3. 2
Max barked out a startled laugh. “Hell no. It would actually be to my advantage if I didn’t tell you. I wouldn’t mind monopolizing your time and I have a feeling that Sam is going to try to kill me for taking you to dinner. He isn’t exactly subtle about his interest.”
“Well…he won’t hear about it from me.”
Maddie put two fingers to her mouth and mimicked zipping her lips.
Max’s lips turned up in a knowing smile. “No…but he’ll hear it from them.”
He nodded subtly at a table across the room where two bulky men, looking uncomfortably out of place, stared blatantly at the two of them.
“Does Sam know them?”
she asked, confused.
“Yeah. Pretty well. They work for him. Part of his security team,”
Max answered wryly. “I’ve seen them before. They’re obviously your tail.”
“He’s spying on me?”
she answered, outraged that Sam would have her followed.
Max reached his hand across the table and grabbed her arm before she could rise. “Maddie…don’t. They aren’t spies. They’re protection. He’s a high-profile guy who’s been connected to you romantically. That makes you a possible target. Believe me, I’d do the same if I was seriously seeing someone. Sam’s made plenty of enemies. Powerful enemies. That’s one of the reasons he’s never seen with a woman showing any open affection. But the picture of Sam carrying you around like a caveman at the wedding was everywhere. And he obviously plans to take it even further in the future. He wants you safe.”
He held her hand across the table, keeping her seated, his voice calming. “Actually, I can’t believe he hasn’t called yet. He is going to know what you’re doing most of the time. He’s probably a little slow because he’s sick.”
Maddie wasn’t sure how she felt about Sam knowing her every move. It was a little uncomfortable. Yeah, she understood his protective streak, but having someone on her tail constantly was disconcerting. “Did you say he was sick?”
she asked, not sure if she had heard Max properly.
“Flu. He’s got it bad.”
Max shook his head, looking concerned for his friend. “He’s been working from home. Not available. I talked to his assistant, David.”
“Damn it. I wondered why he hasn’t called me. Stubborn man,”
she said, squeezing Max’s hand while she stood up. “I need to go see if he’s okay.”
Max chuckled as he released her hand and stood. “Wait. I’ll walk you out.”
He pulled a gold pen from his pocket and signed the credit card receipt that the waiter had dropped on their table and pocketed his card. “Maddie, he probably doesn’t want you to get sick.”
Maddie shoved her arms into the jacket that Max was politely holding out for her. She buttoned the jacket and propped her hands on her hips. “I’m a damn doctor. I got my flu shot. I’m exposed to the flu every day.”
Max held out his arm to her and she took it. “I can assure you that he isn’t thinking rationally. His only thought is protecting you.”
“Great. And who’s protecting him?”
she replied, irritated.
“I doubt anyone has ever thought he needed it,”
Max answered thoughtfully.
“He does, dammit. He doesn’t need to always be the protector,”
she answered stubbornly, wishing someone had been there to protect him when he was younger. “Everyone needs support sometimes.”
Max walked her to her car before he answered in a low, emotional voice, “You know, I do believe you’re right. Take care of him, Maddie.”
Giving in to her compulsion to soothe Max, she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her back, both of them staying in that position for a moment as some sort of mysterious connection was cemented between them.
“I’ll call you.”
Max let go of her reluctantly and opened her car door.
“Talk to you soon,”
she answered, her soul still slightly unsettled from the way she was drawn to Max’s suffering.
“Don’t let Sam boss you around,”
Max said laughingly as Maddie settled herself in the car.
She chortled. “Not happening or I’ll find a reason he suddenly needs a shot in the ass,”
she assured Max. Sam was going to listen to her and he was going to get well.
She heard Max’s delighted laugh as he closed her car door. She exited the parking lot and headed straight toward Sam’s house, trying not to notice his security trailing behind her.
Sam groaned as he rolled over in bed and pulled the pillow over his head, feeling so damn miserable that he wished he could just sleep until he felt recovered. Sweat rolled off his body in tiny ringlets that were slowly saturating his sheets, and he shivered from the damp linens beneath him.
