I can’t help but smile at the guy. I see it now. He’s not pervy, just strange and kinda cute in a brotherly kind of way. “Sorry. No, I need my beauty sleep, and I work tonight.” I shrug, smirking.
“You don’t need sleep, my love. You’re alread—”
Kenton smacks him in the back of his head before he can finish, and I can’t help but smile at him again.
“Nice to meet you, Justin,” I tell him, really meaning it.
“You too, Copper.” He grins back.
“You know you’re still not safe, Autumn. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be working,” Kenton says.
I look at him, my eyes narrow, and I growl. “I’m safe and going to work, ass, so get over it.”
His jaw starts to tick a little faster and his hands ball into fists. “Tell me the name of the place so I can check on you.”
“I don’t need you to check on me.”
“Tell me or I’ll have Justin do a run on you and I’ll know everything about you down to your last fucking period,” he growls, taking a step towards me.
“Ass!” I yell, glaring at him.
“Tell me,” he roars, leaning forward, and I can feel the anger rolling off him.
“Vanderbilt,” I say, but I pronounce it ‘Vander’s Belt,’ hoping he doesn’t catch on that it’s the hospital. I don’t know why I don’t what him to know what I’m really doing. I almost feel like he hasn’t earned the right to know.
“We need to talk,” he says, his tone softer, but the growl is still there.
“We don’t,” I assure him, pulling off the blanket and tossing it at him as I walk up the stairs. I hear Justin laugh and Kenton growl something about spankings under his breath before I close the door to my bedroom, smiling.
Chapter 3
One Tequila, Two Tequila…Floor
“So why the hell did you want to move to Tennessee?” Tara asks.
I’ve been working at the hospital for about two weeks now, and I’ve been Tara’s shadow since the day I started in the ER. Tennessee is nothing like Vegas. Not only are the people different, but the ER here is much calmer. I look at Tara and smile when she raises an eyebrow at me. One thing I learned quickly is that people here have no problem getting in your business or asking personal questions.
“I just needed a change.” I shrug, putting away another patient folder.
“I can understand that. I need a change, like a nice sandy beach and a hot guy to wait on me hand and foot.” She smiles, her head tilting back like she’s imagining herself on a beach right now.
“Autumn, Tara,” a deep voice says.
Tara and I look up and smile at the same time.
“How are you ladies this evening?” Dr. D, or Derik, asks. He’s a very, very attractive black man; sadly, he is also very, very gay and has an even hotter boyfriend.
“Good,” Tara and I say in unison. We laugh, pointing at each other and calling out, “Jinx!”
I’ve found myself laughing a lot more often since I started working here. In general, I find myself a lot happier period. All of my coworkers are very nice and easy to get along with. So far, I haven’t met anyone who is petty or mean.
The one thing that hasn’t changed is my relationship with Kenton. I can’t get over the amount of anger I feel towards him. Maybe it’s stupid and immature on my part, but he hurt my feelings when he said all that to whomever he was talking to on the phone. Worse, I’d thought he’d been starting to like me.
“What are you girls doing this weekend?”
“I need to sleep,” I say, closing my eyes for a second. “My body hasn’t adjusted to this schedule yet. I swear, if it weren’t for coffee, I would be lying facedown on this desk right now.” Plus, if I slept, I could continue to avoid Kenton.
He’s left me a note daily and somehow got my cell number, so he’s started texting me. He never says much. Mostly, he asks how I am, if I need anything, and if I am settling in at my job. I never answer him. I can tell that he is becoming frustrated. I have no idea how to face him, so I do the easiest thing and avoid him like the plague.
“Sleep is overrated. You two should come out with me and Stan this weekend. There’s a club that just opened up downtown. We could go out, have a couple drinks, and dance. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Derik asks.
I look at Tara, who nods her head, and I quickly agree. I need to start acting my age. I should be having fun and going out, and now that I have a few people I trust, I have a reason to do that.
