The alarm rang all too soon the next morning, jolting me awake. Slowly, I opened one eye and hit the snooze. It was five o’clock in the morning. Ugh, I groaned as I turned over and shoved a pillow over my face. I was almost asleep when the alarm blared loudly again, causing my body to jerk. I closed my eyes, but all I could think about was Lance. I sat up on the edge of the bed and shook my head, then shut the alarm off and got up to take a shower.
A few minutes later, the heat from the water blast rushed over my body, waking me up. I squirted body wash into my hand and rubbed it slowly over my body, closing my eyes, imagining that my hands were Lance’s. I rubbed across my breasts and over my nipples as images of Lance danced through my mind. Slowly, I ran my hand between my thighs to my heat. The water rushed over my body and my breaths quickened as I imagined that I was with Lance under a waterfall on a tropical island. My clit swelled at the thought and I let my thumb graze over it, moving back and forth, as I slid two fingers inside. I turned toward the water and rubbed my beaded nipples as I moved my fingers in and out, imagining that Lance was fucking me. My mouth opened as water rushed in and I spit it out as I thrust my head back, moving my fingers in and out of my vagina faster and harder, imagining Lance’s lips crushing down onto mine and riding his dick. Finally, my body shuttered in one hell of a climax just thinking about him. When my body stopped jerking and shaking, I finished my shower and turned the water off, feeling refreshed in more ways than one. Maybe now I could concentrate on my work instead of fantasizing about a man that I’d just met.
I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself, hitching it between my breasts, then walked into the bedroom and looked in my closet. I eyed a blue dress hanging on the right that came just to my calves. The dress was professional, but womanly at the same time, hugging my curves in all the right places. I glanced over at my scrubs and smiled, then opted for the dress, knowing that I could slip a lab coat over it when I got to work. I slipped into a pair of black pumps and quickly dried my long blonde hair, then pulled it up on the sides, letting the back cascade halfway down my back in loose waves. It was professional, but made me feel like a woman, too.
Downstairs, I poured a cup of my coffee and looked at the clock. It was just six thirty in the morning. Steven got off work at seven o’clock, but often worked over. I sighed as I took another sip of my coffee. We missed each other frequently, since we worked separate shifts. Steven didn’t seem to mind. The money was good, but money wasn’t everything.
***
Shoots of pink, orange, and red spread across the sky in a lovely sunrise, creating a breathtaking backdrop against the desert as I headed to work. Soon, the desert yielded to casinos and high rises, all with unique structures, from the castle façade of the Excalibur and shimmering glass and polished steel of other buildings, and then the tall, wide expanse of the hospital.
I pulled into the hospital parking lot, smoothed my blue dress, and headed inside. “Good morning, Dr. Reynolds,” the young receptionist behind the counter greeted me as I walked inside.
“Morning, Sherrie,” I said, nodding in her direction.
Rosa lifted her eyes from the clipboard that she was perusing and smiled. “Well, it’s about time you got here! We have patients waiting.”
Seeing her at this hour of the morning was like déjà vu. “Did you even go home last night? What happened? Did Henry kick you out and you spent the night here?” I teased, heading toward the locker room.
“You wish!” Rosa said, smiling. “I know you’ve always had a thing for him.” Henry, her husband, was a bald, middle-aged husky man—nice as hell, but definitely not my type.
“Honey, I’m sure he’s too much man for me,” I replied as Rosa followed.
She laughed. “Now, that’s a good one!”
I laughed, shaking my head as I slid my purse into my locker, pulled a white lab coat from the closet, and pulled it on. “Let’s get to work.”
“If we must,” she said, taking an exaggerated breath.
I laughed. Rosa was one of the reasons why I loved coming to work. Well, that and helping people, of course, but seeing Rosa every day was definitely a plus.
We began our day seeing patients, one after the other. We make a good team, she and I. Rosa was always great in a crisis and it was as if she could read my mind most of the time, anticipating what I was going to ask or need for a patient.
We worked through lunch, and by the afternoon, we had seen a boy with a high fever, set two broken arms, a broken leg, a sprained wrist, and then assisted with a woman in premature labor until her gynecologist arrived and took over, and an elderly woman with chest pains. Over all, it was a busy day. But, then again, it usually was.
