by Mills, Julia
He knew Royce and Devon had paid close attention to his interactions with Sam while they loaded her car onto the trailer. Royce had even stopped what he was doing while they had discussed whether it was a good idea for her to go back to the hospital or not. There was no way to miss his raised eyebrows or knowing look. It had taken Devon all of two minutes to recognize her as one of the girls they had rescued. And in the next minute, Lance heard him telling Royce that Sam had asked Siobhan, his mother and their clan’s Healer, for his name. His brethren were the closest thing to family that he had, and he loved them all, but they were worse than a bunch of women when they all got together.
He pictured how it would happen. Royce would tell everyone that would listen everything that he had witnessed, and would end with a full scale discussion about his future and the woman they were sure was his mate. Before Aidan had found Grace, he would have been in on the fun, but now it would be Royce, or maybe Aaron. Then Rayne, his Commander, would have to put his two cents worth into the conversation. They would all assume he was going to claim her right away and bring her home. There would not be a moment’s peace. He had to admit he had given all of them a lot of shit over the years and had enjoyed the hell out of it, but he was not ready for what was to come. Paybacks really were a bitch! There was no way he wanted to have to a conversation with any of them concerning Sam, or listen to all the shit they would come up with. The only way to avoid it was to be very careful and do his level best to keep Sam away from his nosy ass brethren. Yeah, that was gonna be easy!
She shifted slightly and laid her head against his shoulder. As she exhaled, her breath stirred the little hairs at the back of his neck. Had they not been traveling fifty miles per hour around curves and over hills, he would have let his eyes slide shut from the sheer pleasure of it. As it was, his cock grew harder, pressing against his zipper until he was sure it would have the design embedded in the skin. He hoped her hand did not slide any lower than the waistband of his jeans or she would know the effect she had on him. He smiled, knowing he had a similar effect on her; the scent of her arousal had been present ever since he had taken the first step towards her while on the side of the road.
He felt her relax against his back and her breathing become slow and deep. If he was not mistaken, his tired, overworked mate was falling asleep. Thank the heavens they were turning into the hospital parking lot or he would have had to pull over to make sure she didn’t fall into the road. He slowed to little more than idle and coasted into her parking spot. As soon as he cut the motor on his Harley, she stiffened, took a deep breath, and her arms tightened around his waist as she stretched. “I must’ve dozed off,” she spoke with her head still resting on his shoulder, obviously not in a hurry to move, and he was definitely in no rush to lose the contact. Nothing had ever felt more perfect than her body against his and, of course, he wanted more; kike her naked body against the front of his, but he would take what he could get and what he was getting felt damn good.
“I need to get in there and see what’s going on.” She sat back and his body immediately missed hers.
He pushed the kickstand down and steadied his bike while she climbed off. Then he followed suit and spun around to find her standing there. Unable to catch his breath, he stood perfectly still, waiting for her to do or say something. She looked up at him through thick, dark eyelashes, causing his heart to skip a beat. “Thank you so much for everything. You saved my butt again tonight, not to mention bringing me all the way back to work.” She shook her head, and he once again marveled at her magnificent mane. “I have absolutely no idea how I’ll ever pay you back, but I will find a way.”
“Sam, you have absolutely nothing to pay me back for. Now get in there so you can take care of that special little patient of yours and we can get you home before you fall down.”
Her brow furrowed, and he watched a myriad of emotions flash through her expressive dark brown eyes. He knew the second she had decided what to say. Her chin popped up and gone was the demure look he had received moments ago; before him now stood the warrior woman once again, glaring at him. “You are so not staying here and waiting while I take care of Sydney. You’ve done quite enough. I’ll find a ride home with someone. I’m sure Charlie won’t mind giving me a lift.”
Obviously, she expected him to take her directive without question because she spun on her heel and was just going to walk away from him without a backward glance. Oh, hell no, he thought. That shit is not happening! He gently grabbed her upper arm and spun her around, bending at the same time so that she was facing him at eye level after her turn. “I understand that you’re used to taking care of yourself and that’s to be commended, but I brought you here and I’ll take you home. Capisce?” He winked to ease the sting of his command, but he meant every word.
He saw the fire dance in her eyes, and knew they were about to have another discussion. He was not sure whether it was the close proximity to his mate or the way her scent wrapped around him that made him crave her. Maybe the fact that the most fantastic woman in the world had been made especially for him caused him lose his mind, but he did, and he would never know why. In a heartbeat, they went from standing toe to toe to him holding her tight against his body, kissing her like she was the very air he breathed. It was pure heaven. Something deep inside his soul shifted. Suddenly everything wrong with his world was right…complete. He was whole for the first time in his very long life and the only thing better was the feeling of her lips moving against his. Her tiny nails buried in his back and pulled him even closer to her soft, warm body. She was holding absolutely nothing back. Their bond was almost nonexistent because of its newness, but he could feel her everywhere.
