Seducing the Boss (The Pulse Series) (7 page)

“Yeah. I know. But I struggle to see what it is about the ER that keeps you there. Seems like pretty thankless work. I’m offering you a substantial raise here.”

She sat up, deciding now might be the perfect opportunity for her to present her case about the emergency room. After all, they were pleasantly full, sexually sated, and sufficiently tipsy. They’d had numerous arguments in the past about her department and what he perceived as a lack of efficiency. Maybe tonight he’d really listen to her side.

“I’m a nurse, Kellan. Helping people is never a thankless job. But I’m not going to lie, that job is made a million times harder by a bunch of bullshit bureaucracy.”

“Say that five times real fast,” he joked. “Bunch of bullshit bureaucracy. Bunch of bullshit bureaucracy.”

She laughed before she could stop herself. Then she put them back on track. “I’m not kidding.”

His smile faded into a grimace. “Do we really have to do this tonight?”

“You started it.”

He lifted his hand, a gesture of surrender. “I guess I did.”

“Five minutes.”

He pretended to glance at a watch he wasn’t wearing. Neither of them was wearing much, actually. He’d donned a pair of shorts, and she was sporting his soft cotton T-shirt. It was emblazoned with the New England Patriots’ logo.

“We’re losing nurses because the job is almost impossible to do with any sort of humanity. We’ve doubled the number of rooms in the ER in the past five years, and with those damn times you keep imposing on us, it’s hard for us to keep up. I became a nurse because I like people, like talking to them and taking the time to find out what’s wrong. The patients are in pain and afraid. Sometimes what they need as much as medicine is reassurance that they’re going to be okay.”

“This is standard Nursing 101, Scrubs.”

She felt that annoyance that always twinged whenever she and Kellan talked about work. “I can’t do my job when I’m watching the clock. Lately I feel more like a member of a NASCAR pit crew than a nurse. It used to be when one of my colleagues took a job in another department I’d ask her why she was leaving. Nowadays, I congratulate her for hanging in there so long.”

Kellan sat up as well, facing her. “I get that, Sara. I really do. But you have to understand you aren’t the only one feeling the pressure of the shift in the medical system. I’m under similar constraints from the Board of Directors. We need to start looking at ways to streamline, to increase the output. The system of supply and demand is one of the most fundamental concepts in economics.”

It was an argument she’d heard too many times before. “Hospitals don’t exist simply to hit a bottom line. It’s not a factory or a numbers game. It’s about caring for people who are sick.”

Kellan set his wineglass on the ground and then took hers, placing it next to his before he rose. “And without that bottom line, the hospital would be forced to close its doors. And the sick would have nowhere to go.”

Her lips curved up. “So it’s the old chicken-egg scenario. Which is more important?”

Kellan took her hands and pulled her from the lounge chair. She stepped into his arms without hesitation. She loved the way she felt so completely surrounded—safe—when she was wrapped up in his embrace.

“Something like that,” he murmured. “I say it’s the egg.”

“I say it’s the chicken.”

He sighed. “I don’t want to talk shop tonight.”

She didn’t either. Not really. After all, it was a path they’d traveled countless times before. And they always ended up at the same impasse.

Ordinarily after one of their workplace debates, they’d go their separate ways and she’d stew over it for a few days. When he took her in his arms, the familiar animosity vanished instantly. Once again she was surprised by how well they seemed able to put their many-faceted relationship—colleagues, friends, lovers—into such distinct boxes.

“How about a movie?”

She was slightly surprised by his offer. They’d spent most of the day wrapped around each other, and she figured he’d be ready to ring the bell on round eighteen in the bedroom.

A movie sounded very…platonic. And nice. “I’d like that.
Star Wars
?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Depends on which one.”

“The first one they made that is technically the fourth in the series. Because I can’t stand any of those Anakin ones. You know, only George Lucas could get away with that confusing shit.”

“
A New Hope
. That’s the best one.” He took her hand and led her to the living room. Then he escaped down the hall for a moment as she found a blanket for them to cuddle under.

