by Sophia Gray
He shot me a dark look, clearly still not happy with my insistence to leave. Or maybe he was still pissed about the whole not wanting to drop my panties for him thing. It was hard to tell in that moment.
“We’ve been over this,” he told me in a low growl of a voice. “It’d be better for Kato—”
I cut him off. We had already been over this, that much was true. But the sudden need to get the hell out of here was pretty strong, and my reasons for staying were pretty damn weak. “You can’t just keep me here,” I told him, clenching at the fabric of my scrubs. “If Kato needs someone to take care of him, call a doctor. That’s what normal people do.”
I started to move around him towards the door, but he easily stepped into my path. That stopped me quickly because I had no intention of letting him getting ahold of me again. And I definitely wasn’t going to let him kiss me again.
No. Fucking. Way.
“I’m not calling a doctor.”
Again, the sense that he was doing something illegal and this whole accident thing wasn’t an accident ran through my mind. Why else would he be so adamant? Not that I thought he was going to open up and telling me what was going on just because he stuck his tongue down my throat.
Making a frustrated sound in my throat, I actually did stomp my foot. I didn’t even care that it made me look like a child. I was tired and frustrated—both mentally and sexually. “That’s your problem!” I told him, feeling a little like a jerk because I knew Pax wouldn’t call anyone, and the one that would suffer was be Kato. “I have work. I have a home and a life.”
Okay, that last part was a total lie. I didn’t have time for a life. I was working crazy hours at the hospital and getting tiny bouts of sleep at home in the meantime. Really, it was a miracle that I had enough time to eat, much less do anything else.
He waved off my argument like it was an annoying fly buzzing around his head. “Call in to work. You wanna tell me they want a sick person working at a hospital?”
I blew out a harsh breath. “I can’t do that! I need this job. I need the money. Not all of us live in a fucking mansion!”
He raised a single eyebrow at me but didn’t seem very concerned by my statement. “You can afford a day,” he told me.
Like you would fucking know, I thought angrily. But instead, I said, “I have student loans to pay, not to mention rent and a little thing called food. Missing days is going to screw all of that up.”
Pax considered me for a long time. He tilted his head to the side, pursing his lips together. It looked like he finally made a decision, and I thought that decision would allow me to get the hell out of there.
It wasn’t.
“What if I make you a deal?” he asked me mildly.
I glanced over at the door, then back to him, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. “What kind of deal?” If it didn’t involve me leaving immediately, I decided I wasn’t interested—until he spoke.
“Stay here for as long as I need you.” I opened my mouth to tell him hell no, but he continued on in a slightly louder voice, talking right over me. “And I’ll pay you three times your regular salary at the hospital for that time.”
My jaw dropped. Three times? Did this crazy man have any idea how much money that was? I didn’t make anything like the doctors did, but I made enough to do a little better than just survive. And three times… I thought of how much money that really was and how that could help me pay off a good chunk of that student debt.
I eyed him suspiciously. “Do you even have that kind of money?” Sure, I’d accused him of having it already, but I reminded myself that the house had belonged to his parents, so maybe he didn’t have all that much on his own.
He grinned lazily at me. “Honey, I’ve got plenty.”
Plenty. Enough to pay three times my salary? Maybe. He might balk at the number I threw at him, which would give me reason enough to get out of here. But what if he does have the money? I wondered.
On the one hand, that was an awesome thing. Money was always good. But I had to think long term. What if I ended staying here too long and having to call into work for that whole time, ultimately leading the hospital to fire me? Could he get me my job back? I highly doubted it. And I didn’t think he’d be able to get me a new one, either. So what was the point of taking him up on his offer if it only bought me a very short term boost in income?
Shaking my head, I said, “But the hospital—”
He cut me off. “Three times your salary,” he repeated, then added, “and a guaranteed job at my…company if you feel like maybe the hospital isn’t working out anymore.”
My eyebrows shot up at the sound of that. Immediately, suspicion set in. “And what exactly is your company?” I hadn’t forgotten that I suspected him of illegal dealings.
He sighed. “Hellrider Incorporated. It covers a lot of small areas of business, one of which happens to necessitate a capable doctor.” He motioned towards the mudroom. “And if you prove yourself with him, I see no reason why I couldn’t hire you full-time.”
I blinked at him. Hellrider Incorporated? How was this motorcycle riding, rude asshole the owner of a company? And how could it possibly be making enough to hire a full-time doctor?
And why would it need one? I tacked on at the end.
“I’m not sure I like the idea of working for you,” I muttered.
To my surprise, he let out a booming laugh. “Oh? Are you sure? Because I’ll bet you’ve got a naughty little fantasy in that head of yours that involves your boss taking you over his desk at work.”
