Confessions of a Naughty Night Nurse Read online

  I was always happy to be sent there. The staff were hugely committed and experts in their field. The atmosphere was one of nurturing and support, not just for the patients but also for their families.

  ‘Hey,’ I said, strolling into the cluttered office. It was my second night on duty out of seven so I was still feeling pretty energetic. Plus last night with Tom had meant I’d had a lovely, deep, satisfying sleep all day.

  ‘Oh, good, it’s you, Sharon,’ Felicity said. She was the department’s head night nurse and I knew her well. We’d both been around since scalpels had been made of flint and bandages of mammoth hide.

  I grinned. It was nice to be wanted. ‘You busy?’ I asked, grabbing a report card from the desk.

  ‘More than usual. There’s been a clinical inspection today and it knocked the late shift back several hours with everything.’

  ‘Bummer. You want me to get on with anything straight away?’

  She glanced down her chart. ‘Yes, could you bedbath Ted Graham in room three? I promised I would, but I have to do the drug round first so it will be ages before I get to him.’

  ‘No problem at all.’ I glanced at his details on my sheet. Thirty-four-year-old with third degree burns to both hands. Ten days post second skin graft and reconstruction.

  ‘Great,’ Felicity said. ‘But don’t rush him, will you, if he wants to chat, let him. He’s one of us after all.’

  ‘He is?’

  ‘Yep, a fireman, flames got his hands when he was rescuing a pregnant woman from a house fire.’

  ‘Oh, damn.’

  ‘Indeed.’

  After slipping a plastic apron over my dress, I knocked quietly on the door of room three and stepped in. I shut it tight behind myself.

  Ted lay on the bed, a sheet up to his waist and his head sunk into a stack of pillows. He looked big and tough with a wide chest and thick biceps, but his hands were wrapped tight in bulky white bandages, rendering him practically helpless and creating quite a contrast to the burly masculinity of his body.

  He smiled when he saw me; his jawline was a wide angular shape, his teeth neat and white. Everything about him was big. He was on a whole different size scale to me.

  ‘Hi,’ I said and turned down the volume on some chat show he was watching. ‘You must be Ted?’

  ‘That’s me.’ His voice was deep and rasping, almost smoky. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke.

  ‘I’m Sharon, would you like me to help you freshen up? Seems the day staff have been frantic.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘You can say that again, they’ve been buzzing around like a bunch of bees that’ve had their nest kicked.’ He laughed. ‘Quite funny to sit back and watch, and not have to do anything to help. I’m used to being in the middle of all the action.’

  I liked Ted already. It was the twinkle in his eye, the buoyancy of his voice. He was having a rubbish time, but when people could still smile in that state I couldn’t help but admire them. I didn’t know if I would, given the same situation.

  ‘We’ll keep ourselves locked out of the way,’ I said, pulling a face. ‘Far from the madding crowd.’

  ‘Good plan.’ He tried to sit up but struggled when a pillow slipped and he couldn’t stop it falling to the floor.

  I pulled his table away from the bed and adjusted his back support. Redoing his pillows.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘these damn hands are not up to much at the moment.’ He lifted his bandaged fists causing his pectoral muscles to flex and twitch.

  I touched his warm, tendon-rich forearm and smiled gently. ‘That’s why I’m here, to help.’

  ‘I haven’t seen you before,’ he said. ‘Even though I’ve been laid in this room for three weeks now and going backward and forwards to theatre.’

  ‘No, I haven’t been here for about a month.’

  ‘Ah, have you been somewhere exotic on a long, luxury holiday with a handsome doctor?’

  I laughed. ‘I wish.’ Mmm, four weeks on a deserted island with Javier would certainly give me a boost in all departments. ‘Nope, I’ve just been working on different wards. I’m a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, they send me wherever is low staffed at the beginning of each shift. Tonight I’m afraid you’ve drawn the short straw.’

  ‘Hardly the short straw,’ he said, tipping his head and studying me with a naughty glint in his eyes.

  I laughed. ‘Nice of you to say so. Do you want a drink?’ I nodded at the empty glass on the table. It had a white straw sticking from it.

  ‘Please, there’s some Coke over there.’

  I glanced at where he’d indicated. He had a small, bright red fridge humming in the corner.

