Tessa Teevan - Incinerate

We follow the nurse back to an examination room, and she checks Knox’s vitals and removes his brace. I roll my eyes as he flirts with her, and she’s eating up every single word and sexy smile he throws her way. Eventually, she takes him down to x-ray so they can see how he’s healing, leaving me alone in the room. It’s not long before he comes back, but I’ve already pulled out the paperback I leave tucked in my purse for slow days at work, diving into the story of Acheron, desperate to learn more about him after having to get through fourteen books to find out more. Once the nurse leaves, I notice Knox pull out his phone, and we sit in silence until I hear a faint knock on the door.

It opens, and a petite woman with gorgeous auburn hair enters the room. She looks vaguely familiar, and she smiles at Knox sitting on the waiting table. She’s probably in her late thirties, but she’s beautiful, and I’d love to know her skin care regimen.

“Good afternoon, Sergeant Wellington. Nice to see you again,” she says, and he grins at her.

“How many times have I told you to call me Knox, Dr. B?”

Flushing slightly, she just shakes her head and goes to grab his chart. This is when she finally notices me in the corner. Her eyes widen slightly at the same time I catch the name on her ID tag. Dr. Olivia Branch.

Knox

IT DOESN’T escape my attention that Dr. B and Charlie are looking at each other like they don’t know what to say. It’s weird to say the least.

“Hi, Charlotte. I’m not sure if you remember me, but we met at the Christmas party last winter.” She walks over and extends her hand, and Charlie stands and takes it, shaking it softly.

“Hi, Dr. Branch. Yes, I remember you. Nice to see you again,” she tells her before returning to her seat.

“You two know each other?” I ask, remembering the argument we had where she’d mentioned her father was a doctor.

Dr. B looks at me and then back at Charlie. “I work with her father here at the hospital.”

Charlie raises her eyebrows and looks towards me, avoiding eye contact with the doc. “Yes, and I believe she and Dad just had dinner together the other night. They apparently know each other very well,” she says with a teasing hint in her voice. I notice that she’s being playful, not condescending, but I kinda feel for the doc when a pink blush falls on her face.

She clears her throat. “Well, umm, yes, we’ve become pretty good friends over the past year. Dinner was delightful. I didn’t know he told you.”

Waving her off, Charlie laughs. “Oh, Dad tells me nothing. I just happened to stop by before he was heading out. I’m glad to hear you had a good time. He definitely doesn’t get out enough.”

Interrupting them because I couldn’t care less about hearing about the doc’s or Charlie’s dad’s dating life, I speak over them. “Umm, excuse me ladies, but can we continue this tea party at a later date? I’d really like to get this show on the road.”

Dr. B comes over and gingerly touches my spine, going to town as she checks me over, asking about pain and discomfort. I answer as honestly as I can, although I want to lie and say I have no more pain. The truth is, I am beginning to feel less sore every day that passes, but certain movements or tweaks still send sharp pains in my lower back and my ribs. I wince as she checks out my ribs, and she frowns when she notices the sharp intake of breath.

“Your ribs should start healing any day now, Knox. They’ll be tender for a while, so you still need to take it easy.”

Right in that moment, an orderly knocks on the door and enters, handing the doc an envelope.

“Ah, the moment of truth. Let’s see how those ribs and vertebrae are healing,” she tells me, taking the images out of the envelope and putting them up to the lit screen on the wall opposite me.

She studies the images in silence before turning to face me with a tight smile. “You’re healing very well, Knox, and I’m happy with how the bones are fusing together. However, I think I’d still like you to stick it out with the brace for at least two more weeks to ensure that there isn’t any accidental movement as they continue to heal.”

Groaning, I run my fingers through my short hair and catch the sympathetic look that crosses over Charlie’s face. “Come on, Doc. It’s killing me not to shower. Charlie here was just telling me that I smelled on the way over here. Sponge baths blow.”

“Knox, let’s just give it two more weeks. But I will give you clearance to shower. You can take it off to sleep and shower, but the rest of the time, I want you in it. In two weeks, we’ll revisit the thought of you taking it off permanently, okay?”

Sighing, I nod. At least I can shower, but I’m still going to need Charlie’s help, and suddenly keeping the brace doesn’t seem so bad. The thought of her helping me undress turns me on almost as much as her fingers grazing my skin when she helped me dress earlier did.

“I’m going to keep you in your cast for a few more weeks as well. I want to make sure your bones are fully healed before we start you on physical therapy. That being said, I think it’s safe to start doing lower body exercises and static stretches, given that there aren’t any twisting movements. It might be a good idea to get you on a stationary bike so you can start trying to build up your cardio again.”

I can see the grin on Charlie’s face and I know she’s patting herself on the back for her boat paddling idea. I won’t lie. I’m intrigued by the idea of working out with her, and being on the water alone together could help us find common ground. You know, maybe be civil for more than five minutes and finally get to know each other on some kind of personal level.

Dr. Branch spends the next five or so minutes telling me—and Charlie—about the static stretching exercises she wants me to do until the next appointment and advises us on the things I can and can’t do. Hell, I’m just glad I can finally shower with permission. She finishes up and promises to see me in two weeks, with hopes that we can say goodbye to the brace at that time.

Charlie stands, moves over to the bed, and picks up my brace. She moves to put it on me, and I notice that she’s careful not to touch me, her fingers only gracing the brace. Finishing up, she looks at me sweetly. “Ready to go?”