Tingles of desire shot through me, raw and hard. It might have been a little fantasy of mine. But that didn’t mean I was going to admit that to him. Grinding my teeth to keep myself in check, I lifted my chin and said, “Is everything that comes out of your mouth crude?”
He grinned at me. “Tell me you don’t like it, and I’ll stop.”
“I don’t like it,” I said flatly.
“I don’t believe you.”
Making a strangled noise, I tried again. “Can we get back on topic? What if I lose my job and don’t want to work for you?”
His grin faded, and he turned serious. He considered my words seriously, which I grudgingly appreciated, and after a moment said, “I’ll get you a job at a different hospital. I can’t guarantee that you won’t have to move depending on where it is, but I know some people. If that’s the way you need to go and you lose your damn job, you have my word that I’ll get you another one.”
I stared at him for a long time. Was he being serious? Could I trust him? He was such an asshole, rude, and more than a little crass. But his offer was enticing. I just didn’t know if he could hold up his end of the bargain.
I was still on the fence when he took a step closer to me again. I should have taken a step back from him again, but I didn’t. Instead, I let him step close enough so that I could feel his body heat radiate towards me, his breath smelling like cinnamon gum as he spoke in a deep, sultry voice that I grudgingly admitted I enjoyed. “Stay. I’m good for it. I’m good for whatever you need, baby.”
That shouldn’t have convinced me. If anything, it should have had me punching him and heading for the hills. But I was broke, and despite the brain in my head telling me that I needed to steer clear of this hot mess, he was sexy. Very sexy. And my body liked the hot, liquid feeling it got when he was around me.
It couldn’t hurt to stay for a little bit, right?
And before I could talk myself out of what had to be a moronic decision, I nodded my head. “Deal.”
He had one of the guys in the house run out and get my cell phone. I had to wait for it to charge, but when it was full, I called in to work, letting them know I had a really bad case of the flu. They didn’t even question it; I’d never called out before.
Pax led me upstairs then to one of the many rooms in the house. It had a king sized bed, a vanity, and a closet that was probably bigger than my apartment. The bathroom was right across from me.
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br /> I turned to thank him, but he was already leaving. Over his shoulder, he told me, “I’ll have someone pick you up some clothes. Unless you want to run around naked.”
He didn’t turn so he didn’t see the red tint to my cheek as my mind supplied some dirty details to go with me running around naked…
Chapter Eight
Pax
A week had passed since my sexy minx of a nurse Jamie had agreed to stay and care for Kato. We’d discussed money and payments, and I even made it official. I drew up the documents, listing her as a temporary employee whose job description was listed as “live in caretaker and nurse.” The dollar signs attached to the document made her eyes go wide a little, but I barely blinked.
The money wasn’t an issue. I wouldn’t have offered it if it had been.
Jamie had wanted to go to her apartment to pick up a few things, but I’d convinced her to stay that first night and finally get some rest. By the time she woke up late the following afternoon, I’d had Alex run out and pick up feminine toiletries, several sets of clothing, and a variety of different foods. I told him to think healthy, since she was a nurse. Maybe she liked junk food, but I was betting she was a little too conscious of the health risks involved for that. If she didn’t like it, I’d send Alex out for something else.
I’d do anything to keep her in the house. I couldn’t risk that she’d leave and reconsider our deal, not before I knew what was really going on.
Since Jamie was staying here, I’d decided to stay, too. I needed to keep an eye on her, and I wanted to be there when Kato woke up. Plus, I was still planning on seducing her, and being around all the time would help on that front.
If I were being honest with myself, I wasn’t interested in getting in her panties just because I wanted to know what she knew. I was confident that Kato would tell me that—assuming he woke up. Instead, it was the growing desire to feel her wet folds gripping my length that was pushing me to claim her.
She hadn’t helped herself out by resisting me, either.
Jamie was in the kitchen on the first floor when I came downstairs. It smelled like breakfast and made my stomach grumble slightly with hunger. She was dressed in one of the outfits that Alex had picked out, and I could have hugged the boy for his choice. The jeans were tight—she’d insisted they were a size too small, but no one else who saw her agreed—and accentuated not only the swell of her ass but also those long legs that I’d been salivating over. Her shirt was fitted, the fabric thin enough that I saw the outline of her bra, just barely. I loved that it stretched across her breasts, emphasizing the size and weight of them.
She was barefoot at the moment, her toenails covered in chipping baby blue nail polish. Her hands moved under the water spouting from the faucet, rinsing away soap suds. When they were clear, she shook them off, turned off the water, and then grabbed a towel. She dried them and turned to the stove where she had a skillet heating up what looked like scrambled eggs. She stirred them a couple of times before scooping them onto three different plates beside her. The plates already had bacon and biscuits and gravy.
I frowned. “You making breakfast, lunch, and dinner ahead of time?” I queried.
