by Rachel Burns
Alexander did up Gina’s diaper again and then put her down for her nap. Because she was a little upset, he let her say her prayers while lying down.
It didn’t take her long to fall asleep. She snored a little again.
Alexander made Sebastian listen to her snore and asked if she were getting enough air.
Sebastian swore that she would live.
The two talked a couple hours longer, mostly about what Sebastian had been up to lately. He’d been to Africa and worked there as a doctor for the past year.
Outside, the storm raged on. Sebastian knew Gina would be waking up from her nap soon, and Alexander would want to care for her and give her his complete attention, so he said his goodbyes and made his way to the elevator.
Chapter 2
The wind and rain got so bad that the doorman had to go inside. He stood by the door and waited. Everyone who belonged in the building was in except the nice lady from 3B. She was a young lawyer who was trying to prove herself at work. She never came home until late, usually after midnight.
The storm was making him worry. Fewer and fewer cars were going by. He felt a need to call her at work and ask if he should drive over and get her home.
The gutters were overflowing. The building had invested in a flood protection system after the last hurricane. He’d already closed off the underground parking lot, making it waterproof.
A yellow taxi was slowly pulling up to the curb in front of the building. Mr. Johnson could see Ms. Riley inside. He was out of the door in a flash, opening the car door for her and taking her briefcase. He paid the taxi driver, giving him a generous tip.
“Thank you, Mr. Johnson.”
He heard in her voice that she was sick. Abandoning protocol, he wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her out of the cab and onto the sidewalk where water was gathering. He hurried her into the door. The water from the street was spilling over onto the sidewalks.
He set down Ms. Riley’s bags and punched in the code that made the building flood safe. The system had cost a small fortune, but it would pay for itself today.
“I’ll bring you up to your apartment, Ms. Riley.”
“They sent me home from work,” she told him. “That’s never happened to me before. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Isn’t everyone going home because of the weather?” he asked her, wrinkling up his forehead.
“No, they’re going to work through it. They ordered food and drinks.” She turned her head to the side and sneezed, loudly. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her tiny nose was a livid pink, and tears were running down the sides of her face. Normally, she was a cute little green-eyed blond with curly hair that she tried to get straight. By midday the curl slowly returned. Ms. Riley wanted to look as professional as she acted.
Robin noticed that she was leaning on Mr. Johnson. She moved, so she was standing on her own two feet. Her hand went to her head. It was so heavy.
“Should I try to call a doctor, Ms. Riley?” he offered.
She reached up and tucked her wet windswept hair behind her ears. “That isn’t necessary. I’ll take a shower and go to bed.”
“Do you have everything you need in your apartment?” He knew that she usually ate at work. “Perhaps, I could bring you some tea with lemon or some soup?”
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Still, I want you to know that you can call me if you need anything.” They walked to the elevator, and he pressed the button. “I don’t have a good feeling about you being sick and alone in your apartment.”
“I’m perfectly fine. You don’t have to worry. I never get sick. This will pass quickly.” It had to. She wouldn’t get promoted if she were sick at home. This was a case of very bad timing.
Robin still had her head turned to Mr. Johnson as she took a step into the elevator, bumping into a man standing in there. She noticed his brilliant blue eyes, his long wavy dark hair and his chiseled jaw as she swooned in his arms, which had wrapped around her when she bumped into him.
Robin sighed and slumped against his warm firm body, thinking what a way to go. She wanted to ask him if all the angels looked like him.
“I think she passed out,” Sebastian announced.
“Sir, I forgot you were still in the building. Could you hold onto her while I call a doctor?” Mr. Johnson asked, knowing he should have insisted on calling one immediately.
“I’m a doctor. I have my bag with me. Everything will be fine. Can we take her to her apartment and lay her down somewhere?”
“Of course, sir. I’m so sorry this happened.”
“That’s okay,” Sebastian didn’t mind holding onto the beautiful young woman, who hadn’t passed out but was leaning against him because she was totally exhausted. “There is a terrible flu going around this year. I’ll bet she has a bad case of that. Is her husband home, so she has someone to take care of her?”
“She’s single,” Mr. Johnson informed him. A doctor would be exactly what Ms. Riley needed in her life. She was a terrible workaholic who never ate sit-down meals, and she rarely got more than four hours of sleep at night. She wanted to make partner in the law firm where she worked.
Ms. Riley was sweet, and she talked to him every time she walked in or out of the door. Usually, the night watch man was the one who let her in when she came home from work. She’d be tired with drooping eyes, and she’d have a pile of papers that she needed to look through before she returned to work, making Mr. Johnson guess she didn’t go right to bed and sleep as she should.
Sebastian was processing the word single in his mind. Could it be that they’d run into each other because of fate? Would this adorable wet woman be his little girl?
“I have to admit that the streets are flooding outside, Doctor. I doubt that you’ll be able to get home to your wife.”
“My wife?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, sir. I assumed you’d be worried about your wife. I hope I didn’t say anything wrong.” Mr. Johnson apologized, still hoping that he’d get the information that he wanted.
