Royally Claimed - By Marie Donovan Page 0,24
need to keep blood plasma in your refrigerator, but some basic supplies could save somebody’s life.”
“Julia, Julia.” He roared with laughter and yanked her into his arms, nuzzling her hair. “Of course we have supplies. I wouldn’t let my mother and sisters and all those nieces and nephews stay out here with only soap and adhesive bandages. We even have one of those electronic heart defibrillators and were all trained to use it.”
“Hmmph,” she muttered into his chest. “You are a terrible tease, Franco Duarte.”
His laugh rumbled under her cheek. “I may be a terrible tease but you are a wonderful nurse.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll show you our first aid kit and you can tell me all the things we are missing.”
“Okay.” Somehow Julia didn’t quite feel like leaving the warmth of his embrace to inventory supplies. Frank was solid and reassuring and made her feel safe for the first time in months, despite warnings of storms and power outages. But he did have that splinter still lodged in his palm.
She forced herself to pull away. “Let’s get you fixed up.”
He raised his eyebrows and gave her an ironic half-smile, as if he knew she was running away from him. Or at least retreating strategically. “Come with me.” He took her hand in his uninjured one and walked to the foyer. Along one wall was a large dark wood bench with a turkey-red padded rectangular cushion. Frank pulled off the cushion to reveal a hinged lid in the seat.
He reached inside a cutout hole and lifted it, revealing several large boxes nestled inside the bench. “Here we are. The defibrillator—” he pointed to a bright red plastic container “—and the other supplies.” He pulled them out for her and she knelt down and eagerly opened them.
There was enough to take care of his splinter and much more. Compression bandages, regular bandages, antibiotics, painkillers, syringes, epinephrine pen injectors, even some bags of IV fluid and… “Ooh, blood clotting granules. These are wonderful! If you have a serious injury, you just sprinkle them in to stop the bleeding. That is so thoughtful of you, Frank.”
He gave her an incredulous smile. “The most surprising things impress you, Julia. Not to brag, but here I am, one of the only dukes in Portugal, pretty well-off, moderately good-looking and owner of a big estate and my own island, and what impresses you about me? The fact that I have blood clotting granules in my first aid kit. You truly amaze me.”
She shook a packet at him. “That other stuff is not life-and-death, Frank. This is.”
“You’re right. And I’ll impress you however I can.”
“You don’t need to impress me.”
“Don’t I?” He lifted a black brow.
No, he didn’t need to impress her. He always had. Even as a young man he had been kind and friendly to everyone, not at all arrogant like she had assumed a man of his position to be. Apparently after they’d first parted, he’d continued his education and learned almost every job on his estate so he could be a hands-on leader.
“Julia…” he murmured, raising his hand to cup her cheek. Fortunately she spotted the splinter before he could press it in farther.
“Geez, Frank, I have to get that out.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not like it’s a gunshot wound, Julia.”
She froze for a second and forced herself to relax. “No, it’s not. But I know what to do with those, too.”
“Really?” He gave her a sad look, his brown eyes darkening. “I suppose you would, working in a city emergency room. I’m sorry.”
“What for?” She busied herself looking for the antiseptic wash and tweezers. “We can usually fix them up.”
“Usually,” he echoed.
“Not all the time,” she allowed, standing up. “There’s better light in the kitchen.”
He realized she was trying to change the subject and followed her obediently for once. At the kitchen sink, she made quick work of the splinter and washed and bandaged the small wound. “You’ve had a tetanus booster in the past ten years?”
He nodded. “I cut myself on some rusty barbed wire a few years ago and got one then.” He rubbed his upper arm. “It made my arm hurt for three days.”
“Then you should be all set.” She let go of his hand but he stood there expectantly. “What?”
“Aren’t you going to kiss it to make it better?”
“Frank…” She started to blush.
“It really hurts.” He put on a pained look.
She doubted it. The antibiotic ointment had a small amount of numbing