I want to make you hold onto that bag while I bury myself in you so hard and so deep you don’t know your own name.
The erotic promise of his words slammed her into the memory of being pressed against Nick’s body, both of them sweating and breathing hard, the undeniable urge to have him coursing through her, the taste of his skin in her mouth, the strong grip of his hands on her skin. The feelings had been so overwhelming because she’d truly never felt anything that emotionally and physically intoxicating before.
Not until Nick freaking Rixey.
And, God help her, she would’ve entertained Nick’s desires if what he’d said afterward hadn’t overwhelmed her with guilt.
After hours of trying to balance her worry for Charlie against the needs that her unfulfilled arousal demanded, she felt more than a little strung out.
A long yawn rolled out of her, the result of the restless night’s sleep and a crazy day. Around eleven o’clock this morning, someone made the cardinal mistake of saying it looked like a quiet day. Like clockwork, the emergency department got slammed.
Two multi-victim MVAs. A kid with a 105 temp. An overdose. A GI bleed. Several cases of garden-variety chest and abdominal pain. And those were just the ones she remembered off the top of her head.
“I don’t usually get to see you, girl. How you been?” Her pink scrubs bringing out the warm tones in her brown skin, Janeese Evans plunked down on the bench.
Becca managed a small smile at the nurse she’d gone through orientation with years before. Now they tended to work different shifts, but with Becca covering for someone, their paths had crossed. “I’m so-so. How are you?” she asked, resisting venting her fear and frustration at the woman. For the thousandth time, she found herself wishing her best friend, Cassie, still lived in Baltimore. It would’ve been nice to have someone to talk to about all this, but Cassie had moved to Chicago with her new husband right after their wedding two years ago. Now they Skyped every couple of weeks when life didn’t get in the way. Becca didn’t feel close enough to any of her other friends to dump something this serious on them, and wasn’t that a sad statement.
Once they got Charlie back, Becca vowed to pull her life together. Spend more time with Charlie. Take a class. Volunteer for a charity. She’d been doing a little too much going through the motions lately, and that was a damn shame. If anyone knew how fleeting life could be, it was her.
“I’m good. Tyler just turned two.” Janeese beamed, and an empty ache took up residence in Becca’s chest.
“No way. How the heck did that happen already?” Becca didn’t begrudge her friend an iota of happiness, but if Becca was honest, she was lonely. It wasn’t something she dwelled on or let herself feel sorry about, but there was no denying that the past year or two had sorta kicked her butt. Joking around with Nick and Jeremy in their kitchen last night had been a stark contrast to her usual solo routine. Even though she didn’t know them well, it had felt nice to be a part of a family for a few hours, even if from the periphery.
“I know. It’s crazy. He’s so big and never stops talking and chasing the dog. Hey, are you okay?” She leaned forward. “What happened to your face?” The woman arched a questioning brow.
“My house got broken into last night—”
“Shit, really? You okay? Is that what that’s from?” Janeese gestured to Becca’s temple.
Becca shook her head. She couldn’t talk about Charlie, not if she expected to finish out her shift. “I’m okay. I’ve got a friend helping me. It’s just that the intruder picked the lock, so I need to get new ones installed before I can stay there.” She supposed “friend” was a fair description for what she and Nick were.
“Police doing anything?” Janeese asked.
“They filed a report.” Which wasn’t going to get Becca much. Especially in Baltimore, where the crime rate was sky high.
Janeese seemed to agree. “Hmph.”
“Want one?” Becca asked, tilting the package of crackers toward her. They weren’t helping her stomach after all. God, it felt like the clock was ticking backward.
“Sure,” Janeese said, taking one. They munched crackers in silence for a few minutes. “Hey, look at that.”
Becca followed her friend’s gaze to the open end of the courtyard, where a sidewalk veered around to the ambulance bay. A little dog sniffed a trash can. As he came around the other side, Becca sucked in a breath. He only had three legs. One of his hind legs was gone. She rose to her feet. “Have you seen him before? He looks like a puppy.” Becca’s heart squeezed.
“Uh-uh.”
“Aw, let’s go see him.” They crossed the grass, passing several other hospital staff who were watching the little guy, too. When Becca got close, she crouched down and held out her hand. “Hey, buddy.”
The dog—a German shepherd, she guessed—paused and tilted his head her way.
“Oh, my God, he’s all ears.” His sweet face and oversized ears were mostly black, while his chest and paws were a warm, caramel brown. The puppy’s coloring reminded her so much of Wyatt, their family dog, who was already an old man when they were all kids. Wyatt had followed Charlie around like he’d thought he couldn’t let the youngest Merritt out of his sight. The mutt had even slept with Charlie.
“Wonder how it lost its leg,” Janeese said.
And so young, too. He couldn’t have been more than a few months old. “Come here, boy.”
After a moment, the shepherd hobbled over on enormous paws. He was surprisingly stable and wore no collar or tags, which could have explained why he was a bit scruffy around the edges. “Hi, boy. Er, oh, girl.”
She licked and nipped at Becca’s fingers with her sharp puppy teeth, then flopped over and offered her stomach.
Becca laughed. “Silly little thing, aren’t you?”
Janeese crouched down beside them. “Must be a stray. Shame on whoever would dump a puppy like this.” She got lured into the belly scratch, too.
The shepherd rolled onto her paws and toddled around them. Becca scratched her back, the cuteness and memories of Wyatt wrapping tendrils of temptation around her heart. With everything going on, could she really take on another responsibility right now? But the puppy was all on her own, and so was Becca. “Maybe I could take her home,” she said, trying out the idea and giving Janeese a sideways glance.
She laughed. “You’re getting sucked in, aren’t you?”
Becca chuckled. “Kinda. Yeah.”
“Well, she seems friendly enough. And shepherds are good guard dogs. Police use ’em. Might give you some peace of mind after what happened.”
Well, that was true, and it certainly gave Becca a logical argument for considering this craziness. The puppy laid down by Becca’s feet and found one of her shoestrings to snack on. Her big ears were so silky. “I guess I could take her to the vet and see if she’s okay. And then, maybe . . .” She left the rest of the thought unspoken, but even so, the idea was planting deep roots in her mind and her heart. This sweet girl needed a home, and Becca wouldn’t mind the company. “Come here, you.”
The puppy was a chunky sack of potatoes in her arms, all paws and snout and ears, but so, so cute. And warm. And cuddly. An enormous pink tongue sideswiped her cheek, making Becca laugh as she stood up. She was going to have to change shirts after this, but she couldn’t find it in herself to regret holding the dog.
“Aw, you’ve gone and done it now. Picked her up. You are doomed.”
Janeese was right. The more Becca entertained the idea of keeping her, the more she wanted to. “Yeah, I think I am.” Smiling, she glanced around. “But what am I going to do with her for the rest of my shift?” Oh, and she couldn’t take the dog on the bus. “Do you think—” Her phone vibrated against her hip. “Oh, hold on.” She fished the cell from her pocket, swiped to answer the call, and put it to her ear all while dodging more wet puppy kisses. Laughing, she said, “Hello?”