Chapter 5
Josie lay on the sterilehospital bed, the antiseptic scent of the room invading her senses. The pain medication coursing through her veins left her feeling oddly floaty and slightly tipsy. After the doctor had sewn up the deep gash on her arm with 36 stitches, she”d had an x-ray, revealing no fractures. Raf leaned over, his emerald eyes a vibrant contrast to his tanned skin, and offered her a plastic cup with a straw.
She sucked on the straw, her senses dulled by the medication. ”You”re so pretty,” she slurred, her words stumbling out.
Raf”s fingers brushed through her hair, his touch feather-light and tickling. ”You”re prettier,” he replied, kissing her nose, his lips warm against her skin.
She giggled, the sound echoing in the sterile room. He moved closer, careful of her injured arm, and nestled beside her on the bed. A contented sigh escaped her lips as she leaned into him.
The rush of adrenaline and panic from their recent encounter in the water—bluebell jellyfish and a menacing reef shark—seemed like distant memories, their vibrant colors fading to sepia tones. Josie remembered the weightless feeling as Raf pulled her to the surface, his strong arms a lifeline of safety. She knew he would do anything to protect her, even risking his life as he had against the reef shark. Snuggled close to him, she felt safer than she ever had before.
The men she”d dated in the past had never put her first, always prioritizing themselves and their agendas. Amanda had been right; they were opportunists looking for popularity. But with Raf, it was different. He didn”t care about her social media persona; he cared about her photography and, most importantly, her.
Riley, Raf”s cousin, popped into the room and signaled to Raf. ”Her father is coming.”
”I”ll wait in the waiting room,” Raf whispered, lifting her hand and gently kissing it.
Josie”s heart ached with his absence as he left, even though she knew it was a necessary precaution to keep her father from discovering their relationship. Hospitals triggered her anxiety; she had spent two months in a coma after her mother”s death and another two months recovering from her injuries. She had avoided hospitals ever since.
Rex entered the room, his steel-gray shirt matching his worried gaze as he took in her bandaged arm and the IV drip. Josie couldn”t help but cry at the sight of her father, uncertain if her tears were born from relief or regret. He approached her bed, gathering her carefully into his arms, mindful of her injury.
”My darling child,” he murmured against her hair, a tear of his own falling onto her arm. She looked up and saw the worry etched into his face.
”I”m okay, Dad,” she sobbed, her emotions running wild. ”It doesn”t even hurt.”
Amanda entered, carrying a bouquet. She came to stand on the other side of the bed and gently patted their father”s back as he struggled to regain his composure.
Rex wiped his eyes. ”The doctor said your injuries will heal, and we can get plastic surgery to remove the scar when you”re ready.”
Josie sighed, understanding his concern but feeling like he wanted to erase the experiences that had shaped her. He seemed determined to keep her as a pristine, untouched doll.
Amanda asked, ”How are you feeling?”
”I”m good, but I don”t want to be in the hospital,” Josie wailed, the walls closing in around her.
”Don”t worry, darling,” Rex reassured her. ”We”ll hire a nurse to care for you at the hotel.”
Josie felt the tightness in her chest ease. She couldn”t wait to leave the hospital.
”Amanda, you take care of it,” Rex instructed.
Josie was both relieved and disappointed. Being in her father”s presence was overwhelming, but she also felt emotional and needy.
Amanda left the room, her voice fading down the corridor. Josie dozed off, her father on his phone beside her. When Amanda returned, she delivered the news.
”A nurse will help transport you back to the hotel. You”ll have a day and a night nurse on call.”
”There, darling. All sorted,” Rex said as he checked his phone, his expression darkening in anger. ‘I have to take care of something. You”ve got this under control?” he asked Amanda.
She nodded, and Raf entered the room, wearing dark blue scrubs.
”Hello, Josie. I”m Riley Anderson, and I”m here to help care for you.”
Josie”s eyes widened, and she looked incredulously from Amanda to Raf.
”I thought you wouldn”t mind a male nurse,” Amanda explained. ”It”s only for a few hours, and then your night nurse will be a female. It”s not like you need assistance with everything.”
Josie murmured, ”No, no. You”re right. I”m okay with a male nurse.”
Raf stepped forward, ready to help her from the bed into the wheelchair.
Josie hissed as soon as her sister was out of earshot, ”What are you doing?”