When he returned, she spotted the strip of condoms in his hand, and she laughed.

“Five?” she asked. “Bit ambitious, even for you, isn’t it?”

He tossed the condoms on the coffee table. “You’ve taught me the error of my ways this weekend. I’m going to start stocking condoms in every room.”

Grabbing the remote, he claimed the corner spot on the sectional, found the movie, and then reached for her. She curled up in his arms, her head resting on his chest as he absent-mindedly stroked her back.

Sara considered everything the two of them had done since waking up, and realized that cuddling with Kellan on the couch as they watched their favorite movie was probably the best part of the day for her. And that was saying something, since it was shaping up to be one of the best days of her life.

“Did you know the word Ewok was never spoken in the original trilogy? Only reason we know the name of the species is because of the credits,” Kellan said.

“Seriously?”

“Yep. And Burt Reynolds was one of the contenders to play Han Solo.”

She crinkled her nose. “That would not have worked. Did you know George Lucas originally planned to kill Han Solo at the end of
Return of the Jedi
?”

They talked quietly, continuing to share trivial facts about the movie and discussing how closely the new one mirrored the first.

Then, out of the blue, Kellan cupped her cheeks and kissed her. It was clear he meant for the touch to be brief, but it felt too good, so she wrapped her hands around his neck and held on. Kellan kissed really,
really
good.

His tongue touched hers, and he turned them slowly, putting her on her back as he came over her. Their bodies lined up perfectly on the sectional, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. He was hard, a state she was beginning to think was permanent for him.

The night before, the clever man had found the tiny erogenous zone that existed just below her ear, and he used that knowledge against her, his warm kisses sending shivers down her spine.

His eyes met hers. Typically, they were dark, hungry, intense. Tonight, there was something else there, something harder to name. He was looking at her as if she was special. It took her breath away.

“Kellan,” she whispered, her chest tight—a mixture of fear and that emotion she didn’t dare call by its name.

He tugged the T-shirt over her head, and then he gently sucked on her nipples as she ran her fingers through his thick hair.

She stroked his chest as he shrugged off his shorts and put on the condom.

Then, mercifully, Kellan found a way to take away some of the intensity, adopting the voice of one of the characters from the movie. “You just watch yourself. I’m a wanted man on twelve systems.”

Sara laughed, even as he pushed inside her. Once he was pressed to the hilt, he paused.

“The Force is strong in this one,” she added.

“And don’t you forget it.”

They chuckled at their game, but rather than move, he bent his head to kiss her. Sweet, warm, gentle kisses. Every other time they’d come together, it had been sex. There had been no mistaking that.

This time was different. It was fun and playful. And while it was less intense than the previous times, it felt more serious.

The movie still played, the orchestra soundtrack and lightsabers clashing adding to the romantic ambiance. Everything about this moment fit. It worked.

He slowly lifted his hips and set a slow, easy pace. Typically, she got lost in the quick, overwhelming bursts of pleasure produced when he took her hard and fast. This time was no less potent. She trembled with every nuance, every touch, every sensation as it blossomed. She gripped his shoulders, shocked by how quickly he’d driven her to the peak, the point of no return.

“I can’t—”

“Shhh,” he soothed her. “Let go, Sara. It’s okay. I’m there, too.”

His words were as deadly as his kisses. Her back arched off the couch as she gave in to the orgasm. They came together, their bodies straining to remain connected even after the tremors had subsided.

Kellan made no move to leave her body. Instead, he showered her with more of those beautiful kisses.

Sara wasn’t sure what to say. What to think. It was one of the most beautiful, special, amazing moments of her life. And her heart ached.

“I—” Kellan began. He stopped short, his face just inches from hers, his eyes serious.

Love you.

He didn’t say that. Sara wasn’t even sure if that was what he intended to say. But she filled in the silence that followed with those words. Because they were what she wanted to hear.

God help me.

Whatever he’d planned to say, never came. With a sweet smile, he pushed away, falling to her side and pulling her against his chest once more as the movie credits rolled and the strains of the orchestra playing the
Star Wars
soundtrack filled the room.

