by Jade Allen
“Bruised rib, torn ACL, sprained ankle. There’s a bullet graze somewhere that they bandaged up for me, and I accidentally cut myself while I was stabbing one of those guys to death—at least I hope he’s dead.” Chelsea sighed, smiling wryly. “What about you?” Johan shrugged.
“Bullet graze on my shoulder, a few bruises here and there, one of them got me with a knife across the leg, but it’s stitched so it’ll heal.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I take it you stopped at a hospital somewhere?” Chelsea nodded slowly.
“I gave them the contact for the billing, so they subjected me to every test they could justify,” she said with a sigh. Johan laughed.
“Yeah, I’d expect that.” He hugged her gently. “Come on, get everything you want out of this car. We’re abandoning it.” Chelsea was too tired to question it; with Johan’s help she got her purse and the few possessions she still had in the car with her when she’d fled the hotel. “I got your luggage out of the hotel in one piece,” Johan informed her as he led her towards yet another anonymous—yet subtly luxurious-looking—car.
“Oh, that’s great,” Chelsea said, only then realizing how much she had left behind. “Probably a huge bill.” Johan shrugged, wincing slightly.
“It’s paid for.” Chelsea nodded again, too tired and in too much pain to argue or even press the question that had been plaguing her from the beginning of their flight from her home town. “Do you want me to carry you?” Johan looked at Chelsea as she limped.
“You’re injured too,” she pointed out tartly. “I’m hurting, I’m not half-dead.”
“I hope they gave you good pain pills.”
“They did. The best. I think.” Chelsea shook her head slightly to clear it. “I haven’t been able to take them because I’ve been driving, but I want to say it’s Vicodin. I’m really thrilled.” Johan chuckled.
“I’ve got a hotel for us. In about thirty minutes you’ll be able to take one of those magical pills and drift away for a while.” Chelsea nodded, too exhausted to speak. Johan opened the passenger side door and collected everything but her purse from her, stowing it in the back seat as Chelsea gingerly climbed in and fastened her seat belt. Within a few minutes, they were driving out of the rest stop and towards their destination.
****
“Chelsea, you should get up long enough to eat something.” Chelsea groaned, burrowing deeper into the warm, soft pillows and blankets that surrounded her in protest.
“Eating is for suckers,” she proclaimed, raising her voice to be heard over the muffling effect of the bed linens. “Sleep is where it’s at.” She heard Johan laugh, and felt the blankets pulling away from her, felt Johan’s strong hands tugging aside the sheets, the pillows, she had cocooned herself in shortly after the Vicodin had begun to take effect. She groaned again in frustration, trying futilely to pull them back.
“If you want to take another Vicodin, you need to eat something or you’re going to puke all over the nice clean bed and I’m not cleaning it up,” Johan said firmly.
“But if I eat there will be more to puke,” Chelsea pointed out. She gave up on the idea of sleep, letting Johan pry the sheets and blankets out of her hands until she lay, fully exposed and completely naked, looking up at him. “You’re mean,” she said, sticking her tongue out as she crossed her arms over her chest. The pressure sent a jolt of pain from the site of her bruised rib and Chelsea winced.
“I let you sleep for six hours. You need to eat something, take a bath, and take another Vicodin.”
“Wait, wait,” Chelsea said, frowning. “You’re hurt too, you can’t just stay up and—what have you been doing for the past six hours?” Johan smiled.
“There was a marathon of Bones on TV,” he told her. “I took a little nap. I’m not as badly injured as you.” Johan frowned slightly. “Maybe I should have given you the gun and kept the knife for myself.”
“They would’ve just killed you,” Chelsea pointed out, shrugging. “Okay, I’ll eat, and all that other stuff. I’m feeling a little bit better anyway.” She carefully pulled herself up, grunting as pain flared up in her various injuries; she could easily believe it had been six hours—the Vicodin she had taken within minutes of arriving at the hotel was starting to wear off.
