Chapter 5
Lillian
T he corridor leading to the operating rooms were noisy but mostly empty.
The rooms had been filled almost constantly since the storm began, but thankfully it was mostly small repairs.
Lillian was heading into her third surgery for the night, and this one was going to be a bit tricky, but it was something she had done many times before.
The patient had been part of the major accident on the interstate, and one of her vertebrae had been chipped, causing a lot of swelling and pressure on her spinal cord, but it should be a simple fix; Lillian just needed to make sure her mind was clear.
Shoving all thoughts of Jade and her ridiculous unprofessionalism aside, she stepped into the scrub station and looked at the timer.
She began scrubbing her hands and arms, trying to force out the thoughts of Jade.
A warm current of electricity flowed through her when she thought about how close she had come to kissing her in the break room.
She could almost feel Jade’s lips against hers.
Damn it . Lillian set her hands against the sink and leaned forward, she needed to get this out of her head.
This spinal reconstruction surgery in front of her wasn’t difficult, but it was extremely delicate, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted.
She checked the timer again; she needed to start over.
She focused on her hands, on the running water.
She acknowledged the scent of the antimicrobial soap, the sterilization equipment in the room.
She looked up at the patient on the table, waiting for her, the anesthesiologist sitting by her head, prepared to put her under.
She started counting the seconds along with the timer.
Very soon, she was focused. No other thoughts were in her mind other than the surgery at hand.
She stepped into the OR, the sounds and smells invigorating.
The machines monitoring the patient’s vital signs blinked and pulsed calmly.
Her blood pressure was elevated, but that was to be expected.
She nodded at the anesthesiologist, who then covered the patient’s face with a mask. Within minutes, the patient was asleep.
Lillian worked with care and precision. This was her home, her happy place.
She cut into the skin, though the muscle, knowing exactly what she was doing, her movements flawless.
She made it to the bone, resetting the cartilage and pinning the vertebrae in place.
Even the patient’s blood pressure started to stabilize.
She checked the reflexes on her feet, the signals were carrying though exactly as they were supposed to.
Lillian smiled slightly. This patient would not have been able to walk again without this surgery, but Lillian was able to make sure that she would.
She would still need some physical therapy, and it would take some work, but soon this patient would be back on her feet and living as she had before.
Once all her checks were done, she went back to the incision site and closed.
Another successful job done. Lillian’s chest swelled with pride.
She left the final checks to her staff and left the operating room to scrub out.
When she pushed through the door she saw Jade standing over the sink, her dark eyes watching her.
“Nice work,” Jade said, though there was a slight smirk on her face.
“I know,” Lillian said and began to wash her hands.
“I’m sorry,” Jade said, giving Lillian some space.
Lillian narrowed her eyes as she finished scrubbing her hands. This was very different from the way she imposed herself into Lillian’s space in the breakroom. Maybe she had noticed that she had gotten too close. A bolt of heat flowed through her at the thought.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you earlier,” Jade continued.
“It was the right call,” Lillian said as she dried her hands.
“Look, I’m trying to apologize for making you uncomfortable,” Jade said with exasperation.
“You mean, for how completely unprofessional you’ve been acting?” Lillian snapped. She wasn’t sure why she was being so defensive. The smart, professional , thing to do here would be to accept the apology and move on, but for some reason she couldn’t.
“I wouldn’t call it completely unprofessional ,” Jade said, her voice growing icy. “If you had shocked her again it would probably have killed her.”
Lillian opened her mouth to retort, but she knew Jade was right. “Fine, I’ll admit the ER and trauma are your area, but surgery is mine.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Jade asked, her cheeks warming.
“How I treat my patients, and how I talk to their families is my business, not yours,” Lillian said with a lift of her chin.
“Are you talking about Stephanie?”
“Of course,” Lillian said, turning her back on Jade.
“She was not just your patient. I pulled a bar out of her chest while you relieved the pressure—in case you forgot.”
“I don’t ever forget things like that, and I know how complicated those surgeries can be, so I made the call,” Lillian said.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Jade said and rolled her eyes.