“Score one for the rebellion,” he joked several minutes later as he turned the TV off. It was clear neither of them intended to say anything more, and they definitely weren’t moving to the bedroom any time soon.

She closed her eyes and lay there in silence, listening as his breathing slowed to that of a man in a deep sleep, Han Solo’s voice echoing in her head.

I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.

Chapter Five

Kellan squinted against the light streaming in through his window, Monday coming way too early. He’d forgotten to pull the curtains closed last night. He glanced at his clock, jerking awake when he realized it was nearly eight o’clock. He and Sara had overslept. He’d promised to drive her back to Score to retrieve her car.

The original plan had been for him to return her to her car last night, but he’d convinced her to give him one more night. Not that she’d been very hard to convince. He had simply slid down her body, sucked her clit into his mouth, and told her she was staying.

She’d yelled out her agreement, then come. Hard.

It was no wonder they’d slept late.

What a weekend.

Turning, he was surprised to find the bed empty. He rose, grimacing slightly at his hard-on. They didn’t have time for a quickie before work, but apparently his dick hadn’t gotten that message.

He padded to the bathroom, but Sara wasn’t there, either. As he traveled through the hallway to the kitchen, he realized he wouldn’t find her in the house. It was too quiet. Too still. And he missed her instantly.

He’d never felt lonely in his own house before.

He spotted the note on the kitchen counter as soon as he entered the room. She’d propped the notepad up against the coffeepot, clearly aware that was one of the first places he’d venture upon waking. The rich scent of the freshly brewed coffee told him she’d made a pot before leaving. It was a thoughtful, kind gesture, which didn’t help his current state of mind.

Her note was short and to the point. It simply said she’d called a cab to take her back to her car and thanked him for a wonderful weekend.

While Kellan had insisted the weekend was merely about sex, there was something about her impersonal farewell that pissed him off and, well, quite frankly, hurt his feelings. Rubbing his hand over his jaw, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Tried to make some sense of why his gut ached.

It was sex. Had to be. He was going to find her when he arrived at work, drag her into his office and show her exactly how he’d planned to say good-bye to her this morning.

Turning on the shower, he tried to put Sara out of his mind. She hadn’t been wrong to leave like she had. After all, it was Monday. The time limit had expired. It was time to do as they’d said and move on. Life as normal.

However, convincing himself that was the best thing was futile.

He’d always heard friends refer to perfect Sundays, in which they described their ideal day. Before yesterday, Kellan thought he knew what his perfect Sunday was. It usually began with doing a bit of paperwork while drinking his coffee, spending a couple hours at the gym, meeting a few friends for drinks, then hitting the recliner to watch whatever sport was in season.

Sara had blown that ideal out of the water. His new perfect Sunday included waking up to Sara riding his cock, followed by a huge breakfast of omelets and toast. The rest of the day would include skinny-dipping in the pool, reading the Sunday paper on the couch together, afternoon wine in the hot tub, pork chops on the grill, and the kinkiest game of strip poker ever. It would end with the two of them soaking in a bubble bath, fucking like bunnies, then falling asleep tangled up in each other’s arms.

As he relived every moment of the previous day, he stroked his dick slowly. Then, as he recalled Sara’s face last night as she came, his grip tightened almost painfully as he jerked off harder. Closing his eyes, he imagined her lips wrapped around his erection, sucking him to completion. Within a dozen strokes, he was there.

The water had just begun to go cool when he managed to pull himself together enough to finish washing. He stepped out of the shower, feeling unsettled and even angrier.

Sara should have been in that shower with him.

Unfortunately, he hit traffic on his way into work, the slow-moving snarl on the highway doing little to improve his sour mood. By the time he pulled into his parking spot, he was forty-five minutes late and ready to commit murder.

His secretary’s smile faded fast when she saw his face.

“Get me Sara Connelly,” he barked as he walked toward his office.

Jenna gestured to the hallway behind her. “She’s in the conference room along with the rest of her department. You’re fifteen minutes late for the meeting with the ER staff.”

Fuck.

