Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Gaines
I’m not on duty, but everyone in this ED knows that they need to get the hell out of my way when I hear someone in distress.
I’m racing around Jordan Whitman as he sprints toward the waiting area.
I easily beat him.
People are rushing toward where Dr. Otis Carnbet is on his feet.
He’s my mentor and one of my favorite people on this earth.
His wife, Irene, is currently in an exam room.
She was brought in by ambulance just as I was leaving the hospital.
I stuck around to add my two cents to Dr. Whitman’s diagnosis.
“I’m fine,” a soft, very familiar voice says from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. “I’m not having a heart attack.”
I say excuse me twice before I push my way through the crowd to get to where Otis is standing.
I’m crouching immediately when I see who he’s pointing at.
My Eloise.
“What’s going on?” I toss that question out there, hoping someone is playing some sick, twisted joke on me.
Otis is the first to speak. “She’s experiencing radiating pain from her stomach through her chest. She’s flushed. Her resting heart rate is one hundred and twenty-five.”
Eloise looks up at him. “You were taking my pulse when you were holding my hand?”
Otis shrugs. “It’s a trick of the trade.”
She smiles. “I’m not having a heart attack.”
He’s right about her looking flushed, so I rest a hand against her forehead. “You’re not fevered.”
“Did you forget everything I taught you?” Otis laughs. “I didn’t say she had the flu, son. I said it was a heart attack.”
I shake my head and smile. “She’s not having a heart attack.”
“How do you know that?” he questions. “Do you have a crystal ball?”
The people who had gathered around us disperse to reclaim their seats. Jordan motions for Otis to join him. “Irene can see you now.”
“She can see me whenever she damn well pleases,” he responds in a gruff tone as he sets off with his cane. “Save that young woman’s life, Dr. Morgan. Don’t make me look bad.”
As soon as he’s out of earshot, I sit next to Eloise. “What’s going on with your chest?”
She leans close to speak in a whispered tone. “You’ve seen it. It’s pretty special, isn’t it?”
She has no idea how fucking beautiful her tits and the rest of her are, but I’m not in the mood to joke with her.
“Dr. Carnbet said you’re experiencing chest pain.”
“For a split second. It disappeared like that.” She punctuates that with a snap of her fingers. “I’m hungry for real food, and I’m super tired. I think that’s all it is.”
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
“Just ice cream.”
I push to stand. “Give me ten minutes to check on Dr. Carnbet’s wife, and then I’ll take you home.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She stands, too. “I can get home on my own.”
“We’re not going to your apartment, lamb,” I correct her. “I’m taking you home with me.”
“Humor me.”
Eloise shakes her head. “I’m not letting you take my blood pressure, Gaines.”
“What if I strip?” I try to strike a bargain. “Have you ever had your blood pressure taken by a nude doctor?”
“You do not want me to answer that.”
For fuck’s sake.
I can’t tell if she’s joking or not so I chuckle, hoping she joins in. She doesn’t.
“Eloise?”
Her hands drop to her hips as she surveys the interior of my apartment. I’m proud of the fact that I own it, but beyond that, it’s a barren space that has only ever functioned as a cocoon of sorts for me.
It’s the barrier between my job and me. I seek solace here. I don’t fuck here. I rarely eat here, but I always sleep here.
“Yes,” she answers. “Did you have another question, Dr. Morgan?”
I drop the bags in my hands on the couch and go to where she’s still standing in the foyer of my apartment. I curl my index fingers through two of the belt loops on her jeans to tug her closer.
A smile starts on her lips, but she stops it.
“Kiss me,” I say in a hoarse tone.
She greedily accepts that challenge. Cupping her hands around my face, she gifts me with a slow, sensual kiss.
I swear to fuck, that is all the fuel I need to get through my days.
“I’m fine,” she insists. “You can do that magic trick Irene’s husband did and take my pulse when I’m not aware.”
“He’s going to fucking love it when I tell him that you refer to him as Irene’s husband.”
“That’s who he is,” she says with a soft smile. “He told me it’s his full-time job, and he loves it.”
“He loves her.”
“Will she be all right?” Concern taints her tone. “I know you can’t share personal information, but she’ll survive, right?”
“She will,” I say with confidence since what brought Irene to the ED tonight was remedied with a subtle change to one of her heart medications.
Her gaze trails over my face. “How long have they been married?”
The answer is easy since I attended their fiftieth wedding anniversary dinner six months ago. “A little over fifty years.”
I expect that will bring her joy, but her lips dip into a frown. “That’s a very long time. They must have gone through a lot together.”
“They love each other.”
She closes her eyes briefly. “I’d like to help you cook.”
“I’m pouring takeout soup into bowls and cutting up fruit.” I keep her in place. “I think I can handle that.”
“I want to help.”
“You’re taking a bath.” I step back to push a strand of hair back from her face. “I slipped a bottle of bubble bath into the shopping cart when you were distracted by my ass.”
Her hand jumps to her mouth. “What? I was not looking at your ass.”
“The walls in that store we were in are lined with mirrors, lamb.” I tap my ass. “Don’t tell me what I did and didn’t see when I stole a glance.”
“Your ass is quite an ass,” she admits. “It’s not your best feature, but it’s in the top five.”
“So, my cock holds the number one spot?”
“No.” She trails a fingertip over my bottom lip stopping to kiss the spot she bruised with her teeth this morning. “Your eyes do.”
Jesus. This woman is going to ruin me.
“I’ll start your bath.” I step back to find some air to breathe because I feel like my lungs are collapsing. “I skipped lavender for something vanilla scented.”
“You’re perfect.”
I want to be. I wish to fuck I was, but there’s not a man walking this earth who can claim that title.
“Strip.”
She laughs. “What is it with you and that word? Does it work with all of your lovers?”
I stop her hands with mine when she goes for the top button on her blouse. “I don’t have any other lovers, Eloise.”
“You will,” she whispers.
“Not while we’re doing…” I struggle to find the words.
She steps in to save me. “This.”
“This.” I lean down for a kiss. “I’m not taking another woman to bed. I don’t want you to fuck anyone either.”
“My pussy is yours until further notice.” She tilts her head. “All of the rest of me is, too.”
I turn around under the pretense that I’m going to grab the bubble bath out of the bag, but I use the brief reprieve to take a breath.
I want all of her, including her heart. I don’t deserve it. I could never do enough to earn it, but regardless, it’s something I’ll want until the day I die.