0-69 in 5 Minutes (9 page)

“
Okay, let me think.” Rita
paced the hallway, rubbing her temples the way she always did
before developing a brilliant plan. “I got it. Now, it’s not a
hundred percent guaranteed to work, but it’ll increase the
odds.”

“
What is it?” She grabbed
Rita’s wrists and shook them.

“
This has to be kept
quiet. I would lose my licenses and go to jail if anyone found
out.”

“
Rita! What is
it?”

Rita looked around and leaned in. “I’ll give
him something to knock him out,” she whispered. “Then I can extract
some sperm through a long needle. I’ll have a buddy of mine run the
test as well as check his hormone levels. We can’t really do much
about the results one way or the other, but he’ll need to have
someone take him home in the morning. When Val picks him up, the
instructions will direct her to watch him for seventy-two hours.
That sounds like a time limit they’ll both buy off on. Plus, she’ll
be sent home with medications for him to take. One of which,
without their knowledge, will be free samples of a new medicine for
erectile dysfunction.”

“
Brilliant! They should be
going at it in no time. And we’ll have the heir to the old man’s
fortune.”

Chapter 7

Val perched on the edge of Noah’s bed,
watching and waiting for him to open his eyes. After fluttering a
few times, his eyelids opened, and his gaze searched the room.

“
Where am I?” The barely
audible words escaped his dry lips.

A tear came to her eye, knowing she’d put
him in this horrible place. Smelly with the scent of death and cold
like a morgue. She pushed the morbid thoughts out of her mind and
forced a smile on her face.

“
You’re at the hospital.
Apparently you’re allergic to shellfish, but I’m guessing you
already know that.” She reached up and ran her hand down his cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Noah. If I had known, I would never have let you eat
my mother’s pasta. And I’ll take care of the bill.” How, she didn’t
know, but she’d make payments if she had to.

“
It’s okay, you don’t have
to do that. I have insurance.” He shook his head. “Plus, you didn’t
know, and your mother didn’t give me the chance to stop her.” He
licked his lips. “When can I go home?”

She gave him a sip of water from the plastic
cup on the side table.

“
The doctor said possibly
tomorrow. I can drive you if you’d like, or I can call someone if
you prefer to end our arrangement.”
Please
say no
.
I really
want to spend more time with you. Get to know you.
Where had that come from? Ludicrous thoughts
after a long stressful day. She couldn’t get close to him. Her
family thought he was Sam White. A cross-dresser.

“
Yes, no.”

“
Yes? Or no?” She smoothed
down the sheet around his arms.

“
I mean, yes I’d like you
to drive me. No, I don’t want to end our arrangement. Just no more
oysters.” He attempted a weak smile.

Her heart warmed at his good nature and
sense of humor. Tables being turned, she might have killed Judith
Jordan. Then again, his humor might go away once she told him about
the cross-dressing.

“
Noah,” she looked around
the small room. Machines beeped and wires were hooked up to his
weakened body. Now seemed to be the best time to inform him of the
miscommunication since he wouldn’t be able to do anything if his
temper kicked in. “My family…well, see, they think you’re a
um…cross-dresser.” She said the last word out the corner of her
mouth.

He shook his head. “I didn’t catch that,
they think I’m a what?”

“
A cross-dresser. They
think you’re a cross-dresser.” She raised her voice loud enough
he’d have to be deaf not to have heard her.

“
What the hell?” He jerked
up into a full sitting position. “Why do they think that? I’m a
masculine guy.” He looked at his biceps and flexed them a few
times.

Standing up, she refolded the blanket at the
end of his bed. “Of course you are.” Hell, she wanted to strip the
thin hospital gown off and jump him right there. His bulging
muscles sent ripples of heat waves from her breasts to the pit of
her stomach. She shook her head, trying to clear the image of his
naked body from her mind. “But my sister’s bisexual, and she read
in one of her newsletters that ‘Samuel White’ is performing next
weekend as ‘Samantha White’.” She lowered her voice and glanced
around the small room enclosed from floor to ceiling windows. “And
well, you were discussing drag tonight.”