”When I heard your sister wanted to hire a nurse, I went to the nurse”s station, borrowed my cousin”s credentials after her shift, and found some scrubs,” Raf confessed, holding up the lanyard. Riley”s photo was still visible. ”I just held my thumb over the photo when I interviewed with your sister.”
Josie couldn”t help but giggle at the audaciousness of it all, amazed at how easily her conscientious sister had been fooled.
”Won”t your cousin get in trouble?” she asked.
”Nah,” Raf assured her. ”I”ll return her ID after my shift, and she won”t ever know that I borrowed it. I told your sister I could only do the shifts if I were paid cash, so there won”t be any paper trail.” He tucked the ID back into the front pocket of his scrubs, out of sight.
Josie was in awe of his quick thinking. Raf had ensured them some private time right under her father and sister”s noses. As he pushed her wheelchair into the elevator, they shared a kiss.
”I told you I wouldn”t let anything get in the way of us being together,” Raf whispered.
Josie held the back of his head, leaning into him. ”Thank you,” she whispered back.
Raf stood before they reached the lobby, and together, they made their way to the hospital”s parking lot. The Heron limousine awaited them. Raf lifted her into the car and folded the wheelchair in the back. He moved to get in the back of the limousine, but the driver interrupted.
”You come with me at the front,” he said.
Raf complied, and as Amanda emerged from the hospital, they drove away, leaving behind the hospital”s sterile confines and her family”s watchful eyes.
When they got to the hotel, Raf helped her walk to her bedroom, and she reveled in having his strong body supporting her. He sat her on the bed and placed the carry bag on the floor.
‘How about I give you a bath?’ he asked as he knelt beside her.
She smiled wickedly. ‘That would be delicious,’ her senses awakening slightly. ‘But my family?’ She looked worriedly at the door.
‘They had some work emergency to attend to and won’t be back until late, so we’re free from scrutiny.’ He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips, setting her senses ablaze.
‘Then, I’m all yours.’
Raf moved his lips up her arm and neck. ‘I’ll get the bath going,’ he said, his voice gravelly.
She watched him walk to the bathroom, enjoying the way the scrubs molded to his backside. She heard the bath begin, and a delicious aroma of roses drifted toward her. A few minutes later, he carried her into the bathroom. He’d lit candles and added bubble bath, filling the large bath.
He helped take off her clothes, tenderly kissing her skin as he unveiled her. When she was nude, he got a plastic bag, wrapped it around her cast, and arranged a towel on the edge of the bathtub. He gently helped her step and lay down, arranging her arm onto the towel to make her comfortable.
‘Aren’t you going to join me?’ she asked.
‘Not today,’ he said, sitting on the edge and picking up a hand towel. ‘I don’t want to risk hurting you.’ He ran the hand towel down her legs, tenderly washing her from her toes to her thighs. As his hands moved around her thighs and gently grazed her mons, she gasped. He stroked her gently between her legs before moving the hand towel to her breasts, washing and massaging them, while she moaned, biting her lip as desire wound through her. He threw the hand towel onto the bath shelf and moved his hands down her body, delicately touching her between her legs, his fingers probing and thrusting. She moaned as he used his fingers to pleasure her while she lay back, the delicious warmth of the bath and the thrusting of his fingers overwhelming her senses. She orgasmed, fluttering gently down to earth as he caressed her afterward.
He helped her out of the bath and dried her tenderly.
‘What about you?’ she said, gently cupping him with her hand.
‘I can wait,’ he whispered gutturally. ‘I don’t want to risk hurting you.’
‘Oh, no, Mr Nurse. This won’t do.’ She inserted her hand into his scrubs and stroked his hardness. ‘I insist that I minister your ouchy.’ She stroked him, and he moaned.
‘Please, stop, I don’t want to—”
‘Shhh,’ she placed her lips over his. ‘Let me.’ She reached for the cream on the tub”s edge and rubbed it onto her hands as he tugged down his scrubs. She stroked him as he closed his eyes in surrender, the two of them embracing in the steamy bathroom. He groaned and came onto her hand.
‘There, that wasn’t too hard.’
He smiled at her pun and wiped himself as she washed her hand. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, helping her put on silk pajamas before laying her on the bed.
‘Don’t leave,’ she murmured, reaching for his hand.
