The woman froze. He could feel the seconds tick by and a soft lock of her hair slipped out of the loose knot, dancing beside her cheek before she impatiently tucked it behind her ear.
He heard her sharp intake of breath and could tell that she was attracted to him. He could also see the pulse throbbing at the base of her neck, saw that pulse speed up after his question. Yeah, she felt it too.
“How about if I treat your back, and then we can discuss dinner?” she offered.
He didn’t buy it. “Agree to dinner first, then fix my back.”
She laughed, but apparently, she was at the end of her negotiations. “No. Now shut up, Colonel and let me do my job.” She moved behind him and pulled on a fresh pair of gloves. Damn it, he wanted to feel her fingers against his skin. Not the damn gloves!
The doc gave several instructions to Nurse Cathy who hurried away. Zeke ignored the dizzy sensation and straightened up. There was a touch of fire along his back, then a cooling spray. A few moments later, the burning pain vanished and he breathed a bit easier.
“So, what’s your name?” he asked, determined to get something out of this miserable situation.
“Doctor Fisher,” she replied. “Or you can call me Captain Fisher. That works too.” He could tell by her tone that she was concentrating hard, but since she was behind him, he couldn’t see what she was doing.
Abby worked quickly, tightening up her stitches carefully while Cathy continued to sponge away the blood. As she closed the wound, the bleeding slowed. Since the wound was so long, he needed a lot of stitches. Not to mention, it was pleasant to work on a man with this many muscles. Every touch of her fingers against his skin was warm.
She gave Cathy more instructions and Cathy moved quickly. She was an excellent nurse and Abby enjoyed working with her. She was knowledgeable and efficient, and also a genuinely nice person. She was married with four kids, and the stories Cathy told cracked everyone up. With four boys in the house, Cathy was always on her toes. So coming to work in the emergency room was an escape from the chaos of her home life.
Still, Cathy kept shooting Abby pointed looks, the traitor! Abby didn’t attempt to interpret those glances. Instead, she concentrated on sealing up the wound with careful stitches, not wanting anything this long and horrific to mar the man’s perfect body.
Thirty minutes later, Abby straightened and admired her handiwork. “Okay, that should do it,” she announced. The man twisted slightly, then hissed as the pain in his back began to return. She removed her gloves, tossing them into the appropriate receptacle. “You’re going to be a bit stiff and sore over the next few days as your body heals. But I was able to stop the bleeding.” She looked at the rest of his back, stunned by the other wounds. None of them were as long, but there were several! This man had seen some action, she thought!
“We’ll put some antibacterial ointment on the wound now, but you’ll need to apply more twice a day, and change the bandage daily. Do you have someone who can help you?”
“How about dinner?” he asked.
Abby laughed, impressed with his tenacity. “You’re going to be asleep in about a half hour. The blood you lost is going to take your body a while to regenerate. Your body is working overtime.” She pulled her prescription pad out of her pocket and started writing. “I’m giving you a prescription for pain pills and antibiotic ointment. And absolutely no physical exercise for at least five days.” She looked at him pointedly. “No exercise of any kind.”
He laughed and her body perked up at the sound. Was it just her imagination, or was his laugh almost sensual?
Tearing the page off the pad, she handed it to him. “Cathy is going to put a bandage on your back.”
“What about dinner?” he called out just before she stepped out of the curtained off area.
Abby snorted, but paused with one hand still gripping the curtain. For a moment, she looked a bit exasperated, but one look back at the man changed her mind. “I’ll tell you what, if you’re still awake tomorrow evening, I’ll have dinner with you.” She smiled, shaking her head. “Let your body heal, Colonel.” With that, she moved on to her next patient.
Zeke watched her leave, impressed and aroused. He was glad she hadn’t noticed because his body’s reaction to her challenge might have scared her away.
Then the bustling nurse returned, carrying a pair of scrubs and several bandages. “I brought these for you. Your tee-shirt was trashed and I’m guessing you don’t want to walk out of here in those pants.”
He blinked down at the cute nurse who was probably in her forties, but with a look in her eyes that warned him that she wasn’t going to take his crap. He almost laughed at her business-like tone, which didn’t match the teasing glint in her eyes.
“Why’s that?”
She snorted, laying the scrubs on the bed behind him. “You seriously have no idea how much blood you lost today, do you?”
Zeke shrugged, then hissed as a streak of pain shot through his back and shoulders. “I’m fine.”
The nurse rolled her eyes. “Right. Well, we’ve already heard about your heroics today. Apparently, you saved the lives of several soldiers when you tackled the guy using live rounds. So, we’re all impressed with you. But seriously, the ‘scratch’ on your back is a big one. Take it easy for a while, Colonel.” She moved behind him. “I’m going to bandage this up so your clothes don’t rub against it. You should keep a bandage on this for two more days. After that, you should be healed enough to go without, but keep applying the ointment for the next ten days to prevent infection.”
By the time she finished with her instructions, she was also finished bandaging up his back. “You’re all set,” she announced. Then moved to stand in front of him, hands fisted on her hips. “Don’t give up on her,” the nurse murmured. “She’s been here for six months and hasn’t dated anyone!”
Then she was gone.
Zeke looked out at the bustling emergency room, absorbing that tidbit of information. No one in six months? That meant she hadn’t had sex in six months either. Damn, that must be hard! Zeke liked sex. A lot!
Carefully, he tugged the scrubs top over his head, trying not to pull on the stitches. It was difficult, but if he moved slowly, it wasn’t too bad. As soon as he got back to his apartment, he’d cut the damn shirt off and find a shirt that buttoned in front. Zeke didn’t like to admit it, but maybe the bullet had done more damage than just a scratch. Thankfully, it was over and he could leave the hospital.
But even as he went, he scanned the area, searching for and eventually finding the pretty Doctor Fisher. She must have felt his gaze because she was writing something on a chart, but stopped and looked up, right at him.
He nodded and she blinked. The connection made, Zeke walked out, ignoring the idiot PFC who hurried to his side. Yeah, he was going to have “words” with Mike for assigning some idiot PFC to watch over him. Like he needed a babysitter! Although, if Zeke were honest with himself, if Mike hadn’t ordered Jones to accompany Zeke to the hospital, he probably wouldn’t have gone. So…okay, good for Mike. If Zeke hadn’t gone to the hospital, he might not have met the lovely Doctor Fisher. And now that he had, Zeke had a mission.