They opened to each other at precisely the same moment, their tongues dueling for supremacy, each trying to take in as much of the other as they possibly could. Lost to their passion, they both jumped when the sound of a car door slamming shut sounded from the dark parking lot. Sam stiffened and pulled back, looking at him once again through her impossibly thick, dark lashes. He reveled in the half- lidded, sexy look of her eyes and her kiss-swollen lips, knowing he and he alone had done that to her. The blush on her cheeks was an unexpected bonus that had his chest swelling with pride. He refused to give her a chance to remember what he had been distracting her from. Spinning her on her heels, he walked them towards the hospital. In companionable silence, he enjoyed holding her close for the few minutes it took to reach the entrance. “Don’t think just because you kissed all rational thought from my brain for a few minutes that this conversation is over,” she said as they stepped on the curb.
“Whatever you say, Doc,” he chuckled, hoping to lighten her mood and deciding he liked the nickname.
He looked down to find her still facing forward with her brow once again furrowed. If they didn’t reach some kind of compromise in their power struggle, her poor brows would be permanently ruffled. Her body language and the emotions coming from her were more confusion than anything else, something he could most definitely understand. Especially since he was confused even though he had half a clue what was going on.
They walked through the automatic doors, and the nurse at the desk wore a knowing smile while saying hello to Sam. They continued down the hall. He grinned as she squirmed from under his arm at the same time that two young women in scrubs came out of a room on their left and turned towards them, smiling. The one with short blonde hair stopped right in front of Sam. “What are you doing back here, Missy? Didn’t I send you home hours ago?”
She chuckled, “Yeah, but I had ‘technical difficulties’ then got a call that a post-op patient spiked a fever. Of course, Dr. Monoghan and his crew are nowhere to be found, and the floor nurse thinks she needs to be seen, so here I am.”
The young woman leveled her gaze at Lance and then slid it back to Sam. “And you just happened to find him in the waiting room?” She tipped her head in his direction.
Sam blushed again, and he didn’t even try to stop the s
mile that slid across his face. “No, Lance saved me when Bonnie Blue decided to breakdown and then gave me a ride back.” He could tell she was uncomfortable but had no intentions of letting her off easy. He stood still with his signature shit-eating grin planted firmly on his face, waiting to see if she introduced him. To his surprise, Sam didn’t miss a beat. “Charlie, this is Lance. Lance, this is Dr. Charlene Gallagher…Charlie.” As they were shaking hands, she shifted and started her getaway while beginning to braid her incredible hair.
“If you insist on staying, Lance, you can hang out in the waiting room or the cafeteria,” she called over her shoulder.
“I’ll be in the cafeteria, Doc,” he called to her retreating backside.
“Alright, I’ll make it as quick as I can.”
And with that she picked up the pace. So entranced by the sway of her gorgeous ass as she moved down the hall, he completely missed Charlie leaving too. Shaking his head, he headed towards the elevator to find the cafeteria, his mind a blur of thoughts about his Samantha. How in the hell was he ever supposed to stay away from her long enough to catch those that threatened not only her, but also the others he held most dear? Royce always told him the day would come when his mouth would write a check his ass couldn’t cash. Well, if kissing Sam had been that check then he would be a pauper selling pencils in the street for just one more taste.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Four long hours to get Sydney’s temperature back to 98.6 and she was finally resting comfortably in her room. Sam still had no clue why the child’s fever would break and then spike again, only to repeat the cycle about every forty-five minutes. All the tests they had run came back negative for everything. There was no logical reason for what had happened, but at least once they got it all the way back to down normal, it had stayed that way for over an hour with no indications of returning.
The most reassuring sign was that the child’s rosy coloring had returned to normal, and she had stopped the constant tossing and turning. All that was left was to chart the final dose of meds and then she could find Lance and finally get home to her bed. She hated to admit that she was glad he had stayed, but knowing that Charlie had already headed home from the text she had gotten almost two hours earlier, and the only remaining option being sleeping in the doctor’s lounge…again, she was ecstatic he had waited for her.
As she shut down the computer and signed out at the nurse’s station, she thought about the man that had literally kissed her silly in the parking lot. She definitely hadn’t seen that coming, but had enjoyed every damn second of it. That was what a kiss was supposed to be; passionate, all-consuming and….wow! As she relived every spectacular second of the best kiss of her life, she moved on autopilot towards the end of the hall. Waiting on the elevator, a cold creepy feeling slid down her spine. She felt like she was being watched. Not in the protected, safe way that Lance watched her; this was creepy, almost scary, and made her feel edgy.
