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Chapter One
Allison opened the drawer and set about counting her supplies. The US Army was strict about making sure every bandage, pill and roll of medical tape was accounted for. It was the nurses’ jobs to do an inventory at the end of every day.
A huge yawn came up from what felt like the toes of her ballet flats and creaked her jaw when it released. She clapped a hand over her lips.Not very ladylike. I need to get more than three hours of sleep tonight.
The quiet in the triage unit lulled her—and worried her. Often the place would slow down to the point where she didn’t think she’d have anything to do the rest of her shift.
Then all hell would break loose.
Eyes watering from her yawn, she blinked at the rolls of gauze she was meant to be counting. The scuffing noise behind her brought her head up.
And her breath caught as a gorgeous soldier came limping in with the help of a buddy.
“Got a casualty for ya, Miss Allison,” the friend said with a wide grin.
They were grubby, with mud and what looked like soot caked from head to toe. And smelled. That’s where the annoyances ended. Everything else about them drew her eye and interest. Standard issued cotton T-shirts stretched over bulging muscles and she didn’t need to undress either of them to know everything else about them was as hard as the thick mud-smeared biceps.
Well, this ought to be fun.
Her gaze wandered down to the man’s foot, held off the floor. The worst was getting a private’s stinky boot and sock off to see what type of injury they were dealing with, but it was her job.
“Here, get him to the table.” She was met by pinched eyebrows and a glare that sent a shiver through her.
She didn’t like the way the hurt Army guy looked at her. As if accusing her of causing the pain. His dark brows were drawn and his square jaw set. Mud was smeared across his broad chest, right over his olive drab T-shirt, and his camo fatigue pants were torn at the knee.
“I got it, Max. Thanks for the help,” the man all but growled, waving his friend away.
His friend tried to help him onto the pristine white examination table, but the wounded man waved him away again.
She assessed everything about her new patient, including his surly attitude and the thick veins riding down each muscled forearm. Not to mention thathewasn’t the one who smelled—he smelled like clean soap.
He was a sexy one, for sure. Towering over her a good half foot and almost twice her size everywhere else. but she wasn’t into soldiers. They could be walking sex gods with rippling muscles and advertise earth-shattering orgasms and she still wouldn’t take a second look. During her year of working here in Fort Bragg, she’d seen some amazing men. Have mercy did they do things to her and it might be a little embarrassing to recall, but she’d had a few moments alone in the shower with only her dirty thoughts.
But seeing, self-pleasuring and actually touching were two different things.
Max circled around her and the table as if to help where he wasn’t wanted.
“I said I got it!” the man snapped at his comrade.
The good-natured of the two held up both hands and stepped away to allow him to hop onto the table.
“Thanks for bringing him in,” Allison said in her calmest voice to soothe over whatever sting he’d received from the injured man.
Max grinned and saluted her.
“Get outta here, Max.”
“Don’t mind Private First Class Lincoln’s attitude. He always sounds as if he’s about to bite.”
The glare Max received from the man said he mightactuallybite.
Allison hid her smile and came out with a clipboard and a pen. “Name.”
“Valor, Lincoln.” He shot off his number, which she recorded carefully on the form.
“What’s your reason for being here today?”
He groaned, swiped his cover off his head and slapped it on the table beside him. Dust rose up from it. “Pretty sure my boot’s full of blood.”