“Sure, but I won’t be staying out late. I have dinner plans with a friend on Sunday in the early afternoon,” I tell them. I’ve had dinner with Viv and her family the last two Sundays, and now, she expects me to be there. Her daughter is really sweet. Plus, her niece is supposed to be coming this weekend and Viv really wants me to meet her.
“That’s fine. Two drinks tops.” Derik smiles and the desk phone rings.
Tara picks it up and stands suddenly. “Got it,” she says, looking at Derik. “When?” she asks and listens for a few more seconds before hanging up the phone. She leaves from behind the desk and I follow her. “The ambulance is in route. Male, thirty-four, gunshot wound to the right shoulder. He’s conscious and may need a transfusion. We need to get everything set up. The ambulance is five minutes out,” Tara says, and all three of us run down the hall to prepare the trauma bay before the patient arrives.
The ambulance pulls in and what I least expect happens. The guy is conscious, laughing, and joking with the EMTs like this is a routine occurrence for him. He hasn’t lost enough blood to need a transfusion, and it doesn’t appear that the bullet hit any arteries; it was a clean in-and-out shot. All he’ll require is a few stitches and an overnight stay in the hospital.
“Are you sure you two don’t want to give me a sponge bath?” Finn, our bullet wound patient asks.
I laugh, shaking my head at him, but Tara doesn’t seem so sure about turning him down. His tall, lean body, boy-next-door good looks, and easy smile definitely make him swoon-worthy.
“Not tonight, handsome,” Tara tells him, batting her lashes.
His hand goes over his heart as he flops back down in the bed and winces. “You wound me, Blondie.”
“I’m sure your ego will be okay.” She smiles.
Tara is really beautiful. She has that whole Southern belle look going for her—long, blond hair, big, blue eyes, and a cute personality. Actually, looking between the two of them, I see Ken and Barbie.
“You need to be careful with that shoulder,” I scold Finn as he winces again when he sits up.
“I could go home with you and you could look after me.” He grins, making me roll my eyes.
“Sorry, but I promised my roommate I wouldn’t take my work home with me.” I start laughing, thinking about Kenton and what he would do if I showed up with a guy who had a gunshot wound.
“Your roommate sucks,” Finn mutters.
“Tell me about it,” I reply with a smile.
A second later, my body goes solid when the voice behind me hits my ears. “What the fuck is going on, Autumn?”
I close my eyes slowly, hoping that I’m wrong. When I turn my head, four large guys are standing near the door and none other than Kenton is standing in the middle of them.
“Autumn?” one of the guys says. My eyes go to him and he smiles. “Shit, boss. This is the Autumn who works at ‘Vander’s Belt’?” He laughs loudly, his eyes going back and forth between Kenton and me.
My eyes shift back to Kenton, seeing his jaw tick. “Um…” I mumble, taking a step back.
“Vanderbilt,” Kenton pronounces, his voice a low rumble. The anger in the one spoken word rolls against my skin, creating goose bumps. “Do not fucking move,” he demands when I start to take another step back.
My body freezes in place as I watch him move towards me, his eyes locked on mine. I feel stuck in place under his glare.
When he’s within touching distance, his hand wraps around my bicep and his
mouth comes to my ear. “No more fucking ignoring me,” he growls.
If the wetness in my panties is anything to go by, I like his aggression. I look at Dr. D, who is looking at Kenton with his mouth hanging open, and when his eyes come to mine, he bites his lip. Apparently, he is not going to be any help.
Kenton drags me out of the room and down the hall. He stops at the first door we pass, and his hand that’s not holding me goes to the handle. Finding it unlocked, he leans into the room before tugging me in with him.
“What are you doing?” I ask when I get over the shock of seeing him here.
“You said you worked at a fucking strip club,” he says, letting me go.
“I never said that.” I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest, watching him pace back and forth in front of me like a caged beast.
