Broken Lion (3 page)

“Them? Nah. They’re just fight groupies. But you? You’re my kind of woman. You’re a boss and a badass and smart as hell.”
Tricks, more tricks!
“Not to mention your red hair and those mint green eyes make me rock fucking hard.”

Tricks, tricks, tricks!!! My eyes aren’t even mint green! They were just plain green. Mint. Pfft. He’s not fooling anybody. Except… me.

I finally broke down and stole a glance at his cock. He wasn’t exaggerating. His python was wide awake and straining against his tight lycra shorts. I could see the shape of the head and the shaft through the fabric. When it pulsed, I almost lost my cool. Almost. There was a reason they called me Dr. Freeze in the ECU. I could deal with rude patients, gunshot wounds, and the chaos of trauma all day long. But this was different and that was one long python…

“You’re blushing, Ms. Flanagan.”

I was also staring. It was a fact that some snakes hypnotized their prey before going in for the kill. I tore my gaze away before his snake ate me. Or I ate it. If I hadn’t been hypnotized, I would’ve been embarrassed by my utter lack of professionalism. But it was the snake’s fault.

“You sure you can’t find me another doctor, Irish?”

“How did you know I was Irish?”

“Flanagan is Irish, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But don’t call me Irish.”

“Why not? Is it racist or something?”

“No, just don’t call me that.”
Nicknaming me makes me sort of like you, so stop.

“Then tell me your name.” His dark eyes smoldered with the promise of forbidden pleasure, the kind of pleasure that took place in his torchlit caveman’s cage where I could scream out every orgasm he gave me without worrying about waking the neighbors.

I hadn’t had an orgasm with a man in ages. And never with a man this magnificent. Like I said earlier, I wasn’t a robot. I had my limits. Apparently, Lion was it. So I caved. I let down my guard and muttered:

“You don’t even know me, Mr. Maxwell.”

“But I will.” Again with that commanding voice. Low and dangerous and oh so delicious.

Ooze.

Latisha had been right about the anti-venom kit. I needed one to break the spell that Lion Maxwell had cast over me. If something didn’t break it soon, I was going to make a terrible mistake.

Chapter 2

BRIGID

“I heard you had a knee injury in 109. Sounds like a possible ACL?” The man asking was Dr. Ivan Hackett. He was the Co-Director of Orthopedics, which made him one of my bosses. His voice still had a hint of a British accent from his childhood. The upper-crusty kind with its usual nasal note of smarmy superiority. I’m sure he and the Queen of England would get along just fine. They probably had tea together at Buckingham Palace whenever he was in town.

“Yes. I already had my patient sent up to Radiology for an MRI. I’m waiting on the results.”

“If you need a consult, let me know.”

“I think I can handle it.”

I was never sure if Dr. Hackett was always second guessing me or just a male chauvinist pig. His fine features and classic good looks made him that much more annoying. Although he didn’t have the sort of rugged body you would find in a firemen’s calendar, he was tall and lean and had a broad-shouldered swimmer’s body. I had seen him in a suit and he wore it impeccably well. And he knew it. If there was a sexy doctor’s calendar, Dr. Hackett would be
Full of Himself February
.

“Well, if anything else arises, do page me straightaway.”

“I will do that.”
Sometime in the next century.
I smiled at him.

“Right, then. Off to surgery.”

“If you need any help, do page me straightaway.”

He smirked. “Cheeky.”

“Who you talking to out there, Doc?” Lion hollered from his room. His entourage outside turned to look at me.

Dr. Hackett couldn’t resist an opportunity to stick his nose in my business. He waltzed right into Lion’s room. I followed. Per my orders, the nurses had already cold packed Lion’s knee.

“I’m Dr. Hackett. Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

Lion’s eyes danced between me and Hackett. He looked suspicious. “You guys talking about me? I heard something about MRI results. Any word yet?”

I opened my mouth to speak but Hackett beat me to the punch.

“We’re still waiting for results from Radiology. Isn’t that right, Dr. Flanagan?”

“Yes.” I so wanted to throat punch Hackett for doing that.

Hackett ignored me. “I’m sure we’ll have the results for you shortly, sir.”

Lion said, “Who are you again?”

“I’m Dr. Ivan Hackett. Co-Director of Orthopedics.” He loved to tell people his title. Never missed an opportunity. He probably said it to himself every morning in front of the mirror while tying his tie. Double Windsor knot, Royalty approved. He was such a douche. Make that, King Douche V, fifth in a long line of douches.

