All of Me (17 page)

“Is that her
patient?” Nathan asked.

“Mmm-hmm.  We
always give her the wild ones ‘cause she’s usually good at chillin’ ‘em out,
but that guy is beyond Jesus now.”

Nathan followed
the trail of curse words, thumps, and growling coming from the last exam room
on the left. 

He heard Stella
say, “Mr. Lewis, I want to help you.  That’s why I’m here.  But the doctor says
no dilaudid or morphine.  Or any benzos.  So we’re going to have to come up
with a different game plan, okay?” 

“Fuck you, bitch!”

There was a
scuffle and a male voice said, “Hey! Hey!  None of that or they’re going to
have to restrain you, Mr. Lewis!”

Nathan’s walk
morphed into a fast jog.  He turned into the room and found two hospital
security guards trying to pin down a writhing, foaming-at-the-mouth Mr. Lewis
while Stella attempted to apply restraints to the guy’s arms.  But he was
flailing too wildly for her to get him pinned down properly. 

The guy swung his
arm at Stella and managed to clip her in the shoulder, knocking her a little
off balance.

Oh, hell no…

Nathan met
Stella’s wide eyes and, with a jerk of his head, gestured for her to stand
back.  He pulled both rent-a-cops off of Stella’s patient (who had stopped
fighting the minute he saw a Cleveland police officer enter the room).  He
leveled his best
this-is-my-show-now
look on the guy.  “
Sit.  Down
.”

Mr. Lewis, a
gaunt, wild-eyed dude in his thirties, dropped his butt onto the hospital bed. 
Nathan pulled up a chair, sat down, and placed his forearms on his knees.  He
folded his hands.  “Mr. Lewis, I am Officer Drazek with the Cleveland Police
Department.  And this is how the rest of your visit here is going to go: 
first, you are going to calm down.  No more wild behavior, do you understand
me?” 

Mr. Lewis nodded
slowly. 

“Second, you are
going to accept whatever pain meds the hospital is willing to give you.  And
you’re not going to give your nurse a hard time about it.  Got it?”

Another nod.

“Third, you are
going to apologize to your nurse.  Now.”

Mr. Lewis swung
his head to look at Stella.  “Sorry.” 

Stella nodded her
acknowledgement. 

“Look at me, Mr.
Lewis.”  The guy complied.  “Lastly, you’re going to get discharged without
fighting.  You need rehab, which the hospital will be more than happy to help
you obtain, but you have to want to help yourself.”  Nathan leveled a hard
gaze.  “Are we in agreement with how things are going to proceed here?”

When Mr. Lewis
nodded again, Nathan slapped his hands on his thighs.  “Good.”  He stood and
moved the chair back.  “Don’t make me come back here, Mr. Lewis.  Because there
won’t be any more talking…just me escorting you to jail.  Do you understand
me?”
   Mr. Lewis nodded. 

“No, I need to
hear you say it.  I need verbal confirmation that you’ve heard and understood
everything I’ve just said to you,” Nathan said.

“Yes.”

Nathan leaned in. 
“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I
understand, officer.”

Nathan nodded,
satisfied.  He turned to the rent-a-cops.  “If this guy so much as looks at her
sideways, I want a call.  Immediately.  Dial 9-1-1 and ask for dispatch to send
me.” 

They shot Stella
looks, which had a flush spreading across her freckles into her cheeks.  “You
got it, officer,” one of them said while the other one nodded his
acquiescence. 

Nathan gestured
for Stella to precede him out of the room.  Once the door was shut behind them,
Stella smiled up at him.  “My knight in shining armor.  Thank you for that.”

Now it was
Nathan’s turn to flush.  “Just doing my job.”

Stella looked
around and leaned in closer.  “I am so happy to see you.  And I really want to
kiss you silly right now.”  She smiled slyly.  “But they have cameras
everywhere and I don’t wanna end up on YouTube.”

Nathan grabbed her
hand and pulled her out the back exit door and into the little sitting area
outside.  The moment the door clicked shut, he pulled her up against his chest
and lowered his mouth to hers.  Nathan’s hands cradled her face, holding it to
his – even though Stella wasn’t going anywhere.  They kissed long and hard
until Stella pulled away with a breathless laugh. 

She wrapped her
arms around his midsection and rested her cheek against his chest.  “I’m so
happy to see you.  I missed you, too.  And, God, you smell good.” 

