My Billionaire Stranger

by Shae Black

  Slowly, I take my free hand and remove his from my wrist and step out of his reach. Any other time in my life I would have run and never ever looked back, but not today, today I sit down in the chair next to him.

  “I’ll stay, but don’t grab me like that again.” I should be snapping at him but my voice remains calm. He looks confused for a moment but his face eventually relaxes and I see what a beautiful man he is when he isn’t volatile. This is my Marcus, the one I knew before he woke up and started terrorizing people.

  “You are staying?” he asks, a touch of irresistible vulnerability making an unexpected appearance.

  “Yes I promise, you should close your eyes and rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.” I say and against my better judgment I reach out to cover his hand with mine.

  “I do not want to sleep anymore, how long have I been out anyway?”

  “Eight days.” I answer

  “Eight days?”

  “Fuck, I have a business to run, where is my phone, I have to find out what’s going on.” He snatches his hand from under mine and begins to panic again. His wild eyes scan the room for his phone as he clutches the sheets on either side of him.

  “Hang on…let me see if I can find it for you, it may have been destroyed in the accident though.” His eyes lock with mine and I know he doesn’t want me going anywhere to search for his phone. No matter how badly he needs to contact someone at work, having me stay right here for some reason is a higher priority.

  “Is there a phone in here I can use?” he asks. It’s obvious from his inability to prioritize that he’s still trying to put the pieces of the past eight days together. I hand him my own phone and he pauses, holding it in his palm he stares at the keyboard and then back at me.

  “I can’t remember the number.” He says shocked that his memory is failing him.

  “You probably use your contact list when you call familiar places.” I offer.

  “No…I never forget anything, I have a photographic memory,” he replies defensively as frown lines deepen on his forehead.

  “Who do you want to call, I’ll look up the number for you.”

  “Dominus, I need to talk to Elijah…. now.” he barks.

  Ok, ok Mr. Bossy butt, keep your gown on; I bite my tongue and Google the number for Dominus. When I dial for him I hand the phone over. It couldn’t have rung once before he begins snapping at the person on the other end of the line. “This is Mr. Castillo, give me Elijah…. now!” No warm fuzzies with this man, I’m really glad he does not employ me. Seconds later he’s speaking with Elijah who must have been close by, unless the person answering the call knew how to work some serious magic.

  “Elijah, I need you to update me… no I am fine… get here as soon as the kitchen closes, let Kimberly handle the club. I have been down for eight fucking days, I want to be filled in on everything; bring me my laptop and get me a new phone.” He disconnects without even a ‘thank you, have a nice night, glad you kept my business going while I was in a coma’! Marcus Castillo puts the boss in ‘bossy’.

  He drops the phone in the bed next to him absently and looks over at me.

  “What?” he asks.

  “Um…you just seem a little I dun no… grouchy. You’re lucky to have staff to keep things in order during a crisis,” I answer. His outburst on the phone has left me just a tiny bit intimidated, but not so much that I won’t speak my mind. This has taken him by surprise.

  “No one talks to me like that, you would be smart to remember that.” What?! Ok, I’m all for keeping the peace but this guy is too much! “Mr. Castillo, you would be smart to remember that you’re incapacitated and require help doing the most basic of things,” I challenge. His bright green eyes narrow and one corner of his mouth raises slightly as he studies me for a beat.

  “I’m going to enjoy your smart mouth, Nurse Imani.” I instantly feel the heat creeping up my neck; blushing fiercely, I wonder what he means by that? A powerful combination of attraction and irritation clash within me and a quick flash of Marcus and I entangled in an erotic kiss our naked bodies pressed together bursts through my mind… Oh my God stop Imani! He is so cocky, but provocative; how is a man in a hospital gown with a cast on one leg able to turn me on? My body defies my mind by internally melting down to lava low in my belly. A yearning so deep it’s impossible to ignore builds there as I try to appear outwardly unaffected.

