Here And Now (American Valor 2) (17 page)

Chapter Seventeen

O
N
F
RIDAY MORNING,
Rachel finally went back to her place. Without him. Because later on she’d need to sleep before going in to work her shift. And if they spent the day together, she wouldn’t get any rest. And unlike him, she needed more than three or four hours of sleep to survive her shift.

She’d planned on cleaning the house, doing some laundry. The one thing she was not going to do was go to her parents’ house. Since she hadn’t received any text messages from her mother instructing her to pick up her medicine or stop for groceries, she assumed things were taken care of for the week. And if they weren’t . . . well, she wasn’t going to invite trouble by texting her and double-checking everything was okay.

After putting her work scrubs in the wash and making her lunch for work, she sat down in one of her hot pink camping chairs and powered up Netflix. Having heard a couple of nurses talking about a show called
The Tudors
, she decided now was as good a time as ever. And by the time Charles Brandon lifted Princess Margaret’s skirts and had sex with her on the ship carrying her to Portugal and her husband to be . . . well, she was hooked. Suddenly one episode turned into another, then another. The next thing she knew, she only had time for a three-hour nap before work.

As she climbed into her bed, she couldn’t help but notice how empty it felt. How she’d probably have slept better if she’d stayed with Lucky. She tossed and turned for the next hour, her mind spinning as she wondered what he was doing now. If he was sleeping in the bed they’d shared for the past three days or if he was sleeping on the couch. Or maybe he wasn’t sleeping at all. Maybe he was lying there awake thinking of her.

She must have fallen asleep at some point in time, because the alarm clock on her phone scared the bejeezus out of her. As she got ready for work, Rachel caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and noticed she was smiling. Even when she was away from him, she couldn’t hide how happy she was.

It was usually in these euphoric, early days of a budding romance she’d get ahead of herself. Not unlike a schoolgirl, she’d test the sound of her first name mixed with a different last name. She’d daydream of an entirely different life, one that began with an elegant wedding and ended with a beautiful home filled with the laughter of children.

“Do not do that this time,” she told her reflection. “Not with him.”

Because when the day came that he moved on with his life it would most likely be without her. Unless she could somehow convince him to stay here in this town. Odds were he’d leave her brokenhearted, but she would never, ever regret him.

Within minutes of clocking in for work on Friday night, Rich Hamilton was shadowing her. “I texted you a couple of times.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” She’d hoped to avoid this whole confrontation, that he would catch the hint since she wasn’t returning his messages. And even now she didn’t stop to talk to him or look him in the eye while he spoke to her. “I’ve been really busy the past few days.”

With an ambulance en route, she went into the trauma bay and grabbed a paper gown from the shelf, pulling it on and tying it in back as she walked to the ambulance entrance. But of course, he was the only ER doc working, so he followed right along.

“I was hoping we could pick up where we left off,” he said as the ambulance pulled into the drive. “Maybe skip the dinner and go straight for dessert this time.”

Ewww.

And really? The cheap bastard wasn’t even willing to buy her a lousy dinner again? Not that she’d be caught dead going anywhere with him after the way he behaved last time. Even if she weren’t with Lucky, she wouldn’t dare go out with Rich again.

The automatic doors opened and the paramedics rushed in with their patient, saving her from a reply. As they made their way to the trauma bay, she noticed Lucky keeping a watchful eye on things while talking on the phone. Just as she began to wonder if he was still upset about keeping things hushed, the one corner of his mouth lifted and he gave a little wink before he disappeared out of sight.

A little after three in the morning, she wandered into the break room, finally ready to take lunch. Much to her surprise she found Lucky sitting hunched over an open book on the table, with a sandwich in one hand and a yellow highlighter in the other. Her ass had been dragging most of the night, but once she saw him, it sparked a sudden burst of energy. Almost immediately she realized the salad she packed to eat wouldn’t satisfy her cravings.

“How long have you been on break?”