“Before you go off into painkiller mode again,” Johan said, helping her out of the bed and leading Chelsea into the living room area of their suite, “we need to discuss a few things.” The room was every bit as luxurious as the ones they had stayed in before—but the hotel was obviously more secure; Johan had apparently learned from his mistake, or the person masterminding their flight from the people pursuing Chelsea had.
“Like what?” Chelsea cinched the sash of her robe tightly around her waist and sat down slowly on the couch. She looked over the food that Johan had ordered them with real interest; the hotel had three chefs masterminding the room service menu, and Johan had apparently opted for the Asian fusion specialties. There was a selection of sushi, some noodles, a big bowl of fried rice, and other things that Chelsea couldn’t identify; but which looked absolutely mouthwatering.
“I’m fairly certain that there’s no one after us right this moment,” Johan said, beginning to serve Chelsea from the various bowls, plates, and tureens on the table. “I killed everyone who showed up at the hotel. Or—excuse me, everyone but the one you stabbed to death.” Johan gave her a quick smile. “Our benefactor is smoothing things over with the local police, but we’ll likely have to fill out some paperwork.”
“Okay, so we can stay here for a little while, I take it?” Johan shrugged.
“For a few days, maybe,” he said. “I doubt your CEO is going to just let us go after that business. He’s gotten himself in far too deeply—now not only will he face charges for embezzlement, drug running, and fraud, but also conspiracy to commit murder. He’s going to be put away for life if he can’t get rid of the evidence.”
“The evidence being me,” Chelsea said, sighing. She picked at her food, suddenly feeling as though her stomach had been coated in lead.
“Eat. You can’t have any more Vicodin until you eat.” Johan served himself and ate a few bites quickly, giving Chelsea a moment to absorb what he’d told her. “The important thing is that we need to stay ahead. You’re going to have a new identity in a few days, and then…” Johan licked his lips, setting his plate down on his lap to look at her. “You’re going to have to be okay with the idea of living with me for a few months while we wait for this to go to trial.” Chelsea put down her fork and stared at him for a moment.
“So even with a new ID, a new life…I still won’t be safe.” Johan smiled slightly, his eyes regretful.
“Not until your CEO is behind bars,” he said. Johan set his plate aside and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Chelsea’s. “So I will be living with you until the end of the trial.”
“How do you know I’ll be safe then?” Chelsea asked, anxiety beginning to prickle and tingle through the last dregs of drug-induced euphoria.
“Very shortly thereafter, you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be. If you want me out of your life then, I’ll go peacefully.” Johan’s lips twitched in a smile.
“Onto another cute girl to protect?” Chelsea asked him, raising an eyebrow. “What if I don’t want you out of my life then?” Johan’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze trailing over her body slowly.
“I’ve got some skills,” he said, almost absently. “I could get a job somewhere.” Chelsea set her plate down, startled by the comment.
“Would you want that?” Chelsea asked. She couldn’t imagine Johan in any other lifestyle than the one he’d been leading with her over the past week or so they had been on the run. “I mean—you seem to like—whatever it is you call this job.” Johan smiled slightly, shrugging.
“It’s a good living,” Johan admitted, taking up his plate once more. “It’s exciting.” He glanced at her once more. “But then, it’s been pretty exciting with you.” Chelsea chuckled, ta
king another bite of her noodles.
“We’ve also been on the run.” Johan shook his head.
“Even without that. You’re an exciting, unpredictable woman. I think you could keep me guessing enough to make up for no longer being shot at or chased.” Chelsea laughed out loud, grabbing at her ribcage as the movement sent pain through her. “Finish your food, woman. We’ll dose you up with drugs and before they kick in, we’ll make love.”
“I thought I was supposed to get a shower,” Chelsea said.
“I can handle you in a shower. Remember?” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, her body beginning to heat up, her skin tingling with the first stirrings of desire. She had missed the ready opportunities for sex with Johan more than she would have thought—more than she would have admitted to herself. Chelsea picked up a piece of sushi and ate it quickly, holding her body as still as possible so as not to jar her injuries. Suddenly the desire for more sleep and more pain relief took a back seat to a few hours’ passion with Johan.
