Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

1. Teegan

Chapter one

Teegan

“ T eegan, when are you going to come to visit us, sweetie?” my mom whined into the phone, and I groaned internally as my pager went off for the second time while I fixed my messy, curly hair in its clip.

It was nothing major, but my attending physician was waiting for me, and here I was, trying to get my mom off of my back, as snappy as that may sound. But I didn’t even get to have my morning coffee since I was running late!

“Mama, you know I’m busy. I promise to make time at the end of this month or next month, okay? I have to run,” I said quickly, and I could practically see her pouting in my mind.

“Okay, my love. Just know your father and I are so proud of you! Call me when you can.”

I responded with a quick “I love you,” ended the call, and bolted out of the bathroom as I pulled on my white coat.

I was the baby of three children, and my two older brothers were always busy and working, so my parents found joy in calling me to chat… knowing I couldn’t say no or ignore their calls even when I was swamped.

I am currently in my third year of medical school, and this month, I’m facing my clinical in Emergency Medicine. I admit that the hospital is beautiful, and the nurses and staff are very helpful, but the doctor I am working with seems to get up on the wrong side of the bed every morning.

Some of the other doctors are very nice, and I envy my med-school classmates who are working with them. But for now, I have to just suck it up and deal with—

“Teegan!”

—Dr. Wyatt.

I gulped softly as I quickly approached his office and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

“I’m s-sorry, Dr. Wyatt,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice steady, and he shook his head.

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. Do you have any idea how many patients are waiting outside in the waiting room and how short of staff we are?!” he screamed angrily at me, and I bit my lip, almost flinching.

He was a very intimidating man: tall, with broad shoulders and a scowl that could send someone flying. I was happy to be given more tasks as a med student, but it felt overwhelming at times since I didn’t have all the answers or know most of the procedures without asking for his help. In times like this, I miss my rotation in family medicine, where the biggest worry my physician and I had was choosing what to eat for lunch...

“I-I know, I was just—”

“Save it. Give me the report of the patient records and details you took earlier,” he said, crossing his arms. I nodded quickly as I grabbed my notepad from my back pocket. “NOW!” he shouted, and my hands practically trembled as I turned the pages and promptly read what I had encountered in the patient rooms.

“In exam room #1, the patient presents with a deep laceration to the left leg. X-rays were clear, with no fractures or shifting in the bones, and they will be stitched and sent home with a mild dose of Motrin per your request. In exam room #2, the patient presents with lower back pain. CT scans and X-rays were clear, and they will be admitted to the hospital for further evaluation. And lastly, in room #4, the patient presents with drowsiness and vomiting. We’re testing her blood and urine and ordering a few more scans,” I rushed, doing my best to keep my words cohesive and firm, and he didn’t respond. Which is kind of a good thing.

“I have a patient in room three who is waiting to be seen, but I have a bit of charting left to do… Go do a full work-up and exam, then come to me with your findings,” he ordered, walking over to his desk.

I bit my lip. You’re setting yourself up to cry in a few seconds, Teegan.

“Why haven’t you moved? Do you really need me to repeat it for you?” Dr. Wyatt asked, and I shook my head quickly.

“N-no, it’s just that Margaret t-told me not to go into patients’ rooms that are classified… She said it’s best I let you examine them.”

He looked over at me in anger, his eyes practically fuming with rage.

“Well, it’s a good thing Margaret isn’t in fucking charge, and I’m the head of this department. Now go,” he seethed, and I nodded quickly as tears threatened to come out of my eyes.

Happy thoughts, Teegan, happy thoughts.

I walked over to the computer to see if there was anything about the patient that I could see, and there wasn’t much… all that was noted was the reason for the visit, which was for a migraine and a name… Levi Amante.

Oh, how I wish it could’ve been Levi Ackerman. At least then I would get to fangirl over him as I helped him… even if he was from an anime .

Logging out of the computer, I quickly sanitized my hands and knocked on the exam room door. I heard a muffled “Come in,” and I opened the door, speaking as I closed the door behind me.

