Tempted, p.1
Tempted, page 1
Tempted:
A Steamy Second Chance Firefighter Romance
Carina Alyce
A MetroGen Forbidden Love Duets Prequel
Are you ready for sexy firefighters, dirty doctors, and hot cops?
Do you wish Grey’s Anatomy and Chicago Fire had more sex scenes - like a lot more? Maybe a hundred times more?
Me too! I took all your favorite TV fire/police/medical drama tropes and gave you the addictive plot twists, sexy times, and drama you are dying for. (I’m a real doctor so it’s more legit!)
So, if you need second chance at love for the one that got away, then this romance between the ER desk clerk and the sexy firefighter who finally makes his naughty move is what you DESERVE!
Fall in Love at MetroGen Downtown
MetroGen Forbidden Love Duets
Tempted - prequel
Sampled - prequel
Smolder
High Risk
Inferno
Compromised
MetroGen After Hours
Live Wire
Wildcat
Volatile
Burn Card
Roulette
MetroGen Kiss and Tell
Unchecked
Guarded
MetroGen Lifelines
Embers
Matched
Collections and Anthologies
Heroes with Heat and Heart Volume 1
Heroes with Heat and Heart Volume 2
Copyright © 2022 by Carina Alyce
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
Carina Alyce asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Carina Alyce has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
This novel is a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination beyond events covered by fair use and public record. A previous shorter version was published in the Heroes with Heat and Heat anthology 2021.
First edition
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There’s a naked ER doctor in her shower promising her screaming orgasms. Should she say ‘yes?’ As if that’s a question . . .
You will need a fan because this is get-naked-burn-down-the-building scorching hot!
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Get a free copy of the sexiness here
Wanted: A Steamy Medical Romantic Short
carinaalyce.com/hot-treat-for-you
Contents
Dedication
Cast of Characters
Tempted
Part 1
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
Part 2
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
Part 3
13. Chapter 12
14. Chapter 13
15. Epilogue
Afterword
About Carina Alyce
Need more MetroGen STAT
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To LC and EmKay who kept me on track these past couple months.
Cast of Characters
Cleveland Fire Department
Noah Baker – Fire Chief
Fabian Santos – Lieutenant Firehouse 10
Glen Smith – Rookie Firehouse 10
James Haskell – Battalion Chief
Jared Pickford – Lieutenant and battalion chief aide
Erin Hudgens – Firefighter Firehouse 15
MetroGen Hospital ER
Dr. Manika Gupta-Carver - Chief of Department
Cassandra 'Cassie' Odon – ER clerk
Derek Patterson – ER Clerk
Ryan Yates – ER attending
Marcus Doyle - ER attending
Michael Harper – third-year medical student
A FREE MetroGen Romance and a rookie survival guide can be found at https://CarinAalyce.com/newsletter!
Tempted
Verb (past tense)
To have been enticed by something desirable, though unlikely to be in the best interest of those involved
The New Catholic Dictionary
Part 1
A night shift
Chapter 1
“You are a professional,′ Cassie reminded herself, wheeling her computer through the MetroGen ER. The wee morning hours of Thursday night shifts in the minor care pod were supposed to be slow.
The bars didn’t have extended hours. No major concerts. The light drizzle should have kept people in on a late July night.
Unless it was a full moon.
In which case—definitely the best time to google hangnails, calluses, splinters, toothaches, and ‘funny rashes you’ve had for three years.’
Lest anyone think she was joking, the minor care census included a hangnail, a cut lip, a rash, and a stubbed toe.
For the two ladies waiting for urine pregnancy tests, Cassie totally recommended the one-dollar pregnancy tests at Dollar Tree. Skip the three-hundred-dollar ER co-pay. It would take Cassie far longer to process their insurance in her job as the ER clerk than wait for the store to reopen in five hours.
The triage nurse at the front door was having a ball because her triage reasons became more outlandish as the night wore on. They’d already discharged ‘bitten by a person, werewolf, or vampire.’
Seriously, why were Fabio and Glen sharing a room? And what did ‘get checked out’ mean? They couldn’t be too sick if they were in the minor care pod and not one of the two standard care pods. At nineteen and twenty-eight years old, they shouldn’t have been taking a ton of meds.
Group STD testing, perhaps?
No, the triage nurse’d have written ‘personal concern w/testing’ on that.
Object in the butt? While everyone said ‘they fell on it,’ it usually appeared as ‘OITB.’
