapping against the cypress and the crying of night birds.
Ian pressed his lips to Josh’s throat, his chuckle vibrating against Josh’s skin. “Not until we’ve helped all these people.”
Josh couldn’t help grinning at the oh-so-typically Ian answer. He rested his palm against his partner’s chest. Although he’d taken a few detours, Josh had finally found a home in Ian’s heart.
Dear Reader,
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Bren Christopher is a multipublished romance author who currently resides in Florida. Although Bren has always been an avid reader in every genre, it wasn’t until she discovered gay romance that the characters who had been content to reside in her imagination started insisting they needed a wider audience. She has a lot of fun helping her folks come to life, and hopes the reader has just as much fun getting to know them.
Bren loves to hear from readers, so stop by her web page at brenchristopher.com or keep in touch via Facebook at facebook.com/bren.christopher.1.
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