Too Hot to Sleep. Stephanie Bond

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СКАЧАТЬ Georgia and Rob—whoever they were—would have a big laugh when they realized she’d coaxed a wrong number to climax.

      Ken leaned against the sink and ran a hand through his flattened hair, thinking about the sometimes shy voice of his unwitting partner. What if, instead, she felt humiliated and kept her secret? What if she worried about the identity of the person with whom she’d shared such an intimate experience?

      Nah.

      He splashed his face with handfuls of cool water, then stumbled back to bed, unable to stop a slow grin and a wide yawn as he fell onto his pillow. One thing he did know. His insomnia was cured for tonight.

      4

      “SO HOW DID IT GO?”

      Georgia jumped at the sound of Toni’s voice over her shoulder, then smiled sheepishly at her friend. In fact, despite a slight headache and sitting on gum stuck to the bus seat this morning, she’d been gloating ever since her alarm had sounded. She was officially a naughty girl. Life was good.

      Toni snapped her fingers in rapid succession. “Come on, you were humming, for Pete’s sake.”

      Georgia glanced at the charts she was working on, then checked her watch. “I’m due a break. Want to get some coffee?”

      “Sure.”

      After letting the admissions clerk know she’d be away for ten minutes, Georgia wrote “break” beside her name on a dry eraser board. “How are things in the nursery?”

      Toni looked heavenward. “Please tell me what possessed me to transfer up to the fourth floor.”

      “You love babies, and you have the hots for the new head of obstetrics.”

      Her friend frowned. “Oh, yeah.”

      “And how’s that little ploy going, by the way?”

      “Well, he calls me ‘Terri.’”

      “Oh.” Georgia hid her smile and led the way into the staff vending room. Two med students sat at a corner table, one studying, one asleep sitting up.

      Toni threw up her hands. “My question is, how did the man get through anatomy if he can’t remember names?”

      Georgia poured them both a paper cup of coffee, then handed Toni a packet of sugar. “He’ll come around.”

      “I hope so. I was planning to have snared a doctor by now. No offense, Georgia—I’m not as enamored with the nursing profession as you are. I’m here to get a husband. A rich husband with talented hands.”

      Georgia laughed. “Liar. You’re a good nurse, Toni. By the way, how was Stacey feeling this morning?”

      “Not so good, but she’ll recover.” After glancing at the med students, she leaned forward. “So I’m dying here. Did you call Rob and…you know?”

      Feeling a blush climb her neck, Georgia blew into her cup.

      “What, what, what?”

      “Yes.”

      Toni squealed. “I knew you could do it if you just let go. Did he like it?”

      She pursed her lips, reliving flashes of last night’s erotic conversation that still sent stabs of desire to her stomach. His responses had been unexpectedly enthusiastic and sensual—a side of him she’d never seen but had hoped for. “I think so.” She lowered her voice and added, “It was fabulous.”

      Toni grinned. “You vamp, you.”

      Basking in her awakening, Georgia lifted her chin and smiled. She’d misbehaved and she hadn’t been struck by lightning. She hadn’t grown horns. And she hadn’t been tempted to ogle strange men on the bus this morning. She had her unfettered hormones perfectly under control.

      “I take back what I said about Rob being a bore. The man’s obviously a sleeper.”

      “A sleeper?”

      “You know, unassuming. Awakens unexpectedly.” Toni wagged her eyebrows.

      “Ah.”

      “When will you see him again?”

      “I told him to call me today.”

      Slurping her coffee, Toni said, “Let’s hope he didn’t get all Republican at the light of day.”

      Georgia’s smile fizzled. “What do you mean?”

      Toni crinkled her nose and pulled an innocent face. “Nothing.”

      “Oh, no, what do you mean?”

      A sigh escaped her friend. “The whole buyer’s remorse thing. I just wondered if it was the same with phone sex as it is with real sex. You lose one out of three guys to morning-after malady, you know.”

      Doubts crowded her previous good cheer. “You mean you think he enjoyed it last night, but he doesn’t respect me this morning?”

      Toni tossed her half-empty cup into the trash can and wiped her hands together in a “that’s that” motion. “Forget I said anything.”

      She frowned. “I’ll try.”

      “When do you get off?” Then she winked and poked Georgia in the ribs. “Again?”

      “Oh, you’re a riot. I clock out at three.”

      “Don’t worry, he’ll call. Ta ta.”

      Georgia pushed aside her nagging concern and threw herself into the chaos of the afternoon. But every E.R. triage nurse typically experienced at least one day a week during which she questioned her decision to become a nurse in the first place, and today turned out to be hers. Her adolescent dreams of fixing people’s bodies—and, thus, their souls—seemed ludicrous in the wake of stomach flus, food poisonings, puncture wounds and other less palatable ailments. No dramatic lifesaving procedures today. She blamed the heat for the elevated tempers. Every patient tested her patience, bickering about the wait, second-guessing the treatments she offered. As her shift progressed, Georgia’s anxiety level increased. And as her anxiety level increased, her confidence waned. And as her confidence waned, she felt less and less good about her recent foray into the world of the sexually assertive.

      What if Toni were right and Rob had decided her forwardness was uncouth? How would she be able to face him? She’d whipped up a little fudge sauce for their plain vanilla relationship, but had it been too rich for his blood? Since his consulting assignments required that he travel, and due to the nature of her job, they rarely spoke during the day. But after she clocked out, she’d make an exception and call him to gauge his reaction.

      “What kind of a nurse are you?” a big, unpleasant-smelling man demanded when she refused to give him a physical for his medical insurance.

      Georgia put her hands on her hips. “Sir, this is an emergency room, not your family doctor’s office.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