Billionaire: Billionaire Romance: Billionaire Tiger (A Billionaire New Adult Shifter Contemporary Romance) (12 page)

She grabbed one of the ready-heat blankets from the cart, tore open the packet and unfolded it. She could feel it start to heat up right away and she covered him with the sheet. Covered now, she waited for a few minutes, slipping a hand under the blanket every now and then to see that he was, in fact, starting to warm up.

Taking out the stethoscope, she clamped the eartips into either ear then pressed the diaphragm to his chest and listened but...she couldn't hear anything. His chest was rising and falling, but she couldn't find his heartbeat. She moved the diaphragm around on his chest as quieted her own breath, straining to hear. Finally, after what seemed like an alarmingly long time, she thought she caught the faintest flicker of a heartbeat.

Alexa exhaled loudly, pulled the blanket back up to cover him and hooked the stethoscope around her neck. "Yeah...that would have been weird."

She paced the floor beside the bed and watched to make sure he was still breathing. Who was this guy and what was with the look he gave her when he first saw her? Did she know him? Had she met him before and just forgotten who he was? How did he get here without a car?

Either way, it didn't really matter right now. It seemed like he was stabilizing, so she went over to him, felt around his body, patted his pockets in search of a wallet or some other identification.

"I don't usually get this fresh when I first meet someone but desperate times call for desperate measures."

Inside, there was no wallet, but she did find a cellphone. She plucked it out of his pocket, scrolled to the contacts and strangely, only found 1. She hit the auto-dial and brought the phone up to her ear. The person on the other end answered almost immediately.

"Mr. Thorne. My god, man. Where the hell are you? I've been worried sick."

"Hello?"

The man on the other end was silent.

"Hi, my name is Dr Alexa Ramirez. I run the Walk-In Clinic out on Route 25."

There was a long pause before the man responded. "Yes?"

"Your friend - Mr. Thorne, is it?"

"Yes. Mr. Thorne. Mr. Dane Thorne."

"Right. Well, I found him collapsed outside my clinic about 10 minutes ago."

"Christ! Is he..."

"No, he's alive. In and out of consciousness, but alive."

"Thank god."

"I've got him under a warming blanket right now and I'm about to give him fluids to..."

"No."

Alexa frowned. "What?"

"I mean...fluids won't work. He's been ill. What he needs is blood."

”Um...what do you mean...blood."

"His blood...it's weak. He...he needs a transfusion."

"Okay. I...uh...I would have to do further tests on him before I'm comfortable giving him any blood. Really, he should be in a hospital for treatment of that kind."

"No! Um...he hates hospitals. Whatever you do, don't take him to the hospital. He's at your clinic, you say? Can't you just treat him there?"

"I...guess I could but I would have to type him first and find out--."

"Please, you don't understand. He's been gone for days. Missed his treatments. If you check his pocket, he should have paperwork stating that I'm his medical contact. What he requires is a blood transfusion. If he does not get it--."

Before he could finish his sentence, the man started convulsing on the table.

"Jesus!" Alexa darted over to him.

"What?" the man on the phone shouted. "What is it?"

"He's convulsing. I have to go."

"Please! Doctor, you have to help him. Blood. What he needs is blood. Or else he'll die! Please help him! I'm on my way. You have my consent to treat him as you see fit. Just...don't let him die!"

The man hung up before Alexa could protest but she didn't have time for that anyway. Dane's body was contorting awkwardly, his legs and arms jutted out as he twisted and writhed in pain.

She pocketed the phone, then placed one hand on either side of his face to try to hold him steady and keep him from throwing himself off the bed. The moment she touched him, it was as though he knew she was there and instantly started to calm down.

"It's alright, Dane. That's your name, right? Dane? I'm here now. Everything's going to be alright."

Her voice seemed to soothe him and his breathing slowed, he relaxed and fell softly back onto the bed. After a few seconds his breathing started to slow and Alexa whispered to him in a low, soft voice.

