“Come in.And I’ve told you to stop calling me Nurse Hottie.”
“Not gonna happen.”She laughed.Tillie was a stunning woman with the most beautiful silvery green eyes.Mid laugh, she winced before settling herself in the chair next to my desk with a grunt.“The guys have already caught on.I heard Diesel call you that yesterday.”
“Where Pain could hear?”I raised an eyebrow.
“Yes!That was the whole problem.Diesel had no idea you were Pain’s woman.He was the one telling Pain what a hottie you were.”She laughed merrily before wincing once more.“This kid’s a little shit already.”
“Great,” I muttered, wrapping the cuff around her arm.“Just what I need.”
But the truth was, I didn’t mind it much.The nicknames, the teasing, that’s how they showed acceptance and affection.No one was malicious about it.It was more like siblings.I found I’d come to crave the interaction.
These people were nothing like I’d been afraid of when I’d first come here with Pain.These were good people.Did they do some shady shit?Yep.Pain had explained some of it to me because he said he didn’t want secrets between us.
“How are you and Pain getting along?Everything good?”Tillie’s question was genuine.She rubbed her belly absently, but I could see she was genuinely interested.All the old ladies were.
“Great, actually.”I smiled nervously.I still wasn’t used to being able to have an open relationship with the doctor of the clinic but nothing about any of this was formal and no one fucking cared.“I mean, we’re getting to know each other.”
“So you’ve not had sex yet.”
In my old life, I’d probably have been embarrassed at the direct question, but now I laughed.“No.It just hasn’t seemed like the right time.”
“If it helps, I can tell you that every single one of us had sex with our men within the first few days of meeting them.A couple within the first few hours.They all seem to have some seriously powerful mojo.”
“OK, I believe that.”I finished taking her blood pressure.“You’re a little higher than usual, but still in the normal range.Are you having any contractions?”
“No.I don’t have any pain at all except when the little fucker kicks my ribs.”
Laughter bubbled up inside me and I realized I’d laughed more in the last three weeks than I had in the last few years.Maybe since I’d finished nursing school.
“You have the prettiest laugh,” Tillie said with a soft smile.“I’m glad you came here, Nadine.You’re good for all of us.Especially Pain.We were worried about him when he first came back.But since he brought you back with him, he’s much better.Calmer.”
That startled me.“What do you mean?You were worried about him?”
“Hannah said Pain usually kept to himself.Was a little withdrawn, but then, that was when she first got to Kiss of Death, and I don’t think Pain had been here too long before she got here.”She rubbed her belly again.“When he first came back, he was almost manic.More than once I heard Xavier threaten to knock his ass out if he didn’t settle the fuck down and let them work the problem.”
“Wow.That doesn’t sound like Pain at all.”
“Exactly.Now he’s better.You are the common denominator.”
Heat flooded my cheeks at her words.“I don’t know about that.He seems pretty steady to me.”
“Nadine.”Tillie’s voice was gentle but firm.“Trust me on this one.That man was wound tighter than a spring when he got back.We all saw it.And now?Well, he looks at you like you hung the moon.”
That statement sent a warm flutter through my chest.I’d seen glimpses of a protective streak in Pain, especially with the continued police presence at the wall around the compound.He always insisted on going with me if I went outside, even from one building to the next.
“I really like him,” I confessed.“I’m not sure why he hasn’t made a move again.To be fair, I’m not sure I was ready.”
“Are you now?”
I didn’t even have to think about it before a big smile split my face.“Oh yeah.I think I was ready the first time we fooled around, but he knew better.”I propped my elbow on the table then rested my chin in my hand.“I’ve never been around a man like Pain.He’s literally always looking out for me.In everything.Even down to knowing my favorite food and that I have to have someone remind me to stop and take a break when I’m working.”
“I think most of the guys are like that.Some of them have been in prison most of their lives.Some for some pretty long stretches.When they got out, none of them had any intention of going without women like they had to do in prison.”Tillie laughed, obviously loving what she was about to tell me.“They talked about it and decided the best way to keep women around was to treat them like princesses.They play as hard as the time they did, and that’s to say they play a fucking lot.”
“Yeah.I’ve noticed by the injuries coming in on football nights.”We both laughed.
Before I could respond, the sharp wail of sirens pierced the afternoon quiet.My blood ran cold as the sound grew closer, and I heard Pain yelling for me before he opened the door to his clinic.
“What the hell?”Tillie glanced out the window, her brow furrowed in concern.“Oh, God…”
