HURTFUL

ALINA

My heart was in my throat, and every single one of the nurses in the emergency unit currently had their eyes trained on me. I forced a huge gulp of air down my nose and spoke up.

“M… me?” My words stuttered even though I’d been intending to sound in control.

The look on Theon’s face didn’t waver even slightly; his eyes still burned with anger and at this point I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or the other nurses gathered around.

“Did I stutter?” His voice was harsh, cutting through the air like a flash of lightning.

“No, The…” I paused, realizing my mistake. “Mr. Murphy, I apologize but I will have to decline that offer.”

Tatiana grabbed hold of my arm and shook me slightly. “What the hell are you doing?”

I ignored her, pulling my arm out of her grasp.

“Mr. Murphy, Alina just started here and is not yet verified to take on jobs outside the hospital where she cannot be supervised.” Jess took a step forward, drawing Theon’s attention away from me and back to herself. “You can pick someone else. There’s a lot of nurses here with more hands-on experience and a proven track of caregiving, especially after something as volatile as a surgery.”

The gaze Theon turned on Jess was filled with something dark that had her smile dropping and her confidence popping.

“I don’t remember asking your opinion.”

Her next words came out in a stammer. “I… I…” She cleared her throat. “I seriously doubt the hospital management would approve of that request. This is only her first day. The hospital has a duty to provide quality healthcare as well as save lives, sending an untrained nurse in might do damage to our reputation.”

I almost rolled my eyes at the speech she just gave. Damn, it almost sounded like the hospital was a personal property of hers, or her family.

I spoke up before Theon could give her a response. “Can I speak to you in private, Mr. Murphy?”

Jess decided to try her hand at persuading him one more time. “Mr. Murphy, I was a surgical nurse when your grandfather was brought in days ago. I am very familiar with his case and can provide the best care for him using that knowledge.”

“Jess,” Tatiana finally spoke up. “Mr. Murphy has already made a decision concerning who he wants to care for his grandfather. We can only let management decide now.”

The glare Jess sent her way was icy but she backed down, and with my head trained on the floor, I led Theon into the nurses’ station. The conversation we were about to have was all shades of private and I needed to make sure that it stayed behind closed doors.

“You ran away.”

I walked back to the door and turned the knob to lock it before I faced him. “I don’t think I can take on this job, Theon.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Alina.”

“That’s all we can talk about given our current location, Theon. Come on.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s settled then.”

I perked up at the easy way he dropped the case. “Really?”

“Yeah. We can discuss the other issue when we’ve taken grandpa home.”

“Wait… what?”

“You want to talk about work in the workplace, I respect that. As my grandfather’s care nurse, you can do exactly that right now; but we can definitely talk about the rest later.”

My fingers pressed over my eyes as exasperation started to eat at me. “Theon, we shouldn’t do this.”

“You were saying the exact opposite last night, Alina. One might have even mistaken it for you being interested and willing. So, explain to me why you bolted out while I was in the bathroom.”

“I was, okay? I was interested. I wanted you; I wanted it. But I shouldn’t.” My voice broke as I tried to explain the turmoil that was going on inside of me.

Even right now, watching him with his definition of a casual outfit – white shirt rolled up, tucked into a pair of gray slacks and paired with white sneakers – was doing a lot to my insides. I couldn’t help the attraction that burned hot between us, or the fact that even now I was craving his body in ways that were downright sinful.

“I’d need more of an explanation than that.”

I exhaled a heavy breath. Spending more time in Theon’s company was going to be bad for me, for both of us. After everything that played out yesterday, I was lucky to even have as much as this job; I wouldn’t pass it up for some fun, no matter how insanely hot it was.”

Besides I didn’t want any men in my life currently. Not after the way the last one treated me. A shiver worked down my spine as thoughts of Zach and his new lover, Mandy once again took center stage in my mind.

I shook my head to dispel the unwanted, unhappy thoughts. “Believe it or not, I’m not used to any of this. I certainly wouldn’t…” I trailed off, dragging in a much-needed deep breath. “Last night was fueled by alcohol. And that bad decision is something I don’t have the luxury of making a second time. It was one night, and it was a good one. Let’s leave it at that.”

His face closed off in that instant, leaving me with instant regret for the words I just uttered.

“Bad decision fueled by alcohol, huh?” He asked in a low hum. “I don’t expect anything from you beyond caring for my father. I’d finalize the details with your boss, and they’d inform you of what is expected.”

“Theon, I…”

“It’s Mr. Murphy, Nurse…” his eyes dropped down to the hospital ID clipped to the waistband of my scrub pants. “Stone. I think you'd be more comfortable with formalitues in place. Now, if you’d excuse me.”

I watched in silence as he walked past me, threw open the door and stormed off.

What the hell have I just gotten myself into?

                                                *****

“Hello, Nurse Stone. Or should I just call you Alina?” Jess asked as she walked into the kitchenette where I stood waiting for the coffee machine to finish running.

“Hi, Jess. Alina is just fine.”

“How’s your first day coming along? Seems to me like you’re a lot popular among our rich patients.”

“I have no idea what the social status of our patients are. I simply check on them as I’m supposed to.”

“Yet Mr. Murphy requested personally for your service right after seeing you. From the way he looked stunned, he obviously recognized you.”

I folded my arms over my chest and gave her my full attention. “What do you want, Jess? It was just a request. Besides, management hasn’t approved it yet.”

“Like management has a say in whether or not the Murphys get what they want.” She scoffs. “I just want to know, how do you know him? Don’t think I missed how you almost called him by his first name.”

Two more nurses walk into the space with their mugs in hand, and they stared at Jess and me.

“What’s going on here?” The nurse with blue hair asked.

“Yeah, what gives?” The brown-haired one concurred. “I sense drama.”

Jess’ face lit up with a grin that spelled trouble before she even opened her mouth.

“Alina was just filling me in on how familiar she is with the Murphys, especially the just returned heir, Theon.”