Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
DAMON
Breaking into that doctor’s office was too easy. It was keeping a grasp on Blake that was the difficult part. We managed to get in and out in about ten minutes. Would have been faster if I trusted her to gather everything on her own without trying anything. I hate that she doesn’t trust me. That the start of our relationship has to be this way. She’ll come around soon enough. She has no choice.
I park on the street in front of the apartment with a bag full of medical supplies and a bottle of antibiotics. Blake’s absently biting her lip in the seat beside me while she studies the exterior of our place. I know what she’s doing. Stashing all this information away for later so she can tell the cops. That won’t happen.
“Ready?” I ask, although her answer won’t matter. She shakes her head.
“I can’t do this. What if I make things worse?”
That’s what she’s worried about. She’s an actual angel, I knew it all along. I reach for her hand. She flinches at first but then lets me cover her hand with mine. I smile beneath my mask from how perfect our joined hands look. One day there will be a ring on her finger, a big fucking diamond that tells the world she belongs to me.
“I believe in you. You’re brilliant and caring and anyone would be lucky to be your patient.” She shivers from the feel of my thumb rubbing circles on her palm. The unease on her face changes as I speak. My eyes linger on her chest as she takes a few calming breaths. “Ready now?”
“I guess I don’t have a choice.” With another squeeze, I release her hand. “Freddy?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, Blake?”
She swallows hard. “If I can’t save him—whoever it is up there—promise you won’t hold it against me?”
The fear in her voice kills me. “Come on, Doc. They’re waiting.”
Leon pulls me into his bedroom and yanks his mask off. “What the bloody hell, D? Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like!”
Blake’s in Jasper’s room, doing her thing. I was able to hear her initial thoughts before Leon interrupted. He’s lost a lot of blood but thankfully is still conscious. The bullet went straight through the muscle, missing his brachial artery by less than an inch. I want to be in there with them to help. Blake needs me.
“And what would that be?” I lean against the doorframe and pull my mask off as well, scrubbing my hand over my face. It feels like I’ve been awake for days and my body is screaming at me over it. I don’t feel like dealing with a Leon talk, nor do I care what he has to say.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe that you kidnapped a woman and forced her to come here. Is she even a doctor? We can’t fuck around with this, Jasper could?—”
“Could what? Fucking die ? You think I haven’t thought about that. You can’t say shit to me. It’s your fault we’re in this mess.” I force air into my lungs and silently count down from five before I fucking lose it.
Leon slumps on the edge of his bed, resignation in his tone. “I’m sorry, okay? We’ll deal with the repercussions of tonight later. Let’s just make sure Jas pulls through. You sure about this girl? Where’d you find her?”
“Of course I’m sure about her. She’s in med school, we started talking recently, that’s all you need to know.” I drum my fingers against the wall and avoid his scrutinizing gaze. “What?”
“I know who she is. It took a minute but I knew I recognized her. She’s the brunette from that house. The one I saw in the?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I seethe. “I don’t want to go in there and shoot Jasper all over again for putting a camera in my girl’s bathroom.”
He plays with his lip ring, a habit he always does when he’s thinking. And the guy’s always fucking thinking. “You’re dating her? How’d that happen? We’ve been working nonstop since we got here.”
“What’s with the cross-examination? I wasn’t aware my personal life was on trial.” I walk into his ensuite and take a quick piss with the door open. I know Leon, and he’s not done grilling me.
“She got a mask kink or something?” he asks as I shake my dick. Fuck. I’m so damn exhausted I didn’t think of a reason for the masks.
I flush and face him as I wash my hands. “Fine, Leon. Since you have to know my business, we’re not dating. Or she doesn’t know we are yet. Happy?”
He grabs me by the shoulders and spins me to face him. I don’t put up a fight. It’s not worth it. If I know Leon, and I do, he’ll go through what Jasper and I have coined The Stages of Colter . Colter being Leon’s last name.
Step one: he’ll stress the fuck out over whatever I tell him—red face, lip ring twisting.
Step two: he’ll berate me like I’m a child in his pretentious British accent. I’ll ignore him even though I’ll want to punch his stupid, handsome face.
Step three: satisfied that he’s said and done all he can, he’ll stoop to making passive aggressive comments any chance he gets. Step three is usually where I get way too close to smothering him in his sleep.
And finally, step four: acceptance. We’ll hug it out and he’ll say he’s washing his hands of me, which really just means he’s given up on whatever the issue is and we can go back to living with normal, pleasant Leon. By pleasant, I mean insufferable. But fuck, I love the guy like a brother, so what can I do?
