Chapter 30
Robyn
The alarm pulls me up out of sleep with a horrible chirping sound that digs into my brain. I slap blindly in the direction of the nightstand and miss twice before I find my phone and switch it off.
I lie there with my face half-buried in the pillow, eyes closed for a couple of seconds, and then I remember last night.
I crack my eyes open and look over to the other side of the bed. Disappointment hits when I find it empty.
Which is stupid. What is wrong with me? Honestly.
He could not have been clearer at the start of this arrangement.
There were to be no cuddles, no romantic dinners, and definitely no sleepovers, which suits me just fine.
I am a little afraid of developing feelings for Ridge, so it’s important that we stick to the very basic rules.
I do feel like we bonded a bit last night. We talked, which was nice, since he isn’t much of a talker. Then there was pizza in bed after round three.
Then again, we did go on to a fourth round straight after, so I suppose that put it back inside the agreed terms.
Four rounds. No wonder I’m a little sore this morning. It reminds me of our first night together all those months ago.
The whole thing is insane. I rub a hand over my face and check the time. I groan into my palm. I sit up.
Yep, there’s a dull ache between my thighs.
There’s still a half-empty bottle of water on the floor by my foot, the one he opened for me last night. The pizza box is on his side table. Okay…not his side table, but the side table on the other side of the bed.
I’m excited about seeing Ridge today.
Not true. I’m excited about having more great sex later. I need to word things correctly.
I’m fizzing with something underneath the soreness and the minor lack of sleep. It’s a low, simmering kind of hum that I haven’t had in years, and it has to stop.
I get up and stretch. I groan a little, then I shuffle into the bathroom. A hot shower is exactly what I need, and as expected, it helps.
I dress and quickly dry my hair. Then I put on some makeup, spending a few more minutes on it than I normally would.
I’m an idiot.
By the time I’m ready, I have exactly two minutes to make it down to the lobby, and my mood has tipped over into bright.
I drop my keys in my bag. I throw a yogurt and a banana into a little cooler pack.
I let myself out of the apartment, double-check the lock, and head for the elevator.
Smoke is in the lobby when the doors slide open.
“Morning, ma’am.” Smoke gives me a small nod.
“Morning.” I tip my chin at him.
Brutus is in the parking garage, standing next to their SUV.
We say our good mornings.
I get into my vehicle, and they pull out behind me. I’m not too weirded out by the whole thing. I guess I’m getting used to having a shadow or two.
I pull into the staff lot at the hospital, and they walk me up.
We get to my floor. Smoke moves to the bank of elevators, eyes on the corridor. Brutus heads off down the hall toward the stairwell to do his thing.
They both give me plenty of space, which is nice.
Carla is at her desk when I come around the corner. Her head pops up the second she sees me, and her eyes go wide. She smiles like she’s about to crack open.
She wiggles her eyebrows. “And?”
“And what?” I can’t keep a straight face. It’s there before I can stop it. A huge-ass grin. I drop my bag on the corner of her desk and look at her, and the grin gets worse.
Carla’s eyes light up. “Really?” she mouths. “He came over?”
I nod and put a finger to my lips. Then I look in the direction of Smoke at the elevator, just to make my point.
“Good?” Carla mouths.
“So good,” I mouth back. My stupid grin won’t quit.
She gives this tiny little squeal and lifts her shoulders up to her ears. “Are you glad you took my advice?” she mouths.
“So glad,” I tell her. She does a little wriggle of victory in her chair.
“Back to business,” I say, clearing my throat and working hard to get the smile off my face. “I take it we had a quiet night?”
“We nothing.” Carla widens her eyes. “You didn’t.” She winks at me and then sobers up. “Apologies, Doctor.” Then her face changes, turning serious. “There was a bad one that came in in the early hours of the morning.”
My whole mood drops out from under me. I stand up straight. “What? Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“Because it was a straightforward case, according to Dr. Patel.” She lifts her hands a little. “He felt he could handle it, given the injuries. He didn’t want to drag you out at four in the morning when he had it covered. He performed the surgery, and the patient is stable.”
“What kind of injuries?”
“Dr. Patel put the file on your desk. It was a shifter male from the frontline. I’ll let him give you the full rundown. He’s still here, finishing his notes.”
I scoop up my bag. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“He’s expecting you, Dr. Keller.”
I head straight into my office and close the door behind me, going straight for the bathroom, where I change into a fresh set of scrubs.
