Chapter 18 #2
“Hey, Trouble.” The corner of my mouth tips upward, the motion making me wince slightly as the pain shoots through my chin and mouth where the guy punched me.
Shit, he got me good.
Before I can blink, Jessica’s in front of me.
“You’re hurt.” Her soft hands tilt my head back as she inspects my face. “What happened?”
“Had to break up a fight, and I got popped in the process. It’s fine.”
Her narrowed gaze meets mine. “You’re bleeding; it’s not fine. C’mon, let me look at it.”
“I was just about to do that,” Eva interjects, pouting. “You can’t just come and steal my patient.”
Jessica’s face flushes, but she shoots the woman a glare. “I’m not stealing your patient. I think there are more than enough patients for everybody around here. Go and check on the guy who’s with Officer Rivera.
“Of course, it always has to be how you want it.” Eva stomps her foot, but she turns around and goes to Nico, whose brows are practically touching his forehead, although I’m not sure if he’s surprised or wants to laugh.
Jessica’s hand touches mine. “C’mon, let’s…”
“Check our friend Kenny here first, ’kay?”
Jessica opens her mouth to protest but decides against it. She waves us over to one of the beds, and I help Kenny onto it, watching Jessica as she works.
It’s clear that she’s in her element. She examines him efficiently, noting information on the chart as she checks his pulse and blood pressure, before focusing on cleaning and bandaging his wound.
She’s almost done when a doctor comes in.
They talk quietly before the doctor shines a light in Kenny’s eyes and has him follow it from one side to the other.
“It doesn’t appear to be a concussion,” the doctor tells her, his gaze darting to me. “We’ll do a blood alcohol test so you have it for your report.”
“Thank you.” I nod and lean against the doorjamb, running my hand over my face. My jaw is still pulsing from where I was hit; the pain making my head ache.
“Get his blood drawn and then you can prepare the discharge papers.”
“No…” Kenny mumbles drunkenly. “Don’t wanna.”
In the end, I have to hold Kenny so Jessica can get the needle into his arm.
The whole process takes way longer than necessary, and I’m all sweaty from fighting with him when Nico peeks inside. “All done?”
“Yeah, we can g—”
Jessica grabs my hand. “Not so fast. I still want to check you out.”
I open my mouth to tell her I’m fine, but Nico is faster. He grabs Kenny from my grip. “You should let her check you out just in case. We’ll wait for you in the car.”
“Fine,” I relent on a sigh, letting Jessica guide me to the bed where Kenny had just been sitting. I lean against it and watch her as she gathers her supplies.
My gaze skims over her frame, taking in the way the scrubs hug her body. The thin material of her pants stretches over the curve of her ass.
“Why do you always end up with bruises?” Jessica asks as she turns around, and I snap my gaze up. Her eyes narrow in suspicion. “Were you just staring at my ass?”
The corner of my mouth quirks upward. “Maybe?”
Her lips part, but she quickly closes them, shaking her head, a soft flush coloring her cheeks.
“You’re incorrigible,” she says, her fingers slipping under my chin. They’re cold, her skin smells of antiseptic as she tilts my head back, inspecting my wound. “There’s already a bruise. I swear the other one just disappeared.”
“Maybe you should kiss it better?”
My question makes the flush on her cheek deepen, and the image of her raising on her tippy-toes, her soft lips brushing against my cheek, pops into my mind.
I’ve been thinking about that kiss since the other day.
Couldn’t erase it from my mind. Her sweet scent.
The softness of her mouth. Her warm breath.
Her fingers sinking into my shirt as she held on for a few seconds.
Dammit, just thinking about it has need stirring to life in my gut.
All from a chaste kiss on the cheek.
Screwed.
I’m so fucking screwed when it comes to this woman.
Jessica jabs me in the chest, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Stop trying to provoke me, Williams.”
I lift my hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “But I like to see you blush.” My voice drops lower as my knuckles skim her cheekbone. “I think it’s cute you’re so worried about me.”
“If you cared, you wouldn’t get yourself injured,” she mutters before pressing a gauze pad to my chin.
I hiss softly as the alcohol touches my open gash. “Fuck. Really, Trouble?”
She just quirks her brow at me. “I thought you were fine.”
