“Bring it. I’ve flattened guys like you in my sleep. If you weren’t so busy fisting your cock and playing her ‘professional daddy,’ you might finally see the only way you’ll have Heavenly is in your dreams.”
“Outside. Now! I’m going to rip your head off and shit down your throat.”
Instead of leaping to his feet and stalking to the parking lot, Seth frowned. “Holy shit.”
“What? Are you too much of a pussy?”
“No, you stupid bastard. I’d wipe the parking lot with your ugly face,” Seth tossed back. “Listen to us. Don’t you get it?”
“Get what?”
“The way we’re fighting…” Seth waved his hand between them. “Doesn’t this feel like Hammer-and-Liam déjà vu?”
Fuck. The jackass had a point. The two of them were heading down the same path they’d helped Hammer and Liam navigate less than a month ago. The difference was, those two had been friends for a decade before battling bitterly for Raine. Finally, they’d realized they needed to share her, but the war leading up to that truce had been ugly. More than once, Beck had been sure it would end in casualties. There’d certainly been enough curses hurled, fists thrown, and blood spilled.
He and Seth had zero history. They also had zero trust. And zero intention of sharing a drink, much less Heavenly.
“There won’t be any fighting. There will be me protecting the girl and you fucking off.”
“It must be tough to pretend you’re so altruistic when your dick is that hard.”
“Get your thoughts out of my pants.”
“We can trade one-liners all night, but I’ve got your number.”
“Yeah? Lose it. I’m going to make sure you never lay a finger on her.”
“You can’t stop me.”
Beck cocked a brow at him. “Watch me.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Thank God it’s Friday.
Heavenly sat in the metal chair next to the nurses’ lockers at the back of the ER and groaned in relief as she tore off the ratty athletic shoes that had long ago ceased to support her instep. The hole near the heel would soon become noticeable. Tomorrow, she’d have to find the time—and money—to search the second-hand shops for another pair, before she started her new job. Of course she’d rather spend the holidays with her father, in case this was their last together. That hurt, but she had to be realistic. And practical. Since the break from school afforded her time, she had to spend every possible moment making money to cover their mounting bills.
She’d never waitressed before, but she was willing to work hard. The tips at this place were supposedly generous—not surprising since the uniform barely covered the essentials. In time, she’d get over her self-consciousness. She hoped.
With a sigh, Heavenly opened her locker. Thankfully, she found her backpack and its contents untouched. Even better, the few precious dollars she possessed were still in her wallet.
During her first few days at the hospital, the nurses had played some harmless pranks on her, which she’d written off as hazing. But the following week, someone had painted a slur inside her locker. A few days later, her forty dollars for groceries had disappeared. Heavenly suspected Kathryn was responsible. The nurse specialist had become particularly petulant once Dr. Beckman turned attentive and protective.
Heavenly shoved her shoes in her backpack with a sigh and donned her sandals. As she made her way toward the street exit, she spotted Dr. Beckman in the lobby, lounging in one of the chairs and glancing at his watch. Was he waiting for someone?
She hadn’t seen him since he’d left the party abruptly. The insecure part of her had worried he no longer wanted to spend time with her because he saw her as the little girl he always called her. She’d missed lunches with him, not because he made sure she ate every day, even in his absence, though that was nice. No, each moment she spent with him, she soaked him up like a sponge—his dissecting intelligence, his robust laugh, his cutting humor, his dark eyes that held a hint of the devil.
At the sight of him, her heart skipped a beat. “Dr. Beckman?”
His head snapped up, and he stood. “I was hoping to catch you. Sorry I haven’t been at lunch the last couple of days. A few patients with difficult conditions and…”
He’d sought her out to apologize and explain? Oh, my gosh. She smiled in giddy relief. Having him near again made Heavenly’s world feel right once more.
“How dare those life-or-death patients be so demanding?”
“Yes, well… Thankfully, they’re going to live.”
“Of course. They have you.”
She shouldn’t flirt when he didn’t want more than a professional relationship, and she tried not to. But nothing changed the fact that he made her both gooey and shivery at once.
Then again, so did Seth.
And that baffled her.
For the hundredth time since Raine’s party, the big blond PI’s verbal seduction whispered through her head and made her ache.