  ‘I had it delivered here from Argos.’ Ted smiled. ‘I hate warm drinks, even in the winter. A habit from days in sunnier climates.’

  ‘Great idea.’ I opened the small glass door. ‘Hey, you’ve got some beer in here. Want one?’ I turned to him.

  He looked at the closed door that led to the ward, as if seeing a frowning authority on the other side. ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m allowed.’

  I laughed. ‘Yes, you’re allowed. It’s your beer, you’re a grown man. Have one if you want.’ I picked up an icy cold can and held it aloft.

  ‘Will you join me?’

  I shook my head and widened my eyes. ‘I think that might just get me fired faster than a ball out of a cannon.’

  He grinned and I sensed he was swaying.

  ‘What about the drugs I’m on?’ he asked.

  ‘No worries. It isn’t strong beer, so one will be perfectly fine and it will probably help you get a good night’s sleep.’

  ‘I could sleep for the Olympics these days. Not much else to do.’ He rolled his eyes and I thought his mood might switch, but then he grinned. ‘Go on then, if you’re sure it’ll be all right.’

  ‘I’m sure.’ I shut the fridge and picked up a tall glass from a shelf. ‘Have you had family in today?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, not today, and not tomorrow either.’

  That surprised me. I would have thought his people would be swarming around him. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Just how it is for me.’

  ‘No family?’

  ‘Nope.’ I held the glass as he took a sip of the beer through the straw. His lips were wide and plump, the bottom one held a small dink at the centre. I noticed there was a good couple of days’ worth of black stubble over his cheeks, jaw and down his neck.

  ‘Ahh, that’s so good,’ he said with a sigh. ‘Reminds me of being in Greece; with the sun on my back, a heart full of hope and a lust for adventure.’

  I walked to the sink, set about filling up a bowl of water and collecting washing paraphernalia. ‘Greece. I’d love to go there.’

  ‘Beautiful place if you can cope with wasps and earthquakes.’

  ‘Can you tell me about it?’

  ‘You really want to hear?’

  ‘Yes, absolutely. I’ll give you a bit of a wash while you talk. It will make me feel like I’ve had that holiday. I could do with one.’ Plus I liked the lilt of his accent, I couldn’t place it but it was light and complemented the rich throatiness of his voice.

  ‘Couldn’t we all.’ He paused, then, ‘I grew up in Greece. My father had a job with the government and was posted in Athens. It meant we had a nice house with a pool and a maid. Me and my sister went to a private English school but also learnt to speak fluent Greek. It’s like that when you’re kids. You pick up languages without even having to think about it, don’t you?’

  I nodded and wiped his face with the warm, soapy flannel. When I dried, the sound of stubble rasping on the towel was loud in the quiet room. ‘Would you like me to give you a shave?’

  He opened his eyes and looked straight into mine. They were a stunning shade of dark blue, like the deepest part of the ocean. ‘Would you mind? Have you got time?’

  ‘No, not at all, and yes I have time. It won’t take long.’

  ‘That would be great then.’ He sm
iled again and then clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. ‘I hate being so dependent. It’s not me at all.’

  ‘Hopefully it will only be for a few more weeks, and that’s why we’re here, to help.’ I reached for a razor and a can of shaving foam. Flooding my hand with white froth and beginning to spread it around his jawline, the short tough hairs were sharp on my fingertips and the feeling briefly reminded me of my fun with Tom the night before.

  ‘Well, thanks, I appreciate it, everything you all do,’ he said, his mouth a dark slash in the frothy mess on his face.

  ‘No worries.’

  Silence descended upon us as I began to carefully scrape the wet razor down his right cheek. I was aware that he was watching my face intently, almost like he could see the reflection of what I was doing in my eyes. I was leaning in close, I had to, breaching personal space was the only way to perform my task, but if he looked downwards there was no doubt he’d get a flash of cleavage.

  But he didn’t look down, he carried on starting intently at my face and carefully twisting his mouth to stretch the skin on his cheek.

