I have those. She gestured to the journals and he shook his head.
I guess Im not surprised, he said. God forbid you actually take time off when youre off. So. Youre really giving up the bed for me?
You didnt like the hospital, remember?
Hmm.
Nicole glared at him. What does that mean? Whats wrong with the bed?
He blinked sexy eyes at her. Waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Youre not in it.
Wasnt he something. Im taking the couch, big guy.
You dont have a couch, you have an ancient, scary-looking futon masquerading as a couch. The only other thing you have out there is a nice-size hole in your ceiling and a mess on your floor.
Nothing that cant be fixed. She did have the futon, ancient or otherwise, and put together with a blanket, shed be fine. Goodnight, Ty.
He leaned back against her pillows and looked at the ceiling, his faced lined with pain. Arent you going to read me a bedtime story?
Sure. Once upon a time there was this idiot who fell through a ceiling and landed on his head.
He closed his eyes. Ha ha.
So why are you afraid of hospitals?
I just dont like them, all right?
All right. He didnt look at her, didnt move a muscle, and yet she knew in that moment his pain was more in memory than physical. Look, dont get too comfy. Ill be waking you every few hours.
He cracked open an eye. Is that a promise?
To check on your hard head, Ace.
I got something else you could check on.
Uh-huh, and with all the drugs in you, itd work really well, too.
A ghost of a cocky smile played around his mouth. Try me.
Goodnight, Ty.
Night. Nicole?
At the door already, she turned.
Why did you take me home with you?
She lifted a shoulder. Because you were hurt.
Truth.
She sighed. I dont know why.
He nodded, and closed his eyes again. Almost immediately, his breathing evened out as the drugs finally claimed him.
For a long moment Nicole stood there, just staring at him. She had a man in her bed, when shed never put one there before, much less yearned for one. Thered always been too much to do, too many people to save.
Now he lay in her bed, and she was yearning. Yearning and hurting at the same time, because hed never get serious. Oh, she believed he was serious about getting into her purple panties.
But for him, this was simple lust.
That scared her. It scared her because she thought maybe, just maybe, she could feel more than that in return.
NICOLE DIDNT GO to sleep, but kept herself busy, mostly continuing to watch her patient. She swept up some of the mess in her living room. She cleaned out whatever was growing in her fridge, and she reassured Taylor and Suzanne that Ty was fine. Twice. After an hour and a half, she sat at his hip, munching on a bag of pretzels. Ty?
He didnt budge.
Ty?
I knew youd be back, begging me to take you.
Im here to check on you.
Then check on me. His voice was groggy but there was nothing groggy in those eyes when they opened and watched her with an intensity that made her squirm.
How are you feeling?
Id feel better if you stopped sucking on that pretzel. Its making my blood drain southward.
Youre fine, she decided, swallowing the pretzel and leaving him to go back to sleep, which he did instantly.
She went to the living room and proceeded to watch the clock tick. After another hour, she went into the bedroom again. Moonlight streamed over the bed, highlighting the long, lean form lying there. Hed kicked off the covers. He was sprawled on his back, one arm over his eyes; his big chest rose and fell evenly. She knew this because he wore only a pair of boxer briefs, ribbed cotton, charcoal-gray.
They fit him snugly just below his navel. He was bruised and cut over a good portion of his torso. He also had scars that had nothing to do with his fall. A long, nasty-looking one low on his flat belly that looked like a knife wound. A puckered one near his collarbone that looked like an old burn, and another on his arm. There was a long scar down one muscled calf, and another on his thigh. And then there was the tattoo hed shown her-an intricate design winding around his left bicep.
And he called her a warrior.
She had bits and pieces of him now, and had put together a picture of how hed grown up and become the man he was. There were still quite a few pieces of the puzzle missing, but he wouldnt welcome her curiosity. She shouldnt feel that curiosity at all, but did. Hed raised himself, a fact she couldnt deny made him all the more fascinating.
How could his mother, any mother, turn her back on a child? What kind of mother did that, let her own son think she didnt want him?
That it hurt her, hurt her for him, was another concern. She shouldnt feel this way, this possessive, protective way. He certainly wouldnt want it, nor, for that matter, would he want her compassion. He was far too proud for that.
And yet she couldnt tear her eyes off his beautiful form. So she sank to the bed at his side and wondered what the hell she was going to do with him.
You going to watch me sleep all night?
She jumped back up, pressed nervous hands to her stomach. Youre awake.
Want to see how awake?
