“I-I’m so-sorry,” I managed to stutter out. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I just sat down to rest my legs.”
“You missed Mr. Jackson’s medication hour,” he reprimanded. “That’s gross negligence on your part. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“It’s my fault,” Libby piped up, drawing attention to her. “I insisted that he sit for a bit or I wouldn’t take my medicine. I’m sure you could see how tired he was, Doc. He just needed a minute.”
“A minute could have cost someone their life,” Dr. Collier snapped at me, then faced Libby. Although his tone was softer, he couldn’t hide his annoyance. “For the last time, Ms. Jibbison, will you stop inveigling the hospital staff to your whim and fancy?”
“Now I’m sure you’ve had to take a nap in your office a time or two, Dr. Collier,” Libby remarked with a snort. “If I can recall, those two attendants who came by my room yesterday were gossiping about how sweet you look when sleeping after they walked in on you napping on the job. I find it very hypocritical that you’re chastising the young doctor for the same thing.”
“That is different,” he returned, but it really wasn’t. “I’d like to speak to you in my office in five minutes,” he said to me, then stalked out of the room.
With a groan, I rubbed the back of my neck. I was in so much trouble. How was I going to talk myself out of this one?
“I’m so sorry I got you into trouble,” Libby said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep as well.”
I gave her a small smile. “It’s okay. I guess one way or another this was coming. I don’t think Dr. Collier particularly likes me that much.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Dr. Collier doesn’t like anyone. That’s his problem, sweetie, and not yours.”
There was at least some truth to that. He treated everyone almost the same as he treated me. Like everyone was beneath him. For once, I would have wanted to see someone ruffle his feathers for a change.
“I should get going.”
I made a detour to the bathroom and splashed water in my face before I approached Dr. Collier’s office. I knocked once. Then he barked, “Enter!” in that intimidating voice of his.
“Explain,” he said as soon as the door closed behind me. “You come to work looking like you’ve been partying all night, and I find you sleeping on the job?”
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I replied, staring down at my feet, guilt gnawing at my gut. As much of an ass as he was, Dr. Collier was a good doctor. He had a wealth of information I was able to glean from working with him. I didn’t mind putting up with him if I stood to improve my professional skills.
“It doesn’t matter what you intended,” he snapped. “The fact is that you missed a patient’s schedule. You were neglectful in your duty, and we can’t stand for this at our hospital. I’ll have no choice but to recommend that the hospital board revoke your internship.”
The last thirty-six hours had been dreadful. I had gotten shot at and ripped apart what was left of the relationship between my father and me. I had worried about the man I loved going off to prison for years without me being able to see him. I had tended a gunshot wound of a patient, who hadn’t reacted well to the news that his president had been taken to jail. Not only had Booker ignored all my advice but also had set back his progress by reopening the wound.
This was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“You can’t do this,” I whispered, thinking about all I stood to lose. Initially, I had wanted to become a doctor because it was beneficial to Grimm’s club, but interning and studying medicine had proved to me that wasn’t the only reason. I loved caring for people. I enjoyed interacting with the patients, and they gave my life a whole different meaning that nothing else could fulfill. This was my calling.
“You’ve left me no choice.”
“I’m telling you, Dr. Collier, it won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of it.”
He rose from his seat and paced. “That’s the thing, Dehaney. It will happen again. Sure, you have the skills. You’re brighter than most interns I’ve worked with, but you don’t have the guts nor the grit it takes to handle what you’ve gotten yourself involved in.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” he demanded. “You’re dismissed. We’ll contact you when the board’s made its decision.”
I wanted to fold up on the floor and bawl my eyes out, but his words resonated deep inside me that I wasn’t tough enough. Wasn’t that the way they all saw me? Grimm would do anything to shield me from the bad things that happened in this city. My father was willing to go to the extreme to protect me. Everyone and their mother tried to dissuade me from being involved with Grimm. Why? They didn’t think I could survive the MC way.
And I’d proved them right.
I squared my shoulders at Dr. Collier and nodded. “I messed up. I know, and I apologize. You’re right that I was negligent today, but all I’m asking for is a second chance to prove myself—that I am capable.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve already made the decision. It’s left up to the board now.”
I swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in my throat. “I see. I should get going, then.” Somehow I managed to drag my feet to the door, but I stopped and turned to address him. “In spite of you not liking me, Dr. Collier, I have learned a lot from you, and I’m grateful for my time here.”
“Where did you get the notion that I didn’t like you?”
“Everyone picked up on it, really. You weren’t hiding it.”
“I don’t dislike you, Dehaney,” he retorted. “I loathe thinking of the bad choices you’re making, but I don’t dislike you. Maybe if things were different and you weren’t deeply involved in matters too dangerous for the likes of you…”
He trailed off, but I didn’t ask him to finish, not knowing what to make of his statement, especially when he had shown me disdain before the night he saw Grimm and me together. Without another word to him, I walked out.
