One More Night

by KB Winters

“And you want me to get lost?”

  “Do you mind?” He wanted to hang out with his friends, not his worrywart sister.

  “Not at all. I just want you to get better. And to have fun.” I went to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “See ya later.”

  “You’re not mad, are you?” My heart gave a twitch when I looked at his bruised, cut face, all the machines and tubes keeping him alive. But I forced myself not to show my fear and anxiety.

  “Nope,” I said brightly, and that was true. I wasn’t angry with him, only worried. But now I couldn’t share it with him. So I said, “I’ve got things to do outside of this hospital.”

  And that was true. I had work to catch up on, emails to return, and deadlines on projects to meet. I could actually sit down and eat a meal without interruption, maybe even watch a movie. That actually sounded like the perfect way to unwind after the past few days.

  With an absent wave to Ian, I made my way down the long, too bright hallway toward the exit. It was a path I was learning all too well. If Dr. Mannheim was right, it would be weeks before this place was a memory. That was a worry for another day. I had a plan, and I intended to follow it. And I would have if not for the big, wide man the size of a brick wall I ran smack into on my way past the elevator.

  “Sorry,” I said the way women always do whether it’s their fault or not.

  “It’s okay. Where’s the fire?” Big hands were glued to my waist, hands fanned out like he knew me, and a second before our eyes connected, I realized why.

  “Wow. Shae. What are you doing roaming the halls? Trying to escape?”

  He smiled as his thumbs slid up and down my belly. “Just walking around to stave off boredom and to make sure I’m good to go. Walk with me?”

  I should have said no because I’d already had plans for the day and the evening. But looking up into his sultry eyes made me forget all about my never-ending list of tasks. “Sure. Where are we going?”

  He took my hand and wrapped it around his bicep, an impressively big and hard bicep. “There’s an atrium at the center of the hospital, and it’s nice out.”

  How could I possibly resist the hottest smile I’d seen on a man in far too long? I couldn’t, and when his legs started to move, granted at a very slow pace, mine moved along with him. “That sounds nice. Have you been cleared by the doctor?”

  “I have, nurse,” he joked. “All that’s missing is your sexy little nurse outfit.”

  Shae was so damn charming it was hard to take anything he said seriously. And I couldn’t deny that I wanted him as much as the heat in his eyes said he wanted me.

  “If I had known a uniform was required, I might have dug it out.” Oh damn! Where did that come from? I didn’t do sexy talk and I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. But the look on Shae’s face was priceless. Shock and heat.

  “You have a sexy nurse’s outfit?”

  “Who knows?” I shrugged and gave him a little wink as we walked into the open area with big trees, keeping my hand tight on his rock hard bicep. “Let’s talk about you. How are you feeling?”

  “Stir-crazy, if you want to know the truth.”

  “Ah, you’re the can’t-sit-still type. Did someone bring you books and porn?”

  “Is that what you brought for Ian?”

  “Well, I didn’t bring my brother porn, but I’m sure one of his buddies will later. I’m sure the hospital wi-fi isn’t strong enough for him to stream it. So?”

  “My brother’s girlfriend brought me some stuff, but I’m not really a sit around and watch TV shows kind of guy.”

  I steered him over to a path lined with flowerbeds and asked, “So what is it that you do when you’re not being dumped out of giant white vans?” Even though Shae had a casual, laidback way about him, I also sensed a tightly coiled intensity he could release any moment. It was kind of scary but equally exciting.

  Shae’s deep laugh was like a blanket with a built in vibrator, soothing and electrifying. “I work a lot, but when I’m not working I like to play pool. I like to hang out with women, and I like to play with my guns.”

  If it sounded like a bad boy, looked like a bad boy and charmed like the baddest of boys, then yeah, he was probably a bad boy. And I was all too aware of him, ignoring the warning bells clanging in my mind.

  “Your bruises are fading nicely. I can almost see your pretty boy good looks underneath.” He laughed when I brushed a thumb over one of the bruises.

