Page 60 of Tick Tock, Boom!

I didn't wait to hear what he had to say, I ran past him and into the clinic, focusing on my job.

I fell in stride beside the doctor as two orderlies grabbed Tick Tock and slid him onto a gurney. Blood dripped from beneath the leather jacket and my fingers fumbled with the zipper before carefully easing it off his blood-soaked body. My hands shook as I folded it and placed it gently on the counter. It still smelled like him, tobacco, leather, and the faintest trace of that cologne I loved on him.

I swallowed hard and maintained focus. Grabbing the scissors, I got to work cutting open his shirt, revealing the mess beneath. Blood pooled around a deep wound on his side, another on his shoulder. He was bleeding out fast. His skin was pale, his heart rate dangerously low.

"You don't get to die on me," I whispered to him as I inserted the needle into his arm, setting up a central line.

The doctor scrubbed in quickly, but I was already at work, gloves snapped on, suction in hand, gauze ready.

I’d trained in L.A. as a surgical nurse, and at that moment, every ounce of that training surged forward. My hands moved without hesitation, instinct guiding every motion. Dr. Hensley watched me with something like approval on his face.

“Good,” he muttered. “Very good. Keep pressure there. Hand me the clamp.”

I followed every instruction without question, pushing the emotions down, locking them behind my ribs like a cage. I had to. This wasn’t about the past. This was about keeping him alive.

Still…every now and then eyes fell on his face. He'd gotten older, lines had formed along the edges of his eyes and forehead. He looked rougher in all the ways that made my heart ache.

I tried not to notice how his lips were still full, how his jawline was still perfectly cut. I tried not to remember the feel of that mouth on mine, of those hands gripping my thighs, of his voice whispering my name when he emptied himself inside me.

I hated him for what he did, but I hated myself more for still wanting him.

When it was finally over, the wound stitched and sealed, he was taken away by the night shift nurse.

I stood there, blood on my scrubs, the weight of the last hour crashing down on me.

Dr. Hensley clapped me on the shoulder. “You helped save his life. Go home and get some rest.”

I nodded, the numbness beginning to take over. I suppose that was better than the fear and anxiety of remembering Knuckles face as he saw me.

Not wanting to be seen again. I quickly and quietly left through the back door, as it slammed shut, the sound jolted my nerves.I took two steps into the dark alley before the dam broke.

I collapsed against the wall, sobbing into my hands as tears streaked down my cheeks.

I’d saved the man who destroyed me and the worst part of it all was that I had come to the realization that I still loved him.

TICK TOCK

Darkness bled in from every side. I was stranded in the middle of an open field, the wind cutting sharp like a blade through my shirt. Trees twisted in the distance, and beneath my boots was a bed of damp earth. I looked down and realized I was standing at the foot of an unmarked grave, the soil still fresh. My stomach twisted when I saw it, that instinct crawling up the back of my throat like bile.

A whisper rode in on the breeze, soft and broken. “Don’t die on me…”I spun around at the sound of it.

Natalia.

She stood just beyond the grave, barefoot and glowing, eyes rimmed with tears. Her hair whipped behind her in the wind, that sweet voice calling me closer. I ran to her, feet slipping in the mud, lungs burning. She didn't move, only stared with those knowing eyes, her dress slipping from her shoulders like she wanted me to see her break.

When I reached her, my hands went to her waist, and she came apart like she’d been waiting for me to put her back together.

Her lips met mine, soft and desperate, and then we were on the ground, the moss biting into my back as she straddled me. She whispered again, “Don’t die, Tick…Don't leave me."

I slid my hands up her thighs, under her dress, finding her soaked and aching.

"God,I missed you, kitten."

She reached between us, her hands fumbling with my zipper. I groaned as she slid my hard cock out. We both moaned as she ground her pussy on it, breathless on it and dripping it with her juices.

"Fuck me, daddy. I need you."

I entered her in one hard thrust, my teeth gritting at the sheer pleasure as my cock slid into her tightness. She gasped my name, her head falling back as her nails bit into my shoulders. She rode me slow, her hips rolling, our bodies tangled under the gray sky, rain beginning to fall like all those tears I'd never allowed myself to shed for all these years. The soft material of the nightgown became wet and clung to her tits. The sight made my cock jerk inside her

---