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

  Harper took a deep breath. “Me.”

  The intern, Max Forrester, glanced at her and pushed his glasses up his nose. His eyes shot to her breasts before he addressed her, and Harper felt her hands clench into fists. “Dr. Love, I was almost done with the patient’s medical history.” He fiddled with the pen in his hand. “I’m just having, uh, trouble getting all of Mr. Price’s history.”

  Luke’s eyes narrowed and darted back to the intern. “Because my sexual history doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I took a nose dive off the fucking scaffolding,” he bit out. Even though he didn’t raise his voice, it deepened to a dark tone, causing Dr. Forrester to back up a few steps.

  Harper had to smother a smile at the flash of fear on the intern’s face. She knew he was at least five years younger than she was, but he reminded her of one of those 1970s lounge singers that she’d seen portrayed in old movies. He was just missing a velvet smoking jacket and gold chains. “Dr. Forrester, I think I’ve got it from here. Thank you for your thoroughness.”

  “Uh, sure.” He made his way to her, casting a backward glance at Luke before turning to Harper. “Just let me know if you need help.” A leer crossed his pointy face as his eyes roamed down her body, and Harper had to stifle a shiver.

  “I think I can handle it, Doctor.”

  Forrester cast one last glance at her breasts before he bolted for the door of the trauma room. Harper took a deep breath and smoothed her lab coat. When Luke had looked at her breasts, it had actually made her nipples harden in response, but when Forrester did it, she just felt as if she needed a shower. Boy, she was messed up.

  She eyed the patient in front of her. “Luke Price.” She shook her head and offered a little smile as she stepped forward. “Try your hardest not to scare the staff, please.”

  He raised one perfect brow. “Do I scare you, Pretty?”

  Harper opened her mouth to respond when Luke attempted to shift his body to face her. He gasped suddenly and squeezed his eyes shut.

  Harper’s smile immediately disappeared, and she felt a moment of guilt for teasing this man when he was obviously in severe pain. The professional side of her brain took over, shoving everything else out. “Can you tell me where your pain is originating?” She grabbed the chart, scanning the information taken by the intern.

  “My shoulder.” He took a shaky breath. “I think my shoulder might be broken.”

  “Okay, I’m going to need to cut your shirt off.” She reached above his head to press the button, calling for a nurse.

  Luke sucked in a breath. “I’ll bet you say that to all the guys, don’t you, Pretty?”

  Her eyes rolled skyward. “Save it, Price. You can be charming later.”

  His eyes sparkled, but before he could respond, Brandie walked in. “Dr. Love, is everything okay?” The young woman immediately ran to the other side of the bed. “Luke, are you okay?” She leaned in and threw her arms around the big man in a hug.

  Luke let out a strangled barbaric cry. Harper had never heard that sound from a man.

  Brandie jumped back, yanking her hands away. “I’m so sorry.”

  Harper gave Brandie a sharp look. “Nurse Beilman!” she reprimanded.

  Brandie’s eyes welled up before she could continue. “I know. That was unprofessional. I’m sorry, Dr. Love.”

  She decided to talk to the girl later when they weren’t in front of a patient. Instead, she instructed Brandie to find a pair of scissors so they could cut off Luke’s shirt.

  She took the scissors from Brandie’s shaky hand and reached for Luke’s arm. “Sir, I’m going to need you to let go of your left arm so we can get your shirt off.”

  A panicked look came into his deep eyes. “No!” He looked almost frantically from her to Brandie. “Uh, please don’t take this the wrong way, but is there a male doctor that can help me?”

  Harper clenched her jaw and surveyed the gorgeous man in front of her. She tried really hard not to focus on the fact that up close, his black-as-night eyes held flecks of sapphire blue. Great, all the cute ones had to have a character flaw. This one was misogynistic. “I can assure you, I’m quite capable, Mr. Price.”

  He shook his head. “I know that. That’s not what I’m saying.”

