Page 123 of Filthy Lovin Heroes

But rumors were not fact and I lived in a world where truth ruled.

I didn’t let my mind linger on that for long. I'm already feeling a little sweaty. Thinking about me naked and between them wouldn’t help me get my stubborn soldier to take his meds any faster.

“Take the damn pills, Hawk.” The hoarse voice of Kane made me and Hawk look over at the man lying there red-faced. Kane, who hated his nickname I learned, swung his gaze to me. “Can I get some water, sweetheart?”

Despite me telling him my name, they both went with their version of endearment instead which usually pissed me off if any other man tried it. I worked hard for my nursing degree, damn it. But with them, my heart did a funny dance, and chills ran over my skin.

See, I have it bad for them, despite my better judgment.

I purse my lips, held his gaze, and tried to stand my ground.

“I mean, Nurse Jordan. Please.” His voice rough and scratchy.

“Of course.” I passed a cup to Hawk first and pointed at the pills before placing another cup of water in Kane’s outstretched hand.

I shook my head thinking of all the stubborn crap Hawk had given me in the past week since he’d begun his recovery. If I would have met him anywhere else, I would have no doubt told him where to go with an attitude like that.

He was fierce, used to getting his way, and ornery as hell. Even laid up in bed with a horrible fever attacking his system, the fever hadn’t been able to do more than shed a few pounds off him. That only made him more angular in all the right places.

Kane had come in on his own two feet. Swaying but still upright. I’d been able to appreciate all two hundred pounds of muscle spread over a six-foot-two-inch frame. The man looked like one of those male dancers off a movie or straight out of Vegas. Now, he still looked as if he could overpower me, even feeling as down in the dumps as he was. Not that I have any thoughts of him wanting to do anything other than sweet talk me into bed with him.

I reached for a banana left on the tray from lunch for Hawk. “Food will help the meds settle in your stomach better.”

Hawk took one look at me and a grin stretched over his rugged features. “You’re as beautiful on the inside as you are on the out, sweetheart.” He gripped my hand still wrapped around the banana with a dark look to his eyes.

The pad of his thumbs caressed a heated stroke over my knuckles. “I like how you’re gripping that banana. The perfect delicate hand with the perfect pink-tipped fingers. I told you, Lucky, she’d be perfect for us with the perfect kind of grip.”

“That’s a little direct and brazen even for you, Hawk.” I swallowed to give myself time to think of something else to say that didn’t start with when and where.

“You know, all I have to do is call for a doctor to give you a shot and you’ll be out for hours.”

I had my share of soldiers hitting on me, but none that interested me as much as this pair. I’d heard about things they’d done overseas—heroic things. Every single soldier was a hero in my book, but these two were US military on steroids.

I pulled my hand free and set the banana next to Hawk.

His gaze tracked my every move as I poured another cup of water and placed a straw in the cup, bent to just the right angle, trying to keep my cool.

I held it out for him to sip, but he reached up and curled his fingers over mine. A heated thrill hit my belly—and kept on going south.

I was a twenty-five-year-old who had virtually no life outside of work. My friends made fun of me regularly, saying I was old before my time. I didn’t feel that way inside—I was just content with what I had in life.

Until them. They made me think I could have more than just work going for me. I could have them.

Sure, I had a job I liked, an apartment within walking distance of the shops, the park, and theater. On my days off, I liked to sleep in and then throw on some workout clothes and go for a run. I’d always end up at the corner coffee shop grabbing my favorite mocha macchiato.

Actually, on that thought, maybe I would reschedule beers with Lora. After a couple of weeks of heavy shifts here at the hospital, I was ready for one of those days off, but without the hangover that always came after a night out drinking with my crazy redheaded friend. My back ached and my calves were tense from neglecting all the stretches I knew my body needed.

I shifted my feet, and Hawk looked down at my athletic shoes.

“You all right, sweetheart? All playin’ aside, you hurting? I didn’t mean any harm by my teasing with the banana.”

In the other bed, Kane was still awake—he must be on the mend to keep his eyes open all this time.

“Don’t worry about it. I get it all the time with you soldiers.”

That made his scowl deepen and put one on Kane's face at the same time.

I pushed on instead of thinking about that any deeper. “I haven’t had a run in a while. I could use it.”

---