“’Scuse me, ma’am. I’m Zachary McDaniel. I was here earlier today to . . . ah . . .”
“Give us a specimen?” she finished, gazing up over her glasses.
“Yeah. That’s right. Something came up and I had to leave before I could get it done so I’m back to try again. Brought my . . . er . . . significant other this time.” He nodded to Delaney, who hid her face behind a magazine.
The unsmiling nurse glanced up the clock. “We close in twenty minutes.”
“I know it’s late,” Zac said. “But I’m going out of town and I promised her we’d get this done first.”
The nurse cast him a disapproving look. “You’ll have to be quick about it.” She retrieved a plastic specimen cup from the drawer beside her.
Zac leaned in close, asking in a low voice. “I’d be much obliged if you could maybe give us one of those . . .”
“Collection condoms?” she said, loud enough to make Delaney slide deeper into her chair.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Zac said. “Nurse Wanda was kind enough to tell me about those earlier.”
“Did she give you one?”
“No ma’am. I live too far away, but since I’m back with my significant other, I figured . . .”
She glanced at the clock again. “I’m sorry, Mr. McDaniel. I’m afraid we’ve just run out of those. Perhaps you’d like to come back tomorrow?”
“No, ma’am. I would not like to come back tomorrow. Told you I’m going out of town.”
She handed him the container with a tight smile. “Then I guess you’ll just have to use this.” Her gaze darted back to the clock. “You can use exam room number three.” She pointed across the room. “You have fifteen minutes, Mr. McDaniel.”
“Thank you so very much, Nurse Ratched, for your kind assistance.” Zac snatched up the container from the counter and strode over to Delaney. “Gonna need a little help, sugar pie. We don’t have much time to get this done.”
“Is that what she said?”
“The nurse?” He jerked his head toward the desk. “Yeah. She implied none too subtly they’re gonna kick us out at closing time.”
“All right, Zac.” Delaney dropped the magazine and stood with a smirk. “It’s a dirty job, but I s’pose somebody’s gotta do it.”
“C’mon, wiseass.” He steered her to the exam room. “We’re booked for room number three. Unfortunately they only rent by the quarter hour.” He kept the tone light even as his gut tightened. He sure as hell didn’t need this kind of pressure right now. He’d never once failed to get it up before, but trepidation was creeping in, fucking with his mojo. Shit. He shoulda had a drink or two. He’d insisted that he didn’t have performance issues. Was he about to make a liar of himself?
Delaney preceded him into the room. She turned to face him when he closed the door, eyeing him nervously and twisting a lock of her blond hair. “So what now?” she asked, looking around the room. This one was just like the other had been. Small and sterile.
“If you strip down and put your feet in the stirrups we could play doctor,” he joked to break the ice. “I always wanted to see how those things worked.”
“Very funny, Zac.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“All of a sudden there’s a world of difference between imagining something like this and actually doing it. This just feels so . . . awkward.”
“I guess we could start by getting more comfortable,” he suggested. He set the specimen container on a nearby tray and then lifted Delaney onto the table. He stepped in close to her, nudging her knees apart. “Lean back a little,” he said. “Try to relax.”
She rested back on her elbows. “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”
“I’m fine,” Zac lied. “Comfortable?”
“Not really.” She grimaced. “I hate these rooms. They always remind me of unpleasant things. It’s too bright in here. I hate fluorescent lights. Could you maybe turn them off?”
Zac blew out a breath. “All right.” He took two steps to the wall switch, flicked it off, and cast them into total darkness. He took a step back toward Delaney and rammed his knee into something solid . . . and painful. He swore under his breath. “Damn it. Now I can’t even see you.” He felt for the wall and found the switch again. The lights flickered and sputtered and finally came back on. “Could you just shut your eyes?” he asked.
“How is that gonna help you?” she asked.
“If you relax, I’ll relax,” he said.
He leaned in to cup her head. Taking his cue, she upturned her face, offering her lips. She shut her eyes. He did the same. He moved in for the kiss. Their lips brushed just as someone in the next room flushed a toilet.
Zac recoiled with an exhaled curse. Couldn’t they at least have soundproofed these rooms? He glanced at the clock. The minutes were ticking down. So much for foreplay. It was time to get down to business. “Could we swap positions?” he suggested.