  She blew out a breath. “Brandie, do you think you could wait outside, please?” Maybe he had some sort of relationship with the girl, and he didn’t want her seeing him like this. A twinge of jealousy went through her at the thought.

  The young nurse began to protest and then stopped when Harper cut her a look. The girl pinched her lips together and cast Luke a concerned look before she hustled out of the room. After Brandie walked out, Harper leaned in again with the scissors. Luke eyed the sharp blades. “You sure you’re not going to plunge that into my chest, Pretty?”

  Dammit, she wished her heart didn’t flutter when he called her that. “I really wish you would stop calling me that. My name is Dr. Love.”

  He grinned, revealing straight white teeth and a dimple in his left cheek.

  Of course, he had a perfect smile. Jerk.

  “I heard them call you Dr. Love. They weren’t kidding? That’s really your name?”

  This definitely wouldn’t be the first time someone had made a joke about her name. In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time today someone had made a joke. But if she could keep him distracted, she could get his shirt off. She slipped the scissors beneath his collar as she talked and began to cut. “Yes, I’m Dr. Love. Not Dr. Feelgood, or Dr. Right, or even Dr. Right Now.”

  A deep rumble of laughter shook Luke’s chest, and he immediately sucked in a breath.

  “Sorry, you might want to refrain from laughing.” She had the shirt cut enough that she was able to easily rip along the seam without jarring his arm.

  “Yeah, good idea.” He firmed his lips tightly and didn’t say anything else. Harper was quite aware as she leaned over him that his face was perfectly even with her breasts. She hoped she wouldn’t smother him with her irritatingly large boobs. She really wished she had worn her minimizer bra.

  Finally, she pulled the remnants of the shirt off of him so she could evaluate his arm. His brilliantly muscular tan arm that smelled of sandalwood and man. Focus, Harper. You’re a doctor.

  She swallowed deeply as she surveyed his shoulder. Just as she’d feared, it was squared off, obviously misplaced. “I’m going to feel along your arm, and I’m going to try not to hurt you, okay?”

  He gave a curt nod, and his jaw pulsed as he clenched and unclenched his teeth. She palpitated his arm as gently as she could, paying attention to his face. A slight wince was all the indication he gave as to whether certain areas were more tender.

  “Well, the good news is that nothing looks broken, but I am going to order an X-ray here shortly just to make sure.”

  He regarded her for a moment. “And the bad news?”

  “Mr. Price, your shoulder is dislocated.” She ran a tongue across her lips. “I can easily move your shoulder back into position, but—”

  He leaned his head back on the bed. “But it’s gonna hurt like a motherfucker.”

  “To put it bluntly, yes.”

  He flicked a glance her way. “You sure there’s no male doctor who can help.”

  Harper glared at him as she perched her hands on her round hips. “Look, sir, I am the doctor on duty. You are in a lot of pain right now. If you want me to fix you, then I highly suggest you suck it up and get over whatever predilection you have for male doctors, and accept the fact that I’m the only one available to help you right now.”

  Well, so much for professionalism. At least she’d managed to stop herself from stomping her foot.

  He watched her for a moment, his expression carefully blank before he looked back up at the ceiling. “It’s not that, Doc. My brother had a dislocated shoulder. Hurt it when he was playing football in college. I was at the hospital with him when they—” he grimaced, “when they yanked it. I would just really prefer i
f you didn’t see me screaming in pain. That would probably ruin any chances I have of you going out to dinner with me.”

  Going out to dinner with him? Harper felt color rush to her cheeks. Well, now she felt like an ass. “Mr. Price—”

  “Luke,” he corrected.

  “Luke. I guarantee you I am a professional. I’ve seen a lot of men in pain. It will only be for a few seconds, and then you’ll have immediate relief.” She paused a beat. “And I wasn’t planning on going out to dinner with you anyway, so no worries.”

  His full lips turned up in a little smile. “We’ll see about that.” The smile faded as he seemed to be warring with himself. Finally, he sighed. “Okay. Do it.”

  She nodded. “I’ll try to be quick, sir.”

