Mine at Last (11 page)

Shauna looked stunned. “For me? No, no.”

“Yes, although I guess they’d be more for the good doctor here.”

“Thank you, ladies,” Dominik said as Shauna snatched the package from him. “That was very thoughtful, wasn’t it, Shauna?”

“Dr. Coles.”

Dominik turned. The nurse from the clinic had called out to him. “Ah, ladies, I have to go back to work.” He leaned down and kissed each woman on the cheek. “It was an absolute pleasure meeting you today. And, Shauna, I guess you’re gonna have to give me a rain check on the long story. It was good seeing you.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you, too,” she said.

“Call me,” he said pointedly as he walked away backward.

“I’ll see you Monday at the hospital.”

“Or sooner,” he said just before going into the clinic.

“Bye,” Shauna said as she closed the trunk and opened the back door. The sisters got in and buckled up. Shauna glanced at the clinic’s storefront Dominik had long since gone inside. She walked around to the driver’s side as Pearl opened the front passenger door.

“He is gorgeous and it is a waste,” Pearl said smiling and got in.

“Pearl,” Shauna warned.

“Dr. Coles,” the sisters said in unison with a smile on their faces that could only be described as radiant. “What a handsome man, and a doctor, too. Impressive,” Mae added.

“Very impressive,” Wanda added.

Shauna nodded. “He’s just a colleague.”

“Still, interesting coincidence seeing him, don’t you think?”

“Too interesting if you ask me,” Shauna said. “Did you know he volunteered here on weekends?”

“Me? No, of course not,” Pearl said, then crossed her heart. “I swear I had no idea he came here to volunteer.”

“Strange,” Shauna said.

“More like serendipity,” Wanda said.

“Oh, yes, most definitely serendipity,” Mae acknowledged.

Wanda nodded. “I agree, although perhaps you won’t be needing the rest of the items we got for you after all.”

“They’ll work just as well for two,” Mae assured her.

Shauna drove back to Key West as Pearl and the sisters talked about the different things they found in the store. Shauna didn’t pay much attention. The only thing she focused on was the road and Dominik’s overly pleased expression at seeing her. She also thought about his request that she call him. No matter how tempted she was, there was no way she was going to call him. She shook her head. No, no way.

Chapter 10

Thankfully the rest of Saturday and Sunday sped by quickly. Not surprisingly she thought about Dominik the whole time. He’d planted the “call me” idea in her head and naturally all she wanted to do all weekend long was call him. Fortunately, she resisted temptation. Of course, having the gift bag filled with adult sex toys from the sisters sitting on her dresser didn’t help her itchy mood.

And the itch was getting stronger, and she knew Dominik was the cause and the cure. She wanted him. She’d wanted him for a long time.

First thing Monday morning, Shauna headed to the hospital to start the E.R.’s review process. She was anxious and excited to see Dominik. She walked into the hospital and up to the main information desk. The older woman seated there looked up from her computer and smiled pleasantly. “Good morning, may I help you with something?”

“Good morning,” Shauna said. “Yes, would you please tell Dr. Dominik Coles in the E.R. that Shauna Banks has arrived?”

“Yes, of course. Is Dr. Coles expecting you?”

“Yes, he is.”

She nodded. “I’ll call his assistant, Nora Rembrandt, to take you back to his office.”

“Thank you.”

A few minutes later a stern middle-aged woman with a pinched face and half glasses hanging around her neck turned a corner and came walking down the hall. She looked around, then spotted Shauna standing near the desk. “Good morning, are you here for Dr. Coles?”

“Yes, I am.”

“He’s in a meeting right now. He asked me to take you to the conference room and to make sure you had everything you needed. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have to get you started.”

“Actually, I do need to know where to find Lost and Found. I believe I lost a flash drive in the E.R. the last time I was here. I was told by security that I could check this morning.”

“Okay. I can check for you and see if a flash drive has been turned in.” She glanced at her watch. “The hospital services department is located near the cafeteria and opens in an hour.”