Lucky glanced at his watch and back up at her. “Five minutes at best. Why?”

“I forgot my lunch in the truck.”

Immediately he hopped up from his chair and held out his hand. “Give me your keys and I’ll run out and get it. You don’t need to be walking out there by yourself at this time of night.”

It was exactly what she expected him to do.

“Or you could just walk out there with me instead.”

He shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. “Whatever you want.”

She walked at a clipped pace to stay ahead of him, mostly so he wouldn’t see her face. Otherwise, he’d see the smile she couldn’t contain, the blush in her cheeks, and instantly know what she was up to. He finished his sandwich along the way and was still brushing the crumbs from his hands when they reached her truck. She grabbed his arms and spun him around, pinning him against the side.

“By my count, you’ve got seventeen minutes. Do your worst.”

His eyes widened along with his smile. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

With brisk efficiency, he took the keys from her hand, unlocked the driver’s side door, and practically tossed her inside. She was sitting in the middle of the seat when he slammed the door shut and fired up the engine.

“What are you doing?”

“We can’t do this right outside the hospital doors, so I’m going to find us someplace a little more private.” He was all business as he threw the truck into reverse, stopping just long enough to shift back into drive before he took off through the parking lot. He looked over at her with a smile like that of a cat who’d eaten the canary. “You better have those pants off and any other prep work you might need completed by the time I get this beast parked.”

A man on a mission, he raced down the service road and turned out the back entrance, driving less than a block before he reached the darkened parking lot of a small church. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he’d done this before. Or at the very least, the thought had crossed his mind, too.

“Sacrilege,” she said with a laugh as she kicked off her tennis shoes and shimmied her pants and underwear down her hips as the truck wildly bounced over the parking lot’s ineffective speed bumps.

Lucky drove around to the backside of the building and killed the lights, parking where they wouldn’t be seen from the street. “Hopefully there won’t be any patrols coming by in the next few minutes.”

As he slid across the bench seat from beneath the confines of the steering wheel, Rachel grabbed up the plastic bag from the floorboard. In it were provisions she’d purchased earlier in the day while picking up her father’s prescription from the pharmacy. Provisions originally bought for use after work, not during. But they sure came in handy now. She was tearing open the box when he shoved down his pants and his erection sprang free, capturing her attention.

“Someone’s ready to go,” she said.

“Shortcake, I think you underestimate the male anatomy,” he said with a smile so wide it could be seen in the near dark. “When a woman says it’s go time, it’s go time. That and I’m usually on ready alert whenever you’re near these days anyway.”

As she straddled his lap she heard herself laugh, a sound that was becoming quite familiar whenever she was around him. She’d never done anything like this in her life. Well, almost. Sure she’d had sex in a car, but she’d never snuck out from work to have a quickie on her lunch break. But being with him made her want to do all kinds of silly and crazy things.

His hand moved between her thighs as she worked at the foil packet, his fingers stroking and teasing her tender flesh. A sigh escaped her lips as he slid two fingers to the hilt inside her. “And you thought
I
was ready to go.”

After she rolled on the condom, she knocked his hand out of the way as she lowered herself over him. The position brought them nose to nose and she stared into those deep dark eyes. “Hi.”

His smile reached his eyes, crinkling around the corners as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. “Hi, yourself.”

She kissed him then, her tongue stroking his as he held her hips, helping to match their rhythms, having her ride him harder and faster. Their earlier urgency came rushing back. In the background a maudlin country song played on the radio, but it was lost among the combined sounds of groans and sighs, the creaking of the truck, their shared laughter between kisses and heavy breaths.

Lucky worked a hand between their bodies, pressing his thumb against that small bundle of nerves, giving her just that extra bit of friction her body required. And within seconds, he sent her soaring, only to closely follow.

She collapsed upon his chest as the aftershocks made their way through the both of them. Their chests alternately rising and falling as they each tried to catch their breaths.

He lifted his arm up, bringing his watch to face level so he could read it in the dark. “Ten minutes to spare.”