  Ever so gently, she straightened out his arm. Even so, he winced and let out a little grunt. She placed one hand on his elbow to brace the arm, and the other hand on his shoulder.

  “Okay, here we go. One. Two. Three.”

  Chapter Four

  A wild, animalistic scream echoed throughout the small exam room. Luke couldn’t even comprehend the fact that it had come from him. His vision blurred, and stars flashed before his eyes as pain racked his body. The next moment, he felt … relief. He took a few deep, shaky breaths, afraid to move.

  Then the curvaceous blonde doctor was leaning over him, shining a small light in his eyes. “Mr. Price? Sir? Luke? Can you talk to me?”

  Okay, she really needed to quit calling him “sir”. Even with a dislocated shoulder, he could feel his cock twitch every time she said that word. Something about that throaty voice coming out of those full lips got to him in a big way.

  “Mr. Price?”

  “I’m fine,” he gasped.

  She backed up and looked at him skeptically. “I want you to hold onto my arm. We’re going to gently rotate your shoulder, and I want you to tell me how it feels.”

  He didn’t realize he’d tensed up until the Doc was running her hand gently up and down his arm. “I need you to relax for me, okay?”

  “Right.” He took a deep breath and let his arm relax into hers as he focused on her hands. She wore no jewelry, and her nails were clipped short. On anyone else, her hands would have been unremarkable. But the way she moved them with precision, yet at the same time with gentleness and care, fascinated him.

  She tenderly rotated his arm, and while very sore, the excruciating pain was gone. “Oh, thank God.”

  The tips of her mouth twitched up. “Better?”

  His smile matched hers. “Much. Thanks, Pretty.”

  Her smile quickly turned into a frown, which made him downright giddy. He didn’t know why getting a rise out of her was so much fun, but it sure as hell was.

  “Dr. Love,” she said through clenched teeth.

  He knew she was downright annoyed with him, but he didn’t care. He still couldn’t stop himself from thinking about playing doctor with her. Except in his version, he would be the doctor. There were a lot of things he could do to her if she was tied to a bed.

  His gaze was trained on her blue eyes, and he was trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t get him slapped. When her eyes trailed away from him, down his abs, and lower, Luke had to bite the inside of his lip to stifle a groan. He knew exactly what she was looking at. He could feel himself firm and hard against the zipper of his jeans. When the doctor’s eyes flared, it gave Luke the first thread of hope he’d felt since he’d seen her.

  “What’s your name, Pretty? Your first name?”

  “Harper,” she said without looking up. Her voice was breathy and distracted.

  “Harper.” A beautiful fucking name for the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “Will you have dinner with me, Harper? I’d like to…” Fuck you senseless, take my turn at making you scream. “I’d like to thank you. For your uh … professional services.”

  Her eyes jerked back up to his. Heat suffused her face, and he’d give anything if he could drag her into his arms—his good arm, at least—and kiss her at that moment. He wanted to feel those full lips beneath his more than he wanted his next breath.

  That gorgeous mouth popped open, and her tongue swiped across her lower lip. Fuck me. He wanted to feel that tongue swiping across his cock. He needed to feel it.

  She took a deep breath. “I, uh—”

  “Dr. Love.” Brandie drew back the curtain and stuck her head in, breaking the trance between him and Harper.

  The doctor gave her head a little shake as if to clear it. Her eyes focused, and Luke was disappointed that she seemed to bring herself back to the present. “Brandie, what is it?” Her voice still sounded husky, and she cleared her throat before turning to the nurse.

  “Car accident, doctor. We have a trauma coming in. Four people. They’re about two minutes out.”

  “Right.” Harper straightened her spine, putting on her professional stance. “Mr. Price, if you’ll just sit tight, an orderly will be here soon to take you down to radiology for your X-Ray.”

  Moving his tender shoulder around, Luke could tell that nothing was broken. “That’s really not necessary, Pret—Doctor.”

  Her full lips twitched then firmed, giving way to her professional demeanor. “Well, I’ve already ordered it, so you’re paying for it no matter what. Might as well have it.”