  “Mr. Castillo, you’ve had a stressful night, I think you need some rest, you don’t actually need to sleep just close your eyes and rest…. now,” I say with my most authoritative nurse voice. Looking at him with my whisky brown eyes I grasp for a shred of control over the situation. He lifts his eyebrows in surprise and obediently acquiesces lowering his head back down onto his pillow. He closes his eyes and snaps in his oh-so-irritating way. “Wake me as soon as Elijah is here with my things, I have work to do.”

  “Yea sure…” I mumble and roll my eyes. He opens one eye to give me a ‘don’t mess with me lady’ look before closing it again. This guy is going to have to get used to being told what to do. Yea right I snort to myself. As soon as he’s asleep I’m not waking him again, be careful what you wish for, lesson learned! Leaning back in the hard chair next to his bed I try to get comfortable; he may be irritating but I can’t leave him, the connection between us now that he is awake is even stronger then before, earthquakes and monsoons couldn’t pry me away. It’s not long before I hear his soft steady breathing and when he’s sleeping I can see my Greek God again, still and beautiful. Elijah arrives no more than 30 min after Marcus’s call. I meet him in the hall when I see him step off the elevator through the door that is now half way open. Elijah is looking more than a little confused. “Uh…has he gotten the nurses to change the dress code already?” He smirks. I looked down, remembering my club attire.

  “Of course not, I was out with friends, he woke up asking for me and I came without changing first,” I reply.

  Elijah crosses his arms over his chest. “He was asking for you specifically?” he says, surprised.

  “Yes… I’m his nurse, we met a few days ago remember?”

  “Oh yes, of course I remember you. It seems strange though, you’re not his only nurse, and you weren’t even here.”

  “I don’t know why he wanted me either although I have been talking to him trying to get him to wake up. When he came around he was upset and the nurse on duty needed some help settling him down,” I downplay the incident, not wanting Marcus’s right hand man to know his boss went psychotic and tried to take on four security guards.

  “Oh. Ok…well he wants his laptop and I have a new phone for him.” “I’ll take those, he’s resting, I’ll make sure he gets them when he wakes up,” I say, but Elijah is having no part of that plan. Shaking his head back and forth he says, “No, he wanted them right away when he called, I can’t just leave them with you, that’s not how it works with him.” Elijah is clearly unnerved.

  “Well it’s how it’s going to work tonight; he’s been through a lot and certainly doesn’t need to start right back into work immediately, he may not even be sure what he’s doing. We can’t know if he has any brain damage until we run some tests tomorrow.” My tone and this information have totally taken him aback.

  His jaw tightens but he hands over the laptop bag and new phone reluctantly.

  “He may kill me for this, you know?” He sighs a long sigh looking temporarily defeated.

  “Tell him all his contacts, apps, appointments and notes are programed into his new phone; also there’s a file on his laptop titled ‘Updates’ that includes everything of consequence that has gone on since his accident in every Dominus location; please tell him or I’m out of the only job I’ve ever had,” he pleads.

  I can only imagine what a tyrant Marcos must be to strike such fear and compliance into his obviously dedicated employee.

  “Of course, as soon as he wakes up I’ll make sure he gets all of it right away,” I soften my voice.

 
“Don’t worry about your job Elijah, I’m sure he’ll appreciate you keeping his business running while he was unable.”

  “You don’t know Marcus, it’s nothing to him to let me go, no matter how hard I work or ‘invaluable’ I am, someone else is always just as competent and I can be replaced.”

  “I may not know him well Elijah but I will tell you this, he needs a lot of care right now and he won’t be up and able to work for a while. He needs you more than he realizes. I’ll explain that it was my idea to let him sleep.” I unsuccessfully attempt to relieve him of some of his anxiety.

  “I think I should wait until he wakes up so I can give him what he asked for personally,” he says removing the laptop and phone from my hands.

  “Suit yourself, there’s a chair outside the door, you can wait there. I’ll let you know when he wakes up.”

  Elijah is visibly relieved every muscle in his body relaxes simultaneously. He takes another long breath before turning to sit in the chair, laptop on his lap, straight back, like a soldier guarding his post. Returning to Marcus’s bedside I readjust myself in the chair and close my eyes just for a minute….

