Slippery When Wet Read online

  West turned to my superior and pointed his shaking finger at me. “Do you see what I mean? I can’t work like this.”

  Wanda looked between the two of us impassively. She rubbed at her temple with one hand and reached for a slip of paperwork with the other. “According to this, it appears that you two are dating.”

  “What is that?” West asked, lowering his finger and advancing to Wanda’s desk.

  “It’s the report Nurse Williams filed with HR indicating that you two are seeing each other, and have been for the past three weeks.” Wanda handed him the paperwork.

  West jerked back as though the sheet of paper was poisonous. “I never filled that out.”

  “No, I did.” Whenever I was having a sexual relationship with a doctor in the hospital I always made certain to file with HR. Partially to protect myself in situations like these. But also to see them fluster when they got caught. I turned to West and his red face.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, taking the paper from Wanda. “I’ll rip that up. It’s no longer needed since this relationship is now over.”

  West squirmed. I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t want our relationship to end? It didn’t matter. He no longer had a choice. He was a selfish lover. He’d given me the equivalent of blue balls twice now in one night. He’d already done the whole flustered at being caught thing that I so enjoyed watching. There wasn’t any other way I could think to amuse myself with him. So, it was over.

  ““Would you excuse us, Dr. West,” said Wanda. “I’d like a private word with Nurse Cleo.”

  West’s indecision at the ripping of the paperwork dissolved. A smirk spread across his face as though he sensed he’d gotten me into trouble. I narrowed my eyes at him, and his lips twitched until the weight of my glare pulled the corners down into a cowing frown.

  Yeah, it was so over between us. West shuffled out the door and I turned back to my supervisor. Wanda shook her head at me once we were alone.

  I sat down in the chair, but scooted away from her as she pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her nose. “You coming down with something?”

  “I’m fine,” she waved my concern away. “You know you’re a shoe in for this promotion, Cleo. But I can’t promote you with your behavior. You have to set a good example socially as well as professionally.”

  “You know that’s a double standard. Doctors screw nurses all the time. You never see them getting called for their behavior.”

  “Because we’re nurses. We have to set ourselves above those egomaniacs. You’ve been with us for three years. This is the first time you’ve applied for a promotion even though you would’ve been given the position years ago. What’s going on? What’s changed?”

  I wasn’t about to tell her the truth. I wasn’t about to tell any one I worked with the truth. “I need a new challenge.”

  Wanda studied me, seeing right through me, but not the truth. “Fine. But you have to know that your reputation precedes you. If you really want this position, then you have to clean up your act with the doctors.”

  I shrugged. Doctors were just a pastime. They were an easy habit to break.

  Inwardly, I smirked at my own joke. Outwardly, I nodded to Wanda. I couldn’t afford to let this opportunity slip by me. Not with Toy getting worse and our time running out.

  “I hear you,” I said. “He’s the last one. I promise.”

  “Cleo, I know how good you are, but if you want this promotion you have to realize that the doctors also have a say.”

  “What? So they’re gonna try and cockblock me? That’s not fair. Any relationship I’ve had has been on file to avoid exactly this situation.”

  “It’s still a boys’ club, hon. Just stop fucking with them.”

  “Charity fucks with them.”

  “But she doesn’t turn them into whining little girls.” Wanda coughed and grabbed for another tissue.

  “You should go home and get some rest.”

  She waved me, and whatever ailed her, away. I sighed and got up to head out the door. Of course West was waiting for me on the other side like the lap dog he truly was.

  “What were you thinking filing a report with HR?” he demanded.

  “What’s the matter?” I smiled sweetly. “Were you embarrassed about our relationship?”

  “What relationship? We were fucking.”

  I nodded patiently. “Those are the only kinds of relationships I have with men. Did you think it was something else?”

  “You’re a coldhearted bitch, you know that?”

  My head cocked to the side, like the safety being flung off a gun. My gaze narrowed at him, like I was looking at him down a barrel. “Call me a bitch again.”

