Explosive Desire (Love With a Price Book 4) Read online

  She smiled, leaning into him. “You’ll have to forgive him, Doc. Foster’s a little protective. He’s been out of town on a photo shoot since last week. I thought I’d take advantage of my apartment since I still have a couple months left on the lease. Besides, I get lonely in your big house when you’re away.”

  Foster placed a hand on her swollen belly. “Our house, baby. And if you don’t like it, I’ll buy us a new one. Just say the word.”

  Harper smiled. For once, she was very glad she’d been wrong. It was obvious by the look in this man’s eyes that he was very much in love with Linzee.

  “I was just asking Linzee if she’s been eating anything out of the ordinary, Mr…”

  “Price.” He stuck his hand out to shake. “Foster Price.”

  “Mr. Price.” That sure did seem to be a popular name this morning. She shook the hand he offered.

  He glanced at Linzee with narrowed eyes. “Did you tell her about the hot sauce?”

  Harper arched a brow in Linzee’s direction. “Hot sauce?”

  “Yeah, she puts it on everything.” He rubbed her belly protectively. “I hear it’s not good for the little bean here, but she won’t listen.”

  “Foster, everything makes me toss my cookies unless I put hot sauce on it.” Linzee’s protest seemed like one she’d voiced before.

  Harper picked up the chart and began to make a note. “What kind of hot sauce are we talking?”

  Linzee shrugged one shoulder. “The usual. Tabasco, Sriracha, Frank’s Hot Sauce, Yellowbird, Texas Pete’s. You know, nothing out of the ordinary.”

  Harper would swear her mouth started to tingle just thinking about the spice. “Do you eat that a lot?”

  “She eats it on everything.” Foster winced as Linzee jabbed him in the ribs. “Everything.”

  The redhead’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I had that same craving when I was pregnant with Georgia, and it didn’t bother me a bit.”

  “With all due respect, Linz, that was a while ago,” Harper said. “And with your adva—”

  “Aaa!” Linzee held up her hand. “You promised you wouldn’t say it.”

  Harper chewed on her lip. “Sorry. Let me ask you something, though. Did you carry Georgia high or low?”

  “Ohmigod, so low. She was breech, too, so it was like she was using my bladder as a trampoline.”

  Harper leaned in to lightly probe at Linzee’s belly. “Well, you’re carrying this little one very high. I have a feeling your heartburn is caused by some pretty severe acid reflux. Everything is being pushed up, and your hot sauce is just compounding the issue. I’m going to order an ultrasound to be safe, but I have a feeling that if you lay off the spice and maybe sleep propped up, you’ll feel better. I’m also going to write you a script for a prescription-strength antacid.”

  Foster breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, doc. I’ll make sure she follows your orders.”

  Harper winked at Linzee. “Sounds like you have a good baby daddy.”

  “That’s what I like to tell her.” He cast a sidelong glance at his girlfriend. “Although, I’d like to tell her she has a good husband, but I can’t get her to agree to that.”

  Linzee’s mouth twisted. “Foster, let’s not do this right now.”

  “Sorry, baby.” He placed a kiss on her mop of red curls. “I just love you so much.”

  Harper started to back out of the curtained area to give the couple some privacy. “I’ll come back to check on you after the OB’s been by. If everything looks good, you can go home.”

  “Thanks, Harper,” Linzee said before she tilted her face up for Foster’s kiss.

  Turning away, Harper didn’t understand why she felt a twinge of jealousy. Linzee looked so happy. Harper had to wonder if she would ever find that kind of happiness herself.

  Chapter Two

  Luke pulled his truck into the lot after his three-hour meeting with Sam. The structural engineering was proving to be a problem with how the new addition was going to be connected to the main building. Administration had changed their mind about where they wanted the entrance between the two buildings. Sam was trying to figure out how to do what they wanted without Luke having to rip out half of the current structure and start over.

