Wash (30 page)

The
woman hiccupped. “We-we just went f-for a swim. Tim was eating
almonds—”

“
Is he allergic?” Charity asked. She put her arm on the woman’s
shoulder, trying to offer some kind of comfort.

“
No. He eats them all the time. I was telling him some joke and
he started laughing.” As she spoke, Elijah opened Tim’s mouth,
looked inside and then stuck his finger inside to sweep it. “His
eyes went big and I th-think he started choking. Then he fell
down.” The woman started whimpering.

“
I don’t see anything.” Elijah spoke quietly. Charity didn’t
know if he spoke to them or to himself. His hands checked the man’s
throat momentarily before he rolled the man on his side. “Help me
sit him up.”

Charity
rushed to his side as the wife leaned back against wall, her eyes
huge. They sat him up and Charity stabilized his neck as Elijah
tried the Heimlich several times.

“
It’s not working.” Charity checked the man’s mouth and saw
nothing. Med school natural tactics were kicking back in, but even
though she knew what would happen next, she wasn’t
prepared.

“
Go back to the room. Call nine-one-one, Charity,” Elijah said.
He continued working on Tim. “Inside my coat is a pen, I need it.
It’s a silver one.”

She ran
to the room, grabbing his coat off the floor and then swiping her
phone off the TV stand. She searched the inside chest pocket first.
The heavy pen was there. When she pulled it out, she realized the
silver pen was also a first aid kit. Under the cap was a sharp
knife.

Opening
the room door, she leaned into the bathroom and grabbed a straw
sitting on the counter she hadn’t used. She raced back down the
hall, kicking her shoes off as she ran. She dropped beside Elijah
and pulled the cap off the pen, handing it to him handle
first.

When the
wife saw the blade, she started crying hysterically. “What are you
doing? You’re going to kill him!”

Charity
held the woman back and watched Elijah tilt Tim’s head back and use
his fingers to feel for a spot along Tim’s throat. He made a half
inch incision horizontally across Tim’s throat. Blood ran down his
neck but Elijah ignored it. He pinched the incision with one hand,
needing the other hand to hold the pen to his mouth so he could
turn the blade and pull it off. The body of the pen was actually a
tube which he stuck into the pinched opening.

He sent
two quick breaths into the tube, intently watching Tim’s chest. He
paused about five seconds and breathed into the tube again. He
repeated and glanced at Charity. “Did you call?” He dropped his
head to breathe again. Tim’s chest rose and fell with each breath
Elijah gave him.

“
Crap.” Charity hit the numbers and held the phone close to her
ear, trying to get the woman to stop screaming beside her. She gave
the emergency response the information they needed and relayed back
to Elijah and Tim’s wife that the EMTs would be there
shortly.

Tim’s
hand twitched and his eyes flickered open and shut.

“
Tim? This is Dr. Bennet. Everything is all right. You might be
a little uncomfortable, but you’re going to be okay. There’s a tube
helping you breathe at the moment. An ambulance is on its way and
your wife is right here.”

The
woman stopped screaming and crawled over to Tim. “I’m right here,
baby.” She cried and sniffed loudly. “You’re never eating nuts
again. Ever!” She gave him a gentle hug. She sniffed again and
looked up at Elijah. “I’m so sorry I yelled at you. Thank you for
saving him. Thank you.”

The
stair doors opened and in rushed three EMT men with a cart and all
their gear. Elijah helped them load Tim and explained everything
he’d done. One of the EMTs knew Elijah and clapped him on the
shoulder. “Nice work!”

“
Just at the right place, at the right time.” He wiped his
bloody hands on his shirt. “I’m coming with you guys. Load him up
and I’ll be there in a sec. Just need to grab my coat.”

“
Sure thing, Dr. B!” The young EMT turned to Tim’s wife. “I’m
sorry, I don’t know your name but would you like to ride with us or
are you okay to drive? Tim’s going to be fine. You’re very lucky
Dr. Bennet was here. He’s pretty much the best doctor in New
York.”

“
I’m Becca. I don’t know if I can drive. I’ve had a few
drinks…” The two walked down the hall following Tim’s
gurney.

Elijah,
his hands on his hips, turned to Charity. He pointed to her left
hand.

She
glanced down and shrugged. “Straw. I didn’t realize your knife was
also a tube.”

He
nodded. “That’s pretty impressive of you.”

She
scoffed. “Me? Impressive. Uh, you just saved that guy’s life with a
freakin’ tracheotomy!” She jumped up, excited. “That was
awesome!”

He
smiled and watched her pace around him. He reached out and held her
wrist, turning her to face him. He pulled her close. “Not as
amazing as what you were doing to me before we were interrupted.”
His eyes gazed intently at her.

A tremor
of longing churned deep inside her. She thought back to what had
happened only a short while ago. Heat rose to her
cheeks.

“
I very much would like to kiss you,” he whispered, “but I’m
covered in a stranger’s blood and my mouth has been over
his.”

She
giggled and he laughed as well.

“
Not quite the romantic moment I was hoping for.”

“
Yeah, you being the hero definitely took the romance out of
the moment for me.”

“
Ahhh… and I had to offer to go back to the hospital with
them.”

She
playfully punched him in the chest. “You want to go. It’s okay.
Go.” She stepped back out of his embrace. She faked a sigh. “I’ll
just shower, then crawl into bed and dream up the rest of the
evening.”

He
groaned.

