Loving the Nurse by Piper Sullivan

Gus

“That was easy.” Too easy, in fact. Antonio was up to something, and I didn’t know what. “Why?”

He shrugged and flashed that flirty smile that turned my insides to mashed potatoes. “Arguing with you would get me nowhere, but my food can tempt you to stay.” He moved around the kitchen to set up lights and position the camera while he spoke. “That’s my true super power.”

Maybe. “Two hours,” I repeated for my benefit as much as Antonio’s. This was me being neighborly, nothing more. “What will I be tasting?”

Something dirty was on the tip of his tongue, I could see the mischief in his eyes, but he managed to keep it to himself. “The episode is From Everyday to Gourmet.”

“Catchy.” I winced at the sarcasm in my tone. Bitchy wasn’t my default, but damn him, Antonio had cornered me by calling Megan and laying a massive guilt trip on me. I had no choice but to stay. To help.

As if he actually needed my help.

“Thanks,” he replied completely unaffected by my tone. “I thought so too.” He leaned across the counter between us until there was less than six inches of space between his face and mine, rested his chin in his hand so that his sun-kissed, tattooed forearms were on display. Tempting me. “So, Augusta, tell me. What’s your favorite thing to eat when you’re too tired to be creative?”

Good question. “Easy. Mac & cheese.”

He shuddered, his dark eyes horrified. “Not the powder stuff, I hope?”

I frowned, offended. “No. I am a real life adult, Antonio.”

He licked his lips, my gaze watched his pink tongue slide back and forth across his bottom lip and then the top lip. Holy hell. “Oh, alright.” He pushed back with a smile and another wink. “We’ll start with mac & cheese then.”

My brows furrowed in suspicion. “I thought you already had a shoot scheduled for today?”

He frowned in response, feigning confusion. “Did I say that?”

“Antonio,” I growled and pushed away from the counter. “No more games.”

“None, I swear.” He turned and moved around the kitchen gracefully, like a choreographed dancer while he grabbed what seemed like dozens of ingredients. When he finally stopped moving, he stood between two sets of ingredients.

I let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of stuff for basic Mac.”

“Who said anything about basic?” Before I could answer, he reached over and put one finger to my lips with a smile before he pointed to the camera.

The camera. Right.

Antonio stood tall and squared his shoulders as he fixed his Bad Boy Chef smile into place, the one I had watched for hours and hours as I cooked right alongside him.

“What I have for you today is two sets of ingredients. One for your everyday mac and cheese, and one for when you want to impress that special someone, or even a crowd. A friend of mine will make her own everyday mac, and then I’ll show you how to punch it up.”

I shook my head and as soon as he paused or stopped the camera, I pointed an accusing finger at him. “Forget it, Antonio. No way am I cooking and definitely not on camera.” The last thing I needed was the whole damn internet seeing my extra ten pounds which would probably look like twenty on camera.

“First of all,” he practically purred at me, “you’re beautiful, and my viewers would be lucky if they got a chance to set eyes on you while you cooked. Second, you won’t cook it on camera, you just have to eat it on camera. And moan like you love it.”

I gave him a skeptical look. “Since when did your show become R-rated?”

“Since I first heard you eat.” His wide grin was so earnest, my breath hitched at the heat in his voice. “Now, get cookin’, woman.”

I glared at him but slid off the stool and we switched places. I used the distraction of cooking to ignore Antonio until he made it impossible. Two blocks of cheese had to be shredded which meant I didn’t have to look at him.

“How’s Oliver? I wonder if he is why you can’t forgive me for something I haven’t done.”

His question was…astute. Surprisingly, so and I gave him honesty in return. “Probably. But in fairness to Dad, it wasn’t just him. He was just the first man to choose something or someone else, over me. He wasn’t the last, though.”

“Shit.” The word came out on a gruff breath and he shook his head. “That’s rough.”

