Hot New Release
Come see how Abby copes with her Dom in Paging Dr. Turov, by the talented Author Gibby Campbell.
Dr. Victor Turov is at the top of his game. A world-renowned heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, he is also wealthy, good looking, and in complete control of his life. The only problem is he needs the right kind of woman, and a good submissive is hard to find.
Enter Abby Shea, a young and beautiful widow, who runs into Dr. Turov while volunteering. Sparks fly between the two, but something about the good doctor scares Abby off. Victor has to aggressively pursue her until she agrees to a date. Now he just needs to convince Abby his lifestyle is something she can live with.
Chapter One
Abby was rushing. She had been taking a nap when the hospice call came in. The patient was not expected to make it through the night, and they needed her to sit vigil with the dying man. This would be her first to take place in a hospital. Most vigils occurred in nursing homes with older patients that had no family. This man was younger, and his family was not going to make it in time.
Abby hurriedly secured her dark blond hair in two long pigtail braids. It would have to do on such short notice. She did not have time for makeup, but she swiped some concealer under her eyes in a half-assed effort to perk them up. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. At twenty-nine she looked more like a nineteen-year-old. Her green eyes were too big in her narrow, heart-shaped face. Her figure was slight, and even though she was five feet nine, people often assumed she was much shorter.
Abby grabbed an apple and some crackers from the kitchen. She debated if she had time to swing through Starbucks, but then she realized the ICU probably had coffee. The information from hospice was on her printer. She grabbed that and the book she was currently reading. The patient would likely be unconscious, and the book would give her something to do.
Abby hopped in her car and plugged in the address on her GPS. The Cleveland Clinic was massive. Even though she volunteered there every Wednesday afternoon, she had no idea how to find the heart center. As she pulled into traffic, she called out the number for Rachel on her Bluetooth. Her friend would not be pleased she was canceling their craft get-together, but at least she had a good reason this time.
Rachel picked up on the first ring. “You had better not be canceling on me! I already bought the supplies.”
Abby sighed and tried to explain. “I’m sorry, Rach. Hospice just called, and they need someone to sit with a dying man. They can’t find anyone else to do it.”
She could sense Rachel’s disapproval through the silence. Then her friend’s lecturing voice came over the phone.
“Abby Shea, patients die all the time. He won’t be alone. There will be nurses around him. You have to quit doing this. It’s not healthy.”
She could hear the concern in her friend’s voice. Of course, Rachel would say that. She was a nurse practitioner at Fairview Hospital and saw more than her fair share of death. She was also a good friend and had been protective of Abby ever since the accident. She knew Rachel thought she was reliving her own experiences with Nate. But it was more than that. Abby wanted to help others, and she wanted to stay busy as much as possible. She could not explain it to her friend, but somehow she found stillness in her volunteer work.
She tried a peace offering. “How about I come over tomorrow night. I’ll buy us pizza, we can do the pumpkin craft, and we can drink wine. Joel can do his stargazing, and if it gets late I’ll just crash there.”
Rachel reluctantly agreed. “That’s fine. But if you cancel on me again, I am officially disowning you as a friend! Where is your vigil?”
Abby grinned. “The clinic. And yes, I will be safe. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
They hung up, and Abby concentrated on the road. It was getting dark out, and Cleveland rush hour was in full force. The clinic was not in the safest neighborhood, but she trusted her car would get her there with no problem. She barely paid attention to the landmarks whizzing by. Her sense of direction was awful in the daylight, but at night it became so much worse. Her trusty GPS never let her down, though, and twenty minutes later Abby pulled to a stop in front of the clinic’s heart center. She had been lucky to obtain a parking spot right on the street. She hurried out of the car, pulled her hospice badge from her purse, and headed inside.
Chapter Two
Victor scowled at the latest lab reports. The patient wasn’t as stable as he would like him to be, but they had no choice. His aortic valve was a mess, and if they didn’t replace it now the man would surely die. Victor slugged down the remains of his coffee and looked at his watch. The anesthesia team should be about ready for him. He punched in Yuri’s phone number on the cell and impatiently waited for him to pick up. The asshole waited until the fourth ring.
“What the hell took you so long?”
Yuri responded calmly over the phone. “Dr. Turov. It’s always good to hear your friendly voice. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Listen, you sarcastic bastard. I have to cancel our dinner plans tonight. I have a patient I need to open up.” He glanced at his watch and stood to go.
Yuri tutted on the phone. “Victor. You need to slow down. You are the chief of cardiothoracic surgery now. Surely you can find someone else to do this procedure.”
“Not this one. It’s too risky, and the man is only forty-four.”
Yuri was unfazed. “You can’t save them all, my friend. And you need a life for yourself. I was going to tell you about a new woman I met at the club. I think she would be good for you.”
Victor paused halfway out the door. He thought about what his friend had said. Yuri understood his tastes when it came to women. It had been three years since his last real relationship. Lord knew he needed to get laid. But he had tired of the old lifestyle. The women he had dated were just in it for his money or his control. The older he got, the less alluring that became. Hell, he was thirty-seven now. It wasn’t worth it anymore, especially considering how busy his career had gotten.
“I’m not interested.”
He could hear the humor over the phone. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten all soft and want a regular relationship? That would mean I’m a better psychiatrist than I thought.”
For the first time all day Victor laughed. Dr. Yuri Kopyev was an esteemed and excellent psychiatrist at the University Hospital. He spent his days helping bipolar and schizophrenic patients navigate their frightening worlds. He was also Victor’s best friend, and the two had traversed medical school in Moscow before moving to the States. Yuri had lectured him for years about the perils of his chosen lifestyle, but he had also accepted it as part of who Victor was.
Victor set the record straight. “No, you suck as a doctor. And I have no interest in some boring, nagging relationship. I still like my women soft, compliant, and wet. But I don’t have the time or the energy for any of that right now.”
There was silence over the line. Finally, Yuri spoke, but only to say, “Okay, my friend. Good luck with your surgery. We’ll reschedule when things are less hectic.”
The two hung up, and Victor headed to the prep room. He knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. Yuri had been bugging him more frequently about his lack of social life. This was hypocritical considering his friend hadn’t been on a date in over a year. But the esteemed psychiatrist made it his business to annoy Victor whenever possible. Two could play at that game, and Victor made a mental note to point out Yuri’s growing waistline the next time he saw him. It was, after all, a sign of future heart disease. As he walked into the surgery, he looked at his team and started barking out orders. It was going to be a long night.
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