She raised fluttering lashes to him. Beck locked stares with the most startlingly blue eyes he’d ever seen. His train of thought fell off a cliff and died. Electricity sizzled through his veins. His heart chugged and pumped. Every muscle tensed. The hungry length between his legs roared to life with an urgency he hadn’t felt in forever.
Who. Was. She?
He had no idea, but fuck… Peachy pale skin. Lush mouth. Cheeks flushing rosier with every moment he stared. And painfully young.
“I-I’m the one who’s sorry. I was turned around and not watching where I was going, Doctor…” She dropped her gaze to the name stitched on his lab coat, then quickly backed out of his grip. “Oh, you’re Dr. Beckman?”
Suddenly, she looked intimidated. So, his exacting reputation had preceded him. She was probably wondering how the hell to get out of his path. He was already trying to figure out how to get her into bed.
“We haven’t met before.” He damn well would have remembered her. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Heavenly. Heavenly Young.”
The name certainly fit—and underscored every reason he’d be terrible for her. Unfortunately, that didn’t quash the growing problem in his pants, stretching and scraping against his zipper.
“Nice to meet you. You’re new here?”
She nodded. “I’m going to nursing school online and volunteering for class credit. Today was my orientation.”
“And you’ve already heard of me?”
She nodded again, her gaze dipping to the floor. The action was so naturally, unconsciously submissive Beck shoved down the urge to hook a finger under her chin and lift her gaze to his. This one would scare easily. He had no business thinking about her as anything other than a medical professional in training. Unfortunately, he still wanted to fuck her breathless.
Because he was stupid, Beck bent closer and inhaled her scent. Jesus, she smelled wholesome, like summer berries, humid breezes, and a thousand other sweet things he couldn’t name. His knees nearly gave out. His cock jerked as if she’d stroked it.
“Don’t believe everything you hear, little girl. I’m not the big, bad wolf.”
Sure, plenty of people would disagree. But for Heavenly, he’d make an exception—just like he’d make an exception for the previous rules he’d given Kathryn.
“All right.”
His reputation usually intimidated most, yet she now met his gaze straight on. So Heavenly might be shy but she didn’t lack spine. Interesting…
“Excellent. Where are you headed?”
“The front entrance. But I’ve only managed to walk in circles for twenty minutes.”
With a hospital under construction and half the elevators not working, he wasn’t surprised. “I can help. Want an escort to the lobby?”
Her grateful smile was blinding. “That would be great. I was beginning to fear I’d wander the halls for a week. This is a big hospital.”
“Once you get the lay of the land, it’s not so bad.” Grateful for any excuse to touch her, Beck wrapped his hand around her elbow and led her toward the entrance.
A pink blush stained her cheeks. It took all his willpower not to cup her face, simply so he would know what she felt like. Fantasies about putting his hands on the wet, aching parts of her filled his head. He imagined her breathless and begging for him…
His cock gave an approving lurch.
“Are you in your first year of nursing school?”
“Yes.”
“Been tough?”
“It has, but it’s worth the effort because helping people is a passion. I just didn’t realize how much I’d have to learn.”
He smiled. “I remember feeling overwhelmed a time or two in medical school. If you ever need any help, just call. Here’s my card.”
When he pulled one from his pocket and set it in her palm, she raised her big eyes to him again. His heart fucking stuttered.
Get real, man, the voice in his head scoffed. She might look as scrumptious as Little Red Riding Hood, but once she finds out you really are the Big, Bad Wolf…
She’d run screaming in the other direction.
“Thank you. You’re so kind.”
Kindness wasn’t in his vocabulary, but he’d try if it would persuade her to get naked. He’d also have to think of some way—any way—to run into her again. Because fuck his rules. He wouldn’t stop pursuing Heavenly Young until she was his.
Thursday, December 6
“Heavenly, can you find Mr. Hammerman and Mr. O’Neill and update them on Raine’s condition? Then show them where they can get cleaned up. No doubt they need it. It’s been a damn rough morning,” Dr. Beckman said, barely taking his concerned gaze off the battered brunette in the ER bed.
Heavenly couldn’t stop staring at the woman, either. The black eye, the stitched lip, and the finger-shaped bruises circling Raine’s neck broke her heart. Heavenly had heard the whispers that Ms. Kendall’s father had beaten her—and that she’d had to kill him to survive. The horror and the shock of that stunned Heavenly. Her father was her person, the one who had always loved and encouraged her. How must this woman feel after being forced to take the life of the man who’d given her half of her DNA?