9781631052347OnCallKenyan (4 page)

* * *
*

AJ
stood in front of the hospital’s Medical Board of Staff Educational
Development. He could kick himself. He muttered an oath under his breath as he
shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. He tried to force himself not
to feel intimidated.

What
was it that his father had said?
Back
straight, shoulders firm and head held high.
AJ was determined to take his
punishment like a man. He wasn’t going to let this little mistake break him.
Most importantly he wasn’t going to let them see how terrified he was. He had
made a mistake last night. Actually Katherine had made the mistake after he had
been the one to urge her on.

AJ
wanted her to gain confidence in her craft, just as much confidence as he had
managed to amass in the past few months. But now they were calling him cocky,
arrogant and un-teachable. They claimed his arrogance had rubbed off on the
other interns.

Why
else would Katherine Henry not double-check her work and make sure her sutures
were tight enough? Sloppy, is what they had called it. But AJ called it an
honest mistake a second-year intern should be allowed to make. So she missed
one loop, the patient had barely bled into his heart, and he had been able to
fix it. Why were they focusing on the negative?

“Sir, I
just want to say—”

“You
are arrogant,” Kenneth Lyle cut him off.

AJ bit
down on his jaw. He wouldn’t do or say anything that would jeopardize his
attachment. He held his hands together at his back, his lips pressed shut as he
looked over Kenneth’s head.

“You
made Katherine go cowboy on that patient. That is the only reason she didn’t
double check,” Kenneth prodded. “It’s your attending’s fault—letting you go
solo on cases. By the end of today, the department heads will not be climbing
over each other to get a piece of you.”

“Actually
I’m still interested,” the Head of Neurology piped in.

“He was
born for the emergency room,” his attending Dr. Hunt said. “Let’s not forget,
Lyle, it was your girl who made the mistake. My guy had to fix it. AJ should
not be standing here, Katherine should.”

“Thank
you, sir, but I should have been watching what she was doing. I saw her looking
toward her attending for support, but it seemed as if he wanted to see how she
would do on her own,” AJ pointed out, leaving out the accusatory part of his
statement.

He
remembered Katherine had flashed Lyle terrified looks, labored with doubts. It
was a cry for help that wouldn’t have been any louder if she’d leapt on the table
and wailed at him. But Lyle had stood back, a smirk on his face. Lyle had
wanted to see Katherine fail for some reason, but AJ couldn’t let that happen.

But he
didn’t seem to have helped her much. He should have waited to see her knot the
last loop she made. One stitch had them in hot water. But he had wanted to give
her some space, show he had confidence in her.

“The
thing is the patient did not die. But you need to know how serious this is. One
mistake, one minute longer and his heart would have flooded and he would be
dead now.” AJ bit back his retort and let the chief of staff speak. “You are
talented, but you aren’t God. You need to know when and where to draw the line.
You still have two years before you pick a specialty, and I suggest you familiarize
yourself with other departments. You might be the rising star, but you need the
knowledge to keep you great.”

“Thank
you, sir.”

* * *
*

Katherine’s
head whipped from side to side, as she watched the nurses lined up along the
hallway on each side, staring her down. She felt like a lamb walking to the
slaughter. It was clear the nurses wanted to chew her up, but she wondered why.
Finally she’d had enough. Katherine stopped and turned around meeting each
accusing gaze.

“What
the hell is wrong with you people?”

Finally
AJ’s redhead stepped forward. “If he gets fired, it’s your fault.”

‘AJ,’
her mind echoed. He was the
only reason the nurses would be up in arms. But what had she done that had got
him into trouble? She turned and ran toward the chief’s office, ready to throw
herself at his feet for mercy, and save AJ. But when she got there he was
walking out. He glanced at her for a second, his expression closed and
unreadable, before he turned and walked away.

Katherine
thought of turning on her heels and escaping before she met with whatever end
AJ had. But Lyle appeared at the door, a scowl on his face, making his
otherwise beautiful face as ugly as Hades.

“Come
in, Miss Henry.”

Katherine
felt her body shiver as the coldness in his voice slithered through her body.
She took a cautious step inside the office and was met by five other doctors,
assembled as if they were the Supreme Court. Whatever she had done was wrong
and she was about to find out how much it was going to cost her.

* * *
*

Katherine
had taken a shower, changed into her scrubs and was now in an empty OR,
practicing her suturing skills. She had been there well over four hours, and
her shift was about to start. Stitches ran all over the pig’s body. She was
never going to make the same mistake again. She felt like a hypocrite. That
afternoon she had crowed to her father how important it was for her to save
lives, and she had almost killed a man because she was not paying enough
attention. The powerful high she had felt handling that repair on her own had
clouded her judgment. She had wanted to prove she was just as good as AJ, if
not better. It was the cocky race to the finish that had brought her to this
low point.

Katherine
looked around and admitted it wasn’t AJ who was suturing a pig, it was she. She
had made the mistake and AJ had been the ever-so-gallant super surgeon who had
saved her bacon. Katherine looked at the pig in front of her and couldn’t help
but laugh.

“Wow!
Has the dementia started to set in?” A deep baritone echoed on the sterile
walls.

Katherine
almost dropped her tools to the ground as she whirled around to stare into the
face of her pest, and for a time, her gallant knight. He was leaning against
the wall. He was comfortable enough for her to think he might have been there for
a while. But the way he studied her, the intensity in his eyes…She bit on her
lower lip as she stared at the bulged biceps of his arms crossed over his
chest. She became aware she had been probably staring for a while and should
say something, before he thought her an idiot as well as careless. “Thanks for
taking care of my sloppy work,” she said making sure to quote Lyle.

“You’re
welcome.” He smiled at her as he pushed off the wall and sauntered toward her.
“You shouldn’t worry about doctor asshole. You need to prove to yourself how
good you are.”

