“We heard Monica kicked you out last night,” says the one wearing green scrubs.
The final one, wearing pink scrubs, laughs.She looks like she’s in her forties, smile lines around her eyes.
“Damn, I was hoping you were his sister,” she says.
Hunter skirts around them, wearing an under shirt and pajama pants, and puts a hand on my hip.Then he leans down and kisses me.
It’s a slightly longer kiss than it needs to be.
“Donut?”I ask.
He takes one and I set the box down on the bed, grabbing the last old-fashioned for myself.Hunter puts his arm around me as we lean against the sink.
“How’s he doing?”I ask the nurses.
“I’m right here,” Hunter says.
“Yeah, but you’ll just tell me you’re fine,” I tease.“I want the truth.”
“Thatisthe truth,” he says, taking a bite of donut.“C’mon, Clem, I’m practically good as new.”
“His lungs are damaged, and it’s hard to tell how much,” says Pink Scrubs.
“I inhaled some smoke,” Hunter admits, taking another bite.
“He inhaled somevery hotsmoke,” Pink Scrubs says.
“They’re doing a CT scan on me today because I haven’t impressed the doctor,” he says.“They might want to keep me another night.”
Shit.I was secretly hoping I’d get to...well, not take him home to Lodgepole, but at least take him out ofhere.
“We just can’t get enough of him,” says Floral Scrubs.
I laugh, even though it’s not that funny.
A few minutes later, Pink Scrubs more or less herds the other two nurses out of Hunter’s room, waving to him.
The second they’re gone, he moves around in front of me, his hands on my hips.
“I thought they were never gonna leave,” he murmurs.
“Maybe I should call in sick so I can stay here and make sure none of the nurses are putting the moves on you,” I tease.
“They aredefinitelyputting the moves on me,” he says.“It’s only eight in the morning and I’m half-expecting one of them to come in here salaciously sucking on a popsicle.”
I laugh, and I let my hands alight on his shoulders, because I’m not quite sure where he’s burned.He still smells like smoke and fire, the scent probably imprinted on his skin, and he leans down and kisses me slowly, his hips pressing mine into the sink behind me.
Desire unfurls through me like a ribbon uncoiling, and before I know it I’ve got both hands in his hair, pressing his face to mine.Hunter lifts me up onto the edge of the sink and I arch my back as he presses between my legs.
He pulls back for a moment, and I realize he’s breathing hard, harder than normal.
“You okay?”I whisper.
Hunter puts one hand on my jaw and runs his thumb along the edge of my bottom lip, smiling at me like we’ve got a secret.
“Yeah,” he says.
I know for afactthat I can’t have him right now, in his hospital room, while the staff is doing morning rounds, but holy shit do Iwanthim.
