The Nurse's Brooding Boss (11 page)

“No.” The idea had never entered her mind. “He has nurses tripping over themselves to get his attention. He could have anyone he wanted.” And she couldn’t imagine he really wanted her. Especially since he didn’t know the truth about her past.

“Then why did he kiss you?” Chloe asked reasonably. “Don’t sell yourself short, Elana. Maybe Brock Madison has kept an eye on you throughout the years.”

“No. He was just as surprised to see me working in the ED as I was to see him.” The expression on his face when he’d recognized her had been priceless. If she’d been in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. “I’m sure he moved away in the first place because it would be easier to forget.”

Chloe pursed her lips for a moment. “Do you really think so?”

She shrugged, remembering how he’d looked when they’d lost the young pedestrian hit by the car. “Maybe not. He’s intense. I doubt he ever forgot.”

“Elana, I think it’s time you knew the truth.”

“About what?”

“Your college scholarship.” Chloe grimaced. “Brock Madison didn’t want you to know, but he sponsored your scholarship.”

“What?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around the news. “How?”

“He supplied the money,” Chloe said simply. “I’m not sure how he did it, although I suspect he doubled the amount of his own student loans to come up with the necessary amount. But, in the end, he went through the university to ensure his scholarship was awarded to you.”

“But that’s impossible.” Dumbfounded, Elana stared at her foster mother.

“He didn’t want you to know. And I’ve honored his request, until now.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Elana murmured, still in shock. Brock had sponsored her scholarship. Likely out of guilt. For years she’d hated him, had blamed him for everything that had gone wrong in her life. Ironic to realize that, without his help, she wouldn’t be where she was today. “I never suspected.”

“I tried telling you he wasn’t a bad person,” Chloe reminded her. “But I’m glad you’ve found a way to forgive him on your own.”

She nodded. She had forgiven him, and suddenly that was the easy part. How was she supposed to handle talking to him now that she knew the truth? Humbled, she looked up at Chloe. “I feel like I should pay him back.”

Chloe quizzically tilted her head to the side. “Why don’t you try trusting him instead?”

Trusting him. With her body and maybe with her heart. She thought about their heated kiss. Maybe Brock could heal her once and for all. “Okay, I’ll trust him.”

“Follow your heart, Elana.” Chloe smiled at her with approval. “Always follow your heart.”

“I will, Chloe.” She gave her foster mother a warm hug.

Elana dressed in a navy-blue suit, one of the few outfits she owned that was appropriate for a job interview. She’d talk to Claire, but, in reality, she’d already made her decision.

She was going to stay in the ED with Brock.

Claire was nice enough, and when the only position she had was the graveyard shift, it was even easier to decline. As Claire walked her down to the lobby, she asked Elana to keep in touch if anything changed.

“I will. Thanks, Claire.”

Brock walked into the lobby, looking surprised to see her standing there with Claire. He narrowed his gaze when he took in her formal attire, immediately realizing she hadn’t been truthful about her meeting. She winced, unable to hide the flash of guilt.

“Elana?” He immediately strode towards her. “Wait. Don’t make any rash decisions. Let’s talk about this first, okay?”

“Brock, this isn’t what you think…” she tried to reassure him.

“You’re making a mistake,” he interrupted, not letting her finish. “Have dinner with me, please? Things have been intense since Lacey vanished, and I could use a
break. I borrowed a friend’s car. I can pick you up at six. Please, give me a chance.”

How could she not? And he was right: things had been intense with Lacey gone. Remembering her promise to Chloe and to her own mother, Elana nodded. “All right, Brock. I’ll have dinner with you tonight.”

B
ROCK
finished up with Tucker and then drove Nathan’s car home, clenching the steering wheel tightly. He couldn’t believe Elana had gone to a job interview. Despite her claims that she’d forgiven him, she was still planning to leave trauma nursing.

Ha. Not if he had anything to say about it.

