Thicker than Blood - Book One Read Online Free Page B

that you could and seeing enough bodily fluids to paint a
castle... most people would become numb. It's no surprise that a
lot of new nurses only last a couple of years before changing
careers. It was hard work that held people's lives in the balance.
It always amazed me that plumbers and electricians were paid well
beyond nurses, considering lives were in our hands, family member's
well-being was in our hands.
     
    A few hours later, after
helping Dr. Smith examine a child with a broken arm, I went to the
Starbucks kiosk near the gift shop before it closed for the night.
I could always count on the caffeine in Starbucks espresso drinks
to keep me on my toes.
     
    I took the coffee to the
roof of the hospital, where I could truly escape during my break.
The sky was littered with stars, although it would have been much
easier to see them all if there wasn't so much light pollution from
the town. The air was warm, but the breeze had a cool, crisp note
that told me autumn wasn't far. All in all, it was a beautiful
night.
     
    “Kenna.”
     
    I shivered. I'd know that
accent anywhere. Slowly, I turned to face Dr. Amante, who was
standing just five feet behind me. How did I not hear him
approach?
     
    His eyes were the caramel
color I remembered from the first time I saw him. His expression
was guarded; whatever he was thinking wasn't being translated to
his handsome face.
     
    “Hi,” I said.
     
    He stared. Great, this
again. He had to be the most strange and mysterious person I'd ever
met. I shook my head. “Okay...,” and was about to turn around to
face the city lights again when his hand stopped me. I looked up
into his face. Again, I had not heard him come closer.
     
    “We...,” he started and
stopped. “I shouldn't be with you,” he whispered.
     
    Okay... I stared back at him and then shrugged. “Then don't.”
Seriously, what the fuck? I looked at the buttons on his lab
coat.
     
    He lowered his face as to
catch my eyes. They were ablaze with conflict—hunger seemed to war
with determination. Finally, his shoulders sagged in resignation.
If I'd not been watching him so closely, I would have missed the
whole thing.
     
    “You don't know what you do
to me.”
     
    My eyebrows came together
as I considered his statement. “What do I do to you?” He hadn't
known me long enough to be that infatuated.
     
    A hand ran through his
wavy, black hair as he thought. “You're like... kryptonite to
me.”
     
    “Kryptonite.”
     
    “Yes. I see you... I smell
you... I get weak.”
     
    “Smell me?”
     
    He nodded.
     
    Okay, that's pretty hot
that I have that effect on him. “A lot of people feel that way
about someone -”
     
    “No, NOT like this.” He cut me off. Dr.
Amante let out a frustrated sigh and went to look over the edge of
the roof. “Your friend was right about me. You should stay as far
from me as possible. I am toxic.”
     
    I gasped. How did he know
what Matt said? We were in my house. “How do you know about...,” I
started but couldn't finish the sentence. The tiny hairs on the
back of my neck were beginning to stand again. Had he been at my
house? I trembled. Outside of my bedroom window?
     
    “Where you at my...,” I
tried to say, but the fear rising quickly up through my body made
me stop. I suddenly felt very alone and exposed on the roof with
him. “Uh... I should get back to work.”
     
    He turned swiftly to face
me. “Kenna, I'm sorry... it's just that...,” he said, stopping to
stare. As his eyes changed from caramel to black, my pupils grew
larger. Fear made my feet tingle, made them want to run in the
opposite direction.
     
    With one step, Dr. Amante
was standing against me, looking down into my eyes with tremendous
intensity. Quickly closing the distance between us, Dr. Amante
sought out my mouth, kissing me hungrily. I was lost, pushed off a
cliff into a euphoric whirlwind. His touch was like discovering how
to breath for the first time, never realizing that you needed