by Jenna Jacob
“Oh, Trevor.” Anguish, bleak and murky washed through me. My stomach pitched with the thought. I swallowed to keep a sob from escaping the back of my throat. “I am so sorry. So, so, sorry.”
Watching his courage melt away with his tears, my anger spiked. Unable to stand idly by and watch Trevor slide into the depths of despair, I clenched my jaw. Even if I had to question every person who entered the waiting room, I’d find Drake and haul him back to Trevor myself.
“I’m going to go find Daddy for you. I’ll bring him back, is that okay?” Trevor issued a subtle but valiant nod. “Good. I won’t be long.”
Darting out the door, I raced to the waiting room, scanning the expectant faces turned my way.
“Hammond family?” I called out.
A mountain of a man wearing a black leather vest stood. Tattoos adorned his burly arms.
That must be Trevor’s Daddy…um, Drake.
The two men seated next to him, also stood. Skimming a cursory glance over his friends, my gaze sputtered then froze, staring undoubtedly dumbfounded. They were gorgeous, and that was putting it mildly. Marbled with muscles packed beneath tight T-shirts, the taller one had the word ‘Security’ emblazoned over his massive pecs. My palms itched to feel his hard body.
Quickly swallowing to keep from drooling, I couldn’t peel my gaze off the man, or the sculpted features of his stunning face. Clean-shaven with angular cheekbones, I drank in his full sensual lips poised in a somber expression. He had dreamy, chocolate-brown eyes that matched the color of his hair—hanging over his defined brow and looking a little windblown—which only added to his take-me-to-bed allure. The gorgeous hunk made me positively weak in the knees. Darting a gaze up and down each rippling, plane of his scrumptious body, I zeroed in on the faded blue jeans, slung low on his tapered waist. Lingering at his zipper a little longer than I should, I couldn’t help but wonder what size package lay hidden beneath all that denim.
Cindy was right. I did need to get laid. Too bad, Mr. Make-Me-Want-To-Scream wouldn’t be the least bit interested in helping me with that chore.
Get a grip. Stop looking at the man like he’s a slice of cheesecake!
Suddenly self-conscious, I quickly lifted my gaze only to be snared by a knowing twinkle in his sensual eyes. Yeah, he’d busted me, and it was embarrassing, but not enough to keep me from honing in on his lips again and wishing for a taste.
And his lover, the hot man standing next to Tall, Dark, and Hunky, would scratch your eyes out.
CHAPTER TWO
Self-conscious, I jerked my attention over to his lover. The man was slightly shorter, but drool-worthy nonetheless. I flashed him an awkward smile, inwardly hoping he hadn’t witnessed me boldly undressing his lover in my mind. Thankfully the mocha-skinned, bald man hadn’t seemed to notice. The man had muscles on top of rock-hard muscles, and looked as if he’d just stepped off the pages of a fitness magazine—hell, they both did—but it was the color of his unique amber eyes that held me spellbound. The two of them together were such decadent eye-candy they could keep a dentist in business for eons. For a second or two, I wished I had been born a gay man.
A potent wave of anxiety emanated from the three men as they approached me.
“Where is Trevor? I need to see him. Now,” The big tattooed man barked roughly.
“I’ll be happy to take you back to him.” I smiled, attempting to exude as much reassurance as I could muster. “You must be Moses. My name is Liz—”
“Drake. Call me, Drake,” he insisted, nervously.
“It’s nice to meet you Liz. I’m James,” the tall hottie announced causing me to snap my head his direction. The man didn’t need to introduce himself. I would have recognized his seductive, panty-melting voice instantly. “This is Mika.”
No wonder James knew how to reach Mika; they were lovers.
“It’s nice to—”
“Oh my god, it’s you.” James exclaimed in surprise.
I’d been so enraptured with the man it took several seconds for me to process his statement.
“Excuse me?” I blinked.
“Elizabeth Johansson, right?” he asked with a gentle smile.
“A-Ah, yes,” I stammered. “I’m sorry, I don’t…have we met?”
If we had, I must have been in a coma. Because there was no way in hell I would have forgotten meeting him.
