First One In Last One Out

by Laura Marie Henion

  Licking her lips softly before gazing up into Ryan's eyes she stilled a moment at his reaction.

  He glared at her, his face as muscular and defined as the rest of him. He was like steel, a body of armor prepared to destroy anything that collided with it. She trembled with a combination of trepidation and sexual desire. He was so damn appealing she nearly lost her breath.

  Inhaling, she trudged on into his guarded territory with focus to penetrate the shield he held so well.

  Leaning forward she began her strategic attack. Katie kissed his cheek, his neck then back up to his lips again. She nibbled on Ryan's bottom lip.

  "Talk to me Ryan. Tell me what's bothering you,” she whispered, caressing her hand across his chest, over his hips then past his backside while she softly kissed his lips.

  Katie absorbed the warmth from the palms of Ryan's hands as he held her by the waist. He picked Katie up, placing her on the island behind her. He wedged his hips forward closing the gap between their bodies. She invited him closer as she wrapped her legs around Ryan's waist as he pulled her against him.

  His mouth covered hers and they held each other close.

  His kiss felt hot and demanding, his raspy moan as his lips traveled over her skin emitting tiny sensations throughout her body. He was all man, her man and she wanted him to touch her all over, make love to her.

  Breathless, he whispered against her skin.

  "I saw what Theo did to you at the hospital. I saw him touching you to get back at me..."

  She heard him breathing, trying to control his desire.

  "It pissed me off,” Ryan admitted, holding Katie's gaze..

  She placed her hands against his chest then gently glided her palms up to his shoulders. She continued her path until she held her hands against Ryan's cheeks.

  "Forget about it, Ryan. It was no big deal. He is such a jerk and obviously, you scare him. He is trying to make you lose your temper. That's your weakness."

  Ryan smirked. Slightly. Then adjusted his stance near the counter and placed his hands on either side of the counter and against Katie's hipbones in a challenging stance. His defined dimples seemed to wink at her.

  "What are you, some expert in this field?” he challenged her then stole a kiss.

  Katie let go of his cheeks and placed her hands, palms down behind Ryan's as she casually, leaned back.

  "I call them as I see them Ryan. I have heard that you are the best and you are going to win that fight, win that championship. Do not even think for one moment that you won't. We definitely have to work on your temper though."

  "You can help in that department."

  "I can?"

  Ryan placed his lips closer to Katie's, smiled then kissed her. It was a gentle kiss then a slow release. He grabbed hold of her around her waist and Katie held onto his arms.

  Katie smiled as Ryan caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.

  "I told you once before these lips of yours are addictive. One kiss from you and I have no more angry thoughts."

  Ryan kissed Katie again then caressed her outer thigh, using it to pull her closer to him, Their most intimate parts touched through the fabric of their clothing, yet ignited an instant flame and desire to be one. Their gazes locked, signifying their simultaneous needs.

  Katie wrapped her legs tighter around Ryan's waist.

  "You're an amazing woman, do you know that?” Ryan kissed her neck then her cheek. “You have the power to heal me.” He kissed her neck again. “Make me stronger.” He kissed her chin. “Confront my fears and I love you for it.” He kissed her lips and embraced her tighter.

  Katie's head rolled back in defeat as Ryan continued to seduce her and drive her wild. She placed her palms against Ryan's cheeks and held him steady as she gazed deeply into his eyes. “I love you too,” Katie whispered.

  He smiled, his eyes twinkling with delight before darkening. Simultaneously she felt his embrace tighten.

  "Dinner can wait.” He picked Katie up off the island, setting her feet down on the tile floor.

  Katie took Ryan's hand as he led her upstairs to the bedroom.

  Katie grabbed Ryan by his waist, leading him backwards towards the bed.

  She stopped him just shy of the edge and began unbuttoning his shirt.

  "You're driving me wild Angel ... pushing me around, taking control."

  "Shhh.” Katie placed her fingertips against Ryan's lips.

  He devoured them with his mouth. Their gazes locked.

