STORY EXCERPT

Danni…

“But I already have a job,” I argued inside Mr. Reese Corbin’s hospital room.

“I’ll pay you twice what you make here.” The guy was persuasive, and I was still struggling to pay off my student loans from nursing school. The money was a huge temptation.

“Why can’t you hire a visiting nurse?” I asked. This seemed a bit shady to me. I’d already suspected something when Mr. Corbin’s visitors showed up in fancy business suits. It wasn’t so much the suits as the looks on their faces.

Hardened looks that said they weren’t on the up-and-up. I just had that feeling in my gut.

“Because you’ve been his nurse since he got out of surgery,” the guy said. “And I’d like to keep you on retainer after Reese is on his feet.”

He grabbed the briefcase he’d brought with him and set it on the table tray next to Mr. Corbin’s bed. “This is a legitimate deal. You take care of Reese until he’s fully healed and, after that, come whenever we need you.”

He slid a business card from his wallet and handed it over. I took it and looked at it. Maximus Russo of Russo and Associates. He was a lawyer. Even I knew of his law firm. Not that I’d needed their legal expertise. The building was located a block over from Ridgeview General where I worked.

From the way Mr. Russo was dressed, even if I’d needed legal help, I wouldn’t have been able to afford him. I just bet he spent a grand on some dinner and thought nothing of it. Like the money was a drop in the bucket for him.

“This is half of what you’ll get for taking care of Reese.” Mr. Russo opened the briefcase, and I nearly fainted at the rows and rows of money.

“Fifty grand now and fifty grand when Reese is back on his feet.”

This was legal, right? He wasn’t asking me to do anything against the law. He just wanted to hire me to take care of his friend, and I had a month of vacation time coming to me. I could still keep my job while paying off my debts.

The guy was making the pot too juicy to pass on. “And how much will I be paid as a retainer?”

Mr. Russo closed the briefcase. “Let’s be honest here…”

“Clover,” I said. “My name is Danni Clover.”

“Let’s be honest, Danni. Most nurses are drowning in school debt. If you agree to be on retainer, I’ll wipe that debt away.”

It was if the guy had just read my mind.

I felt as if I’d be obligated to the devil. This sounded too good to be true, and when that happened, it usually came with a boatload of strings attached.

“Since we’re being honest, why would a lawyer need a nurse on call for him?”

My mama hadn’t raised an idiot.

“Work for me and I’ll tell you.” Mr. Russo took the briefcase off the tray, and I wanted to snatch it away from him. Not only were my bills mounting but my mother was sick, and her treatments were costly, along with her medications.

I was still struggling to pay her medical bills since she couldn’t work. I was in over my head and felt as if I’d drown before a lifeline was thrown to me. But Mr. Russo was making me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

God, I felt as if I was dealing with the Godfather.

“We already have a physician on call, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a nurse, too.”

“I want a legal document drawn up saying that I’m a nurse, not a henchman. I won’t be doing anything illegal, Mr. Russo.”

I had fought too hard to finish nursing school and had gone many, many nights living off noodles to get where I was. I was also the first in my family to make something of himself, and I wasn’t going to have that taken away from me.

“I’ll have a contract drawn up by the end of the day,” Mr. Russo said. “I take it we have a deal?”

I looked at Mr. Corbin, who was still unconscious. He appeared harmless in his sleep, but I had a feeling I was wrong. What made me agree was desperation. To pay my own debts and to give my mother the care she deserved.

“Yes, we have a deal.” I looked at the briefcase. “But you can’t leave that here. I’d prefer we met somewhere else when my shift is over.”

“They’ll be someone here at all times,” Mr. Russo said. “I need Reese safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“Sign the contract and I’ll tell you.” Mr. Russo walked toward the door. “And I want Reese to get top-notch care, Danni. Anything he wants, you get him.”

“I’m a nurse, not a gofer.”

“You are now.” Mr. Russo walked out, and I saw a muscular guy dressed in black just outside the door.

What in the hell had I just gotten myself into? There was still time to back out. I hadn’t signed anything yet. Then I thought of my mother, at home by herself while I was at work. The money could pay for in-home care. It could pay for her to get top-notch care, too.

“Max,” Mr. Corbin murmured.

I turned and saw him open his eyes. Regardless of everything else going on, he was my patient, and his care was my main concern.

“You’re in a hospital, Mr. Corbin.” I went to his bedside and smiled down at him. “I’m Nurse Clover, and I’ll be taking care of you.”

Mr. Corbin grunted. “A twink in uniform.”

I’d been called worse.

“Just don’t shoot me.” Mr. Corbin closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

I had to tell myself that I was making the right decision. My mother came first, even before my student loans. This deal would help, pay me one hundred thousand dollars and wipe out my student loans on top of that.

That was more money than I could ever imagine making in this short amount of time. I had to keep telling myself that, because if I thought too long and hard, I knew I was getting into something I would regret. 

