by Elisa Leigh
Curvy and the Beast
A Forever Safe Romance Short Story
Elisa Leigh
MK Moore
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Elisa Leigh & MK Moore
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover created by Elisa Leigh at Forever Love Covers & Design
Created with Vellum
Contents
1. Addison Winston
2. Crews Santiago
3. Addison
4. Crews
5. Addison
Epilogue
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
1
Addison Winston
Harlem, New York 2017
“I just don’t understand why you have to work there, Addison. You graduated at the top of your class in nursing school. You could have gone to work for any of the hospital’s here in the city. Why you chose...”
I roll my eyes as I listen to my mom go on and on about how she doesn’t want me working at the twenty-four-hour urgent care clinic here in Harlem. I know she means well, but she doesn't understand what it's like for some of the people in this part of the city. My parents come from old money, so they’ve never had to go without the basics, like food and water, or being cared for by an honest doctor that can get them the medication they so desperately need and normally wouldn’t be able to afford. My mother hoped that once I had finished my internship here and had graduated, I would have gone to work somewhere safer. I told her over and over that wasn’t what I wanted, but she blissfully ignored me and hoped for the best.
You see, when I was a little girl growing up on the Upper East Side, I was very fortunate to have what I did, and I knew this from a young age. I didn’t understand why so many people had to suffer on the streets while I lived a life of luxury. As I got older, I began to understand the cruelties of the world, and my desire to help them grew. Going to school to be a nurse was challenging but getting to help patients and take care of them has made it all worth it. In a small way, it feels like I’m doing my part to help.
“Mom, my break is over. I have to go.”
“Alright, dear. Your father and I love you very much, I hope you know that.”
“I do mom, and I love you both too.”
“We just worry about you. A young single woman as beautiful as you are, is bound to get taken advantage of. The last thing we want is to see you get hurt.”
“I know, and I’m being careful. I took those self-defense classes you insisted on, and I carry my mace when walking to my car. I’ll see you on Sunday for dinner, okay?”
“Okay, dear.”
I hang up the phone and slide it into the front pocket of my scrubs. I’m about to go back inside when I see two men walking up to the building, one standing upright and walking the other slumped over in my direction. The nurse in me comes out in full force, and I jump into action.
“What’s his name?”
“Crews.”
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” I ask as I huddle under the guy's other side, wrapping my arm around his back and doing my best to shoulder his weight and help the man carrying Crews inside.
“Linda, open that door for me, will you?” I ask our front desk, receptionist. She hits the button, and the door swings open to the hallway that leads to our patient rooms. “Thank you,” I say as I pass her.
“This way,” I tell the man and quirk my head to the left walking us into an empty patient room. He gets Crews onto the exam table and is about to walk out of the door.
“Wait! Can you tell me what’s wrong with your friend before you leave him?”
“First, Crews isn’t my friend, he isn’t anyone’s friend. I guy like him keeps to himself. I only brought him in because I didn’t want it to get back to his boss that I let him die and did nothing to help. I don’t need that shit on me.” He says before heading for the door again.
I step in front of the open door and cross my arms, staring at him and not letting him pass.
“What the fuck do you want? Get out of my way!” He shouts, throwing his hands up in the air.
I flinch but stand there wanting to get whatever information I can from him. “What is wrong with him?”
He glares at me, but after a minute of us both staring each other down, he caves. “Crews stumbled into my cab ten minutes ago. When he couldn’t tell me where he was going, I tried pulling him out of my cab, but then I realized who he was and brought him here hoping you all could do something for him.”
Who he was? Who the hell is he?
“And what is your name?”
He shakes his head and walks out of the patient room. “Thanks for all of your help,” I mutter.
Just then, the guy who looks like he could be dead, if not for his labored breathing, groans. Going to his side, I brush dark hair out of his eyes and see the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on. For a few moments, I can’t get my feet or hands to work, too caught up in the man before me. Finally, I get to work checking his airway, breathing, and pulse. Then I check his extremities and notice blood seeping onto the paper sheet under him on the bed. Pulling his shirt up, I see a six-inch laceration to his side that is bleeding. How did I not notice this at first?
“Doctor Murray, I need you in here STAT,” I call.
The older doctor comes walking in calmly. “What do we have?” He asks.
“Male presents with a six-inch-long laceration to the left side of the abdomen, about an inch deep.”
Dr. Murray pulls on a new pair of gloves and walks to my side where I’m holding Crews’ shirt away from the laceration. He observes the cut and looks up at me. “The wound is infected, he needs to get to a hospital, Addison.”
Crews wraps one of his hands around my wrist, causing me to gasp, and squeezes lightly, “No, no hospital.” He groans and tries to get up.
Pushing Crews back, so he’s lying on the bed again, I look up at Dr. Murray, and he shakes his head. “Clean up the wound and stitch him up.” He says and then walks to the door. “And get him hooked up to a fucking IV will ya’, the guy needs some fluids and an antibiotic. I’ll send Linda in to assist.”
