Chapter Four
Doc
There aren’t many people capable of distracting me from work and there are barely any who could steal my attention completely from it. My work is everything, or so I thought.
When I was in the military, I worked as a field medic in some of the most volatile situations.
I’ve treated men on the battlefield, and my focus never wavered.
The same could be said about my time in prison.
On more occasions than one, I found myself in the middle of a prison fight, kneeling next to a man who’d been stabbed, trying to stop him from bleeding to death.
I was aware of what was happening around me and how my life could be impacted in the moment, but I never once let it rattle me.
Until her.
Working in the same room as the woman I’ve jerked off to countless times and not touching her is a true testament to my steel control.
I’ve never been one of relationships and my interest in women has always been fleeting at best, but something shifted the second I met Cara, and it moved again when I kissed her, felt her shiver under my caress and whimper against my lips.
I’ve relived that moment so many times in my head that I’ve worn out the memory. If we hadn’t been interrupted, I could have easily taken things further, made her body tremble and come alive under my hands and mouth. I have come close to doing just that in the encounters we’ve shared since.
But I’m nothing if not a patient man, choosing to take things slow so I don’t push Cara for too much too fast. Instead, I enjoy the way her breath hitches when my hand “accidentally” touches her waist or how her cheeks heat when I look at her a beat longer than is considered polite.
At first, we stole moments alone in a hallway or the kitchen.
It is like there is a magnet between us that pulls us together, and we’d be kissing before either of us could make sense of what was happening, only to break apart at the sound of footsteps, my cock hard as nails and her face flushed prettily.
Finally, she invited me into her small studio apartment under the guise of getting something.
The first time was a ruse, and it came to no surprise to either of us when we found ourselves making out on her couch, my hands trailing her body greedily.
Caressing her soft tits and down her silky-smooth skin, touching her in ways I could tell no other man ever had.
A virgin. Jesus Christ!
The thought that no other man has brought her pleasure only makes me want to do that and so much more.
Show her that a man’s touch doesn’t always have to cause pain.
Which is the exact reason I have been holding back, limiting our touches, and focusing on giving her pleasure while doing my best to ignore my own.
But I’m slipping.
Just yesterday, I pulled her into a coat closet, kissed, and touched her until she was sobbing for release. I could have taken things further. I almost did.
I nearly yanked her little sundress up and plunged my cock into her tightness, but I fought for control.
Her sweet lips and the little pleasured noises she made nearly seduced me into spinning her around and pounding into her.
Images of Cara kneeling in that closet as I thrust into her from behind flooded my thoughts until there were stars dancing at the corner of my eyes, but…
I couldn’t. I’d promised myself to give her time.
The line I had drawn between us was chipping away at my sanity, but I’d vowed not to cross it so I pushed down my desires and kissed her.
With blood roaring in my head, I kissed and touched her in ways I imagine no other man ever has. Brought her to an orgasm with my fingers then fled the closet with my hard cock threatening to pop the zipper, jerking myself raw when I got back to my place.
I wanted her yesterday in that coat closet, and I want her now.
I need her.
Lord above, I want Cara more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life, but I need to remind myself who it is I’m dealing with.
She’s not just any woman to be seduced for a night then forgotten.
In those beautiful eyes, she carries the pain of a past that cannot be erased by a single touch.
In fact, a part of me isn’t sure she’s ready to be vulnerable with a man after all she was put through.
But Christ, it doesn’t erase the fact that I am desperate for her.
Focus, goddamnit!
“Your injuries are healing nicely,” I tell Abby, fighting to keep my attention on her. “Are you having any trouble sleeping without the medication?”
When she doesn’t immediately respond, I look up to find her chewing on her lip. “Some,” she murmurs. “But it has nothing to do with the injuries. I barely feel any pain at all anymore.”
“Then why are you having trouble sleeping?”
She looks to her left, and I follow her eyes to the man standing in the far corner of the room.
My brows arch at Ransom. He’s been spending a lot of time here, in this room specifically, protective of the woman lying in the bed, and although I have my own suspicions about what might be happening between them, I keep them to myself.
