Page 6 of A Spark of Luck
Carter frowned. “Never had someone as good as she is, and yours was a baby wound. Could be that.”
“A baby wound?” Doogie’s face screwed into a scowl. He did offended really well.
Carter put his fingers together. “Small, miniscule wound.”
Hunt’s head hurt. “Stop both of you. My stitches are fine.”
“She told me to check, and I’m doing it.” Carter’s stubborn was a sight to behold. The “kid” achieved awards as a stellar medic and an equally inspired operator, but in a few things he remained as naïve as the day he was born.
Hunt sighed, carefully pushed the blankets aside, and turned over. The stitches were uncovered as she recommended. He moved with extraordinary care, not wanting to catch the wound on the bedding. Carter poked at him, pushing his shorts this way and that. He had to admit the pain was less when Doc did it. Something about her warm presence and soft fingers.
“She did an outstanding job on these.” The admiration in his voice rang through to Hunt’s gut.
“Since I can’t really twist to see, I’ll take your word for it.”
Carter straightened and sat on the bunk next to Doogie. “Everything looks okay. Bruised but not too red.”
Tempted to shout “told ya,” he waited for Doogie to make an obnoxious comment about his nice ass.
Doogie spoke nonverbally with an irreverent smirk on his face.
He couldn’t blame Carter either. The man did his job and let no one sway him – and was too much fun to tease when he showed his earnest side.
But Hunt had pain streaking down his leg, and he’d reached the edge of his coping skills with visitors. If it hurts, quit moving. That’s what she’d said. He stifled a yawn and shifted the light blanket back over his exposed flank. “Thanks, Carter. I’m gonna rest now.” He adjusted his pillow and shut his eyes.
If they didn’t take the hint and leave, he’d fall asleep while they talked. And that’s exactly what he did.
§§§§
Cait hung up the phone, processing Carter’s news with calm professionalism. She glanced around, noting the nurses going about their tasks,and silently congratulated herself for not revealing that doctors rarely checked on discharged patients personally – it wasn’t her job.
She couldn’t suppress her territorial feelings about Hunt, though. What the hell was she doing? She wasn’t averse to the male population, but she had a busy life with an uncompromising surgical drive. All she wanted to do was put people’s bodies back together. Her dating history proved that few men understood.
She pushed away from the desk and casually walked to the hallway, glancing at the iPad in her hand and pretending to be busy. The LT had obviously ignited something that left her drowning in want. Butterflies danced in her stomach and, if she wasn’t fighting it, her fingers would be trembling. She oozed confidence – as a doctor. She’d worked hard on the persona. As a woman, she wasn’t as comfortable, and now was not the time or place for her body to demand satisfaction.
Army-Navy, SEAL-Doctor, command issues, and lives that would rarely converge – those were only a few of the problems. One time with that man would not be enough to purge whatever he was from her system. She wasn’t falling for that argument in favor. Further, she had no idea how to proceed to make that happen. Even the thought wrecked her courage and challenged her socialskills. She paused at the door of the locker room, fighting the defeat in her head. “What a bitch to admit, Cait.”
She shoved into the locker room and collapsed on a bench, setting aside the iPad. She couldn’t be thinking of breaking a hard and fast rule when it came to work. Never get involved with a patient, and never let your guard down because people talked.
She stood up and went to the mirror. “You are in over your head, woman.” Even with that acknowledgement, her mind went to the fantasy –getting together with the handsome LT. Naked to naked. Tongue to tongue. Tasting. Thrusting. Coming.
Blowing out a breath, she glanced around. Thank God, the room was empty. “You’re nuts, Cait. Certifiable. This is Afghanistan. A war zone. One of the toughest duties I’ve ever worked,” she whispered to the silent room. She grabbed a brush from her locker and straightened her hair. “Go observe a surgery or find a medical journal to read. Get off this idea,” she ordered her reflection in the mirror. Bottom line, she enjoyed being a doctor and didn’t want to screw that up with hanky panky.
Besides, this base had small town nosiness expertise. Nothing stayed private, and all the tidbits became fodder for gossip, elaboration, andembellishment. Even though she was assigned to handle any injured body that came through, soldier or civilian, she did not mingle with Spec Ops. It was a matter of operational security. If you didn’t know when they were going to be here, you couldn’t gossip about their activities.
She licked her lips and groaned, unable to stop the images flashing in her head. If the reality of that man was half as good as the fantasy…she’d skippy dance and go down deliriously happy.
Chapter Three
Nerves were normally unknown to Cait. She’d learned a long time ago to put those feelings aside. Bad days were another story. She worked most of the day on two civilians who had been severely injured in an explosion, losing the child and his mother after hours of surgical time. The car bomb at the mosque had done its job, and the mood around the emergency room settled to solemn and quiet.
Hunt showed up to have his stitches removed on exactly day ten and stepped into the chaos. Surprised, she mentally gave him a pat on the back. She, however, had convinced herself the zing was a lie.
Even if it wasn’t, she would not get on a crazy train involvement with a SEAL. Sex aside, there was no place to go with it, and she had no room for the distraction. Neither did he. This wasn’t fun and games in a prime vacation spot of the world. This place could beat a person down and did on a regular basis.
Tired, frustrated, and struggling mentally, she schooled her heart not to stop at the sight of him. He was a gorgeous package with his height and muscle and sex appeal stretched out on the examroom table again. With his lower half covered with a sheet, she won a hard-fought battle with the memory of that spark.
“Sorry, that took so long, LT. Bad day around here.” She purposely used his rank to keep herself in check.