In the locker room, I called Zak to pick me up. If he had questions, he didn’t ask them. I changed, grabbed my belongings, and said goodbye to Libby and Erica, who both cried. They almost made me cry too, but I was done with tears. I was done feeling sorry for myself. I was done being the whiny boy who had left Smoky Vale and believed I could come back here, be with Grimm, and continue to be that same boy.
Zak stood in the lobby, waiting for me, oblivious to the nurses who kept glancing at him and whispering.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I nodded, even managing a small smile. “Yeah, just take me home.”
He threw an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me as we walked out of the hospital together. “You know, you’re tougher than I’d thought at first. When Grimm introduced you at the club, I was sure you would bolt at the first sign of trouble.”
“You thought wrong.”
“Good, because Grimm could use a guy like you sticking by him through thick and thin.”
“I’m that guy,” I murmured, then cleared my throat and said it with more conviction. “I am that guy.”
He’d driven Grimm’s truck. The reminder of him filled me with nostalgia, and I asked Zak for the latest news.
“The lawyer will get him out soon,” he replied, patting my knee. “You be ready to throw down some good ole loving on him when he gets out of the can.”
That made me laugh, and I already started to feel better. Sure, shit was still not resolved, and this was probably the lowest point in my life, but once Grimm’s love was sure, that was all that mattered. If he ended up in prison, it wouldn’t be easy, but I could do that too.
I was that guy.
We drove the rest of the way in silence, me keeping it all together, though the thought of returning to the house without Grimm depressed me. At least the hospital kept me occupied, but what was I supposed to do here on the compound? I wasn’t in the mood to baby Booker’s ass, though I should check and ensure the excessive bleeding from th
is morning had stopped.
By the time we drove up to the house, I had made up my mind to keep myself occupied by unpacking my stuff. That way when Grimm was released, he would find everything in order and wouldn’t insist I go back home to patch things up with my father. After what had happened, not even he could be this insistent anymore.
Zak parked the truck a couple of feet away from the front porch. I’d been so deep in thought I only realized at that moment that Grimm stood at the top of the steps, waiting, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans. I ran my eyes hungrily over his frame, noting that he looked okay. He even smiled in our direction as if he hadn’t been locked up in jail for almost two days.
“Surprise,” Zak said, his tone gentle. “They released him a couple of hours ago.”
In my mind’s eye, I saw myself running toward Grimm, completely breaking down and crying in his arms about the horror of the last thirty-six hours. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. I am going to be brave. I’m not going to overreact.
I opened the door of the truck. The second my feet touched the ground, all good intentions flew out the window. My brain went haywire, and my instincts prodded me to get to Grimm in the shortest time possible.
Don’t let him see how afraid you were. Be brave for him.
My mind meant well, but my heart won over. I couldn’t control the overwhelming sensation that had me running toward him, tripping up the steps to get to him.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Grimm
The worst thing about being locked up wasn’t the stay itself but knowing the people left behind suffered for the outcome. All the time I’d spent in the jail cell at the Smoky Vale Police Station, I kept thinking about Jamie, hoping he was taking it better than I imagined. They refused me the right to see anyone except for my attorney, so I couldn’t even reassure him face-to-face that everything would turn out okay. Hopefully, the voice note I had recorded for him on Liam’s phone had been sufficient.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been detained, and I had yet to face any charges. Like I had predicted, the tape they had believed they had of the night of the shootout had disappeared from the evidence room. They had nothing to charge me on, and only the sheer determination of Dehaney to see me separated from Jamie kept me locked up for as long as I had been.
I had every intention of surprising Jamie when he got home from work. When he’d called Zak to pick him up, I would have gone, except we needed to hold a church meeting to discuss the events of the past four days.
Nothing added up. I knew for certain we hadn’t killed those two men who lay in the morgue, but our mark was on their bodies from the way the twins and I had mutilated them before letting them go. Whoever had killed them had slit their throats, given the pictures that had been floating around at the police station.
The truck door opened, and Jamie’s slender body defied space to get to me as if he thought I would disappear. He clambered up the steps, missing one altogether but not letting it deter him as he smacked right into me, arms wrapped around me. Closing my eyes, I returned his embrace, absorbing his shudders and fears.
“It’s okay,” I murmured soothingly in his ear. “I told you it would be fine. Didn’t you trust me?”
He wasn’t crying, but he kept gasping for air, and his fingers dug tightly into my shirt. “I know. I know you’d come back. I just didn’t know when,” he replied.
Zak honked the horn of the truck and backed up toward the clubhouse. I waved an acknowledgment his way, then swung Jamie up in my arms. He locked his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck as I walked us inside, kicking the door shut behind us. His face remained buried to the side of my neck as I took the stairs up to the second floor.
Jamie still refused to let go when we were in my—our—bedroom, given his suitcases were lying around. I brought him over to the bed and sat, running my hands down his sides.
“Hey, look at me.”
He raised his head on a deep, shuddering breath. I was relieved he wasn’t crying.
“Everything will be fine,” I told him. “You knew by what we get involved in from time to time, that this will always be a possibility.”
“I know, but this is different,” he answered. “This was all my father’s doing. It’s my fault you were in jail.”