ADULT EXCERPT

I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of the storm outside. It was still raining, and I wondered when it would finally end. Then it hit me. Reese wasn’t in bed with me. Where had he gone? Why was he up?

As if to answer me, he walked into the room, still wearing nothing but a robe that wasn’t tied up in the front. My gaze zeroed in on his soft, thick cock nestled against his body.

“You’re awake.” He smiled, and my heart sped. “I thought you were going to sleep the rest of the day away.”

I stretched but lay there, too tired to get up. “How long did I sleep?”

My breath hitched when Reese turned, his muscles flexing. I couldn’t stop thinking about touching every bronzed inch exposed to me.

“About forty minutes,” he answered. I looked up into his eyes and saw something close to hunger in them. “Feel better?”

I should have gotten up and gotten something, anything done, but I couldn’t stop staring at his nudity. I was trying my best to keep things professional between us, but I felt that resolution slipping away. I was losing the battle to keep my distance from him. Us cuddling was proof of that.

That should have been important. I should have been concerned with how badly I wanted him. So why couldn’t I stop thinking about being fucked long enough to care? I pushed to my hands and knees and crawled across the bed, stopping at the edge. “I’m…hungry.”

Look at me. I had initiated this. Put on a bravo I really didn’t feel.

Reese stepped closer. “Do you want me to get you something to eat?” There was no mistaking the husky pitch to his tone. The deep baritone made my body react, pulsing with need.

“No.” I shook my head. “Not food.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t believe I’m behaving this way. You’re my boss, and I’m your employee. We should keep it that way, but…” I turned and sat on my ass, keeping my eyes closed. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Nothing, beautiful,” he answered. My eyes snapped open. “We have a strong attraction to one another.” He ran his hand down his abdomen, and my eyes followed as I prayed Reese would drop the robe.

“I…I want you.” I couldn’t believe I had actually said that, but Reese was right. At least on my part. I was wildly attracted to him, and damn it, all I kept thinking about was lying under him, naked, begging him to fuck me.

“Then come and get me, sweetheart.” Reese crooked his finger as he let go of the robe. It fell to the floor, revealing his hard, beautiful body.

I crawled from the bed and moved until I was standing in front of Reese. I had an urge to rub my body all over his. I’d never felt so horny in my life. My skin was tight, and my pulse wouldn’t slow down. All I thought about was getting to Reese, being touched by him. Being fucked by the man would be more honest.

Reese ran his fingers under my jaw as his eyes closed to narrow slits, his irises burning with the same exact need. “On your knees, Danni.”

My body jerked at the command. Our eyes locked, and I could see Reese wasn’t kidding around. His fingers tightened on my jaw. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

“No.” I stripped out of my scrubs, shaking like crazy that I was actually going to have sex. And with Reese, no less. A guy who wasn’t even human. Even so, I loved that he was taking charge, telling me what to do. Any other time I would’ve had a fit, but right now, I loved every second of it.

I lowered to my knees. Reese gripped his straining erection. I stared at the hard length and wondered what I’d gotten myself into. Was that going to even fit in my mouth? I wasn’t sure, but I was going to try.

“You’ve been driving me crazy in that uniform, Danni,” Reese stated as he rubbed the head of his cock over my lips. When I tried to take the head in, he inched back. “I might have to take this slow because I’m not fully healed, but don’t think for a second I can’t handle having sex with you. The question is, are you ready for me?”

“I have no idea,” I confessed. Why lie? This would be my first time, and I wasn’t going to act worldly. I didn’t have a clue about what I was doing, but I was dead certain Reese wouldn’t mind showing me.

Reese pressed the blunt head against my lips, and I parted them, licking at the clear liquid seeping free. Reese hissed before he said, “Thank you for being honest.” He canted his head to the side. “Don’t be afraid, Danni. I promise my dick doesn’t bite.”

My eyes flickered up as I leaned in, taking Reese’s cock farther into my mouth. The taste of pre-cum on my tongue made me moan, made me want more.

“Relax your throat.”

Reese’s finger slid through my hair and then tightened, sending a maelstrom of sensations coursing through me. This wasn’t enough. I needed more. I’d been wanting Reese since first laying eyes on him, even if that made me a bad person. You weren’t supposed to fall in lust with your patients. That was a big no-no. In my defense, I’d never had anyone like Reese to take care of. But now that I was with him, I felt out of control, loose, edgy.

I gagged a few times trying to take him down my throat and had to back off, but Reese didn’t say a word, didn’t talk smack about my lack of experience. He ran his hand across my jaw as he stood there, looking down at me with such tenderness in his eyes.

That spurred me on, made me want to master this. I tried again, running the flat of my tongue over the heavy vein, hollowing my cheeks for better suction.

He hissed, his eyelids fluttering closed for a brief moment before they snapped open. Then he gripped my hair and started a slow fuck, moving in and out of my mouth, his hips punching forward in short bursts.