Love Beyond the Curve (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (6 page)

She opened the door to discover a sizable guest room with an adjoining bathroom. There was a queen-sized bed with lots of pillows for propping up Reed’s leg. A comfortable chair was situated in the corner of the room offering a place to keep vigil over him for the first night.

Charlotte went back to Tyler and found Reed out cold. She was determined to get him settled and comfortable, so she took a deep breath and looked Tyler squarely in the eye. “Do you think you and I can get him to that room, and on the bed?”

Tyler scratched his head and looked her over and looked at Reed asleep in the recliner. “Maybe if he was half awake, but he will be deadweight, so we better wait for Joe to get back.”

“You’re probably right. I’m going to get off his socks and shoes and then go get things ready for a quick sponge bath. By the time Joe gets back, I’ll be ready for him. Do you mind helping me get him settled, and staying in the room while I sponge him off? Just to be ethical. You can be a witness that I didn’t take advantage of him while he was out of it.” She laughed, kneeling down to gently ease off his work boots and socks. She gathered them up and headed back to the bedroom to get things ready for his sponge bath. She found extra towels in the upstairs linen closet and brought them downstairs, along with a new bar of soap.

When she got back downstairs, Joe was back, and the two were working together to get Reed into the room. They got him on the bed, and at Charlotte’s request, got his clothes off, down to his boxer shorts.

“I know this is a lot to ask you guys, but it will be less painful for him while he has the stronger pain medication in him from the hospital. He just needs to be as clean as possible, and he’ll rest better. If you can help me, I can be finished with this in about thirty minutes or less.”

She brought the hot water and clean cloth over to the bedside table to begin bathing him. They worked well as a team as they rolled him to his side and she bathed him. She kept his private area covered at all times, and briefly put her hand underneath the towel to freshen him up. The guys tried not to look while she did that part. When she was finished, they slipped on a fresh pair of underwear and propped his leg while Charlotte got ice packs on his thigh to keep the swelling down. She saw the guys off at the door and then settled in for a long night ahead.

Chapter Eleven

Charlotte remained in the room, applying ice packs for thirty minutes every four hours and checking to make sure his leg was elevated properly. During one of the ice pack sessions, he began to stir, waking up enough to realize the pain he was in from the injury and broken ribs.

“Oh shit! This hurts like hell,” he hissed through gritted teeth at the pain he felt all over his body. Charlotte, who had gone to get a glass of water, was walking back into the room and heard his remark.

“Hey, Reed. It’s Charlotte. Take it easy. I’m here with some pain medication. Try not to move.” She rushed around to the side of the bed where he was lying. She set the glass of water on the nightstand and opened the bottle of painkillers. She took one out and placed it beside the water, then put her hands over his to calm him. She could tell he was still woozy, and wanted to be very careful with him.

“Reed, I’m going to lift you up enough to give you some more pain medication. It will help you stay more comfortable. I don’t want you to go too long without it. We need to keep it coming until the worst is over. I’m going to ease you up and give you the pill now.” She leaned over him and slipped her arm underneath to lift him up. As she did, her breasts were right over his face.

“I’ve thought about this more than once you know, but I wasn’t incapacitated at the time. God, you smell good. All clean and soapy.” Reed easily confessed his thoughts while still under the influence of strong painkillers.

Charlotte laughed her warm, throaty laugh and held the glass for him to drink water with the pill. “You smell good yourself, Jackson. I gave you a bath before I tucked you in.”

“Sorry I missed it. You didn’t take advantage of me, did you? I wouldn’t have minded, Charlotte.” He grabbed her wrist as she eased him back onto the pillows.

“No, Jackson, I didn’t take advantage of you. In fact, Tyler and Joe were watching me the whole time, just to be sure I behaved myself.” She laughed again as she took his wrist in her hand to check his pulse rate.

“That sounds kind of kinky, Hamilton. I would never have figured you for the dangerous type.” He groggily flirted with her as she put a thermometer in his ear to check his temperature.