“Like
you do, every day.” Katherine bit on her tongue when she heard the hate laced
in her tongue. She didn’t mean to sound so hateful or angry. “I didn’t mean for
it to sound so snappy.”

“You’re
angry. But I bet you’re angrier at yourself more than you are at me.”

Katherine
had to lean back; AJ was standing so dangerously close to her. She could almost
feel the hard beats of his confident heart. She wanted to reach under his
scrubs and lay her hand against his chest. Then after she was done listening to
his heart, she wanted to direct her hands a little bit south of the border.

“You
know, if you want to have sex with me all you have to do is ask,” he said his
tone heavy with desire, his eyes darkening as they roamed all over her body.
We already did,
she thought.

The
right thing would have been to be outraged, demand an apology for his
disrespect. But all she could imagine was pushing the pig off the table and
asking AJ to lay her on it and have his way with her. Afraid of practicing
hypocrisy twice in one day, Katherine said nothing. She just stared at him as
he stared back.

“Sex
doesn’t have to be all heavy and emotional. Do you want to know a secret?”
Still not trusting her voice, Katherine nodded. “Sex is what makes me be a
better doctor. I know it sounds like bullshit. But I use sex to take out all my
frustration and pent up energy. Sex relaxes me and helps with the overload of
adrenaline. I bet if you tried things my way, you would be more relaxed and
eventually confident.”

“What
makes you think I’m not?” She stuck out her jaw in defiance.

Just
then Katherine caught the change in his eyes. The desire was gone, the
flirtation disappeared and instead of sexy eyes staring back at her, Katherine
only saw anger. He banged his hand on the table so hard, it made her jump to
her feet. “If you were you wouldn’t have been careless last night, and I
wouldn’t have taken a hiding for you. I have no problem with assisting my
fellow interns but I will not cover up stupid mistakes.”

“I
didn’t ask you to.”

“I’ll
remember that the next time you almost kill another patient.”

Katherine
fumed, and stared daggers at AJ’s back as he walked out of the OR. Once left
alone with her thoughts, she dropped back on the stool. But she must have been
more shaken than she realized, because when her ass touched the cushion she
slid off it and onto the cold hard floors with a big thump.

“Mother
F—”

* * *
*

AJ was
just about to fall asleep in the on-call room when the door opened and the
light from the hallway flooded the dark room. He heard the heavy shuffle of
tired feet, then a disappointed moan. He had taken the last bunk available and
could feel his colleague’s pain. Although she was cut off from the waist up, AJ
could tell the exhausted doctor was a female. Maybe he could share the bunk
with her, and if she was really quiet they could both help each other ease some
stress.

“You
can share with me if you want,” he offered.

“I
would say no, especially after the sermon you gave me, but my body isn’t that
proud and my mind needs to shut down for a while,” he heard Katherine say, and
immediately wanted to take back his offer. But before he could, Katherine was
already in the bed, using her butt to push him back so that she could get some
space.

AJ’s
groin protested each time her round rump came into contact with his body, but
he didn’t take advantage. She wasn’t bottom heavy, not as heavy as he liked,
but she had a nice tight ass that promised not to disappoint. AJ bit down on
his jaw, stifling a moan of frustration that threatened to escape from his
lips. The curve of her body fit perfectly into his. Her head made a pillow of
his arm as her back rested against his chest. He could almost swear she knew
what she was doing, the little temptress. If he wasn’t dead on his feet AJ
would have taught her a lesson about playing with fire.

“I’m
exhausted, so try not to have sex with my body when I’m asleep.”

AJ
chuckled at the insult. “Trust me when I say I don’t need to convince anyone to
have sex with me. I don’t take advantage of people who are unconscious either.
I could kick you out, but I am too tired and I can feel how tired you are. So
shut up and go to sleep, because unlike you I didn’t go home and nap for six
hours.”

“You
don’t have to be mean about it,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you go home?”

“Doctor
Kenneth Lyle has a point he wants to prove. He gave me your rotation after you
left,” he mumbled.

“I
wondered about that. I thought they took it away from me just because I messed
up. I’m sorry about that.” AJ sighed in acceptance as his eye lid became
heavier. “I’ll take your rotations if you want me to.”

“Let’s
sleep on it.” He mumbled his tone thick with sleep. “Oh and Katherine.”

“Yes?”

“Try
not to have sex with me while I’m asleep.”

The
last thing AJ heard was her laugh. And for a second before sleep overcame him,
he bathed in the sound of her laughter. He enjoyed hearing that lighter side of
her.

* * *
*

He could hear the noisy chants
of the college kids outside his window. His Range Rover was built for the worst
and the best conditions. But right now all he could do is whisper a thank you
to the car gods as the large back seat accommodated him and his latest catch.
Who would have known bringing Lisette to a stupid bonfire would bear such
fruits. He stared at a pair of perfectly molded breasts and couldn’t bring
himself to touch them. So he let his tongue do the touching and the tasting for
him. He stared at the beauty spot just above her left breast and thought how
perfect it looked.

“Be gentle with me.” Her sweet
voice spoke innocence.

His nerve endings electrified as
his hands caressed every inch of her naked body. Kneeling between her legs, his
hands cupped her soft rump and lifted her hips toward him. He teased at her
entrance, his lips catching and swallowing the startled gasp that came from her
mouth. He didn’t understand what she meant by her statement until he buried
himself to the hilt in her velvety cove. She was as tight as a fist, and the
flicker of pain in her eyes, told him the gravity of what he had just done. He
wanted to pull back, but her legs scissor locked him in place. Her hips rose
and fell as she started to move against him. Groaning in defeat he buried his
face in her shoulder and rocked into her. She felt so beautiful, so perfect.