He’s gay, my inner voice reminded me in a condescending song.
James slowly nodded. His expression turned sympathetic. “I was one of the officers at your brother’s house the night…”
A punch of adrenalin hit me in the chest. My stomach clutched, and my knees trembled. No wonder I hadn’t recognized him. Elvis could have been singing ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ while aliens landed on Dayne’s front lawn, and I wouldn’t have noticed a thing.
“Oh,” I blinked. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember…”
“I’m the one that tried to stop you after you passed the police tape. I’m sorry.”
His tender words eased my inner pain, while setting my hormones into hyper-overdrive. The incongruent sensations felt as if I were wrestling a tiger with a snow cone.
“Can we do this later?” Drake asked on an impatient snarl. “I need to see Trevor.”
“Yes. If you’re ready I can—”
“Lady. I’m past ready,” Drake sneered.
“Easy, man,” Mika tried to calm Drake by raising a hand to his shoulder. “We can go back too, right?”
“That’s up to Drake.” I darted a quizzical gaze at the big man.
“We’re family. We all go,” he replied. His words were short and clipped.
While Drake was doing his best to keep it together, I knew one look at Trevor and the big man’s battle would be lost.
“Follow me,” I instructed before turning to lead them into the ER.
Explaining what little information I had about the beating, I wanted to prepare them before they actually laid eyes on Trevor.
“He’s suffered several facial lacerations, and he’s in a lot of pain,” I explained.
“Haven’t you given him something yet?” Drake barked as he shot me a look of fury.
“We had to wait until all his tests came back.”
As Drake’s expression clouded over, Mika stepped in to try and settle the big man. “Breathe, Moses. They’ll fix Trevor up good as new. Just like they did me. Okay?”
Drake grunted, while fear and rage rolled off his large frame. “He shouldn’t have to lay there suffering.”
“We’re making him as comfortable as we can,” I assured him.
“It’s standard procedure, man,” James explained.
Every time the man opened his mouth, excitement hummed through my veins. My breasts felt heavy, and my nipples contracted, throbbing in a maddening pulse.
“They can’t give him anything,” he continued. “Not until they find out how bad his injuries are, otherwise it could kill him.”
“That’s right.” I nodded. James made me feel so out of control that I focused my attention on Drake, where it was safe. “It won’t be long until we can administer some pain meds. This way,” I directed, leading the group through the double doors. “Trevor’s been asking for you.”
Peeking my inside his room, Trevor lay with his eyes closed, looking pale and fragile. The numerous machines attached to his thin body gave off an ominous and alarming impression. His golden hair, though clean looked matted and tinged in blood, especially by the wound on his head. Bruises mottled his face, amplifying the horror he’d endured.
Drake stepped in behind me and staggered to a halt. I watched as tears filled his gray eyes. Heartbreak, pain, and rage stamped his features as he stood trembling, silently staring at Trevor.
James and Mika each flanked Drake in a fortress of support. Their eyes grew wide as they both stared at Trevor in disbelief. All three looked shell-shocked as they struggled to hold back their tears. Drake’s face twisted in a hopeless look of defeat as a palpable wave of grief rolled
off him.
While they tried to absorb Trevor’s inconceivable abuse, grief welled inside me. I swallowed tightly, trying to focus on my job and not my unraveling emotions.
Unconsciously Drake’s hands clenched into fists. He didn’t flinch or take his eyes off Trevor when I brushed my fingers down his wide arm. Drake simply clenched his jaw as his chest heaved in labored, quivering breaths.
“Drake,” I whispered softly. “I share your anger, but Trevor needs your love right now. It’s more powerful than any medicine we can give him.”
He issued a slight nod as tears spilled past his lashes. Wiping them away on the back of his hands, he walked to the side of Trevor’s bed. Ignoring the blood stained pillow, matted hair, contusions, and lacerations, Drake bent and placed a whisper of a kiss on his temple.