“Hello, Mr. Amante. My name is Teegan, and I’m the med student on your team today. I’m just going to give you a quick exam, and Dr. Wyatt will be in shortly to assess your condition,” I said softly, grabbing my gloves from the wall.

I glanced over to finally face my patient when my heart rate involuntarily increased. My God, he’s pretty… He even reminds me of Levi Ackerman. Only he’s much more handsome and significantly taller.

His piercing hazel green eyes remained fixed on me as I shakily pulled on my gloves. His jawline seemed sharp, almost as sharp as a knife, as his five o’clock shadow paired rather nicely with it. His black hair was both thick and silky, making me question his brand of shampoo for a split second.

“…Teegan,” he said softly in his deep voice that held a slight accent as he tested my name on his tongue. I gulped softly as I nodded my head, my blush practically burning my face.

“Yes, sir… Unfortunately, your file is classified, and I can’t read your condition in more depth. Do you mind telling me what brought you to the emergency room?” I approached the hospital bed, and he gave me a head-to-toe glance before focusing his eyes on mine.

“I have a migraine that won’t go away, no matter how much Excedrin or Tylenol I take,” he groaned, and I nodded in understanding.

“Understood. So I’m just going to do a quick check-up and see how you’re doing on a surface level, and then we will run some tests. Sound good?” I asked, and he nodded, causing me to blush even more as he responded in a different language.

“Whatever you want, Tesoro. ”

Nevertheless, I got started with his exam, checking his pupils, ears, reflexes, and strength until—

“Is there anywhere else that you’re feeling any pain?” I asked, and he nodded, sitting up slightly.

“My shoulder is a bit sore,” he muttered, and I nodded.

“Do you mind taking off your jacket?”

He shrugged off his black jacket slowly, causing my eyes to widen dramatically as I was met with an unruly sight. There was blood all over his shoulder and a bullet hole through his shirt. What a fine job of examining your patient, Teegan...

I quickly went over to him and examined the wound as my hands carefully touched him.

“You’ve been shot!” I exclaimed.

He spoke rather calmly. “What an observation, Tesoro… it seems that I have been,” he muttered, looking at my frantic movements rather than worrying about the actual bullet in his arm.

“No wonder your migraine won’t go down! You’re losing blood, and you have a bullet in your arm!” I stressed, trying not to scream as I pulled away slightly to call Dr. Wyatt immediately. However, I couldn’t go far as Mr. Amante had grabbed my hand with the same arm he’d been shot in.

“You have to fix me, Tesoro,” he muttered as if answering why I couldn’t leave the room to get real help. My eyes widened at his words that seemed utterly insane.

“What! I can’t. I need to call Dr. Wyatt a-and the nurse—” I began, and he shushed me softly as he sat up and caressed my cheek. My words got caught in my throat as he effectively silenced me. WOW, what a step up from not getting any male attention to getting this much all at once—Teegan, please, the man is bleeding out.

“I don’t want anyone else but you to help me. My file is classified for a reason, and right now, I’m trusting you to do what you can to help me.”

I shook my head. “B-but Mr. Amante, I’m only a student. I barely know how to stitch with my suture kit, much less an open wound from a bullet,” I whispered, trying to convince him, but again, he seemed undeterred.

“As of right now, Tesoro, I only trust you,” he muttered once again, not budging when I tried to pull my arm, and I bit my lip.

“But we just met…” I whispered, and he narrowed his eyes at me.

“And the last person I spoke to shoved me into a room without a second glance. At least you had the decency to ask me what was wrong.”

“Mr. Amante… you were shot. That’s a very important detail to tell a nurse or doctor. You don’t just have a small migraine. You’re still losing blood and—” I tried to reason, and he cut me off.

“Now, Teegan,” he said firmly, but thankfully, not angrily.

I debated for a few seconds, and realizing he wouldn’t let me go if I didn’t help him, I reluctantly sighed as he waited expectantly.

“I have to leave the room to get the supplies to take out the bullet and clean your wound.”