  “Pretty boy? I think you mean movie star good looks, don’tcha lass?”

  “If I see you without the cuts and bruises, I’ll let you know.” I knew the moment he was given the all clear by his doctor, Shae would be out of here, probably in search of the guys who wrecked his face and one of his booty calls. “Any word on when the doctor will let you out?”

  “Nah, I’m on the wait and see plan.” His words were casual, but the strain around his eyes said he wanted out. “But I want to get better, so I’m listening to the doc. For now.”

  “That’s a good idea. So Shae, tell me something about yourself.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  Everything. “What do you do for a living? Are you from Rocket?”

  “I work for my father, and I grew up here. Mostly.”

  “I grew up here, too. How is it that we never met?”

  Rocket was big but not when you lived here. It was impossible to escape the people you knew and easy to avoid those you didn’t. Tourists were the exception, and thankfully the town was filled with them constantly.

  “I went to a private school. It wasn’t all it was cracked up to be,” Shae scoffed.

  “Neither was public school, but I was too busy to even think about trivial high school stuff.”

  “Let me guess. Cheerleader and student government?” he asked.

  I laughed. “That’s the high school experience I wished for, but I was too busy making sure Ian got to baseball practice and karate classes while putting food on the table and making sure he did his homework.”

  I realized what I’d said and made a face. “Sorry, I don’t know why I keep blurting out the most personal things around you.”

  “I have a way about me, sweetheart. There was no family to take care of you?” Shae looked at me with concern in his eyes.

  Hell no. “We had a drunk uncle who I paid to hang around for the social worker visits and I gave him two hundred bucks a month to make sure he showed up when we needed him to. He died of alcohol poisoning about two weeks after Ian turned eighteen.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.” Shae stopped walking and turned to me, hands on my shoulders and slowly sliding up to cup my neck and then my jaws. “You’re all delicate curves and smooth skin on the outside, Ivy, but deep down you’re pure fucking steel, aren’t ya?”

  “I wish.” I’d always wanted to be the woman he described.

  “You are. I can tell.”

  “Can you?” His fingers traced my face, down the slope of my jaw, and the length of my throat before his thumbs brushed against my collarbone.

  “I can. You’re delicate on the outside with this smooth skin and silky hair, soft woman curves everywhere. But your sassy mouth gives you away.”

  “You think I’m sassy?” That was not a word anyone had ever used to describe me.

  “Hell, yeah.” Somehow we had moved even closer together. Soft green leaves fell from the trees around us. His breath smelled of mint and man, all of it intoxicating.

  “Sassy, sexy and kind. That’s a killer combination,” he said, his voice growing husky.

  “Thanks,” I said, blushing.

  Shae grinned. “You don’t sound sure. Let me help.” One hand went to my hip and the other sifted through my hair, grabbing me in a strong grip as he tilted me slightly and set his mouth on mine as gently as a whisper. His kiss started as a little flicker of energy, born of the chemistry we had from the start, but with every swipe of his tongue, every caress of his lips, the fire grew bigger. Strong
er. By the time I opened for him and our tongues touched, the fire was ten feet tall and blazing, more blue than red as it began to burn up everything in its path.

  All of a sudden his kiss was all consuming or maybe that was just the heat of his big, strong body. His wide back was hard, muscles tensing and flexing as his hands slid down my back and cupped my ass, pulling me closer. I moaned into his mouth and curled my fingers in his air, pulling a low groan from him. “Shae,” I moaned against his lips, panting hard to catch my breath.

  “Too much?”

  Was he insane? I shook my head, mouth spreading into an unstoppable grin. “Pretty damn perfect, actually.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yep. Good enough for another, I’d say.”

  Okay that was shameless, but I hadn’t been touched by a man in too damn long. If I thought about men who made me respond the way I responded to Shae, the answer was a complete fucking NEVER.

  When our lips collided the second time, it was hotter. I now knew the shape of his lips, the curve of his tongue and the taste of him when he kissed me. He knew when to deepen the kiss, and I was drunk on the taste of us together. The kiss was electric, sending fire and sparks all the way down to my toes, lightning shooting out of every limb. And when his thumb brushed the sensitive skin just above the waistband of my jeans, my panties grew wet.