She’s so close to me that I can’t help but lean in and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Her eyes widen with surprise, and she backs away from me quickly. “Let’s get goin’,” I tell her, and she follows me silently out to the parking lot. I don’t miss the moment where I see her placing her hand on her cheek where my lips just grazed her skin. I have no idea why the hell I did that, but something about her being so close to me had me wanting to touch her, and that felt like it was the safest way.

We both get in her car, and there’s an uncomfortable silence as she heads back towards my house. When she pulls into the driveway, she doesn’t cut off the ignition. Turning towards me, she asks, “Is there anything you need me to do? I had a really long day at work and just want to get home and crash if you don’t need anything.”

Even though I told myself I want to distance myself from her, I’m fighting the urge to find a reason for her to come inside. The truth is, with the freezer-ready meals she’s made for me, I really don’t need her around other than to help with the lotion on my back, but I’m hesitant to ask her to do that.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll just heat up something for dinner and crash on the couch. No big deal. “

She gives me a tight smile. “Okay, well, you have my number, so give me a call if you need anything, okay?”

“Sure thing, Charlie. Uhh…have a good night,” I tell her before I start to exit the car. At the last minute, I turn back towards her. “Actually, would you mind coming in for about twenty minutes?”

Raising her eyebrows at me, she asks why. I grin as I pull my shirt away from my chest and air it out a little.

“Hey, you’re the one who said I smell, and you heard Dr. B give the go-ahead to use the shower. I promise not to make you uncomfortable, but I just need a little help with my shorts.”

Sighing, she puts the car in park and turns off the engine. “You know, this is pretty unorthodox when it comes to my volunteering duties, but I guess it wouldn’t be fair for me to insult you and then not help you out when you ask for it. But I’m warning you. No funny business. This is strictly professional, got it?”

I give her a mock salute. “Loud and clear, Charlie. I just want to get clean. No ulterior motives here. Besides, you’re not my type anyways,” I tell her as I climb out of the car. I’m not exactly lying when I say that, but I can see her becoming my type pretty damn quickly.

She follows me as I unlock the house and we go inside. “Yeah, you made that perfectly clear last week. Let me guess, you usually go for petite, perky, beautiful blondes with huge boobs and an affinity for wearing mini-skirts and belly tops.”

I chuckle, knowing that once upon a time she’d be right, but over the past year I’ve started getting annoyed by all the college girls and Army clingers. “I’m insulted. I’d never discriminate over such a silly thing as hair color. They don’t all have to be blonde.”

She shoots me a look of mock disgust and just shakes her head. She’s right behind me as I go into the bathroom and adjust the knob so that the water is just hot enough. Grabbing the robe off the back of the door, I set it on the sink next to me. She’s leaning against the door, watching me with a nervous look in her eye.

“First, why don’t you help me take the brace off?” I ask her. She walks over to me in silence and goes to town on undoing all the straps. She gingerly slides it off of me, and with my good hand, I take it from her and place it on the sink next to my robe.

“All right, sweetheart, you were oh so good at putting my shirt on for me. Let’s see how good you are at removing it.”

Rolling her eyes, she shoves my shoulder, hard enough that I move back a step. “Knock it off with the innuendo.”

I give her my most innocent look. “What? I’m serious. You didn’t even tug my arm or hurt my ribs when you dressed me. I’m just curious to see if you can do the same when you take it off.”

She pulls me by the hem of my shirt out of the bathroom and into my room. Stopping at the foot of the bed, she climbs up on it. I know what she’s doing, but I can’t help continuing to push her buttons.

“Whoa, Charlie. I kind of figured you were a rule breaker, but I didn’t know you’d break your own. What was it you were saying about no funny business?”

“Shut up and lift your arms, Knox,” she says as she stands in front me on the bed. I do as she asks, and she quickly pulls my shirt up over my head.

“Ouch! Dammit, woman, are you trying to rip my ears off?!” I growl when my ear gets stuck and she yanks hard, making me flinch, the same way she did when she put it on me.

“Oh, sorry. Guess I’m not as good as you remember. My bad. Now can we get this over with?” she asks, walking back towards the bathroom without looking back at me. I follow and find her leaning her ass against the sink, waiting for me in the steamy room. She has the plastic bag in her hands to wrap around my arm so I don’t get my cast wet, and she quickly covers my arm with the material. There’s only one thing standing between me and that shower, and part of me is hoping she gets an eyeful.

“Okay, here’s the thing. I don’t have anything on under my basketball shorts,” I say, pausing when she raises her eyebrows at me. “It’s just easier. Trust me on that. I could put this robe on and you could just reach up under them and pull them off. Or we can be adults, I can turn around, and if you see my ass, you see my ass. It’s a rather nice one, so I don’t mind if you do.”

She’s staring at me as my words digest. Letting out a long breath, she shrugs her shoulders. “Fine. If you don’t mind, then whatever. It’ll probably be nearly impossible to help you get dressed without seeing anything, so if you’re not shy, then neither am I. It’s not like this will be the first ass I’ve ever seen.”

Turning me around, she checks my arm one more time to make sure that the bag is secure over my cast. She then runs her fingers down my back, her touch lightly grazing my skin until she reaches the waistband of my shorts. I can’t help the shiver that runs down my spine, and my dick grows a semi just at the thought of her taking them off. Clearing my throat, I’m hoping she’ll be too distracted to realize how her touch is affecting me. It’s not her, I tell myself, instead chocking it up to the fact that I haven’t been with anyone in a while. Yeah, definitely not her.