  He threw his truck into park and tried not to curse. As soon as he stepped out, he heard a feminine voice raised in anger. “I don’t care. You can’t just block off the entrance to the employee parking lot. How am I supposed to get my car out? Do you understand I only have thirty minutes for lunch? Thirty minutes! I haven’t eaten in twelve hours.”

  Luke walked around the cars obscuring his view and stopped in his tracks when he saw the blonde with the mouth-watering ass. She wore gray slacks and a light blue blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but several curls had escaped, framing her flushed face. This was the closest he’d been to her, and he was taken aback by how completely and utterly sexy she was.

  She was still yelling and was now jabbing her finger in a man’s face. Luke immediately recognized Derek, the newest of his crew. He was backing slowly away from the woman with his palms raised. A smile played on Luke’s mouth because Derek looked scared shitless. Red stained the kid’s face, and he looked as if he were trembling a bit.

  Stepping forward, Luke cleared his throat, deciding the best plan of action was coming to Derek’s rescue. “Uh, what seems to be the problem?”

  Relief crossed the younger man’s face. “I’m so glad you’re here. The crew parked here because it’s the closest spot to unload the roofing supplies.”

  The blonde rounded on him, and Luke was momentarily struck speechless by her beauty. From far away, he’d been taken with her. Up close, she was heart-stoppingly beautiful. Her pale blue eyes were full of heat, and freckles were sprinkled across her pert little nose. After a moment, Luke realized he was staring.

  Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice. But she did take a moment to swipe a stray curl out of her eyes before she laid into him. “Are you the one in charge?” She jabbed a finger in his direction. Damned if her hands weren’t sexy, too.

  He decided the best way to handle this was to reach down deep for some of his rarely used charm. What would Foster or Dylan do in this situation? “Uh, that depends, pretty lady.”

  Oh, crap. By the way her hand curved into a fist, he didn’t think that was the approach to take. “Pretty lady? Wow. So not only is your staff thoughtless by blocking in hard-working employees, but you’re a male chauvinist. This is just perfect.” She blew out a hard breath at the perfect curl that had once again fallen in her face. Luke watched as it flopped back into place.

  “Look, there’s no need to get so upset. I’m sure Derek can move the truck. Right?” He looked at Derek, but wasn’t very encouraged by the way the man was standing behind the blonde shaking his head.

  “I don’t have the keys. They’re with Jason. He went to pick up the rest of the equipment and forgot to leave me the keys. I’m so sorry. We were only supposed to be parked here a minute.”

  Luke felt a headache coming on and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Uh, look, we’re going to go finish unloading everything, ma’am. As soon as we can get our hands on the keys, I’ll have this truck out of your way.”

  Luke firmed his lips into a hard line as he watched Derek back away, mouthing “Sorry,” behind the blonde. Coward.

  He turned back, surveying the cute little ball of anger in front of him. She stood with her arms crossed, tapping a foot. It was all he could do not to groan. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, and the way her arms were positioned under her luscious breasts, pushed them up enough so her cleavage was quite visible above the buttons.

  Nearly every weekend, Luke visited Calico, the BDSM club near Columbia. Lately, he was afraid to play with any of the subs there. They were so damn skinny, he was afraid he would break them. It was pretty sad when he saw half-naked women walking around every weekend and all he could think abou
t was sitting them down and feeding them one of his mom’s pies.

  “Ohmigod, are you even listening to me?” The blonde stomped her foot and growled at him, her pretty face growing even redder.

  Damn, the madder she got, the cuter she was. She was gorgeously angry, way too tense, and needed a very good fuck. And against his better judgment, Luke did the only thing he could. He smirked. “Pretty, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack if you don’t calm down.”

  “Did you just call me ‘Pretty’?” She stomped her foot again. “That’s it. I want to talk to your supervisor. I’ve heard one of the Price brothers is in charge. I want to talk to him. He obviously doesn’t know the kinds of insensitive attitudes his employees have.”