They finished the meal, and Johan gathered up the plates, platters, and everything else, trundling the cart out to the door of the suite before returning to Chelsea’s side. “Is it terrible of me that one of the things I’ve missed most while we were separated was the ability to fuck your brains out whenever we got bored?” Chelsea tried to stifle the laugh that bubbled up inside of her at the frank question, knowing it would only bring pain.
“I was just thinking,” Chelsea said, as Johan carefully moved closer to her, draping his arm around her waist to cradle her against him as he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. “That I had really missed the stress relief.” Johan nibbled at her bottom lip playfully, his hands moving over her body slowly, gently caressing.
“We’ll have to be careful,” Johan murmured. “But I think we can manage to relieve your stress without hurting you worse.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, draping her arms around his broad shoulders, deepening the kiss for a long moment.
“Screw not hurting me worse,” Chelsea said as she pulled back slightly.
“Ah-ah-ah,” Johan murmured, tugging at the sash of her robe. “I am supposed to be taking care of you. I’m supposed to keep you safe and at least mostly intact.”
“Mostly?”
Johan chuckled lowly. “I already failed at ‘perfectly’ intact,” he told her. Johan lifted her carefully up off of the couch, her robe falling off of her shoulders and onto the floor. He carried her through the living room, past the bedroom, and into the bathroom. “It’s a good thing this room has a nice, large tub,” Johan remarked, settling Chelsea on the lip of the bathtub. He twisted the knobs, testing the water that came out with his fingers a few times, and then dropped the plug in the drain.
“How is this going to help?” Chelsea asked, glancing down at the water filling the tub doubtfully.
“You’ll see,” Johan said, grinning confidently. He stood, stripping out of his clothes in quick, deft movements, and for the first time since she met with him, Chelsea was able to see the extent of his injuries: the long line of stitches along his upper thigh, the bruising along his hip, his chest, his arms and legs, a few obvious marks, bandaged, that Chelsea thought were either bullet grazes or other, shallower cuts. Having a gun in his hand had prevented Johan from greater injuries, but he hadn’t come out unscathed. Johan gathered Chelsea into his arms, holding her gently. “I think we can find a way, don’t you?” He lifted her once again, climbing over the lip of the tub as it filled. Johan settled Chelsea on his lap, and she hissed—pleasure mingled with pain—as the hot water flowed around her.
Johan’s hands drifted over her body slowly, caressing and stroking. “We should order you ice packs,” he murmured, one hand slipping down between her legs. Chelsea gasped, shivering slightly as his warm fingers slid up and down along her labia, feather-light, only slightly more substantial than the water. She could feel Johan’s cock beginning to stir against her back as his other hand cupped her breast, teasing her nipple into a firm nub.
“Are—are you sure we can do this?” Chelsea asked, her breath catching in her throat as she began to shift and twist on top of Johan’s body, desire welling up inside of her.
“Mmhmm,” Johan murmured, dragging his lips along the side of her neck as his fingers slid up and down between her labia, his hand spreading her legs just slightly. “I’m going to take you just like this. Nice and slow.” Johan’s fingers found Chelsea’s clit by touch, and Chelsea gasped, shivering, as his touch sent jolts of pleasure through her nerves. He pressed her body against his, rocking his hips against the curve of Chelsea’s ass, and Chelsea could feel his cock hardening faster.
Johan’s fingers withdrew from her vulva, and Chelsea let out a groan of disappointment, grabbing at his hand instinctively. Johan chuckled, lifting her uninjured leg up and out of the water. He carefully rested it along the lip of the tub, shifting her around on his lap. “Lean forward just a little bit,” Johan murmured. Chelsea did, and she felt the tip of Johan’s cock brushing against her labia, working its way in between. Johan pushed down on her hips, thrusting up at the same moment, and Chelsea moaned out in pleasure as he slid into her slowly.
