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Her eyes flew open wider and she hurriedly set the clipboard down alongside his hat. “Oh my. What happened?”
Max opened his mouth to say, but Lincoln leveled a glare at him that sent him back out the door with a wave.
Lincoln issued a loud sigh. “He means well but damn...”
“You’re in pain,” she offered, flashing him a small smile. “You’re not in the mood.”
His eyes connected with hers. “I’m not inthatmuch pain. It’s just a cut.”
“What did you cut it on?” When she looked over his boot, she saw the leather gashed wide open.
“Wall of Terror.”
She blinked. She’d heard of it, of course. A wall several stories tall with barbed wire at the top and spear-like objects to avoid on the downside.
Heavy shit to deal with for anyone.
“I’ve heard it’s a rite of passage. It means you’re crossing over into the next level of your training as a soldier,” she said. She started to carefully unlace his boot, his eyes tracking her every movement.
“I’ve completed it four times before this. I never expected to get hung up let alone have my foot flayed open.” He shook it and blood drops splattered on the white floor.
She winced. “Okay, we definitely need to get this boot off—fast. I need to see how badly you’re bleeding.”
She grabbed a pair of sharp scissors used to cut off clothing. She held them up and said, “You should lie back for this. I don’t want you passing out.”
“At the sight of blood?” He made a masculine noise that fed straight into her libido. Her nipples hardened, and she quickly looked away from his handsome face. Rugged features and hazel eyes thick with gold flecks. A heartbreaker, this one. But it wouldn’t be hers.
“This is my job and you have to listen to me, Private First Class. I’m not your friend Max there. Please lie back and let me work.”
At her hard tone, he only smiled. Damn, he could smile the panties right off a nun. And make them wet all at the same time.
She pursed her lips. “I mean it.”
He stared at her for a moment. Those gold flecks brightening with stubbornness. “Yes, ma’am.” Amusement tinged his tone, and she realized he might not be all growls and fangs. But she wouldn’t mind getting bitten.
She smacked away that thought, wherever the hell it came from.
Once he was horizontal, she set about cutting off his boot. With broad shoulders wider than the table and long muscular legs that needed more bed space it was tricky getting him a the right angle for her to work.
The minute the sides that were haphazardly holding the raw edges of his wound together eased off, blood trickled freely.
“Crap.”
“Is that a medical term, Doctor?” His deep voice held more amusement.
“I’m anursetrained to deal with things like this.” With all possible caution, she got his sock cut free, revealing a wide, jagged cut.
“Not that I had any doubts before, but this definitely needs stitches.” She bit into her lower lip. “Let’s get the bleeding stopped, and then I’ll call in the doctor.”
“You won’t be stitching me up?” he asked, leaning on his elbows to stare down at her. When his gaze latched onto her lips, she realized she was biting them again. He stared for what felt like a full minute. Eye hooded despite the obvious pain he had to be in.
“Bad habit,” she blurted out and felt a hot blush climb her face.
“Hm.” His noise came out as a sexy grunt. She didn’t want to stare, but hand to God, it looked like the crotch of his pants was starting to bulge.
She dipped her head and inspected the open wound. The blood was slowing a bit now, but the cut itself needed cleaned out. “I take it you’ve had a tetanus shot recently.”
“Yeah, when I entered basic and another round of shots when I went off to Afghanistan.”