“Yep. And there is nothing to forgive you for, Antonio. We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah, we have. I don’t need to be forgiven but you want nothing to do with me?”

It was a fair question. “If we spend time together, we’ll end up in bed together.”

He leaned forward, chin rested on his fist. “Tell me more,” he said and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed because the man was too funny and charming for my peace of mind. “And that’s a problem, because while I had fun with you, I realized that I’m not a fun for the sake of fun kind of girl.” It was beyond fun being with a man like Antonio. He was sexy and sweet, and he had an unexpected depth, a passion for his career. He was exactly the kind of man a woman like me would fall for even though I knew I shouldn’t. “And here we go, basic mac and cheese.”

Antonio smiled when I set the first plate in front of him. “Looks and smells good.” He turned and started filming again with a smile. “This is my good friend’s mac. It’s creamy and cheesy, well-seasoned. The touch of smoked paprika really kicks this up a notch, and I like the Irish cheddar mixed with the mozzarella.” He took a bite and moaned so erotically I had to clench my thighs to stop the aching throb between them. When he opened his eyes, they gleamed with mischief. “Delicious.” He took another bite and then another, until the plate was almost empty.

Antonio licked his lips and smiled at the camera.

Bastard.

“Now we’ll see what we can do to turn this everyday dish into a gourmet dish.”

“How was it really?”

Antonio frowned at me. “It was really good. You can make your mac and cheese for me any day of the week, Augusta. It’s the perfect way to refuel between orgasms.”

“Is that all you think about?”

“No,” he answered seriously. “I also think about how you look in your scrubs. How the kids all love Nurse Gus because she’s so friendly and treats them like grownups. I think about the way your eyes sparkle when you’re challenged, and the way the pulse in your throat flutters like hummingbird wings when you’re turned on. Like now.”

He was right, dammit. I was turned on, and it wasn’t just because of his words, or how gorgeous he looked with his face focused on the dish he created. He moved easily, but I knew every move was well thought out.

“I left you speechless,” he observed with a smile. “Good.”

“Not speechless, I’m just trying to figure out your goal in all of this.” There had to be one, and I didn’t think my limited sexual skills required this much effort.

Instead of answering, he set a beautiful plate of gourmet mac right in front of me, a cocky grin on his face.

“It’s a good-looking plate.” It was the plate you would expect at a restaurant that had a dress code, the kind of place I hadn’t been to in far too long.

“Thanks. It’s lobster and thick-cut pancetta with a garlic and herb breadcrumb topping.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, the mix of scents made my stomach growl loudly. “Damn, Antonio. I’ll never look at my plain mac the same.”

His gaze darkened and before I realized his intent, Antonio stood beside my stool and turned me to face him before he cupped my cheeks and took my mouth with his. The kiss was hungry and intense, right from the start, like he was a man crazed for me. He deepened the kiss and speared his fingers through my hair, growling like a man out of control. His tongue teasing me, playing with me, pleasing me until I moaned.

He stepped back, dark gaze even darker as he stared at my lips, moist from his kisses. “Now, taste it and tell my viewers how delicious it is.”

I glared at him. “That was low, even for you.”

He shrugged and let out a loud, unapologetic laugh. “I wish I could say I was sorry, but I couldn’t resist. A beautiful woman telling me how my food has ruined her for all others? A man has his limits, Augusta.”

“And kissing me was what you had to do?”

He nodded slowly. “Hell yeah. And now, a couple hundred thousand subscribers will think I gave you more than gourmet lobster mac & cheese before the cameras started rolling.”

He was right, damn him. I could feel how swollen my lips felt and imagined my hair looked like a man’s fingers had been playing in them for hours. My skin felt hot, so I knew I had a pink flush staining my cheeks, probably my chest too, but I was too stunned to look down to confirm. Instead, I smiled and did what I promised I would do. I tasted the food and sung his praises, genuinely, as I finished off the entire plate.

But ss soon as he was done filming, I slid from the stool and ran like hell.