“You’d be surprised about a lot of things I’m into, Jackson. Now stop your fantasizing and go back to sleep. Do you need anything else?” She took a step back and placed her hands on her curvy hips.

“Well, I really need to take a colossal piss, but I don’t want to think about trying to get to that bathroom, so let’s skip it.” He closed his eyes and rested his forearm over his mouth.

“I figured as much, so I improvised and found this plastic half-gallon pitcher to use as a urinal. I’m going to let you take care of that in private. Call me when you’re through, and I’ll come take it to the bathroom.” She gave him very clear instructions as she handed him the pitcher.

“I so hope I don’t remember any of this. I so hope you forget, but I’ve got to go so badly I can’t refuse. Glad I’m not a proud man.” He covered his face with his hands, seemingly embarrassed by the situation.

“If it helps, remember I am acting strictly in the capacity of a nurse and not a friend. I even have on my uniform, so forget it. It’s part of my job routine. Do you need any help getting…situated?” She wanted to be sure he was comfortable before leaving.

“I’ll manage. Thanks.” He began to ease up to do the task, even though it was killing him.

Charlotte knew he needed to handle it himself in privacy. She closed the door and waited outside for him to call for her.

He soon called her to come back in. She went in and took the pitcher without a word. She disposed of it as discreetly as possible. She came back into the room and put it by the bed with a towel over it.

“I’m going into the living room. You try to go back to sleep and let the medicine do its trick for you. I’ll be checking on you off and on. Call me if you wake up, so I can give you more medicine if it’s time. Okay?”

“I will. Thank you, Hamilton. I owe you big time.” He gazed at her through half-closed eyes.

“No, you don’t. This is payback for saving me from Octopus Man. Go to sleep.” She pulled the door almost closed, so she could hear him if he called out to her. He should rest better now, but she had a lot to think about.

Chapter Twelve

Charlotte sat in the dark, watching Reed sleep, thinking about the things he had said to her when she was caring for him earlier. “I’ve thought about this more than once,” he had said when she was leaning over him. “I wouldn’t have minded.” He made reference to her taking advantage of him when giving him a sponge bath.

Yeah, right. What man wouldn’t enjoy having his junk massaged? Two-Ton Tessie would be welcome to bathe his privates as long as she didn’t try anything else and he could keep his eyes closed!
She wasn’t going to entertain any thoughts that he might remotely have found her attractive
. It’s always the same thing. Big, hot love in private, skinny, cool love in public!
She was
never
going to allow that to happen again. They may as well leave money on the dresser, because that was the way it made her feel. Fuck buddies, essentially. She wanted and needed more. She’d wait. Hell, maybe she should have paid more attention to Octopus Man. He certainly didn’t mind public groping! He also made it clear he would have liked to take her home.
Shit!
He was even good looking, but he omitted the seduction step altogether. She wanted to be romanced and courted.
Yes, I’ll definitely wait.
That was her last thought before she dozed off to sleep.

“Hamilton, where are you?”

She woke to a pinkish predawn sky and the sound of Reed’s voice calling out to her. Swinging her legs off the bed, she was up and moving swiftly to his side. She eased a hip down on the bedside and placed a warm hand on his forearm.

“I’m right here, Jackson. What can I do for you?” She leaned over and, out of habit, placed a hand gently on his forehead, checking for signs of fever.

“This should put me out of my misery.” He reached up and ran a hand through her dark, wavy hair and pulled her down to cover her lips with his own. She was startled at first but then began to kiss him back, allowing herself the pleasure of exploring his mouth thoroughly with her tongue.

He pulled back and brushed his thumb lightly across her lips. “You taste even sweeter than I imagined you would.” He proceeded to pull her back down, only this time he began kissing her throat and biting her earlobe. He dropped his hand to her waist then slid it farther down to cup her rounded bottom. He squeezed her hip gently and rubbed his large hand over it. “There. Isn’t. A. Sharp. Angle. On. You. Anywhere.” He kissed her between each word, sending tiny tremors through her body.