The day flew by quickly and soon it was nightfall. I yawned when I turned to face Rosa. “It’s getting late and you haven’t eaten anything …”
“Neither have you,” she countered quickly.
“Why don’t you take a break and I’ll hold down the fort?” I asked, ignoring her comment.
“Nah. Tonight’s our anniversary and Henry’s taking me dancing,” Rosa said with a gleam in her eye.
“Good for you,” I replied, patting her shoulder. “Happy anniversary! Well, in that case, get out of here. I can manage.” I reached for the clipboard, but she quickly pulled it away.
“That won’t be necessary,” she said when Kellen walked up silently behind her without her noticing. “Kellen’s taking over for me.” Rosa leaned in close for effect and whispered seductively, “Don’t worry. He’ll take good care of you.”
“Get out of here!” I said, laughing as I took the clipboard from her. I looked over and Kellen was suppressing a smile. I smiled, remembering his visit with Christina.
“Nice to see you again, Dr. Reynolds, Rosa,” he said, suppressing a smile.
Rosa startled then gave him a playful push on the arm. “Man! You just scared me to death!” Rosa said as her face flushed, then added, “I didn’t know you were there!” Obviously. “Give me some warning next time instead of sneaking up on an old woman like that.” She was just in her early forties and I laughed at the reference to her age.
“Sorry, ma’am,” Kellen said, but the dimple on his cheek was still evident. Eyeing Rosa’s reaction, he suppressed a smile as he ran a hand through his dark blonde wavy hair, then crossed his arms over his muscled chest around the clipboard that he was carrying.
“And stop calling me ma’am!” Rosa retorted.
Kellen quickly turned his attention to the patient chart in his hand. “Yes, ma’am … er … Nurse Rosa.”
Rosa glared at him as he suppressed a grin.
I laughed then pulled her in for a hug. “Have fun tonight,” I said, then leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Well, that leaves me wide open,” she said, giving me a wink, and Kellen laughed.
“Hey. You’d better go before Henry sends the police to drag you out of here,” I said, pushing her gently toward the door as Kellen pretended to peruse the patient chart.
“You joke about it, but he just might,” Rosa teased then added, “Don’t stay too late tonight, girlie! See you tomorrow.”
I nodded, laughing as I watched her walk away, and then looked down at the chart in my hands.
Throughout the night, Kellen worked with experience beyond his years, despite his youthful appearance. “How long have you been a nurse?” I asked later in the day when he handed me another chart.“For a while,” he said, and then changed the subject, “Mr. Rollings is waiting in Room Six.” He pointed to the door and I nodded.When I turned around, my breath caught at the sight of Lance Steel walking in our direction with Drake Summerfield. Shit! I had successfully pushed him out of my mind for most of the day and now here he was, a Greek god in all his glory, walking toward me. I headed to the examining room and pulled the chart from the tray outside the door, pretending not to notice. Why did he have such an effect on me?“Leila,” Drake called out to me, then corrected himself, “Dr. Reynolds, do you have a minute?”I looked up from the chart casually, even though my heart was doing flip flops in my
Suddenly, a male figure stopped in front of me and I froze. The man was in silhouette and I couldn’t see who it was. All of the self-defense classes that I had taken over the years rushed into my brain as I tightened my grip on my car keys. I could ram them into his jugular vein and it would be over in seconds, or shove the heel of my hand into his nose …“Dr. Reynolds, it’s me, Lance Steel,” he said, almost reading my mind.“Oh, you scared me …” I said, taking a deep breath.“What are you doing out here alone?” he asked, suddenly angry. “Anything could happen to you …”“I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to walk past him. Actually, at this point I would rather take my chances with a complete stranger.He grabbed my arm, not letting me pass. “I’m walking you to your car.” It wasn’t a question.“I beg your pardon?”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully until sundown. Rosa, Kellen, and I worked throughout the day, making a good team. Kellen was so young—probably fresh out of nursing school—that I was surprised he was as knowledgeable as he was about nursing. He performed as if he were a seasoned veteran—just as good as Rosa, and she had been a nurse for over twenty years. I pushed the thought aside, deciding to go home early, or on time, actually.“I don’t believe it. The sun is just setting and you’re going home,” Rosa teased with a twinkle in her eye. “The days of miracles aren’t over.”“Love you, too!” I said, knowing it would irritate her.“You know …”“I know, your boat don’t float that way,” I teased as a smile curled my lips. “But if you ever change your mind …”“I won’t let you know,” Rosa returned. She had
