Page 3 of Big Bold Security

We fall into another awkward silence. I often attend to my own wounds but when the blunt knife pierced my skin, I’d known immediately that I needed to get the shot.

This is one of the many hazards of working in security. There is no escaping injuries when you offer protection services, however, the irony of getting injured in a silly training exercise is not lost on me.

“There, done!” the nurse says, pushing back and inspecting her work. I follow her eyes to the neat sutures, noticing how proud she is of the job well done.

“Thank you,” I manage, watching her.

“You’re welcome,” she says, rising from the chair. My eyes stay on her as she cleans up and it’s not until someone steps into her space that I am reminded that we are no longer alone. It’s quite hilarious really. I am always conscious of everyone in the room and yet, I completely forgot about the doctor standing in the corner watching her stitch my cut. Some bodyguard I am.

“Great job, Adams,” the doctor, whose name I don’t even remember, comments inspecting my arm. “I will now leave you to clean and dress his wound.”

The two don’t speak much before the man exits the room, leaving me alone with the nurse. Her hands are soft and gentle as they clean my cut and dress it. All the while, I struggle and fail to take my eyes off her.

She is beautiful. That much was obvious from the second I laid my eyes on her. I ball my fist into the bed sheet in an attempt to stop myself from reaching out and running my fingers over her pretty face. Every caress of her fingers, however well-intentioned, has need shooting straight to my cock.

I’ve never had much interest in women, too focused on building my company and I don’t understand the sudden need to pull her flush against me and touch her. To grab her by her ponytail and bring her lips to mine in a bruising kiss until she is crying out my name. Slipping my hands under her top, and sliding them up her ribcage until…

“You need to keep the dressing clean, Mr. Coleman,” she says, cutting into my thoughts. Her silky-smooth voice sends blood rushing south and my erection pulses painfully behind the zipper of my jeans. “Be sure not to strain this arm so you don’t tear open the stitches, but in case it happens then you need to…”

I watch her lips move but not a single word registers in my mind, too lost in her beauty to stay focused.

“Mr. Coleman?” her sharp voice has my eyes shooting to hers. “I am done dressing your wound but it’s important that you follow all the instructions I just listed so that your cut heals correctly.”

“Thank you,” I repeat but neither of us makes a move to back away.

“You should get dressed now and make sure you come back if you tear open the stitches,” she whispers, her voice low and I watch in fascination as her eyes lower to my pecs and her little pink tongue darts out to lick her lower lip.

“You should… Uhm, get dressed.” Her voice is shaky as she instructs me but doesn’t move away. Her hand drops to my abs and she slowly strokes them. The heat between us ignites and I can’t help but pull her toward me. Her eyes fill with lust as they burn a trail down my body with every caress.

I slide my big palm along her face, angling her mouth to meet mine, but before we seal the moment with a kiss, the door is pushed open, causing her to jump back in alarm.

“Scarlett, are you, Oh-” A nurse walks in and stops when she notices me. Her eyes run over my topless body, and I watch as her cheeks flush red. That is enough to have me grabbing for my shirt and shrugging it on. It’s still stained with blood, but it’ll have to do.

Scarlett.

Her name is Scarlett.Fits her.

“Meredith, uhm, hi, did you… Uhm, is everything okay?” Scarlett sounds so out of breath that it has the other nurse narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“No, it is clearly taking you too long to finish dressing a simple wound. It looks like you are going to need to practice again, on a different patient, before I allow you to go home.”

Anger roars through my body, and I want to step in and protect her from this nasty woman. I am about to speak up when I see Scarlett’s jaw tighten, and I fight off a smirk. She’s clearly annoyed and I prepare to watch her stand up for herself; but instead, she pushes her emotions back and plasters on a fake smile.

“Of course, I can lend a hand before leaving. Just give me a minute to clean this up.”

“Absolutely not, leave the mess for Ivy to clean up. Go. Now.”

I button my shirt as I watch Scarlett swallow her rage. I want to reach out and stop her from leaving, but I don’t want to cause trouble for her.

There was no mistaking the sizzling air between us earlier. It was electric enough for us to forget where we were and what we were doing.

It was too reckless, even for me.

Scarlett turns around to meet my eyes and I watch as she drags her teeth over her lower lip, as though contemplating what to say before finally settling on the words, “Take care, Mr. Coleman.”

Chapter Three

Scarlett

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