  Katie kissed Ryan's bare chest, finding the light pink flesh with her teeth and gently nibbling. She continued licking, kissing, nibbling on every inch of skin she could get her mouth onto while she fumbled with the zipper on his jeans.

  He pushed her skirt to the floor then grabbed her by the waist, pulling her hips against his own.

  Katie nibbled harder.

  Ryan pulled Katie's fancy tank top over her head pleasantly surprised to find no bra to remove.

  "Oh Angel...” Ryan could not stand it any longer. He had to have her. He wanted to be inside Katie as he picked her up and placed her onto the bed. He quickly removed his pants and covered her body with his own.

  They kissed again, changing their mouth position, thirsty for every inch of each other. Katie gently squeezed the light pink flesh between her fingers to give pleasure to her lover. Ryan could not take it. He grabbed her wrists, gently placing them above her head.

  "Stop it Angel, I'll never make it.” He gave her a look that told her he was in charge.

  Ryan placed his mouth over her breast. He sucked and nibbled every inch then moved to the other, being sure to satisfy each breast.

  Katie panted, rubbing her leg against Ryan's outer thigh.

  He held both her wrists with one hand above her head while trailing his fingers gently along the curves of her body. Her stomach muscles tensed.

  Katie absorbed the flexing muscles of Ryan's stomach and arms as he lifted his hips to grab at the small article of clothing that lay in his way.

  Ryan pulled at the dainty material that clung against her feminine parts. They heard the sound of material ripping. Katie smiled.

  A moment later, they were one again, rocking and thrusting, making love until they simply could not hold back any longer.

  They sighed contentedly in unison

  They gasped simultaneously, satisfied, united and one.

  Katie laid her cheek against Ryan's chest as he held her in an embrace.

  She loved touching him and letting her fingers glide across the lines of his defined muscles. He was a large man and not just because of his height and physique but his personality and heart as well. He was able to heal her from every sad thought or worry. She thought about how she tried to push him away and how she thought that continuing life alone would give honor and respect to Bradley. She sighed, as intense emotion from thoughts of Bradley filled her heart. He saved her life. Bradley knew what he was doing when he pushed her to the side during the fire. He wanted her to live. He sacrificed his life to save hers. Katie's eyes began to tear. As if sensing it Ryan pulled her tighter against him.

  "What is it Katie?” he asked. She did not want to tell him. She did not want him to know that she was thinking of Bradley when they had just finished making love. Then it hit her. She had continued to feel guilty, blaming herself for Bradley's death and not letting go of the past. Hadn't Ryan been doing the same thing with Shelly? He had thought Shelly hated him, blamed him for her injuries and not getting to the fire sooner. He was wrong. Ryan was Shelly's hero just as Bradley had been hers.

  "Are you thinking about the fire and Bradley?” Ryan asked and immediately Katie wiped her eyes and sat up to look at Ryan.

  "I was Ryan, but not how you think."

  "Talk to me then. Do not bottle it up inside Katie, it will eat you alive. Believe me."

  Katie smiled as she leaned on her elbow and Ryan turned towards her so they were facing one another.

  He gently wiped the tears away from her che
eks.

  "You're an amazing man Ryan.” Katie placed her hand against Ryan's cheek and smiled.

  "You've brought me life, you've helped me in so many ways and I love you for it."

  Katie took a deep breath, trying not to cry. She wanted Ryan to hear everything she needed to say.

  "Not too long ago, I gave you some advice. Advice that I should have used myself and hadn't until now."

  "What was that?” he asked as he placed his hand on Katie's waist.

  "I told you that you shouldn't blame yourself for Shelly's injuries and that it wasn't your fault and you should go see her. Every day since the fire and Bradley's death, I have asked myself, why am I alive? Why did Bradley have to die? I have told myself repeatedly that I had no right to be happy, never mind be in love.