  Nathan felt…
affected
. 
They’d kissed, groped, and had sex, but somehow that wasn’t as intimate as the
hug they were sharing.  And how did she know Nathan had been missing her?

Uh, maybe
showing up at her work in the middle of both of your shifts was a tip-off, dumb
ass.

“I don’t think
I’ll be having more problems with Mr. Lewis.”

Nathan grunted,
tightening his hold.  “I could never understand why hospitals hire little boys
and old men for security guards.  They’re useless.  Fucking pisses me off.”  He
lowered his nose to Stella’s head and prayed like hell she didn’t realize he
was sniffing her too.

“We can usually
handle patients fine by ourselves, but every once in a while the nurses need
some help.  And they’re really nice guys.  They try.”

Nathan,
irrationally pissed off that other men were “helping” Stella in any way,
scoffed.  “That secretary behind the desk could handle guys like that better
than those rent-a-cops.”

Stella propped her
chin on Nathan’s chest and looked up at him.  She smiled.  “Esther is no joke. 
She has nine kids and a very low tolerance for BS.  We love her.” 

Stella quirked a
dark brow and slowly lowered her hands to Nathan’s ass.  She squeezed and
Nathan’s vision went hazy.  “Things went way too fast last time…I never got a
good look at you.  We’ve gotta go much slower next time.
   Nathan swallowed hard.  “Next time?”

“What time do you
get off?  I’m off at 11:30 tonight…I could meet you at my place at midnight.”

Tell her no. 
You have to think about things and get them sorted out in your head before you
get any more involved.  Tell her you work all night and can’t see her.  Get
your act together before you do anything stupid.

“I’m off at
11:00.  I’ll pick you up here at 11:30.  And we’ll go to my place.”

What. Are. You.
Doing. Idiot.

But for some
reason, Nathan wanted her there.  In his bed. 

He thought about
the other women he’d had sex with in his bed and changed his mind.

“Never mind. 
We’ll do your place.”

Stella shook her
head.  “Nope, I want to see your house.”  She poked him in the side.  “I want
to eat off your floors and see my reflection in your toaster.”

Nathan thought
about his sparse, stark, silent house and relented.  Because suddenly it seemed
very important for Stella to go there.

He nodded.  “I’ll
be out front at 11:30.”

“I have to give
report, so it might be more like 11:45, okay?”

“I’ll be out front
at 11:30,” Nathan said.

Stella laughed and
poked him again.  “Okay, Sergeant Stickler.”  She curled her fingers into the
front of his uniform and pulled him down to her mouth again.  After a quick nip
at his bottom lip and a press of her lips to his, Stella pulled away.

Nathan pulled her
back.

After a long,
drugging kiss, Stella pulled away with a throaty laugh.  “I’ve gotta go.  Mr.
Lewis will need some comforting that the big, bad officer isn’t coming back to
get him.”  She dug her keys out of her scrubs pocket and unlocked the door. 

The reentered the
ER and Stella walked him back to the entrance.  When they approached the
nurses’ station, the secretary – Esther - gave Nathan a thumbs up.

“Thanks, officer. 
You shut that guy up and I couldn’t be more grateful.  You made our night.” 
She glanced at Stella and winked.  “Didn’t he, Stell?”

Stella looked up
at Nathan with an adoring look he knew he didn’t deserve and never would. 
“Sure did, Esther.  He sure did.”

 Nathan had to get
out of there.  Before he either pulled Stella into his arms again or ran away
screaming.

He nodded at the
secretary and looked at Stella.  “Good-bye.”

She lifted her
hand in a little wave.  “Bye.  Thanks, again.”

Nathan nodded and
walked away.  He made it to the automatic double doors before he heard a gaggle
of female giggles and the chant “Stella’s got a boyfriend!  Stella’s got a
boyfriend!”  Followed by Stella feverishly whispering, “Shut
up
, you
guys!”

He pressed the
side of his fist to the big silver button and strode out to where Danny was
waiting in the cruiser.

He didn’t want
to.  Knew he shouldn’t.  But Nathan couldn’t help it.

He grinned.

***

Stella stuck her
thumb out as Nathan pulled his SUV along the curb outside the ER.  As soon as
he stopped, she climbed in and slammed the door behind her. 

She smiled at him,
suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. She’d all but told Nathan to pick her
up so they could have long, drawn-out, thorough sex at his house.  Never mind
that’s exactly what she wanted to do, but it wasn’t like her to make herself so
vulnerable.  Especially after only knowing this guy for a short period of
time. 