  I watched him muster the courage. Then the bastard uttered the word.

  I nodded slowly as I looked up and down his body for the perfect place to strike. My gaze latched onto his groin, and I grinned. I took the key from in my ear, the key that fit his cock ring, and placed it in my mouth. Knowing full well that I would regret this in a few hours, I swallowed. Luckily, I had no gag reflex. The piece of metal tumbled down my throat.

  West gulped and then grabbed at his stomach as though he were about to vomit. “What did you…? How am I…?”

  Exactly. It was gonna be a bitch on the way out, but damn it if it wasn’t worth it for the look on his face.

  “Kiss my ass,” I said and turned on my heel. But I didn’t get far. I walked into a mountain of hard muscle.

  “Excuse me.” The tall drink of water that called himself Eagle stood in my path. “We need a doctor”

  “What’s wrong?” both West and I asked.

  Eagle ignored West and addressed me. “My brother, he’s losing feeling in his arm. He says not to worry about it, but I’m worried.”

  “It’s probably nothing,” said West.

  “Or it’s a spinal fracture,” I said.

  West turned to me. “Didn’t we just have this conversation about you overstepping your bounds?”

  I shut my mouth, which was hard for me to do. But I thought about that promotion.

  “How do we know if it’s a fracture?” Eagle asked.

  “The x-rays,” said West. “They should be back in thirty minutes.”

  “We need to put a rush on those,” said Eagle.

  “I can go and see,” I said.

  We headed down to the x-ray room. Eagle followed close behind. I felt him stalking behind me like a tiger. I knew his attention was on his friend, but my ass felt a hot gaze. When I chanced a glance over my shoulder, my suspicion was confirmed.

  His lazy, hazel eyes were locked on the sway of my ass. He looked up and I was the one who felt like I’d been caught staring.

  West opened the door to the x-ray room. He made to close it in my face, but I moved past him. Eagle did the same. West bit his lip and stayed mute.

  In the room, two bodies were clasped together in a corner. They sprang apart as we entered. I saw Nurse Charity’s bare flesh from her rucked up scrubs, and I got a glimpse of what the new surgeon was working with. I felt a moment’s pity that I wouldn’t get to play with his toy.

  “Excuse me, no patients in here,” said the surgeon, his eyes looked past me and West to focus on Eagle.

  Eagle glared. If it was possible, he seemed to grow larger in the small room while the new surgeon appeared to shrink. Eagle turned to me. He raised an eyebrow. Then he tilted his head. The silent command indicated that I should get to the business at hand; his friend’s x-ray.

  “Where’s the tech?” I asked. “We need to rush an x-ray. It’s an emergency.”

  “He went down the hall, but I can find it. Patient’s name?” The surgeon was all professionalism now.

  I told him the name and he pulled the slides. He put them up in the light.

  “Dr. Page,” said West addressing the new surgeon. It was the first time he’d spoken in the ordeal. “Shouldn’t we wait for the tech?”

  “I can read an x-ray, West.”

&nb
sp; We all stared at it for a silent moment, but there was tension in that moment. Namely from West and Page as they each raced to find any evidence in the film. West spoke first.

  “Just as I said, there’s nothing broken,” said West.

  “What about any fractures?” I asked.

  “He wasn’t exhibiting the signs,” West insisted.

  “Right here,” said Page.

  West grit his teeth as he glared at the back of Page’s head.

  “It’s a hairline, but it’s in the neck,” said Page. “It could lead to a spinal problem. Has the patient experienced any numbing in the arms or dizziness?”

  “Yes,” Eagle spoke up. “He said his arm was feeling numb and he had a headache.”

  West peered closer. “It looks like he’ll need immediate surgery. Let’s get him prepped.”

  Eagle put a hand on West’s chest. He didn’t shove. He just stopped the man’s motion. “Not you.” He turned to Page. “You.”

