Hulk chuckles. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Sniper spent a lot of time on his own in the military, and he doesn’t have any sisters so he’s never had to learn.”
“At least he’s willing to help though. I’ve seen far too many men who will do only the bare minimum for their wives when they’re in the hospital. It’s disgusting,” I huff. “I had one man who insisted that it was my job to shave his wife after having a very hard birth because he refused to go home with a hairy wife. He let her get away with it when she was pregnant, but he wasn’t doing it for another day.”
“Fucking prick,” Hulk agrees, disgust in his tone. “What did you tell him?”
“I read him the riot act and told him that if I so much as heard a peep that he was being anything other than supportive to his wife I’d make sure that the next time I saw him he’d get the same amount of pain his wife had to put up with during labor and no pain meds to help him. I also called him a few names, which pissed him off, but then his mother showed up and when she found out what was going on, she tore a strip off him so long and deep that I’m surprised he wasn’t bleeding then and there.” I smile smugly. “It was beautiful. The wife looks like she was trying not to laugh, and the stupid asshole wilted under thelashing his mother and I gave him. I think his mother bought me coffee too before she left. Said she thought I would appreciate it more than flowers.”
“And did you?” he asks, glancing over at me with a smile as he turns off the shower. There’s a pride in his expression, like he’s impressed and pleased that I stood up for the woman that way. I’m starting to get the impression that Hulk isn’t as much of a chauvinist as some of the men around here.
“It was the night from hell, so you betcha. I needed the caffeine hit more than life at that point.”
“Toss me that towel, would you?” he asks, staring at me.
“What? You’re shy now?” I tease, grabbing the towel and tossing it over the top of the shower door at him. I really need to stop doing that, or he’s going to think I’m a giant tease, but I can’t seem to stop myself.
He gives me a slow, wicked smile, his blue eyes glittering as he pushes open the door and steps out, towel still in hand. “No, but I figured that you might be now that I’m clean and you can see I’m perfectly fine to shower on my own.”
I run my eyes over him quickly, assessing. At least that’s what I’m telling myself anyway. There is no way that I’m letting my eyes linger on his broad chest, muscled arms, and deliciously perfect abs. And no way in hell am I enjoying the sight of what he’s packing between his thick thighs. Or imagining how the girth of him would stretch me so nicely.
Nope. No way. Absolutely not.
“I have yet to see what your back looks like once I take off the bandage,” I state easily, glad that my voice is still calm and steady. God, how can a man be this hot? It really shouldn’t be possible. “Then I’ll decide. Turn around and let me see.”
“Angel, if you keep staring at me, you’re going to get a view you’re probably not ready or prepared for,” he warns smoothly, eyes watching me pointedly. My eyes drop quickly, and I fightnot to lick my lips, seeing that he is indeed semi-erect now. I swallow hard, unable to help myself. Fuck, he’s thick all over, isn’t he? “Angel,” he groans, and my eyes lift swiftly to see his are closed and he looks like he’s fighting to control himself. Shit, I need to get control of this situation and myself.
Fantasizing about him and all this delicious hotness is for later when I’m in the shower alone.
“Wrap the towel around yourself and turn around so I can check on your stitches,” I order him briskly, slipping back into nursing mode. His eyes open and he stares at me for a moment, before he complies. I open the cabinet again to grab another towel. “I’m going to dry off your back so that no water drips down into the stitches,” I explain before gently patting at his back and the base of his neck. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”
“The last thing you’re going to do is hurt me, angel,” he assures me.
“Says the man who called me a devil only this morning,” I joke lightly. I pull off the bandage with precision, careful not to pull anything that shouldn’t, and when I inspect him, other than his skin being warm from the heat, he seems fine.
“Angel, you’re the devil himself when you get in nurse mode to prove a point,” he chuckles quietly. “Especially when you’re pissed that your patient isn’t following orders.”
“Then you shouldn’t have tried to pull out all your stitches,” I state simply when he turns back around.
“I’ll try not to from now on,” he murmurs, watching me. His eyes are so blue, and I can’t seem to pull myself away. They’re captivating. How did I not notice that before? Sure he’s good-looking, but I’ve never been attracted to a man because of that. It’s always the eyes. The eyes can tell you so much, and this man has something different about him. Maybe it’s knowing what he’s survived, but there’s a kindness, an intelligence that makesme want to dive into them even more. See what else might be hiding in there.
“Thank you,” I finally manage to reply “Why do you call me angel?” It’s a random question, but the only one I can come up with right now. I shouldn’t be allowing him to call me anything but my name, but the more he’s said it, the more I’ve gotten used to it.
His lips quirk. “Because the first time I saw you, you were wearing navy blue scrubs, and the light behind you made you look like you had a halo above your head. Not to mention you were the one to take my pain away, even if it was for a short time. So I call you that is because you’re the angel who helped keep me going and get me out of that hell.”
I stare at him, unsure of how to respond to that. Something burns in my stomach at his words, making me want to squirm, but I manage to control myself. That’s really how he sees me? I swallow, unable to say anything. What can I say? Tell him he’s wrong? I mean, he’s kind of wrong, I’m no angel, I’m just doing my job, but knowing he sees me that way, makes me want to lean into him and just hear him say that again. Being a nurse can be a thankless job, and other times it can be rewarding and make you want to keep going.
Suddenly, he lifts his hand and gently cups the side of my face. I still, unsure of how to react. “Without you, Avery, I don’t know that I would be here. I’d probably have given up eventually. I want to say I’d hold out longer, but with the infection that was settling in, we both know that I’d have succumbed eventually, and probably sooner than later. Which is why I’m going to make sure that Vlad and his men don’t touch you or your siblings. You’ll be safe here. With me. With our club. With the men that I’d give my life for willingly. Then, when this is all over, you’ll see why staying here and trusting us was a very good decision on your part.” His thumb strokes my cheeksgently. “And I want to know more about my beautiful guardian angel in the process.”
Holy shit this guy is intense. I barely manage to suppress the shiver working its way up my spine. And why the hell am I wanting to say yes to that? It’s not like he’s asking me. He’s stating a fact, but a part of me wants to permit him. For what I’m not entirely sure, but damn it, this man is smooth.
A loud knock suddenly sounds on Hulk’s bedroom door and I instantly step back, breaking the spell between us. Hulk drops his hand, staying still as he calls out, “Yeah?”
“It’s me,” a male voice I can make out as Bullet’s calls back. “I’m out here with Avery’s brother. He was just looking for her.”
Shit. “I’m coming,” I call back, turning and stalking out and shutting the bathroom door behind me as I walk to the door and open it. “Sorry, I had to help Hulk with a bandage on his back to keep the water off his stitches,” I explain as I look at Sawyer. Bullet smirks and glances over my shoulder into the room, clearly not believing me, but thankfully doesn’t say anything.
Sawyer merely says, “I was just wondering where you were. Isla disappeared with Rose and Thea again and when I came back in once Torque had to leave, I couldn’t find anyone.”
“Sorry, I thought I’d be downstairs after a second but Hulk was being a difficult patient,” I say loudly enough for Hulk to hear.