  I pulled back. “Damn.”

  “Damn is right. That was … unexpected,” he said, looking as shocked as he sounded.

  “Not sure if that was a compliment or not but, I’m gonna go.”

  “No. I just meant that, well,” Shae cut off his words and grabbed my hand and placed it on the hard length of his cock tucked behind his sweatpants. “Kissing doesn’t usually give me a boner.”

  “No?”

  His brows rose at the smile in my voice.

  “No. I’m a grown ass man, dammit, and no doubt your ass is divine, but that’s not usually enough to get me this hard.” I squeezed because I was curious, and he was long and thick.

  Just the way I liked it, or at least I think I did. Did I mention it had been a while?

  “Now that is a compliment. Thank you, Shae.”

  “Yeah, anytime Ivy. These fucking lips make me wish I was a different man.”

  “And what kind of man do you wish to be?”

  “The kind who has your beautiful lips wrapped around my cock.”

  His words came out dark and intense, but I wasn’t afraid. I wanted my lips around his cock. My nipples were rock hard under my sweatshirt and my core tight. I was turned the fuck on.

  Fucking aroused. “And if we were in a different place, I might do it.”

  He let out a tortured groan and pulled me closer so I could feel his hardness pressed right against me. “Tease.”

  I licked my lips, still tasting him. “You think so?”

  “I hope not.” His light eyes went black with heated desire. “I want you, Ivy.”

  His words were simple but true, I knew it because it was what I wanted too. “I want you too, Shae. But not until you’re better.” And then I got out of that flowering place that was acting like an aphrodisiac before I forgot he was still recovering from a beating and jumped his hard lean body. He’d have to get back to his room on his own.

  What was it about gorgeous men that made women so damn stupid?

  Chapter Eight

  Shae

  I knew why I didn’t bother with women outside the need to feed my cock what it craves. Because women were a damn distraction that I couldn’t afford. I’d been reliving that kiss with Ivy, thinking about soft lush lips pressed against mine, the way her tits were pushed up against my chest and the way her ass felt in my hands. Kissing her down in the atrium was hotter than I thought it would be, and I’d been trying to talk down a boner for an hour. But all of that I could deal with because I was alone.

  I was alone in my own private dreamland reliving every moment of that kiss when I felt a presence in my room. I opened my eyes and found two dip shits looking at me. Frank and Gio Milano.

  “What the fuck are you idiots doing in my room?”

  “Big fucking talk from a guy laid up in the hospital.” Frank leaned over me with a disgusting sneer and day old onion breath.

  “Isn’t this how you like me best? At a disadvantage? Let me stand up and then we can go at it, pussy.”

  Gio got in my face, sweaty palms and bloodshot eyes told me the rumors around Rocket were true. He was into some dealers for a lot of dough. Shit was starting to make sense now.

  “Where would the fun be in that?” he hissed.

  “Men in bed your specialty, Gio? I guess the rumors are true.” I knew it was stupid to taunt him, especially with me being in a vulnerable position, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “You asshole!” He pulled back his meaty fist and cracked me right on the side of my face. Damn! It hurt like a motherfucker.

  I laughed. “Someone finally taught you how to throw a punch I see. Come closer, let me critique your technique, Gina.”

  His nostrils flared. Gio was so damn easy to rile up, just a hint that he liked to suck a little cock and the guy saw red. When he lunged for me, I wrapped the call remote cord around his neck and squeezed tight.

  “You’re fucking dead, Shae,” he wheezed, choking.

  I grinned and squeezed just hard enough for his skin to turn red and his eyes to bulge.

  “Is that what does it for you, Gio, dead guys? Is it freshly dead so you can pretend he wants to be there or ice cold?”

  The more he fought the tighter I gripped the cord around his neck until he lost his footing. Frank grabbed my arm, and I pulled the cord until there was no more slack.