When he arrived at home, he wasn’t too surprised to find that Lacey still hadn’t returned.

Maybe he ought to call the police after all. Something could have happened to Lacey. She could be a patient in a hospital somewhere…or worse.

Pushing his troubled thoughts aside, Brock showered again and shaved before changing into slacks and a dress shirt. Elana deserved to go someplace special.

Fancy, yet intimate.

Feeling uncharacteristically nervous, he drove to her house. She met him at her apartment door, wearing a long-sleeved siren-red dress that clung to her generous curves and flared at the knee. He stared at her, his mouth martini dry as he struggled to keep a rein on his desire.
This was his chance to convince her to change her mind, not give her another reason to leave.

“You look stunning,” he murmured.

She flashed a shy smile. “Thank you. It was fun dressing up for a change.”

She hovered in the doorway, as if afraid to ask him in, so he escorted her back out to the car, wishing there was some way to put her at ease.

“You know, you didn’t have to do this,” Elana said as he headed toward the restaurant. “I didn’t accept the transfer.”

“You didn’t?” He threw her a startled glance. “Really?”

“Really. I thought about it but decided that I’d rather stay right where I am. For now.”

He took a deep breath, relaxing a bit at the news. “I’m glad, Elana. You had me worried for a minute.”

“I know. I should have told you the truth about the job interview.”

“What made you change your mind?” he asked, curious.

There was a moment of silence before she turned towards him. “You.”

Him? His breath lodged in his throat. “I’m glad. This morning I was worried that I’d scared you off.”

“Maybe a little at first.” She surprised him by acknowledging the truth. “I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships.”

He almost wanted to laugh, since his experience with relationships was nonexistent too. For years he’d carried so much guilt; he hadn’t believed he deserved
happiness. A future. But somehow those old arguments didn’t seem to matter at the moment. He reached over and took her hand. “Me either. So I guess we’ll learn, together.”

Her smile was tremulous. “Sounds good.”

Her trust humbled him. He didn’t want her to ever be afraid, which meant he needed to go slow. Very slow.

“Excellent. So let’s enjoy dinner, then.” Feeling more confident, he handed over the keys to the valet-parking attendant and escorted Elana upstairs to the plush restaurant overlooking the shores of Lake Michigan.

Elana captured more than one man’s gaze as she walked past, but she seemed oblivious to the attention. Their table was small and cozy, with an awesome view of the sunset over the water.

“It’s spectacular,” Elana murmured, gazing at the rippling waves on the great lake.

“Not nearly as spectacular as you,” he said, barely giving the breathtaking view a glance.

She blushed, and he reminded himself to take things slow and easy. There was no rush. He requested a bottle of red wine and was pleased when Elana seemed to enjoy it.

“What made you move to Minneapolis?” she asked, sipping her wine.

“That’s where I was matched.” She inclined her head, indicating she knew about the match process where every medical student from all the graduating classes went through a complicated system of requesting their first, second and third choices for residency
programs across the country. It was involved, yet seemed to work.

“Because you wanted to do trauma?” she asked.

“Yes, because I wanted to do emergency medicine and trauma. Once I finished my residency in the Twin Cities, I decided to stay on as an attending physician.”

She stared at her wine. “So it wasn’t a conscious decision on your part to avoid staying here after the accident?”

“I went to medical school here,” he reminded her. “No, of course I wasn’t avoiding Milwaukee. My family lived here. Joel and I were pretty close despite the age gap. Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis were my top three choices, although not necessarily in that order.”

The waiter brought their salads, adding fresh ground pepper with a flourish. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

“I went to college here in Milwaukee too,” Elana murmured. “But you probably already knew that.”

Warily he nodded. “Yeah, I guessed as much,” he said evasively.

She gave him an exasperated look. “Brock, Chloe told me about the scholarship you provided.”

He gulped, swallowing a whole cherry tomato and nearly choking in the process. “She did?”

