Bondage Included (5 page)

She turned and practically ran to the Ladies room. Amanda was right behind her.

André watched Nick and Laura make their way through the crowd.

After shaking hands, Nick asked, “Any word?”

“She’s in surgery. Open fracture of the tibia. She has a gash on the back of her head as well, but they haven’t said anything about that,” he replied automatically. He knew he should call her family, but he didn’t know how to reach them. Hopefully, the hospital personnel would take care of that.

“She’s in good hands. This is one of the best trauma centers in the state.”

“That’s what James was saying.” André smiled because it was expected, but all he could think about was Adriana. Shouldn’t he have heard more by now?

Nick clapped James on the shoulder. “That’s high praise coming from him.”

“Hey now! I get the job done,” James argued.

“Yes, you do,” Nick assured him. “We just wish you’d take a little more care with your own safety while you did it.”

Nick turned to André. “I know this is the least of your concerns right now, but the club is insured against this type of thing. Everything will be covered. Her time off work, the medical bills, everything. I spoke with the ladies downstairs in billing. They have all the information and it’s been taken care of.”

“Thank you, Nick. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I appreciate you handling it all personally.”

He’d probably scared the shit out of the billing department. It wasn’t every day that one of the leading corporate attorneys in the nation walked through the door.

“My pleasure. Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Nick offered.

“André? André Devereaux?” a woman in surgical greens was asking.

“Yes?” He rushed to her, anxious for news.

“Please follow me.”

Chapter Three

“You need to stay calm, Ms. Parma,” the frazzled nursed pleaded with her.

“Where’s André? I know he’s here. I want to see André.” Adriana wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“As soon as you’re moved into a regular room, you’ll be able to see him,” the nurse told her for the umpteenth time.

“Fuck you. I want him now. I see him now or I’m leaving.” She struggled to get up. Her body wasn’t responding the way it should.

Adriana was sick and tired of women keeping her away from André and she wasn’t putting up with it any longer. She didn’t care who she pissed off.

Tipping her head back, she rested for a moment. One way or another she’d find him. He’d said he wouldn’t leave her and she believed him. That meant these horrible nurses were keeping him away from her and she was done with that shit.

“André!” she screamed as loud as she could.

“I’m here, bebe.”

He sounded far away, but just hearing his voice made her breathe a little easier.
Thank God.
“Don’t make him go away. I’ll get out of this bed and find him.” She shook her finger at the nurse sitting beside her.

The nurse pointed through the parted curtains. Adriana turned and there he was. He looked like hell, but he was there with her, just like he’d said. She sat up, wanting to go to him, but the mean old nurse held her down.

“Don’t touch me!” she screamed and tried to knock her hand away.

André was immediately by her side. “Calm down, bebe. She’s trying to help you.”

Adriana pouted. She didn’t like it when André was disappointed with her. “I just want to be with you.” She scooted a little closer to him.

The nice nurse, the one who’d brought André in to see her, lowered the railing between them and he took Adriana’s hand in his.

“I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. It’s time for you to rest, bebe. Close your eyes and sleep for me.”

She curled around his hand as best she could and drifted off to sleep.

“You’ve got a little hellion on your hands.” Jeannette, the elderly nurse, sitting opposite him smiled his way.

Adriana wasn’t his. If she’d been his, none of this would have happened. “How is she doing?”

“You’ll have to speak to the doctor. He’ll be by again shortly.”

He bit back his first response. She was just following regulations. “Thank you for allowing me to sit with her.”

“It is irregular, but you have friends in high places, Mr. Devereaux. And frankly, I’m grateful. She was determined to get up and find you.” She laughed.

André assumed Nick had pulled some strings. He had the best friends.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I won’t be far. If you need anything, just press the button or, honestly, speak loudly and I’ll hear you.” She ducked through the curtains.

“Talk to me, André?” Adriana asked without opening her eyes.

“You scared me, bebe. Are you okay?” He brushed her hair away from her face.

“I feel funny, heavy and clumsy. My brain’s all fuzzy.” She giggled.