“So you do knees?”

“Yes, I am specialized in orthopedic surgery, among other things,” Hackett grinned.

“Can you do mine?”

Oh, no.

Hackett was taken aback. “Is there a problem with Dr. Flanagan?”

“I don’t like women doctors.”

Asshole!

“I assure you, Dr. Flanagan is highly qualified in every respect. If I were in need of a proper doctor to perform an orthopedic procedure on my knee, I would ask for her.” I was surprised he spoke so highly of me, but then he ruined it by placing both hands on my shoulders in a fatherly way. He was at most five years older than I was.

I wanted to cringe away from his touch, but I didn’t want to make a scene.

“Ehh.” Lion shrugged. “I still don’t like women doctors.”

“I completely understand,” Dr. Hackett said.

Did he understand that there was a problem with women doctors, or was he just commiserating with Lion? It didn’t matter. I felt like a fool either way.

Hackett said, “I would be happy to offer a second opinion once the results are in. From the looks of the swelling, we’ll have to wait until it goes down before I can perform any sort of procedure. Dr. Flanagan can walk you through the image results while I’m in surgery, but do have your nurse schedule a proper consult with me before you leave. That is, if you don’t mind, Dr. Flanagan?”

Was he being snide? Why was I asking? He was always being snide. If I had a chainsaw handy, I would lop off Hackett’s head and hang it on my office wall next to Lion’s. These two were unbelievable.

“Dr. Flanagan?” Hackett prompted. “Have we got this sorted?”

I gritted my teeth and smiled. “I guess we do, Dr. Hackett.”

“Brilliant.” He patted my shoulders in that fatherly way of his, like I was his incompetent daughter. “I’ll let you take it from here.” He reached over to shake Lion’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, mister…”

“Maxwell. Lion Maxwell.”

“Excellent. We’ll speak soon. Until then, I assure you, you’re in expert hands with Dr. Flanagan.”

“That’s exactly where I wanna be.” His voice was low and dangerous once again. But this time, there was no oozing. Well, not on my part. When Hackett was gone, Lion grinned at me, very much satisfied with himself. “Guess who’s not my doctor anymore?”

“Do you have any idea what you just did?” I was pissed.

“Sure do.”

I hissed, “If you think after that little stunt that I would ever consider dating a man like you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“But you
are
still considering it.”

What an ass! Make that a delusional ass! He was an ass who didn’t know it.

I turned to go but stopped short at the door. I whirled around and glared at him. “One other thing. I’m still your doctor. Once a patient, always a patient. As I said before, Mr. Maxwell, I don’t date my patients.”

“Who said anything about dating?” His lascivious grin suggested his interests lay in the gloomy torch lit cage I’d imagined earlier.

“Dating includes whatever filthy thoughts you have in mind, Mr. Maxwell. Those are the rules. And we both know you understand the concept of rules. Some blows are too low to throw. Even for a man like you.”

He snickered with cocky self-importance. “I wasn’t planning on being the one doing the blowing.” He reached down and adjusted his massive erection in his lycra shorts. It hadn’t been there when Dr. Hackett and I walked in the room earlier.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I looked, but only for a second
. Now it was back with a thick veined vengeance.

I fired a finger at his crotch. “Keep that thing in its cage, Mr. Maxwell. Or I will cut it off with a rusty scalpel.” I spun around and walked out of the room. Not because I was worried about Lion having the last word, but because I knew I couldn’t take my eyes off his cock as long as it was erect and pulsating.

If I’d had any doubts before, they were now completely gone.

I hated men like Lion Maxwell.

The sooner the results came back from Radiology, the sooner I would boot him out of both the ECU and my life for good.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

Latisha’s eyes popped when she saw me marching toward the nurses station.

“Something wrong?”

Still furious, I hissed, “That man is completely full of himself. Who does he think he is?”

“Who? Dr. Hackett?” Latisha smirked. She knew all about Dr. Hackett’s assy attitude.

I sneered. “Him…
and
my patient. Mr. Maxwell.”

“Him? What he do?”

“He told Hackett he didn’t like women doctors.”

“He did?” She was genuinely shocked.

“Yes. And now Dr. Hackett is taking over his care.”

Her eyes narrowed and she looked at me thoughtfully. “You like him.”