“Yes.” Elana paused and then leaned forward. “I don’t know what to say. A mere thank-you doesn’t seem to be enough.”

Her gratitude made him mad. Chloe Jenkins shouldn’t have opened her big mouth. “Don’t. I never wanted you
to know where the money came from. For God’s sake, Elana, don’t you think it was the least I could do? After everything you went through?”

“No, I think you went above and beyond the call of duty.” Elana pushed her empty salad plate away. “Chloe was a lifesaver, but now I owe you a debt of gratitude as well.”

“No, you don’t.” This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted her to know. “Gratitude isn’t what I want from you, Elana.”

She nodded slowly. “I know. But you already have my forgiveness.”

His heart stumbled in his chest. He should be grateful, but he wanted more than just her forgiveness. He wanted everything she was willing to give. And more. Yet he needed to step warily.

Elana tilted her head to the side. “Did you see the movie
Pay It Forward
?”

“Yes.” He dragged his mind to the present.

“Well, that’s what I’ve decided to do. I have some money saved up, and I’ve decided to use it to offer a scholarship to someone else. I’d like to give another underprivileged child the chance I had to go to college.” Her wistful smile broke his heart. “I’d like to call it the Felicity Schultz Memorial Scholarship.”

Stunned, he stared at her. Surely she could use the money for a down payment on a house or towards a new car? But the fact that she wanted to honor her sister, the way he’d tried to do, humbled him. “You’re incredible. I think that’s a great idea,” he managed.

Her smile lit up her face, hitting him with the force of a tsunami. “Thank you. I think so too.”

He wanted her. Wanted her so badly, he ached with need. The waiter served the rest of their meal, but Brock couldn’t have told anyone what they ate, even though when the waiter took his plate away, it was empty. Every nerve in his body shimmered with amplified desire.

Elana declined dessert, so they left the restaurant shortly thereafter. He’d promised her they’d go slow, but he didn’t want to take her home. Not yet.

“I have some wine at home if you’d be willing to come over for a bit. Or I can take you home if you’d rather. It’s up to you, Elana.”

She bit her lip and hesitated. “I’d like to come over for a bit.”

He was startled, fully expecting the opposite. “Are you sure?”

A small smile played along her lips. “I’m sure.”

Nearly dizzy with relief, he headed to his place. He pulled into the driveway and then went around to help her from the car. Slow. He was going to take this slow.

Slow would kill him, but better that than scaring her.

Inside, he flicked on a light and gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Wine? Or a soft drink?”

“No, I don’t think so.” She caught his hand, preventing him from going into the kitchen. “What I’d really like is for you to kiss me again.”

Heaven help him, he’d promised to go slow. Yet how
could he keep himself under control when she looked at him like that? Her moist lips were parted softly, inviting him to take her up on the offer.

As if he could do anything else?

“Elana,” he whispered, pulling her into his arms and holding her close as if she were the rarest, most fragile vase on earth. He dipped his head, his mouth hovering over hers. “Please be sure.”

“I’m sure.” She rose up on her tiptoes, closing the space between them to press her mouth to his.

A kaleidoscope of color burst behind his eyelids as her mouth teased his, the tip of her tongue outlining his lips seductively. He kept chanting inwardly,
go slow, go slow
, but the razor edge of desire soon overwhelmed rational thought.

He pulled her against him, deepening the kiss, drowning in the honeyed depths of her mouth. His blood pounded in his chest, but he didn’t stop. He’d waited forever for this, and now that he had her in his arms, he didn’t want to let go.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with fervor. Trying not to scare her, yet unable to hold back, he slid his hands beneath her bottom and lifted her higher, so she fit snugly against him.

She let out a moan when he released her mouth and trailed a line of kisses down the side of her neck. As thin as her sexy little red dress was, he was annoyed by the barrier, wanting nothing but her silky soft skin between them.

“Here?” she whispered, and it was then he realized he’d pressed her up against the living room wall.

