Once again, fate had a different idea and the door opened as she was about to walk away.
“Roses? Is that you?”
Any greeting lodged in her mouth at the sight of a bare-chested Ryan standing in the doorway. Well standing was not quite what he was doing, leaning would be a more accurate description. Sweat beaded across his brow and tension etched the fine lines bracketing his mouth.
Her nursing training kicked in. “You’re in pain. You should be resting not standing in the doorway.” Not waiting to be asked in, she stepped over the threshold and hooked an arm around his waist.
Heat rocketed through her and she was transported back to the moment when Ryan entered her body for the first time. The connection between them had been instant and simmered until it burst to life in bed.
Now is not the time to be remembering your one night stand. You’re here to tell him about the consequences of that night. Not play nursemaid which may or may not include another visit to his bed.
Great now a voice inside of her was playing angel and devil.
“What are you doing?” Ryan asked.
“Helping you so you can lie down. You were shot, and you shouldn’t be standing up. You could be doing damage to your wound.”
“Wouldn’t helping me lie down mean we should be moving, not standing in the doorway with your hand running up and down my back?”
Suzie immediately stopped the unconscious movement of her hand. “Right, let’s go,” she said, using her don’t mess with me nurse voice.
“Uh huh.”
Together they shuffled down the short hallway and into the room Ryan indicated. He collapsed gratefully onto the couch. Suzie squatted down beside him and grabbed his wrist, her fingers finding his pulse.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to make a fuss.”
She held up her hand to silence him and concentrated on the thump thump thump of his heartbeat. It was a little faster than a normal, but understandable considering the exertion of answering the door and getting back to the couch.
Releasing his wrist, she placed her hand against his forehead to see if there was any indication of a fever. Infection from his wound could still occur. What she wanted to do was check his injury. Make sure the dressing was still in place.
Ryan had left the hospital before he should’ve. Typical male. They hated to look weak, and being a Navy SEAL he was even less likely to follow doctors instructions and rest. They were known for their I’m okay, it’s just a scratch attitude. He’d been very lucky, but he wouldn’t see it that way. In all likelihood, he would believe he’d let his team down by getting injured. She’d seen more than her fair share of wounded soldiers at the hospital. Each one would rather bleed out than let their team down.
She’d heard the gossip about a team of Deltas who’d saved the life of a man not on their team. How one of the Delta’s had clamped his fingers around a vein in the injured man’s arm so he wouldn’t bleed out.
Every day she heard miracle stories and she couldn’t be prouder working in the West Military hospital in Virginia.
Of course, that also meant she put up with a lot of testosterone and alpha males. After being married to a domineering man who made every decision for her, her friends had thought her mad to take a job in such a place. The difference between her ex and the soldiers she tended, they had an undeniable honor her ex-husband had seriously lacked.
The last thing she needed to be doing was thinking about her former marriage while the father of her child lay half naked on a couch in front of her.
Suzie looked up and found Ryan studying her intently.
“Why are you here, Suzie?” he winced as he attempted to sit up a little straighter.
What was the bet he’d not taken any painkillers since he returned home? She’d make a quick buck if there was such a bet. “When was the last time you took some pain meds? And you should still be in the hospital not at home.”
“The meds made me nauseous and I don’t need them. Pain is manageable. Hospitals suck.”
She mentally rolled her eyes, unsurprised at his comment. “Right. Sure, it’s manageable. That’s why you were sweating and looked like you were about to pass out when you answered the door. And hospitals don’t suck. They help you when you’re injured. Which you are.”
“Whatever.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
She should walk out and leave him to wallow in his pain. It’s what he deserved with his dismissive attitude. She’d seen the flash of relief in his eyes when he sat down. No matter how obstinate he was being she was going to stay. Maybe now wasn’t the time to break the news that he was about to become a father. Perhaps it would be better if she waited until he was feeling a little better.
Procrastinator. You know you have to tell him.
Oh boy, that voice needed to be slammed down and locked away. Why hadn’t it been so vocal when she’d been stuck her marriage? Because she hadn’t wanted to listen to the warnings her friends kept giving her. She was in love and knew Peter better than her friends did. Thank God, when it all fell apart her friends had not once said I told you so to her face. Behind her back when they’d gotten together without her, no doubt they had. But being her friends, they’d propped her up and supported her until she was back on her feet and divorced.
What would’ve happened if her parents hadn’t died when she was eighteen? For so long she’d fumbled through her grief, managing to get her degree in nursing and then falling in love with Peter.
A hand cupped her jaw dragging her back to the present.
“You look so down, Roses. What’s wrong?”
She didn’t deserve his concern, not when she was about to blow his ordered world apart. She should go. The last thing Ryan wanted, or needed, was a child from a one-night stand. Suzie couldn’t do that to him though. It wouldn’t be fair, even if it had been her initial plan.
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Two
Time slowed. He could see Suzie’s lips moving, but he wasn’t hearing anything. Had he fallen into a trance? The pain radiating from his leg was fucking unbelievable, worse than after getting shot. Ryan hadn’t lied when he told her the meds made him feel like he was about spend an inordinate amount of time hunched over the toilet bowl. But puking up his guts seemed a pretty good option now.