My voice startled her, making her nearly drop the plate she was holding as she spun around to face me. Her eyes were wide, and her lips parted as she let out a shaky breath. “Jeez, you scared me.”
I motioned to the plates with my chin. “What’s with the plates?”
She gave me a wry smile. “Not everyone eats like barbarians,” she offered.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, fine. Why are there three of them?”
She blinked at me, seeming confused. “Uh, there are three of us here?”
It was my turn to be surprised. I stared at her long and hard as I realized that she’d made breakfast for all of us. Something stirred in my heart and I felt sort of…touched. A moment later, I forcibly shoved that feeling away and folded my arms across my chest. “Actually, it’s just you and me.”
Her shoulders slumped a little, which pissed me off. If there was someone else, one of my guys that she was thinking about spreading those long legs for, I’d kill him. She was mine, dammit. She just didn’t know it yet.
“Oh,” was all she said.
“And I’m not paying you to be a fucking maid,” I snapped at her, striding farther into the kitchen and snatching the plate from her. “You’re a nurse. That’s it. Don’t get familiar.”
“Why do you do that?” she demanded hotly as I took the plate to the table.
The kitchen itself was rather large, though by no means industrial-sized, and the dining room made it look even bigger. It was attached with nothing to distinguish it from being part of the kitchen, except that it had a long table with eight chairs set up along it. Three on either side and one on each end.
I shoved the plate on the table carelessly, then turned around and aimed for the coffeepot. I pointedly ignored her.
That just pissed her off, which was about par for the course. I’d yet to experience a day with this woman where I didn’t lose my temper or one where she didn’t return in kind. She’s a pain in my ass, I thought as I grabbed a mug out of one of the cabinets and reached for the pot.
“Did you hear me?”
“Of course I did. I’m not deaf,” I told her irritably. I left my coffee black and headed back to the table to take a seat and devour what looked to be delicious and very fluffy eggs. And the bacon—it looked perfect, crispy around the edges and still a light tan color in the middle.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her throw up her arms, thoroughly exasperated with me. I half thought she might start pulling at her hair. Instead, she grabbed a plate and tossed it onto the table across from mine. “Then why don’t you answer me?”
I shoved a bite of eggs in my mouth. They were as good as they looked. Chewing, I spared her a quick glance. She was leaning with her forearms planted on the table, staring me down with a look of irritation that was quickly turning to rage. I couldn’t say why I pushed her some days more than others, except that I liked the way she was when she was angry.
Frustrating as hell, maybe, but fucking sexy.
Swallowing, I finally asked, “What the fuck are you rambling about, woman?”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “I’m talking about your macho attitude! I do something nice for you and you get pissed off at me! What the hell is that?”
I froze. A thousand responses tried to make their way out of my mouth, all at once and all of them angry, snide comments meant to cut her down into bite sized bits. But when it came to saying them, something stopped me. It wasn’t the softness of her mouth or the plumpness of her breasts. It wasn’t the way her delicate hands squeezed into tight fists or the way she stared me down like she was challenging a wild animal for dominance.
It was something softer that spoke to me. Maybe it was the shining in her eyes or catching something in her, otherwise pissy, voice. I didn’t know, and I didn’t fucking care.
I didn’t need softer, and I didn’t need her doing nice things for me.
Finally, I spoke. “Do I look like the kind of guy who likes politeness? Hmm?”
Her eyebrows rose, and for a second, she looked a little startled, like she wasn’t expecting that from me. Which was stupid if that was the case. It wasn’t like me being a dick was new information. “Everyone needs a little—”
“I don’t do nice, baby,” I told her, leaning over the table slightly towards her. “I do naughty. I do dirty. If you want to play those games with me, c’mon over. Otherwise, fuck off.”
Looking every bit like she was going to bite my head off for what I said, Jamie stood up so fast that she tipped her chair over onto the tiled floor. She opened her mouth to call me all manner of foul things, I was sure, but was stopped by a loud groan.
Both of us froze this time.
The groan came again, and this time I stood hurriedly, rushing out of the dining room and into the family room it was next to. Jamie
followed behind me as I half ran to the mudroom. As soon as I could see into the doorway, I noticed that he was up.
Kato was awake.
I hurried in first, stopping at the side of his cot. I was about to grill him on what the fuck had happened but never quite got the chance. Shoving past me, Jamie hurried to his side and began checking him over. She pulled out a mini flashlight from her pocket and checked his eyes as she began to speak to him, softly and sweetly.
“Hello, I’m Jamie. Can you tell me your name?”
It took him a second to respond, but when he did, he said, “Kato McMullen.” His gaze darted between Jamie and me. He looked pale and disoriented but alive—just like he’d had a bad case of the flu or something.
“Good. Can you tell me what happened?”
