Melt With You: Fated, Book 4 (2 page)

 
     
In more ways than one.

 
     
The handsome paramedic was staring at her
as if she’d performed some sort of divine act ordained by the heavens when
really, it was such a common day occurrence for her she felt like it had become
routine.

       
Lanie
shook her head. Well, there had been nothing routine
about today’s delivery. First, she’d been on her lunch break, sitting outside,
enjoying the sunshine and fresh air while she read. She’d heard the woman
scream, knew there was trouble and so she’d rushed over to check it out.

 
     
Luckily enough for everyone she’d been
there to help. The woman had been so close to delivering there was no way she
would’ve made it out of the
ambulance,
and the
paramedic had appeared to be in a deep panic.

 
     
When it came to a woman in labor, the
sight alone usually sent the majority of men into a complete tizzy. Thankfully
he’d calmed and assisted her. The baby was delivered without a hitch, and a
crew of nurses had taken the woman and her newborn inside.

 
     
Lanie
checked
her watch. She needed to get back to work but she spotted the paramedic heading
toward her, a sheepish expression on his face. What a face—all sharp angles and
strong jaw, offset by piercing green eyes and sensual lips. Tall and broad, he
filled out his uniform nicely.

 
     
Her entire body went on full-tilt alert as
he came closer. She offered him a weak smile.
“Everything
okay?”

 
     
“Everything’s great.” He stopped in front
of her. She inhaled, his warm, masculine scent filling her, and she felt just
the tiniest bit dizzy.
In a good way.
“I wanted to
thank you for the help.”

 
     
“You’re welcome.” She shrugged.
“Just doing my job.”

 
     
“You rescued me.” He smiled, and the sight
of it dazzled her senses. Had she ever reacted so strongly to a man before? She
didn’t even know his name.
“Rescued that lady too.”

 
     
“No offense, but you looked like you
needed rescuing.” He chuckled and dropped his gaze to the ground, shuffling his
booted feet. “So you work in labor and delivery? I’ve never seen you around
before.”

 
     
“I do. And I just transferred here a few
months ago.” His lids lifted, revealing his dark brown gaze. “Ah, that explains
it. I’m Wes.”

 
     
“
Lanie
.”
She took his offered hand, a bolt of heat shooting from their connected palms
and firing her blood.
“Nice to meet you.”

 
     
“Likewise.”
He
let go of her hand slowly, their fingers brushing as he disengaged.

 
     
“Maybe I’ll see you around again soon.”

 
     
“Maybe.”
Her
voice was weak and she stood there, watching as he walked away.

 
     
She dropped her gaze to his firm backside,
admiring his assured stride, his lean musculature. He glanced over his
shoulder, his eyes meeting hers and his smile bloomed into a full-blown grin.

 
     
Giddy, she walked inside the hospital, her
gaze unfocused, her mind filled with dreamy thoughts. It was as if she floated
on a cloud all the way up to the labor and delivery floor, and her friend and
coworker Aimee noticed immediately.

 
     
“Did you hear about the lady who gave
birth in the ambulance?” Aimee asked as
Lanie
drew
near.

       
“I’m
the one who helped deliver the baby.” She’d already forgotten about the baby,
her thoughts were so wrapped up in Wes the sexy paramedic.

 
     
“How cool.
I
wondered if maybe it was you. I knew you were on your break, and they said a
nurse helped out.” Aimee laughed. “I should’ve known.”
Lanie
grabbed a clipboard and scanned the list though she really couldn’t focus,
which was bad considering she still had four hours to go before her shift
finished. “It was me.”

 
     
“So you helped Wes out then?” When
Lanie’s
mouth dropped open, Aimee smiled. “I heard it was
him. Word spreads fast.”

 
     
 
I’ll say.
 
“Do you know him?”

 
     
Aimee waved a dismissive hand. “Everyone
knows him. He’s such a player.” Disappointment filled her.
Great.
The first guy to spark her interest since moving to this city and he was a man
slut. “He’s that bad?”

 
     
“I
know,
such a
shame. He’s gorgeous.
Funny and smart.
The guy he
works with, Evan, he was a catch too. But he was such a workaholic he never
gave anyone the time of day. He got snatched up just recently.
Now Wes?
He’ll screw anything in a skirt.”
Lanie’s
heart sunk to her toes. Temptation left her, just
like that. She’d already dealt with one boyfriend who cheated on her, and she’d
told herself never again. She wasn’t about to casually date a man with that
kind of reputation.

 
     
“Steer clear of him,
Lanie
,”
Aimee warned, as if she could read her mind. “He’s not worthy of you.”

       
“Thanks
for the advice.” She was already ahead of Aimee. No way would she even consider
that guy.

 
     
No way.

 
     
Wes was a man possessed.