“Stop.” He held up his hand. “Back up a bit. Did you just say you’re pregnant?”
Suzie’s face paled and he wondered if he needed to rush her to the bathroom. Not that he’d be able to do that with is leg, but there was no way he’d be able to cope if she’d tossed her cookies on his hardwood floor.
He also had his answer. She hadn’t been trying to shock him into agreeing he should’ve stayed in the hospital longer. “Shit,” he slumped against the cushion. “This can’t be happening.”
“I’m sorry, Ryan. I didn’t mean to dump it on you.”
“You coulda fucking fooled me.” Anger simmered through him, eating away at the shock.
She sat a little straighter next to him as though his anger was hitting her. “I never expected to see you again. I never expected anything to come of our night together. But it did and then you were admitted to the hospital. I thought you should know about it.”
“Right. So, if I’m hearing you correctly you had no plans to ever tell me that I was going to be a father.” He ran a hand over his head, his hair a little longer than he normally kept it.
“Not quite.”
“In other words, no.”
She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again, her shoulders slumping.
Bingo.
“How did this happen, Suzie, it’s not like we weren’t careful?” God, a pain in his head now thumped a dual beat with his wounded leg.
“I’m sorry, Ryan. I don’t know what happened. One of those things I guess. We feel into that unlucky percentage where birth control fails for an inexplicable reason.”
Not what he wanted to hear, but no truer words had been spok
en. “What do you want to do now? I’m guessing, by your visit, that you plan to proceed with the pregnancy.”
She reared back as if he’d struck her across the face. Shit, he wasn’t suggesting she terminate. That’s the last thing he’d ask a woman to do. It was her body and her life that was going through a major upheaval, more than his would.
“Stop whatever it is you’re thinking,” he interrupted her again. “I wasn’t suggesting you should have a termination. I was just … fuck, I don’t know what I’m trying to say here. I can’t think straight. Between the pain in my leg, my head and your news I’m pretty sure I stepped into an alternate universe.”
“It’s a lot to take in. I’ve at least had a couple months to get over the shock.”
He side-eyed her. “Why are you being so reasonable to me right now, when seconds before you were about to rip my head off because of what I said?”
“You’re in pain. And shock. I’m not completely heartless.” Her hand rested against his forehead again. His eyes drifted shut and the coolness of the touch was blissful against his heated flesh. Exhaustion clawed at him and if any of his teammates saw him like this, they’d either kick him off the team or give him a hard time for letting a bullet wound beat him.
“This is more than just pain, you’re dealing with Ryan. I think you’re running a fever?”
“It’s just hot in here. I need to turn the A/C up.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth hearing her huff of breath. He didn’t need to open his eyes to see the frustration on her face. He didn’t think he would be able to anyway, his eyelids seemed to be sewn shut.
“Ryan? Open your eyes?” Hands grabbed him by the shoulders and jolted him until he forced his eyes open.
“What, Isawake.” What the heck? The words sound perfect in his mind.
“Of course, you’re awake. Come on I think you need to go lie down.”
He raised his hand to her face, but it fell uselessly down again. “Roses, is that an invite.”
“No. Now come on, up you get.”
Ryan attempted to stand, only his legs appeared to be made of rubber and standing was nigh on impossible. He knew this couldn’t be good. He’d been able to move and answer the door. Now his body was reacting as it had at the end of BUD/S training, refusing to obey any command to move.
An arm wrapped around his waist and hoisted him up. “Wow, you’re strong,” he commented.
“I’m a nurse, I’ve been known to maneuver patients three times my weight. Now where’s your room.”
A tiny part of his brain was still coherent, enabling him to take back a bit of his weight, burning pain radiated up and down his leg. More intense than a few minutes ago. He groaned and leaned back on Suzie, who staggered before righting herself. There was a niggling thought floating through his brain, reminding him that he needed to be careful with Suzie. For the life of him he couldn’t grasp why it was so important.
Together they stumbled out of his small living room, down the hallway and into the only bedroom the apartment boasted. An instant later he was lying on his bed.
He groaned in relief when the pain subsided in his leg. Hands landed on the button of his jeans. “Baby, all you have to do is ask.” He brushed the hands away, popping the button and pulling the zipper down. He was commando so the cool air hit his semi-erect cock. “See all ready.”
“Not tonight, Soldier Boy.”
“Aww, why not?” The was a tug on his jeans and he lifted his ass to help with the removal of the denim.
“Oh shit.”
“Like what you see, huh?” He smiled. Well he thought he smiled, he had no idea if his body was reacting to the instructions his brain was sending him.
“No, I don’t. And stop thinking with your dick.”
“Roses, we think with our dicks. It’s in our DNA.”
“So is stupidity and stubbornness. Your wound is infected. Hell, Ryan, you should’ve stayed in the hospital.”
“Hate hospitals,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, again typical male response. Damn, you SEALs are all the same. Never wanting to show any sign of weakness.”
