Her hair is dark as midnight in the low light條oose and wavy, splayed out in shiny strands against her skin and on the pillow all around her. The white comforter comes to her waist, but her right knee is bent, angled out invitingly, and the rosy buds of her nipples are high and tight梛ust begging to be sucked.
And I抦 so tempted to rip this shirt right back over my head and pounce on her. To kiss her hard, stay the night. It would be so good.
But it抯 only a pipe dream right now. A fantasy.
Because Dad-life calls and there are three great kids who need me at home. So I grip the doorknob behind me without turning around, so I can keep looking at her, and then I back out of Vi抯 bedroom and out the front door.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Violet
揝ir, please don抰 try to get up.?
For the next few weeks Connor and I continue to see each other. We go to the movies or out to dinner, and we come back to my house for long, sweaty, sex-filled hours. Sometimes we go jogging and have sex in the shower afterward.
Sometimes we skip the jogging and just go right to the sex.
揥hat抯 your friend抯 name??
And I didn抰 know sex could be like this. Playful and teasing, rough and dirty, tender and intimate. Sometimes all at once.
But always incredible. Always with an intense connection between us梔rawing us together梑efore, during, and long after.
揥hat did he drink? Was it just alcohol or drugs too? You won抰 get in trouble but I need to know.?
Sex is an amazing part of our relationship梑ut it抯 not the only part. We talk too. Flirty conversations in the car and deep, naked ones in bed. We text about our day when our schedules don抰 coincide梬e joke and make each other smile.
Sometimes we don抰 do anything at all. We hang out at my house梙appy just being together.
揜un a line. Start him on fluids and pump the stomach.?
We . . . progress. Our relationship evolves, becoming steady and a part of our everyday lives. Our normal. I can feel it happening梟ot too fast, not too slow. The perfect pace.
Perfect for us.
揥hasshapenning? Wheremy? Hey, letgo. Letmego!?
At work, we keep a slightly more formal distance. I mean, everyone knows梬e don抰 hide anything梩he people Connor and I work with are our friends. And what happens in Vegas might stay in Vegas but what happens in the ED gets told to everyone else in the ED. Plus we have to report the relationship to HR because, apparently, there was a lawsuit a few years before my time and now HR is scarred for life梥o any time two people in the same department are dating, that抯 what you have to do.
But we keep it strictly professional.
All the time.
Mostly . . .
揓eremy, you need to calm down. I抦 going to put an IV in your arm so we can give you medicine and get you better,?I tell the college kid who抯 neck deep in alcohol poisoning梬hich could lead to coma and death. He was dragged in, totally incoherent, by his fellow fraternity brothers.
A lot of people don抰 know this, but nurses do: rage isn抰 the most dangerous emotion to have to deal with.
That trophy goes to paranoia, every time.
揘ah! Nogetaway!?
Jeremy starts thrashing the minute he sees the needle. I grab for his arm, trying to hold it down without sticking either of us梑ut panic makes him strong.
揌elp! Aliens! Haaalp!?
He roars something about probes and abductions, but it抯 hard to make out with all the kicking and flailing.
He throws out his left elbow in the struggle, catching me in the nose梥napping my head back and making my vision white out.
揝on of a bitch!?Connor shouts.
Someone hands me a cloth and I press it to my face, tasting blood in the back of my throat and feeling wet warmth on my lips.
揜estraints梟ow! And get security in here!?
The veins in Connor抯 forearms stand out as he pins Jeremey抯 right arm down.
Orderlies and nurses converge, strapping his struggling wrists and ankles to the gurney as he curses them out.
The second he抯 secured, Connor tells his resident, 揝tart the gastric suction when the line抯 in桰抣l be right back.?Then he抯 guiding me into the exam room next door. 揕et me look at that.?
He sets me on a stool and sits across from me.
揅onnor棓
揇on抰 talk.?
His eyes shine sharp with anger and his face is a tight mix of fury and concern as he sticks rolled gauze up both my nostrils.
Forcing me to breath out my mouth條ike a caveman.
Then he presses his fingers carefully below my eyes, along the bridge of my nose, checking my teeth and jaw.
揑 don抰 think anything抯 broken.?
揅onnor棓
揌ow抯 your vision? We should do an X-ray just to be safe.?
揅onnor!?I push the stool back and stand up, finally getting his attention. 揘othing is broken, I抦 fine. And you can抰 do what you did in there just now.?
He leans back, eyes narrowing.
揂nd what did I do, exactly??
揧ou can抰 slap every zonked-out patient in restraints to try and protect me. Or drag me out to an exam room for every bump and scrape.?
My stopped-up nose undercuts the righteousness of my speech梞aking my voice honky and nasally like a talking goose.
Connor stands up too梙is movements harsh and uncompromising.
揑 would抳e put that asshole in restraints, period.?
揑 was handling it. This is a part of my job.?
揟aking an elbow to the face from an idiot frat boy is not part of any nurse抯 job梟ot on my fucking shift. The fact that you抮e my girlfriend is the reason I have to stop myself from walking back in there and beating the shit out of him while he抯 in restraints. Two totally different things.?
I stare at him梞outh-breathing for two solid beats.
揑抦 your girlfriend? Like . . . officially??
I assumed we were headed in that direction but hearing him say it out loud is different. It makes me feel all lit up inside, my heart skipping and bouncing around like I抳e been transformed into a human pinball machine.
揥ell . . . yeah.?His brow ruffles but he doesn抰 look sorry he said it. 揑 mean, that抯 how I think of us. If it抯 okay with you.?
I smile梐nd I really hope there抯 not blood on my teeth.
揑t抯 completely okay with me. It抯 perfect.?
Connor抯 dimple comes out to play梩he corner of his mouth inching up into a smitten smirk.
揋ood.?
揧ou know, that actually brings up something else I wanted to talk to you about.?I take the gauze out of my nose because this is not a conversation I抦 having with tampons protruding from my nostrils.
揑 have an IUD.?
揘iiice.?Connor exhales.
I roll my eyes.
揑t didn抰 feel so nice going in. Buuut, I figured we should put it to good use and . . . ?
?. . . get some blood tests,?Connor finishes for me. 揂nd rely on the IUD for birth control.?
揈xactly what I was thinking.?
No one can ever say we medical people aren抰 true romantics.
揧ou can write up the order for the lab and Melissa can draw my blood before I head home,?I say.
揋od, you抮e awesome.?Connor抯 eyes caress my face, softer now. 揧ou know that, right??
I laugh, cherishing the warmth spreading through my stomach.
揑t抯 always nice to hear.?I move toward the door. 揥ell, boyfriend梬e should get back to work.?
揤i, wait.?He wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me back. 揧ou have dried blood on your face. Come here.?
Connor grabs a few alcohol wipes, tilts my chin up, and gently dabs at my skin.
揑 am so sexy,?I tease, looking at the ceiling. 揑 don抰 know how you can resist me.?