As the convulsions subsided, she got a good look at him and was struck by the exquisite structure of his face - high cheekbones, strong yet delicate brow, full lips. She knew it was wrong - to be checking him out this way when he was obviously ill - but she was instantly drawn to him, almost like she knew him or at the very least had seen him before.

His eyes remained closed but very slowly, very quietly, he lifted his hand and placed it on Alexa’s which still cupped the side of his face. She almost thought she was dreaming when he managed to open his eyes long enough for her to see how shining emerald they were. The sides of his mouth turned up at the corners in a soft smile, as though it was a moment of recognition.

"You," he whispered.

For a brief moment, everything else in the room seemed to fade away and Alexa's thoughts went cloudy and she had a brief flash of what felt like a dream. A fireplace burned in a darkened room, the fragrant scent of lilacs wafted around her, and she felt the soft touch of a warm hand on her skin.

Alexa blinked, and the vision was gone, but in the next moment, Dane started seizing again.

Her mind raced, her thoughts flitted by too quickly to second-guess herself. She knew what she had to do, no matter how much her brain was screamed at her to stop.

Alexa released Dane, then went directly to the cupboard and grabbed the supplies she needed. Even though she was about to do something drastic, she knew in that moment that she would do anything to save the stranger.

She took out a clipboard, recorded Dane's blood pressure, pulse, respirations and temperature in the chart, hoping that if she stuck to procedure, she'd come to her senses and change her mind about what she intended to do.

Alexa knew her own blood type - O, the universal type. But she had no idea what type this guy was. Her heart raced as she threw her head back and took a deep breath. The chances of him being compatible weren't that slim but...what if he wasn't what if she went and gave him her blood and it didn't help. or even worse..what if it killed him?

She looked down at him. He was tall, slender, but lying there, so pale and weak, he looked so small. Alexa knew she couldn't simply stand by and let him die.

She shook her head, her brain screamed at her, replaying rules, regulations, the possibility of a law suit, but she managed to push those thoughts to the back of her mind as she got out the supplies she needed.

She went to the refrigerator, flung the door open and pulled out the drawer. As a small clinic, they relied upon donations from the public but people hadn't been giving much of late and as she flipped through the reserves, she saw that they had a number of packets of both A and B but no O.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, flipping through the blood packets again, but still, only specific types of blood.

She shook her head, sat back on the stool and looked over to where Dane lay. If she gave him A or B and he was the opposite type, she could kill him. O was the only safe bet and they were out.

"I'm not though," said aloud, hoping that by saying it, it might talk her out of what she was thinking. Now she knew understood how having Type O blood was a blessing and a curse. She had the means to potentially save him, but doing so could open up a can of worms that started with law suits and could end with her single-handedly tanking her career.

She stood and went over to him. As though sensing she was there, his eyelids fluttered and he looked up at her. Alexa felt her stomach lurch with uncertainty but when he flashed her a weak smile, he nodded, it was like she couldn't say no.

"It's okay," he said. "Do it."

"How...How do you know..."

"I'll be fine...if you help me."

As she stood over him, something in his eyes, in his gaze, willed her to act. She placed one hand on his face and looked down at him. When he started seizing again, Alexa didn't think. She acted.

CHAPTER 2

Once the blood transfusion was complete, Dane seemed to be resting comfortably. Alexa continued checking on him every 15 minutes,. She had just completed writing up her report on his chart when the front door to the clinic opened and someone came rushing inside.

"Hello? Doctor, hello?"

Alexa jumped up and headed out of the examination room. She made her way to the lobby and a dark-haired man came rushing toward her. He stopped short the moment he saw her, almost as though he saw a ghost.

”Hi. I'm Dr. Ramirez."

He nodded, his mouth hung open for a moment before he composed himself. "Mr. Thorne...how is he? Is he okay? Did you treat him? Tell me how he is!"

"Sir, please, just calm down and I'll tell you everything."

He came toward her so that Alexa had to put both hands up to stop him.

"Sir. You're going to have to calm down or I'm going to call the cops, alright?"

His eyes were wild and darted around, trying to see past her. Then "I--I'm sorry. He's been missing for a few days and I had no idea where he went. I've just been so worried."