“You’re a nurse?” He stops across the room, watching me. His eyes travel from the top of my head to my sneaker-covered feet.
“I am, but it changes nothing,” I hiss, leaning forward.
He storms towards me and I retreat until my back hits the wall. Before I can register the move, his mouth is on mine, his hand twists in the hair at the back of my head, and I gasp. He takes the opportunity to lick into my mouth. I try to fight him; I try to pull my mouth away, but his grip on my hair tightens. When he bites my tongue, I lose it.
I kiss him back, and all the anger I feel towards him goes into that kiss. I bite his lips, bottom then top, and claw my nails through his hair. He growls down my throat, his big body pressing me harder into the wall. We each fight for dominance, but he wins, pinning me in place, his body overtaking mine.
When he pulls his mouth from mine we’re breathing heavily, both still holding each other close. I can feel every hard inch of him pressed to every soft inch of me. He places his forehead to mine and it takes a few seconds to come back to myself. My eyes open, meeting his.
“This changes nothing,” I tell him quietly, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
“You’re right.” He takes a breath, his lips moving closer to mine. “You fucking changed everything.”
“Back up.” I push against his chest only to have him press harder into me.
“You don’t get to push me away. You don’t get to lie to me, even if it’s by omission.”
“I never lied to you,” I mumble, looking away from him.
“‘Vander’s Belt’—that’s not a fucking lie?” His hand comes up to my cheek, forcing my eyes back to him.
Okay, so I might have fibbed, but it wasn’t a lie. “You’re an asshole,” I tell him, still pushing against his chest.
“Call me what you want, but I know you feel this thing between us too. Don’t fucking lie to yourself.”
“The only thing I feel towards you is anger,” I growl.
Then his mouth comes back down on mine, stealing my breath. This kiss is more punishing than the previous one; and I whimper when he pulls away. My hands, which were trying to push him away, are now wrapped into his T-shirt.
His mouth goes to my ear. “If I stuck my hand between your legs, your pussy would be wet and wanting.”
I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to get rid of that image. My eyes fly open when his hand cups me over the thin material of my scrubs.
“So hot.” His fingers press harder, and I stand on my tiptoes, trying to get away from what he’s making me feel.
Part of me wants to jump up, wrap my legs around his hips, and grind myself into him. The other part of me wants to kick him in the nuts and scream in his face for having the power he has.
*
Kenton
I look down into her big, blue eyes and groan. Fuck me. She is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever looked at. She’s perfect, and I don’t just mean on the outside; I mean on the inside too. She’s sweet in a way that is hard to believe, especially coming from her lifestyle.
I tried to keep my distance after I picked her up at the airport and got reminded of what she did for a living, but when she was around, I couldn’t help but want to soak up a little bit of her time. She’s not what I expected. She’s not what I wanted, but fuck me if she’s not what I need.
From the moment I saw her, I wanted her. I walked into the airport knowing that she wasn’t expecting me. I’d messaged Link earlier in the day telling him to let her know I wouldn’t be picking her up. I’d had a lead on a case and thought I wouldn’t make it in time, and I didn’t want her waiting for me.
When I spotted her long, red hair in the crowd, I watched her run for one of her bags. I couldn’t help but laugh when she fell forward and landed on the belt before being dragged with it. She didn’t give up though. She pulled it off the conveyor belt over her head, falling backwards with the weight of it. She was cute.
When we got into the car and I sat down next to her, the doors closed and her smell suffocated me. Her long-ass legs in her shorts made it hard to concentrate on the road, and then I asked her about how she knew Link. I may get around, but I didn’t like the idea of her being with someone who was a friend for some reason, and then she reminded me that she worked at a strip club, throwing all ideas of getting to know her out the window.