  Little waves of prickles ran up my spine, nape and onto my scalp. I had a sudden sweep of self-consciousness. I was being scrutinised, closely, but I was also being trusted to wield a razor against a stranger’s face and throat. It was a great privilege to be so trusted. Who was I kidding? I was hot and tingly because Ted was an incredibly handsome fireman and I was performing an intimate task for him. Donning a nurse’s uniform didn’t quell my appreciation for a gorgeous bloke with a sexy smile, a roguish voice and a history of saving women from burning buildings.

  I straightened and jiggled the razor in the water to rid it of the stubble and used foam. ‘Carry on telling me about Greece. I sense there’s an “until” coming up,’ I said with a smile then nibbled on my bottom lip.

  He twitched his eyebrows. ‘You’d be right. I was seventeen when it all started to go wrong. I had dreams of going to university in the UK and studying marketing.’

  ‘Marketing, interesting.’ With my fingertip I gently smoothed the froth beneath his nose, trying my best not to get it in his nostrils. He kept very still while I shaved around his top lip, just pulling his mouth down a little to elongate the skin.

  Top lip smooth, I carried on shaving, moving around to the opposite side of his face. Still he didn’t talk, he stayed silent, his breaths warm and tickly on my arm. My own breathing became slow and steady as I concentrated.

  The stubble came away easily, leaving a perfect stretches of golden skin in its wake. I repeated the process over and over, sloshing the razor in the bowl of water after each downward track. Eventually I finished and dabbed his now silky jaw with the damp flannel and a warm towel. Admiring my work as opposed to the ruggedly handsome planes of his face – or so I told myself.

  He touched his cheek to his hunched up shoulder, rubbed briefly, as if checking my work. ‘Thanks, that’s great. I can tell you’ve done that before.’

  ‘A few times.’ I smiled, tipped the water away and refilled the bowl. ‘So did you do your marketing course?’

  ‘Yep, I applied to several universities and was accepted into Manchester. I couldn’t wait to go and start my new student life. Though to be honest, thoughts of girls were considerably more prominent than my desire to learn. Well, unless you counted my interest in studying the female form, that is.’

  He laughed as I wiped the warm flannel over his broad chest. His muscles were firm and solid, neatly squared pecs and small dark nipples. Just a hint of hair over his sternum. His flesh held an olive glow, like the Greek sunshine was still within him. It was impossible not to appreciate his sturdy, sculpted physique, though I was careful not to linger with the soapy flannel. That wouldn’t have been professional at all.

  ‘And I was right,’ he said as I dried with a long sweeping movements. ‘The girls at uni were hot. Hot with a capital H. And willing too. Not like where I’d grown up. Back in Athens, I’d been seeing this local girl, Phedra. She had long black hair; it felt like silk and never tangled in my fingers. I found it fascinating how I could stroke right through it and it flowed like water and tickled the back of my wrists. You know, this sensitive part?’ He lifted his hand, the underside of his wrist facing my way.

  I nodded, gently raised his arm higher and soaped beneath it, swirling the flannel over curls of golden underarm hair. ‘Was she your first love?’

  He allowed me to hold his arm up. ‘Phedra? Yes, I suppose she was. Hormones go a bit nuts when you’re that age, don’t they? I wasn’t sure if I was in love with her, like as a person, or her body. She had great tits … shit, I’m sorry, Sharon.’ He frowned. ‘You don’t want to hear this.’

  ‘Hey, don’t mind me, and of course I want to hear your story.’ I towelled where I’d washed, the underarm hair fluffing as it dried. ‘And believe me, there isn’t anything you can say that will shock me. I’ve been hanging around this place too long for that.’

  ‘I’ll try and shock you then, shall I? Just for the fun of it.’ He grinned.

  ‘Go on, tell me, just for the fun of it, and I promise not to faint.’ I smirked wickedly then pressed my lips together to ensure I didn’t appear flirty, because that wouldn’t be right at all. Not with a patient. Though I couldn’t help but think it was a damn shame Ted was going to be stuck in here, out of action for a few months. We could have swapped numbers and arranged a naked rendezvous.

  He matched my smile and nodded at his beer again. I held it for him as he slurped, then set it back on the table.