I patted his cheek. “They say a little absence makes the heart grow fonder. Don’t you believe that?”
Before he could answer, I kissed him, showing him how much that saying was true. I’d missed lying in bed beside him, his hot little body backed up against me.
Turning us over, I bore him down into the mattress, sliding to the side so I didn’t crush him. I brushed his curls from his forehead and roamed his body with my hands. He groaned into me, grabbing at my shirt, his urgency doubling his strength. Jamie gripped me by the shoulders and pulled me closer to him until I had no option but to brace myself on my arms while my tongue was down his throat.
He was horny, grinding upward, rubbing his cock into my pelvis. I already knew how lithe and flexible he was, but he moved with a desperation I had never seen in him before. Clutching both his hands, I held them above his head and nibbled at his bottom lip.
“Daddy Grimm,” he moaned, sounding frustrated. “Please.”
“I’m going to take care of you,” I murmured and kissed across his sharp jawline. “When I’m through with you, there will be no doubt that whether I’m beside you, in a prison cell, or in my grave, I’ll always take care of you.”
“Please, don’t talk like that,” he said on a groan. “Please, please, don’t.”
“We have to face the possibility,” I said soothingly. “We make do with the moments life gives us, and right now, we have this moment. Do you know what one of my regrets would have been, had I not been released?”
“Tell me.”
“That I never took the chance to be inside you. Now that changes.”
“Yes,” he moaned. “Please. I don’t think I could top right now.”
“And that’s fine, Half-Way. I’ve got you. Come here.”
I brought Jamie to the bathroom, adamant about doing this right for him. I washed his body, kissing and teasing him. He was eager, almost to the point of begging me to fuck him right there and then, but his body wasn’t ready. While it was hard to resist him, the will to do right by him was stronger.
He got embarrassed and tried to hide his face when I administered his enema, but I soothed him.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I said against his lips. “All of you belongs to me. I’m just taking care of what’s mine as if it were my own body.”
He relaxed against me then, following my instructions in getting him all prepped for sex. When I was satisfied he was all squeaky clean, I rubbed him dry, then without dressing him brought him back to the bedroom.
“Now?” he asked impatiently when I laid him onto the bed.
“Almost.”
I returned to the bed in a couple of minutes and placed an assortment of toys and lube on the bed.
“Ooh, what are these?” he asked, sitting up and checking out the stash.
“These are for me to decide how to work your body up to taking my cock.”
He picked up an anal prostate massager and turned it over. “Can I try this?”
I took it from him with a chuckle. “You’re not quite ready for this yet. How about we loosen you up a bit first.”
With that said, I rubbed my fingers over his nipples, satisfied at the goose bumps that covered his skin. He was easy enough to read, given his quick excited breaths and the way he shifted restlessly beneath me. Leaning over him, I put him out of his misery and caught the tip of his cock between my lips. He made a gurgling sound, his face going red as he grasped the bed sheet at his hips.
“Oh God!” he expelled, huffing, and I hadn’t even really begun yet.
Trailing my lips down his shaft, I kept my attention on his openly honest face. He didn’t even atte
mpt to shield some of his emotions from me. Exposed, he was beautiful.
I sucked him completely into my mouth and created a rhythm we could both appreciate. With all the years of expertise I had under my belt, I worked him with my tongue and light nips with my teeth. By the time I pushed his legs forward and pulled his hips toward me, he was a trembling mess. I parted his legs, lifting a little so his ass was bared to the ceiling.
“Please, Daddy Grimm, don’t stop,” he moaned, his dick lying across his belly, wet with my saliva.
“This where you want my tongue?” I teased him, rubbing my thumb over his tight hole. My dick twitched at the thought of pushing into that snug opening, having all that tightness gripping onto my cock.
Fuck.
“Yes, please, Daddy,” he gasped.
I cupped his pert little ass and washed over his hole with my tongue. He keened at the back of his throat as I softened him up with nothing but my tongue and saliva. Slowly he loosened up just a little for me to slip a finger coated with lube inside him. He was so impossibly small I worried I would hurt him more than I wanted to.
With the patience of Saint Monica, I worked on his body, soothing away the pain where it was fleeting. The process was slow, taking far longer than I’d ever experienced with any lover, man or woman. By the time I had two fingers plugging his hole, both of us were sweating and his erection had softened.
“It will get better,” I told him.
“Promise?” he asked on a grunt.
“I’ll never lie to you.”
I took up the small butt plug from the bed and added a generous amount of lube to the toy as well as his ass.
“Take a deep breath and keep relaxed,” I said in a soothing voice as I pressed the butt plug to his opening. His body shifted under the deep breath he took. I rocked the tip of the plug against his opening and pressed, grunting in relief when it slid into place. He clenched around the toy, pulling it all the way in.
“Fuck. That feels…”
He trailed off on a moan when I pulled on the plug, twisting and pushing it back in. Conflicted between watching the play of emotions on his face and the way his ass clenched around the plug when I removed, then reinserted it, I moved my wrist faster, plunging harder as I noticed his cock hardening once more.
Biker Daddy (The Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale Book 1) Page 23