Thicker than Blood - Book One (3 page)

It has been a long time
since I was so turned on. I was still trying to wrap my brain
around the occurrence when my phone buzzed.

Matt: R U OK? Wuts
wrong?

Me: Want sex.

Matt: Lol. Was about to go
to bed, but I guess I can take a little nap instead. See you at
8?

Damn.
Nearly two hours to go. I texted him back: Not soon enough
but ok.

The rest of the shift was a
blur; not because I was busy but because I couldn't focus. I was
dying to tell someone about Dr. Amante but knew we both could get
in trouble for our unprofessional behavior. Maybe I could tell
Tiffany later. Wonder if she'd believe me?

After giving report on my
three patient's, I was able to leave. I found that my foot pressed
on the accelerator harder than normal as I drove home. My Nissan
350Z wove in and around rush-hour traffic, the six cylinder
roaring. I glanced at the clock. It was 0723. If I hurried I'd have
time for a quick shower before Matt got there.

The hot shower did nothing
to help my voracious appetite for a man. If anything, it made me
absolutely starving.

When Matt knocked on the
door, I met him naked. Grabbing him by the collar of his t-shirt, I
jerked him inside the house. I was in his arms within seconds,
smashing my mouth to his.

He broke away from my kiss
to look at me with a huge grin. “Whoa!” He laughed. “What's gotten
into you?”

For the first time, I was
able to remove his shirt from him without help, revealing that
muscular body and his beautiful, interlacing tattoos. “Nothing,
just had... a night.”

“I guess so,” he said as I
dragged him back to my bed. “Wait a minute.” Matt planted his feet
firmly, making it impossible for me to move him any
further.

“What?” I turned and looked
at him; he was standing with a smirk on his face, arms across his
sculpted chest.

“I want a little more than
what we did yesterday.”

“Weren't you happy with it?”
I thought he thought it was good. I did, anyway.

“Of course, but I'd like a
little more involvement, more teasing, for both of us.” A hand
reached out to my shoulder and he rubbed my arm softly,
thoughtfully.

Dammit, I need sex!
“Like what,” I asked impatiently.

“Well, like sixty-nining or
something like that.”

I sighed. “Fine, foreplay.”
I tried to kiss him again, but he brought the other hand to my
shoulders and stopped me.

Head cocked to the side,
Matt considered me for a moment. “Damn, you're wound up tighter
than a spring. What's happened?”

I stared up at Matt.
Should I tell him?
No,
that would be stupid. If I told him about Dr. Amante, Matt would
know I was fucking him so I could pretend he was that cardiologist.
Course, we were just bed buddies... why should it
matter?

Matt pulled me to sit on the
bed with him. “Seriously, what happened? Don't think for a moment
that I didn't see your brain running at 100 miles per hour...” He
pulled the hair from my face and tapped my forehead gently. “What's
going on up there?”

“
Fuck,” I sighed. Shrugging,
I smiled half-heartedly at him. “I had something... bizarre
happen.”

“What?” He smiled, thinking
he was getting ready for an interesting story. It was interesting,
but I wasn't sure he would think so.

“It's kinda hard to
believe... I mean it happened to me and I keep wondering if it
really happened.”

“Kenna, what
happened?”

I'm really going to tell
him, aren't I.
“Okay, uh... so, I went to
one of my patient's room to check on them and the new cardiologist
was in there.” I paused, not sure how to phrase what had happened
after that.

“Yeah?” Matt
coaxed.

I shifted uncomfortably on
the bed. “You know what, let me get my robe.” I wasn't about to
tell him that story while sitting in front of him naked. The
experience itself was exposing enough. I stood and pulled my fleece
bathrobe from the door and wrapped its fluffy warmth around me. I
sat back down and leaned against Matt.
Much
better.

“Okay, uh... after I told
him her night long rhythm... he... he attacked me.”

“WHAT?!” Matt stood quickly,
anger filled his eyes. “What's this fucker's name?” His booming
yell rattled the windows in the bedroom.

My hands shot up in protest.
“No, wait! I worded that incorrectly.” My mind raced. “He didn't
attack me, he... he kissed me.”

The look in Matt's eyes
didn't change. I knew what I said wasn't any better.

“In a patient's room... he
just... kissed you.” Matt was saying the words as if they left a
bitter taste in his mouth.

I stared at the floor and
nodded.
Yeah, real professional.

“Did you kiss him back?”
came the question I wasn't expecting.

I knew the answer to that
question, but how do I respond? Guilt kept me from raising my head
to face my friend.

“You did, didn't you.” It
was a statement, not a question. “Did you guys...” Matt didn't
finish.

I met his blue eyes and
shook my head. “No, it didn't get any further than a
kiss.”

“What happened then? He
just left?” Matt was being sarcastic, but how strange that he was
right on the money.

I cocked my eye brows up
and laughed in disbelief at my own story. “Yeah, he
did.”

Matt put his face in one
hand and raised the other to me. “Wait, let me get this straight.
This new guy, this doctor, whom you've never met, kisses you in a
patient's room and then... just leaves?”

I nodded. “Yeah,
weird.”

“I'd say so. Did he say or
do anything after he kissed you?”

“Uh, he tried to tell me to
forget that it happened, and when I asked why, he asked if I was
taking Garlique.”

