Twenty-Four
My cell rang, pulling me from sleep. Checking the display, I saw it was the hospital so I slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Jameson. “Hello?”
“Tish, hi, it’s Debbie. We had a few call-outs today and we’re running a bit thin; do you think you could come in today for a few hours?”
“Hey, Debbie, I was supposed to go shooting with Jameson today, but I guess I can go another time. When do you need me?”
“Come in as soon as you can, Tish.”
“Okay, I’ll get there within the hour.”
“Thanks, Tish, I owe ya.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I chuckled, then hung up.
“Blowing me off for work, I see how it is,” Jameson said from the bed.
Leaning against the bedpost, I looked at the feast before my eyes. The damn man was gorgeous. He lounged naked beneath the sheets, long legs sticking out from the bottom, his calves bulging with muscles. His abs were flat and clearly defined, leading up to a tapered chest, his pecs sprinkled with tats and a smattering of hair. His arms were heavily muscled, with tattoos swirling around his biceps. My girly bits stood up, taking notice; it didn’t matter how many times he took me—I craved him.
“You keep looking at me like that and you’ll never make it to work,” he growled. Even his voice was sexy.
“I can’t help it; you are one beautiful man.”
He grinned. “Glad you think so, babe.” I glanced at his groin and could see his erection tenting the sheets. He saw where I was looking and said, “No worries, love, it’s just my morning wood. Down, boy,” he said, giving him a rub.
I giggled. “I’m going to take a quick shower then get to work.” Walking away from the bed, I rummaged through my drawers, grabbing some panties and a bra.
“Where’s my good morning kiss, babe?” he asked.
I grinned. “I’m not stupid enough to get that close to you with that monster you’ve got waiting for me under that sheet.” Wagging two fingers at him, I blew him a kiss. “There you go, sweets.”
He growled at me again, so I scurried into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
As I came up behind him after my shower, I heard him twisting the lid onto my to-go cup. Smiling my thanks, I took the cup he held out. “I don’t know how long Debbie needs me to work today; do you mind if I take your truck instead of you driving me on the bike?” I still had a prospect shadowing me whenever I went out, but most of the time I didn’t even notice them anymore. He tossed me the keys and I caught them, swinging them around my finger. “Thanks, sweets.” Picking up my backpack, I went to him, making a place for myself between his spread thighs as he rested against the countertop. I snuggled my breasts against his warm chest; I could feel the heat from his body through my thin scrub top.
Leaning forward, I kissed him. “I could get used to this life,” I told him.
He took a sip of his coffee before replying, “You better, babe, because I’m not letting you go.” He patted my ass lightly, and I flinched. “Still feeling it, babe?” He grinned and I blushed. “Good to know you’ll be thinking about me every time you sit down today.” I could feel the blush climbing up my neck by now. Sipping more coffee, he watched me. “Love that look on you,” he said.
That had me looking up at him questioningly. “What look?” I asked.
“Happy, ready to take on the world,” he replied.
“I am happy, Jameson. It’s because being here with you has made me feel like I’ve got a home and a purpose. I’ve waited a long time to say this to someone. Never in a million years did I think it would be you.”
Taking a breath, marshaling my courage, I told him, “I’m in love with you, Jameson. I would do anything, go anywhere, be anything you need me to be. As long as I’m by your side, everything will be okay.”
He put his cup down. Pulling me closer, he said, “I love you too, Tish. I need you in my life. Babe, I never thought I could be happy with anything more than going down the road on my bike with my brothers at my back—‘til you landed in my life again. I’m not a man of flowery words; I’m blunt to a fault. I didn’t care what anyone else thinks of how I lived my life—until you, Tish. I want to be a good man, because you deserve one.”
“Jameson.” I paused, holding his eyes. “You are that man to me, bigger than life, ready to defend me, hold me, keep me safe… I couldn’t ask for more.”
He lowered his head ‘til our foreheads touched. “Love you, Tish,” he breathed, his arms holding me tighter. His kiss this time was different. It was intense; he was pouring all the emotion he had a hard time expressing with words into the meeting of our lips. Letting him lead, I accepted his kiss, taking it into my soul.
I sniffed and, trying to lighten the mood, stomped my foot. “Do not make me cry, Jameson. I have to get to work but I’m not going with my eyes red and my nose all clogged up and runny.” Kissing his lips once more, I backed out of his arms then walked to the front door.
