Chapter 2
TWO
JUDE
When the beautiful brunette opens her eyes for a second time, I suck in a breath. Her eyes are quite possibly the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen. They’re dark and rich, like the waters around the glaciers just off the coast.
Plus, the way she’s staring up at me right now—like I’m a hero or something—has my heart-rate picking up speed.
Clearing my throat, I shake my attention and turn my attention to the top of her head.
“Lucy, my name is Dr. Jude Knight.”
“I’m Lucy.”
I grin at that. Apparently, she missed the part where I already knew her name. I can’t really blame her. She did just hit her head after falling down several steps.
Her eyes widen suddenly. Her mouth falls open as she gasps.
“Wait. Where am I?” she asks. Her eyes flicker around the room.
“You’re in my clinic,” I say gently. “Silas and I brought you in here so you’d be more comfortable. Do you remember what happened?”
She nods and winces. “Ouch. That hurt.”
“I’m not surprised. You have a pretty impressive goose egg on top of your head.”
She reaches up to touch and cringes again.
“Yeah.” She drops her hands to her sides. “Maybe I just won’t move for a little bit.”
“That’s probably a good idea. I’ll just finish my exam and we’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.” I clamp my mouth shut. I’m talking way too fast. In an effort to comfort her, I give her a thin-lipped smile. I reach for my clipboard. I fumble with it before it falls on the floor. “Crap.”
Reaching down, I pick it up and promptly drop it again. I’m usually not this clumsy. Hell, I’m a trained and board-certified surgeon. I’m good with my hands.
It’s just, right now they—and my mouth—don’t seem to be working properly.
I’ve worked with more patients than I can remember. But for some reason, I’ve only been with this woman a few minutes and she has me rattled. That’s not good. I’m a professional, damn it. I have to look at her like she’s any other patient and give her the care she needs.
But, she’s not just any patient. That much is clear.
Still, the sooner I complete this examination, the better. For both of us.
As I continue the exam, I repeat my earlier question. “Do you remember what happened?”
“I was walking down the steps. I wasn’t paying attention and I fell.” Her eyes widen. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few minutes. Now, where exactly do you feel pain.”
“It’s mostly in my head. Though, that’s not as bad as I might’ve thought considering I fell down a flight of stairs.”
“Fortunately for you, I think it was only a handful of steps.” My jaw clenches at the thought of her falling down a full flight. If she had, I’m not sure we’d be talking right now. “How about here?”
I move my fingers to her neck. I focus on keeping my breath and heartbeat regular instead of on how smooth her skin feels against my fingertips.
“Not really,” she says. “My legs and arms hurt a little. But just like bruises.”
I turn my attention toward her limbs. “It doesn’t look like anything is broken. But we should probably run some X-rays just to be safe.”
She gives a short, humorless laugh. “Just watch, it’ll probably turn out that I’ve broken both arms and legs?”
“Because I had a feeling I’d be the person who ended up in a cast on this girls’ trip.” She rolls her eyes but remembers not to shake her head. “That’s why I decided not to hit the slopes and stayed back to read.”
She gasps again.
My heart leaps into my throat. “What’s wrong?”
“I was carrying a pile of books. Where are they?”
“Don’t worry about them.” I pat her shoulder in comfort. But it’s a mistake. The soft fabric ignites a jolt of lust in my belly. Dropping my hand to my side, I clear my throat. “Silas picked them up while I carried you. They’re in a pile by the door.”
“You carried me?”
“I did.”
She sighs. “That figures too.”
“How so?”
“For the first time in my life, a handsome man sweeps me off my feet and carries me out of a room. It would figure I was unconscious for the whole experience.”
I chuckle at that. “You’re funny.”
“A lot of us plus-size girls are.”
I ignore her remark. To me, she looks perfect.
“Let’s see about those X-rays. But first”—I hold up a neck brace—“let’s put this on.”
“Do I have to? I told you my neck didn’t hurt.”
“It’s just as a precaution. You did fall down a flight of stairs.”
“I thought you said it was only a handful of steps.”
Shaking my head, I gently ease the brace under her neck, careful not to hurt her. As I pull the Velcro in place, my thumb grazes her skin. My dick twitches.
“Get it together,” I mumble to myself.
“What was that?”
“I just need to get this Velcro together,” I lie. Turning my attention back, I get the brace on her. “Come on. Let’s go take the X-rays.”
We take the X-rays and send the images to the radiology techs I work with in Anchorage. While I don’t see any signs of alarm from my study, I’m relieved when they return an all-clear within ten minutes.
“The good news is you didn’t break any bones, including your neck or spine,” I say.
“Woot, woot.”
She says it so dryly, I can’t help but grin again. “I’d still like you to keep the neck brace on for the rest of the day. And we need to keep an eye on the hematoma.”
Her jaw drops. “Hematoma? That sounds serious.”
“That’s the technical term for the goose egg.” I fold my arms across my chest to keep myself from giving in to the urge to give her another comforting pat. “You also have a mild concussion. You’re going to need to take it easy today. And I don’t think you should be alone.”
Her face falls.
The pain on it breaks my heart. “What’s wrong?”
“My friends are out skiing.”
“We can call them back. They’d be here in half an hour.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
I frown. “You don’t want them to come back?”
“I don’t want to ruin their good time.” She gives a wry grin. “I may have wanted to spend our vacation on a tropical island, but they have been excited about coming here for months. I hate the idea of them wasting a day or two stuck here in the lodge because I don’t know how to walk.”
“Well . . .” I shift from one foot to the other. “I could keep you company.”
Some of the sadness seems to lift from her eyes. “Don’t you have to work?”
“You’re staying in the lodge?”
“I am.”
“Then they can reach me if they need anything.”
She eyes me seriously a moment. I can feel myself growing hard under her stare. I’m glad to be wearing jeans—a perk of being a doctor at a lodge—instead of the scrubs or khakis I had to wear back at the hospital in Seattle.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asks.
“I don’t mind.”
In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more than spending a little time getting to know this beautiful, sassy woman.