“Who? Dr. Hackett? You’re insane.”

“No. Your patient. I know you, Bridge. You like him.”

“I do not. I hate him.”

She leaned back in her chair and snickered. “Right.”

“Are you kidding me? That man is rude and crude and acts like a caveman.”

“It was that python of his, wasn’t it?”

Just then, two random family members of a random patient strolled by the nurses station. Both stared at us. I lowered my voice to a whisper and scoffed. “It’s not a python!”

Latisha whispered too. “So you looked.” It wasn’t a question.

“I didn’t look!”

“You looked.”

“You’re worse than he is!”

“He made a pass at you, didn’t he?”

“He made about forty passes.”

“And you didn’t catch a single one?”

I rolled my eyes. “I couldn’t. He’s my patient.”

“Girl, if a man like that made a pass at me, I’d quit my job on the spot.”

“I’m not quitting my job for an animal like him. Who would date a man like that?”

“I would.”

“Well, I wouldn’t.”

She glanced at her monitor. “Looks like Radiology put his images on the server. You need me to page Dr. Hackett for you? Have him go over the results with your caveman?”

I sighed. “No. I’ll handle it.”

“Make sure you get a good grip.”

“That’s not what I meant! You’re not helping. You know that?”

“Relax, girl. If he gets you all riled up again, just give him your best Dr. Freeze. That always cools ‘em down.”

“Speaking of freezing, can you get me a bucket of ice? I’m going to pour it down Mr. Maxwell’s shorts when I go back in.”

She chuckled. “I’ll get two. One for him, one for you.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Please, girl.”

“I’m acting ridiculous, aren’t I?”

“Relax, Bridge. That man is gorgeous. I’m surprised you made it out the exam room without getting pregnant. Take a moment, get yourself together, then go back in there and show him who’s boss.”

“Thanks, Tisha. I will.”

“Any time, girl. And while you in there, tell him I’m off at two.” She smiled.

“Sure.” I would do no such thing. Why, I couldn’t tell you.

I turned and trudged back toward the crowd outside 109.

Time for me to lay down the law.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

“A blow job will make you feel better, babe.” The feminine voice came from inside 109.

“My dick isn’t what’s hurting me, Candy,” Lion said. “It’s my knee.”

I knew it.

Manwhore.

Like I said earlier, I hated men like Lion Maxwell.

No, hate was too strong a word. It implied I had feelings for someone I’d met only two hours ago. That was impossible. A better word would be disgust. Mild disgust. That was it. I was very mildly disgusted with Lion Maxwell. But I was also his doctor. I waited in the doorway.

Lion and Candy hadn’t noticed me and were still talking because the privacy curtain was pulled partway around the bed and I was behind it.

I cleared my throat. “Mr. Maxwell, should I come back later?” I said it without a hint of bitterness. Well, none that I noticed.

“Candy, would you stop?” Lion grunted and leaned over until he made eye contact with me around the curtain. “The doctor is here.”

I glared at him. “Do you need a moment to finish whatever you’re doing?” I did my best not to imagine it.

“No, Doc. It’s cool. Please come in.”

Best to get this over with. I peered around the privacy curtain. On the bed, one of the groupie strippers from his entourage was curled around him. Candy. The one with the big 1980s hair. To my surprise, Lion’s shorts weren’t around his ankles and he wasn’t even erect. Not that I looked (maybe I looked). Candy the Stripper caressed his muscled arm with the backs of her fluorescent nails.

“Candy,” Lion said, “would you mind giving us some privacy?”

“Fine.” She sulked and slid off the bed and walked out. “Maybe you can have the doctor give you a blowjob.”

A slow smile spread across Lion’s face when she was gone.

“Don’t,” I snarled.

“What?” he said innocently.

Men.

Or should I say, dogs.

Because that’s what Lion was.

But he was still my patient.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. Despite his lack of maturity, Lion deserved the same professional conduct I showed everyone else.

I had already reviewed the images from his MRI outside. The damage to his knee was extensive. For an athlete like him, it would mean surgery and at best, a long recovery period of six months to a year before he could return to sport. At worst, he might be facing the end of his career. All I had to do was imagine someone telling me that I could never practice medicine again and it made my natural compassion kick right in. I instantly went from irritated with Lion to worried about how he was going to take it and what his future would hold for him. Breaking bad news was never easy.