  Doctors were a competitive bunch, surgery whores as I mentioned, so of course Page jumped at the chance to operate on any live body. “Nurse Charity, come with me.”

  “I want Nurse Cleo working with you,” said Eagle.

  Page looked over at me and shrugged. “The more the merrier.”

  We rushed out the room and down the hall to Crow’s room. Page explained the procedure as Crow’s brothers looked on with grim faces and each of the three girls’ lips trembled.

  As we were leaving the room with Crow on a gurney, Eagle made to follow. I pressed my hand against his chest. He was solid steel beneath my fingers. I felt his heart beating; fast and strong. Even though his face was stoic, it was crystal clear that he was worried about his brother.

  “I’m sorry, you can’t come,” I said. “But I promise you, I’m going to take good care of your brother. I’ll be by his side, watching over him every minute.”

  Eagle’s large hand covered mine. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had taken my hand in his own with or without my permission. It seemed like he held it there for an eternity, but I knew it was only a second.

  He nodded and then stepped back and let me go. My legs took a moment to move. Then I disappeared into the surgery room.

  Chapter Five

  I walked out of the surgery room three hours later, which was five hours after my shift should have ended. In the waiting room, I saw that Eagle had Crow’s girlfriend in his lap. MK’s eyes were open but vacant. Eagle’s hand stroked across her back where her bra strap would be.

  The others were similarly seated together, holding one another close and offering support. This multihued, multiethnic group looked like a patchwork from afar. But up close, they made complete, harmonious sense. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing I had a blanket to snuggle into.

  As I came closer, Eagle’s gaze connected with mine. His eyes widened and I saw fear and vulnerability glare through in his hazel depths. I held up my hand in a stop motion, trying to indicate that everything was okay.

  His eyes closed for a second. His fingers tensed on MK’s back. She didn’t notice. I held up my thumb, pointing it towards the sky in the universal signal of ‘Everything’s Okay.’ His eyes closed again. In that moment I was free to look my fill of him.

  I drank in the sight of him sitting there, vulnerable with another woman in his lap. I liked the picture very much. I wanted him on his knees, head tilted back at me, eyes closed, lips parted. Oh, the things I’d stick in that mouth.

  Eagle’s eyes flashed opened. They caught and held mine like he knew what I was thinking. Even though his eyes were open, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I doubted this man had a submissive bone in his body. Unfortunately, that made me want him even more. It would likely take a lifetime to break him. But oh, during that time, I could make him hurt so good.

  His eyebrow quirked in a challenge. I stuttered in my steps as I came to stand before him. My fight or flight response engaged. Something told me that another step forward would put me in a trap. A step backwards would get me chased. I wasn’t a pussy and so I stepped forward.

  The side of his mouth quirked up as I did. I couldn’t tell what things he wanted to do to me, or wanted me to do to him. I couldn’t read his kink, other than he was the type who liked to share. I knew he had to see that I wasn’t the type of woman who was a toy. I was a toymaker.

  He gave the woman in his lap a light tap. MK looked up. She blinked and slowly her gaze came into focus. She regarded Eagle, her eyes full of trust as she waited for further instructions from him.

  That pulled me up short. I’d never had that; trust in a man. Or a woman for that matter. I didn’t have some tragic childhood where a man abused me and that was why I liked to hurt them. I was an equal opportunity sadist. I spared the church girl’s ass a moment of perusal as she stood to allow Eagle up, wondering what shade her skin would blush if handled correctly.

  The other two men and their women stood as well. They all approached me as a unit. Each man and woman fanned out, surrounding me. The final formation wasn’t a U shape that left me at the head. It was a circle, which included me.

  “The surgery went well,” I said. “He’s resting comfortably.”

  A collective sigh of relief went through the group. MK’s trembling hands were collected up by the Asian man. The blonde woman wrapped her arms around MK’s torso lending further support.