“Fuck!”
He muttered the curse, but not too loud. If he made any sudden movements, those little men in his head with the hammers would start banging away again.
There wasn’t a part of his body that didn’t ache and his ribs were screaming in protest from his nearly-constant cough.
He heard a ruckus coming from downstairs, but he ignored it. Whatever it was, his security would handle it. It was what he paid them to do. Right now, he just wanted to be alone in his misery.
“I don’t care if he isn’t seeing anyone. He’s seeing me. I’m his doctor.”
Maddie. Shit.
Sam struggled to sit up, but ended up flat on his back again as dizziness assaulted him, making the whole room spin.
I hate this shit. I’m so fucking weak. And if there was one thing Sam hated, it was feeling helpless.
His door burst open and he cracked one eye open to see the most beautiful sight in the world.
Maddie.
He scowled as he saw two security agents holding her by the arms on both sides. “Get your fucking hands off her. And don’t ever touch her again.”
His voice was hoarse, but he got his point across.
The guards released her like she was a hot coal. “Sorry, Mr. Hudson. She broke away at the door and we couldn’t catch her. You said you weren’t to be disturbed.”
“She’s the exception. Always,”
he grunted. “Now leave.”
The guards left, leaving Maddie standing by the door. She closed the door and came to the side of the bed, one hand on her hip. She placed a cool hand on his forehead gently, smoothing the damp hair from his face. “What in the hell are you doing to yourself? You’re burning up. Are you taking anything?”
“Don’t need pills. I’ll get over it,”
he croaked, watching her in curious fascination.
She marched into the master bathroom, and Sam could hear her rifling through the cabinets. “What the hell! Don’t you have anything except condoms in here?”
Sam knew it was a rhetorical question, but as she came back out looking like a wild-eyed, furious goddess, he answered, “No. I don’t take pills. Never need them.”
She picked up his cell phone from the bedside table and started scanning his numbers, punching one with a vengeance. After she verified that she had Sam’s personal assistant on the line, she started rattling off orders like a drill sergeant. She hung up the phone with an angry punch to the off button and called another number, a pharmacy from what he could gather by the conversation. She finished, slamming his smartphone back onto the bedside table with enough force to make him wince.
“You need clean sheets and fluids. Can you manage to get in the shower if I help you?”
she asked, her voice demanding.
Like his tiny little woman was going to hold his weight? He smirked. “You know, this bossy doctor thing is pretty hot. Will you scrub my back?”
“If necessary,”
she snipped back at him as she started stripping the sheets from his sweat-ridden body.
Not wanting her to see his weakness, Sam made a superhuman effort to sit up. He made it, but he swayed as he got to his feet and started coughing so hard he couldn’t stop. She propped him up with her body, which was surprisingly strong. “For a man who’s supposedly a complete genius, you’re an idiot when it comes to taking care of yourself,”
she commented, sounding like a cat that was spitting mad.
Holy hell, she was completely hot when she was in a take-charge mood. “You need to go. I didn’t want you to know. You might get sick.”
His gut rolled at the thought of Maddie feeling as miserable as he did right now.
“I’m exposed to this every day, Sam. Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
she asked, exasperated. “You have tons of people at your beck and call. You needed help.”
“Don’t ask for help. I help other people,”
he grumbled as he walked like a drunk toward the bathroom. Honestly, it had never occurred to him to ask anybody for anything. He hated being vulnerable and preferred to wait until he had control again.
She stripped off his boxers, the only item of clothing on his body, and turned on the shower. “Will you be okay while I go find some fresh sheets and change the bed?”
“Yeah,”
he said, squawking as the lukewarm water hit his body.
“Don’t make it any hotter. You’re already too feverish,”
she warned him, giving him a commanding look.
Really, the woman was completely sexy in her doctor mode. A feisty redheaded virago who he wished he could tame right about now. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in any position to drag her into the cubicle and take her against the shower stall. Damn…he wished he was. He’d like nothing better than to tap all of that passion she had right now. “Where were you?”
he asked, wondering why she was dressed in a soft gray angora sweater dress, a color that just made her hair look more fiery and hugged the curves of her body like a lover. It probably wasn’t made to be sexy, but on her, it definitely was.