I stepped in line to buy my ticket inside the theater when I heard a voice that shouldn’t be so familiar. “Dr. Reynolds! What a surprise to see you here!”Oh, shit! Why did I have to run into Lance Steel? “Mr. Steel, what are you doing here?” I asked, donning my best poker face.“It’s nice to see you, too.” He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering over my light blue blouse and heels a bit too long. “You look nice today.”“Thanks.” I chose a movie and stepped up in line, trying to ignore him.“What movie are you seeing?” he asked, stepping up behind me.“Why? Are you going to the movies, too?” I asked, suddenly surprised. He was dressed in blue jeans with a sexy button down black shirt, open slightly at the neck and black leather boots. His usually coifed, sexy dark brown hair was falling lazily across his face, accentuating his bright green eyes.
Although it was a movie that I really wanted to see, I paid no attention to it. As the love story unfolded on the screen, I studied Lance more than the movie, taking note of his chiseled features, piercing green eyes, and testosterone overload. The electricity in the air was so thick between us that you could cut it with a knife. I took a deep breath, forcing my eyes back to the screen without really seeing what was happening, forgetting momentarily that I was married. Then, the lights came up, bringing us both back to reality.“Thank you,” I said as we walked out of the theater.“For what?” he asked, amused.“That was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.”“My pleasure,” he returned as we left the theater and walked into the darkness of the night, when he stopped abruptly. “Do you want to catch a bite to eat while we’re here? There’s a restaurant around the corner.”
“What did you tell him?” Lance asked, trying to calm down. He took a sip of his water, but made a face and set it back on the table. “After he told you to ‘play nice.’”“I told him that I would slap any man who deserves it, including him,” I replied, taking a sip of my water, as well.“Good girl,” he said as a smile spread across his face.I lifted an eyebrow, questioning.He shrugged. “I deserved it,” he replied, holding my hand a bit tighter, forcing me to look into his eyes. His hands were cold, but I pretended not to notice. “You should feel free to slap any man who deserves it … including me.”I smiled, suddenly feeling awkward when the waiter approached to take our order. “Good evening,” he said, and then proceeded to tell us the dinner specials and his recommendations.Lance nodded to me.“I’ll have the Shrimp Alfr
I drove home in the dark, trying to steady my heart. What am I doing? I wondered as I pointed my car toward home. I had so much on my mind that it practically drove itself home. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. What the hell am I doing? But there was something about Lance that I just couldn’t describe. Besides his incredible good looks, there was something else about him … I felt secure, treasured … like a princess around him. It was as if he had already placed me on a pedestal, treating me like royalty. I had never been treated like that before, and I knew that I could easily get used to it.When I got home, Steven was gone. Obviously, he had already left for work—if he even came home at all—even though it was Saturday. I should be off from work the next day, but I really had no desire to have a confrontation with Steven, even though I knew that we needed to talk soon.I took a deep breath to steady myself, pulled the car
“I’m taking a break,” I told Rosa after the family left.“Why don’t you go home?” Rosa asked, knowing how hard I had worked to try to save him and she had worked just as hard by my side. We made a good team.“No, not yet,” I said, dead on my feet. “I just need a break and maybe some coffee.”“And some food,” Rosa added, picking up a chart. “Eat something.”“Yes, Ma’am,” I teased, walking away as she scowled.I walked into the waiting room before walking to the cafeteria to see how many more patients that we had and my breath caught. Lance was sitting on a chair, casually reading a magazine. For a moment, I almost walked the other way, but something inside me pulled me to him. My heart beat erratically within my chest as I approached, noticing how handsome he was. The air of confidence about him almost reminded me of a medieval knight, but I quickly