 
     
What else could explain why his focus was
shot? His work was suffering. He couldn’t sleep. Hell, he couldn’t concentrate
long enough to pay attention to a show on TV. All he could think about was her.

 
     
Lanie
.
The heavenly nurse with the sweet smile
and the pretty blue eyes.

 
     
He’d asked around the hospital, of course.
Immediately they’d all known why.

 
     
The smirks, the suggestive comments, they
aggravated the hell out of him. Okay, yeah, he could own his reputation but
that had been a long time ago. He’d finally taken a clue from Evan and started
throwing himself in his work.

 
     
When was the last time he’d had sex with
anyone he worked with? Well over a year. How about the last time he had sex
with someone he met on the job?
Same.

 
     
There was something to be said about a man
who focused on his career versus one who played at it. He wasn’t getting any
younger. He wanted to be considered damn good at his job—one of the best. And,
now that he was a little more secure in that department, he thought meeting
Lanie
was perfect timing.

 
     
Everyone around him thought he was up to
his old tricks again. It was insulting.

 
     
Not that he could really blame them.

       
It
was well past the end of his shift, almost midnight and he grabbed his duffel
bag from his locker, slamming the metal door shut with a loud bang.

 
     
“What’s your problem?”

 
     
Wes turned to find Evan watching him, his
eyes narrowed, hands resting on his hips.

 
     
He wanted to roll his eyes. If one of his
best friends was going to give him shit, he’d explode. “Sorry.
Frustrated.”

 
     
“Over what?”
Evan
tugged on a sweatshirt, then zipped his duffel bag closed, tossing it on the
ground before he shut his locker.

 
     
“That nurse.
Lanie
.”

 
     
“Haven’t got a chance to talk to her?”

 
     
“Not only have I not talked to her, I
haven’t even seen her.” Wes glanced to his left, then his right, making sure
they were alone before he continued. “I asked around about her to a few people.”

 
     
“Yeah?
What did
you learn?”

 
     
“That she’s relatively new on staff. She’s
originally from Arizona, and she’s single.” Evan sighed and shook his head. “They
all asked how long it was going to take to get her in the sack.”

 
     
Evan chuckled. “Your reputation precedes
you.”

 
     
“Damn it, that’s the problem. I haven’t
done anything like that in months.

 
     
 
Months.
”

       
“Oh,
I know. It’s just that people have a hard time forgetting.” Evan offered him a
grim smile. “Hopefully she hasn’t heard about your escapades.” Wes groaned. He
hadn’t even thought of that. “If that’s the case, I can probably write her off
before I even talk to her again. The gossip around this joint runs rampant.”

 
     
“Tell me about it.” They headed out of the
break area located close to the emergency area. “People still can’t believe I
actually have a girlfriend. Someone approaches me at least once a week to ask
me about it, about Morgan.”

 
     
“How is Morgan?” Evan had met her on the
job, when she’d been smacked by a door while on a date with a complete jackass.
Just like that, she and Evan had fallen madly in love.

 
     
“She’s good.” The giant smile on Evan’s
face would split it in half if he didn’t watch it, and the glazed look in his
eyes made him look like a bozo.
A bozo who was a total goner
for his woman.
“We’re starting to hammer out wedding plans.”

 
     
“No way.”
A
shiver moved through Wes, and it wasn’t pleasant. Yeah, he was hot for the new
nurse on staff but he certainly wasn’t thinking marriage and roses and picket
fences and little
rugrats
. That was crazy talk.

 
     
“Yeah.
I was
wondering…” They stopped in front of the employee only door that led outside. “If
maybe you’d be my best man in the wedding?”

 
     
“Well, yeah. Of course I will be.” Wes had
the overwhelming urge to hug his friend. And he wasn’t what anyone would call
the demonstrative type. “I’d be honored.”

 
     
“Great. I’ll tell Morgan she can scratch
that question off the list.”

 
     
“Oh man, she’s making you keep a list?”

       
They
both started to laugh just as a slender nurse strode by. Wes did a double take,
his laughter dying in an instant. “That was her.”

 
     
“Who?”
Evan looked
confused.

 
     
“My nurse, dumbass.
I
gotta
go.” Wes didn’t even wait for Evan’s
response, just started heading after
Lanie
.

 
     
Her stride was quick, her shoes squeaking
on the clean floor. Her golden brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail,
and it bobbed with her every step. Her hips swayed, the sweet bubble of her ass—even
in boring scrubs—keeping him mesmerized.

 
     
She had a walk that would make any man
drool, and he couldn’t help but wonder just how shapely those legs were beneath
the scrubs.

 
     
Could just imagine those legs wrapped
around him while he slid inside her tight, wet heat…

 
     
“
Lanie
.”
She didn’t turn around when he called her name and he quickened his steps,
gaining on her.
“
Lanie
.”

 
     
Still she didn’t turn, and he ran the last
few feet until he was directly behind her.