Title: Toxic
Author: Nicole Blanchard
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publish Date: August 22, 2017
Review Source: IndieSagePR
"John Doe" was just another patient. A criminal.
As a prison nurse, I knew the rules: do my job, don’t get involved,
and never let a prisoner get under my skin.
I broke all three.
My passion, my obsession, my addiction. I risked my entire life so we
could be together.
I thought helping him escape from prison would be the hard part.
It turns out when you fall in love with a villain, you also turn into
one.
Coming Soon from Author Nicole
Blanchard!
Preorder on iBooks
Inmate #8942589 doesn't have a
name--at least not for anyone as low on the totem pole as me. Normally this
means V.I.P., high profile assets the government—or those who line their
pockets—hide away. Most of the time it's to keep them safe from contract hits
from the outside, but I already know he's the dangerous one.
It’s probably the blood.
A lot of prisoners get into fights
during transport with other inmates or sometimes officers, but someone must
have patched him up sometime between. There’s a bandage on his nose and tape on
the apple of his cheek. The blood in his mouth must be from a tooth that got
knocked out, maybe? Or a cut in his lip. Either way, there’s nothing that needs
my immediate attention, but it reminds me to be cautious.
With that in mind, I keep the
space between us as I begin his customary intake screening. “It says here you
didn’t do the medical history questionnaire with the officers before you they
brought you here.”
He nods, no longer smiling.
“Okay, we’ll start with that.”
Rather than get near his imposing presence, I fill out the forms myself. “Are
you seeing a physician for any ongoing illness or health issue?”
He shakes his head and I mark it
down. Aside from the scrapes and bruises, I don’t need the evaluation to tell
me he’s in perfect health. Vitality exudes from him and though every instinct
borne from years of lessons at Vic’s hands tells me to keep my distance, I
can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have his attention on me in a
different setting.
I glance back down at the
questionnaire to redirect my thoughts. As the gears in my brain grind to a
halt, I tap the pen on the side of the clip board, trying in vain to rally the
remains of my professionalism.
My gaze lands on the next question
and I latch on to it with a tinge of desperation I hope he can’t detect. “Are
you taking any prescription or over-the-counter medication?”
He gives another shake of his head
and I wonder if we'll go through this whole interview without him ever saying a
word. I smother the part of me yearning to hear his voice by replaying the
snarling tones my husband likes to employ when he snaps. With it drowning out
all the curiosity, my focus returns. The inmate answers the rest of the medical
history the same way, nodding or shaking his head in answer. I learn he’s never
had a major surgery, has no allergies, and has no familial history of any major
diseases without ever knowing his name or the sound of his voice.
Once I come to the end of the
medical history, I stop worrying about him trying anything. If he was going to
hurt me, he would have done it by now. I’ve done these intake screenings a
thousand times, so once I get in the groove, it gets easier to forget my first
impression of him along with my own intrigue and go through the motions.
Rooting myself in routine, I
“Let’s get you on the scale now so I can get a record of your current weight.”
He grunts his assent, which I take
as permission, and I nod to the scale by the office door. Despite his bulk, he
moves with the grace of a feline as he crosses the room. The scale clangs as he
steps up and I busy myself with adjusting the scales and making notes on the
chart.
When I glance up again, I have to
stifle a gasp because he’s staring at me with startling intensity. Blatant
curiosity makes his gaze sharp and causes my stomach to flip with nerves and
arousal. The likes of which I haven’t felt in, oh, years. The same reaction
guaranteed to get staffmembers of Blackthorne in ten different kinds of federal
trouble.
“Uh, let’s get your height now.”
I indicate the measuring tape
affixed to the wall next to us and he shuffles over obediently, all the while
his eyes on me with a puzzled expression, like I’m a problem and he’s
determined to puzzle out the solution. He submits to my handling as I record
his height. Six feet of animal male towers over my five foot six frame.
Without thinking, I shove up the
long sleeves of my scrubs as I record his measurements and wonder when I can
take my first break. My mouth and throat desperately need a cool, restorative
drink.
All at once, the temperature
within the room plummets and my whole body freezes in response, sensing the
urgent need to flee before I even realize what caused the change. I scan the
room, certain I'll find my husband waiting, watching. Instead, I encounter the
inmate’s eyes trained on my wrists. My own gaze follows his and my mouth falls
open at the sight revealed by my thoughtless action. His own muscles have gone
as rigid as stone.
Dark, purpling bruises encircle my
wrists. Sweat beads on my upper lip and my ears ring. Frozen in stasis, I can’t
think of an appropriate response or excuse—not that I’d need to give him, of
all people, an excuse. After a moment of suspense-laden pause where my eyes
flit up to his narrowed ones, I turn my back on him and head to the office to
call the officers back for their prisoner.
I don’t make it that far.
I should have known better. Every instinct
since I stepped into the room has been telling me to keep my guard up because
the moment I took my eyes off him, he’d pounce.
And, fuck me, it’s exactly what
happens.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Blanchard lives
in Mississippi with her family and their menagerie of animals. She chooses each
day to chase her own fairy tale even if they contain their fair share of
dragons. She is married to her best friend and owns her own business.
Nicole survives on a diet of too many books and substantial amounts of
root beer and slim jims. When not reading, she’s lavishing attention on her
family or inhaling every episode of The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory.
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