Sex accident? Ideally, they weren’t drunk. Drunk guys, gay, straight, or in between, were obnoxious when she had to file their insurance.
It made her long for the trauma pod. There, she worked with the charge nurse, fielding phone calls, test results, locating consults, specialists, and directing human traffic. Her main company here was an attending, a PA, and two custodians cleaning the floor for the fifth time after another visit from the Vomit Comet of Minor Care.
She opened the door to Room 78 and understood the triage nurse’s note.
There sat two shirtless firefighters ‘getting checked out.’ Even better, she recognized one of them, who had been similarly naked during their last conversation.
Chapter 2
Rookies were the most dangerous and unpredictable part of firefighting. Not fires, not bombs, not axes, but rookies. Despite six months of fire academy, one whiff of smoke and they went rogue, forgetting everything they’d learned.
Which was how Fabian had ended up here.
Glen had gotten confused in the smoke and failed to find the evac when the ceiling started to come down. Fabian had found him and dragged him out just in time to get hit by some of the rafters.
Sure, they’d walked out on their own power, but their captain had insisted an actual physician check them and decide if they required chest x-rays. Had they not gotten buried, the other firefighter-EMTs would have done their health checks. However, according to the captain, until someone invented x-ray vision, they would go to the ER.
“I’m sorry,” Glen said for the twentieth time since they’d arrived in the ER.
“I know,” Fabian answered. “These things happen.”
“Really, lieutenant, I’m sorry.”
“Yes, you told me several times. It’s fine.” Fabian tried to wring out the wet mass that had been their uniform T-shirts. The other guys had doused the rookie with water for his screw-up but caught Fabian in its wake. Hospital gowns were potential replacements, though it wasn’t worth it if they were getting checked for bruises and breaks.
The door opened, and the desk clerk entered with her computer to start their registration. Her eyes widened as she recognized Fabian.
Some time back, he’d been in Vegas for a firefighter conference. Fabian’s former captain had had a crush on a woman from his neighborhood who had been at a bachelorette party. ER clerk Cassie Odon had more than supported bringing the lovebirds together.
She glanced down at her forms and then back at his face. “This can’t be right.”
“It’s right,” Fabian assured her. This wasn’t the first or the fiftieth time a problem with his name had come up.
“Not possible. Prove it. Insurance card and ID.” She held out her hand, but her eyes were on his shoulders.
At least that part of him impressed her today. “I promise, it’s legit.”
Glen asked, “What are you talking about?”
Fabian rolled his eyes. “My name.”
“Yeah, Lieutenant Fabian Santos.”
Cassie, the troublemaker he remembered in Vegas, stifled a giggle. “I’m sure there’s a very exciting story behind it.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on. Is this another rookie hazing thing? Fake names after getting drenched?” Glen guessed.
“Tell him.” Cassie tapped his information into the computer and gave his cards back.
“In the nineties, my mom loved romance novels and models… I’m not clear exactly on what it was he did…” Fabian hoped to stave off the explanation.
“His mom named him Fabio,” Cassie said. “After the shirtless model on many romance novel covers. Best story ever. ID please.”
Glen went from crestfallen to stunned to cackling. “No way. Lieutenant. New Old Spice guy versus old Old Spice guy? I remember that commercial from elementary school.”
Cassie took his driver’s license. “And not yet old enough to drink, Glen Lindsay Smith.”
“It’s a family name,” Glen said.
“I’m sure.” Cassie kept her face straight, which was difficult for her if Fabian’s memory served. She had been at the height of the Vegas antics with his friend Jared, another trickster.
“I’ve never had the ER clerk do this to me before.” Glen was confused.
“Because your mom brought you last time?” Cassie winked when she leaned forward to return Glen’s cards.
Poor Glen’s jaw dropped.
Fabian got it. Cassie had that effect on anyone around her. She was a bright ball of energy with her smooth skin several shades darker than Fabian’s tawny tone. He tried not to stare at the generous curve of her chest and focused instead on the long red extensions braided through her hair. Still, the MetroGen ER logo on her left breast mocked his attempts to keep his thoughts PG.
He’d definitely ventured into PG-13 territory.
Now she caught him looking, and her deep brown eyes were laughing at him. Cassie Odon was damn fine, and she didn’t look the least bit sorry about it.
Her eyes flicked back to Fabian’s bare skin. He was suddenly glad they’d been too busy with the fire to eat dinner. Never hurt to be shirtless without the after-meal pouch. She was checking out his mat of coal-black chest hair. Unlike Glen who hadn’t even grown any yet.