“I was out for dinner before I came here.”
She pulled off her heels as she left the bathroom, leaving the door open.
With who?
He wanted to know, but Maddie had left like her ass was on fire. He let the water pour onto his body, rinsing the perspiration from his skin. He eyed the water temperature, tempted to ignore her and make it hotter, but his woman was likely to kick his ass right now. Problem was, she probably could. He smiled as he leaned into the water, letting it cleanse him. He wanted to really wash, but he was drained, using all of his energy just to stand under the water.
Maddie came back five minutes later. He watched, completely mesmerized, as she efficiently stripped every article of clothing from her body, leaving them in a heap on the floor. It wasn’t a striptease, but then Maddie only needed to exist for him to get aroused, and watching her disrobe had his cock hard and ready for action. Unfortunately, the rest of his body wasn’t.
Grabbing a washrag from the vanity, she entered the shower, shivering at the water temperature for a moment before getting to work. She lathered the washrag with soap and started running it over his skin, the linen gliding over him with her gentle touch.
She hesitated when she reached his groin and his whole body froze. He forcefully slammed down the instinct to stop her. This was Maddie, trying to help him. He was not pushing her away. He didn’t want to push her away.
Maddie dropped the cloth, and Sam felt only her gentle hands on him as she moved over his groin and stroked his pulsating cock with her bare fingers. The sensation caused an initial startled reaction, but he kept his eyes on Maddie as she touched him, focusing only on her. Almost disappointed when she didn’t linger there for long, he felt her hands move oh-so-tenderly over his ass. His butt cheeks tightened and he ground his teeth as she stroked between the globes of his ass, her fingers lightly going over his anus. He released a tormented growl, one part fear…but another part pleasure. Her touch was clinical, but achingly soft, enticingly delicate.
Crouching, she ran the soap over both of his legs. Then, she stood and washed his hair, her touch soothing as she gently massaged his scalp. After picking up the handheld showerhead attachment, she briskly rinsed both his hair and body, and turned off the shower. She dried herself roughly and hurriedly, but picked up another towel and sweetly caressed him with it, patting him dry. After quickly pulling a short, cotton nightgown over her head from the pile of clothes she had left on the vanity, she braced his body and brought him out to sit on the bed, helping him into a fresh pair of boxer briefs.
“Wow, David is efficient,”
she marveled as she picked up the juice from the bedside table and handed it to him. She shook pills from various bottles and held them to his mouth like she would do with a recalcitrant child. “I didn’t think he’d get this stuff that fast.”
“I pay him to be efficient,”
he grumbled. Sam was no fool. He opened his mouth, surprisingly obediently, and let her drop in the pills, downing them with a swig of the juice.
“Finish the drink. You need to keep hydrated. I just gave you something for your fever, congestion, cough, and pain. You’ll probably sleep.”
She finger-combed his hair while she spoke, a concerned frown on her face.
Sam finished his glass of juice and Maddie took it from him. “Lay back and rest.”
“Stay with me?”
Sam asked, not able to help himself. He didn’t give a shit if he sounded pathetic, his need for Maddie overcoming his pride.
“Of course I’m staying,”
she replied indignantly.
Sam smiled as she launched into a tirade that included stuff about “stubborn men”
and other derogatory oaths about the male gender, and him in particular. His woman was angry with him for not taking care of himself. Somehow…the curses didn’t bother him at all…they made his chest ache with tenderness for the only woman who had cared for him—cared about him—other than his mother.
He propped himself on a pillow, watching his fiery female stomp around the room, picking up clothes and straightening things he had discarded when he’d gotten ill and never picked up. She mumbled under her breath, but Sam had no doubt it was more of the same diatribe, so maybe he was glad he couldn’t hear her. Instead, he drank in the sight of her, somehow feeling better just by watching her.
