Page 3 of Theirs to Love

Jackson Saint checked his wristwatch once again hoping that he’d be able to keep his date with the very sexy Travis Sharp, but his hopes dwindled with each passing minute. He got the call that a woman was in labor forty minutes before his shift was supposed to end. Of course, everyone else on duty was busy, and dispatch sent him out to escort the woman and her very nervous husband to the hospital. What dispatch failed to tell him was that the baby was just about out and that he was pulling up to a full-on, side of the highway birth. What else could he do besides calm the first-time father and coach the new mom to push her baby out and then rush them all to the hospital?

Luckily, the station called the situation into the local hospital, and they had an obstetrician on duty and a pediatrician waiting for the new baby. Jackson handed the baby off to the waiting team and accompanied the new family to the room that was waiting for them. He stayed, wanting to make sure that they were properly handed off to the waiting team. But that meant that he might have to cancel on Travis, and he was hoping that tonight they would be able to take their relationship to the next level.

Jack had met Travis at his favorite gay bar, Manholes, a few weeks back, and asked him out. He loved the way Travis walked into that bar looking like a complete fucking badass with his sleeves of tats and beard. Jack was usually attracted to blonds and Travis had those sexy deep blue eyes to match but he tried to steer clear of the bad boy type that Travis seemed to exude.

When Jackson sat up at the bar and asked if he could buy Travis a beer, he was pleasantly surprised that Travis wasn’t anything like he was expecting. The badass, tattooed hottie was shy and quiet; qualities that Jack found endearing. They talked well into the night and Jack wanted to ask Travis to go home with him, but he was sure that his new shy friend wouldn’t be so quick to jump at his offer, so he didn’t ask.

He waited the obligatory two days and called Travis to ask him out for a second date, knowing that Travis would never make that first move. That worked for Jack though since he liked to take the lead and be in charge. It especially turned him on in the bedroom, but they hadn’t gotten to that point yet. He was hoping tonight he’d be able to show Travis exactly what he wanted from him. Jack imagined Travis’s big body bound to his bed, taking everything that Jackson wanted to give him.

Jackson slunk against the wall waiting for the doctor to show up and take over the new parent’s care. He was ready to go home, shower, and head over to Travis’s place. He offered to make him dinner and Jack hoped that meant what he thought it did. He could use a night of kinky sex with one of the hottest men that he met in a long time.

“Excuse me.” A woman with a sleek, long blond ponytail brushed past him and went to check on the new mother. “I take it you are the officer who delivered the baby?” She asked, checking the woman’s vitals. Jackson nodded, feeling as though he swallowed his tongue.

“Great, I’m Dr. Jude.” She crossed the small room, her hand extended and he stood up straighter taking her slight hand into his and gently shaking it. She was petite with sexy curves in all the right places. Even through her white lab coat, he could tell that she was built for sin.

“Jackson Saint but feel free to call me Jack.” She nodded and her smile lit up the room. He felt like a complete ass standing there holding her hand and gawking at her like he had never seen a woman before. The truth was, he saw plenty of women. He was bi so he had dated his fair share of both sexes, never really finding the right person to settle down with.

“Well, then, please call me Emily.” She retracted her hand, and he instantly felt her loss. Emily returned to her patient, asking a few questions, and checking the new mom over. “I was called in to deliver this precious little one,” she said, lifting the squawking baby into her arms. “But I guess she couldn’t wait to meet her mommy and daddy.” Emily checked the baby over and wrapped her in a clean blanket, handing her to the new mom. She motioned for Jack to join her in the hallway, congratulating the new parents on her way out.

Honestly, she was like a tornado and Jack was having trouble keeping up with the good doctor. She asked him to recount exactly what happened from the time he got to the scene to the moment he stepped through the hospital doors. She took copious notes and watched him as he talked. He was completely turned on by the way she sucked on the end of her pen while she was waiting for him to tell her the story. He thought about what else he’d like for her to suck and that certainly didn’t help his growing erection.

Fuck, he needed to get laid and now it didn’t look like he was going to be able to make his date with Travis. He’d have to call him to reschedule when he got done filling out paperwork and finally made it home. Jack was hoping to spend a hot nighttangled up in Travis’s sheets but for now, Dr. Emily had his full attention and he kind of liked it.

Emily

Emily wasn’t quite sure what was going on with her overactive hormones. But, ever since leaving Travers-Black farm and finally meeting the sexy Travis Sharp face to face, she couldn’t seem to get her body in check. She almost did a double take when she saw the big, delicious cop leaning against the wall in her patient’s room. She heard that the baby had to be delivered on the side of the highway by an officer on duty, her nurse just left out the part where the officer was hot as sin and filled out his uniform like it was tailor-made for him.

