Page 27 of Bodyguard My Heart
“Not too much hot water, we’ll run out,” Grandpapa added.
“Nou jwen li granmoun. We got it, old man,” Demetrius replied, speaking Haitian again.
“Breakfast will be ready in about an hour,” Gran said as she closed the door, leaving us alone.
“You can speak Haitian?” I blurted, still in awe that I didn’t know this about him.
“I can say some stuff, mainly greetings and shit. I’m not fluent,” he replied nonchalantly, hopping past me.
“I guess we can start with you. I need to check your incision.” I turned around to face Demetrius but was met with his hard body pushing into mine. I didn’t even know when he’d stood from the wheelchair.
“Let’s get you over to the bed.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to calm my nerves.
“Nah, you go first. Go take care of you first. I can manage until you come back.” He grabbed the crutches that were on the side of him and made his way to the bed. I stared at him for a moment. I heard what he said, but I was used to caring for people. My patients came first, and right now he was my patient. Taking the backpack off my back I ravaged through it, lookingfor the things I needed. When I found them, I approached Demetrius where he sat on the end of the bed. He threw his hand up.
“Go take a shower, Samara. For real,” he demanded, making me stop in my tracks. His words seemed to register this time as I grabbed the dress Gran had handed me and turned on my heels.
“I’m going. Don’t try to do too much,” I warned as I exited the room and headed toward the bathroom. It had been days since I showered or changed clothes. As I entered the bathroom, I marveled over the details of the décor. Everything matched the theme of dolphins. There were dolphin towels and shower curtains, as well as pictures on the walls. It fit the rest of the house perfectly and showed its age. Shutting the door, I turned on the water in the shower and undressed. Taking my hair out of the bun it was in, I let it fall to my shoulders and stepped into the shower. The water felt so good grazing over my body, and the weight of everything that had occurred lifted from my pores and washed away. The last thirty-six hours had been a lot.
I thought I was going to lose the man I loved. I’d run off with that same man only to be forced to go into hiding with him. The surgery center was closed, and everyone I loved was on the other side of the world, also hiding out. It was crazy and everything I hated about this cartel life. No matter how much I ran, it still found me and pulled me right back into the chaos, like a damn Showtime series. I couldn’t escape from it.
Then, there was my current situation with Demetrius. How was I supposed to sleep in the same room with this man and suppress my feelings? Did I even want to suppress my feelings? The water ran cold without warning, and I quickly jumped, turning the water off. I didn’t think I had been in that long, but I guess it’d been long enough. I stepped out of the tub and wrapped my body and hair in a towel. For every stress I’d just shed, it seemed I added a new one. Glancing at myself in themirror, I took a few deep breaths before placing the dress over my head. It was a little small, but it hugged my body in all the right places and held everything in place, making up for the fact that I had no bra or panties. I took one last look in the mirror.
“You got this,” I whispered to myself as I exited the bathroom and made my way back down the hallway and through the kitchen.
“Just place your dirty clothes in the hamper. I’ll do laundry later,” Gran said as I walked past her.
“Okay, thank you,” I replied before pushing the door open and entering the room.
“I’m bac—” My words trailed off as I noticed Demetrius sleeping on the bed. Slowly, I crept into the room, getting the things I needed from the backpack. Changing his bandages would actually work better with him asleep. Kneeling in front of him, I started at his leg, removing his shoes. I examined his feet, checking to make sure he was getting good circulation in his toes. After noticing that everything was good, I moved his leg, propping it up under a pillow. Moving to sit on the bed, I worked to change the bandage on his abdomen. Slowly, I unbuttoned his pants and lifted his shirt so I could have enough working space.
“You didn’t ask my permission to sexually assault me.” Demetrius’s groggy voice invaded my ears. I turned to look at him.
“We’re married.” I flashed the ring I’d been wearing on my hand since the day I showed it to Monroe. “Besides, you were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you,” I replied as I pulled the tape off the wrapping.
“Fuck!” He squirmed, causing my hands to slip.
“Be still. I know you not worried about this little tape.” I pulled the bandage, exposing his surgery wound. It was healing perfectly. A little bloody and swollen but that was normal. The tape would fall off on its own once the skin was healed.
“You are free to get in the shower, but it will be tricky with your broken leg. They did you a cast cover before you left the hospital,” I informed him as I ran alcohol down the wound site. It’d been more than twenty-four hours since the surgery. He didn’t respond, instead he just stared at me, making my body heat up under his gaze. I tried to ignore him the best I could as I cleaned the wound, but it was hard.
“Thank you,” he finally said.
“It’s no problem, Demetrius.”
“But it is. Even with everything we had going on, you hopped right in and did what you had to do for a nigga.” He touched my hand.
“You don’t have to thank me, Demetrius. I was never about to let you die. No matter how fucked up our shit is,” I replied.
“Always jumping in to help, being selfless. The loyalty always been top tier.”
His words made me blush, and I found myself running my finger down the side of his wound, tracing it. The incision site ran right through the tattoo he had on his torso. It was a reminder of how I’d almost lost him. A reminder of how much I loved him.
“Born to be a nurse. What can I say, it’s in me not on me.” I shrugged.
“Still, I appreciate it. Even what you did. Kidnapping me from the hospital. It’s a lot to do for a nigga you don’t have feelings for.”
“Didn’t nobody kidnap you from the hospital. You were released,” I replied. “And I have feelings for you Demetrius. I never said I didn’t.”