"He's fine. He's going to fine. Please...come with me."

Rather than explain to him, Alexa knew it was better to just show him. She turned and led him down the hallway toward the exam room. She moved aside, gesturing for him to go inside. when he did, he took two steps inside and let out an audible gasp. he rushed to Dane's bedside, standing over him and ___."

"You said he's doing alright? Does that mean..."

"Yes. I treated him. But--."

"Dr. Thank you! I don't know how to thank you!"

The man spun around, taking Alexa's hands in his and shaking them. she smiled at him, warily before responding.

"It's what I do. but sir...I do have to tell you. Our reserves were low and since you hung up before I could get his full medical history from you, I had to treat him with my own blood."

He stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. He gave her a strange look before turning back to Dane.

"Oh. You gave him...your blood. And how did he...react?"

"Um...he didn't...react...but he did take well to it, so far at least. As I said, we were out of a lot of blood reserves and since I didn't know his type, I had to use my own. But let me assure you, I only did it because the situation was so dire. He was seizing, I had no other recourse. I only did it knowing that my own blood type is O - generic - safe to be transfused into people with any type of blood."

"Yes, that's fine. I understand."

"I only say that because, for insurance purposes--."

He help up one hand. "No need to worry. I gave my consent. I understood the consequences."

Okay, Alexa thought. That was easier than I expected. "Yes, well, he seems to be stable now but once he's ready to be moved, I'd suggest taking him to the hospital for an extensive check-up. My resources here are limited and--."

"That won't be necessary." The man said. "He should be fine, especially after receiving your blood."

Alexa couldn't put her finger on it, but something wasn't right about this whole thing. James was too nonchalant about it all. He barely even blinked when she'd told him she used her own blood for the transfusion. In fact, he seemed kind of relieved by it.

"I'm sure he will be but I really do think--."

Before she could finish, Dane started to stir. James bolted to his bedside, leaning over him and whispering to him before Alexa could get to him.

She moved beside him, looking down at him. She studied the monitors. As far as she could see, he was stabilizing. In fact, his vitals were almost back to normal. She looked down at him. He was practically at death's door earlier. She'd never seen anyone recover so quickly. It was almost a miracle. He was a miracle.

As though hearing her thoughts, Dane's eyes opened and for the briefest second, she forgot about where she was and what she was doing. All she could do was stare back at him, getting lost in the vibrant jade color of his eyes as he studied her face.

"Dane, you alright? You fell. You passed out."

James' voice beside her drew Alexa out of her dream but she almost didn't want it to. She wanted to stay there in his eyes.

When he blinked it was like the spell was broken and Alexa could think again.

"Mr. Thorne. I'm Dr. Alexa Ramirez. You collapsed before I brought you in, and you were unconscious some time, I believe. I'm just warming you up now."

"Yes...you are."

Alexa was taken aback at first, but James' awkward laugh beside her made her smile.

"Flat on his back under observation and he still manages to flirt."

Alexa cleared her throat awkwardly. "As I was saying...I think you're going to be fine but we should get you to a hospital to be sure."

He stirred finally, reaching up for her hand and taking it in his. His touch was powerful, but even though it was ice cold, Alexa felt a heat between them.

"No, please...no."

"I know, no one likes hospitals but I strongly suggest you get checked out. You've had a blood transfusion. You should rest and take care not to overexert yourself for at least 24 to 48 hours."

”Please...I'll be fine."

"No, please, I would feel much better if--."

Before Alexa could finish, Dane reached up for her, placing his hand on her cheek.

"You saved me."

"Yes, but you need further tests, and--."

He ran his fingers up the side of her face and didn't say anything, he simply stared at her and shook his head softly.

"Oh-okay," Alexa said, wrinkling her brow. Her thoughts were clouded, fuzzy, but she knew that she only wanted to do whatever he wanted. "Maybe we can just...get you home then?"

He managed a weary smile before setting his arm back down at his side. Alexa looked up at James, who stood over them, watching the two of them with a somewhat quizzical, somewhat amazed look on his face.