  “Touch me and I’ll call for the nurses. They’ll call security.”

  Frank stepped back. “Need a bunch of old ladies to fight your battles?”

  “Like I said, take a fucking step back and we’ll see what’s what. Then again, I could just snap his neck.”

  “We didn’t let you live out of mercy, you motherfucker.” Gio could barely speak., Honestly, I didn’t know how he even got the words out with how tight I pulled the cord.

  “I didn’t really think you did,” I smirked.

  “Let him go!” Frank growled over my shoulder, but I just smiled up at him.

  “Take a step back asshole,” I snarled at him, “or I’ll snap his fucking neck.”

  When Frank took a step back I said, “I’ll let him go when you tell me what the fuck you’re doing here.” I gave the cord a quick yank to show I meant business, and Gio gurgled a profanity.

  “We wanted to make sure you delivered the message to Patrick. Did he get the message?”

  A loud laugh exploded out of me. “Oh, he got the message all right, but we’re gonna need some time.”

  “Time? To get used to sharing the pie with the Milano family?” Frank asked, his sneer unmovable.

  Damn, they were dumb shits. “No asshole, time to get your whole family fitted for some fucking pine boxes. How fat is Lorenzo now? Should we make his a double wide?”

  The minute I let Gio go, Frank lunged and grabbed my throat before I could shove his ass off.

  “Since you gave Patrick the message, I could just fucking kill you right now, and they’ll say it was complications from whatever put you here in the first place.”

  I swear that fucker licked his chops. Fucking psychopath.

  “You could, but then you’d be a dead man before the sun set, and I think you’d like to jackoff inside your sister one more time before you die, right?”

  There was murder in Frank’s eyes, and I smiled, a wide-eyed, crazy as fuck smile. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Asshole,” he growled.

  “Shae?” came a sweet voice from the door.

  Ah, Ivy. The angel came to my rescue once again. “Hey, baby.”

  “Everything okay?” Her blue gaze slid from my face to the hand wrapped around my neck and my hand covering Frank’s wrist.

&n
bsp; “Everything is just fine, sweetheart,” Gio cooed. His condescending tone toward Ivy pissed me off.

  “I’m not your sweetheart,” she growled before she turned to me. “The investigators are here, wondering if they could question you, I’ll just—” Ivy took a step toward the door before she was damn near plowed down by two scared Milano bitches.

  “Aww, sweetheart, you do care,” I threw at Gio’s ass as he raced out the door.

  Chapter Nine

  Ivy

  What in the hell had I walked in on? Some dark-haired creep had his hand wrapped around Shae’s throat while the other looked like he’d been waterboarded. I was pretty sure the guy choking Shae was one of the guys who dumped him in the parking lot. “What the hell was that?” I said when they tore out of the room at the mention of investigators.

  “Nothing, babe. Work stuff. My family’s company hires their company to do some work for us, and now they want more money.”

  I didn’t buy that for one second. It might be the truth, but it was a very whitewashed version. “You could just tell me to butt out, you know? It’s really none of my business.”

  I was starting to think that no matter how much I liked Shae, his business or his life in general was shady as hell. Too shady for me to get involved.

  “I just answered your question, Ivy.” His bedroom eyes gave me a chill, and I knew I had overstepped.

  “Right. I’ll just let a nurse know that you need some assistance.” I pointed to the bruising that had already begun around his throat.

  “No. Wait, Ivy. Please.” That low gravelly sound in his throat was what stopped me from leaving. “Come back.”

  “Look Shae, I’m not asking you for anything. I mean, I don’t think I have.”

  “You haven’t,” he sighed, but the corners of his mouth twitched with amusement, which, damn him, set my own lips trembling.

  “Then don’t assume I’m trying to be all up in your business. I’m not. If you don’t want to tell me then don’t, but don’t insult me by lying.”

  My chest heaved when I was done with my little speech, and my skin felt a little heated. I wasn’t used to confrontation. I didn’t lie because I didn’t find it necessary, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t under the right circumstances.