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ He held her hand as he pulled the chair closer to the bed. ‘Go to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning when you wake.’ He kissed her gently on the forehead, and she smiled, drifting into sleep, feeling like she was floating.
* * *
She drowsily stirredas she heard the murmur of voices and feigned sleep as she recognized Amanda’s voice speaking to Raf. Bright daylight lit up the room, and she realized it was early morning.
‘I thought the night nurse was coming in?’ Amanda asked.
‘She did, but she had to leave early because of a family emergency, so she called me in an hour ago,’ Raf said.
‘How was she during the night?’ Amanda asked.
‘The nurse reported that Josie slept well,’ Raf replied, making sure to keep track of his lies.
‘Good, good. So you’ll be on duty all day?’ Amanda asked briskly.
‘Yes, until the shift change-over at 5 pm,’ Raf said. ‘Sue, the night nurse, said she’d come an hour earlier to make up the time.’
‘Wonderful.’
Josie heard the door closing and peered warily through her eyelashes, checking the coast was clear.
The mattress sunk, and she opened her eyes fully to see Raf leaning on his elbow beside her. ‘She’s gone,’ he said, gently kissing her on the lips.
Josie smiled, winding her fingers through this hair and pulling him closer.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, his green eyes intent as he examined her face.
‘I feel wonderful,’ Josie replied, stretching her arms above her, wincing as her arm throbbed with tenderness.
‘Your pain medication is wearing off. I’ll bring you breakfast, and then you take your tablets.’
Josie nodded, and he left the room. She drowsed, unable to fully relax as the pain pulsed through her arm, a constant reminder of the reef shark”s bite.
The door creaked open, and she smiled, expecting to see Raf. Instead, the gray-headed form of her father barreled in. ‘Just checking on you, my darling,’ her father said, gently kissing her on the cheek.
‘I’m good.’ Josie forced a smile, but her father wasn’t fooled.
‘You look pale. Are you in pain?’ he demanded.
‘The nurse is—’
Raf entered the bedroom, carrying a tray. ‘Good morning, Mr Heron. Josie just needs to eat some breakfast, and then she’ll take her dose of pain medication.’
Her father nodded, stepping back. ‘Good, good. I see you’re in good hands. I’ll come by later.’
After he’d left, Raf set the tray on the bed and cut the pancake, spearing it with a fork that he aimed toward her mouth.
Josie giggled. ‘I can feed myself.’
‘Why would you? When you have a rakishly handsome nurse at your disposal.’
Josie opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her.
‘Did you sleep last night?’ she asked with concern.
He nodded. ‘I stretched out on the bed next to you after your father and sister checked on you.’
‘So, Sue didn’t make it?’ she asked curiously.
‘Sue was paid to stay away,’ Raf said. ‘I wanted to be with you last night. But she will return at 5 pm to change your bandages and spend a few hours until later tonight. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be returning to spend the night with you. Shift change-over is supposed to be at 6 am, so your father and sister won’t notice.’
Josie smiled, relieved that they wouldn’t be separated for long.
After she ate, she took her medication, and within 10 minutes, she was feeling floaty and pain-free.
‘What do you want to watch?’ Raf asked as he sat on the bed beside her and arranged her in his arms. He flicked the remote and selected the romantic comedies.
‘Meet Cute, please,’ Josie said.
Raf hit the play button, and Josie watched from the comfort of his arms.
‘Do you think we’ll have a happy ending?’ she asked ruefully as the credits rolled.
‘Why wouldn’t we?’ Raf asked, turning to sit facing her.
‘Because of who my father is and who your father is.’ Josie confessed, her mood growing somber. They had been in a holiday romance bubble before her accident, not contemplating the future. Now, the more time she spent with Raf, the deeper her feelings grew, and the thought of being separated tore at her.
‘Our fathers don’t matter. All that matters is that we want to be together,’ Raf assured her, lifting her chin. ‘I want to be with you always. I love you.’
‘I love you too,’ she whispered, realizing it was true.
‘I’m here with you, now and always. The only thing you need to worry about is getting better, and then we’ll worry about our future.’
Josie nodded, and they kissed. She wanted to believe that it was that easy. That all they needed was love, and it would all work out, but her skin broke out in goose pimples, as if someone had walked over her grave. What if they weren’t destined for a happy ending?