Somebody's Angel (#5 in a Military Romance / BDSM Romance series) (Rescue Me) (80 page)

Copyright 2013 Kennedy Layne

“Sir, wait.” Lauren lifted her head upon hearing the nurse’s tone coming from outside of the curtain. The emergency room was busy for a Friday night, but the staff still ran a rather tight ship. Maybe it was the police coming back to ask more questions. “You aren’t allowed back —”

The curtain was yanked aside, revealing Connor Ortega. His presence never failed to leave her breathless. No man had the right to look like him. His blue eyes zeroed in on her and she instinctively wrapped her fingers around her wrist.
Ouch
. The action brought her out of her reverie for two reasons. One, it helped stabilize her feelings and two, her wrist hurt like hell.

“Connor? Why are you here?”

“Do you want this gentleman removed?”

Lauren glanced at the nurse holding her discharge papers. A frown marred the woman’s haggard face. She hadn’t been the most pleasant. After Lauren had discovered she was closing in on the end of a twelve-hour shift, she didn’t blame the nurse for her fatigued attitude.

“No, she knows me.” Connor stepped into the room. Lauren prevented herself from looking for something to throw. This back and forth between them only further fueled her irritation. She didn’t need more bullshit right now. What she needed was for him to go back where he came from. He’d somehow upset the balance of her daily routine and she needed it back desperately. “Where are the police?”

“They left. Connor, how did you know I was even injured?” Lauren asked, still wondering what he was doing here.

“Left?” Connor turned to address the nurse and Lauren felt her irritation with him return. It had only been two days, but he seemed to have a gift when it came to raising her ire as well as her…maybe she had hit her head a little too hard. “Is she being released?”

“Yes.”

The nurse ripped off the top sheet of her clipboard and pushed the paper into his chest in what could only be an act of dismissal. Nurse Broomhilda actually smiled as she paused before launching into what seemed like a drill sergeant impression. Lauren would have thrown her hands up in disgust if she thought she could handle any more pain.

“I’m glad to know that she won’t be alone this evening. She hit her head pretty hard against the cement. We tried to get her to stay the night for observation, but she insisted she’d be fine. I can see where she learned that trick. Here are her discharge papers. It wouldn’t hurt to wake her every couple of hours. No sex, buddy boy. Got that? She should eat light and there is to be no alcohol consumption. The rest of the directives are included on the discharge order and she should make a follow-up appointment with her doctor. See that she does that.”

“Thank you,
Sergeant
.” Connor returned her smile. Lauren resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing all too well it would only make her headache worse. “I’ll see to it that she follows orders.”

Lauren’s heart skipped a beat at the double meaning of his words, but chose to ignore it. There was no way in hell he was coming home with her. She’d resisted calling him for two days and would continue to do so, for both their sakes. In her experience, as well as by observing customers on a daily basis, a true Dom didn’t date vanilla girls like her. She turned and picked up her purse out of the chair, realizing that her hands were still trembling from the attack. Connor’s presence didn’t help anything at all.

“What happened?”

Lauren slowly faced him, and only then noticed the nurse had left. It was now only the two of them in the tiny emergency room area. Still not understanding why Connor was even here, she pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder with every intention of leaving. Lauren couldn’t help but wince when her wrist started to ache from the movement. It wasn’t her issue that the nurse misunderstood why he was here. Bottom line, her mugging had nothing to do with him.

She was surprised when Connor stepped forward, crowding her space. What shocked her even more was when he laid down the papers he’d been given and gently took her hand, exposing her wounded wrist.

“Lauren, I asked you what happened.”

A feeling of utter provocation overcame her at the sound of his voice and she found that she needed to get away from him before he changed her mind and she took him up on what he offered. If he would just stop coming around her, Lauren knew she wouldn’t have a problem with ignoring these overwhelming feelings of longing that he stirred within her. She tried to pull back her hand, hoping that he would release it. She should have known better.

“I was mugged,” Lauren said rapidly, hoping the faster she spoke, the sooner she could leave. She continued to stare down at their hands as his fingers encircled her wounded wrist, not wanting to look into his bright blue eyes and get sucked in. Her emotions were unstable and she didn’t want to do anything stupid. “Someone must have heard me scream and called the police. Within moments of the guy attacking me, I heard sirens. He ran off. They called for an ambulance. End of story. Can you please move?”

“Look at me.”