  Luke arched an amused brow at her and folded his own arms, regarding her. So, she knew he was the boss. But she didn’t know he was the boss. He knew he shouldn’t play with her, but he just couldn’t help it. “Well, Pretty, I will certainly tell Mr. Price you have an issue. He’s been gone all morning for a meeting.” Which was totally the truth. “But when he gets back, I’ll send him your way. If you just give me your name. And maybe your phone number.” A grin stretched across his face. “Hell, why don’t I just take you out to dinner to make up for my bad behavior.”

  She gaped at him. “You are not taking this seriously!”

  “Oh, but I am. You’re upset because you can’t get out of the lot. I hear you haven’t eaten in twelve hours. What better way to make it up to you than take you out to dinner?”

  “I don’t believe this,” she said under her breath.

  “Believe it, Pretty. You just need to tell me your name.” He really wanted to know her name. And he really wanted to take her out to dinner. But most of all, he really wanted to take her home after dinner. A little spitfire like this just needed a little discipline. He imagined how she would look in a bustier and a short leather skirt. And that was a bad idea because he felt dick tighten painfully. He didn’t remember the last time he’d been this attracted to someone.

  “I am not telling you anything,” she huffed. “Look, when Mr. Price gets back, please have him come to the nurses’ station. I’d like to have a word with him.” She glowered at him before she turned on her heel and stomped back down the sidewalk to the employee entrance.

  He thought her ass affected him when he was looking at it from up on the scaffolding. Watching it sway as she walked away… He wanted to fuck that gorgeous ass. He imagined palming those beautiful globes and burying himself inside of her. She’d squeeze his cock so tight.

  When she reached the entrance, she turned back to give him one last glare. He grinned widely and raised his hand in a wave. “Have a good day, Pretty,” he yelled loud enough for her to hear him. He could have sworn she growled at him before stomping inside.

  ****

  “I see you pissed off the blonde.” Kai was leaning against the wall frame as Luke made his way up the makeshift stairs to the second floor. Derek stacked the roofing materials, but Kai stood there as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Do you ever fucking work?” He walked past Kai to move some of the roofing materials. “And where the fuck is Jason?”

  Kai laughed. “I just texted him. He’s on his way back from the other side of the building to move the truck. And I’m on a break. But more importantly, it looks like you struck out, boss. That means she’s all mine.”

  It probably wasn’t very professional that part of him wanted to punch Kai.

  Derek snorted. “Good luck, man. I’d stay far away from that one if I were you. I was afraid she was going to kick me in the balls with those pointy heels. That woman scares me.”

  “Who is she, anyway?” Luke tried really hard to sound noncommittal. He certainly didn’t need his men known he was interested in someone. Hell, Kai was a bigger gossip than an old woman in a hair salon.

  “Not sure.” Kai leaned in to pick up the other end of a stack of lumber to help Luke move it. “I think maybe she’s a nurse.”

  Luke set the lumber down and stood at the edge of the scaffolding looking over the edge toward the employee entrance. “Well, whoever she is, she sure does seem like a handful.” And she could definitely use a spanking. He wondered if she’d still be spitting fire at him when he’d pinkened her ass.

  “I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows her name,” Derek said. “I’m just not sure who to ask.” The big man leaned down to pick up a long stack of lumber.

  Luke knew who to ask. His mom was on the hospital board. If there was new staff at the hospital, Sally Price would know about it. He just had to figure out a way to ask without his mom thinking she needed to play matchmaker.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and all the men turned to see who was bounding up. Derek turned without paying attention. He swung the lumber around as he turned the opposite direction. Luke tried to jump out of the way, but stumbled. The swinging lumber knocked him hard in the side.

  “Luke!” He heard Kai’s voice yell his name as he fell head first over the side of the scaffolding.

  Chapter Three

  Harper stomped back inside, annoyed that she’d let the gorgeous raven-haired god of a man get to her so much. She was sure she looked like an insane person, and then of course she had to encounter a perfect male specimen, all hard lines and sculpted muscles. Then she’d looked into his dark eyes, and they’d actually twinkled at her. He even had a flawless five o’clock shadow, and it was barely noon. The fact that he was so perfect pissed her off even more.