  I had given many families good news. I’d given my share of bad news, too. But I’d never felt included the way I did in the midst of this group. It left me with a sense of unease. I took a step back.

  “The doctor will be out to tell you more, soon.”

  Before I could take another step in retreat, Eagle stopped me with a feather light touch on my elbow. “Will you tell us your prognosis?”

  He didn’t tug me. He barely had a hold on me. But somehow I found myself taking two steps forward and back into the circle of the group.

  He released his hold on me and I was sorry for it. I liked this man more and more with each word he said to me. Visions of a gag shoved into his mouth danced through my mind.

  “You were right to push for the x-rays,” I said. “It was a fracture. If we had let it go, your brother could’ve had permanent spinal damage. You probably saved his life.”

  Eagle was silent. I could see his jaw working. The expression on his face reeked of guilt and shame. I wanted to take my words back, but I didn’t know which ones had elicited that response. I’d hoped to make him feel prideful, vindicated.

  “He’s going to be fine,” said the blonde girl who was wrapped around MK. She put her arms around Eagle and squeezed. He turned his head and kissed her temple absently, but his eyes remained on me.

  I took a moment to take in the blonde again. She did not look like the type to be shared, but I knew from experience that it was usually the quiet girls that were the freaks. They were my favorite. I liked my men to be assholes that I would break down into weepy little girls. I liked my women to be good girls that I could turn into kinky little toys at my beck and call. When the blonde’s blue gaze met mine, I knew I could have her sucking my toes, my nipples, and then my clit in under an hour.

  She jerked away from Eagle with a gasp and blinked at me. She knew it, too. The way she bit her lip told me I was probably wrong —it would likely only take ten minutes.

  Beside her Eagle grinned, the shame and guilt dropped from his face and he let out a low chuckle as I sized up his companion and she lowered her gaze submissively.

  “Good news, folks.” Doctor Page’s smug tone broke the spell. “Your buddy is going to be okay. As you know, I caught the fracture early enough in the x-rays and I was able to repair the damage. Mr. Trent will need to stay here and rest for a few days, but I expect a full recovery.”

  Everyone nodded at the doctor’s words, but all eyes stayed on me. Each one of Crow’s family members came up and thanked me, giving Page a cursory nod before turning to gather their things from the waiting room.

/>   “I’m going to stay,” said MK.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Only family can stay the night.”

  “They’re engaged,” said Eagle.

  That surprised me. Most polyamorous groups I’d encountered didn’t put any weight on legal partnerships.

  “That counts,” I said. “He’s in post-op right now, but you can wait for him in his room, okay?”

  “Thank you,” she said. She came up and embraced me. I felt her inhale and then slowly exhale. I rubbed her back. She gave me a brave smile as she let me go. “Thank you,” she repeated.

  I nodded and turned on my heel. My legs were a bit shaky as I walked away. Again, I felt dark, smoldering eyes on my ass. But when I turned around, they were all gone.

  I finally had a few minutes to myself. I clocked out before anyone could ask me to do anything else. I went into the locker room for my things. Checking my phone, I saw that there were no missed calls or messages. That was rare.

  I swiped at my phone and dialed the contact marked TOY. I tried not to get nervous when it rang the fourth and then fifth time. But on the sixth ring there was the clicking sound of a connection.

  “Hello?” said a groggy voice.

  “Hey, baby girl.” I sighed with relief. “Did I wake you?”

  I could hear her inhale, pushing the crust of sleep from her body. “You’re still at work?”

  “I’m leaving now. Just wanted to check on you. You had a good day?”

  I heard her take another inhale. There was the creaking of a mattress as I assumed she tried to sit up in her bed. “There was a delivery guy. He knocked even though we signed that leave package form. I used the intercom and he left the package outside. I’m sorry, but it’s still there.”

  “That’s okay, baby. I’ll get it on my way in.”

  “And there’s a problem with the cable again.”

  “I’ll schedule a tech to come out on my next day off.”

  “What time is it?”