Jackson Saint made her think about things that she wasn’t sure she was ready for, like being caught up between him and Travis in bed. She had been listening to Raven go on about her relationship with not just one but two of the town’s most eligible bachelors. Maybe she needed to stop listening to her new friend’s good fortune with the opposite sex and concentrate on finding just one man to get tangled up in. Because Emily sure hadn’t had much luck in that department.

Med school was such a busy time for her that she didn’t date a whole lot. She decided that if she was going to chase her dream of becoming a doctor, she might as well give it onehundred percent. She knew that a man would just muck up her chances of reaching her personal goals, so she swore them off while she studied and got her degree. But, it had been a couple of years since she graduated and at almost thirty, she was ready for someone to push her up against the wall and kiss her senseless.

She chanced a look at Jackson and felt her face heat when she realized that he was watching her. His gaze felt like a soft touch, and she let her body lean into his as if needing more. Emily cleared her throat. She needed to get her shit together.

“You keep looking at your watch, Jack. Do you have someplace else to be?” She was trying for casual but instead, she sounded like a busybody. Not quite the vibe she was hoping for. “Sorry, that’s none of my business,” she almost whispered.

Jack shook his head, “No, it’s fine. I was at the end of my shift when I got this call. I’ve been off the clock for almost an hour now. I had a date but I’m pretty sure that he’s not going to want to talk to me again since I just didn’t show up.” Emily felt herself sink in reaction to finding out that Jackson Saint was gay. She always seemed to find herself attracted to the wrong guys.

She sighed, “Well, I’m sure that he’ll give you another chance, what guy wouldn’t? I mean, look at you—I’d give you a second chance.” Emily looked him up and down in his uniform, loving the way he filled it out in all the right places. Realizing that she was making him uncomfortable, she decided that a change of subject was in order. Emily handed Jack the stack of papers that he would need to finish up the paperwork on his end. This wasn’t the first time that a new mother had given birth on the way to the hospital and Emily needed to do a shitload of paperwork. It was all part of the job, and she loved it. Handing a baby who was only seconds old to the new mother was magical. She would never tire of seeing parents’ faces when they saw their baby for the first time.

“Thanks, Emily,” Jackson’s tired, sexy voice sounded almost like a growl, causing her to shiver.

“Not a problem, Jackson. I’m going to check in on the new parents and then I’m off duty again. I was on call this weekend, but things are pretty slow.” Emily looked around the maternity floor and knew that it was probably just the quiet before the storm but she was hoping for some downtime.

Jackson turned to leave, stopping mid-way down the hallway, “How about dinner?” Emily wasn’t sure that she heard him correctly. He was facing away from her, and he was so quiet, she wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Jack had asked her out for dinner.

“Excuse me?” She took a few steps towards him, hoping that if she was correct he would ask her again. But how could she be right? Didn’t sexy Jackson Saint just admit to her that he was gay?

He turned to face her, and she could see the uncertainty on his handsome face. Emily was pretty sure that not too many women or men, for that matter, would turn Jack down so why did he look at her like he was expecting her to tell him no?

“Have dinner with me? That is if you don’t already have plans for tonight.” Jackson stuck his hands in his pockets, and she followed the line of his body down with her eyes, realizing that she was once again checking him out, she darted her eyes up to meet his. He smiled, seeming a bit more confident. She was beginning to realize that Jackson Saint had many sides to him, and she found herself curious to discover more.

“I’m not sure if that is such a great idea,” she hesitated. “Didn’t you just say that you already had a date planned for tonight with another man?” Jackson’s smile was brilliant, and he seemed to catch onto her reason for hesitancy.

He barked out his laugh, “I’m bi, Emily. If that’s a problem for you then we can just call it two friends having a bite toeat.” Emily wasn’t sure what to do, she had never been with a man who liked to date both men and women. She wasn’t looking for a friendly dinner, she was looking for someone who wanted something deeper. Still, her body heated at the thought of spending some time with Jack, both at dinner and then hopefully back at her place.

Jackson seemed nervous again and she knew that she was taking too long to over-analyze the situation, one of her many character flaws. Emily spent too much time going over everything in her mind when her job so often left her to make hard and fast decisions in life-and-death situations. It was her responsibility to keep people safe and alive, but when it came to making decisions in her private life she often found herself floundering to make a choice.

“Yes,” she stuttered. “I’d love to have dinner with you, Jackson. I’ll just need to finish up here and get changed. Can I meet you?” Jack gave a curt nod.

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