He realized what he was doing and froze. What was wrong with him? His first time with Elana shouldn’t be like this. She deserved better. Far better. Gasping for breath, he desperately tried to control his raging need.

“Hold on,” he said gruffly, lifting her higher in his arms and carrying her down the hall to his bedroom.

“I could have walked,” she murmured, her breath near his ear causing shivers of awareness.

“Maybe, but this way I don’t have to let you go.” He tried to smile but failed. He was more serious than he let on. Letting her go wasn’t an option. The very idea brought a rush of panic.

One step at a time, he reminded himself. When he reached the edge of his king-sized bed, he let her go so she could stand on her own two feet. He kissed her again, gently this time, enjoying the softness of her mouth.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, determined to give her one last chance to change her mind.

“Yes.”

“And you’ll tell me if I do something you don’t like?” He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her.

“You won’t.” She sounded confident.

He wished he felt as much. With the moonlight streaming through his window, he could see a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She lifted her hands and began opening the buttons on his dress shirt, one by one. Her fingers lightly brushed against his skin,
making him crazy imagining the possibility of those hands touching him all over.

Going slow was no longer an option. He yanked off his shirt, without giving her time to finish with the buttons. Shucking off his pants, he stood there in a pair of navy boxers, his need evident. When he reached for her dress, she stepped back out of reach and slowly, oh, so slowly, drew the garment off, revealing her silky olive skin and a skimpy red bra and matching thong.

“Elana.” He wished he’d turned on a light, so he could see every precious inch of her. He could barely tear his gaze away, frustrated with the inadequacy of mere words. Beautiful. Stunning. Sexy. None of the adjectives he could name came even close to describing her.

“Brock,” she echoed, although her teasing smile reassured him. “Come to bed.”

Lord knew he wasn’t going to make her ask twice.

When Brock carried her into the bedroom, Elana was grateful he’d left the lights off. The room wasn’t completely dark, but dark enough that she didn’t need to worry about him seeing too much.

Deep down, she could admit she’d chosen the sexy red dress just for this reason. Brock had only seen her wearing scrubs or jeans. She’d wanted to look nice for him. Attractive. Sexy.

Considering her lack of experience, she was hoping the dress would give her the courage to seduce him.

The shadowy moonlight gave her the boldness to
strip down to her underwear, and she reveled in his stark, hungry gaze. Seconds later they were naked.

She pushed aside the brief flash of vulnerability. She hadn’t been with a man for a long time, but she wasn’t nervous with Brock. Not any more. This was exactly where she wanted to be. The bed was soft beneath her, and the sheets smelled like him, musky and male.

He lavished kisses along her breasts, and she thought she was going to lose her mind. Her nipples peaked, begging for more. He lightly stroked them with his tongue, but then he trailed kisses down her abdomen to the inside of her thighs, and she knew she wasn’t going to survive.

She whimpered when he parted her thighs and pressed his mouth there, where no man had ever kissed her before. She cried out, her hips bucking off the bed as her orgasm hit hard. Brock didn’t stop, though he took his time, loving her, kissing her and rekindling her desire.

“Brock, please,” she begged as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Shh, we have all night,” he promised. But he did grab a condom, and after sheathing himself, he settled between her legs and probed her opening.

She was ready. More than ready. It seemed she’d waited her entire life for him.

“Now. Please.” Her impatience made him chuckle, but when he finally granted her wish and slid deep, neither one of them was laughing.

Intense, sensational pleasure filled her body, her nerve endings tingling even as she strained against him,
seeking more. And this time, when her orgasm took her sailing over the edge, Brock was right there with her.

She held his head to her breast when he collapsed against her, his harsh breathing audible over the roaring of her pulse. Shaken, she stared at the ceiling.

No man had ever loved her the way Brock just had. And she was very much afraid she’d never be satisfied with anything less than the intense closeness they’d just shared.