39
Deacon
The new ER had bones now.
Steel framing rose over the packed dirt, plywood closed in sections that had been open sky a week ago, and men moved through half-formed hallways carrying tools, conduit, tile, and the thousand other things it took to turn plans into someplace people would eventually trust with their lives.
Priest, Archangel, and I stepped around a stack of drywall while the site buzzed around us.
Archangel took in the progress with his usual measured stare. “It’s comin’ along.”
Blue stood near what would become the main nurses’ station with rolled plans under one arm, talking to the foreman while Evan pointed toward the ceiling like a badly placed fixture had insulted him personally.
Lila was a few feet away with a clipboard, listening to a supervisor explain a change to the trauma-bay storage.
My attention went straight to her.
Priest noticed. The bastard noticed everything. For once he kept it to himself.
Blue spotted us and smiled. “You made it.”
“Had to come see where all the money we’ve been fundraisin’s been goin’,” Priest said, slipping close enough to brush his hand over the small of her back.
Blue rolled her eyes even as she leaned into him. “That is such a romantic thing to say.”
“I got range.”
Evan made a face at both of them. “I hate when you two are smug in public.”
Lila turned at the sound of us, and that little shift happened in her face again. Barely there. Awareness more than surprise, like neutral had become something neither of us knew how to do anymore.
I crossed to her and held out the coffee I’d brought. “Brought you somethin’, Princess.”
Her eyes dropped to the cup and came back to mine. “You remembered.”
“Always do.”
Her fingers brushed mine when she took it. Small thing. Stupid thing. Still felt like winning.
“Well,” a man said behind us, light and pleasant, “this place is really looking like it is coming together.” Every muscle in me went still before I turned.
Dr. Mason Reid stood a few feet away holding another coffee.
For Lila.
After I heard she had coffee with him, I had Ghost look him up. I feel no shame about it.
Clean-cut, all-American handsome. Button-down shirt, expensive-looking watch, doctor posture.
The kind of face hospital boards trusted on sight and mothers probably pointed out to their single daughters.
He looked from the cup in Lila’s hand to the one he was holding and recovered fast enough to annoy me.
Lila cleared her throat. “Dr. Reid. What are you doing here?”
“I was in the area apartment hunting for when I transfer.” He lifted the coffee slightly. “Thought I’d stop by, bring you coffee, check in.”
I said nothing. Didn’t need to. Priest’s gaze moved between us while Blue edged closer to him, and Evan went quiet in the unmistakable way he did when something entertaining threatened to happen.
Lila lifted my coffee. “Thank you, but as you can see, I already have coffee.”
Mason shrugged. “Then maybe you can save this one for later.”
Before Lila could answer, I took it out of his hand.
Mason stared at me. I passed it to Priest.
Priest accepted it without hesitation and handed it to Blue with a tiny smirk. “Here, baby. Have a coffee to get you through the rest of the day.”
Blue gave him a look that promised consequences later, but she took it. Apparently this was what grown men did with jealousy when punching people would be frowned upon. We redistributed beverages.
Mason cleared his throat. “Things are looking really good. I’m looking forward to working here.” His gaze returned to Lila. “Looking forward to us working together again.”
Lila drifted half a step closer to me without seeming to notice. I noticed. So did my dick, apparently, because the quiet little choice had my jeans tightening before I could do a damn thing about it.
“You’re a good doctor,” she said, polite enough to put a full room between them. “We need good doctors to provide top-notch care, so we’re happy you’re on staff.”
Something tightened briefly around Mason’s smile before the easy version returned. “Well,” he said, “I’m off to keep apartment hunting. Next stop is Tide Lofts. I heard they have some beautiful units available.”
Beside me, Evan’s breath caught.
Priest cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure they don’t have any available apartments right now.”
Mason frowned. “I saw some availability online this morning.”
Priest scratched his jaw with the solemn concentration of a man lying through his teeth. “Hmm. Maybe I was wrong. Thought I heard they were full up.”
Mason looked between us, suspicion beginning to replace confusion. “You know anyone over there? Somebody who could maybe put in a good word?”
Priest answered before anybody else had the chance. “Nope. Can’t say we do.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Beside me, Evan suddenly found the unfinished ceiling fascinating.
Mason’s smile thinned. “Huh. Okay. Well. You all have a good rest of your day.”