  “Do what the doctor says, sweetheart.” Sally Price breezed through curtain, followed by the ever-present scent of freshly baked cookies and Chanel No. 5.

  Luke struggled to pull himself to a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed. At the sound of his mother’s voice, any remaining sign of his erection shriveled up immediately. “Mom, what are you doing here? How did you even know I was here?”

  Sally Price’s lips pressed against his forehead as her hands smoothed back his dark hair. “Brandie called me. She’s such a sweet girl, Luke.” Her hands worried over his face. “Did you shave today, dear?”

  “Yes, I shaved. Mom, really, you don’t have to worry. I’m fine.” He pulled his mother’s hands from his face and held them in his own. “Mom, this is Dr. Love.”

  Sally’s worried eyes turned to the doctor. “Oh, Doctor, are you sure my baby’s okay?”

  Harper gave his mother a genuine smile. “Yes, ma’am. He had a dislocated shoulder, but we managed to maneuver that back into place. If the X-ray is clear, then you’re welcome to take him home.”

  “Home?” Luke shook his head furiously. With the rain last week, his crew was behind schedule on the addition. They needed to get the roofing completed today to make sure the annex would be finished by July. “No, I have to get back to work.”

  Harper gave him an admonishing look before turning her bright smile on his mother. “Mrs. Price, Luke needs to rest for the remainder of the day. It’s really not a good idea for him to return to work until at least Monday.”

  He returned her caustic gaze. She was going to pay for that. Her ass was going to be a nice hot pink when he got done with her. Oh, he would buy her dinner and give her so many orgasms that she would beg him for mercy. But then? Then, he was turning her over his knee.

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed as Harper proceeded to talk to his mom and give her his discharge instructions right in front of him as if he were a child. He had the massive urge to prove to Harper he was more man than she could handle. Well, he would have that urge when his mother wasn’t absently patting his thigh.

  With one last glance, Harper turned to walk out of the exam room, pulling her stethoscope out of her pocket as she went. A blue envelope fell to the floor as she left. Luke reached down and snatched it up. He began to call after her, but she was already gone.

  He idly played with the corners of the envelope as his mother went over all of the things she was going to make him for dinner.

  Chapter Five

  Harper turned the key, locking her front door before she turned and took in the brilliant sunshine. She blinked her bleary eyes and took a giant swig of c
offee from her travel mug. Monday mornings really did suck, especially when her plans for the weekend had gone straight to hell. Well, technically, her big plans had been to eat Italian food, drink wine, and binge-watch Scandal. But every single thing she’d done had been clouded by thoughts of Luke Price.

  She couldn’t help but worry about him. She didn’t know where he lived, but she’d found herself driving by Price Bar & Grill to see if his truck was there. When she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him for three days, she’d begun to worry about him. Sleep had eluded her, and even when she’d been able to close her eyes, his face loomed in front of her.

  Even though Monday seemed to have come way too early, she was excited to get to the hospital just to see if he was there.

  Professional curiosity. That’s all it was. She cared about her patients. She was concerned. That had to be it.

  She gave her door one final tug to make sure it was locked before she turned and stomped down the stairs. She’d almost reached her car before realizing she hadn’t checked her mailbox since Friday. She headed across the parking lot to the bank of mailboxes. Yawning, she yanked her keys out of her purse and shoved the small key in her mailbox. Her coffee cup fit in the crook of her arm as she tugged out a stack of mail and started rifling through it.

  Suddenly, her hands went still. Her travel mug dropped to the ground, coffee gurgling out of it. But Harper didn’t seem to notice as she pulled the light blue envelope out of the stack, her hand shaking. Her name, written in block letters, stared back at her from the front of the envelope.

  Any remaining drowsiness vanished as adrenaline started pumping through her. All the notes so far had been sent to the hospital. Even though they made Harper uneasy, they hadn’t scared her, not really. But whoever this creep was knew where she lived. He had just changed the rules and upped his game.