Page 2 of Corrupted By the Shadow King (Hope Runs Deep #3)

Nikki

T his has been the week from hell. Staffing shortages at the hospital mean that everyone is spread a little thin, and then dumbass residents and interns think they can boss me and the other nurses around.

Of course, grabbing a scalpel and holding it against one resident’s dick when he attempted to touch my ass showed I was not a person to be trifled with.

He reported me to HR, who took my side, and Mr. High and Mighty was given a warning.

Fucking medical newbs. They finally get a degree and think they are God. Morons.

“Nikki!” I hear my name from behind me and spin around while still walking backward, searching for whoever called out to me. If I don’t stop, I won’t get roped into working a few more hours. I desperately need to get out of this place for the night.

Finding the source of the voice, I inwardly cringe. Kevin, a nurse in the cardiac unit, is a nice enough guy, but I have zero interest in him, and as many times as I’ve told him no, he won’t take the hint. Forcing a smile, I ask, “Is there something you needed, Kevin?”

He practically lunges forward, reaching me as I take my first step out of the hospital for the first time in over twelve hours. I need a shower, food, sleep, and I wish I could get some sex, but that’s why I have BOB.

“Are you already off?” He blinks down at me innocently. The man is awkward on the best of days but one hell of a nurse. There just isn’t any spark. He is tall and cute, shy and innocent…like an overeager puppy. I have to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing out loud.

“Yeah. See me walking out of these hallowed halls? Did you need something?”

“Umm…well…I’m…” The man looks as if he is about to pass out due to a lack of oxygen.

Fighting the urge to snap at him and remind him to breathe, I say, “Kevin, I’m sorry, but I really need to be going. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Will you go out with me on Sunday? Charlie is having a barbecue and invited me, and I thought you and I could go together,” he rushes out without stopping for air.

“Oh.” How many times have I rejected him now? Seven? Eight? He is relentless. I have to give him that much. “Sorry. I have plans. I already told Charlie I couldn’t make it.”

“You do? Someone from the hospital?”

I’m not sure why, but it irks me that he is trying to pry into my business.

I know it is probably an innocent question; however, my patience is running thin today.

“No, no one from the hospital. If you will recall, I don’t date anyone I work with.

” It is one of the many reasons I’ve given him over the last three years, and he still won’t take the hint, but unlike the jackass today, Kevin is harmless and doesn’t mean to offend.

“If you must know, I’m helping out some friends this weekend. ”

“Oh.”

When he doesn’t say anything else, I tell him, “See you next week.” I spin around and begin my trek to the parking lot.

“Next week?”

“Yep. Four days off, and I don’t plan on thinking about this place. See you, Kevin.” I hear him call my name again, but I ignore him and speed up my pace.

“Why don’t you just go out with him? Give him a chance?

Sometimes it can lead to something special,” my sister, Agathe, asks.

She has always been a hopeless romantic.

She and her husband, David, met on a blind date.

She claims she wanted to run away the moment she saw him, but she gave him a chance and wound up falling in love.

Bleh. Unfortunately for me, she decided after meeting Kevin one time, she needed to become his champion. .

“No.”

“But—”

“Agathe, I love you, but after the day I’ve had, I will cut you right now, chop up your body, and help the police and your husband look for you.”

Taking a sip of her wine, she studies me. “That bad?”

I stir the sauce that is simmering on the stove.

My sister, so talented in so many ways. She teaches music, composes her own pieces, and has even sold some songs to various artists, but she sucks in the kitchen.

Tonight, she invited me over, and I wasn’t going to accept because I just wanted to sleep, but I heard myself agreeing before I could stop myself.

I thought she would order in or something; instead, she attempted her hand at making chicken tikka masala, and I had to come in and fix whatever she had done. It was either that or food poisoning.

I sigh and nod. “Yeah. Been a day.”

“You know, Kevin could?—”

“Keep that up, and I will walk out that door right now. I don’t want him.”

She takes another sip of her wine. “What do you want?”

“Honestly?”

“No, lie to me.” She snickers. “Come on. Tell your big sister all about it.”

“I want someone who is going to drive me crazy and make me breathless. Someone who knows how to push all my buttons and can pull me away from the edge of insanity. Someone I can talk to about my day and will just listen to me, and they know I will do the same for them. I want someone I can share my life with, and I’m sorry, but Kevin does not do it for me. I look at him and see a pound puppy.”

She spit out her drink. Score one for me. Perfect timing. “A pound puppy?”

“Yeah. You know the ones. You go to the shelter to adopt a dog, and they all stare up at you with those big, round eyes, begging you to take them home and give them belly rubs. You are convinced you need a bigger home so you can adopt them all. I swear every time he looks at me, I see the pound puppy expression.”

Agathe covers her mouth and tries but fails to swallow her laughter. “Oh my god! You’re right!”

Nodding, I take out a spoon from the drawer beside the stove and taste the sauce before adding a little more cumin and masala and turning down the burner. “I know.”

“But those dogs are usually loyal.”

I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes.

“No. Seriously, Agathe, give it up. I don’t want him.

I don’t want someone who is going to fetch my slippers.

I want someone who will take charge, push me over my kitchen counter, and sink his dick into me over and over again until we are both breathless, sweaty, and exhausted.

I need a…” I am having a hard time thinking about the word I want to use.

“An alpha male,” David supplies as he steps into the kitchen and kisses my sister. Her eyes are still full of wonder and dreaminess when she looks at him, and I know if I look at him, I will see the same thing mirrored in his. I want that and more.

“Yes! An alpha male!”

“Kevin could?—”

This time, David cuts her off. “No, he can’t. I’m more of an alpha male than he is. Besides, I don’t like him. What guy doesn’t know how to take no for an answer? Okay for the first couple of times, but how many has it been now? Fifteen? Twenty?

“Today makes nine. And thank you, David, for coming over to what your wife considers the dark side.”

He pours himself some wine and raises his glass in my direction. “Do you have cookies?”

“A variety.” I snicker.

Throwing her hands up in the air, my sister finally acquiesces.

“Fine, you win. I will drop it. But you know what, you won’t find Prince Charming if you are always working.

” I sometimes hate my sister. She is an overly happy person who is madly in love, and she wants everyone else to join her in the land of rainbows and unicorns.

“I don’t work all the time, but I’m done looking for the one for me in a sea of frogs.

One of these days, I’ll find him. It will be unexpected, but I will.

Hell, the universe will probably have to hit me over the head with a two-by-four for me to realize, because let’s face it, I can occasionally be stubborn. ”

“Occasionally?” David scoffs.

I glare at him. “Yes.”

He snorts, a giant smile taking over half his face. “You argued with your father about the color of something. I don’t remember what it was now, but you were wrong and refused to admit it.”

“It was the color of his new car. I said it was purple, and he said it was blue.”

“Stupidest argument known to man,” Agathe grumbled.

“I still say?—”

David holds up his hands one on top of the other like a T. “Timeout. We know. Trust me, we know.” Then he grins. “Dinner ready yet?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “Yeah, it’s ready. Let’s eat.”