She made quick work of his beard. Once she was done, she stepped back and appraised her work. Great, he was a fucking canvas now. A slow smile spread across her face, a fucking pity smile. He knew he was hideous, and now, so did she.
Sloane held a mirror in front of his face before he could look away. He blinked and then blinked again for good measure. His hair looked good. His face was...
He turned away.
“Get it away from me,” Chase said, hating to see the reminder of what he’d become. It was funny how a year ago, he’d had no problem looking in the mirror.
“Well, I think you look very handsome,” Sloane said with a pleased smile.
“Who fucking cares what you think,” Chase bit out coldly.
If he hurt her feelings, she didn’t show it. Sloane smiled patiently as she walked back to the sink. As she searched for something on the counter, he felt his eyes start to drift shut. For a moment, he considered fighting against the exhaustion that was threatening to take over, but in the end, he simply gave in.
Moments later, his eyes blinked open when something was nudged into his hand. He looked down to find a new toothbrush covered in toothpaste loosely held in his hand. Without thought, Chase started brushing his teeth. A few seconds later, she took him completely off guard when she knelt down in front of him.
Anger surged through him as he brushed his teeth a little harder than necessary. This was just what he fucking needed, a beautiful woman reminding him that he was no longer a man. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t his type. She was still a woman and he was a man that she didn’t know. She should be wary of him and she sure as hell shouldn’t be kneeling down in front of him like he was a fucking eunuch.
She continued to hum as she clipped his toenails, momentarily distracting him from his justified anger. Chase cringed at the looks of them. He’d meant to get to them sooner. He opened his mouth to apologize and then promptly shut it. He wouldn’t apologize for anything.
Once she was done, Sloane stood up with a cheery smile that made him want to hurl. Instead, he spit a mouthful of toothpaste on the floor between her feet simply because he could.
“Lovely,” she muttered, squishing her face up adorably and nearly making him smile.
“Alright, moving along,” Sloane said softly as she returned the clippers and his toothbrush to the counter before returning to his side. Smiling, she grabbed the handheld showerhead and turned the water on while he watched her every move.
Sucking in a breath, Chase steeled himself for the revenge that she was about to lay on him. This was a popular move among the nurses that he’d dealt with. They’d turn the water on at full blast and “accidentally” hit him with scalding hot water or leave it cold, put the nozzle just out of reach, and walk away, leaving him to freeze his balls off. Of course, their selection depended on just how much he’d managed to piss them off and what they thought they could get away with.
Cold or hot, he was ready.
Still smiling, she turned the water on and pointed the nozzle away from him.
“Hmm, tell me if this is okay,” Sloane mumbled as she carefully moved the nozzle until it was spraying by his hand, but not touching. “Well?”
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, Chase flicked his fingertips in the water, expecting it to be ice-cold. He was surprised to find that it was hot but not too hot. In fact, it was perfect, just the way he liked it.
“It’s fine,” he said in a bored tone.
She nodded her approval and placed the nozzle in the lower holder where he could reach it, something no one else had ever done for him before. He watched her hands like a hawk watched its prey, waiting for her to try and change the temperature of the water. When she didn’t, it made him even more nervous.
What the hell was her game?
Sloane stepped out of the way and pointed the water at him. It startled him, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he sat there, letting the hot water seep into his bones. It felt good. Not that he would ever admit it.
Instead, Chase grabbed the side rail and leaned forward to wet his hair. A bottle of his favorite shampoo was thrust into his hands as he moved to lean back. Taking the hint, he lathered his hair and then grabbed the bar of soap and scrubbed his body, but he didn’t do it for her. No, he did it for himself. It felt so good to have hot water running down his body.
Long after he was done washing, Chase continued to sit there enjoying the water. Soon he found himself nodding off but managed to force his eyes open when he felt a towel rub over his skin.
“It’s okay. Let’s get you dried off and into a warm bed,” Sloane said soothingly.
Too tired to argue, Chase simply sat there and allowed her to dry him off, move him to his wheelchair, and wheel him into his room. A few minutes later, he was aware of the scent of fresh laundry and the feel of crisp, clean sheets against his skin.
“Your urinal is by the bed and I’ll be right back with a pitcher of ice-water in a few minutes. I’m going to leave the bathroom doors open just in case you need me. Okay?”
His last thought before he dozed off was wondering why a woman would be foolish enough to leave her bedroom door open for a man she’d just met. Then it hit him.
He really wasn’t a man anymore.
Chapter 3
“I’m so glad that I took this job,” Sloane said dryly, nodding as she glanced at the bathroom door that had been slammed shut in her face with a mumbled, “Fuck off,” to start her day off right.
Sighing heavily, she turned around and debated putting her things away. Normally, she liked to wait a week before she settled in to make sure that the job was a good fit, but something, mostly his file, told her that probably wasn’t going to matter. It also told her that he probably wouldn’t end up being her favorite patient. That was fine, Sloane told herself as she headed for her bags and placed them on her bed.
She didn’t need to like him in order to do her job. It would just make her job easier, Sloane thought, biting back another sigh as she put her clothes away. It would also make her life easier, Sloane mused as she grabbed her toiletry bag and placed it in her nightstand drawer, knowing better than to put her toothbrush within reach of a patient that hated her.
For a moment, Sloane debated leaving her shampoo and body wash in here only to decide to chance it since she hadn’t seen any Nair in his bathroom yesterday. She grabbed her travel bag and knocked on the bathroom door. When she didn’t hear anything, she tried the doorknob only to find it locked.
“Chase?” Sloane said only to sigh and head for the hallway, absently noting that he was already sitting in front of the living room television with a beer. For a moment, she considered saying something, but…
That was a battle for another day.
They had other things that they needed to work on today, Sloane reminded herself as she walked into his room and found herself biting back a groan when she saw the mess he’d left behind. Sighing, she walked into the bathroom and placed her things in the shower before shifting her attention to the mess he’d left behind.
As she threw his dirty clothes in the hamper, she went over everything they had to do today and sighed again because something told her that her new patient wasn’t going to make this easy on her. Telling herself that it was fine, because that’s what she did so that she could handle this job without losing her mind, she made his bed, noted that he hadn’t used the urinal that she’d left by the bed, and headed back to her room. She grabbed his file along with her phone and iPad and headed to the kitchen, absently noting that he was still in the living room.