Smoke gives me a small nod as I go by him. He falls in behind me. I take the stairs down.
We come out at the lower level, where I push through the wide double doors, and the temperature drops a few degrees.
The hangar is quiet at this hour. The bay lights are on low along one side, and bright at the far end, where Dr. Patel is at the nurses’ station, head down over a stack of paperwork.
I look over to where Onyx was lying just yesterday and feel a sense of achievement when I note that his bed is empty. That means he was able to shift back and be admitted to the “regular” wing of the hospital for shifters in human form.
“I take it the big guy graduated.” I point at the empty flatbed.
Lena is over at the supply trolley, restocking. She looks up and smiles.
“He did, indeed. Carla will have sent you the update.”
“That’s fantastic news.” I keep walking.
Hannah is in the small office off the side, on the phone. She lifts a hand at me through the glass. I lift one back.
Brody is at the wash station, his sleeves pushed up. “Morning, Doc,” he says.
“Morning. Long night?”
“Long enough.” He gives me a tired smile. “Coffee’s hot, if you want some.”
“I’ll grab some in a minute, thanks.” I keep moving.
Dr. Patel turns at the sound of my approach. He looks shattered, the way you do after a 4 a.m. case, but his eyes are still sharp.
“Robyn. Good morning.”
“Morning. Talk to me about this male.”
He nods, sliding a chart toward me across the counter.
“Shifter, mid-thirties. Came in just after three. Caught a tail strike during a skirmish out west, sustained a deep laceration across the chest and into the abdominal wall. There was muscle damage, but the laceration only just clipped the wall of the spleen. Some internal bleeding, nothing catastrophic. I went in, cleaned the field, repaired the spleen, packed the muscle, and closed in layers. Watch the drain output, but he should be fine. He will need to stay still for a day or so.”
“Vitals?”
“Stable since the end of the procedure. I’ve got Lena keeping an eye on him.”
I scan the chart. The notes are neat and complete. The drug record is signed off properly. The post-op orders are exactly what I would have written.
“Good work.” I look up at him. “Really. Solid call not to pull me in. You had it.”
“I appreciate it.” He clears his throat. “There’s one more thing. His rider was killed in the same incident.”
My stomach drops. I close the chart slowly. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah.” Patel rubs the back of his neck.
“When he comes around properly, he’s going to need a lot of extra care from us.
Maybe long-term support of some kind. As you know, the bond goes deep with these guys.
I’ve flagged it on the chart already. I’d like us to get a counselor in to see him as soon as he’s up for it. ”
“Agreed. I’ll speak to the team this morning, and we’ll make sure he isn’t on his own. He should be able to make the shift back fairly soon.”
“I want him sedated for twenty-four hours, and then we’ll see if he is able to manage it. What do you think, Doctor?”
“That sounds good to me. I’ll leave it with you. You seem to have everything under control.”
He smiles and then gets this hazy look. “Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.” He gives a small, tired smile.
“You are most welcome. You’ve more than earned your place here.”
“I’m going to finish this off and go home.”
“Go. You earned it.”
He nods, picks up his pen, and heads for the small office to finish up. I stand at the platform for another minute.
I check on the patient one last time, and all is well. Then I have a brief word with Lena about the watch over the next few hours.
She nods. “Got it. I will call you if anything changes, Doc.”
Then I head back to my office with Smoke trailing behind.
Carla looks up as I pass. “All sorted?” she asks.
“All good.”
“The order is on your desk. Top of the file. If you sign it off, I’ll get it sent this morning.”
“You are an angel.”
“I know I am.” She flicks her hair. “Oh, and a reminder: you have a meeting with finance at eleven, and Theo wanted ten minutes before that.”
I sigh. “Got it. Thanks.”
I get to my office half expecting Ridge to be there, and when he isn’t, I feel disappointed all over again.
I need to stop this.
It’s nothing more than sex.
I refuse to feel anything for him beyond that, and if I do, I will get hurt.
Ridge did open up to me somewhat last night. We did make “small talk,” something I know he normally doesn’t do. But – and it’s a big but; no, a huge but – it didn’t mean anything.
Maybe we’re friends…kind of sort of…but it doesn’t mean anything beyond that. I have to keep reminding myself of that.
No more talking. No more prying is a better way of putting it. I ask too many questions, and I’m going to stop. We’ll have sex, and then he’ll go, and that will be that.
I really don’t want to feel hurt when this ends…and it will end. That is the only certain thing in all of this.