“Thank you, Dr. Murray,” I say to the man’s retreating back. He’s all grump and attitude, but he’s a good doctor that’s way overworked and underpaid. The truth of the matter is he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t love it as much as I do though.
“Alright, Crews, you need to wake up for me,” I say, shaking his shoulder.
After a few moments, the man finally blinks his eyes open, and I’m struck by the warm brown eyes staring up at me.
“Well, hello there,” I say smiling, happy he’s a little lucid.
“You look like an Angel.” He mumbles and reaches up slowly to run his fingers through my hair.
I laugh it off, but his gesture is intimate and makes me want more from this man than is acceptable, he’s hurt for Christ’s sake. I clear my throat. “I can assure you I’m not. Crews, I’m going to put an IV in your hand, then clean up your wound and get it stitched up. Then I’ll get you home to rest.”
“Thank you, my Angel.” He mumbles, and his eyes close again. Poor guy. Does he have anyone who would care that he’s hurt? I think about waking him again to see if there’s anyone he’d like me to call, but he looks exhausted.
Linda, who is also a Licensed Practical Nurse, and I work quickly to clean the infection from his wound. Once it’s c
lean, I stitch him up and apply a clean bandage to keep it clean and uninfected. I leave him to rest on the bed while I finish the rest of my shift.
Around five-thirty the next morning, I shake his shoulder lightly, trying to wake him up, but he just groans and rolls to his bandaged side, making his face pinch and his eyes pop open. “Fuck that hurts,” he says harshly.
“Let’s get you home so you can rest. First, I’m going to take out your IV, so sit still for me.”
His chocolate eyes study me, and like a fly, I’m caught in his web. He nods and watches me closely while I take the IV out and bandage the area. “Okay big guy, up and at ‘em.” I put my arm around his back and grab his hand with my other and help him to sit up. When he sways, I let him lean into me, so he doesn’t fall. “You awake there big guy?”
He groans, and I barely hold my laugh back.
“Is there anyone I can call to come pick you up?” I ask, foolishly hoping he doesn't ask for a girlfriend.
“There’s no one,” he says. When he goes to get off the bed, I step back to give him some room. Once his feet touch the ground, he sways and has to hold onto the bed, so he doesn't fall. The man is huge, almost a foot taller than me and covered in muscles. He makes me feel tiny, and for a girl like me, that’s something. I’m five foot eight and wear a size eighteen in jeans on a good day.
“Look, thank you for your help tonight.” He pulls a money clip out of his back pocket and hands it to me. “Take out whatever you need to pay for this.”
I look at the bundle of money, seeing stacks of hundreds and fifties. What does he do to have this kind of money on him? Who is he?
“Do you have insurance?” I ask and immediately regret it by the look Crews gives me.
“Does it look like I have insurance, mama?”
I blush, hard, then clear my throat. “It’s Addison.”
He smirks, and my heart flutters. Where did he come from? A man like him simply does not exist in the real world.
“Queens.” He says.
“I’m sorry?” I ask mortified.
“You asked where I came from. I was born and raised in Queens, but my mama is from Puerto Rico.” He winces and holds his side that I just stitched up. The man needs to rest.
“Before you leave, take these.” I place a bag in his hand filled with enough samples of an antibiotic to last him a full course. “It’s an antibiotic to fight off infection. I already gave you some through your IV earlier, but you need to be on these for the next two weeks. Your wound was infected. I cleaned it out and stitched it up. You’re going to want to keep it clean and change the bandages twice daily.”
“I had an IV?”
I nod. “I took it out a few minutes ago. You were kind of out of it. So, take one pill in the morning and another at night. Finish all of this, don’t skip any. I also put in some alcohol wipes, gauze, bandages, and medical tape so you can keep your side clean. After a few days, keep the wound clean, but leave off the bandage. I also put my card in there if you need anything or you have any questions about what I’ve just told you.”
I hand him back his money clip, not comfortable taking money from the man. He pulls out three hundred bills and lays them on the bed. “I always pay my way.” He snaps and walks out.
I stare down at the money and shake my head. What the hell was that about? I follow him out of the room and notice he’s already walking out the door. When I try and catch up to him, he’s already hailed a cab and getting in.
Damn it.
2
Crews Santiago
Ever since I walked out of that clinic two weeks ago, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head, my dreams, my every waking moment. She’s making me soft, and a man like me can’t afford to be soft, so I’ve stayed away. Yet, I’ve imagined in vivid detail what it would feel like to sink inside her, owning her curvy body. The minute I get my hands on her, life will change for both of us.