“You’re obsessed with her, aren’t you? Tell me you haven’t gone full Olivia.” He’s referring to the woman I had a thing for in Florida, which we’ve already gotten past stage four on, so there’s no reason to bring her up.
“It’s not like that. Blake’s different. And we already cleared everything up with Olivia. Left it in Palm Cove. I don’t know why you’re bringing her up. Come on, we need to be there for Jas.” I shrug away from him and cross the room, ready to be done with this conversation.
“Right then, but we’re not finished discussing this,” he says, his voice full of defeat.
“Yeah, whatever,” I mumble, pulling my mask back over my face. We both have more important things to worry about.
Soft light filters in through Jasper’s bedroom window, casting Blake in an ethereal glow. I stand outside the door for a moment, listening to her gentle encouragement and watching her careful fingers stitch Jasper’s wound. She’s holding her chin high, exuding confidence, but I know the Blake beneath that facade. She’s terrified that she’ll fail Jasper, somehow lose him while trying her best. She wants to please him… to please me. If it takes me a lifetime, I’ll show her that she’s perfect. That she’s more than enough. I’ll stoke her flames and happily get burned in the process.
“How’s it going, big guy?” I move to the side of the bed, eyeing Jasper’s half-masked face. His eyes are hooded but open and his breaths come in shallow pants. I try to keep my tone upbeat even though seeing him this way twists my insides.
“Never been better,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Grab me that gauze from the bag,” Blake says. “And I could use more light.”
“You got it, Doc.” I grab what she needs and stand next to her, holding my phone flashlight against Jasper’s stitched wound. “Looks good, nice and clean.”
She shrugs. “Yeah, well, I’m doing what I can. He got lucky, although I’m worried about nerve damage and there’s always the chance of sepsis. Any number of things can go wrong. Like I said, I’ve never done this before, only read about it.”
“What?” Jasper rasps, meeting my eyes.
“Don’t worry about it,” I reply and turn back to Blake. “What else can I do? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“Don’t think I can eat pancakes while I’m cleaning a bloody wound, Freddy.” She’s playing with me and I fucking love it.
“Freddy?” Jasper asks.
“Yup,” she says. “Freddy Krueger, my new kidnapper.” Jas manages a strained laugh.
I press against her back and lean in to speak low in her ear. “Should I buy some special gloves just for you? I do like to play with knives.” She sucks in a breath and the apples of her cheeks color. “You’re so pretty when you blush for me.”
“Nothing I do is for you,” she says after regaining her composure. Too bad for her, I can read her body like a book. “Grab me the wound wash.”
I help her finish up, passing her supplies and holding the light when she needs it. We make a fantastic team, if I do say so, but I already knew that we would. Leon pops in to check on things, barely meeting my eye. He thanks Blake and apologizes before letting me know he’s going to get some sleep.
Blake bandages Jasper and I have him swallow some antibiotics and a couple of leftover pain pills I found in his stash. They’re old as fuck, probably from one of his many football injuries in college, but I figure anything helps. He’s asleep before I turn the lights off.
“He’ll need to be monitored closely for infection in the upcoming days. His bandages need to be changed daily and the wound needs to stay clean.” She bites her lip and gazes at a spot on the wall. “Oh, and his antibiotics and some anti-inflammatories. He’ll be in pain when he wakes up.”
“Got it,” I say on a yawn. With Jasper patched up and asleep I feel my body starting to crash. I give Blake a once over and see that her nightshirt is stained in blood. “Come with me. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She meets my gaze with wide, blinking eyes. “Then you’ll take me home?”
“I’ll be honest with you, Blake. I’m about to pass out where I stand. It’s been a long fucking night for both of us. Let’s get cleaned up, sleep some, and after you check on my friend, I’ll bring you home.” I don’t wait for her response before I start walking toward the bathroom that Jasper and I share. Blake hesitates but then follows me.
“You promise you’ll bring me home later?”
She’s twisting the edge of her nightshirt, waiting for my response. “I’m too exhausted to bullshit you.”
Hoping I’ve made her feel comfortable enough to believe me, I step in front of the bathroom sink and pull my shirt over my head. I want to rip this fucking mask off my face but I still can’t trust that Blake won’t go to the cops. Not yet.
I feel her eyes on me from the doorway as I wipe myself down with a damp washcloth. Showering takes more energy than I have at the moment, so this will have to do. I pull my mask up to brush my teeth quickly and swipe on some fresh deodorant.
“You can join me, I won’t bite.”
Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips. I can’t break my gaze away from her perfect mouth. “I’m okay. I can clean up when I get home.”
I grab a fresh washcloth and dampen it with warm water. She watches me with wide eyes as I step closer. I expect her to back away or flinch but she freezes. Gently, I skim the cloth against her cheek, testing her. When she sucks in a breath, I inch closer, our bodies almost flush against each other.