“Not likely,” Lillian retorted and pushed past her to leave the scrub area. Much to her annoyance, Jade followed her.
“That was already handled, taken care of, we both said our piece and now it’s done,” Jade said as she trailed behind Lillian.
“Fine, it’s done,” Lillian said and stepped through the doorway into the stairwell. Jade pushed through the door behind her.
“Look, I’m trying to be nice here, something that doesn’t happen in this job very often,” Jade snapped.
Lillian whirled on her, stepping into her space. Jade’s eyes tightened, but she didn’t move. “Trying to be nice? Like what I was doing when I waited for you?”
Jade took a step forward and Lillian’s heart started pounding. “Maybe nice just doesn’t work for us,” Jade practically hissed.
She was so close that Lillian could smell the soap on her.
Her dark hair pulled tight against her head only accentuated her sharp cheekbones and wide lips.
Her almond eyes became pools of heat as Lillian looked into them.
She wanted to touch her. She wanted to trace her finger down her cheek almost as badly as she wanted to slap her.
All thought and reason seemed to evaporate, and Lillian reached out and grabbed Jade’s ponytail.
She pulled enough to tilt Jade’s face toward her and kissed her roughly.
She fully expected Jade to respond with a slap or a shove, but instead, Jade grabbed the lapels of Lillian’s lab coat and pulled her closer.
Lillian felt herself being shoved against the wall as Jade’s lips devoured hers.
Lillian pushed her tongue through Jade’s lips and swirled it around in Jade’s mouth.
Jade’s sharp intake of breath sent Lillian’s nerves into shock.
Fire coursed through her, and she couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t get deep enough.
She grabbed Jade by the back of the neck and pulled her closer, their teeth clicking against each other almost painfully.
Jade’s hands slipped down the front of Lillian’s coat, sliding across the silky material of her dress until she reached the hem and slid her hands underneath. Every place her fingers touched felt like it was on fire.
Lillian ran her hands down Jade’s back and pulled her until their bodies were pressing against each other.
Jade’s hands trailed around Lillian’s thighs, lifting her skirt and caressing the curve of her ass.
Lillian’s hands found the bottom of Jade’s scrub top and slipped beneath it, caressing the hot, smooth skin of her back.
Jade moaned softly and Lillian could feel her core heat to the point of boiling.
Lillian didn’t think she’d ever been this turned on, this desperate for someone’s touch.
She needed Jade’s touch, her heat. She wanted Jade’s lips all over her.
She wanted to touch every inch of Jade’s skin, to kiss and lick every curve, to taste Jade’s core.
Jade picked up one of Lillian’s legs and wrapped it around her waist, her fingers slipping dangerously close to that sensitive place between them. Lillian moved her lips across Jade’s jaw and down to her neck, savoring the taste of her skin.
Jade’s phone chimed, and suddenly Lillian was acutely aware of where they were. Anyone could walk into this stairwell at any second. Her face flushed deep crimson as she pulled back. Jade looked at her phone with irritation.
“I have to go,” Jade said, her voice thick and rough.
Her lips were swollen and her cheeks were red, her eyes heavy and lidded.
Jade leaned forward and kissed her again, firmly, before turning and pushing back through the door.
It almost felt like Jade was trying to hold on to her for a few more seconds.
Like she was afraid that this moment would fall away and never come back. Or maybe Lillian was projecting this.
Lillian sagged against the wall. What have I done?
she chastised herself. This was beyond stupid—this was almost unethical.
Her body almost hurt where Jade’s hands had been; she had never wanted someone so badly.
She could feel how wet Jade had made her with just a kiss.
Lillian shook her head and scoffed. This was so much more than just a kiss—this was a potential catastrophe.
She leaned against the wall, letting the cold from the bricks seep into her body and slow down the heat that was still racing through her.
Her legs still felt like jelly when she tried to walk down the stairs toward the ER. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She still had the rest of the night to work with the woman—how was she even supposed to look at her?