Showering had helped. He felt clean for the first time in days, and comfortable in fresh sheets. His headache was slowly easing and lethargy was claiming his body instead of misery.
His cock was as hard as a rock and it stiffened even more as she bent over, revealing her delectable ass. He gaped, unable to do anything else, leering at her bare backside as she bent to pick up her shoes.
She turned as she straightened, shooting him an admonishing look. “Are you staring at my butt? I need panties,”
she mumbled.
Oh, hell no you don’t. He nearly groaned with disappointment as she ducked into the bathroom, obviously to find a pair of underwear in the new clothes he had bought her that she hadn’t taken home with her.
After returning from the bathroom, she picked up a thermometer from the plethora of items that David had dropped off and popped it into his mouth. “Don’t speak,”
she warned him, her brow arched.
He scowled and crossed his arms in front of him. Damned if he didn’t want to pull the annoying thing out of his mouth just to be contrary.
Then she laughed, a light, amused sound that flowed over him like a healing balm. “You look like an ornery little boy,”
she chortled, putting her hand on his forehead.
The beep sounded and she removed the offending thermometer. “High,”
she mused. “But I think you’re cooler than you were. I may have to wake you up tonight to give you more medication.”
He frowned as she handed him more juice. The last thing he really wanted was to swallow. His throat felt like it had been worked over with sandpaper.
“Drink it. You need fluids,”
she answered as though she already knew what he was thinking.
He eyed her as he sipped the juice, watching the beautiful vixen shake medication from the bottles at the bedside, probably for later dosages. “Anybody ever tell you that you’re a bossy doctor?”
he asked dryly, handing the empty glass back to her.
Had anybody ever told her how hot she looked when she was pissed off?
Sitting the cup on the table, she folded her arms in front of her and gave him a chastising look. “Only my non-cooperative patients. If you weren’t so stubborn, you’d think I was the sweetest doctor in existence,”
she answered in a pseudo sugary voice.
“Think you’re sweet anyway,”
he admitted in a low, husky voice. “What happened to your head?”
he questioned, scowling as he noticed a small bruise on her left temple that he hadn’t noticed earlier.
“It’s nothing. A little car accident. I just bumped my head.”
She slipped into the bed and pulled the covers over herself. She turned off the light at the bedside, plunging the room into darkness.
He lunged for her, pulling her back against him. Christ, she feels good. He pulled her back against his chest and buried his face in her wild tangle of silky hair. “There is no such thing as a little car accident. What the hell happened? When? Dammit. Nobody called me. Those agents are fucking fired,”
he growled, shuddering at the thought that Maddie had been involved in an accident and he hadn’t known.
“You are not going to fire them. They dropped me off here because my car is probably totaled. I told them not to call you because I was on my way here anyway. It’s not a big deal, Sam. I was on my way over and the weather sucks because it’s been raining all day. Another car hydroplaned through a red light and hit me. I’m fine,”
she answered, sounding exasperated.
Sam’s heart was beating so fast he couldn’t catch his breath. Fuck! He clutched Maddie tighter, running his hands over her body. “What if you were injured worse than you thought?”
he asked, panicked at the thought.
Maddie rolled to face him, putting her arms around his neck. “I wasn’t. I’m fine, Sam. I’m worried about you. You’re sick. Please sleep. They hit on the passenger side and I was just shaken up a little. I’m a doctor. I didn’t hit hard enough to injure anything except my poor vehicle.”
“You need a bigger vehicle, something safer. And newer,”
he answered, irritation and fear both present in his voice.
“Sleep,”
she insisted, cuddling against him.
Sam was groggy, probably from the medication, but he couldn’t keep the images of Maddie’s car being slammed, with her inside it, from haunting him. What if she had been seriously injured…or worse? Christ! Those images were going to torment him for a while. “Something bad could have happened,”
he finally answered gruffly.
“It didn’t,”
Maddie said soothingly, placing her head on his shoulder and running her fingers through his hair gently, caressing the back of his head in gentle circles. “Please rest, Sam. I’m worried about you. You obviously have a bad case of the flu and you need to sleep.”