I look over her face again and shake my head. I have fucked up with her in ways that even thinking about them makes me sick. I don’t have an issue with strippers in general, but I know what happens at strip clubs. I do understand that not all women are the same and there are dancers who work in clubs to make money and nothing more, but I also know that there are some who go home with men at the end of the night or are willing to go a little further in order to make a little extra cash.
“Step back,” she says, and I shake my head, pressing deeper into her.
She smells like flowers or something sweet. I have wanted to be this close to her for a long time. Now that I’ve got her where I want her, I’m not backing off.
“Why are you doing this?” she asks softly, squeezing her eyes closed.
“I want you. I want to get to know you.”
“No,” she breathes, shaking her head.
“Yes.” I press her harder into the wall.
“The things I know about you, I don’t like.”
I know she’s just being honest, but it doesn’t mean that it makes my chest ache any less. I don’t know her well, but the parts of her she has let me see have been sweet, feisty, and so fucking cute that I have had to stop myself from kissing her when she laughs or does something that makes me smile.
The look in her eyes when she walked into my office when I was talking to Nico on the phone still haunts me. I know that my cousin was trying to make me see that I was interested in her, but I didn’t need his help with that. I knew I wanted her; I just didn’t know how I could deal with my jealousy. The thought of men looking at her or touching her makes me feel homicidal.
When she spoke, her words tore me open. I knew that, regardless of my own fears, I needed to find a way to deal with it or I’d lose her before I ever even got to have her. Then I went to Nico’s house and saw him with Sophie and how close they had gotten. The way she looked at him like he had the power to turn on the sun had me feeling jealous. I wanted that for myself.
Nico was right in telling me to get my head out of my ass. He told me that if I wanted something, I had to take it; I couldn’t ever let anyone or anything hold me back. I want Autumn more than I’ve wanted anything before. I wanted her even before I knew she was a nurse. I would be proud to take her home to meet my family. My parents and sister would love her.
“Give me a chance.”
“I can’t. You’ve already said so many cruel things to me. I can’t willingly open myself up for more of that from you.”
“You know the night I made you dinner, when you told me it was the first time you had been happy in a long time? You weren’t the only one who felt that,” I gently confess to her.
“I was drunk. Isn’t everyone happy when they’re drunk?”
I laugh and her eyes meet mine. “Don�
��t lie to yourself.”
“I’m not. You’re lying to yourself. I’m a stripper, remember? I may not be one now, but I was. I can’t change that.” She shakes her head, causing her hair to slide against my skin.
How many nights have I lay in bed thinking about her hair spread out around her while she sleeps or hanging over me as she rides me to completion?
“I shouldn’t have said what I said. I should’ve been man enough to admit what I was feeling for you. I said some fucked-up shit in order to cover up how I really felt.”
“I don’t know,” she says, confusion lacing her voice.
“We’ll take it slow. I just need you to stop avoiding me. I need to be able to talk to you, to see your face,” I practically beg, pushing her hair out of her face.
“Friends?” she suggests with a tilt of her head.
“More than friends, baby, but we can start out as friends.” I lift her chin to look into her eyes.
*
Autumn
Our eyes meet and I shake my head. Friends? Can I be friends with him? Probably…and it would probably be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.
His hand runs along the underside of my jaw, his thumb touching my bottom lip.
“I don’t know,” I repeat, closing my eyes. “Why?” I don’t know if I’m asking him or myself, but I just don’t know why I feel this pull towards him.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asks, leaning into me.
Heartbreak is the first thing that comes to mind.
“Autumn?”
I jump at the sound of Derik’s voice and lean around Kenton’s wide frame so I can see the door. My eyes meet Derik’s, and then his go to Kenton before settling back on me.
“Sorry, but I gotta go and can’t leave Tara on the floor alone,” Derik says.
“I’m coming right now,” I tell him, trying to duck away from Kenton, whose hold on my hip tightens.
“I’ll see you Saturday night,” Derik says, closing the door.
“What’s Saturday night?” Kenton asks, and I feel his fingers dig into my skin.