An image of them in the shower and then in bed crossed her
mind.
Hot.
Very hot.
She
swallowed. “I fly back to Atlanta at seven tomorrow
morning.”

“
What? Crap!” His lower lip actually slipped forward in a
pout.

She
laughed, enjoying the look of torment on his face. “I’ll be at the
hospital tomorrow morning so we might see each other. I’m also back
in two weeks.”

“
Two weeks? That bloody long?”

“
Ohhh, you’ll survive.”

“
I don’t think I can. How about I come back here, after I know
what’s-his-name’s okay?”

She
wanted him too, but didn’t want to show how eager she was so she
walked back to her room with him following close behind. She bent
over to pick his coat up off the floor and then tossed it at him.
“How about you hurry to the hospital and I’ll shower and wait for
you here?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hmm...” She
pressed her lips to her fingers and blew him a kiss before closing
the door.

The
hunger in his eyes burned an image into her brain that would keep
her awake until he returned.

THE END

of

Part

Saving
Forever Part II is now available!

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Saving Forever - Part 2 Sample

Chapter 1

Charity
rolled over and stretched her long legs out. The cool sheets did
not diminish the heat burning inside of her. Elijah had done this.
His delicious mouth, his smooth skin running over his lean, taunt
muscles… and those capable hands. No wonder he was an excellent
surgeon. The things he could do with those fingers. A moan escaped
between her lips. She needed to stop thinking about him or there
would be no sleeping tonight. Why was she concerned about sleep?
Hadn’t Elijah said he’d come by after he finished at the hospital?
Dam that stranger for choking in the hotel hall and Dr. Elijah
running to save him. Had the guy not swallowed the nut, Elijah and
Charity would be in this bed right now and he’d be stroking and
smothering the fire inside her she couldn’t control.

Stop it!
She hollered at her brain. Elijah had saved that guy’s life
and all she could think about was his hands on her, not their
miraculous ability to save lives. She flung the thing sheet off and
jumped out of the bed. She wore only a black bra and matching lace
undies. She’d put them on when she had slipped into a dress and
planned on going to Elijah’s house. Except he had surprised her and
shown up at her hotel room. There had been an undercurrent running
between the two of them all day – since they had met actually – and
the sparks needed to be sated.

She
grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and drank half of
it. Wiping a small dribble from her lip, she checked her watch. A
little over an hour ago Elijah had gone with the ambulance. Now out
of the tangle of the sheets, her mind cleared slightly. He had gone
and done a freakin’ tracheotomy right in the hotel hallway! Like it
was nothing! Back in med school, Charity had performed one on a
pig. It didn’t even come close to comparing. She’d saved the pig
and been the first to finish in her class back then. Julie, Simon,
and Alex had taken her out that night and got beyond drunk. It
seemed ridiculous to compare the two procedures.

Two days
after she’d done the pig trach, her mother had called and asked her
to come home. She’d never returned to school and when Alex didn’t
bother to show up at her mother’s funeral three months later, she
stopped answering his calls and texts. She had no idea what
hospital he worked at now or if he had his own practice. He had
talent so she assumed he’d gone into surgery. She had worked at a
number of hospitals raising money for them but had not come across
his name. Maybe he went by Alexandor now instead of Alex. It
shouldn’t matter, his last name hadn’t changed.

A soft
rap against her door sent her heart racing and she forgot all about
reminiscing about the past. Glancing down, her cheeks burned. She
couldn’t answer the door like some wanton woman. She grabbed a
white t-shirt from the drawer and slipped it on over her head.
Peering through the door’s eye glass it took everything not to rip
the door off and knock Elijah over in the hallway.

He
stood, slightly unsure of himself, with a hand running over his
slightly damp spiked hair. He always appeared so confident and
relaxed, to see him as nervous as she felt made her want him
more.

She
flipped the lock and opened the hotel room door. “Hey.” She leaned
against the doorframe enjoying the slight feeling of empowerment
she had. She knew he wouldn’t come in until she invited
him.

His
piercing blue eyes met hers and he smiled. “I wasn’t sure…” His
mouth stopped when his gaze slid down the length of her body and
then back up. He swallowed.

“
How’d the surgery go?” She grew strength out of his
struggling. She wanted him, but he wanted her just as
bad.

“
G-Good.” His head shook slightly, as if he was trying to clear
his thoughts and focus on her questions. “It went very
well.”

“
And you showered.” She pointed at his damp hair. He now wore
blue jeans and a white shirt similar to hers.

“
So did you.” He grinned and pointed at her top. “You know you
really shouldn’t answer the door dressed like that.” His confidence
had returned.

“
Why not?” She straightened and looked down.
Seriously?
Her black bra and
panties clearly showed through the thin white shirt. Whatever
modesty she’d been trying to maintain had gone out the window. Now
she looked the part of the tease. “Oh crap, I didn’t even realize,”
she muttered.

“
Pardon?”

She
leaned forward and let her fingers curl around the cotton material
of his shirt near his neck. She tugged it gently but firmly. “Get
in here…”

Elijah
needed no further encouragement. In two steps he was inside the
room, his arms finding their way around her waist. She wrapped hers
around his neck and intertwined her fingers together. Their lips
met. Both wet and hungry for what had started before and had not
been finished. The heat inside of her burned hotter and sent
tingling sensations between her legs and deep into her belly. She
could feel herself grow moist from his kisses and the knowledge of
what was about to happen.