The Billionaire's Second Chance (9 page)

The curious expression in her eyes had him following that detail up in quick response with, “Jules is my little sister,” and then with a slight shrug of self-deprecating humor he added, “
And
she just happens to have seduced and married my best friend so between Ned, Dom and Jules, my goose is cooked!” 

Said tinged with lighthearted humor, Nick instinctively tried to lighten the situation aware in his very bones that her outward show of calm hid a vulnerability which caused him wisely to soften his approach.

The half-smile he attempted with his words showed a brief flash of the sexy dimples that had made her knees go weak as a silly twenty year old, reminding Shannon again that she was in over her foolish head.

“What about you Shannon? Why are you here?  I gather from something Ned said that you planned Dom’s birthday event?”

To say a million lights went off in her fuzzy, headache shrouded brain was an understatement.  The blazing, brilliant spotlight which was suddenly shining in her mind brought with it some answers to be sure, but also deposited a hundred more questions on her mind’s doorstep.

Good god, he was Jules’ brother and Dom’s uncle.  Stunned into silence by this disclosure Shannon went to reposition herself as if sitting up straighter was going to make her brain work better. 
Bad move
was her next thought as once again agony shot up her leg causing fireworks of tension and pain to slice through her head.  Her anguished moan, part pain, part frustration, part surrender echoed off the walls of the exam room slicing into Nick’s self-control.  Hearing her discomfort was almost more than he could bear.

Frustrated that he couldn’t do more and feeling decidedly helpless, Nick growled
,
“No, don’t move.” with more force than necessary causing her to flinch at the gravity of his delivery.  Wincing mentally although no expression whatsoever flickered across his controlled expression; he moved suddenly and was across the room at her bedside before she could blink.

How the hell did he do that, she wondered?  He had a way of dominating the space around him in such a way that made her feel small and vulnerable.

In the next instant he gently but determinedly nudged her shoulders back against the pillows while rearranging the exam sheet more comfortably around her. 
Wherever they connected, wherever skin met skin or if his touch brushed against her clothing, Shannon experienced warmth
.
Knowing she was aware
of him on a deeply phys
ical level, caused
her senses to scramble even more.

The gentle concern she saw in his actions lodged a huge lump in her throat.  Of course, having him mere inches from her meant she was aware of him on a sensory overload level too – his cologne, sharp scented with a beguiling spiced undertone mingling with his own unique maleness brought her breath up short. 

Taking this response as another indication of pain or discomfort Nick leaned forward to catch her eyes with a look of concern before quietly imploring her again to be still.

“Shannon, lie still please. Wiggling around is only going to make you more uncomfortable.” this last said while his hands had moved from her shoulders to the tops of her legs in a motion meant to convey calm and stillness but which brought the opposite effect on her raw emotions.

His use of the word wiggle got an immediate reaction from her as she tried to wrap some dignity around this situation. Realizing that this was the second time he’d mentioned her wiggling Shannon quickly found her voice.

“I told you before that I do
not
wiggle!” she snapped out a bit more harshly than intended but no matter that she wryly thought.  He may be rattling her cage a bit by appearing out of thin air smack dab in the center of her existence in a major way, but no way was she going to let him minimize her as if she were an errant child.  Wiggle indeed, she inwardly fumed.

His response was a raised eyebrow with just the hint of amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth most probably she admitted because she had indeed been wiggling as he put it. She wanted to roll her eyes at her own foolishness but drew back instead because there was nothing amusing about this. 

Shannon was struggling to keep her unease under control. She sincerely hoped that none of the inner turmoil churning inside was showing on her face as she turned what she hoped was a blank stare and a bland expression in his direction. Inside however she was filling with an overwhelming feeling bordering on panic.  In fact right then she thought that if anxiety were a water balloon it would’ve launched itself out of her by now and slammed against the wall behind them dripping liquid towards the floor. Her next thought was why a water balloon?  Why not a balloon filled with paint; at least that way the dripping down the wall would be some intense color like purple; anything to take her mind off her increasing nervousness.

Nicholas Burke, the man who had made her feel limitless and alive and pathetic and of no consequence was suddenly and without any warning whatsoever involved in her life without invitation.  Well, that wasn’t entirely true Shannon mused while still snapping defensive glances his way. 

She had crumbled in his arms when he carried her to his SUV for the drive to the clinic.  Between the pain and the shock of seeing him, she had momentarily lost her emotional equilibrium.  Thinking back to how she had silently allowed him to cradle her injured leg in his huge hands and the way she had melted against him when he scooped her up
,
as though she weighed nothing
,
made her both want to cringe and do it all again.

Never again!
screamed a memory in her head bringing her instantly back to reality.  Uh uh, nope. 
Not gonna' lose it here girl
,
she chastised herself. 
Nicholas Temple Barrett was a different person than the Nick Temple she had loved so desperately.  Snap out of it, she firmly chided.

Nick watched the play of thoughts and emotions play out across her face as though he had some exclusive access to her most secret thoughts.  She had always been so easy for him to read and still was he realized with
grim
satisfaction.  It was as if he was completely tuned in to her on an organic level that time, distance and a great deal of hurt had not killed. The pretty little pout she threw at him when he told her she was wiggling had almost sent him to his knees.  Good lord but she was absolutely adorable sitting there all puffed up and trying to act like she wasn’t as hysterically off-kilter inside as he was.

