“Oh my God!”
Maisie dropped the poker, hearing it clatter onto the hardwood floor at her feet.
Probably the landlord would demand something out of their rental bond to repair the scratches it had undoubtedly caused, but Maisie didn’t exactly care about that right now.
Right now, she was transfixed by the sight in front of her – in both a good and a bad way.
Thegoodwas that this guy was, even in his current state,insanely hot.Maisie liked to think she had an eye for a good-looking man, but this guy took the cake, the gateau, the entire pastry shop. Lightly curled dark brown hair, chiseled jaw, just a little bit of stubble, a straight, perfect nose.
And those biceps… yowza.
Thebadwas that these werecompletely inappropriate thoughts to be having right now, what is wrong with you?!
The guy was clearly injured – he staggered as he stood by her bed, almost falling forward onto his knees. Blood was soaking through the front of his ragged shirt, and, as Maisie rushed overto him, she could see it was also seeping out of a wound on his back.
Shit. Shit. I need to help this guy.
Immediately, her brain snapped intonurse mode.
She didn’t care who this guy was or where he’d come from. Right now, the only thing that mattered was that he needed her help.
“Just take it easy,” she said quickly, as the guy staggered again. She grabbed his shoulder, urging him to sit down on the bed. “I’m a nurse – I can help you. I just need to know what happened to you first.”
The guy muttered something incomprehensible – he sounded like he was trying to talk through a mouthful of cotton wool – his long, dark eyelashes fluttering over his golden-brown eyes.
“Can you say that again?” she asked, as she eased him backward. But it seemed like he couldn’t – his jaw worked, but no sound emerged.
I’ll just have to examine him myself,Maisie thought, as, quickly and efficiently, she unbuttoned his shirt to get a better look at the extent of his injuries.
Okay. Bullet wounds,she thought,nurse modemaking a dispassionate assessment.I’ll need to get some compression onto the one on this shoulder. The other one just winged his side. Not great, but not as bad as the first one.
“Wait here and don’t move,” she said in her most no-nonsense tone, though she didn’t think this guy was in any state to go anywhere right now.
She hurried to the bathroom, where she kept her first aid kit – she’d need to put on some latex gloves before she touched him any further, aside from anything else. Plus, being a nurse, her first aid kit was just a little more expansive than most, with gloves, syringes, tourniquets, duct tape, sugary biscuits,a marker, cotton pads, long rolls of bandages, ultra-strength disinfectant, and a host of other things to cover even the most unexpected of injuries.
She snapped on the latex gloves as she strode back toward her room, the kit tucked under her arm.
“I thought I told you not to move!” Maisie cried out as she entered the room and found the guy sitting up on the bed, looking around as if he was completely at a loss to explain how he’d gotten here. Which, to be honest, she didn’t blame him for. He was probably suffering from blood loss and possibly even shock. She had to staunch that bleeding, and quickly. “Just lie back. I’m going to apply some compression to that shoulder wound – and it’s probably going to hurt.”
She pulled a cotton pad out of her first aid kit, and got ready to press it down on the bullet wound in the man’s shoulder – at least until he grabbed her wrist, yanking her hand away.
Geeze, this guy isstrong –
“Don’t touch me.” The man’s voice was little more than a low growl, shot through with pain.
“Ihaveto touch you if I’m going to stop this bleeding,” Maisie shot back. “I don’t have time for any stupid macho bullshit. You’ve been shot –twice– and all those gym rat muscles aren’t going to save you from that.Iam.”
But his grip around her wrist didn’t get any looser.
“You can’t,” he managed to get out after a moment or two of labored breathing. “Too late – there’s nothing –”
Maisie compressed her lips into a thin line. “Don’t talk like that – I’ll tell you right now, these are flesh wounds. Nothing vital has been hit. No organs, no major arteries. If we get you to the hospital right now you’ll be okay. Right now, the problem is blood loss, which I can slow down if youlet go of my freaking wrist.”
The man seemed surprised as he looked down at where his fingers were squeezed around her wrist, but then he let go, with no further objections.
“Thankyou,” Maisie said shortly. Her skin was still tingling where he’d gripped her – he reallyhadbeen strong, which was surprising considering the state he was in. But then, he was probably filled with adrenaline.
“Looks like you got someone pretty pissed off with you,” she murmured a little absently, as the guy finally lay back a little. Maisie sprayed some disinfectant onto the cotton pad before leaning over him, trying to ignore the expanse of sweaty, golden skin before her.
