Free Love Redone by Peyton Reeser Page B

pass his tongue over the telltale pulse at that spot along her jaw and neck near her ear, which he knew tasted like sin and felt like warm silk against his tongue. 
    When her hand quickly lifted to that spot as if she had picked up on his desire, he jolted back and fixed her with a look that was probably best left locked away but one that he found he could not control no matter how he tried.
    She was trembling, as though the way he had been staring was causing her to hit overdrive. He wondered if she could feel his lips on her neck the way he could. He watched as the hand she’d raised to seemingly ward off his sensual attack instead began to lightly caress the sensitive skin she found there.
    They continued this silent eye battle for several long moments before the door to Shannon’s room suddenly opened and in walked the doctor who had been assigned to her care. 
    “Hello , Ms. Reynolds. My name is Dr. Adam Tyler. Let’s have a look here and see what’s going on,” said the white-coated doctor with the tag that had not only his name on it but a bunch of letters afterwards indicating he was a specialist in many fields.
    Looking over at Nick , Dr. Tyler said, “If you don’t mind waiting outside until the examination is over, that would be great.”
    Nick instantly replied , “No way. I’m staying right here.”
    Dr. Tyler raised an eyebrow, looking to his patient for direction. Shannon’s reflex was to reach out and grab Nick’s hand , much to his surprise, while looking towards Dr. Tyler and saying, “No, no, it’s okay. I want him to stay.”
    Nick noticed that Dr. Tyler glanced down at their clasped hands and then just shrugged returning all of his attention to his patient.
    Nick didn’t like this young turk very much at all, probably because he had a laid-back California attitude that gave him a science-geek-meets-surfer-dude way about him that was like fingernails on a chalkboard for the powerful, no-nonsense tycoon. 
    The light pen D r. Tyler was waving around like a scepter rankled him, too.  Of course, what was really pissing Nick off was the simple fact that this obviously talented medical guy was getting more response from Shannon in a few short moments than he had gotten from her this past hour, and he found himself wondering where all the curmudgeon senior doctors were today.  The last thing his off-balance disposition needed was some hip, handsome, witty doctor being the hero of the moment. 
    Of course , it didn’t take but a minute or two for Nick to return to his senses. He had to give the man credit.  The Doctor did an efficient and thorough examination in very short order. Shannon was getting the care that she needed, and that was all that really mattered to Nick.
    H e told them that the gash would need some bandages; the knee and the hands would be fine; the ankle, well that was going to require an X-ray and probably a temporary brace.
    When Nick mentioned the bump on her head , Dr. Tyler informed them that the bump was fairly superficial—it looked worse than it actually was and would probably be completely gone by morning, although there would be a nice bruise at her hairline. He was concerned, though, by Shannon’s obvious discomfort and the presence of the headache.
    “Are you prone to headaches , Shannon?” the doctor asked.
    Before Shannon could react , Nick chimed in with a decisive, “Yes, she is,” drawing a side-glance from Shannon.
    Nick remembered all too well the migraines that she occasionally suffered from and how the only way to deal with them was by limiting physical activity, staying quiet and calm, and sometimes resting in the darkness. Bright lights in particular seem ed to make the pain worse.
    Nick could tell Shannon was surprised that he remembered that about her when she stuttered, “I do…yes, I do have migraines from time to time, just not recently. I did notice a persistent headache earlier this morning. Finding myself on my butt on the ground