Page 52 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
"He's fine," Hildegard said as she sat down. "Awake, alert, and already hitting on me."
Julian's eyebrows rose. "Tim? That's bold. Should I adjust his medications to make him mellower?"
She laughed. "Don't you dare. I enjoyed every moment. He certainly makes things interesting, and he's also doing very well, as evidenced by the huge erection he sprouted when he saw me. Quite impressive for a guy his size."
As she'd expected, Julian's expression turned pinched. He was so proper for someone so young, and he didn't like the way she talked.
Well, tough.
Mentioning Tim's erection was medically relevant, and she wasn't going to twist herself into a pretzel trying to describe it in terms that didn't offend Julian's sensibilities.
He glanced at his desktop screen, and she suspected that he had done so not because he wanted to go over Tim's readouts but because he was trying to avert his gaze from her.
Fun times. She loved making the young stiff uncomfortable.
"His readings are remarkable. Who would have suspected that Tim was so close to the source? He was like a remote bet that Kian put off testing for years since he first suspected that Tim's ability was more than a talent."
That got her attention. "How is that possible? The guy certainly doesn't look like he has an abundance of godly genes."
Tim had a nice face, but he was short, pudgy, and balding. Dormants, even those who were far removed from the source, were usually good-looking.
"Does he need my attention?" Julian asked, looking like he hoped she would say no.
"He's weak, obviously, and experiencing the usual discomforts. But he's coherent and responsive. I hope the erection resolves itself without medical intervention because I'm sure it's not comfortable given the catheter. If not, you might want to give him something for that."
Julian shook his head. "Do you know the saying, birds of a feather?"
She arched a brow. "Flock together?"
"Yeah. You two should be getting along splendidly."
"My sparkling bedside manner is why patients love me," she said. "People like honesty, not fake smiles. If someone's being a pain in my ass, I tell them. If they're doing well, I tell them that too. No sugar-coating from me."
"No wonder you charmed the pants off the notorious grump."
Was Tim grumpy?
Not really. He was snarky, and it wasn't the same.
"I like him. He's refreshingly honest about being an asshole instead of pretending to be nice while thinking asshole thoughts." She pushed to her feet. "Plus, he called my smart mouth one of my best features. The guy has taste."
Julian sighed dramatically. "Do I need to remind you to maintain proper boundaries?"
"Please." She rolled her eyes. "When have I ever crossed professional boundaries?"
"Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically?"
"That guy wasn't my patient. I was done treating him first, and then I spent the night with him." That wasn't entirely true since she'd checked his incisions the next morning, but it was such a trivial thing that it wasn't worth mentioning.
Living by the rules was boring, and as long as she didn't harm anyone by breaking them, she didn't see a good reason to follow them.
The sharp buzz of a call button interrupted her train of thought. There was just one patient in the clinic, so she didn't need to look to know which room it was coming from.
"Speak of the devil," Julian murmured.
"He probably just wants to ogle me some more." She walked out of the office.
When she opened the door, Tim was attempting to push himself up, his face twisted in concentration.