Dammit, she’s got me there.
“I am fine, but this fucking hurts.”
“Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be a baby.”
“You’re enjoying this,” I protest.
She doesn’t even try to hide her smile. “Just a little.”
Her grip on me grows stronger as she cleans the gash before softly blowing on my sensitive skin. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches. Maybe a Band-Aid.”
Jessica starts to pull back, but I tighten my legs on her hips, holding her hostage. “Hell to the no.”
My response is immediate. The sudden motion makes her lose her balance, and she presses her hand on my chest to steady herself.
“Matthew…”
She sucks in a breath, both of us suddenly aware of how close we’re standing to each other. She’s positioned between my spread legs, our faces mere inches apart. So close I can see her eyes widen. See the gold specks shining in her brown eyes, and the freckles peppered over the bridge of her nose.
“The guys at the station won’t let me live it down.” My words come out raspy as I watch her nibble at her lower lip.
Her thumb skims over my flesh almost absentmindedly, rubbing the underside of my mouth as she watches me with those big amber eyes.
“What are you doing this weekend?”
She blinks, clearly confused by the change of subject. “Working. Why?”
“Saturday night?”
“Day shift. I should be done at seven.”
“There’s a movie night out at the gazebo. Come with me?”
Her tongue darts out, sliding over her lower lip. I can see her pulse beating wildly, so I slide my hand down the side of her neck, feeling the frantic beat.
“O-okay.”
I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, a shadow appears in the doorway.
“Hey, Jessy—”
We jump apart at the interruption, our gazes shifting to the door, where an unfamiliar male nurse is standing, glancing between the two of us.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Jessica tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and takes a step back as she forces a smile. “You’re not.” She turns to me. “You sure about that Band-Aid?”
I shudder at the idea. “Definitely. Thanks for cleaning me up.”
“Hopefully, it’s the last time.”
“And where would be the fun in that?” I smirk and wink at her as I push from the bed and go toward the door. “I’ll see you later, Trouble.”
She’s back to nibbling at her lip as I shift my gaze forward in time to catch the guy eyeing me with interest. I nod at him as I walk past and out of the room.
True to his word, Nico is sitting in the car, with Bill and Kenny in the back, when I drop into the passenger seat.
“All patched up?”
“Yeah.” I let out a sigh as he gets on the road.
My chin is still pounding, and I swear I can feel Jessica’s soft fingers touching my skin. It’s like her touch is engraved into my memory.
“No Band-Aid?”
“Fuck off, Rivera.”
Nico chuckles, which doesn’t help with my headache.
I rub the bridge of my nose. “Seriously, can this night get any—”
“Don’t—”
“—worse?”
But it’s already too late because before Nico can finish, I hear a retching sound coming from the back seat. The smell of puke fills the car almost immediately, making the bile rise in my throat.
“Fuck.”
Thankfully, we’re just in front of the station, so the moment the car comes to a stop, I jump out, sucking in much-needed fresh air.
“Thanks for jinxing us,” Nico mutters as he gets out, glaring at me over the roof.
“What did I do?”
“You never ask questions like that when on duty. Like ever.”
“Well, it’s a little too late for that now.” I pull open the back door and look at Kenny, who’s covered in his own puke. “Seriously, dude? You couldn’t have waited a bit longer?”
He mumbles something unintelligible that has me shaking my head as I pull him out.
“Have fun cleaning that up.”
“Fucking great,” I mutter as I grab the guy by his biceps and lead him toward the station.
“No pretty nurses to gush over you now, huh?” he cackles over his shoulder as I put him into the cell.
“We’ll see if you’re laughing tomorrow, buddy.”
“They all drool over a man in uniform. Who cares about us regular guys,” he continues mumbling under his breath as I go out of the holding area, shaking my head.
What a fucking night.
And I still have the stupid car to clean.
Because that’s just my luck.
I go in search of the bucket and some soap, Kenny’s words still ringing in my head.
They all drool over a man in uniform.
“Of course.”
“What?” Nico looks up, a confused expression on his face.
“I’ve got it.”
Nico’s brows pull together. “You’ve got what?”
I shoot him a winning grin. “I’ve got an idea on how to get you your dog.”