Master of the Dark Side: A Novella (17 page)

Wonderful
. A doctor who hated nurses and made Virgil lose his temper. She’d just give the receptionist the list for Laurette and get the heck out of Dodge.

In the clinic, the small waiting room stood empty. No one sat at the receptionist’s desk. Summer tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently.

Noise filtered through the door leading to the exam rooms. Someone vomiting. A man shouting, “Dammit, get over here. I need—” Cursing. Sounded more like an emergency room than a clinic. An ominous amount of blood had splattered across the tile floor.

Well, it appeared Doctor Prima Donna had problems.
Leave
? Summer glanced at the front door, sighed, squirted handwash from the dispenser on her hands, and headed to the back.

One empty room, another, then…chaos.

A woman, dead-white, sat on the floor in a corner, shaking and crying. Across the room, a young man knelt in a pool of vomit. Lovely.

A beefy male lay on the exam table, covered in blood. Something—maybe an axe—had laid his upper chest open right down to the ribs. Probably the gory sight had toppled the woman and, at a guess, the med tech.

Standing over the patient, the gray-haired doctor was cursing—very inventively—and plainly needed another set of hands.
I’d rather kick you. Really hard
. Summer sighed again, tossed her coat on a chair, and grabbed a pair of gloves from a box on the counter. “You got an ambulance called?” she asked as she pulled them on.

His head jerked up. Gray hair, drawn face, sharp blue eyes behind glasses. “About an hour out,” he snapped. “I need some help if you could keep from puking and—”

Summer snorted and glanced at his supplies. The pile of four-by-four sponges he’d used for direct pressure was almost gone. Looked like he might need to tie off a spurter too. The cupboards along the wall were well stocked, and she grabbed a dressing set, absorbable sutures, more gauze four-by-fours, and set up a sterile field on the tray table.

The doctor grunted and set to work.

Summer smiled down into the patient’s dazed, pain-ridden eyes. “We’ll get some of the bleeding stopped. Then I can give you something for pain. Hang in there a little longer.”

He managed a nod.

The doc stared at her for a second. Then his attention returned to the wound. She silently assisted. Once the doc had gotten the bleeding under adequate control, he irrigated, then worked on packing the wound.

With a bare minimum of talk, Summer started an IV and gave the patient some morphine, pleased when the lines of pain on his face eased. She tucked blankets around him, reassured the woman whose color was returning, and set the med tech to cleaning up his mess and the blood.

She ignored the doctor whenever possible. Truly competent, she’d noticed, and surprisingly sweet with the patient—now that he wasn’t cursing—but the narrow-minded jerk didn’t hire nurses, and he’d made Virgil mad enough to yell. She still wanted to kick him.

After the ambulance crew finally arrived and took the patient away, Summer washed her hands and turned to see the doctor watching her.

“You’re the nurse Virgil told me about,” he muttered. “I don’t like nurses.”

God, why did she ever choose a career where she had to deal with doctors? “So I’ve heard,” she said, cold but polite. Fighting never accomplished anything…although right now, it sure sounded tempting. “I brought in a list of things Ms. Laurette needs. Virgil will see to the installation, but some equipment requires a prescription for Medicare to cover it.” She dug in her pocket and set the paper on the counter. Two points to her for not throwing it at him.

His scowl deepened. “You’re a hospital nurse. What do you know about home medical equipment?”

“I worked closely with the discharge planner.” She picked up her coat.

“Hold up,” he barked.

She glanced at her watch. She needed to find Virgil, wherever the heck he’d gone, and get her butt on the road. “You’re welcome.” She pulled open the door of the exam room.

He slapped the door shut. “Jesus, you’re as stubborn as Masterson.”

Yeah, look who’s talking
. She folded her hands in front of her and assumed an I’m-being-extremely-patient expression.

He blinked as if in disbelief, then said, “I haven’t had good luck with nurses. After my… Well, after one nurse didn’t work out, I went through two more.” He eyed her, then removed his hand from the door. “One handled the patients well, but she had the judgment of a stump, and the other bawled like a baby every time I snapped at her.”

He frowned at the med tech, who still looked green. “I thought I might train someone, but maybe not.”

Well, at least the guy could admit he made a mistake. Good for him. Nonetheless, she was running late. She gave him another long-suffering look.

To her surprise, he barked a laugh. “No wonder you impressed Masterson.”

When she edged toward the door, he wedged his foot against it and continued talking. “You’re experienced, coolheaded, and excellent with people.” He glanced at the paper on the counter where she’d listed the equipment she recommended and had starred the ones needing prescriptions. “You’re organized.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Want a job?”

*

From the porch
swing of the lodge, Virgil waited as Summer parked her car and stepped out. Smiling a little, she arched her back and stretched, as if reaching for the sky.

Fucking-A, the woman simply took his breath away—like after a winter storm, when sunlight would spill onto the untouched white of the mountains, casting the world into brilliance. And all a man could do was thank God for the gift of that moment.

He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and watched her cross the clearing. When she spotted him, joy lit her eyes.
Thanks, God.

“Virgil!” Her pace quickened.

Just the sound of her voice made him smile. Made him harden. Made him hurt to think she’d leave.

But he’d go with her. As she trotted up the steps, his resolve firmed.
I can’t give her up
. He’d find a job in her town up north. He could live without the Sierras.

“Logan said you hadn’t checked out, so I waited here.” Virgil rose and pulled her against him, rubbing his cheek in her hair. She responded as she always did, softening in his arms. Offering herself. Sexiest woman he’d ever known.