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that.”

“No problem. Please come with me. I’ll take you to the conference room.” They walked back down the same hall, then turned to a security door. She swiped her ID badge on the wall card reader and the doors opened instantly. They walked through and she led Shauna past the main E.R. area to a side corridor.

It was still early and the hospital was quiet. The whitewashed walls, the polished linoleum floor and the bright lights were all standard hospital fare. Shauna followed Nora down the empty hall. Neither spoke. They passed several closed doors and offices, one with Dominik’s name on the door, and kept going. Farther down the hall, Nora stopped, unlocked and opened a door. “This is it,” she said, walking inside. Shauna followed.

The room was a standard-size conference room with a long table surrounded by chairs taking up most of the space. The table was stacked with seven boxes and a number of loose files. Shauna walked over and placed her briefcase on a chair and continued to look around. There were no windows and the only other furniture was a side table with a bottle of water on top.

“I wasn’t sure what you needed. I hope it’s okay. I got you a bottle of water,” Nora said.

“Oh, yes, it’s fine. Perfect, thank you.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

Of course, Dominik’s name popped into her head. “No, I’m good, thank you.”

“Okay, I’ll check Lost and Found for your flash drive as soon as the department opens. The bathrooms are down the hall. Here’s the key to the conference room door. Dr. Gilman would like the door kept locked when you’re not in here. With the files...”

Shauna nodded. “Yes, of course, I understand.”

“There’s a phone on the side. If you need anything else, just call the operator and ask for me.”

“Thank you, Nora, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said, then walked over and opened one of the boxes on the table. She pulled out the top file and read the cover. She continued with the rest of the boxes—checking to see exactly what she had to work with. As promised, this was everything she needed. She sat down, opened her laptop and began working. Nora came back to the door an hour and a half later.

“Ms. Banks, I just checked with Lost and Found. No flash drives have been dropped off in the last three weeks. If someone did pick it up, they didn’t turn it in, at least not yet. I’ll check again later on today.”

Shauna nodded. “Okay. Thanks for checking.”

“No problem.” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

Hours later Shauna looked at her watch. It was much later than she thought, well past one o’clock. Just as she opened another file, there was a light knock on the closed door. “Come in,” she said.

The door opened and Dominik looked in, smiling. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said.

“May I come in?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He walked in carrying two bottles of water. “I would ask you how it’s going, but that might be against the rules.”

“There are no rules.”

“Interesting. That’s good to know. So, how’s it going?”

“Fine, it’s going fine,” she said only half smiling. “There’s a lot of information to go through, but I have what I need.”

“Good. I thought you could use a break and also I thought you might be thirsty,” he said, placing the bottles on the table in front of her.

“Actually, I am thirsty. Thank you,” she said, having finished the other water bottle Nora left her. “That was kind of you.”

“You say that like it’s a surprise.”

She sighed and closed the file she’d been reading. “Not exactly a surprise, but let’s face it, you and I get along like oil and water. We’re not exactly pals.”

“Sure we are. And after Saturday, I would have guessed we’re...”

“Hold up. I need to stop you before this gets any more complicated than it already is. What happened last weekend was...”

He smiled. “How are the sisters?” he interrupted.

“They’re fine. Very brazen and very brash,” she said.

“Yes, they are that,” he said, chuckling. “I like them.”

“You’ll be happy to know they liked you, too.”

“About their suggestion, you and I together. I was thinking...”

“I hope you didn’t take them seriously.”

“As a matter of fact, I did. I’ve been thinking about it,” he said, coming around to her side of the table.

Me, too, nonstop,
she answered mentally. “Oh,” she said, then swallowed hard.

“Yes.” He smiled. Pearly-white teeth made her heart stammer. “I like the idea of you and me together.”

Yes, I do, too.
“I think we need to keep this professional.”

“No, you don’t,” he said, moving closer to her.

No, I don’t.

“You’re just as curious as I am, aren’t you?”

Yes!
“What makes you think that?”