“Buzz in and tell them I’m on my way.”

Kellan walked into his office, slamming his briefcase onto his desk loudly. He’d hoped to tie up the loose ends with Sara in regard to this weekend before venturing into this meeting. Given her heated response to his plans for refining emergency room procedures, he knew this was going to be an unpleasant confrontation.

He grabbed the folder he’d assembled Friday afternoon from his briefcase. He had intended to go over the data this weekend so that he was better prepared, ready to fend off any arguments the staff might have, but Kellan hadn’t opened the damn thing once. Instead, he’d found Sara alone at Score, invited her home, and then let her distract him from doing his work. In all the most delicious ways.

And in some unexpected ways, too. He’d never hung out with Sara, just the two of them alone, for so long. While he’d always enjoyed her company when they were among friends, he didn’t realize just how much they had in common. She was funny, patient, and damn easy to be with.

The other women he’d dated—slept with—had always felt like hard work. He measured every comment and was careful to “play it cool.” He didn’t feel the need to do that with Sara. Instead, he let the real Kellan out.

Now, he was forced to return to the role of big bad boss. It was a familiar mask, and it was one Sara had seen numerous times in the past. However, today the idea of letting her see the cold-blooded administrator bothered him. He had liked showing her the good parts of himself, and it gave him no pleasure to bring out the dark side once more.

“Might as well get this over with,” he muttered as he straightened his tie and jacket and headed toward the conference room.

Dr. Carson Reynolds and Dr. Madison Raine, ER physicians, as well as Sara, who served as charge nurse in the department, were seated around the conference table. Carson looked leery as Kellan walked in, but Madison and Sara were clearly prepared to do battle. Great. As if his morning hadn’t sucked enough.

He took his place at the head of the table and opened the folder. Sara’s hair was back in its usual ponytail. He shoved aside the desire to walk around the table, yank out that hair tie and run his fingers through the thick red mass.

Kellan glanced down at his data. If he stood a snowball’s chance in hell of making it through this meeting, he needed to avoid eye contact with Sara. His gaze drifted to her scrubs. The teal cotton hung so loosely, she appeared shapeless. He knew better, knew exactly how many curves she was hiding underneath that uniform.

Okay, so he couldn’t look at Sara at all.

He focused his gaze on Carson and began. “Hampton General Hospital has seen a very pointed increase in wait times in the emergency room in the past six months. Staff turn over is high, while our efficiency rating is far too low. We need to stop the bleeding.”

Carson leaned forward. “The number of patients coming through our emergency room is out of control. It’s doubled in the last year. And it’s not like it’s just first come, first served. We have to prioritize them. Obviously someone with a head cold or a cut finger isn’t going to be seen as quickly as someone in critical need. You keep asking us to get ’em in and get ’em out, but it doesn’t work that way.”

“You’re right. We have had this discussion before. And not only did things not get better, they got worse.” Kellan tried to remain professional, but this conversation—like the previous ones—was traveling the same path. “What we need to find are answers. Solutions.”

Carson persisted. “I’ve mentioned before our need for more doctors and nurses.”

Kellan sighed. The board wanted him to cut costs. Throwing more money at the problem wasn’t an answer. “That’s not going to happen. Our budget doesn’t support more staff.”

Carson leaned back, clearly annoyed. The man crossed his arms, but refrained from speaking what was really on his mind. Kellan got the “fuck you” message just the same.

Sara hadn’t said a word. Of course, she’d given him an earful Saturday night after dinner. His comments right now probably insinuated he hadn’t listened to her, or cared what she had to say. That wasn’t the truth. Regardless, Kellan refused to look in Sara’s direction. He didn’t want to see anger or hurt in her eyes. Either or both emotions from her would gut him.

He’d planned to do this whole meeting better. Between Sara’s defection from his house this morning, and the traffic jam, he would have been smarter to reschedule.

“Here’s the deal,” he said as calmly as he could manage. It was time to cut his losses and run. “We need to make the ER more efficient with the resources and staff we currently have. Can the three of you take that information back to your department and brainstorm ways we can make that happen?”