“You jerk. I went nuts trying to find you.” When she frowned up at him, he captured her lips for a long, gratifying kiss. He slid his hands down, discovering that the jeans he’d loaned her were well past skintight. With a hum of pleasure, he curved his fingers under her round ass and murmured, “Be very polite right now, sweetheart. After last night, you’re too tender to fuck senseless.”

Pink flooded her cheeks, and then she wiggled her hips. “I’m not that sore.” Mischief turned her eyes sky blue.

His cock responded as if she’d raised the starting gate, and he almost groaned. Dammit. Now he’d suffer with a massive hard-on while they loaded her car.

She grinned at him, tilting her hips against his dick.

Hell with it, they’d just get a later start. Before he could scoop her up, she stepped back. “I’d… I want to talk first.”

Fucking-A, he might have a stroke right then and there. Good thing she was a nurse. He pulled in a slow breath. “All right.”

Summer had felt
his erection, seen the heat in his gaze. Now she heard the strained patience in his voice. How many men would back off without making a production of it? God, she loved him.

He pulled her down to sit beside him on the porch swing. After putting an arm over her shoulders, he picked up a strand of her hair, curling it around his hand. He really did like to touch. It seemed strange that someone the size of a truck could be so affectionate. She glanced up.

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he touched her cheek lightly with his finger. “I love you.”

Oh God. In the clear mountain light, his eyes were golden and filled with such warmth that it was like a force pulling her toward him. Dammit, she’d wanted to have a rational discussion. One not involving emotions. “Virgil…”

“Say it, slugger.” He was as unstoppable as spring back home—melting the snow, exposing the tender new grass, flooding the streams and tearing away obstacles. Pushing her off-balance.

“I love you too.” And she did, and her feelings for him kept growing, sending out leaves, rooting deep in her soul. She blinked back tears. “I love you so much.”

“There we go.” He kissed her gently, then said, “I took the week off. I’m going to help you move and get settled in…if that doesn’t frighten you too much. I can do a little job-hunting myself.” He ran his finger down her cheek, smiling at her startled look. “I daresay I can find work somewhere close to you.”

“I’m staying.”

“But we’d best get started and…” He started to rise, then froze. “Wait… What did you say?”

Bubbles of joy rising inside her were as heady as champagne, and she giggled, then gave him a stern look and repeated his own words back to him, “Oh, you heard me.”

When he still just stared at her, she wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him down to whisper, “I’ll stay.”

“Thank you, God.” His arms tightened until her ribs creaked, and then he kissed the breath right out of her. He was going to kill her dead—and she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

He cupped her head, holding her against him for a moment, and she heard his heart pounding under her ear. “What about your career?” he finally asked.

“The doctor in town hired me.”

“Well damn.” He pushed her back to stare into her face in disbelief. “How the hell did you do that? I—uh—”

“Yeah, I know you yelled at him.” She touched his hard jaw with fingers that trembled slightly. He’d lost his temper, not at her but to help her. How could she not love him? “So I’m staying. But…I’m going to get my own place.”

His eyes narrowed ominously. “You won’t move in with me?”

“No.”
Firm. Be firm, Summer
. “It’s too soon. We need to see how it goes. So I’ll get an apartment or—”

“Not an apartment. Hell, I almost forgot.” He rose and strode into the lodge in big ground-covering strides.

She stared after him.

A minute later, he returned, a small quilt bundled in his arms.

She frowned. “You wanted a blanket?”

“Didn’t want him to get cold,” he muttered and opened the quilt to drop something in her lap. Something that squirmed with soft, soft fur, long drooping ears, big brown eyes.

The spaniel puppy bounced up to frantically lick her chin, wiggling in joy.

“Oh, look at you… You’re so cute.” Laughing, Summer glanced up at Virgil. “You got a puppy?”

“Nope.
You
got a puppy.” He smiled at her, and the love in his eyes filled her heart to overflowing. “I planned to come with you, but if you refused and left without me”—his jaw tightened as he repeated—“if you left alone, you’d be hurting almost as much as me, and you’d need something to love.”

As he took his seat beside her, she buried her face in the puppy’s soft fur, trying not to cry. He’d have tried to make her happy even if she left him. How could her heart keep expanding without bursting? Still holding the squirmy puppy, she stood and plopped down on Virgil’s lap.

He rumbled a laugh, and his arms came around her and the pup, offering a warm shelter of protection. Here was everything she ever wanted.

He’d said, “
I learned a harsh lesson this year that I should never assume someone knows how I feel
.” That applied to her too. “I love you, Virgil.”

“Now that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” he said softly. He cupped her cheek. “I will always do my best to fill your needs.” It sounded like a vow. The sun lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled, and his voice deepened with controlled power. “Since it appears I’m a fucking pervert…a
dom
”—his smile flickered—“that means you will fill all of mine.”

At the undeniable command, a wave of heat surged over her, melting every single bone. He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.

“Yes, Sir,” she whispered. Then she raised her chin. “But I’m still going to have my own place. At least six months.” Surely she could hold out for that long, just to make sure they really were suited.

As he studied her face, she realized he was reading her like an open book…and he’d only been a dom a little while. The memory of last night came to her—his powerful hands and hard voice controlling her. A tremor ran through her. What would happen as he grew more experienced? She lifted her gaze.

Watchful intelligence burned in his level eyes…and then he gave her a slow, utterly confident smile.

Oh God, she’d be lucky to last a month.

~ The End ~

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Master of the Dark Side
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My Liege of Dark Haven

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