“
Oh, my God! I meant drag
racing.” His eyes popped open wider than his lips had swollen
minutes after eating the oysters.

“
I know that. I tried to
tell them, but they wouldn’t listen. Heck, they’re even fine with
you wearing women’s clothing.” She rolled her eyes and sat back
down on the bed. Nothing shocked her mother, and if things shocked
her father, he never let on.

“
But I’m not.”

“
Well...” She raised her
eyebrows and looked away from his glower again.

“
Oh, no! No!” He shook his
head and threw his hands up in the air.

Wires jerked and the beeps on his heart
monitor increased. He needed to calm down before stress brought on
another episode and the nurse came in and threw her out. So much
for her theory on it being a good time to tell him the
situation.

“
I understand. The truth
shall set you free, right? I’ll confess and come clean to them
tomorrow.” The whole town would laugh at her. Poor Val, first she
couldn’t hold on to a man. Then she couldn’t get one to date her,
so she made one up. Tears came back to the surface and one escaped.
Ran down her cheek.

“
Don’t cry.” He let out a
sigh. “I do have some pride.”

“
Fine, I’ll double your
pay.” Minutes passed and silence fell between them. Was he
thinking, or not talking to her?

Arms crossed and a pout on his lips,
finally, he responded. “I’m not wearing a dress or makeup.”

“
You don’t have to. Just
go along with it.” She threw in a pitiful look for added
measure.

His lids closed, and he laid his head back
on his pillow. “All right.”

“
Thank you. Now, get some
sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She placed her hands at
his sides and bent down to kiss his cheek where his sexy dimple
would have been had he smiled, but he inched his head
away.

“
I think I deserve a full
kiss on the lips, after what happened tonight and what I agreed to
go along with.” He sounded angry, but he had a glimmer in his
eyes.

Sneaky on his part, but she wanted to kiss
him anyway. She wet her lips and placed a soft kiss on his, afraid
to press too hard. Visions of last night entered her mind. Eyes,
filled with desire. Hands, gentle with compassion. Cock, engorged
with need.

Without words, he’d made her feel like a
desirable woman. Someone to be loved and cherished. A feeling she’d
never felt with any other man, a feeling coming back to her now as
she started to sit up straight.

He grasped her wrists, refused to let her
retreat any farther. His eyes blazed with fire. Anger? Passion?

Slow and smooth, he ran his hands up her
arms, leaving goose bumps in their wake. He shifted in the bed.
Covers fell to his waist and muscles bulged under the thin hospital
gown. Sitting up, he slipped his hands in her hair and pulled her
to him. He covered her mouth with his soft tender lips, still a tad
swollen.

She worked her lips opened and closed in
gentle sweeps. A hoarse moan vibrated through her ear and tickled
her neck. Tongues brushed, sending warmth to her core. Even sick,
Noah knew how to use his mouth to turn her into mush.

Their arrangement hadn’t included sex, but
she wanted to feel him again. Wanted him to hold her and make
gentle love. Needed to experience the lover she’d discovered him to
be.

Faint beeps in the background reminded her
they were in a hospital. Her arms wrapped around his back, electric
currents jolted her fingers as she felt his bare skin. She had to
stop now or she’d find out what it was like to have sex outside of
her house. Never had she imagined giving her body to someone away
from the safety of her bedroom walls, let alone in public. Until
tonight.

“
Noah,” she whispered
between kisses.

“
What?” His breath
ragged.

“
I can’t do this.” Even
though curtains hung down around the bed and no one could see them,
a nurse or doctor could walk through the door. Then they’d be the
gossip of the late night shift at the hospital. Or even worse, her
mother might find out. The next few weeks would be filled with
early morning wake up calls and forced pregnancy tests.

Fear of being caught was supposed to be half
the fun of sex in public, but somehow it wasn’t fun or exciting.
Just plain scary. Yet, she missed his hands when he released her
and lay back down.

Disappointment etched Noah’s strong jaw
line.