He smiled. “Women don’t usually passionately kiss complete strangers they’re not attracted to. There’s obviously sexual chemistry between us. So, the question is what are we going to do about it?” He leaned back against the table’s edge looking down at her.

Have wild, buck naked sex right here, right now
. “Nothing. Ignore it. We’re two rational adults. We can do that.”

His smile widened. “I have a better idea.” He leaned over and pulled her to her feet. His lips were just inches from hers. Her heart thundered. She wanted this and she knew he knew it. Her lips parted just enough. His lips touched hers gently, then again and again, each time holding on slightly longer and longer. Kiss after kiss they leaned in just enough for their mouths to meet. Then the intensity began and the passion increased.

He leaned in, just barely brushing the tips of her nipples. She moaned, savoring the sweetness of his mouth. A flood of desire swept through her body, burning her insides from top to bottom. He had lit her flame and her body was on fire. Her heart began to pound, meeting and matching the momentum of his. She was falling and losing control. She knew this wasn’t the place or the time for this. She slowly pulled away, easing back. They were both breathless and drunk with desire when the kiss ended.

“Hmm, that was nice,” he muttered. “I think we should do that more often.”

Yes, me, too.
She looked into his dark, smoldering eyes. “I bet you do, but for the sake of our current working relationship, we should maybe not.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” he asked. She didn’t respond, but her answer was in her eyes. “I am attracted to you, Shauna, and you’re attracted to me. Let’s just take it from there.”

Yes, absolutely.
But she didn’t respond for a while. She closed her eyes and took a step back. “Dominik, I will concede I’m attracted to you. You already know that. But some attractions are impossible. This one is impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

He smiled. “Not an answer.”

“Our positions here need to be considered. We can’t just jump into bed and then act like nothing happened between us. This will get emotional and complicated.”

“What if this was...”

“...just physical?” she asked.

“Yes. No strings, commitments or expectations. No emotions.”

She half smiled as she considered the idea of just once fulfilling her fantasy of being with Dominik. The idea was almost too tempting to resist. She bit at her lower lip, then shook her head. “Emotions always get involved.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, my sweet.” He was just about to say more when his cell phone beeped. “Excuse me.” He answered as Shauna stepped back and grabbed a bottle of water, opened it and took a long swig. She didn’t realize her mouth was bone-dry. “I have to get back to the E.R.,” he said. She nodded.

“I look forward to finishing this conversation soon.” He walked out.

Shauna released the breath she’d been holding. She took another long sip of water. There was no way she was going to finish that conversation with him. If she busied herself, there was no way she’d have time to talk. So, she threw herself into the job.

For the next few hours she kept one eye on the door just in case Dominik came back. But he didn’t. Then she began to wonder what happened to him and if he’d changed his mind about everything. She found herself more disappointed than she expected to be. She spent the rest of the afternoon buried in her work. At three-thirty she decided to find a cafeteria and get something to eat. She locked the conference room and headed out, making sure to stay as far away from the E.R. as possible.

Following the signs, she found her way to the cafeteria on the lower level. She passed the hospital services department on the way and decided to stop and ask about her flash drive. Just as Nora said earlier, it had not been found. She continued to the cafeteria. With lunch long over and dinner not yet started, the place was completely empty, except for a few cafeteria workers laughing and talking at a table in the corner. She grabbed a chicken-salad sandwich, chips and an iced tea, then headed back up to the conference room.

She ate and worked, getting a lot more done than she expected. It wasn’t until her cell phone rang that she stopped for a minute. “Hi, Pearl. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. How are you?”

“Good. I started working on the hospital review today. As a matter of fact I’m here now.”

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty much as I anticipated,” she said.

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It is, for now at least. So, what are you up to this evening? Can I take you out to dinner tonight?”

“Oh, I can’t. Actually, I’m headed out of town for a few days. A friend of mine just called. She isn’t doing well, so I’m gonna drive up and visit for a few days. That’s why I called. Would you do me a huge favor and stop by the house a couple times this week to make sure everything is okay?”