“Weakness gets you killed.”
“And so will this infection if you don’t get it seen to.”
His eyes were shut, but his hearing wasn’t impaired and the telltale sound of drawers being opened filled the room. Soft cotton landed on his chest as he was about to ask what was going on.
“Put those on. I’m about to call 9-1-1 for an ambulance.”
“Don’t need no ambulance,” he grumbled as he pried his eyelids open to pull on a pair of boxers.
“Don’t argue.”
Shit, her tone could rival his Commander’s not impressed voice. Once he had his boxers on he collapsed back on the bed. Lethargy gripped every single muscle in his body. “I think I might sleep.”
He succumbed to the blackness.
An annoying beep beep beep seeped into Ryan’s consciousness. He reached out to slap his hand down his bedside table to eradicate the sound, but connected with fresh air. His mouth was drier than the time he’d been stuck in an Iraqi dessert and they only had two full water canteens left among the team. Rationing water was never fun, but necessary when extraction was still two days away. He shifted but movement in his left leg was restricted due to a heavy bandage.
A hazy recollection of memories presented themselves in his mind. Suzie arriving at his place. Them talking on the couch. Being in his room. Then the bustle of people and him being carted out on a gurney and placed into an ambulance. The agony when the doctor pressed his wound.
He blinked his eyes open. Gazing back down at him was a row of rectangular ceiling tiles, interspersed with dull fluorescent lights.
Fuck, he was back in the hospital.
“So, sleeping beauty awakens. How are you feeling?”
A familiar face blocked his picturesque view. He’d much rather have woken to that vision instead of a what he had.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. With his throat so parched, talking wasn’t easy.
“Wait a sec.” A low buzz filled the room. The back of his bed began to rise taking him from a reclining position to a semi-upright one. He closed his eyes as a touch of dizziness washed over him.
“Here, take a sip.” A plastic straw was placed between his lips and he gulped down the sweet nectar of water.
“That’s enough, you don’t want to drink too much.”
“Are you always this mean, Roses?” he husked out.
“Only with difficult patients,” she said with a smile, taking the sting out of her words. “You probably have a few questions.”
He sighed. He was back in hospital, and by the feel of the bandage around his leg, it was going to be a while before he was back on active duty. God, he hated showing any type of weakness. “What happened?”
“How much do you remember?” she asked.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be answering my questions not asking them?”
Suzie rolled her eyes but pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat. He wouldn’t have objected to her popping her cute ass on the bed beside him. Then again, it probably wasn’t an appropriate action for a nurse to do that with a patient. However, not all patients had seen their nurse naked and knew exactly how to make them cry out in ecstasy. Who knew pale green scrubs could be so sexy?
Beneath the blankets his dick twitched. Down boy, so not the time.
“Is your mind back in the gutter, soldier boy?”
He grinned. “You know me so well, Roses.”
She chuckled, the sound rolling over him like an ocean wave. “We had one night together. I don’t know you that well.”
“Well enough to be pregnant with my baby.”
A light pink hue bloomed on her cheeks. “You remembered.”
Yeah, he remembered her announcement. His hope that it had been a fever induced memory was squashed in that instant. “How long have I been out?”
“A day and a half.”
>
Not as long as he thought it might have been. Still a day and half where he didn’t remember anything wasn’t a fun feeling. “I have a vague recollection of you saying my wound was infected. I’m surprised because when I had a shower before you arrived, it was sore but looked fine to me.”
“Infections can be insidious, striking when you least expect it. It’s probably been festering for a little bit. If you’d been in hospital, we may have detected it earlier and increased your antibiotic dose. You’ve been taking all your meds haven’t you? Well apart from pain meds, I only had to look at your face when I arrived the other night to see you were in pain.”
Shit, do they issue nurses and SEAL Commanders with don’t bother denying anything I can see right through you looks? Suzie’s eyebrows quirked in question and she drummed her fingers on her knee. “Fine. No, pain meds make me nauseous, and I thought the antibiotics were overkill,” he admitted.
“Antibiotics were overkill, huh?” She quirked her eyebrow at him. “Still think that now?”
He was choosing to ignore answering the question, particularly when it was obvious how it turned out. He accepted he’d been pigheaded and obtuse about taking antibiotics, but the last thing he was ever going to do was admit that to Suzie. “How long will I be laid up this time.”
“Well if you listen to the doctors and don’t discharge yourself before you should be. I imagine you’ll be here for a week.”
A week? Fuck, I can’t be away from the team for that long. No way can they be a man down.
“I see that’s causing you some issues,” she said before reaching out and laying her hand over his. His flesh warmed beneath hers. What would she do if he turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with hers? Instead he pulled his hand away. A flash of hurt crossed her face and she pushed her chair further back from the bed.
Yep, he was an asshole, but she wouldn’t understand. By being laid up for over a week he was letting his team down. His brothers.
“Well I’ll tell the doctor you’re awake so he can come and basically tell you what I’ve told you, but you’ll probably take it better from him, because he’s a man and not a woman like me.”
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Guarding Suzie (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 2