Carson nodded, though the response was grudging at best. Madison rose slowly as she said, “Sure.” Her tone suggested she’d like to shove any answers they came up with straight up his ass, but he was used to that when it came to the medical staff. They viewed him as the enemy. That hadn’t really bothered him before, but he didn’t like Sara seeing him as such a villain. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make her understand they were both working to achieve the same goal. It was his job to keep the hospital fiscally stable so they could continue to operate.

“I’ll have my secretary schedule a follow-up meeting for next week. We don’t have the luxury of time on this. I need to present a plan of improvement to the board of directors by the end of the month.”

Carson, Madison, and Sara headed toward the door. Kellan was under no illusions that his name wasn’t going to be synonymous for Satan once they reported back to the rest of their department.

He considered letting Sara escape with the others. After all, he’d just proven he was not in the right state of mind to handle anything effectively at the moment. Unfortunately, his dick spoke up before he could shut it down.

“Sara.”

She turned and he forced himself to look at her.

“I need to speak to you. Please stay.”

Sara glanced at Carson and Madison, both of whom offered sympathetic smiles. The idea that they felt sorry for Sara being forced to spend time with him rubbed against the grain. If they’d seen the way she came apart for him this weekend, screaming out his name as he pounded into her over and over, they’d understand just how much their pity was wasted.

Sara stood in the open doorway. Her expression and stiff posture told him exactly what he needed to know. She was furious.

“Close the door,” he said, assuming the same commanding tone he’d used since Friday night.

She did as he requested, with enough force to let him know where he stood with her.

“Lock it.”

She flipped the lock, her anger becoming more palpable by the second.

“You didn’t listen to a damn word I said this weekend, did you?” she accused hotly.

“I heard everything you said. That still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been hired to run this hospital. I can’t get trapped in all this feel good shit.”

She sucked in a loud breath. “Feel good shit? Are you serious? It’s a hospital. That’s all this place should be about.”

He couldn’t argue. But he also couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t seeing his side of things, either. She expected him to listen, but she wasn’t giving him the same courtesy.

Kellan pushed that hurt aside. He hadn’t asked her to remain behind so they could start the same fight again. “It’s clear we’re not going to see eye to eye on this any time soon.”

“You’re right. We’re not.” Sara reached for the doorknob, but he stopped her.

“You left without saying good-bye this morning.”

She faced him once more, frowning. “I left you a note. By the coffeepot.”

He nodded. “I got it.”

She waited for him to say more.

“I told you I would drive you back to your car. You didn’t have to call a cab.”

She shrugged. “There was no reason for both of us to get up at the crack of dawn. The weekend was over. No point dragging it out.”

Kellan wasn’t sure how to reply. Sara was holding him to the letter of their original agreement. One weekend, no strings. He should be grateful she wasn’t making a fuss or clinging to him. Instead, he was annoyed as hell. And not ready to let her go. He didn’t have a clue what that meant, but he wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot.

“I want more time.” Somehow Kellan managed to keep his face impassive as the words he hadn’t meant to say, words he hadn’t even thought until that second, flew out of his mouth.

She snorted. The sound was unladylike and sort of adorable. Only Sara could pull off something like that. “Yeah, right.”

Her refusal triggered that part of him he wasn’t proud of. The part that couldn’t resist a challenge, even if the prize was something he didn’t want. More time with her was dangerous. It didn’t matter. He was going to claim it.

He left the head of the table, circling it to get closer to her. He’d thought keeping a proper distance between them was wise. The fact he didn’t stop until he was right in front of her proved he’d never be accused of being
too
intelligent.

Kellan reached for her hand and pulled her toward him.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I told you.”

She shook her head. “No. One weekend, Kellan. That was it. And it’s over.”

“Another week.”

“You can’t pull this shit on me at work.”

He knew that, understood it, but he’d never been particularly good at denying himself. He and Sara had been good together. Really good.

So much so, he was struggling to figure out why they needed to stop. Why couldn’t they just keep going a little longer?

“I’m just asking you to consider extending the affair.”