Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Then her back straightened, and she stood before looking down her nose at me. “For your information, Mr.…Mr.…”
“Ash,” I inserted for her.
“Mr.…Ash. No woman wants to be described as ‘adorable,’” she said with a haughty sniff.
“Okay. How about cute?”
“No. Not that either.”
“I see. Going more for something like gorgeous? Sexy? Fuckable? Because you’re all of those, baby girl.”
A deep blush stained her cheeks, and she tried to look stern, but her blue eyes sparked with pleasure.
“Perhaps. But not by a stranger who is too dumb to accept that he should go to the freaking hospital.”
Echo moaned, clearly coming around, and Nora glanced in his direction.
Her partner was already beside him, but she called his name, and he looked up.
“Can you check this guy’s vitals? He seems fine, but I’d like a second opinion. I’ll handle the other one.”
He glanced at Echo, then back at her with confusion, then shrugged. “Sure.”
She faced me and gave me a brittle smile. “I hope you don’t die, Mr.…um, Ash. Have a nice day.” She pivoted just as her partner arrived.
He tried to keep his voice down, but I heard him tease, “Pawning the difficult one off to me, Stoll?”
She paused and leaned in to whisper, “He asked me out.”
“Another one?” her partner asked, his face screwing up in annoyance.
Another one? How many guys have asked her out on the job? I was gonna find them all and beat the shit out of them.
Nora nodded, and I completely ignored her partner, watching her kneel beside Echo as he blinked. She pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shined it in his eyes.
“Shit! Stop shining that thing before I go blind,” he muttered as he sucked in lungfuls of air.
“You fainted, man,” I told him before bursting into laughter.
Nora sighed and shot me a disgruntled frown. “He didn’t faint, you butthead. His brain shut off from a lack of oxygen. There’s a difference.”
“Not when I tell the story,” I choked out through my chortling.
“Sir?” Nora said more quietly. “Can you sit up and open your eyes? I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion from the fall.”
She checked his pupils, then gave him a soft smile.
I hated it. I wanted all her smiles to be for me.
“Doesn’t look like a concussion,” she decided. “That was a hard hit you took to the chest. How’s your breathing?”
He nodded. “I’m sore, but nothing seems to be obstructing my flow of oxygen.”
“Good,” she replied with a smile. “I’d prefer to take you to the hospital to be checked out and just make sure she didn’t crack your sternum. But…” She scowled at me. “With how freaking stubborn your friend is after being shot, I’m guessing a little pain in the chest is nothing compared to dealing with that…pain in the butt.”
He chuckled and nodded, earning himself a high spot on my shit list—he’d made it on the list for making her laugh. “You’re right on all accounts…” He looked at her expectantly.
I didn’t want him to know her name, but that was illogical.
“Oh, my name is Nora,” she told him with another smile, making my chest burn with jealousy.
“Well, Nora. You’re doubly right. Ash is a pain in the ass, and it’s unlikely you’ll talk me into going to the hospital.”
She sighed and shook her head.
“I promise to get checked out, though, okay?” he offered.
She crooked up one corner of her mouth and gave him a small wave. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you. It will help me sleep better at night.”
He laughed and turned away, only to see me glaring at him.
“What?” he asked, his head tilting to the side as he observed me curiously.
“Nothing,” I gritted out. My jaw was so tight, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I broke a few teeth.
My attention was stolen by Nora as she walked past me. My hand shot out, but my grip was gentle when I pulled her to a stop. “Only one you should be dreaming about tonight is me, baby girl.”
She stiffened and raised her chin to a stubborn angle. “Dream on,” she snapped.
“Oh, I will,” I murmured before releasing her.
I watched her walk away, my mind swirling with conflicting feelings and trying to figure out where to go from here.
But all it took was seeing her disappear out the door to make up my mind.
Nothing was gonna stop me from making Nora mine.
1
NORA
“On our way,” my partner replied to the dispatcher as I changed lanes to make a quick left turn.
I was normally up for just about any call from dispatch for our ambulance, but the moment I heard the address of the one we just got, I cringed.
“Can’t we fob the call off to another rig?” I asked, blinking my eyes innocently at him.
Mark shook his head with a sigh. “You’re gonna run into the guy at some point. Wouldn’t you rather it was when you knew it was gonna happen? That’s better than being surprised.”