A shudder quivered through her body, and he touched her cheek with his fingers, caressing lightly in an attempt to soothe her.
"Youre going to be fine, Julie. Just a knock on the head it looks like, and hey, if a part of your body is going to get abused, it might as well be your hard head. "
She grinned and then winced. He frowned when he saw a little tiny cut in the corner of her mouth. Had she bitten it? Before she could close her lips again, he leaned down and gently fused his mouth to the cut.
She went still, her quick intake of breath her only reaction.
"Better?" he murmured as he pulled away.
"Better," she whispered.
His mind was already doing swift calculations. He knew she lived alone and didnt have anyone to look in on her much less take care of her. Taking her home with him was probably out of the question, and she probably wouldnt appreciate his slobby ass bachelor den anyway. He seriously needed to clean it up because he didnt want her to run screaming the first time she came over. And she would be coming over.
But he could definitely go home with her and make sure she took her pain pills, ate right and didnt fall on her face on her way to the bathroom. She c
ould end up lying there all night and nobody would ever know.
His scowl deepened as he imagined her cold, alone and in pain. No, he could stay with her. It was just as well the independent heifer learn to have him around, because he didnt plan to go anywhere, despite her repeated attempts to shake him.
She might be stubborn—beautiful, willful, a handful of luscious woman but stubborn nonetheless—but he hadnt grown up with four women just to turn out to be some namby-pamby pushover. He was skilled at getting what he wanted. Hell, he had to be in a houseful of hormonally deranged females.
Two male techs entered Julies room.
"Hi, gorgeous. My name is Steven and my partner here is David. Were going to go take some pictures of you. "
He glanced up at Nathan. "We wont be long if youd like to wait in the waiting room. She wont be coming back to this room. This is sort of our triage holding area. Well be moving her to a different exam room until its determined if shell be admitted or not. "
"Youll get me when she comes back?" Nathan asked.
"Sure, Ill holler at you myself. Whats your name?"
"Nathan Tucker, and thanks. "
"No problem, man. Well take good care of her, I promise. "
Nathan leaned down and kissed her forehead again. "Ill see you soon, okay?"
She gave him a half smile. "Okay. "
Nathan waited until shed been wheeled out before he made his way to the waiting room. Connor was standing there, hands shoved into his pockets leaning against one of the windows. He straightened when Nathan came out.
"Hows she doing?"
"Good, I think. Theyve taken her to X-ray to clear her spine, and they want to do a scan of her head to make sure there arent any bleeds. She was still conscious. Shaky and scared out of her mind, but thats to be expected. "
"You staying?" Connor asked.
Nathan nodded. "Yeah. "
"Okay, if you want, Pop and I will run your truck over and park it in the garage. Ill find you to give you the keys. "
"Thanks. Id appreciate that. Not sure whats going on here. They wont know if theyre keeping her until they get the X-rays back. "
"Not a problem. I called Pop and let him know what was going on. You might want to call her friend Serena. No sense worrying Faith if Julies going to be all right. She and Gray are flying in tomorrow morning. I dont want to ruin their last night in Vegas. "
"Yeah, I agree. Ill give Serena a holler when I know more. I dont want to freak her out. "
"Okay, see you in a bit. "
"Thanks, man. "
"You bet," Connor said as he walked toward the exit.
Chapter 24
Julie breathed a sigh of relief when they unfastened her C-collar and carefully pulled it away from her neck.
"There you go, Miss Stanford. Can you move your head a bit?"
Julie stared up at the nurse and moved slowly from side to side.
"Good. Does that hurt? Any tenderness?"
Julie frowned. "Just a little stiff. "
"Thats to be expected. Youre definitely going to feel it tomorrow. "
"What about my head?"
"The doctor is just now getting the report. He should be in to talk to you shortly. " She frowned when Julie winced. "Are you in pain?"
"Head," Julie muttered. "And my shoulder. "
"Ah, yes, you have quite a bruise forming on that shoulder. As soon as the doctor gives me the okay, Ill give you something for pain. In the meantime, want me to let your young man back in? Hes been pacing a hole in our waiting room floor. "
Nathan. He was still here. For a moment, anticipation and something that felt strangely like joy surged through her veins like a shot of adrenaline. Where had he come from? She was still confused by the entire episode. Maybe shed never really remember it all. One minute shed been driving down the freeway enjoying having the top down, the next she was staring up at Nathan while he held her hand.
When she realized the nurse was staring at her, still waiting on an answer, she carefully nodded. "Yes, send him in, please. "
The nurse smiled, patted her on the arm and turned to walk back out. A few minutes later, Nathan hurried in, concern shadowed in his eyes.
He did feel something for her. Something beyond lust and frustration. There was genuine worry for her reflected on his face. It made her feel warm and kind of funny on the inside. No one had ever really fussed over her like he had on the way to the hospital. It was strangely addicting.
"Hey," he said softly when he neared the bed. "I see they got you out of the bondage gear. "
She chuckled softly, careful not to shake parts that didnt need shaking. "Yeah, its a huge relief. That backboard was about to kill me, and having that C-collar on is like having someones hands wrapped around your throat just waiting to squeeze. "
He touched her face, smoothing her hair back behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"
"Ive been better," she said ruefully. "Id say I feel like Ive been run over, but I guess I was. "
His expression darkened. "Yeah, you were. "
"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. "I dont remember a whole lot. It all happened so fast. I just remember spinning and thinking I was going to die. "