“I wouldn’t brag about that.”

He retaliated by smacking her bare ass. “You told me to do my worst.”

She sat up then, held his face in both of her hands. “If that’s your worst,” she said, her thumb stroking his lips, “then I’m a very lucky girl.”

He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly, once, twice, before he urged her to get up. “Hate to cut this quickie short, but it’s time to get dressed.”

As she redressed, he took care of the condom, and within minutes they were back in the same parking spot they’d vacated only moments before.

Rachel leaned across and kissed him again, whispering a thank you against his lips.

“Get on inside. I’ll be there in a minute.” As she opened the passenger door to climb out, he called out to her. “Don’t forget your lunch.”

She felt her face heat as she turned back to look at him. “I didn’t forget it. It’s in the break room fridge.” Before he could say anything else, she quickly shut the door and ran inside.

L
UCKY COULD ONLY
shake his head and laugh as he watched her run across the parking lot and disappear through the automatic doors. He rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes for a minute, giving his brain and heart a chance to settle. Otherwise, he’d follow her in there and say something that she was nowhere ready to hear. Like the fact he could no longer imagine a future without her in it.

But for now he would play by her rules, focusing only on today and not worrying about the future.

When he finally made his way inside a few minutes later, Dottie didn’t even try to hide the grin on her face. “Did you have a nice lunch?” she asked.

“Can’t complain.”

“By the way.” Dottie waved for Lucky to come closer and he leaned one arm atop the desk so she could keep her voice low. “Hamilton is looking for you. The minute he realized Rachel wasn’t in the break room, he went on high alert looking for the two of you.”

Lucky shook his head. “I can’t believe this guy.”

“Now, now,” she said, patting his arm. “I told him I thought you went upstairs to check on some labs and that Rachel said something about running down to the convenience store.”

“You’re a peach. But that wasn’t necessary. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

She chuckled softly at that. “Lord knows that. If anything, you’re doing it right.”

But this was exactly what Rachel was concerned about, their relationship becoming hospital fodder.

“Can you do me a favor and not mention anything about the two of us to anyone? Rachel’s worried about the potential backlash any gossip might cause.”

“Darlin’, if there’s any gossip about the two of you, I can promise it won’t start with me,” she said with all seriousness before her smile returned. “But I hate to tell you, anyone with eyes will notice simply because you two can’t keep your eyes off each other.”

Damn. Twice in one week they’d outed themselves. Keeping their relationship a secret might be harder than Rachel thought.

“Well, thanks anyway, Dottie. I owe you.”

It didn’t matter to him if other people noticed they were a couple. It didn’t bother him that Hamilton was looking for the two of them. But it would likely bother Rachel, because she worried about things like that. And the last thing he wanted was for her to be upset.

He stopped at the computer to check on the lab results he’d been waiting on only to find out the system was down for maintenance for the next fifteen minutes or so. Since nothing else was going on, he headed into the break room where he found Rachel eating the last of her salad. The moment she looked up from her plate and her eyes met his, a pretty blush colored her skin.

“I brought your keys,” he said, dropping them on the table in front of her.

She ducked her head, trying to hide her smile as she stabbed another bite onto her fork. “Thank you.”

He grabbed one of the chairs and spun it around, straddling it so he could rest his arms across the chair back. “Dottie says Hamilton was looking for us.” He waited a moment to see if she’d respond, but she just continued on with her meal. “How do you want to handle him? Because I doubt he’s going to let this go.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” she said, shaking her head. “We’ve got nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

The way she was stabbing her lettuce with her fork, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was imagining Hamilton’s face as she did so. After all, he’d watched how Doctor Dick followed her around all evening long. And just like he anticipated, good ol’ Rich wasn’t giving up so easily.

“I went out with him once. Once!” This time she stabbed a cherry tomato and it squirted a seed across the table. “And I’d tell you what he said to me earlier if I didn’t think you’d kill him with your bare hands.”