“I’m here, sweet boy,” Drake murmured as he eased his arms around Trevor. “Daddy’s got you, now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Opening his eyes at the sound of Drake’s voice, a low, keening cry rippled from the back of Trevor’s throat. Tears slid down his face. His ocean-blue eyes shimmered in ethereal and unconditional love as he stared up at Drake.
“Daddy,” Trevor choked out on a sob. “Oh, Daddy.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Drake soothed on an unstable voice of anguish. Shifting he stared at Trevor with love, ethereal and glowing, on his face before he pressed a feather-soft kiss to the young man’s swollen lips. “I love you, my precious boy. I love you so much.”
Absolute adoration sparkled in Trevor’s eyes and the ground beneath me started to crack. Dayne had deserved the kind of devotion that these men shared. But he’d been raped and robbed of ever having the chance. An oily and repugnant bitterness pulsed through my veins.
On a thin wail, Trevor sobbed, “I’m sorry, daddy. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh god. No baby. No.” Drake slid a wide hand to Trevor’s nape, dropped his head to the pillow and shattered.
His deep, guttural howls echoed through the room and I stood helplessly watching the rugged mountain of a man crumble. The weight of his anguish clawed at my heart. A part of me felt as if I were intruding on a precious, private part of their lives. Their love was so blatantly pure and awe inspiring, I began to shatter too.
Drake’s big body shook with each grief-stricken sob. Finding his lover so senselessly beaten and mauled completely destroyed the burly man. I wanted to wrap them both in my arms, rock and soothe them with the promise it would be all right, but I feared it never would be.
Moving in toward the two, Mika slung his arm over Drake’s shoulders as all three cried openly. Watching the brawny men fall to pieces, the tattered threads of my resolve shredded. Clenching my teeth, I tried to take an emotional step back, but I couldn’t. Frozen in place, I watched and listened to their mournful wails.
“Look what they’ve done to you,” Drake howled. “I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t there to protect you, my sweet precious boy.”
The devastating guilt and suffocating remorse consuming Drake was a familiar affliction I lived with daily. I hadn’t been there to save Dayne anymore than Drake had Trevor. The gut-wrenching symmetry swamped me, and a blistering wave of shame, regret, and heartbreak thundered through me.
“Is’no your fault, daddy,” Trevor wept. “I tried to fight ‘em off…I did.”
“It is my fault,” Drake cried. “I should have gone with you to get the ice. Why the fuck didn’t I go with you? I’m sorry, baby…so fucking sorry.”
Cupping his thick hands around Trevor’s face, as if he were cradling a baby bird, Drake stared into his lover’s eyes. The love they shared was blinding.
The poignant exchange was too much…too raw, too emotional, and more crushing than I could stand. The familiar fist of anguish gripped my heart and squeezed unmercifully as every crushing memory of the soul-stealing night I’d lost Dayne—lost my whole world—careened through my brain.
The dividing wall between sister and nurse disintegrated. The professional façade I’d tried to draw around me burst at the seams. A cry of anguish rose from my chest. I slapped a hand over my mouth holding my pain inside before racing past James and into the hallway. I hunkered over the computer outside Trevor’s room praying my co-workers wouldn’t notice the tears sliding down my face. Sucking in deep breaths, I desperately tried to regain my composure.
“Liz?”
The tender whisper of my name felt as if James had stroked every jagged edge of my heart. Reaching up, he brushed a strand of honey-wheat hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered against my scalp, and I fought the urge to turn and nuzzle into his touch.
“Are you all right?” he murmured.
Nodding, I swiped at my tears, feeling like an inept fool. “I’m so sorry. That was totally unprofessional of me.” The words spilled from my lips in a quiet, nervous rush. “Please. Forgive me.”
“No,” he adamantly replied, shaking his head.
No? Cindy would have my ass on a silver platter if she found out I needed help and didn’t ask for it.
“Please. Don’t report me,” I begged softly. “I’m sorry for my unethical behavior, and I swear it won’t happen—”
“Shhh,” James murmured as he pressed his fingertip against my lip.
His touch—like a low-voltage live wire—sent a tingling surge straight to my sex. His dark eyes grew wide with a look of surprise. I knew he had felt it too.