I shake my head and look around me. The only people out at this time of night are up to no good. I should know. I am one of them. As an enforcer for a connected loan shark, I have the supreme privilege of busting up a guy who owes more than he will ever be able to pay back. I wait for my mark to show. Justin Gideon is a moron. He has a wife and three kids to take care of, to protect, yet he’s down at the track with his skanky girlfriend, Tina Marie, right now. Tina Marie has been around the block, but I don’t judge her, she’s just looking for her next meal. I judge him. He should know better. He has better.
Guys like him make me sick. I don’t have time for women, but I know right from wrong. I was too busy trying to stay alive when I was younger. The streets of Harlem aren't where you want to be when you're trying to hustle. When I'm comfortable, and I finally claim a woman, I am going to be all in. It’s gotta be Addison. My sweet Angel Addison. I crack my knuckles while thinking about all the ways I am going to fuck Justin up without killing him when an ear-piercing scream rings out. A scream that goes straight through me.
Taking in my surroundings, I know that the only things on this block are a bunch of brownstones and the urgent care clinic. I take off running towards the clinic, hoping that scream didn’t come from the woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Everything in me tells me I need to get to her. The alley next to the clinic is well lit, except for one corner. I head there knowing that’s where I’ll find her. I see a man pressing a woman against the building, her face smashed against the cement wall. Her oddly adorable black and hot pink sneakers are struggling to keep purchase on the ground as the man yanks her back and forth and starts pulling at her clothes. Waves of revulsion come over me. Men who hurt women make me fucking sick. She is struggling under him, and everything in me tells me she is in trouble.
“Stop! Please… someone help me!” Her voice, one that I know, is urgent and full of tears. I step out of the shadows and pull the guy off of her. Holding him by his arms, I look back over at the girl and even in the dark light, I can tell it’s my Angel.
“What the fuck, man?” he shouts at me. His slurred words tell me he’s drunk as hell, not that it’s an excuse to assault any woman, especially mine. “Let me go,” he says struggling. I do so but immediately punch him, knocking his ass out cold. He goes down to the ground, where I leave him in the heaping pile of garbage, he fell in.
She’s crouched against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest and holding herself tightly. “Hey mama, are you okay?” I ask, looking at her stunned face as tears fall. But she doesn’t answer. Fuck, I think she’s in shock. She’s shaking and rocking back and forth, staring in front of her blankly. I pray for the first time in forever. I pray that this doesn’t break her beautiful spirit.
Going over to my Angel, I crouch down in front of her. “Dios,” I say, noticing how hauntingly beautiful she looks right now. Lifting her into my arms, I step over her assailant and walk out of the alley. I know that I should take her back to the clinic, but instead, I take her to my car and load her into the backseat.
Yes, I know this is technically kidnapping, but I know that I was born to protect this girl. Cherish her. Where the hell did that come from? I am not this guy, but for her, I will be. Forgetting all about the job I have to do, I hop in the driver’s seat and take off for my condo.
Growing up with absolutely nothing, I took to the streets as soon as I could to steal food for my family. That’s where my life of crime started. Eventually, I came in contact with the Diaz Crime Family. With them, I’ve made a name for myself. I bought my sainted mama a house on Long Island, then worked even harder to have all that I have today. The family takes care of me, and in turn, I take care of them.
“Where am I?” a soft voice asks from the backseat. So lost in my musings, I didn’t hear her wake up.
“In my car,” I answer simply.
“Where is he?” she asks.
“Who?” I ask, clenching the steering wheel.
“Denny.” My blood runs cold. Even if she belongs to him, there is no way I’m g
iving her back. My teeth grit loudly.
“My stalker,” she finally says.
“Stalker?”
“Yes. From work. I’m Addison,” she says as she climbs from the backseat into the passenger seat.
“Addison, I’m Crews Santiago. I don’t know if you remember me, but you took care of me a couple weeks ago in the clinic.”
“I remember you, Crews, I’d never forget. Thank you for saving me back there.” I look over at her and see a bruise forming on her face and a split lip.
“He fucking hit you?” I ask, pulling the car over to inspect her face.
She winces. “He did. But that’s all he did. You saved me from him doing anything worse,” she says, putting her hand on my forearm. Immediately, I calm down. How can her touch soothe me so well?
“I should have killed him,” I growl, pulling back out into traffic.
“He’s not worth it, honestly. You don’t want his blood on your hands,” she says, her fingers stroke my arm absentmindedly. If she only knew how much blood was on my hands, she’d realize a little more won’t make or break me.
“Alright, mama,” I say as I pull into the underground parking garage under my building.
“Where are we?” She asks nervously, looking around the lit garage.
“Queens. My house.” Our house, but I don’t tell her that. I don’t want to scare her even more.
“Why are we here?” she asks as I pull into my assigned parking space.
“I had to get you away from him. I didn’t see your purse or anything, and you were kind of out of it. I was bringing you here until I figured out what to do with you,” I say, and her eyes widen. “I mean,” I start to say before she cuts me off.