As soon as he was fully inside of her, Johan pulled Chelsea back once more, and she shivered, loving the feel of him slowly sliding along her inner walls, the tip of his cock pressing and brushing steadily against her pleasure center. “All you have to do is float,” Johan murmured, one hand drifting down between her legs once more to stroke and tease her clit while he worked his hips underneath her, thrusting up. His other hand cupped and teased her breasts, rolling and twisting her nipples as they moved together. Chelsea felt her pleasure mounting more and more—she was shocked at how good it felt, at how well they fit together, at the way the water swirled around her as Johan pushed deeper and deeper inside of her.
Chelsea arched against Johan, moaning out as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body. She grabbed at his arms, his legs underneath her, and as their movements together became more frantic, she could barely hear the water sloshing in the tub, spilling out onto the floor. Chelsea threw her head back against Johan’s shoulder as her orgasm intensified, as she felt his body tensing underneath hers, and he joined her in climax, groaning something in his native Swedish. They both moved until the last of their spasms of pleasure abated, and Chelsea sagged against Johan, spent and satisfied.
****
The next morning, Chelsea awakened to the smell of breakfast wafting into the bedroom from the living room area of the suite. She realized she was alone in the bed, and sat up carefully, holding her hand against the bruised rib to minimize the pain. After their tryst in the bathtub, Johan had carefully lifted her up and out of the water, gave her another Vicodin, and ordered ice packs.
She had struggled to keep from laughing at the big, strong mercenary bodyguard as he played nurse, taking the throw pillows off of the couch and positioning them so that her knee and ankle were elevated, bringing her water when she got thirsty, insisting that Chelsea shouldn’t get up for any reason. Under the humming, cottony influence of the pain killers, Chelsea hadn’t even felt the slightest self-consciousness when Johan carried her into the bathroom to use the toilet, waiting politely just on the other side of the door.
His lack of presence nearby made her irritated in some way that Chelsea couldn’t quite put a finger on. She carefully leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve the braces that the hospital had given her and strapped them around her ankle and knee. Chelsea took a deep breath and slowly climbed out of the bed, trying to bend and twist as little as possible, putting her weight on her uninjured leg.
She grabbed up her bathrobe and limped into the living room area, where she found Johan, seated near the patio to their room, talking on his phone. A few feet away, Chelsea took in the sight of an extensive—and, she had no doubt, expensive—room service breakfast with pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt, toast…more things than she could imagine even the two of them being able to consume in o
ne sitting. Johan glanced up and flashed a quick smile in her direction, holding up a finger to indicate he was nearly done with whomever he was speaking to. Still feeling slightly irritable—slightly hung over from the pain pills leaving her system, with dull, aching throbs echoing through her body—Chelsea sat down gracelessly on the couch, propping up her injured leg along the length of the furniture.
“I have good news,” Johan said as he tapped his screen to end the call. Chelsea raised an eyebrow.
“Someone killed the CEO of my company so now I can go back to having a normal life?” She paused and added, “At least, a normal unemployed life until I can get another job?” Johan smiled wryly and shook his head.
“Almost as good. My client has your new paperwork, and he got us an apartment. Do you think you can manage to deal with sitting in a car for a few hours while I drive us to your new home?” Chelsea scrubbed at her face.
“I think I can manage,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “Can we cut back my dose of the Vicodin somehow? It was kind of nice to be totally oblivious of everything, but I’d like to start being at least partially aware of the world around me again now.” Johan nodded, standing in a quick, graceful movement that Chelsea resented for the way it underscored her current injured state.
“I’ll give you a full dose after breakfast, and the next dose will be half, how about that?” Chelsea shrugged.
“Why not a half dose to begin with?”
“Because, my dear, it’s a lot easier to prevent pain than it is to kill it. If you have a full dose now and we give you a half dose on schedule, it’ll work better.” Chelsea shrugged, scratching at the skin around her knee brace idly. Why are these stupid things always so itchy? Johan began filling a plate for her from the platters and bowls on the table. “It’s a good thing I turned you down last night, or I’d feel horrible right now,” Johan said absently.