“I’d never do that to you, Liz.” His whisper was suffused in compassion and his expression brooked absolute sincerity.
Unable to peel myself from his benevolent gaze, that electrical something he flipped inside me vibrated and hummed. My mouth grew dry and my heartbeat raced, just as it had done when we’d talked on the phone. But now with him standing so close—his masculine scent tickled my senses, and his decadent body heat wrapped around me—only served to amplify my sexual attraction to him. My pussy wept, my clit swelled, and my nipples tightened in a sublime and hopeless ache.
James inched his mouth close to mine as if he intended to kiss me.
That couldn’t be right. He was—
“Ah-hem.”
The sound of a feminine interruption made me jump. James jerked upright and I snapped my head to find Cindy standing in the corridor. She arched one dark brow in question and a slight smirk of approval was curled on her lips.
“Um, Sorry to interrupt,” Cindy lied. “But they’re ready for Trevor in OR.”
She turned to walk away, then stopped and narrowed her eyes, pinning me with a dissecting stare. Every twinkle of humor evaporated from her ebony face. “Are you all right? You look like you’ve been crying.”
“I’m fine.” I nodded, rubbing my eyelid. “I had an eyelash stuck in my eye. James was trying to see if I rubbed it out.”
As far as lies went, mine was pathetic, and Cindy’s skeptical expression all but confirmed that.
“Uh-huh.” she replied in a tone that screamed Bullshit.
“Surgery?” James echoed in a panicked tone. “Trevor has to have surgery? What for?”
Raising my palm to stave off his questions, I shook my head at Cindy. “He can’t go yet. Daddy…um, I mean Drake just arrived. Dr. Reynolds is still in trauma three and no one’s talked to Trevor about surgery yet.”
“We could use a few more doctors around here when it’s this crazy,” she groused with a perturbed sigh.
Darting another suspect glance between James and me, I knew once Cindy had me alone she’d bombard me with a barrage of questions.
“I’ll snag Reynolds away for a few minutes,” she announced. “Then call up to OR and let them know Trevor will be up shortly.”
“Thank you.” I nodded.
“No problem.” Cindy turned to leave but stopped abruptly. “Take care of that eye,” she added with a mocking grin before walking away.
James wrapped his hand around my elbow and pulled me in close. That strange current sang up my arm, then arced south like a thunderbolt between my
legs. His clean, masculine scent grew even stronger. I wanted to lick him just to savor the taste of his flesh on my tongue. The dazzling man wrecked havoc with my hormones. With an inward curse, I reminded myself he had no interest in my vagina, and that was a crying shame.
“What kind of surgery does Trevor need?”
The command in his deep, rich voice plowed through me like a freight train. The level of lust he conjured bothered me.
Before I could answer, Dr. Reynolds dashed into the hallway. “Is Trevor’s family still with him?” he asked, jerking a glance at James’ hand on my arm, which he quickly removed.
“Yes.”
“Where’s the report?” the doctor barked.
“On the foot of his bed.”
“Ruptured spleen, right?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Shit,” James muttered under his breath.
“Grab the consent forms. I’ll inform the family,” Reynolds instructed, blatantly sizing up James.
When the doctor disappeared into Trevor’s room, James arched his brows. “He’s rather protective of you, isn’t he?”
“No. Not usually. One of the nurses was attacked last week. The whole staff is a little jumpy about it, still. He’s just being cautious, that’s all.” I explained. “Look, I have to grab the paperwork. You can go back in while the doctor explains the procedure Trevor needs.”
“Oh I can, can I?” James grinned. A flash of glimmering white teeth against his tanned skin made me want to whimper.
“Or not,” I replied, wondering what I’d said that he found so amusing.
“I will in a minute,” he assured. “I just want to make sure that you’re okay.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m fine.”
A slow smile crawled across his lips as a flicker of something dangerous flashed in his dark eyes. The air between us sizzled and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
“We need to talk…later,” James stated, cryptically.
It felt as if a promise and threat were tightly wrapped around his words. A burst of excitement skittered through me, as a wolfish grin curled up one side of his mouth. Turning, he walked back into Trevor’s room.
