Page 31 of Devoted

Chapter 10

Jess

“Okay, I’ve given you enough time since the speed dating event to process and sleep. And I knew I would see you on shift tonight, so you’ve got to fill me in. I’m dying.”

Piper leans across the top of the nurses’ station, her face alive with excitement as she drills me for details of my night a few days ago. We finally have a free moment to talk as I sit in the chair at the computer and type in some chart notes.

“Well, the first half was frustrating. But there was actually one guy that caught my attention.”

“Seriously? That’s great!”

“Yeah,” I say smugly, waiting to drop the twist. “He’s super tall, which, I mean, almost all men are compared to me.” She laughs and then urges me to continue. “He’s smart, confident, told me he was interested in me with no hesitation. And dear God, Piper… he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.”

Her eyes are wide, her cheeks are high and raised from her beaming grin, and then she stands tall like she’s about to bounce up out of her shoes. “Oh, my gosh! This is so exciting! So what does he do?”

I give her the side-eye and then turn back to my computer as I drop the last hint. “He’s a doctor.”

That makes her head tilt on its axis. “What?”

“Brooks was there,” I whisper over at her and then her elation from before comes back almost instantaneously.

“Shut up! Oh, my god!” She squeals under her breath and then races around the counter to hug me. “It was him? All the stuff you just said was about him?” Her energy is concerning right now, but I’m actually enjoying her excitement too much to ask her to calm down.

“I nod. It was incredible. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I was extremely confused at first. Turns out Ethan told him I would be there. So he showed up just for me.”

Piper’s eyes go wide and then her hands clasp over her chest. “Oh, I can’t. You’re making me swoon!”

I laugh elatedly, struggling to relax my face since my cheeks hurt from smiling so much over the past few days and the development between us. “I know. We ended up leaving and going to Tony’s. We talked and it was so effortless, Piper—like we’ve been doing it forever. He called me out, told me not to be nervous around him like I have been because he knows I feel the same way he does. It was refreshing how he was so forward and honest about his feelings, which I’ve never encountered from another guy before. So needless to say, I’m excited to see where things go.”

“So, what happens now?”

“Now, he brings her coffee.”

I turn in a flash to see a beaming Brooks standing behind me, holding two cups of coffee from Skye’s Creations. He looks so handsome and clean, like he just stepped out of the shower before coming here. His blue scrubs hug his body and show off the sculpted physique I sense he’s hiding underneath, but nothing will ever compare to what he looked like in that suit the other night.

“Uh, how much of that did you hear?” I ask nervously, chewing on my thumbnail.

The curl of his lips indicates he heard enough. “I walked up at ‘he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen’, but I already knew you felt that way. Here,” he says and then hands me the cup of coffee before leaning down and kissing my cheek. My internal temperature automatically spikes.

I grimace and then turn back to the computer. “Great,” I mumble as I hear Brooks chuckle behind me.

“You’re welcome, and there’s no need to be embarrassed. Piper is your friend. She needs to know what’s going on in your life. But,” he lowers his voice and then spins my chair around so he’s hovering over me, forcing me to crane my neck back to look at him. “We should probably keep things quiet just for right now around everyone else here.” He gives me a wink and then stands back up, allowing me to relax my neck. I might have to invest in regular massages if I’m going to continue seeing this giant.

“Uh, I agree.” The thud of my heart in my ribcage momentarily freezes my ability to form sentences. Finally, I manage to converse like a normal human being. “Thank you for the coffee,” I say, holding the cup up before taking a sip, the sweet nectar of life hitting my tongue, warming me up from the inside out. Although seeing Brooks tonight helped with that all on his own.

“I need to go make my rounds, but I’ll catch up with you soon.” He grants me his sexy smirk and then says goodbye to Piper before walking off in the direction he came from.

“Jess…” she starts with a slacked jaw and wide eyes. “You are in so much trouble with that one.”

I reciprocate the movement. “Don’t I know it.”

I only have a few more hours on my shift, so I hustle to finish my charts and then take care of a few new patients that get processed during the early hours of the morning. Just as I’m about to leave, Brooks runs up to me and yanks me by the hand around the corner, opening a door to an on-call room, and then shutting it behind me.

“Jesus, Brooks. I was going to say goodbye to you before I left. No need to kidnap me.” I’m teasing him, but the heat in his eyes tells me he’s not playing.

“I didn’t want you to leave without me giving you this.” With two steps forward, he’s at my mouth, locking his lips with mine and sweeping his tongue inside. This kiss is far more frantic than the other night—and as my purse falls from my hands and I latch onto him in reciprocation, I let myself fall into his command.

The grip of his hand on my hip contradicts the caress of his fingers on my chin, giving me a glimpse of the soft and demanding sides to Brooks that I can’t wait to discover more of. And as his tongue moves against mine and I find myself struggling to breathe, he breaks the kiss to come up for air just as things get too heated. Brooks releases me and steps back with a pleased look on his face as our chests rise and fall in sync.

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