  Somewhere along the way between the heartache, the loss and anger, I did not see the big picture. Bradley loved me, yes, he did and I will never forget him, Ryan. He will always be a part of me and he deserves that. He pushed me out of the way and sacrificed his own life to save mine.” Katie began to cry and Ryan held her close.

  "You shouldn't forget him Katie. I would never ask you to do that."

  "I know you wouldn't, and with time it will get better because I have you. You ran into that fire to save Shelly's life. To get there as quickly as you possibly could and she is alive today because of you. I was so scared to come back home, surrounded by firefighters and everything they stood for when really it was exactly what I needed. Bradley was doing his job and because of his sacrifice, I am here with you. I love you so much Ryan. I feel so safe, so loved and protected in your arms and I want you to know how much you mean to me."

  Katie kissed Ryan then they embraced.

  "I love you too Katie,” Ryan whispered then held her close enjoying their time together and the love they shared.

  The following morning, Ryan dropped Katie off at the hospital. 15 minutes later, the first patients of the day arrived. An entourage of panicked teenagers, mostly girls, entered the double doors crying and carrying on behind the paramedics and the stretcher.

  Katie went over to assist Dr. Broderick.

  "Is he gonna be all right? Is he gonna be all right?” one young red headed teenager asked, as the tears streamed down her face and two other girls held her.

  The teenagers continued to panic and ask questions and Dr. Broderick motioned for the police officers to remove them from the ER. The paramedic informed Dr. Broderick and Katie of the situation.

  "Looks like this kid decided he wanted to ride his skateboard off of the roof and then onto a metal railing. Things did not go so smoothly for him. Apparently, he did it once and succeeded then tried again to impress the girls. His friends thought it would make it more interesting if they threw full soda cans at him while he was attempting this stupid ass trick.” The paramedic shook his head in disbelief.

  "My God, what an idiotic thing to do. So what happened?” one of the other nurses asked.

  "One of the soda cans wedged into the gutter and the kids skateboard hit it. He went airborne without the board, rotated through the air, passed over the railing but just barely. Apparently his ankle slammed against it, that's definitely broken, then his face and head hit the pavement and his hip went sideways which caused him to land crunched up."

  "I think this kid has a broken pelvis besides a broken ankle, never mind the concussion. Let's get him to x-ray immediately,” Dr. Broderick stated as Katie finished checking the IV drip. They continued to check over the teenage boy then Ella accompanied him to X-Ray.

  Katie made her way through the waiting room where now the parents of the injured teenager were talking to Dr. Broderick. He was explaining the kid's injuries.

  The morning continued with three more injured patients. One severely injured patient and one minor injury and all before lunchtime.

  Katie was about to take her break when a man entered the ER with his hand all wrapped up in a bandage. There was blood seeping through it. One of the attendants ran over to assist him. A few minutes later, Dr. Broderick and Katie entered the curtained off partition to assist the injured man.

  The patient was in his forties with dirty brown hair a mustache and a go-tee. He did not appear to be in much pain as he gazed at Katie and smirked. Katie took the patient's hand and began to unwrap the bandage as he explained the cause of his injuries to Dr. Broderick.

  "I was sharpening the lawnmower blades when my hand slipped. I missed my knuckles and fingers and instead the blade sliced the top of my hand."

  As Katie removed the bandages, she could tell the cut was deep but it did not look like the blades had damaged any bone. His hands were dirty and she knew he would need a Tetanus shot.

  Katie could sense the patient's eyes upon her and when she glanced up, he appeared angry.

  "Am I hurting you?” she asked.

  "You couldn't,” he said rather quickly, and with obvious anger.

  Dr. Broderick moved closer and took the patient's hand.

  "Katie couldn't hurt a fly. She's the best nurse you could have taking care of you,” Dr Broderick added as he began to clean up the wound and inform the patient of the next steps.

  Katie looked at the man again and he just stared at her.

  "What's your name?” Dr. Broderick asked.

  "My nickname is Red."

  Dr Broderick glanced up then looked back down at the wound.