“I’m not married,” Sebastian figured that the doorman was trying to set him up with an unconscious woman. Worse yet, Sebastian was thinking along the same lines.
“May I suggest that you stay here with us? The national weather service is asking people to stay where they are.”
“I understand. Thank you for the invitation. I think I’ll check over my patient, and then I could return to Gina and Alexander’s apartment.”
“Of course, that would be best, although I do hate to think of Ms. Riley being all alone in her apartment.”
“I understand.” Sebastian feared he’d appear to be too eager to spend time alone with a complete stranger. At the same time, he was extremely aware of every part of his body. He wanted to lean against her and be close to her. Something was there. It was something he’d never felt before.
They walked her out of the elevator, careful not to bump her against anything.
Robin was fighting to stay awake, but she was losing that battle.
Mr. Johnson hoped that her apartment was cleaned up. He knew the maid only came once a week on Mondays. “I have a master key.” He opened the door and stepped in first. The apartment looked like a picture in a furniture catalog. The personal touches were missing. However, it was clean, and she didn’t have anything embarrassing lying around.
“Let’s lay her on the couch,” he suggested.
Sebastian walked her over to the sofa and helped her lay down.
“I really am fine.” Robin said, coming around again.
“I’m glad to hear that. My name is Dr. Kennedy. You had a dizzy spell in the elevator. Do you remember that?”
Robin remembered seeing an angel. One with the kind of hair she wanted to bury her fists in. She forced her eyes to flutter open.
The doctor was the angel. That meant that she wasn’t dead. She’d only made a fool out of herself in front of the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.
“What’s your name, Miss?”
“My name?”
“Yes. I’m sure you have a name. What do your friends say after they say the word hi?” Sebastian was opening his bag as he talked to her. He wanted her to stay awake a little longer, so she could answer his questions.
Mr. Johnson watched the doctor working. It was clear that he knew what he was doing as he knelt on the floor next to Ms. Riley and talked to her.
“I’m Robin.”
“Hello, Robin. Can you tell me if you had anything to eat today that’s hurting your tummy?” Sebastian asked.
“No, I have a cold, so I didn’t eat anything today.” Robin wasn’t sure if she were really sick. She had gotten an overwhelming feeling at work and then she started to cry. She tried to get herself under control before someone saw her like that, but her red eyes and nose were impossible to hide. She was so tired. When someone asked her if she were all right, she lied and said that she was getting a cold.
Mr. Johnson couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Would she never learn how to take care of herself?
Sebastian clucked his tongue at her. “It’s feed a cold and starve a fever.”
“Oh. I always get those confused,” she admitted.
“I’d like to take your temperature. I’m going to put this in your ear for a second. Don’t be surprised.”
Robin watched him. He was so close to her. She’d never see such a masculine and muscular man. He was bronzed like someone who spent his day on the golf course, but he spoke with the slow soft tones of a man who knew what he was doing. Confidence was oozing out of his pores.
The thermometer in her ear beeped. He looked at it and frowned. “That’s a very high fever, Robin. From what I understand, it would be difficult to take you to the hospital. So I’m going to help you here at home. Is that all right with you?”
“Yes. Thank you,” she added.
Sebastian looked over his shoulder at the doorman. “I need to get her into bed and changed.”
“Of course, doctor. How can I help?”
Sebastian opened her coat and removed the soaked garment. He handed it to the doorman. Then he removed her shoes and set them on the floor.
Robin watched him closely. She was asking herself how much of her he was planning to unwrap.
This felt very intimate.
Sebastian lifted her into his arms. Her head fell against his chest, making him wish that he’d removed her suit jacket before he picked her up. “Where is her bedroom?”
“Through here, sir.” Mr. Johnson leaped forward and opened the door for them.
“Will you please look in the bathroom to see if she has a hairdryer? We need to get her dry as quickly as possible. And I need lots of towels.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Robin, I need to get you out of your wet things.” He laid her down on the bed. Her suit was soaked to her skin around her shoulders. He unbuttoned it and removed it. Her silk blouse was also soaked. He could see the outline of her bra and nipples, which were hard and erect, proving that she was cold despite the heat escaping her head.
Sebastian sat on the bed beside her and opened the tiny buttons on her cream-colored blouse. He took a towel from the doorman and laid it over her body, thinking that it was too late for that. He’d already gotten a very clear view of her body shape because of her wet clothes.
Sebastian lifted her up, so her body was pressed against his. She leaned into him, making him want to wrap his arms around her and take care of her for the rest of her life.
The hairdryer went on, ruining the moment of closeness. Sebastian tugged her blouse away by the sleeve. Once one arm was free, he moved to the other side and removed the blouse completely.
He reached around her delicate form and opened her bra. Carefully, he removed it, thinking this would be very erotic if the doorman wasn’t here, blow-drying her hair.
Sebastian reached down and opened the back of her skirt, so it would be easier to remove when she was lying down again.