We gave him some version of goodbye. The second he was far enough away, Priest pulled out his phone.
I didn’t ask who he was messaging. Mason would reach Tide Lofts to discover every available unit suffering a mysterious and deeply unfortunate bout of unavailability
Childish? Absolutely.
Effective? Also absolutely.
I put my hand at the small of Lila’s back and guided her down one of the framed hallways before she could decide whether I had permission. We passed exposed studs and wrapped materials until the noise behind us softened.
Then I turned her toward an unfinished wall and braced my hands on either side of her head. “Got somethin’ you wanna tell me, Princess?”
She smirked. Actually smirked at me. “Can’t think of anything I need to tell you.”
A growl worked its way out of me before I kissed her. Her breath caught under mine, and her hands fisted in my cut before I pulled back enough to speak. “Now. Wanna tell me who that doctor is and what the deal is between the two of you?”
She exhaled, palms flattening against my chest. “I need a little space before I can explain.”
Every possessive instinct in me objected, but I stepped back anyway.
Lila drew in a breath and held my eyes. “Mason and I used to sleep together.”
The words hit like somebody had planted a fist square in my sternum. I knew she hadn’t spent seventeen years untouched. I wasn’t stupid enough to expect it. Knowing there had been men and hearing one of their names attached to her body were two very different experiences.
She saw exactly what the admission did to me.
“For me, it was no strings attached. Coworkers with benefits. Something quick. Something physical.” She folded her arms. “On-call room kind of thing. Scratch the itch and move on.”
My hands curled at my sides.
Her eyes narrowed immediately. “Jackson, don’t get all high and mighty and possessive with me. I know damn well you are not going to stand there and tell me you stayed celibate for seventeen years and pined after me. You don’t get to expect me to.”
Fair. Didn’t mean I had to enjoy it.
I closed the distance again. “No, Princess, I ain’t gonna lie and say I was a saint.
A man’s got needs.” I leaned closer, watching irritation spark against the heat already building in her eyes.
“But mine were all one-night stands. I never went back to the same person so they could think there was a chance.” I jerked my thumb toward where Mason had disappeared.
“That man there? That is not a man who thinks he’s just a friend. That is a man still preyin’ after you.”
Her lips parted.
“But you.” I moved closer until the next words belonged only to the space between us. “You. Are. Mine.”
Then I kissed her again.
She moaned into my mouth, and every reasonable thought I had scattered. My hands moved over her waist and hips before I lifted her. She came willingly, legs wrapping around me as her body settled against mine, and the sound we both made should probably have embarrassed us.
It didn’t.
She grabbed my hair and tugged. The kiss turned hotter, her hips rolling once against me, and that single movement brought back enough sense to remind me exactly where we were.
I broke the kiss.
Her eyes were glassy when she looked at me. “Why did you stop?”
That almost undid every good intention I had left.
I dragged my tongue over her bottom lip and felt her shiver.
“Because if I don’t stop now, I’ll rip your clothes off and take you in the middle of a construction site.
” My voice came out rough enough to scrape.
“And it’s been way too long since I’ve been to Heaven, baby. But that ain’t what you deserve.”
Something softened in her face. I lowered her carefully, stole one more kiss because apparently restraint had limits, then rested my forehead against hers until both of us remembered how breathing worked.
“Let’s go finish the tour,” I said. She nodded, still flushed.
I smacked her ass when she stepped past me. “But make no mistake. We’re finishin’ this later.”
The glare she threw over her shoulder would have scared a smarter man.
That evening, I walked into Lila’s apartment to find Jade sprawled across the couch with homework spread around her and one leg hooked over the arm. Lila stood in the kitchen with her hair twisted up, stirring something that smelled good enough to make the whole place feel warmer.
She looked over when I came in, and something in my chest loosened. “You can stay for dinner,” she said, casual enough to pretend she wasn’t giving me exactly what I wanted.
I dropped a kiss on Jade’s head on my way past. “Lucky me.”
She kept her eyes on her book. “That depends on whether you plan to be normal.”
“No promises.” I kept moving toward the kitchen.
Jade turned a page without looking up. “Thought so.”
I laughed and joined Lila in the kitchen. She moved around the stove with practiced ease while I found reasons to stand too close.
She handed me silverware. “Set the table.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyes cut toward me. “Don’t start.”
I was absolutely about to start when her phone lit up on the counter. Mason.