  ‘Phedra, like I said, was a hottie. Her breasts were the subject of all my fantasies. Many a time I tossed off thinking what they’d feel like if I squeezed them together and put my …’ He hesitated, then shrugged, as if making a decision to just say it as it was. ‘My dick between them. Warm, soft, tight. I even had a photograph of her with this itsy-bitsy bikini on. I would set it above two pillows and pretend it was really her. Not that I looked at her face, just her cleavage. Which was all well and good, this fantasy,’ he said, ‘until Uriana, our Greek maid, walked in to my bedroom and caught me coming all over Phedra’s smiling face.’ He paused. ‘Am I shocking you yet?’

  ‘No, not at all.’ A bit, maybe, but by his candid honesty more than his teenage actions.

  I washed his abdomen meticulously and tenderly. Thinking how much physical exercise he must have endured to get such deeply ridged muscles etched into his stomach. I suddenly became aware that I was prolonging the task and he’d stopped chatting to watch me. Quickly I reached for the towel. ‘And then what?’ I asked, swallowing tightly.

  ‘It’s good to be able to talk,’ he said, watching me dry. ‘It’s like going on a trip down memory lane. I’ve spent too much time just sitting here thinking lately. Weird how thoughts swirl inside your head, when you have an injury that could be life changing.’

  ‘Hopefully not “too” life changing,’ I said. ‘And, yes, it is good to talk, so come on, what happened when the maid walked in? You’re keeping me in suspense.’

  He widened his eyes and shook his head. ‘Oh, yeah. Shit, I thought the roof was going lift off the villa. The sight of me, butt naked, on my knees …’ He hesitated, blew out a breath and shook his head.

  I tried to rid the image he’d created in my brain. It was pretty hot, especially if I imagined him in that position as a man, and not as a teen.

  ‘Yeah, me,’ he went on, ‘butt naked, on my knees, exploding over a photo of a smiling brunette. The maid screams, drops the mop and bucket of water she’s carrying and runs onto the landing as though the hounds of hell are after her. Well, I’m just frozen. Time’s stopped. It wasn’t until I saw Phedra’s face, smiling up at me and wearing some freakish pearly face-mask that I realised what was happening. I jumped up pretty sharpish then. Pulled on my clothes and spent the next ten minutes calming Uriana down and bribing her with my entire stash of drachma, this was before Euros you see. In the end, in return for payment, she promised not to say
anything to my parents when they got home. There must have been the equivalent of fifty quid in my wallet, a month’s wages for her, at least. Luckily she stuck to her word, though she never walked into my room again without knocking.’

  ‘I bet she didn’t.’ I reached for a clean, black T-shirt from his locker, shook it and held it up. ‘Do you want to wear this overnight?’

  ‘Yeah, that will do. Got it from a U2 concert years ago.’

  ‘Nice.’ I helped him slip it on, being careful to stretch the sleeves wide over his hands and making sure there were no creases in his back. I then pulled back the sheet. He wore red boxer shorts and his long legs were thick, strong and hair-coated. There was an oblong dressing over his right thigh.

  ‘Worst thing about the whole thing,’ he said, resting his head back as I started to carefully wash his legs. ‘Was it took so long for me to guarantee Uriana’s silence that when I got back to Phedra’s photograph, my goddamn cum had wrecked it, fizzed it away or something. I was more fed up about that than Uriana walking in on me. I tried to clean it up, even had a go at drawing in her cleavage again and the outlines of her bikini top and nipples – which, by the way, you could just see straining through. There must have been a breeze on the beach that day or something.’ He laughed. ‘Or something. In my naivety I liked to think since I’d taken the shot that she was turned-on by me. I’d been feeling all macho and muscled up since I’d just hit six foot. I pretended, on several occasions, that she was actually thinking about us in bed together as I’d taken the picture.’ He sighed. ‘What happened next didn’t quite go to plan, though.’

  ‘And the plan was?’

  ‘You sure you want to hear?’

  He really was a talker, and getting quite into his story. I wiped and dried his kneecaps. ‘I wouldn’t be listening otherwise, I’d be making some excuse that I had other patients to see to.’

  He looked worried. ‘Do you?’

  ‘No, not at all.’ I smiled. ‘Just you, so carry on. I’m intrigued.’

  ‘It was a disaster,’ he said, ‘after my photograph of Phedra was ruined, I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t go to university without at least touching her breasts. Heck, I was seventeen, that should have been a tick on my scorecard already and so should several other things. Most of my mates were going all the way with their birds, so they’d said.