That was the last thing she wanted to do. Before Lauren even lifted her gaze, she felt tears sting her eyes and berated herself for it. She didn’t want him to think she was some weak woman who couldn’t handle herself in a crisis. And that annoyed her even more. Why should she care what he thought anyway? Unable to prevent herself from following his command, Lauren connected her eyes with his and saw his immediate sympathy. His warm grip seemed to stop time in her small world. She could only barely perceive that around her the planet continued to spin as they were trapped in this moment. Why did he care? That was all it took for a tear to escape.

“You’re fine,” Connor murmured, gathering her up in his arms. Lauren couldn’t suppress the sob that escaped her chest. His warmth enveloped her and though she knew the safety she felt was illusory, that didn’t stop her from relishing in his embrace. “I’ve got you, Red.”

* * *

Buy
Captured Innocence
at
Amazon
.

Masters at Arms

(First in the
Rescue Me
Series)

Masters at Arms
is an introduction to the Rescue Me series, which needs to be read first. The book begins the journey of three men, each on a quest for honor, acceptance, and to ease his unspoken pain. Their paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. As they try to come to terms with the aftermath of Iraq—forging an unbreakable bond—they band together to start their own BDSM club. But will they ever truly become masters of their own fates? Or would fate become masters of them?

Buy
Masters at Arms
at Amazon.

Masters at Arms & Nobody’s Angel

(First and Second in the
Rescue Me
Series)

Masters at Arms
is an introduction to the Rescue Me series, which needs to be read first. The book begins the journey of three men, each on a quest for honor, acceptance, and to ease his unspoken pain. Their paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. As they try to come to terms with the aftermath of Iraq—forging an unbreakable bond—they band together to start their own BDSM club. But will they ever truly become masters of their own fates? Or would fate become masters of them?

Marc d’Alessio might own a BDSM club with his fellow military veterans, Adam and Damián, but he keeps all women at a distance. However, when Marc rescues beautiful Angelina Giardano from a disastrous first BDSM experience at the club, an uncharacteristic attraction leaves him torn between his safe, but lonely world, and a possible future with his angel.

Angelina leaves BDSM behind, only to have her dreams plagued by the Italian angel who rescued her at the club. When she meets Marc at a bar in her hometown, she can’t shake the feeling she knows him—but has no idea why he reminds her of her angel.

Buy
Masters at Arms & Nobody’s Angel
at Amazon.

Nobody’s Hero

(Third in the
Rescue Me
Series)

The continuing romantic journey of Adam and Karla, which began in
Masters at Arms
and continued in
Nobody’s Angel
, and ended in a dramatic cliffhanger that sets up the opening scene of
Nobody’s Hero
.

Retired Marine Master Sergeant Adam Montague has battled through four combat zones, but now finds himself running from Karla Paxton, who has declared war on his heart. With a twenty-five-year age difference, he feels he should be her guardian and protector, not her lover. But Karla’s knack for turning up in his bed at inopportune times is killing his resolve to do the right thing. Karla isn’t a little girl anymore—something his body reminds him of every chance it gets.

But their age difference is only part of the problem. Fifty-year-old Adam has been a guardian and protector for lost and vulnerable souls most of his life, but a secret he has run from for more than three decades has kept him emotionally unable to admit he can love anyone. Will she be able to lower his guard long enough to break down the defenses around his heart and help him put the ghosts from his past to rest? In her all-out war to get Adam to surrender his heart, can the strong-willed Goth singer offer herself as his submissive—and at what cost to herself?

Damián Orlando and Savannah (Savi) Baker also will reunite in this book and begin their journey to a happy ending in
Nobody’s Perfect
.

Buy
Nobody’s Hero
at Amazon.

Nobody’s Perfect

(Fourth in the
Rescue Me
Series)

The continuing story of Savannah Gentry (now Savi Baker) and Damián Orlando from
Masters at Arms
and
Nobody’s Hero
.

Savannah/Savi escaped the abuse, torture, and degradation forced upon her by a sadistic father for eleven years and has made a safe life for herself and her daughter. When her father threatens her peace of mind—and her daughter’s safety—Savi runs to Damián Orlando for protection. Eight years earlier, young Savannah shared one perfect day with Damián that changed both their young lives and resulted in a secret she can no longer hide. But being with Damián reawakens repressed memories and feelings she does want to keep hidden—buried. At Damián’s private Masters at Arms Club, she discovers that sexual healing might be achieved through sadomasochism administered by a loving Service Top named Damián.