He could feel her breasts through the towel, pressing against him. Her nipples were erect and hard as she shivered.
“We have to hurry. I need to work on getting her fever down.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
Once her hair was dry, they slipped a pajama over her head and laid her down again. Sebastian tugged away her skirt and then removed her pantyhose. When he was finished, he tugged her pajamas down, so it covered up her underwear.
“We’re going to do this the old-fashioned way.” Sebastian looked at the doorman. “I need you to get these two towels wet with cold water. Ring them out a little. They need to be wet but not dripping.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“I’ll go find you something to drink, Robin.”
Sebastian was shocked to see that her refrigerator was practically empty. He only found a jar of pickles, a bottle of mustard and a bottle of ketchup. He could only guess that she liked hamburgers. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked into her freezer and found hamburger patties, frozen buns and ice-cream.
He looked through her cupboards, most of which were empty. He found a couple plates and glasses, but no food.
Sebastian took a glass and let run tap water into it.
“I couldn’t find anything for her to drink but tap water,” Sebastian told the doorman.
“That’s fine. The building has a water filter, making the tap water safe.”
The corners of Sebastian’s mouth lifted up. It was clear that the doorman was very proud of the building he worked in. “How clever. That’s so much better for the environment.”
“I thought so.”
“Robin, I want you to sit up and drink as much of this as you can.” He knelt on the floor beside her. His left arm reached under her body and lifted her up, so she was sitting. He moved, so he was sitting behind her. Her body rested against his chest. “I figured that she couldn’t sit up on her own.” His voice was scolding. She shouldn’t have been out at all today. “Drink, Robin.”
Robin took a sip and then turned her head to the side. She wanted to snuggle into his chest and sleep.
“Robin, you can sleep after you drink the water, but you have to drink the whole glass.”
Robin whimpered. “My tummy doesn’t feel right.”
“That’s because you let it get completely empty. Take another sip.”
Robin lifted her head and took a huge sip. She wanted to sleep so badly.
Sebastian held her until she’d finished the whole glass. He praised her and gently laid her back down.
“Could you please refill this?” He handed the glass to the doorman.
“Thank you, Mr. Johnson,” Robin said.
He smiled at her. “You’re welcome, Ms. Riley.” His heart lifted when she spoke to him. He cared for all the occupants in this apartment building; each one was special to him. They were his family.
Sebastian picked up the wet towel and wrapped it around her creamy left calve. Then he picked up a dry towel and wrapped it around the wet one. Gently, he laid her leg back down on the bed.
He lovingly wrapped up her other leg under Mr. Johnson’s watchful eye. When he was finished, he pulled the blankets over her, covering her.
Sebastian took the glass from Mr. Johnson and asked if she’d like to have another sip.
She said no and asked what he did with her legs. Mr. Johnson also wanted to hear the answer to that question.
“That’s what is going to make your fever come down, so you can get better.”
“Okay. Thank you, Doctor.” Robin shifted a little and fell to sleep.
“Doctor, could I have a private word with you?” Mr. Johnson stepped out of the room.
“Of course.” Sebastian followed him out to the living room.
“Ms. Riley is a very dear person, and I have to get to work, securing the building from the storm. It’s clear that you can’t leave, and that she needs someone with her. Still – Excuse me for asking, but could I see some
identification.”
“Of course.” Sebastian grinned and pulled out his wallet. He showed the man his driver’s license and Doctors Without Borders identification card.
Mr. Johnson pulled out his cell and took a picture of the cards. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll have to check your identity.”
“I understand.” Sebastian was trying to imagine his doorman being so protective, but he couldn’t. In fact, the ones at his building had no clue who lived there or not. When he came home after being gone a year, the doorman opened the door for him without asking any questions. That wasn’t the safety measure that he wanted. He would have preferred to be asked questions.
“There is an extra bedroom through here, sir. I suppose you can stay in there, until the floods have receded. I’ll stop by and check on her too.”
“That would be best. She seems to really like you. It would be better for her to have someone she knows stop by and visit her.”
Sebastian watched Mr. Johnson’s chest puff out. It was clear that the older man liked to hear that the people who employed him liked him.
“You’ve been very kind. I guess I’m not used to rain anymore, especially not excessive rain. Thank you.”
“Thank you for helping out, Doctor. If you need anything, please, call this number.” He handed him a card. “We have a live-in cook who will make you whatever you want to eat. I’ll tell him to make a light clear soup for Ms. Riley. I’ll also bring you personal items to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible, Doctor.” Mr. Johnson bowed and left the room.
Sebastian sat down on the sofa and turned on the news to watch the weather report.
Chapter 3
Timothy Johnson got into the elevator and pushed in a code that took him up to the penthouse.
The doors opened directly into the living room. Mr. Romano was watching the large flat screen. “The whole city is flooding. I hate to admit it, but you were right to install the floodgates. I’m sure they’re in place.”
“Yes, they are. I had a little emergency. Ms. Riley is very sick with the flu. She passed out in the elevator.”