Since he was talking with his eyes closed, very carefully not moving a muscle, she smiled. Do you know where you are?
In your bed. Without you. His voice was low, husky. Unbearably sexy. Want to check anything else? My temperature maybe? Im hot, darlin. Really hot.
Youre hurt.
Not that hurt.
She eyed him. He still hadnt moved a single muscle. And suddenly, the doctor inside her vanished, replaced by a mischievous woman who knew she was safe. You dont think so? You really think you could?
I know it.
Yeah? Then prove it. Come get me, big guy.
He pried a bleary eye open, closed it again when she sent him a cocky smile.
Come on, come get it, she dared, making him groan.
Cant you help a man out a little and come down here?
Nope.
Ah, now see, thats just plain old mean.
Goodnight, Ty.
We already said that.
Were going to say it several more times yet tonight. You can thank your concussion for that.
He swore colorfully, making her smile again. A man who could put together those descriptive words was going to be okay.
The next time she checked on him, he was in such obvious discomfort and pain she ended up sleeping in a chair at his side to watch over him more closely. In the deep of the night, he shifted, then groaned, and she was there, reaching out to touch, to soothe. Though he didnt say a word, she knew he was awake, and terribly uncomfortable. Im sorry, she whispered.
Me, too. Im sorry I fell through your ceiling. Im really sorry I did that.
Need another pain pill?
Yeah. Ive decided I like those.
And the doctor? How about her? She had no idea why she asked, and held her breath, wishing she could take it back.
But a weak smile touched his mouth. Maybe I decided I like the doctor more than a little.
Thats only because Im holding the goods.
His eyes opened at that. You have the goods all right.
She blushed. Blushed.
And Im not talking about your tight little hot bod either, Dr. Nicole Mann.
She had no answer for that, but as he drifted off, none seemed to be required.
BY MORNING Nicole was the hoarse, groggy one. Since when had one single patient taken so much out of her?
Since she cared. Too much.
But she had an even more pressing problem at the moment. She wasnt convinced Ty could handle the day by himself. He hadnt yet managed to get out of the bed without her support, and though he did keep up a healthy stream of come-ons, she knew damn well he was all talk and no go.
So she did it. For the first time in her entire professional life, she picked up the phone and took the day off.
And wondered if shed gone completely off the deep end.
8
AFTER SHED CALLED in to the hospital, Nicole stood in the middle of her living room, idle. Idle.
What was she going to do with herself with only one patient to take care of?
The entire day loomed large in front of her, when shed never allowed herself a leisurely moment in her life. With a shrug, she pulled up a stack of medical journals and other related work reports she could read.
But for the first time since she could remember, they didnt appeal. So she sat in front of the TV shed turned on only a few times since shed purchased it several years ago.
And in no time flat, discovered the utter, addictive joy of daytime television. With the remote in hand, she clicked back and forth between Bewitched, I Love Lucy and Court TV.
Then the phone rang, annoying her. So did her caller.
Hello. The lazily cultured voice was Dr. Lincoln Watts. Slacking off today?
Nicoles finger tightened on the phone. Im entitled to call in.
Did you stay up too late? His voice lowered. Or did your lover keep you in bed this morning?
I wont be in today, Dr. Watts. Thats all that concerns you. Period, she said with shocking calm, and because the commercial was over and I Love Lucy was starting again, she hung up the phone. She stared at her hand on the remote and realized she was shaking with fury.
Not even two seconds later came the knock on her door. Damn it. She got up, and gaze still locked on the TV, opened the door.
Morning. Suzanne held a covered tray that smelled so delicious Nicole promptly forgot about the TV.
Not for you. Suzanne slapped Nicoles hand when she went to lift the cover. For Ty. Tell him I hope hes feeling better.
You brought Ty food and not me?
Yes, and dont cheat him by eating any of it. He needs his strength to heal. She whistled slowly at the hole in the ceiling of the living room. That poor, poor baby.
Hes not a baby. Nope, as Nicole had now seen just about every inch of his long, hard, perfectly formed body, she could say that for certain. And food doesnt heal. She lifted her chin. My skills as a doctor are going to do that.
Suzanne shot her a look of pity. Oh, honey, have you got a lot to learn about men. Theres only one way to reach them, and its not, contrary to popular belief, through their penises. Its through their stomachs. Now give him this tray with a nice morning smile and youll see what I mean. You can smile this early, cant you?
Nicole glared at her.
Suzanne laughed. Well, honestly, I dont see you smile that often. Actually, I dont see you do anything but work.