He picked up his cup and was back to his relaxed stance against the counter, but his eyes were light with emotion. “See you later, babe,” he called.
Waving, I replied, “Damn right, you will,” and walked out the door to his laughter.
I waved at Murph, threw my backpack onto the front seat of the truck, then stuck my cell phone in the cup holder and my gun in the console. Scrubs and hospital policy made it impossible to carry when I was on duty, but Jameson insisted I always have it with me. I’d gotten comfortable carrying it since we spent a lot of time at the range. It gave me a sense of peace, plus he was happy I had a way to protect myself when he couldn’t be with me. I told him I didn’t think I needed a keeper, that Murph and Gears had better things to do than babysit me. Jameson and Dukes disagreed, since they hadn’t been able to locate Aden. ‘Til they did, I would have a tail and I’d better like it, ‘cause it ain’t changing.
I drove, sipping my coffee, listening to Sam Hunt sing about his girl’s curves. That song always brought a smile to my face; throw in the fact that he was gorgeous, and he had the whole package. I bopped along, throwing my arms up and accidentally knocking my phone onto the floor.
“Shit.” I tried to toe it over with my foot but couldn’t get it close enough to pick up. I wasn’t paying attention to the drive, almost missing the turn into the hospital but swinging the truck into the turn at the last minute before the light turned red. My foot was still over the phone, trying to stop it from sliding; I didn’t notice that Murph didn’t make the light.
I drove around to the employee parking lot at the back of the building. As usual for this time of day, there was no place to park. The two shifts were overlapping, so there were both overnight and morning shift workers parked in the lot.
Finally, seeing a car backing up at the end of the row by the woods, I waited for them to pull out and pulled into the spot. Shutting off the truck, I reached down for my cell when the driver’s door was flung open.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The rain from the night before reflected off the knife he held. Aden had found me.
I was looking into the face of madness; his eyes were soulless empty sockets. They spit hatred, as well as lust for revenge. Pure evil radiated from this man. He smelled like he hadn’t showered for days; stale sweat wafted off him. He was unkempt, his clothes creased and dirty.
He yanked me from the truck and, stumbling, I used the momentum to scoop up my cell, jamming it in my sock with the hope that he didn’t notice.
He leered in my face; his breath reeked of cigarettes and old coffee. “Thought you’d seen the last of me, bitch, leaving me for dead on the floor back home? Thought I’d die from stabbing me, didn’t you? You think our last little encounter was painful for you? You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he sneered.
I looked around for Murph but didn’t see him.
“Looking for your guard? He’s occupied with a tree branch that is conveniently blocking the entrance. You’re not that smart, cunt.” Glancing around to see if anyone was paying attention, he curved an arm behind my neck, locking me to his side like a pair of lovers would stand. I didn’t let the door of the truck close all the way, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was unfocused and concentrating on getting me away. His head was swiveling, looking around constantly, and his hands were unsteady like he was coming down from something.
“You’re going to walk to my car and get in,” he said in my ear. “You make a sound or a move I don’t like and it will be very painful,” he said, jabbing my side with his knife. I felt it prick my skin through my scrub. “I will gut you like a deer and leave you bleeding out on the sidewalk, hear me?” I nodded my head that I understood, allowing him to lead me to his car. He opened the passenger door, checked again for anyone looking, then helped me get in. “Sit and don’t move,” he ordered.
He got in the driver’s side and reached across me for the seatbelt. He ran his hands over my scrubs, squeezing my breast hard and laughing when I winced. Clicking the belt in place, he said, “You hiding anything under that top, bitch? Lift it and let me see. You did it to me once—it won’t happen again.”
I lifted the top and he slid his hands around the waistband of my pants and down to my crotch. Cupping my sex, he tapped my mound. “I can’t wait to fuck this juicy cunt. I’ve been dreaming of payback and it’s coming out of your ass.”
He moved his hand inside my panties, cruelly shoving two fingers inside my dry passage, his fingernails scraping the walls painfully. Pulling his hand free, he said, “This will have to wait; we have to move before your bodyguard finds you missing.”
He backed out of the parking space and drove towards the exit. I saw Murph helping a couple maintenance guys moving the downed tree limb. Aden grabbed my head and held it against his chest, like we were two lovers. Murph didn’t look up as we passed and I was too afraid to do anything to attract his attention. We drove on past them and he turned onto the highway—then, the car accelerated, taking me away from safety and Jameson.