An Officer but No Gentleman Read Online Free PDF

into her cabin when she wasn’t there , but decided that placing the clean, folded quilt and the wash basin in her quarters was not the worst infraction.  She never let any cabin boy clean her quarters unless she was present.  Most of them would have used the time alone to snoop and Charlie always guarded her secrets. 
    Unfortunately, it wasn’t Benjy who brought the tea. Brody Kirk emerged from the ship’s belly with a tin cup in each hand.  In many ways , Charlie felt closer to the doctor than she did to her father.  He had been her teacher and as such, they spent countless hours together.  Where her father was stern and exacting, Dr. Kirk was kind and encouraging. He even encouraged her to become his loblolly boy or as some people called it; surgeon’s mate.
    “Two cups?”
    “Morty’s hung over.”
    “The other one is for you?” he asked, one eyebrow shooting upwards.
    “Aye.”
    Br ody Kirk looked at her askance.  “Do we need to talk privately?”
    In other words , was she having female problems?  Warmth reddened her face. “No, I just have a headache.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue.  She did have a headache from too much brandy and not enough sleep, but she needed it because she was incredibly sore from the walloping she took during her fight.
    “You must really have a bad headache if you’re asking for willow bark tea.  I know how much you hate the taste.”
    It was true. The bitterness of the brew was sometimes worse than the malady.  When she was younger, it made her gag, but now, with effort, she willed herself to swallow it down.
    Brody Kirk handed her one of the mugs.  “Drink up, my boy,” he said and laughed at the expression she made as she threw it back , drinking it in large gulps.  As she held the empty cup towards him, he slapped her on the back. 
    Charlie winced in pain.
    “Charlie?  What the hell is going on?”
    “I’m just sore.  I must have picked up something wrong,” Charlie lied.
    The doctor scrutinized her expression, and then, noticing a slight swelling in her jaw, he moved her head to the side to put the swelling into the sunshine.  “Did you get into another brawl?  Damnation, Charlie!  When are you going to stop this nonsense?”  The doctor thrust the second cup into the helmsman’s hand. “You’re in charge, man.  See that Ness gets this.”  Then he turned to Charlie, “Let’s go.”
    “It can wait ‘til the watch is over,” Charlie protested.
    “Maybe I should ask your father if it can wait.”
    Knowing she had no choice, Charlie reluctantly left the bridge.  “Nothing’s broken,” she said as she followed him to his quarters where he had set up a medical bay.
    He handed her a sheet.   “I’ll step out for a minute.”
    “I’m fine, really. You don’t need to do this,” Charlie said, fighting to keep her voice from rising in pitch.
    The doctor’s eyes narrowed at her.  “The more you resist, the worse I know it is.”
    He knew her well, too well.  
    Within a few minutes, she had removed her clothing above the waist except the strip she used to bind her breasts and wrapped the sheet around herself allowing it to drape loosely around her back.  The doctor knocked and waited for her answer before coming in.  Her face burned with embarrassment, her eyes never leaving the floor as he moved behind her.
    “Dear God,” he gasped at the sight of the massive swollen bruise stretching the width of her back between her shoulders. He tugged slightly at the sheet and his finger slipped into her bindings, pulling down.
    Charlie clamped her arms down at her side as embarrassment flooded her body with heat.
    “You’re going to have to take this off, Charlie. It’s too tight for me to see to the bottom of the bruise. I’ll turn around. Tell me when you have the sheet back in place.”
    Charlie wanted to cry. Could this be any more humiliating? She craned her neck around to make sure Dr. Kirk turned away before she removed the