Chapter Seventeen
S amantha lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV bag dripping fluids into her. A well-meaning nurse had given her a scolding about staying hydrated and taking better care of herself, adding to her feeling ridiculous for being in here in the first place. They’d brought her a turkey sandwich, Jell-O, and a plastic cup of apple juice, which she’d devoured, and the food had done wonders for her energy level, headache, and spots in front of her eyes. She felt better already.
She couldn’t believe she’d fainted in the office. It wasn’t something she was prone to, but she’d been under so much stress lately, and thinking about eating usually made her queasy. The confrontation with Jeremy hadn’t helped the situation, either.
“Do you want me to call anyone?” Brandy asked from the chair at the end of the bed.
Samantha shook her head. “You’ve been such a good friend, meeting me here and staying while they run tests and lecture me.”
Brandy chuckled. “You scared me to death when you went down.”
Feeling her cheeks flame at the reminder, Samantha groaned.
“Listen, I have to ask… is there any chance you’re pregnant? Because when my cousin Patti was pregnant, she was a fainter.” Brandy raised her eyebrows in question.
Though her stomach did a somersault at the question, Samantha shook her head. “I really don’t think so.” She and Dex used condoms and after the nightmare with Jeremy, she’d gone to her doctor to get tested and then opted to take the pill, too. Though it was too soon for that to have kicked in. Just to be safe. “I just couldn’t handle any more upheaval in my life, so it’s highly unlikely.”
“Okay.” Brandy’s shoulders slumped in relief. “They said they’d have the blood work back in an hour, but I had to ask.”
Samantha managed a smile and before she could say anything else, her cell rang.
Brandy glanced down and grabbed the phone from its place on the bed before Samantha could look. “You rest. I’ll make sure nobody bothers you.” With a pointed look, she walked outside.
Samantha listened but all she could hear was her friend’s muted voice, too low to hear. Assuming it was work, she turned on the television. TNZ LIVE was already on and in case there was something about Dex and his job, she settled in to watch news about celebrities.
Her friend rejoined her in the room.
“Who was on the phone?” Samantha asked.
“Brian was checking on you. What’s on television?” she asked, sitting back down in the chair. She looked up at the screen while Samantha raised the volume on the remote.
After a little while, she began to doze off.
“That bastard!” Brandy said, startling Samantha, and she jerked in bed. “Turn up the volume!”
A glance up and she saw Jeremy on the screen outside their office building. Her stomach rolled and she raised the volume along with holding up the remote/speaker so she could hear better.
“I’m disappointed that Dex Sterling would get in between a man and his future wife. I’ve been dismayed and hurt ever since Samantha left me at the altar, and now I know why she did it.” Though Jeremy spoke to an interviewer, the gleam in his eye was all for Samantha.
“I hate him!” she yelled, attempting to throw the remote only to remember a thick wire tethered it to the bed.
“Calm down,” Brandy said, “or you’ll have the staff come running.”
Samantha blew out a long breath. “You’re right. Letting him get to me is how I ended up here in the first place.”
“Can I get you something? Maybe they have tea here. I’ll go ask.”
Wanting a few minutes alone, she didn’t argue with her friend.
Brandy walked out and Samantha closed her eyes, determined to stay calm. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she heard Brandy’s singsong voice drifting toward her.
“Samantha, I hope you’re decent because you have a visitor!” Brandy pulled Dex into the room. “Sorry I didn’t get your tea. I ran into company.”
At the sound of Dex’s voice, she looked toward the door. “What are you doing here?” she asked, turning to a grinning Brandy.
“I called and your friend told me where you were.” He tipped his chin at Brandy. “What did the doctors say?”
Brandy picked up her purse. “She’s getting fluids, bloodwork will be back soon, and she needs to eat, hydrate, and reduce stress. I’m going back to the office to keep an eye on your partner.”
“Don’t engage,” Dex warned, and Brandy nodded as she waved and strode out.
He walked toward Samantha and sat down beside her, taking her hand. She curled her fingers and was forced to admit him being here made everything better.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better. They’ve been feeding me and not just through this.” She held up her free hand with the IV attached. “I’m mortified that I passed out.”
