“Not Dove?”
I snorted, enjoying the banter, and deep inside, I knew she did too. When I wasn’t being a pain in her ass, our conversations could be enjoyable, but I preferred pushing her buttons to interacting with her.
I reached the bathroom, and Georgia politely turned her back as I shuffled toward the toilet. I paused as another quip popped into my mind, and as I turned to glance at her, I caught her heated stare in the mirror. Her mouth might say she didn’t want me, but her body language and that look said differently.
“Gonna need your help, Nurse Georgia. Looks like this job will require both your hands.”
She scoffed, rolling her eyes, and rushed out, the soft heart-shaped curve of her ass taunting me as it swung away.
I finished my business and easily returned to the bed, pulling myself onto it effortlessly. From the crack in the door, I could see her watching me, her face flushed. Was it anger? Embarrassment? Something more? She turned quickly before I could deduce the cause and grabbed some paperwork before hurrying away.
My eyes drifted to the clock and confirmed she would be coming off her shift soon, and it would be a long twenty-four hours before I saw her again. Hopefully, by then, my new liver would be in place, and I’d be on the mend, ready to convince her that since I was no longer her patient, those moral standards she clung to didn’t matter.
And if I still was her patient, well, I’d have to convince her that morals aren’t so important after all.
georgia
“We have a problem in 341.”
I’d just gotten on shift when they warned me. Sighing, I set my coffee cup down on the countertop and nodded. “Alright, what’s the problem?”
“He’s refusing to take his pills. Wants to see you. We told him you weren’t working yet.”
“So, he said he wanted to wait until I got here?”
Sheila nodded as she rolled away from the desk to grab something from the printer. I stopped watching her as I picked up my coffee cup and gulped several mouthfuls. I needed this latte from Rhythm and Brews to deal with him.
“You’re going to get me fired,” I said as I walked into the room.
Hunter was watching TV shirtless and looking like he didn't have a care in the world. “Oh? And how’s that?”
My eyes lingered on his chest and arms. He had significantly more tattoos than I remembered from last time. I knew he had an angel of death on his back because“it’s always chasing me,”but now, he had more swirls of ink and rainbows of color than visible skin. I could hardly take it all in, and I wanted to know how he’d managed to get all this done in such a short period.When was he last here? Six months? Maybe a bit longer.
I shook myself out of my daze, refocusing on his face, not that it was any less distracting. “People are going to start thinking there’s more going on here than there is because you are a difficult human being.”
“Maybe there is more here than you think. You just don’t see it because you’re blind.”
“I’m the blind one?” I laughed as I picked up the remote and turned off the TV to punish him before holding out the tiny cup of pills. Leveling him with my sternest gaze, I ensured he knew that I meant business.
“Eh, not right now.”
“Are you trying to kill yourself? You have an upcoming surgery. You need these to prepare.” I shook the small plastic cup, the pills jingling around melodically.
“I don’tneedthem. You justwantme to take them.” He grabbed the remote and put the TV back on, turning the volume up petulantly.
“I don’t want you to do anything, Hunter.” With my free hand, I snatched the remote away from him, pressing the off button. “I need to do my job, which right now means making sure you take these.”
“Well, let’s make a deal.”
“You’re not Monty Hall.”
“He’s dead. Wayne Brady is the new host.”
“Well, you’re definitely not Wayne Brady, either. We’re not playing this game.”
“I think we are.”
“I think we aren’t.” While he was distracted, I reached out unceremoniously and pinched his cheeks together by driving my thumbs into the hinge of his jaw, forcing his mouth open long enough for me to drop the pills inside. Before he had the chance to try and spit them back out, I covered his mouth with my hand, leaning onto the bed for better leverage.