“You must be Mr. Devereaux.”

André looked up at the man dressed in scrubs.

“I’m Dr. Holt.” He held out his hand.

André shook his hand while he stood. “Thank you for all you’ve done for her, Doctor. How is she?”

“She’s going to be fine. Our biggest concern at this point is infection. She has a type two open fracture of her tibia. It was a surprisingly clean break. We inserted a rod joining the pieces. There was very little fragmenting. We did our best to minimize the possibility of scarring. Honestly, she was very lucky.”

“So she’ll fully recover?” He thought that was what he was hearing, but he wanted it spelled out in black and white terms.

The doctor shrugged. “Time will tell. Normally with a break of this nature we see significant collateral damage. In her case, there appears to be very little. The soft tissue near the break shows trauma, but not to the extent expected. She has a concussion and a small cut on the back of her head. We put a few stitches in it simply because head wounds like to bleed. Any further questions for me?”

“How long will she have to stay here? She’s afraid of doctors.” He wanted her safe, but he also wanted her where no one could keep her away from him.

“I’d like to keep her here at least a couple of days. We’ve started her on antibiotics to reduce the likelihood of infection.” The doctor tossed the sheet back and looked at Adriana’s leg.

André had expected a much longer stay. “What about the concussion?”

“It was minor. We’ll be running a few more tests tomorrow, but from what we know now, she’s a very lucky girl.” The doctor sounded confident.

André was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He kept remembering her lying in a bloody heap on the gym floor. “How long before she’s back to normal? She will be back to normal, right?”

“Any time you have an open fracture, it extends the healing time. She’s looking at”—he scrunched his face as if he were thinking about all the factors involved—“minimum four months. She’ll need physical therapy. Will she be going to a rehab facility or is there someone at home available to take care of her?”

Oh, hell no!
Adriana wasn’t going to a nursing home. “She’ll have round the clock care. Do you know if anyone contacted her parents?”

“No parents,” Adriana moaned. “Just André. Only talk to André.”

His attention was instantly on Adriana. He didn’t want her moving around and causing any further damage. “Shh, I’m here. Go back to sleep, bebe.”

The doctor lowered his voice. “That’s pretty much all she’s been saying since she got here.”

“Okay. As long as you’re sure she’s going to be all right, I’ll talk to her about it once she fully wakes up.”

“In an hour, maybe two, we’ll move her upstairs. Are you going to stay with her?”

“Yes, absolutely!” He wasn’t going anywhere.

She needed him.

The doctor laughed. “My staff will be happy to hear that. She’s been quite vocal about wanting to see you.”

“The feeling was mutual, doctor.” André shook his hand again, before he left.

* * * *

“Do you need anything else, bebe?” André ran a hand through his hair before pulling a chair closer to his bed.

“Yes.”

André jumped back up.

“I want you to come to bed with me. You haven’t slept in days. I know I was selfish. I didn’t want you to leave me while I was in the hospital, but we’re out of there now.” She patted the bed beside her.

“No, Adriana. I can sleep in the chair.”

“Please, André. I want to be held.” She turned on the tears. It was a cheap trick, but she was desperate and it wasn’t like she had to fake it. She always seemed on the verge of crying these days.

“I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. It’s only been a few days. You still have stitches.”

He hadn’t sat back down and that gave her hope.

“André, please. This bed is Olympic sized. If you lie on this side”—she patted with her right hand—“there’s no way you could hurt me.” She used her arms to scoot closer to the edge.

“Don’t move around, Adriana.” He looked intimidating with his arms crossed over his chest and glaring at her like he meant business. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He pushed the chair back against the wall and kicked off his shoes. “Okay. You win, I lose.” He stomped to the other side of the bed where he lay facing her, but as far away from her as possible.

“I’d like to think we both win,” she said sweetly. Her leg was resting on a stack of pillows, but she turned over as best she could and pulled his hand into hers. “Thank you for taking such good care of me and letting me stay here.”