“We’ll talk about you not eating later. What happened with Jeremy this morning?” he asked, just as the doctor walked into the room.
“Ms. Dare? I have your bloodwork and everything is normal. As soon as the IV finishes, the nurse can take it out and we’ll discharge you. How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.” She smiled at the man who’d been pleasant all morning.
“My pleasure. Now, for discharge instructions. Take it easy today. Make sure to eat and not let yourself get so empty your blood sugar and blood pressure drops, okay?”
She nodded, her cheeks heating at the reminder she shouldn’t need.
“In general, those are doctor’s orders. Also avoid stress. Do you have any questions?”
“No. Thank you.”
Once they were alone again, Dex met her gaze. “Okay, beautiful. New rules. I’m taking you home and I’m staying for a couple of days until I’m sure you’re not too dizzy to be alone.”
“You’re going to babysit me, aren’t you?”
He rose until he loomed over her, placing a hand on top of the bed and leaning down until they were nose to nose. “I’m going to watch over every inch of you.” His voice held a promise she couldn’t wait for him to fulfill.
***
Dex took Samantha home from the hospital in an Uber and once they were upstairs, she lay down on the sofa and put on a romantic comedy. He took one look in her cabinets and sat down to order in groceries and the ingredients for lasagna.
By the time he’d put the food away and prepped dinner, including garlic bread, and rejoined Samantha in the living room, she’d fallen asleep.
He was beyond concerned about her. It wasn’t just how frazzled she must be to forget to eat but he still didn’t know what happened when Jeremy confronted her. If the man touched her again, he was going to show him what it meant to be hit by an ex-pro football player.
He glanced over and her eyes fluttered open. “I can’t believe I fell asleep,” she said, pushing herself back against the thick armrest. He adjusted his position and gently lifted her feet onto his lap. “Feel better?”
She nodded. “Listen, I appreciate you bringing me home and looking out for me but—”
“But nothing. I made dinner and I’m staying.” He’d called Fallon and asked her to stop by his apartment and pack a few things and drop a bag off here. He knew his sister wouldn’t mind and she’d been only too happy to do it. He was taking care of Samantha and he wouldn’t accept an argument. “I hope you like lasagna.”
Her eyes opened wide. “I love it. Did you make garlic bread?”
Laughing, he nodded.
“Who’d have thought you had talent in the kitchen?”
“Lizzie taught all of us some basic recipes so when we moved out, we wouldn’t starve,” he said, his tone wistful. He’d always loved Lizzie but he still wished his mother had been around to teach him.
She watched him for a few long seconds before breaking the silence. “Are you missing your mom?”
He knew they were in tune with each other but this was proof and his heart settled a bit in his chest. “I was wishing she’d been the one to teach me but not because I don’t adore Lizzie. I just—”
“You miss her. It’s only natural.”
He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the arch of her foot, and she moaned and his cock thickened inside his track pants.
He forced his mind onto their conversation. “I do. And I miss my biological parents, just knowing they aren’t here leaves a hole in my heart. Although I know I had a more peaceful life once they were gone. Which makes for some guilt.”
“I’m sorry, Dex. I despise the things my father did but I miss the idea of having a dad. Ian did his best but he was a big brother. Not my father.”
“Life is complicated,” he said. “Do you know where your father is?”
She sighed. “A few years ago, he had a confrontation with Savannah, his second wife, and my half-brother, Jason. He was in pretty bad financial trouble and as I mentioned, my cousins bought his hotels. But nobody hears from him.” She shrugged her shoulders. “He obviously has issues. I just try and be grateful for the family I do have.”
“Same.” He noted the gruffness in his tone and cleared his throat. “Looks like we have more in common than we realized.”
“We do.”
She pushed herself up to a sitting position and he pulled her toward him and onto his lap. Her legs straddled his thighs and she faced him, a teasing smile on her face. “You know how to take my mind off of my problems.”
He braced his hands on her hips and pulled her close, sealing his lips over hers. She kissed him back, threading her fingers through his hair and scraping over his scalp with her nails. The action felt good and intimate. It was so easy to feel close to her and to forget the walls she still had up.