His chest ached, but not from his illness. Her concerned, soft voice comforted him and he closed his eyes tightly, his emotional reaction to her protectiveness intense.
His maniacal concern for her safety and possessiveness he could handle. But having someone care for him was foreign, and he wasn’t sure how to react to it. “I’m glad you’re here, Sunshine,”
he muttered softly, rubbing his face in her hair.
“Call me next time, please,”
she requested sleepily.
“Nothing can happen to you, Maddie. I wouldn’t live through it,”
he said in a husky voice.
Sam wondered how Max had even survived after losing his wife. The pain must have been excruciating if Max had felt anything like the obsessive need he had for the cuddly, redheaded miracle he held in his arms right now.
“I’m here, Sam,”
she whispered.
Thank God!
“You’re marrying me,”
he rumbled, his eyes closing, drowsiness taking over his body.
She didn’t answer. She just snuggled closer and sighed.
Sam didn’t let her lack of response bother him. In fact, his lips curled up in a smile. It was progress. At least she hadn’t argued and she hadn’t said no.
With that positive thought in his head, he slept.
Maddie stayed with Sam until he had completely recovered, spending her two days off getting him through the worst of the illness and then going to his house every night after work for the last several days to make sure he was taking care of himself properly. He was by far the worst patient she had ever had, and she had seen her share of horrible ones. Sam Hudson didn’t like weakness of any kind, and obviously that included anything that hampered him physically.
At the moment, he looked like nothing but trouble, completely furious and irritated as he stared at her from his home office desk, leaning back in his chair, glowering.
Sam was hiding behind his fa?ade again, and Maddie hated it. He’d shown some vulnerability during the time that he had been ill. But he was the bully again…back in full force. She could accept Sam’s alpha male personality. In fact, there were times she adored it. However, now was not one of those moments, when he was uttering demands, without a compromise or reason for his actions.
“You’re driving the new car. Period. End of discussion,”
he barked, as though she were one of his employees.
Maddie took a deep breath and blew it out. “Fine. If the discussion is over, I’m leaving. And you can take the car and shove it up your ass because I’m not driving it. You had no right to select a vehicle for me without asking and then demand I drive it. I’m not one of your damn employees.”
Wishing she had never come to his house this evening, she tried to compose herself. All she’d wanted to do was make sure he was feeling okay, taking care of himself. He’d been a complete ass to her this evening, basically throwing her keys to a new metallic black Mercedes SUV that had probably cost more than most people’s homes, and demanding that she drive it. It wasn’t that she didn’t love the vehicle. She actually did. Who wouldn’t? Her problem was his attitude, his distance. He just commanded and expected her to jump to his demands. He was hiding again, worried that he had shown too much weakness, and was going way over the top to make up for the lapse during his illness. She understood what he was doing and his motivations for it. But dammit…it hurt.
“I know you’re not one of my damn employees. If you were, you’d do what I tell you to do,”
he growled. “And if you walk out that door, I’ll catch you.”
Folding her arms in front of her, she glared at him. “Then what? How do you plan to force me to drive it?”
she retorted, her voice starting to get shaky and emotional. “Damn it! You didn’t even ask me if I liked it, if I wanted it. My opinion doesn’t matter, as long as I do as you say. What the hell is wrong with you tonight?”
A lone tear flowed down her cheek and she swiped at it impatiently. There was so much about Sam that she loved, but there were a few things she couldn’t tolerate.
Bossy…okay. Occasionally.
Demanding in bed…hell yeah.
Protective…yep.
Distant and cold…hell no!
Sam stood and walked around the desk. “You’re not leaving,”
he said huskily. “Why are you crying?”
Maddie sprinted for the door, not ready to answer that question.
Because I love you so much it hurts. Because I want to matter to you as much as you matter to me. Because when you shut me out and get cold, I get scared.
Pulling the door open frantically, desperate to escape, she felt Sam’s body slam into her from behind, pushing the door closed, trapping her between his arms on both sides of her body.