“What?” Matt looked up;
concern hid behind his blue eyes. “He told you to
forget
that it
happened?”

“Exactly.” I tried to
understand the look I was seeing. It was almost like... he knew
something and he wasn't telling me? What could he possibly
know?

“
What's this guy's
name?”

“Alex Amante.”

“Wait.” The concern I had
seen in Matt's eyes twisted into furry. “Alessandro
Amante?”

Alex could be short for
Alessandro. I shrugged. “I'm not sure, I guess it could be.
Why?”

“Italian accent,
right?”

I nodded. “Do you know
him?”

“That blood... Ugh! That
fucker!” Matt's hands tightened to fists at his side. He stepped
towards the door, but then turned back, pointing a finger at me.
“Stay away from that son-of-a-bitch, you hear me? He's more than
just bad news, he's... toxic. Kenna, I'm telling you, stay away
from him.” With that, Matt stormed out of my house.

I sat back on the bed
slack-jawed. Okay, seriously, what the fuck just happened? I
grabbed my phone and attempted to call Matt, but there was no
answer.

Where did Matt get off
telling me who I could see? What did he know that I did not? Was
there really a reason for him to act so protective? What didn't he
want to tell me? I started to worry that he'd report the incident
to the charge nurse, but I didn't think Matt would want for me to
get in trouble.

I sighed. So, what started
out as an attempt to quench the fires of lust turned into one, big,
damned mess.

Changing from the robe into
pajamas, I climbed into bed. I stared at the ceiling, thinking
about the events of the last twenty-four hours until sleep found
me.

*****

“...
like a wrecking ball. I never hit so hard in love, all I
wanted was to break your walls...
” The
alarm clock sang at 1730.

“
What the shit...,” I growled and smashed the clock's buttons
with my fist. I needed to change the channel to something more me.
Biebs and then Miley? What noise to wake up to. Would have put me
in a bad mood if tonight wasn't my last night for a few
days.

I stretched and yawned,
snuggling down into the warm sheets for a moment longer. My
thoughts went to Dr. Amante and then Matt. My hand snaked out of
the covers to feel around on the nightstand for my phone. I pulled
it down into the sheets and dialed Matt's number.

“
Hey, this is Matt. Leave me a message.”
Dammit.

“
Hey, it's me. Uh, just wanted to say hey.” I paused, not
wanting to leave a long, stupid, 'I'm so confused' message. “Give
me a call.” My friend was ignoring me. I had to find out
why.

I thought about taking a
shower, but I had one before I went to bed. My hair would be a
mess, but I could just pull it up and out of the way.

My phone buzzed on the
pillow next to my head. I grabbed it quickly, hoping it was Matt...
but it was the hospital.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey Kenna, it's Sam,” the house supervisor said. “You've been
floated down to the ER tonight.”

Dammit.
“Ha, and I thought you were calling me off.”

He chuckled. “Well, almost.
If the ER wasn't in a bind, you'd be sleeping in.”

“
Well, alright. See ya soon.”

“
Thanks Kenna.”

Fuck. The ER.
Now that place
was
a box of chocolates; you never
knew what sort of nuts you'd get. Some nights were quiet and other
nights, like a full moon, people were going completely ape-shit. I
prayed that tonight wasn't a full moon.

I took my time getting
ready for the night ahead since I didn't have to shower. I did a
bit of reading online and packed myself a nice, hearty lunch.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I'd have time to eat it – I'd probably
be running on coffee alone.

My car found a parking place
that was relatively convenient to my escape in the morning. As I
made my way up to the double ER doors, I felt someone watching me.
Glancing behind, I saw Dr. Amante in the parking lot. He was
standing between a Bentley Continental GT and a giant Mercedes,
talking to Dr. Tims, another cardiologist in the Welch Group. Dr.
Amante's eyes were fixed on me as he chatted with the other doc. I
had to turn my head when I saw Dr. Tims look my way. Great, they
were talking about me. Why?
Fucking
fantastic.
Now my mind would chew on that
all night.

I entered the building and
swiped my badge.
Lord, please don't make
this be a long night... please?

When I entered the ER, it
didn't look too bad. There were three people seated in the waiting
room. T
his is what I was called down here
for?
If the ER doctor tonight was anyone
besides Dr. Campbell, I'd be spending a lot of time on app games...
unless we got busy.

“Hey Kenna! You're down
here tonight?” a happy woman's voice called.

I turned. It was Andrea
Parker. We graduated from the same nursing class.

“Andrea!” I hugged her
lightly. She looked exactly the same as she did in school; short,
straight, brown hair and had the waifish, big, fake-breasted body
most men were into these days. I hated her in school because of it.
I was jealous of the attention she received. Now, I could'nt care
less. I was happy with me... thanks to Matt.
Damn, Matt. Why wouldn't he call me back?

Andrea stood back, taking a
look over my body. “You look like you've lost some weight. Good for
you, girl!”

My eyes narrowed slightly,
but then I grinned, placing a hand on my hip like a pin-up girl.
“Nope, just as curvy as always.”
She could
jump up my ass
. Her statement would have
bothered me a while back, but not now. I knew I had as much to
offer as her... and even more. Matt thought so... and so did Dr.
Amante, apparently.