She slowly rocked her pelvis, her sex rolling back and forth over his growing erection, and all thoughts rushed out of his head. She moaned and began gyrating faster. Gritting his teeth he pressed her into him, waiting until he felt her body stiffen and tremble, until she fell forward, her breasts pressing into his chest, her breath hot against his neck.
“We shouldn’t. You need to rest.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine and know what I can handle,” she insisted, then pushed back and slid down until she was on her knees in front of him.
“Are you sure?”
“Shh,” she said, hooking her fingers into the top of his track pants, she began to pull them down. He raised his hips and helped her ease them off, along with his boxer briefs. His cock bobbed against his stomach until she wrapped her hand around it before sliding her palm up and down his shaft.
Then, without warning, she rose up and slipped her mouth over the head of his cock, closing her lips and sliding up, releasing him with a pop.
“Fuck, that feels good.”
Holding him at the base, she repeated the motion with her mouth, sucking him down until, when she looked up at him, her eyes teared and her makeup dripped down her face. But she was doing this for him and he found her beautiful.
She continued to lick and pump his erection until he was close to an orgasm, and he wanted to give her a choice. “Babe, I’m going to come.”
He expected her to ease back with her mouth and pick up the rhythm with her hand, but she only sucked harder and he began to lift his hips, rising and falling, fucking into her mouth until he came so hard he saw stars. For a man with his history with women, everything with Samantha felt fresh and new.
She pushed herself to her feet and walked to the bathroom, taking time to clean up and returning with a towel for him. Once he’d taken care of things and tossed the towel in the hamper in the bathroom, they walked to the bedroom and ended up in her bed.
“You need a break,” he said, as they snuggled together against the myriad of pillows she had on top of her mattress.
She sighed. “I know but I had a break in the Bahamas and I need to keep an eye on things at the office.”
He had one arm behind her and pulled her tighter against him. With the other hand, he toyed with her soft hair. “From what I can tell, Brandy can handle things if you take a break.”
She shook her head. “If I disappear, Jeremy will think I’m weak.”
He let out a low chuckle. “The last thing anyone will think is that you’re weak. Jeremy will assume you went away with your sexy boyfriend, and he’ll be right.”
“Away, huh? What did you have in mind?”
“Florida.” He’d thought of it on the car ride home from the hospital. He just didn’t know if she’d go for the idea.
“What?” She pulled away and turned to face him. “What’s in Florida, other than my family? Because I don’t think that’s what you had in mind.”
He grinned. “That’s a side benefit. My house there is empty. The furniture’s been put in storage up here but I need to see for myself. How about going with me? We can stay at a hotel and you can relax a bit. See your mom, whoever else is around…”
“Truth?” She treated him to a wide smile. “I would love to see my mother and family down there. But Mom’s going to insist we stay at her place. She bought a new house when she remarried with rooms for everyone. If you’re not comfortable, I can explain we’re staying in a hotel but—”
“It’s all good. We can stay wherever you want.” He picked her cell up off the nightstand. “Call Brandy and your mom, arrange things, and we can leave whenever you’re ready. Does tomorrow morning work for you?”
She bit down on her lower lip.
“What?” he asked.
“This might be the most spoiled thing ever but I’m going to ask Ian to send his jet.”
Dex burst out laughing, but in a warm, fuzzy kind of way. She was adorable. “It is spoiled. But you should ask him anyway.”
She accepted the phone and he waited while she made a bunch of calls. She spoke to Brandy, who thought it was a great idea, her mother, who couldn’t wait to see her, Ian to arrange the jet, and she texted some other siblings.
“Ian wants us to have dinner with him and Riley one night,” she said.
Dex forced a smile. “Oh, joy.”
She burst out laughing. “Don’t worry. He’s much more pleasant when Riley’s around.”
He studied her and he relaxed, too.
“What?” she asked. “You’re staring.”
Shrugging, he said, “I like seeing you like this. Chill and excited.”
She met his gaze and suddenly she was in his arms, hugging him tight. “It’s because of you, Dex. Thank you.”
She tilted her head back and he brushed her hair from her face. “My pleasure, beautiful.”
And he’d never meant words more.