  The stench of urine, mold and sewer invades my senses; mixed together they burn my nose. Bile sits right at the edge of my throat; my stomach threatens to empty even though there hasn’t been anything in it for days. The skin on my wrists burns and stings. My hands and arms ache from the rope that restrains them above my head where I’m tethered to a pipe. The tips of my toes touch the ground but my body is so beaten and battered I allow myself to hang slack.

  Light peeks in around the edge of the window… I have no idea where I am but I do know I’ve been here too long. I try to hold as still as possible to lessen the pain, my God the pain is excruciating. Blood trickles down my thighs past my knees and ankles; my head hangs chin to chest allowing me a clear view of the growing dinner plate sized puddle of blood that is accumulating there. I’m going to bleed to death and right now I wish I would. I can hear one of them walking around outside the door of the room and I stiffen when the door begins to open. My heartbeat swishes in my ears slowly as I watch my life pour out onto the floor; please God just let it be over, just let me die.

  Chapter 8

  My back aches and my right arm is numb; my hair is being tugged as my mind moves from nightmare to reality. I’ve fallen asleep without medication for the first time in years, and I paid for it in the form of a nightmare about my attack. I open one eye and see my left hand splayed on Marcus’s six no eight pack of abs. Somehow he’s gotten out of his hospital gown last night because my hand is on his bare skin and my head is resting on his chest. Holy shit, how did I end up moving my chair so close and sleeping practically half way in the bed with him? When I try to raise my head I realize Marcus is holding me down; his fingers are twined through my long hair as he sleeps. I’m stuck!

  Slowly I begin to move my hand away from his abdomen, where it suddenly feels scorching hot. With the slightest hint of movement Marcus’s right hand shoots up to hold me in place. He’s awake, I was wrong. My pulse quickens but I stay still; maybe he’ll think I’m still sleeping.

  “Good morning nurse Imani, you can’t believe how happy I am that you have joined me in bed,” I can just imagine the sly grin that accompanies his arrogance. I shake my head to loosen his grip on my hair and when he does I turn to face him.

  “Let’s get something straight, it wasn’t done intentionally,” I say following the line of his arm to my restrained hand and back into his eyes. He immediately releases me and I sit up, still trying to untangle his fingers from my hair. We work together to loosen the mess and every time our fingers touch I feel the magnetism that’s been there since day one intensifying. A pulsing shock flows between us and an unfamiliar heat stirs between my legs. When I’m free, he continues to hold my hand, looking intently at me. Our close proximity is too intimate and those bright green eyes are scrambling my brain. If I don’t move away soon I’m liable to do something very stupid. This man could have any woman he wanted with one look, including me if I’m not careful.

  “You have beautiful hair.” Abruptly I pull my hand from his and move back in my chair nervously smoothing the tangles in a pathetic attempt to ignore the way he heats my core. He raises his head and again starts in with the leering. My legs are so exposed in this skirt I can almost read his dirty thoughts. “I thought you were a dream last night when I saw you here in that outfit,” he says, looking up at me through his long eyelashes.

  “Nope, no dream- are you hungry? Can get you some breakfast?” I have to change the direction of the conversation; I’ve been doing that a lot lately.

  “Hmmmm hungry…yes…. for breakfast…not so much,” he purrs. Is he serious? I swear he’s hard under that sheet, or maybe it’s just morning wood shit, shit, shit! Look away Imani look away…. Focus on breakfast, the kind where food is the entrée, not him!

  “Uh… I’ll run and get you some eggs and toast, no allergies to foods right?” I rattle scrambling out of my chair making a B line for the door.

  “No, no allergies. I only eat egg whites, no bread, and some bacon.” Mr. Bossy pants is back.

  “So bossy…” I mumble.

  “Yes I am the boss, the king, master- whatever it takes to get the job done, baby.”

  Baby? I am NOT his baby! I try very hard to reign in my fury and even then I just barely succeed; if this were a cartoon, smoke would be shooting out of my ears!

  “Imani… my name is Imani and you could say please, it wouldn’t kill you.”