“Is this normal?” Glen asked Fabian.
“Only when you’ve met before and gotten acquainted.” Fabian didn’t bother to avert his eyes.
“Yeah, me and Fabio are really close friends. In fact, he wore this the last time I saw him.” Cassie said.
“You wore a tube-top made of scraps when we danced at Coyote Ugly,” Fabian reminisced about one of the tamer events during that notorious weekend.
“All for a good cause.”
“Mine too.” Fabian felt the room’s temperature rising. Glen was forgotten because the forecast called for a dead heat with a heavy shower of flirtation.
“You did fulfill every woman’s fantasy. It’s universal.”
Fabian was drawn to the way the words rolled off her lips. This woman radiated loud, friendly temptation, just as she had in Vegas. Being near her reminded him he was alive and getting more tempted by the moment. He was veering past an R rating and into NC-17. . .
Glen cleared his throat. “Universal fantasy?”
“Yep.” Cassie crept closer to Glen, fake leering. Fabian was amused and annoyed. “You know what every girl wants with the strong arm muscles of our neighborhood firefighters?”
“To be rescued,” Glen stammered.
Cassie’s hair fell over Glen’s pale arm, but Fabian’s awareness climbed as her leg brushed his knee. Other parts of his body took notice as memories of Vegas rushed over him. That night at Coyote Ugly, he’d held her against him, the music throbbing around them.
Her voice purred, “No, that’s not what he did. That’s not what he gave all of us.”
“All of you?”
“Me and my five best girlfriends. All six of us. Just the way we wanted it.”
Fabian resolved to have Cassie stop by the firehouse and mess with his rookie regularly. Then again, Fabian didn’t need her around his firehouse if it made him think with his other head.
His poor rookie wasn’t coping well. “All six of you, and the lieutenant? My lieutenant got gang banged? By chicks? Did you pay for him?”
“Oh, no.” Cassie kept applying the pressure to Glen and, incidentally, Fabian’s knee. “Pay? He came over so well, and he did it for free. We would have paid if that’s what it took to get his clothes off. You interested in my next friendly get-together? I already have your phone number.”
”…you do?” Glen was entranced.
“Of course, I do. You gave me your ID.” She pulled back. “Now that you’re registered, a provider will see you soon.”
She grabbed her computer and rolled out the door, leaving them stunned in her wake.
Chapter 3
Glen immediately turned to Fabian. “Is the universal fantasy firefighter prostitutes?”
Fabian cracked up. “That is not the universal fantasy.”
“Firefighter orgy? Threesome? Reverse harm? Menage?”
“What are you reading in your bunkroom?” Fabian sighed. “Hate to break it to you, kid. I’ve never kissed her, let alone slept with her. The closest thing I came to a date with her was a few dances at a Vegas club.”
“Then what was… that?”
“That what, rookie?” Fabian didn’t want to put him out of his misery yet.
“The sexy talk. And the breathing. And the leaning. And the staring at your chest? She said she’d seen it before.”
“She was referring to stripping.”
“Is there a troupe of strippers? Does our firehouse strip? Are we really getting checked out by a doctor, or is this part of the city’s stripper training and recruitment?”
“We’re here because you’re a lunkhead who got us hit by burning rafters. This is a real hospital with a real exam by a real doctor. There is no stripper troupe thus far that I am aware of. Even Lieutenant Jared Pickford hasn’t started one.”
It took another minute for Glen to grasp the important points of the conversation. “You stripped for free?”
“It was for charity. Sort of.”
Glen wasn’t convinced. “No way, lieutenant. You’re trying to tell me you took off your clothes in front of a woman like her and didn’t do anything?
“Nope, never,” Fabian reassured him.
“You didn’t hit it and quit it in Vegas?”
“No, I didn’t ‘hit’ it in Vegas.” Fabian said and issued a warning, “And if you want to stay on my good side, never use ‘quit it’ again. I have two sisters.”
“Sorry, sir,” Glen apologized, reddening from the rebuke.
“Besides, Cassie isn’t the type you can ‘quit’ anyway. A hot, funny woman like her don’t show up every day, and, if one picks you, you never stray.” While Fabian hadn’t personally gotten to that point in any relationship, but he’d seen how happy his former captain, James Haskelll, was with his wife Caroline. In fact, it was a reason Fabian was currently single. No woman he’d met ever compared to what James had, and Fabian figured he find the right one later.
Though Cassie was making him wonder if he’d already missed his chance.
