I close the door behind me and move to the sink, where I pull out the white bag from the back of my pants, set it on the counter, then discard the dirty towels. I wash my hands and slap a pair of gloves over my fingers. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice. You can’t walk around bleeding all over the place, and if you don’t take care of this now, you’ll have a nasty scar to remind you of this day for the rest of your life.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he says dryly.
Sighing, I turn around and lean against the counter while narrowing my eyes at him. “What are you so afraid of?”
His nostrils flare. “I’m not afraid of anything. I just don’t want or need stitches.”
“I’m telling you that you do. Don’t you think I’d rather be reading a book in my hammock right now than tending to an adult baby and his temper tantrum?”
Kingston’s head tilts, and his eyes blaze with fury. “The fuck you just say to me?”
I smile softly, trying to hide the fire that just burst to life in my chest, then walk toward him like his daring eyes don’t bother me at all.
Kingston is a passionate man, on and off the field. And if there’s one thing I’ve always had a weakness for, it’s men with a passion for what they do and who they are. It’s why I fell for my ex, the other APRN in training. He loved the job almost as much as I did, to the point it became a competition of who got to work first and who got to tend to the next patient. But looking back, I see now that the passion was all I fell for. There wasn’t anything deeper there. After he cheated on me, it didn’t break my heart like I expected it to.
I step up to Kingston, our foot-and-a-half height difference causing me to lift my chin several degrees higher than normal. “Sit down, Kingston.”
He dips his head slightly. “No.”
It takes me an entire inhale and exhale to snuff my frustration and try again. “You are such a baby.”
His nostrils flare again, and the fire in my chest roars in response. “You already used that insult. Try again.”
The half growl-half scream that slips from my throat can’t be stopped this time. “I just want to look at it again. There are other types of stitches, you know? Maybe you can get away with liquid, but we won’t know that until you sit your butt down and let me do my job.”
Kingston’s eyes lock on mine for a hot minute, and I can only imagine what’s going through his head right now. Maybe he wants to submit a formal complaint to Anderson. Or maybe he wants to tell me to go to hell. He is nearly three times my size. I can’t do a single thing to stop him if he wants to walk right out that door. But he doesn’t make a move to leave, argue, or threaten to talk to my boss. Instead, he slowly sinks until he’s sitting directly in front of me, and he doesn’t say a word.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I place my foot on the pedal near the floor and push down to lower Kingston’s seat. He’s too tall, even sitting down, so I wait until he’s a couple of inches below me and release the pedal.
A smile lifts my cheeks, and I realize just how much satisfaction that gave me.
“What’s that smirk for?” he growls. When I just shrug, he raises his brows. “Do you like this position, Nurse Silver?”
I stay silent, praying I don’t let another emotion slip. The truth is, this entire battle has been an unexpected adrenaline rush, and I don’t want him to see how much I’m enjoying it.
“You do, don’t you?” The corner of his mouth tips up. “I have to say, I could get used to you being on top if that’s what you prefer.”
It takes everything in me to maintain professionalism while Kingston’s hot mouth moves closer. I can feel each breath he releases. I can smell the blend of crisp, woodsy scents he uses to mask an entire day of being outdoors. And at this angle, with the window at his back and his piercing green eyes fixed on me, his head tipped up, I don’t know how I manage to speak through the flock of flutters coming to life in my chest. He’s the epitome of perfection, if only he didn’t have to open his mouth.
Ignoring his comments completely, I lift my hand to move over his where he’s still holding the towel. I cover his hand with mine and gently pull it away from the wound, happy to see the bleeding has finally slowed.
“Well, it looks better than I thought, but I recommend closing the wound to prevent infection. It might sting a little when I start, but it’s not a terribly deep cut. It should heal quickly. What do you think?” A few beats pass until I dare another look down to find him searching my face. “What?”
His gaze snaps to mine. “Nothing. Just figuring out if I can trust you. That’s all.”
“What are you afraid of?”
His lids narrow slightly. “Considering how defensive you’ve been since I got here, you might take pleasure in causing me pain.”
Biting down on my lip to keep from laughing, I shrug. “Even if that’s true, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ll have me to thank when your pretty face looks good as new.”
A hint of a smile touches his lips. “You think my face is pretty?”
“Hideous, actually. But it’s in the job description to ease my patients’ egos along with whatever ailments.”
His laugh is soft but dripping with something that burns deep in my belly. “I’ll venture to guess there’s one ailment you could tend to quite well.”
“I’m not opposed to pulling in HR to coach you on the no-no’s of sexual harassment.”
His grin widens. “You wouldn’t do that. You like me, even if you want to pretend you don’t. I can see right through you, Nurse Silver. Every girl needs a bad boy in her life. I could be yours.”
“Bad boys aren’t for me. I’m more into the sweet-and-charming type.”
“Oh yeah? I can be sweet and charming too.”
“Somehow, I doubt that. Now, hold still and shut up while I stitch you up.”
He backs away slightly. “Aren’t you going to wait for my consent?”
A giggle slips past my throat until I’m clapping a hand over my mouth while he glares at me.
“Is that funny?”
I shake my head. “No. Sorry. It’s just—remember those forms you begrudgingly signed for me?”
He glares like he already knows the answer.
“That’s all the consent I need. Can we just get on with this already, Kingston?”
“I really wish you would call me King.”
A wave of heat climbs up my neck and into my cheeks. “That would be the day, now, wouldn’t it?”
His grin transitions into a satisfying smile, then he nods. “Yes. Yes, it will be.”
THE BEST MEDICINE
KINGSTON
Fuck, that hurt.
Not the liquid stitches. That shit stung a little, like Silver warned. Silver’s constant rejections are starting to frustrate me, though. It was cute at first, because she’s sexy as hell, and it’s refreshing to have to work a little to get a woman’s attention. But Silver isn’t like anyone I’ve ever met. There’s an air of mystery to her that I desperately want to figure out. And by this point in our bickering, I would have expected her to give me some sign that I’m growing on her.