Fascinated, he made note of the wild see-sawing emotions that danced across her expression and guessed rightly, he was sure, that she was struggling with her response to seeing him again and the undercurrent of the terrible way he had treated her the last time they’d spoken.  Those two extremes were certainly tying him up in knots too but for far different reasons.

He knew that his churlish actions had been done in her best interest as if the crueler he was the better to ensure a complete break so she could go on with her life; unencumbered by lingering hopes.  Only he would know that in doing so, he was dooming himself to a future devoid of emotion for Nick’s path of duty and destiny had been laid out long before their time together.  A period he stole from the past as a lock against the future.

That she was trying to fight off a primal awareness of him was also mightily apparent to Nick.  The restless motions of her beautifully expressive hands as they clutched and then smoothed the sheet covering her spoke volumes about the struggle she was having. 
Whereas
he could read her emotions he was plagued by unease because though her response to his presence was palpable he couldn’t actually decipher whether she wanted to smack him or hug him. He hoped it was the later but didn’t discount that i
n her mind he probably deserved
the smack.

Of course
sitting this close
he had also picked up on
the
steady but visible pulse in her neck
which was telling its own story. S
he kept tugging at her bottom lip with quick little bites; a reflexive motion signaling a mixture of distress and excitement he pulled from his memory. 

He wanted nothing more than to lean forwa
rd and pass his tongue over the
tell-tale pulse in her neck at that spot along her jaw and neck; near her ear which he knew tasted like sin and felt like warm silk against his tongue. 

When her hand quickly lifted to that spot as if she
had picked up on his desire
, he jolted back and fixed her with a look that was probably best left locked away but one which he found he could not control no matter how he tried.

Shannon couldn’t believe she was trembling, this was ridiculous, but the way he had been staring at her was causing her already muddled brain to hit overdrive.  She could almost feel his lips on her neck and had lifted her hand to ward off the sensual attack but instead had lightly caressed the sensitized skin she found there. 

The two continued this silent eye battle for several long moments before the door to Shannon’s room suddenly opened and in walked the doctor who had been assigned to her care. 

CHAPTER
SIX

“Hello Ms. Reynolds. My name is Dr. Adam Tyler. Let’s have a look here and see what’s going on” said the white coated Doctor with the tag which had not only his name on it but a bunch of letters afterwards indicating he was a specialist in many fields.

Looking over at Nick
,
Dr. Tyler said, “If you don’t mind waiting outside until the examination is over that would be great.”

Nick instantly replied
,
“No way
.
I’m staying right here.”

Dr. Tyler raised an eyebrow, looking to his patient for direction.
Shannon’s reflex was to reach out and grab Nick’s hand much to both their surprise while looking towards Dr. Tyler saying
, "
No, no; it’s okay.
I want him to stay.”

Looking at the two of them with their clasped hands Dr. Tyler made a quick assessment of what was before him and surmised a bond between the two so he just smiled and said “Whatever works;  you’re the patient” and proceeded to go about his business.

Nick didn’t like this Young Turk very much at all, probably because he had a laid back California attitude that gave him a science geek meets surfer dude way about him which was like fingernails on a chalkboard for the powerful, no-nonsense tycoon. 

The light pen Doctor Tyler was waving around like a scepter rankled him too.  Of course what was really pissing Nick off was the simple fact that this obviously talented medical guy was getting more response from Shannon in a few short moments than he had gotten from her this past hour and he found himself wondering where all the curmudgeon senior doctors were today.  The last thing his off balance disposition needed was some hip, handsome, witty doctor being the hero of the moment. 

Of course it didn’t take but a minute or two for Nick to return to his senses. He had to give the man credit.  He did an efficient and thorough examination in very short order. Shannon was getting the care that she needed and that’s all that really mattered to Nick.

After assessing the still swelling ankle, the bump on her head, the gash, scraped hands and as Nick came to find out a pretty bruised knee, he told them that the gash
would be needing some bandages;
the knee and the hands would be fine; the ankle, well that was going to require an x-ray and probably a temporary brace.

When Nick mentioned the bump on her head Dr. Tyler informed them that the bump was fairly superficial; it looked worse than it actually was and would probably be completely gone by morning, although there would be a nice bruise at her hairline. He was concerned though by Shannon’s obvious discomfort and the presence of the headache.

“Are you prone to headaches Shannon?” the doctor asked.
Before Shannon could react
Nick chimed in with a decisive,
"Yes
she is.”
drawing a side glance from Shannon.

Nick remembered all too well the migraines that she occasionally suffered from and how the only way to deal with them was by limiting physical activity, staying quiet and calm, and sometimes resting in the darkness. Bright lights in particular seem to make the pain worse.

Surprised that Nick would remember that about her Shannon s
tuttered answering the doctor, "
I do… yes, I do have migraines from time to time, just not recently.
I did notice a persistent headache earlier this morning. Finding myself on my butt on the ground didn’t make it any better. It is pounding pretty hard right now though, Doctor
.
” Shannon said while closing her eyes and raising a hand to shield her face from the bright lights in the examination room.

“Okay, well let’s do this,” said Dr. Tyler. “I’ll have the nurse come in and take care of that gash; put some antibiotic ointment on your hands and knee and we’ll put a little icepack on your foot to get things started. Then let me arrange for an x-ray of your ankle. Since I can see you are in clear discomfort we’ll give you something to take the edge off that headache.
The bump is superficial and y
ou don’t have a concussion so there won’t be any danger. It will however make you little loopy he said while he waving fingers in the air making a loopy motion in an obvious attempt to break the tension and get a smile from her. It worked. She smiled. Nick churned.