  “It might…. Imani,” he says, cocking his head he looks at me with a strange sad expression. I turn away trying to figure out what that was all about.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say, scooting quickly through the door before he can give me any more of those urgent “stay with me” looks. Sitting next to the door, exactly where I left him, is Elijah with Marcus’s laptop and phone on his lap. “Elijah! Did you sit there all night? Didn’t you sleep?” I ask.

  “Yes and no, I couldn’t leave, Marcus told me to bring his things. I’m used to staying up all night, I work at Dominus in the restaurant and the club, we only close for a few hours in the morning.”

  “Oh. I see…well I’m going to get Marcus some breakfast, can I get you anything?” I can’t decide whether to feel sorry for him or admire him for his dedication. He’s either fiercely loyal or incredibly afraid.

  “No thank you, but is it ok if I go in and give him these?” he asks holding up the laptop and phone.

  Yes, he’s awake go ahead, I’ll be right back.” As I walk down the hall, Courtney grabs me by the arm.

  “Hey!” I squeak. “That hurts!”

  “Sorry but you can’t seriously expect to walk out of his room dressed like that with no explanation, come on now!” she hisses.

  “I’m sure you heard that he woke up last night” I say sarcastically, the rumor mill here is ridiculous. I know she’s most likely heard a play by play of the whole incident.

  “Yes, but why are you dressed like that, and why was he screaming for you specifically?” she demands.

  “How am I supposed to know? But he did and I came; I was out with some friends for drinks, hence the inappropriate attire,” I answer, waving my hand down my body. “Oh my God that’s crazy, what did he want, why are you still here- is something going on between you two?” She shoots her questions at me with all the subtlety of rapid gunfire. Gosh, maybe I should introduce Courtney to Lana; they’d get along famously. I should also have let Marcus starve; hiding in his room seems like a pretty good idea right about now. But too late, I have to face the wrath that is Courtney.

  “Ok Courtney….” I begin, trying to be patient. “Because I know you’re relentless, I’ll answer all your questions as best I can. First of all, I’m assuming he asked for me because I’ve been talking to him every day when I take care of him. Second, I’m still here because he asked me to stay, and third no, nothing’s going on between us. For God�
�s sake Courtney he’s been in a coma, what could possibly be going on between us?!” I exclaim, annoyed beyond words.

  “Hmmm. Ok… just seems weird.”

  “Yea, it is weird, but I need to get him some breakfast- may I be dismissed?” I ask.

  “Yea, yea- go ahead.” She stares at me now with glazed baby doll eyes, distracted by her thoughts, probably trying to figure it all out. I hope she fills me in when she does. “Why don’t you let him order from his menu?” she asks.

  “I thought we were done with the questions?”

  “Sorry,” she says, looking over my shoulder toward the door to Marcus’s room, where Elijah is stepping out. “I’ll get his breakfast, I know what he likes and he asked me to- please don’t argue, it’s what I do and he wants to see you.” Elijah says as he breezes by on his way to the elevator.

  “Well ok then…” Courtney and I look at each other in surprise, her mouth hanging open and mine twisted in irritation. When she recovers from the initial shock of seeing Elijah the questions start again, “WHO WAS THAT? He’s gorgeous; acts like your boyfriends wife though- are they gay? Is he single? Can you introduce us?” I had assumed her shock was related to Elijah’s briskness, but of course not, it was his looks. She’s always on the hunt, and as for him being gay, well…I hadn’t even considered that, although I don’t know why, I know nothing about him. That would explain him not being photographed with any women. No way, he was totally coming on to me this morning; he can’t possibly be gay…can he? Shit, I’d better figure that out.

  “Marcus is not my boyfriend and that was Elijah, he’s Marcus’s assistant, right hand man, slave I’m not sure. And yes he’s good looking and I have no idea if he’s single or if they’re gay. I haven’t exactly asked him about his private life.” I don’t even bother asking if we’re done with this conversation, I turn away from Courtney and head back into the lion’s den. I really want to shower and change into something comfortable but someone won’t allow me leave him. As foolish as I feel in my skimpy outfit I can’t seem to deny him.