Nonchalantly, she glanced over one shoulder and then the other, seeing nothing but lab coats, scrubs, and hospitals gowns; nothing or no one that looked out of place in a hospital at that hour. The longer she waited the more intense and focused the dark, ominous feelings became. Finally, the elevator indicator flashed red, and she counted to fifteen, knowing the doors would open in the next second. She gave one last, quick look over her shoulder, took a step towards the elevator and ran straight into a wall of hard muscle. Strong, familiar arms instantly wrapped around her, pulling her farther into the elevator. It was not until she heard the doors close that the arms gently holding her loosened. She looked up only to be snared by the amazing blue eyes she was coming to depend on to be there in her hour of need. The look they held this time reminded her of the look she had seen in them the night of their first meeting, complete with brows drawn tight. She realized immediately that he was not smiling but frowning, almost scowling, and the tension he carried was vibrating through her as he continued to hold her. Even his voice was gruffer than usual when he spoke, but he visibly worked to soften both his look and his tone. “I was just coming to find you. What happened?” He was examining her, “You seem spooked.”
He was still not happy and trying to play it. She decided to play along and answered, “Oh, nothing…just tired, I guess. Why are you here? I thought we decided to meet in the cafeteria?”
For the second time, he shifted his gaze from her eyes to her eyebrow. He had done the same thing earlier, and just like then, she was sure he was hiding something again. Right before he began speaking, he looked back into her eyes, “Just coming to check on you. It’s been a little over four hours, Doc. Just wanted to make sure everything was all right.” He gave her a little half grin, but the ever present twinkle had not returned to his eyes. Still visibly working at relaxing both his body and expression, he asked, “Your little patient doing better?”
“Yeah, her temperature is finally back to normal, and she’s resting comfortably,” she answered, still wanting to know what had him on edge, but deciding to wait and see if he would tell her on his own.
“Great! Then we can get out of here, and you can finally get some rest,” he commented, obviously avoiding any further conversation, but still on high alert.
The elevator doors began to open and quicker than she could follow, he had her hand in his and was a step in front of her as they exited. She watched him scan the entire area while quickly moving towards the exit, almost as if he was looking for some hidden danger. Gone was the fun-loving guy that had handled her broken down car without a second thought and had gotten her back to the hospital to take care of Sydney like her knight in shining armor. The man holding her hand now reminded her of some type of soldier or police officer or…bodyguard. Yes! That was what he was doing, he was guarding her; but from what? She pulled on his hand in an effort to get him to stop, but he only seemed to speed up.
“Come on, Doc, we need to meet Royce out in the parking lot. He brought my truck. I figured you’d be too tired to ride back on the Harley.” He smiled that little half smile again, but it still didn’t reach his eyes. Something was happening that he was not sharing with her. Any other time she would have demanded to be told everything, but she was just too exhausted to care. Not one to give up control easily, she again thought about calling him out, but decided that between fatigue and all the crazy feelings this man stirred within her, she simply didn’t have the strength for a discussion. The creepy feeling she had felt a few moments ago disappeared as soon as she had slammed into him, once again proving that her mind and body recognized him as her safe haven. Something she was definitely going to need to examine after she had gotten some sleep. Lance was a complication she simply did not need at this stage in her life, no matter what her crazy hormones were screaming. Her intuition was always right and what she had felt before she bumped into him had been terrifying, but she figured the man presently pulling her through the parking lot, along with his huge brothers, could pretty much handle anything anyone could dish out. She’d be sure to ask him about it tomorrow when he returned her car. She would be rested, and then she would not be charmed out of getting the answers she wanted.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He knew the minute the wizards had entered the hospital. The stench of their black magic made him nauseous at first scent. His instant rage had almost gotten the better of him. The only plausible reason they had to be at the hospital was Sam, and there was no way in hell he was letting anything happen to her. Keeping her safe had been all he’d thought since he had first caught the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle in the smoldering warehouse. He’d denied his feelings and the pull of the mating call to protect her and keep her from harm, and now those fucking bastards had come after her out in the open, in her place of employment. WHAT. THE. HELL?
Thank the Heavens he had been there. Having no idea how many wizards were in the hospital and not wanting to endanger any innocents, he’d immediately called for backup, mind speaking with Royce. The big guy decided that they should
use the guise of exchanging vehicles as an excuse for their sudden appearance. Lance had to admit he was thankful for the older Guardsman’s quick thinking.
“Are you guys here yet?” he called to his brethren in mind speak as he and Sam exited the hospital.
“Already here and waiting, Dude,” Devon answered.
“Just you two?” Lance asked as he maneuvered through parked cars with Sam in tow.
“Nope, Aaron and Aidan are inside looking for the dirty fuckers. We figured if their dickhead brother was with the wizards, they had the best chance of catching him. We’re going in as soon as you get your girl clear of here,” Royce answered, and Lance could hear the chuckle in his voice when he said ‘your girl’. Dammit, Lance knew the old man had figured out what was going on.
