Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(32)

Unbelievable! I glared at all of them. Had this been anyone else but the cop who almost arrested me I would have probably been privately laughing right along with them, but joking about sedating and groping him was not funny.

“What? He’s freaking hot. You know we’re just kidding. Go. Tend to his wounds,” Sherry teased, shushing me away with her hand.

Unfortunately, I had to agree with her on that part.

When I reentered his exam room, I had a hypodermic needle loaded with Lidocaine on the small tray in my hand and my nerves wound extra tight, trying not to imagine his penis. “You ready?”

I heard the rustle of the hospital bed behind me, presuming he was looking forward to receiving stitches as much as he would be getting a tooth pulled. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, Doc.”

I wished I could say the same, though his words seemed to be a double entendre. I fumbled with the prep tray, stalling.

“Erin, look at me.” His voice brooked no other choice.

As soon as I did, he smiled gently and said, “How’ve you been? Everything okay?”

I glanced over my shoulder to ensure we were alone. Everything was not okay, but I didn’t know him well enough to discuss it. I’d been emotionally twisted over everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours and was barely hanging by a thread.

Instead, I nodded and shrugged, doing my best to appear convincing and professionally detached. “Just surprised to see you again.”

“Me too.” A small dimple appeared on his cheek. “I thought maybe you were still mad at me.”

Yeah, no… maybe. I hoped no one was within earshot. “I just don’t want to have to explain anything to them,” I whispered. “But I don’t think anyone here knows what happened… how we, um, met. I looked all over the local news sites earlier, but I didn’t see anything.”

“And you won’t,” he stressed.

I wished I could believe that.

“Hey, you have to trust me. I made you a promise, okay? Nothing is going to come back on you. Your job is safe here.”

“I’ve worked so hard…” Adam’s sincerity tugged at my heart. “Are you sure?”

He sighed. “Come here.”

I twitched at his request and melted a bit under his commanding gaze. When I hesitated, he held out his hand. Instant attraction pulled me right to him.

Adam placed his good hand over mine, sending his warmth right through my chilled skin.

“Cold hands,” he murmured.

I gulped. “Warm heart, though.” I felt a million tiny impulses when he slipped his fingers around mine, as if he had every right to take possession of me. And man, did my body want him to take possession. His simple gesture seemed so natural and completely foreign and totally comforting all at the same time, making me feel dizzy and incredibly lonely.

He pegged me with those amazing eyes. “I never go back on my word. Ever. If I tell you that you’re good, you’re good. Okay?”

My spine stiffened just a bit at his direct order not to doubt him. A small “okay” came out of me, feeling it in my gut that even though I didn’t know him I could trust him.

“Okay,” he breathed.

“I need… I need to examine you now.”

Adam glanced at our entwined hands, brushing his thumb over my skin before relinquishing his hold. A hint of a smile appeared.

The cut had fragments of dirt and debris within. “This looks like it hurt.?

He grunted a little at that. “It did.”

That deep rumble in his chest was sexy as hell. “I need to give you a local. I’ll numb this up, we’ll irrigate it, and then I’ll stitch you up, okay?”

“Am I going to live?” Again with the sexy smirk and innocent eyes.

“Probably. But the medical bill afterward might kill you. This might burn a little at first.”

I wondered how many panties he’d separated from women with that wicked grin. “Then do what you have to, Doc.”

Adam’s fingers toyed with my hospital identification badge hanging off my breast pocket. “Doctor Erin Novak,” he said with husky exhaustion, ignoring the needle. “Good stick, by the way.”

“Thanks. I’m trying to be gentle.”

“You did real good.”

“I actually stuck you more than once.”

His nose wrinkled a little. “I know. I felt it. Thanks for not jabbing me.”

Before I could stop it from happening, I winked at him. “You’re welcome. We’ll give that a few minutes to numb you. Your tetanus shot is still current, so you’ll only get one needle stuck in you tonight.”

“Lucky me,” he grumbled.

One of our new interns slid her perky ass into his room. Megan was still fresh; she hadn’t been at this long enough to have the spark squashed out of her enthusiasm. “Doctor Novak, do you need help?”

Megan would have been more convincing if she’d actually been looking at me when she asked that question. I was just about to tell her “no” to make her just go away when she said, “Doctor Vonore told me I’m to assist with the suturing.”

Of course Miriam would remind this one to come bug me; she always paired me up with the lazy ones. This Megan girl had no desire to be in emergency medicine, letting it be known to all who would listen she’ll be happy once this rotation was over with. I sighed; after all, it was part of my job to mentor the new interns no matter how long we had them.