“I’m sorry. I’m working on that,” she answered, closing her eyes as he bit her breast through her uniform.

He surprised her by replying through his teeth, “Not too hard, I hope. I like it.” He ran his hand up under her dress, and she sensed his excitement when he found that she was wearing ass-baring underwear, allowing him to have contact with her flesh.

His hard-working, callused hand felt wonderfully rough and sensuous as it rubbed and massaged her bare cheek. He removed his hand and lay back against the pillows and spoke to her with a raspy voice. “Undress for me. The uniform turns me on, but I think what’s underneath it will turn me on even more.”

Charlotte bit her lip hesitantly.
This may be the end of the magic spell.
She turned around and took a few steps away from him.

Sensing her hesitation, he said in a soft, reassuring voice, “You are beautiful, Charlotte. I won’t be disappointed.”

Charlotte took a deep, nerve-settling breath and slowly turned around, unbuttoning the top button of her white, crisp uniform. She kept her eyes on his face as she continued to unbutton the dress to just past her waist. He had his eyes riveted on her hands as they moved down farther, revealing a glimpse of her softness underneath as the buttons fell open. This was the moment of truth. What would his expression reveal? Could she tell if he appreciated her body for what it was, or was he going to be braced to not let her see his true reaction? She lifted the dress off her shoulders and dropped her arms to her sides, causing it to puddle at her feet. Sheer will forced her arms to remain at her sides and not move to cover herself. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, even though it wasn’t the first time she had stood naked before a man’s eyes. Why did Reed’s reaction matter so much?

* * * *

Reed’s eyes darkened and narrowed as he inhaled sharply at the sight of Charlotte standing in front of him wearing only a low-cut, lacy white bra and lacy, white, barely there boy shorts. To top it off, she was wearing white thigh-high stockings with a lace band at the top. She had kicked off her shoes when she had settled in the chair to rest, but even without shoes, her legs still looked a mile long. Her thighs curved from her hips into long, shapely calves. She had the ideal example of an hourglass figure.

Reed had never been with someone with that deep of a curve for a waistline. It was thicker than he was used to but ultra feminine. Her hipbones weren’t jutting out at her pelvis, and her skin looked soft and smooth. She also didn’t have two or three inches between her upper thighs. She was all leg, and he was breathless as he took in this new concept of “sexy” in his personal experience. There was no other word to describe her. Her hair fell in thick waves just past her shoulders, and he ached to run his fingers through it. It was usually up in a knot or ponytail. This was dreamy. The lacy bra hugged her ample breasts together, creating some major cleavage through which he’d love to slide his tongue, or better yet, his throbbing erection. His eyes wandered on down to her navel, which did not protrude in the least bit. He could give that some attention, too. His eyes finally came to rest on her pelvic area, which appeared to darken at the V where her thighs met. She was sporting the “natural” look, which he hadn’t seen up close and personal in ages.
Damn!
She was hot! He was shocked at how much that little detail turned him on.

Charlotte had stood still in her own version of the Miss America bathing suit pose allowing him to take in what she felt was foreign to his personal realm of sexual experiences. She knew he was treading into uncharted waters being there with a scantily clad larger woman. She just couldn’t decide if he was in shock and had to carefully examine the fat freak or was intrigued by what he saw. She quickly got her answer.

“Come here.” He smiled as he held out a hand to her. She bit her lip and lowered her head shyly as she stepped slowly up to the bed. He raised his hand to trail down her arm to her wrist, and then he raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed her palm. “You are breathtaking. Better than I had imagined, and you looked pretty damn hot in my head.” He ran a finger along the edge of her bra, hooking a finger at the center and pulling her closer to him. He slid an arm around her waist and turned her around, so he could run a fingertip down the center of her back, stopping at the waistband of the boy shorts, which revealed the lower half of her full bottom.