But the truth was,
she was in love with him.  Had been since he’d held her against his chest
during her near arrest. 

What a lovely
story for the grandkids.

“Did you have
dinner?”  Nathan’s question interrupted Stella’s musings.  “Are you hungry?”

But the whole tone
had changed for Stella.  Because she’d just admitted something huge and scary
and weird to herself.  She was in love with this man.  That, despite her best
laid plans this quiet, sad man had stolen her heart. 

But why is he
into you?  When there are plenty of
whole
women out there?  Like Nadia. 
What is this guy’s game?  He must have women throwing themselves at him
constantly.  Why is he hanging around?  He probably thinks you’re easy.  You’re
vulnerable and desperate…such a mark.  He’ll use you up and spit you out.

Tears pricked the
backs of Stella’s eyelids.  She fidgeted with her lanyard to keep her hands
busy and her eyes downcast.  This was the self-shaming, destructive self-talk
she and Jen had worked so hard to overcome.  And Stella had thought she
had
overcome
it, for the most part. 

“Stella?”

She cleared her
throat.  “Uh, yeah?”

“Are you hungry?”

Stella shook her
head.  “No.  Thanks.”

They drove in
uncomfortable silence all the way to his house, which was a really cute
bungalow a few streets over from Stella’s house. 

After he’d parked
in the driveway, Nathan faced her.  “Have you changed your mind about this?” he
asked quietly.  “Because that’s okay.  I can take you home right now.”

There was
something so vulnerable and heartbreaking in his eyes that Stella burst into
tears. 

Nathan’s alarmed
expression made her laugh through her tears.  “I’m sorry…I’m such an emotional
wreck.  Obviously.  But I’m fine.  Really.”

“Do you…do you
want me to take you home?” 

“What, a
hysterical woman isn’t a turn on?” Nathan’s brow furrowed and she waved off his
confusion.  “I’m just teasing, Nathan.  Sorry.”

He shut off the
car.  “Why don’t we go in for a minute?”  One corner of his mouth turned up
slightly.  “There’s a toaster with your name on it.”

Stella laughed. 
“Of course.  How could I forget about that?”  She followed him out of the car
and up the porch steps. 

“I love these
brick bungalows,” Stella said, running a hand over the dark reddish brown brick
as Nathan unlocked the front door.  “I wish I had bought brick instead of
siding.”

She smiled when he
grunted a response.  The guy was an adorable caveman.

They stepped into
his foyer area and Stella was immediately struck by the stillness.  She had a
bad habit of leaving her TV on when she went out, so Stella was always greeted
by sound when she came in.  But Nathan’s house was utterly still and silent and
dark. 

He flipped on a
light and Stella got a better look at his front room.  It was exactly as she’d
expected:  leather couch, simple TV stand with a flat screen TV, an end table,
and matching coffee table.  No clutter.  No laundry.  Gleaming oak floors and
nothing on the walls.  Not a picture in sight.

Stella slipped out
of her scrub jacket and tossed it on the back of his couch.  She grinned when
Nathan grabbed it and hung it on his coat rack.  “Sorry, S.S.”  At Nathan’s
lifted brow, Stella explained. “Sergeant Stickler.” 

“Ah.”  He cleared
his throat.  “Would you, uh, like something to drink?”

Stella kicked her
gross nursing shoes off by the coat rack.  “Do you have any wine?”

A weird look
passed over Nathan’s face.  “No wine.  I didn’t know you were coming or I would
have gotten some.”

“Oh, that’s no
problem.  What do you have?”

“Juice.  Water. 
Milk.  Pop.”

“What kind of
juice?”  Stella followed him into his kitchen.  “Wow…”  She ran a hand over his
cherry cabinets and stainless steel fridge.  “This is beautiful, Nathan.”

He opened the
fridge door.  “I have cranberry and orange.”

“Cranberry,
please.  A ton of ice.  Was the kitchen like this when you bought?”

“No, I redid it.” 
Stella loved watching him move.  Especially in that uniform.  Although she’d
prefer he lose it right about now.

“Well, you did a
great job.  It’s so tasteful and…”  Stella smiled at him.  “…clean.” 

He handed her the
cranberry juice.  “Thanks.”

Stella took a long
sip because suddenly her mouth was very dry.  Probably because they were
standing very close together.  In Nathan’s personal space.  And Stella had been
obsessing about his motives and her stupidity.