His arms loosened around me. “You need to be more careful. That isn’t a suggestion. I’m not always going to be around to catch you.”
I scoffed. Of course, I’d get stuck with some asshole who wanted to snap at me instead of hold me.
He’d be good at holding, if that was what he wanted to do.
I shoved him until I stumbled away. “Just start taking pictures. I’m going to need proof to show my commanding officer.”
“You know that Cap and?—”
“Take the damn pictures, Doc.”
I heard him click his tongue before the directives began. “Turn around and slip off your shirt. We’ll do your torso and bust first.”
I did as he asked, and then I just closed my eyes. I didn’t want to look at him. I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want anything to do with him. I heard the camera shuttering. I heard Doc mumbling things to himself. His fingertips moved my hair out of the way as he rounded around on the ligature marks of my neck.
My body had no business reacting the way it did to the heat of him.
We slipped my shirt back on before my pants slid off, and he took pictures of my legs. Of the bruising that sliced up my calves. The scrapes and scratches at my ankles, and how swollen and bruised they were also before something started dinging out.
“That’s your bloodwork,” Doc said.
“We done with pictures?” I asked.
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth. Just be careful getting back into your clothes.”
“I’m fine,” I muttered as I looked around, reaching for my shirt.
“You’re not fine.”
“Then tell me what my tests say.”
His silence told me everything as I slid my clothes back on and turned to face him. “Well?”
His jaw ticked. He had his back to me. “You should still be resting.”
“I take it my bloodwork is normal.”
He spun around on his stool. “Just because your heart rate has come back down to normal, and just because you’re back on a regular eating schedule, and just because you don’t have an infection doesn’t mean you don’t need rest, Elizabeth.”
I didn’t like his icy tone of voice. “Well at least you dropped the annoying ‘Miss’ part before it.”
He slowly stood from his stool.
It made me take a step back.
About halfway into the air, he paused, almost like he just became aware of how much he towered over me.
He sighed as he eased himself back down onto his stool. “Just go back to your room and get some sleep, Miss Elizabeth.”
I stared at him. “You’re saying that nickname to piss me off, aren’t you?”
Those stormy eyes of his locked with mine. “I would never intentionally do anything to upset you.”
I thought back to how Ranger scooped Marla up and swung her around. How he seemed so happy to see her. How she seemed equally as happy to see him.
I wondered if I’d ever have something like that in my life.
“Thanks for the check-up, Doc,” I said as I turned and headed for the door.