“
I’m sorry. I don’t feel
comfortable—”

“
Don’t worry about it. I
made you feel guilty and asked for a kiss. You obliged, I get
it.”

“
That’s not true. I wanted
to kiss you, I just don’t want to…to…” Oh hell, he obviously knew
how to pleasure a woman. That kind of knowledge came from
experience, not a book. How could she keep him happy? Satisfied?
Faithful? She let out a sigh and shook her head to get a grip on
her thoughts. Of course she couldn’t keep him—
anything
. He wasn’t hers to keep,
and he’d leave her in thirteen days, right after the
reunion.

“
Sleep with me again? Is
that the phrase you’re searching for?” he spit out.

No!
But if she told him the truth, she would sleep with him again
and again. And before she knew it, thirteen days would be up and
her heart would belong to Noah Kittler. The man her family saw as
cross-dresser Sam White. Not only was her family a problem, Noah
hadn’t said he wanted to date her anyway. If he did, he’d
eventually be disappointed with her sexually. Lying to protect her
heart made sense right now, but she wasn’t ready to give up the
best sex she’d ever had either.

“
No, that’s not what I’m
searching for.” She ran her palm across his chest.

He took her hand in his and held it. “Then
what are you trying to say?”

“
We’re in a hospital.
Nurses or doctors could walk in at any second and you want me to
get naked.”

His brows quirked and a wicked grin crossed
his lips. “Why not? I’m pretty much there already.”

She smiled and laughed at his evening
attire. The hospital gown looked silly on his large frame and she
could only imagine what he’d look like in a dress. “I’m just not
into getting naked in public.”

“
Good. I’m not excited
about women who do.”

A pent up breath she hadn’t been aware of
escaped her throat. Maybe he wasn’t into kinky stuff after all.
Maybe she wouldn’t bore him. Plus, she was a decent looking woman
with a large enough cup size. Her C’s turned heads; they just
didn’t hold the attention like a DD pinup girl. All in all, her
body image had soared since Tyler’d moved out and she’d started
taking care of herself.

She kissed his forehead and walked out of
his room with her head in the clouds and the illusion she’d created
in full swing.

* * * *

Finally
. Rita gave Val a nod and greeted her when she walked past
the nurse’s desk. Of course, she wasn’t going to make her leave.
The more time the two love birds spent together, the better. Why
was that child waiting to get knocked up?

She grabbed Sam’s chart and walked into his
room. “Good evening,” she read his last name, “Mr. White. I’m Rita,
your nurse.”

“
Hello, Rita.”

She looked up from the
chart and swallowed her gum. Judith had said his name was Sam
White, but this was not the hunk she’d seen rolled into the ICU.
Coughing, she pounded her chest.
What the
hell?
According to the chart, Sam had just
been wheeled in from surgery. Surgery for a boob job.

It was late in the evening to have plastic
surgery, but Dr. Monroe moonlighted at the hospital and preferred
to perform sex changes when fewer people were around. It kept
protesters of his practices in the dark. Usually patients were
taken to the recovery room after surgery, but tonight they were
short handed in that unit.

“
That was one pretty lady
visiting you.” She eyed him as she took his vitals. Had Val turned
gay too? That last guy was a jerk if she’d ever seen one. And an
ugly pervert too. Maybe she’d had one too many
heartbreaks.

Sam’s eyes narrowed and he rolled his head
on his pillow. “Huh?”

He must still be drugged from his procedure.
She stifled a giggle. Some incident at dinner. Who was Judith
trying to kid? By now she should know they were on the same side.
That asshole of a father had caused enough pain to both of
them.

She swallowed hard thinking about the nasty
old man attempting to rape her for the sake of having a son. The
bastard. Good thing she’d taken self defense classes and learned
enough to escape. Just not without an accidental fall down the
stairs that left her barren.

A knot formed in her stomach as she made her
last notes in his chart. She’d have to make her move now or else
the plan wouldn’t work. And it better work, because if anyone found
out…Well, she couldn’t think about that.