“Abby,” I nudge her gently, returning her focus to me.
“You are my patient, and you can tell me anything and it will stay between us. But I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.
Do you want me to ask Ransom to give us some privacy? ”
“No!” she bursts out, nearly panicked. “I mean, no. He can stay. I-I feel safer with him here. It’s my ex. I’ve been having nightmares, afraid he’ll show up again and cause trouble—”
“Abby,” Cara interjects, stepping forward and taking her hand. “I told you the Steel Rebels are taking care of it, and you have nothing to worry about.”
“But—”
“Tell me, is your ex capable of fighting either of the men in this room right now?”
“No.”
“Now imagine ten more such men.” There are more than a hundred men in the Steel Rebels and every one of us is on the lookout for Abby’s ex, but I don’t interrupt to correct her.
The first time Saint and I went to look for the boyfriend, we learned that he’d fled his apartment.
Perhaps he’d thought Abby would go to the cops and report him, but she came to us, which is far more dangerous for him.
“Now that we all know what he looks like, he won’t be able to get within a hundred feet of this place, let alone inside of it. ”
Abby blinks at Cara, and her eyes move to the other man standing quietly in the corner. She must see something in Ransom’s face because she immediately relaxes.
“I’m sorry,” she says with a sigh. “I’ve been a nervous wreck all week, scared that he’ll somehow get to me. Thank you for keeping me safe.”
I move away to pack up my things as Cara leans in to reassure the girl of her safety, but it’s clear the opinion that carries the most weight here is Ransom’s.
I grab my bag and walk to the door, stopping by Ransom and flashing him a warning glare before leaning in.
“Hands off my patient until she’s feeling better. ”
He glares right back at me at my words. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
He knows exactly what I mean, but I decide to play it his way. “Cara,” I call out, tossing another warning glance at Ransom before turning to the women. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
“Uh…sure,” she says, squeezing Abby’s hand. “I’ll be back in a sec.” She follows me out, staring worriedly at the door as it shuts behind her. “What do you want to talk… Hey!”
Cara protests when I grab her wrist and start walking down the hall, guiding toward her apartment. “Come with me.”
“James, this is not the time. I need to be with Abby. She’s scared and worried.”
“I know.”
“She can’t be alone.”
“She’s not.”
“James, wait…what are you talking about?” I don’t respond as we take the stairs to the third floor then walk down to the fourth door on the left and turn to her to unlock it. “I can’t just leave her. Abby needs someone with her.”
“And she has someone. Ransom isn’t going to leave her alone,” I tell her as I take her keys from her hand and unlock the door.
My cock is hard and has been this way from the second I walked into the room and saw her in a pink sundress that hid and revealed her milky white skin perfectly.
Her cheeks are fast taking on a pink hue that matches her dress. “Christ, I want you.”
Her eyes flare at my words, her breath hitching and her gaze lingering on the open door. She swallows as her need battles with her sense of duty. “James…I…Abby—”
“Has Ransom,” I say again, stepping up to her and sliding a hand across her cheeks to her nape, leaning in until I can almost taste her.
I feel the wild beat of her pulse, and the quick flutter of her eyes tells me that she wants this just as desperately as I do.
“Yours is not the company she needs right now. Trust me, okay?”
She nods slowly, her eyes lifting to mine, and I groan at the need I read in those beautiful green eyes. So much need…so much trust.
I slam my mouth down on hers and feel them open against mine with a gasp. I groan at the addictive taste of her lips and the little sounds she makes when our tongues meet with carnal need. She’s perfect. A walking temptation sent to wreck me, and wreck me she does.
Our breathing is labored when we pull apart, those beautiful eyes dazed when they open to mine. Just looking at her makes me want to abandon all control and take her where we stand, but I remind myself to slow down.
Mine.
The unbidden thought slips in, but it’s not completely surprising or unwelcome. Perhaps it’s too early for me to claim this girl in any sense, but I can’t fucking stop myself. She feels every bit mine. Maybe Cara has always been mine to protect, to guard. Now, she’s mine to pleasure.
Cara is mine, goddamnit!