“You couldn’t very well have jogged up the three flights of stairs to your place.” He shrugged. “Besides, I want you here where I can keep an eye on you. You’re a troublemaker.”

She knew he planned to keep his hands off her, but she wasn’t going to stand for it. Those horrible women were gone and this was her chance. She wasn’t going to let it slip by. “If I’d known all I needed to do was break a leg to get to sleep with you, I’d have done it long ago.”

“Grrr. That’s not funny. I lost a good, solid ten years off my life that day.”

Lying beside him felt right. He looked relaxed for the first time in ages. “I’m sorry I scared you. I must say it hurt a bit.” She pulled his arm between her breasts and held on tight.

“You were so brave, cher. I’m proud of you.”

She’d have to be much braver if she was going to have her way with him. She suspected he was going to fight her at every turn.

“You’re overdressed for sleeping.” She started unbuttoning his shirt.

He stilled her hand against his chest. “I’m fine, bebe.”

“André, you’re being silly. I’ve seen your shirt off at the club. I didn’t jump you then and my leg wasn’t broken. I think you’re safe,” she teased him.

“But are you, bebe?” His eyes darkened and he looked like the André she’d first fallen in love with.

“Safety is highly overrated, André. Now get undressed. I suspect you’re a nude sleeper.” Maybe if she could act nonchalant, he would go with it. He owned a BDSM club for heaven’s sake. He couldn’t be that much of a prude.

“While I had trainees in the house, I always slept in jams,” he answered wearily.

“I’m not a trainee. I’m the walking wounded.” She laughed. “Hell, I can barely hobble. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Get comfortable.” She planned to lull him into a false sense of security then when the time was right, she’d pounce.

“No, and watch your language.”

She knew he’d meant to sound firm and unwavering, but she focused on the desire in his eyes.

“You’re so tense. Let me give you a back scratch.” She’d never known a man to turn one down.

He shook his head. “I’m taking care of you. Not the other way around.”

“André, I’m a sub. I enjoy caring for others.” She extended her bottom lip in a pout. Truth be told, she enjoyed caring for him and others be damned, but it sounded good.

“You’re a sub in need of a firm hand,” he grumbled.

“No arguments there.” She smiled at him unrepentantly.

“You’re a mean woman, playing on my baser instincts while I’m preoccupied.”

Preoccupied must be code for exhausted. “Please, André. You know you want a nice, relaxing back scratch. When was the last time you allowed someone to do something for you?”

“James, Ted and Nick have been running the club since the night you were hurt.” He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“That’s business, that doesn’t count.” She craved his touch—even something as simple as a brief caress down her face almost had her swooning.

“All right, cher.” He sounded tired and resigned.

She almost felt bad for badgering him so. Almost.

He stood and removed his shirt, belt and slacks before bending down and removing his socks. He kept his briefs on and slid under the sheet.

As he undressed, Adriana started counting backward from one hundred, in her head, in Italian, anything to keep from acknowledging his fan-dam-tastic physique. Once he was covered and facing away from her, she settled in to enjoy the view. Even his back was sexy. He’d been working out since she’d joined the club and it was showing.

She’d love to think he was trying to impress her, but she suspected it was just another reason to stay away from the trolls.

Lightly at first, she began to scratch his back. Being able to touch him skin on skin was a dream come true. She noticed his breathing had deepened and some of the tension had eased from his muscles.

Adriana began to knead the tops of his shoulders and down to the middle of his back eliciting a groan.

“That’s heavenly, Adriana. Thank you. I can’t remember the last time…”

What?
“You had a backrub?”

“No. I can’t remember the last time anyone did something for me,” he answered her question from a few minutes ago.

He sounded so sad and alone, it broke her heart. She was sorry she’d brought it up. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“Oh, I’m asleep, bebe. This feels too good to be real, so I gotta be dreaming.”

Adriana chuckled. Maybe this would be easier than she’d thought.

* * * *

André woke nestled against Adriana’s breast. How and when she’d gotten naked, he didn’t remember.
Holy fuck!
What had he done?