Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
The error of that decision landed squarely on his shoulders with the fourth wrong turn and retracing he had to do. Navigating all the turns in daylight hours proved difficult for a new hire because the campus was massive, bigger than anyplace he’d ever worked before, but at night, with the quiet¸ lowered lighting, and lack of constant foot traffic, it was almost impossible. The years of slow expansion led to a hodgepodge of hallways in some areas—he’d think he was headed in the right direction and wind up in a ghost town of rooms and empty stations.
“Hey!” A familiar voice broke the silence of the empty corridor. Startled, he spun around.
“It’s a big place. I get turned around when everything’s so quiet like this.” Justin made a quick excuse as he came to a stop right in front of Dr. Babineaux.
“The ER’s back there,” Dr. Babineaux offered, staring at Justin with that signature sexy crooked grin spreading across his face. He tossed a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the direction, but never broke eye contact. “Follow me.”
It took a moment before Derek finally swiveled on his heels, and Justin hid a smile, waiting a second before he followed. After several feet of walking a step or two behind the man, Derek finally said, “You’re adapting well. I’ve had many patient compliments about you tonight.”
“I don’t know about that. It’s pretty different out here,” Justin spoke quietly, looking down at his feet with each step he took.
“You’re really doing great. But you’re quiet and always intense,” Derek said, glancing over his shoulder as he slowed to let Justin catch up.
They kept a professional distance apart as they walked, something Justin always insisted upon since the first minute he’d started working at Tulane. Derek slowed his pace a bit more as he turned, leading them down another darkened hall.
“You’ve never really seen me in full battlefield trauma mode before,” Justin finally answered when it appeared Derek was waiting for his response. The concerned look morphed to one of fun in a matter of a few seconds.
“You look sexy in those scrubs,” Derek murmured. The doctor was flirting with him. Those moments seemed to be coming with more regularity. Since Justin was more of an actions-speak-louder-than-words kind of guy, he ignored the comment completely, but god, he wanted to kiss that smirk right off the handsome doctor’s face. If he said something, Derek would only be encouraged to continue that line of thought, and they wouldn’t ever make it back, so he kept quiet and looked down the hall. He tried to judge their distance from where they were compared to the actual emergency room, but he couldn’t. He’d followed Derek on yet another turn he hadn’t expected and they were now headed down an abandoned corridor. He must have been even farther off course than he’d thought. He couldn’t even locate any security cameras down this particular seemingly unused hallway.
Derek abruptly bumped his shoulder. He glanced over at the doctor, wondering how they’d ended up walking so closely together. The sexy, come-hither grin was solidly there. That smile always messed with his insides, causing the faint tingles of desire to stir and shoot straight to his dick. So not a good thing, especially at work. Thank god they were completely alone.
Justin forced himself to look away from a teasing Derek, but his heart still picked up another beat and his cheeks heated. He wasn’t a flirt, never had been, and certainly not while working. He had watched and learned there were lots of inappropriate lines crossed between the staff at the hospital, but all in a playful, innocent, fun kind of way.
The problem with teasing innocent thoughts? He couldn’t remember a time that those ever applied to Derek. He was a fun-loving guy. Up for anything at any time and that made him incredibly dangerous to play with.
Besides, Derek Babineaux was about the hottest thing he’d ever seen. The man was tall, about his own height, broad and lean, with a face sculpted like that of a Greek god. His olive complexion and jade green eyes regularly stole his breath and his heart. Justin swore those eyes had the ability to bore right through his soul every time Derek looked his way. The doctor’s blond hair always had a bit of a wave, especially after a long hard night in the emergency room. He loved that sexy disheveled look—loved it more than he was willing to admit. And the handsome doctor spent time in the gym, no question there, that muscled body gave him a hard-on every time he stole a glance Derek’s direction.
He quickly weighed his options, deciding in the name of innocent fun, he needed to give as good as he got. Surely he could play along on this level in an effort to try and fit in a little better around there.