  "Red, huh? You don't have red hair,” Dr. Broderick said, then asked Katie to get things ready. The patient needed stitches and a Tetanus shot.

  "I did when I was younger,” the patient grumbled then released a sigh that appeared to indicate he was annoyed at the line of questioning.

  Dr. Broderick and Katie exchanged glances.

  "Well you're going to need a Tetanus shot because of the dirty lawnmower blade. Nothing I can do about it,” Dr. Broderick stated.

  "No problem.” The patient glanced towards Katie.

  "Are you going to hold my hand?” he asked Katie.

  She suddenly felt very uncomfortable and she did not like the look of the patient nor the way he stared so intently at her.

  She was suspicious as she laughed the question off as a joke.

  "A big guy like you should be just fine. Here we go,” Dr. Broderick stated and Katie watched, as the patient never blinked his green eyes. He just gazed into Katie's eyes, never flinching.

  When Dr. Broderick was finished with the stitches he began to clean up the mess including the open packages of gauze pads and other supplies. It was Katie's job.

  "I can get that, Doctor,” she said.

  "That's all right, Angel. I got this and we are finished here. Why don't you take that break you're overdue for?” Dr. Broderick winked and Katie smiled then left the room but not before glancing at the patient one last time. There was something very unnerving and rather strange about him. She pushed off the feeling as she headed towards the ladies room to freshen up. He was just some weirdo.

  As Katie left the room Earl Redding Jr. continued to play with the doctor.

  "Angel, huh? That's some pet name you have for the sexy nurse?” Redding asked Dr. Broderick.

  Dr. Broderick gave the patient a dirty look. He was glad he was finished and he did not like the way the patient was watching Katie. It was intense.

  "Is she coming back? Does she always work this shift?” Redding asked as he eased himself down off the examining table. The stitches and the needle did not hurt as much as the self-inflicting cut he had to administer this morning. He thought about the dirty piece of metal he found behind the warehouse and that the Devil commanded him to cut himself and visit the Angel in person. Her immense beauty surprised Redding. He still maintained the bulge in his pants despite her absence from the room. She was a sight and he nearly fell under her spell. The Devil had warned him about the Angel's power.

  "She's an ER nurse so she has numerous shifts. Why do you ask?” Dr. Broderick gathered the file and his charts preparing to leave the room
.

  "She's quite a beauty. I was going to see if she does any freelance work.” Redding licked his lips and smiled.

  "She doesn't. Now here is a prescription for some painkillers if the pain gets to be too much. Keep the bandage clean, there is a list of directions and treatment in this pile of papers. Any concerns or questions just call and ask to speak with me. Dr. Broderick."

  "Hate to insult you Doc but if I call or stop by again it will be to ask for Angel. You have a nice day.” The patient exited the room and Dr. Broderick followed him. He wanted to be sure he left the hospital and did not try to locate Katie. Dr. Broderick's gut told him that Red was nothing but trouble. He jotted down a description of the man who called himself ‘Red'. Just in case the creep came back to bother Katie, Dr. Broderick wanted a good description and documentation of his feelings at the time.

  * * * *

  Detective Lou Bachelli had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jill identified Redding Jr. even with a disguise on. They ran the sketch through the system connecting numerous aliases that Redding had been using. Lou and Kenny had everyone they could get on locating Redding and keeping their ears opened to any fires with similar MO's.

  By early Saturday morning, they received two major breaks in the case.

  "Detective Bachelli, we have a man matching the description from the sketch as well as one of the aliases. His name is Tomas Riley. He purchased a train ticket under that name,” the detective told Lou.

  "Where was the destination?” Lou asked.

  "A place called Warrens Cove."

  Lou looked at Kenny and they both knew who Redding's next target was.

  "Katie! Get on the phone with the Warrens Cove Arson Investigation Unit. Find out if there have been any fires in the area with similar Modus Operandi. Kenny we need to contact Katie, if Redding—"

  "Don't even say it. I'm on it right now.” Kenny instantly flipped open his cell phone and dialed Katie's number.