  She was so upset with herself for flying off the handle. What little temper she had, she was normally really good about keeping in check. Working in trauma, she had to be able to remain calm.

  But this just wasn’t her morning. She’d treated the sweetest little boy this morning. He was four years old and had been brought in by his daycare provider because he’d had a suspicious bruise around his arm. When Harper had removed his shirt, she’d found his little body covered in bruises, and it made her want to hurt someone. That sweet little boy with the big brown eyes had been so scared. And for good reason. Someone had been using him as a punching bag. Thank God the daycare worker had gotten him to the hospital in time.

  It hadn’t taken long after the child’s mother arrived before she’d broken down and admitted how scared she was of her husband.

  Harper should be happy that she’d been able to help them and get them set up with a social worker who would be able to get the woman and the little boy into a shelter then help her find a place to live and a job. The mother had been determined to get away from her husband. She just hadn’t known how to do it. This had given her the push she needed.

  But Harper wasn’t happy. Cases like this brought back memories that were all too familiar. She knew exactly what it was like to have a father who liked to use his fists to communicate. At least this little boy hadn’t suffered from broken bones like she had.

  When her thoughts got the better of her, Harper had decided she needed to get out of the hospital for a while. The best way to comfort herself was to take refuge in a white mocha and a chocolate croissant. But she couldn’t get to the Coffeehouse because her freaking car was blocked in.

  Had she taken her terrible mood out on the roofer guy? Yes, she most certainly had. But when the hot construction worker had arrived, any semblance of control she had left was gone. He’d smirked at her and called her pretty. And she’d been very aware of how he’d made half his comments to her chest. Men. That jerk deserved to be yelled at. Wait until she got a hold of Luke Price. She couldn’t wait to give him an earful about his unprofessional employees.

  But first, she needed food. She punched the button on the elevator, fully prepared to suck it up and head down to the cafeteria, when Brandie came rushing after her. “Dr. Love! Dr. Love! We need you.”

  Her thoughts of food vanished at the panic in Brandie’s voice. She turned and started a fast walk to the emergency entrance. “What do you have?”

  �
��There was a construction accident outside. One of the guys fell over the edge of the scaffolding.”

  “Oh shit.” Even though it was only two stories up, that was high enough to be a deadly fall depending on how the man had landed.

  “Dr. Love, you have to make sure he’s okay.” At that moment, Harper noticed that Brandie had tears in her eyes.

  “Brandie, you know him?”

  “Yes, it’s Luke Price. I know his whole family. Please help him.”

  Luke Price. Well, hell. Now probably wasn’t the best time to complain to the man about his employees.

  When she turned the corner, Harper saw several men standing outside the trauma unit. From their tool belts and hard hats, she guessed them to be part of the construction crew. After a quick scan of faces, she frowned. The rugged hottie was nowhere to be seen, and she immediately felt a pang of disappointment. What is that about? She certainly didn’t have time to evaluate her emotions. Instead, she made her way through the group of men and walked into the trauma unit with Brandie on her heels.

  A low groan came from behind a curtained-off area. Before she even met the patient, she could tell he was trying unsuccessfully to hide his pain. She could hear the tightness in his tone, and figured he was most likely trying to keep himself from screaming. Harper felt immediate relief that at least the man was conscious.

  When she reached the exam area, she yanked the curtain aside. An intern leaned over Luke Price, attempting to ask the man questions and get a medical history. When Harper looked at the man on the bed, the air in the room seemed to stop for a moment as her stomach did a little flip.

  The man cradled his left arm with his right hand. His burgundy flannel shirt was ripped, and his bulging bicep peeked through. A trickle of blood formed a jagged line on his handsome face. The easy smile she’d seen on that face only a few minutes earlier had been replaced by a grimace. Luke’s teeth were gritted, and pain was evident in his eyes. His entire body was tense, and his brow was dotted with sweat. When he turned to look at her, his dark eyes flared in surprise. “You,” he said in a strained voice.