He looked at me for a moment before tightening his hand around mine for a split second.

“If anyone else walks in here, little girl... You’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” he warned, sending a weird signal through my body and causing my blush to deepen.

Gulping softly, I spoke. “...I-In trouble with you?” I asked stupidly, and he squeezed my hand as another warning.

“With me, baby. Now go, and don’t be long,” he muttered.

I nodded quickly as I exited the room, closing the door behind me. Approaching the nurse cart as my heart raced, I looked through the drawers, going unnoticed by much of the staff, as I grabbed a bottle of saline, a syringe, tweezers, and a suture with string.

God, what am I doing? I could get in so much trouble! This is definitely against the hospital’s policies and strict violations of HIPAA... But what trouble would I want to face? Dr. Wyatt or Mr. Amante?

Something tells me no matter how terrifying Dr. Wyatt is, Mr. Amante is definitely scarier.

Going back to his room, I blushed as he was now sitting up on the bed, and his shirt was entirely off. He looked over at me and licked his bottom lip as I closed the door. I noted in my head that he most definitely worked out due to his chiseled and defined chest... for medical purposes, of course.

“Good girl…” he whispered, and I gulped softly as another tingle went through my body, but I ignored it as I cleaned the wound with an abundance of saline and grabbed the syringe with the numbing medicine, lidocaine. My hands shook softly as I approached him, and I felt him place his hand on my waist slowly, caressing it. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have squealed at such close contact, but I was absolutely panicking, and oddly enough, his soft caresses were helping me stay grounded.

“I’ve only done this once on a real person,” I whispered to him as I recalled giving my classmate the flu shot and practicing on a bunch of fake models.

“You can do it, Tesoro… I believe in you,” he muttered sincerely, and I bit my lip as I injected the numbing agent into his arm. Surprisingly, he didn’t wince at all. Once it settled, I slowly worked on extracting the bullet.

Thankfully, it was small, and once I removed it, I couldn’t help but smile as there were no visible leftover fragments, and the wound didn’t look too severe. I wanted to caution him that an X-ray or CAT scan would be beneficial to make sure the fragments were actually all gone... but something told me he wouldn’t want to listen.

Soon, I began to stitch his skin, and he sat silently, watching me slowly suture his wound and place stitches. Once I was done, I pulled away and sighed.

“It’s not perfect, and frankly… I don’t even think this was legal.”

He stood up to his full height, probably 6’1” or 6’2”, towering over my 5’2” frame, as he walked over to the mirror to gaze at my stitches.

“Not perfect? You did amazing, Tesoro.”

“You really think so?” I asked, feeling as if I’d been nothing but a disappointment throughout this whole rotation.

He turned around to walk over to me, and I looked up at him, in awe of his beauty. He caressed my face in his hand and tilted his head.

“Of course I do. You did a fantastic job,” he praised, and I nodded, thanking him. He checked the time and pulled away as he put his shirt on, much to my dismay.

“I have to go,” he muttered, and I bit my lip as a frown came to my face. He looked over to me and crouched slightly as if silently telling me to spill.

“Dr. Wyatt is going to b-be angry with me since he didn’t see you, and you’re leaving already,” I said softly, and he shook his head.

“He won’t. I’ll talk to the nurses when I get some more pain meds and antibiotics… and if he’s mean to you again, I’ll kill him ,” he said without batting an eyelash, and I giggled as his joke definitely lightened my mood.

“Okay, Mr. Amante… please be careful and stay away from guns, okay? They can do worse than just give you a little migraine,” I advised him, and he simply looked down at me silently, his eyes analyzing me.

“...I hope to see you soon, Tesoro mio,” he replied, pushing the fallen baby hair behind my ear, and I girlishly giggled internally.

Oh, he smells so good… just one close sniff, and I won’t ever ask again... I promise.

Sadly, his phone rang, and I reluctantly opened the door for him to leave. He passed by me slowly, and I did my best to take another whiff of his godly scent. Oh gosh, I think I’m gonna be an addict.