As I reach her other cheek, she shakes her head slightly, snapping back to the present. “No. Don’t touch me.” She pushes my chest, and I stumble against the edge of the counter.
“Blake,” I scold. “That wasn’t very nice.” Her fight is the spark that ignites my blood. I close the distance between us, crowding her against the doorframe. Her throat bobs as she gulps audibly. “Let me.”
With my free hand, I cup her chin, hard enough that she knows I mean business without hurting her. She wraps her hand around my wrist and squeezes. “What’s your problem, Freddy? I’m not a child. I can wash my own face.”
“Trust me, Blake, I know you’re not a child.” I draw the cloth over her cheeks and down the slope of her neck. The loose neckline of her shirt slides off her shoulder, revealing a small bumblebee tattoo. I skim it with the cloth as her chest heaves and her dark lashes flutter. She digs her fingernails into my skin, but I continue cleaning her, loving the fact that she’s leaving her mark on me.
I bring the cloth lower, washing the dip of her collarbones, right above the swell of her perfect, full breasts, then back up the column of her neck. Time is suspended as her gray eyes lock onto mine. I imagine dropping the cloth and wrapping my palm around her graceful neck. I’d push her against the tile wall and bite that plump bottom lip between my teeth.
Her eyes seem to darken as her lips part. “I-I think I’m clean now.” Shoving me away again, she twists out of my grasp. It takes me a moment to reconnect with my surroundings.
“Come on, let’s get some sleep.” I brush against her in the doorway and head across the hall to my bedroom. She’s frozen where she stands.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” she says with her chin raised.
“No. You’re sleeping in here, in my bed.” Her mouth opens to argue but I add, “I can carry you again, or you can walk. Your choice.”
“But you said?—”
“If I was going to fuck you tonight, Blake, I would have done it already. Get your sweet ass in here before I throw you over my shoulder again.”
She closes her mouth and listens like a good fucking girl. Crossing my bedroom, I pull out a clean T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts for her to change into. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
“Why?” I’m too exhausted for her questions. She squeals as I pick her up and plop her on the edge of my bed. Kneeling before her, I hold one leg at a time against my knee and wash her dirty, cut up feet with the washcloth. “You don’t have to,” she argues.
“I know,” I say, meeting her gaze. Once I finish cleaning her off, I grab a pair of thick socks from the bin in my closet and pull them on her feet. “That’s better. I’ll turn around so you can change.”
Her gaze bounces between me and my folded up clothes beside her on the bed, like she’s at war with herself. “I don’t need your clothes. I’m fine.”
Huffing, I crouch down and hook my fingers into the hem of her nightshirt. She scrambles back, so I let go and hold my hands in front of me. “Either change, or I dress you. Your choice. I don’t want blood on my clean sheets.”
She blinks and nods to study the filthy nightshirt. Resignation spreads across her face as she silently grabs the clean clothes beside her. I can’t help but smirk while I turn to face the wall. Knowing that my clothes are against her bare skin has my heart thumping in my chest.
A few minutes go by, and the rustle of fabric quiets. “Safe to turn around?”
“I guess,” she whispers under her breath. I face her and momentarily lose my train of thought when I see her full tits in my black T-shirt.
I stand and pull the corner of the blanket down for her, gesturing for her to climb in. She looks utterly confused but lets out a tired sigh before relenting. All tucked in with my blanket up to her chin, she asks, “Where are you going to sleep?”
“I’m gonna go check on my friend again. Close your eyes, Angel. Get some rest.” I turn out the light and leave her exactly where she belongs.
Jasper’s still fast asleep and breathing normally. Thank fuck he’s alright. Blake saved his life tonight and I’ll be eternally grateful.
I linger for a few minutes, letting myself calm down from the image of Blake between my sheets. Her beautiful body curled up against mine while we rest our weary heads. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more.
Back in my room, Blake breathes in a steady rhythm. She’s fast asleep on her side, cuddling one of my pillows to her chest. I pull off my mask and watch her from the shadows. All the tension she carries in her face disappears when she’s asleep.
If I could carry all her burdens, I would, but I know one thing: I’ll sure as shit make sure she has a lighter load from now on.
I slide my jeans off and grab a pair of sweats. I’d normally sleep naked but I’m taking it slow with Blake. I need her to trust me, to know I’ll always protect and care for her, even if that means pushing her out of her shell. Or punishing her when she needs it.
I lay beside her, keeping a few inches between our skin. I’m drawn to her in every way and being this close only makes me crave more. Fuck it . I draw her against me, my arm around her waist, as sleep begins to claim me.