Dr. Tempt Me - A Possessive Doctor Romance

Maybe that was why I felt so off-balance around Fiona. She was beautiful, that much was obvious, but there was something else about her. Maybe it was her attitude, or her anger, or her insistence on being treated like an equal, or something else, something ineffable. Whatever it was, it made me want to be around her—and that was dangerous.

More dangerous than whatever scheme we were about to shove our noses into.3FionaI did my job, kept my head down, and concentrated. I didn’t want to be a part of hospital gossip. That was never my intention.

Of course, it never worked out that way.

The next morning, I sat in the cafeteria with a cup of coffee and my legs stretched out in front of me. Mary stopped by and sat down with a sigh, her plate laden with a bagel, eggs, and a pile of bacon.

“How was your date with Dr. Gorgeous?”

I gave her a look. “You mean Dr. Coarse?”

“Dean Coarse. He’s a little young for me, but, sweetie, he seems like your type.”

I snorted. “Not even close.”

“Oh, hon, come on. Everyone talks about him.”

“I’m not everyone.”

She gave me a look and stabbed her eggs. She talked with her mouth full, and I had to stare down at my coffee to keep from feeling nauseous. “I’ve never seen that man ask a nurse to do a simple procedure for him before, and I’ve been on his floor a few times.”

“So what?”

“So, it’s a little strange, is all.”

“There’s nothing inappropriate happening.”

She shrugged. “Didn’t say there was.”

I stood up and held my coffee with both hands. “We both know you’re a gossip, Mary. Please don’t make me the subject of your wild fantasies.”

“Come on, Fiona, it’s not every day Dr. Gorgeous flirts with a nurse. He’s one of the good ones, you know.”

I waved at her and walked off. I took a sip and burned my tongue as I stepped onto the elevator. I had to make room for a gurney and stared at the empty bed, at the starched, bleached linens, and wondered how many bodies it had held, how many people had tried to find comfort in that blanket, that overstuffed pillow.

Hospitals were small villages, almost a city in miniature. They had their own laundry, their own food, their own sewer and electric and everything in between. They had their own economy, their own ecosystem. They also had their own social strata, with the doctors at the top, followed by the administrators, then the nursing staff, then the rest of the staff before them. Sometimes I felt like I was the only one that cared about it, like I was the only person conscious off my class in the whole place, or maybe I cared too much.

There was something I didn’t love about working with a doctor like this, but Dean meant well. And Mary was right: Dean didn’t have such a bad reputation, even though I pretended like he did. Gavin had been much worse, back before he ran off with Erica, but Dean didn’t seem to be like that. I had to grudgingly respect that, even if it was the bare minimum, because of course nobody should get involved with their coworkers, sexually or otherwise.

Which was why I flinched when Dean appeared an hour later while I was alone in a patient room cleaning up after a checkout. He slid the door shut then put his hand on my lower back, and I whirled on him, eyes hard and ready to tell him to go to hell.

He smirked and pulled his hand back. “Busy?” he asked.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Needed to get your attention.”

“You can use your words next time.”

“Duly noted. Are you busy?”

I shrugged. “Straightening up this place.”

“You do that?” He frowned a little bit. “I thought we had other staff for that.”

“We do, but they sometimes take a while to get around here, and I don’t want someone to have to wait for a bed if I can help it.”

He gave me an odd look then motioned with his head. “Come on. I need a hand.”

“Am I putting in another fake line?”

“No, you’re standing watch while I break into Maria’s office.”

He turned to leave the room but I reached out and grabbed his wrist on impulse. I squeezed and held it, pulling him back, heart racing. “Hold on, are you insane?”

He looked back at me and grinned. “Not even a little bit.”

“There’s no way in hell that I’m going to break into Maria’s office.”

“You’re right, you’re not. I’m breaking into her office, and you’re standing watch.”

He turned to go again, and this time I stepped in his way. I put my hand on his chest and felt the muscle beneath his scrubs, and my heart did a strange twist—which only pissed me off even more.

“Absolutely not.”

“Then I’ll do it on my own.” He stared at me, but didn’t move, and I dropped my hand from his chest.