3. BONES

3

BONES

I can’t stop staring at the sleeping beauty in my bed. She’s not moved a muscle since I put her there hours ago. I should dress her or pull the blankets up, but all I want to do is admire her. Sitting here with my cock in my hand is excruciating. I’m so hard, but I can’t bring myself to finish like this.

The last thing I should be doing is touching myself when she doesn’t have a clue I’m here.

All I want is to sink inside her.

That’s the impulsive part of my brain talking again, making me try and act out every whim it has. I snap the hair tie, that I always keep on my wrist, a few times until that impulse starts to die down. It doesn’t always help, but lucky for me—or more so her—it’s worked to help calm the cravings for her.

There are things I need to do before I can make her fully mine.

Giving myself a final squeeze I imagine it’s her and not my hand, then I take a deep breath and zip up.

See, I knew I had some self-restraint.

I go to stand next to her and let my fingers graze up her body, over the myriad of bruises tarnishing her perfect skin. All the way up to her lips.

My phone buzzing in my pocket startles me back to reality. She doesn’t react to the sound at all and I know I can safely answer the call without her waking. The old fucker drugged her with some seriously heavy shit.

Checking the caller ID I see it’s Dean. That’s odd, he’s usually a text-only kind of guy.

“Miss me already?” I ask as I answer.

“Please, help me! Dean's hurt. I think he’s been shot or stabbed, I'm not sure. He's not moving, I don’t know what to do!” The woman on the other end is frantic, her voice high-pitched with panic and I’m pretty sure she’s crying.

It takes a moment to even register what she’s talking about.

Dean? The idiot. I fucking knew something was wrong back at the Abato estate.

“Shit, okay.” Pinching the bridge of my nose I think of what to do. I can only take a lucky guess that he's been shot rather than stabbed from all the gunfire that went down. “Does it look like the bullet's gone straight through?”

“Umm, I’m not sure, I think so, it looks like it hit his side. There’s so much blood.” I can see why he likes this girl so much. The crazy motherfucker gets off on the ones that cry a lot. And if she’s squeamish at the sight of blood then he’s really found his dream girl.

I’m surprised she’s calling me for help and not making a run for it. Guess things are as good as Dean believes they are.

“Okay, just keep pressure on it. I’ll call ahead to the hospital, you call for an ambulance as soon as I hang up.”

“But the police—won’t they—” Christ, he might actually bleed out if she doesn’t calm down.

“I’ll handle that, just take care of him.” I hang up on her and hope she actually uses some common sense to help him. There’s no point in me driving all the way there, he’d be gone by the time I arrived. But if she can get an ambulance there on time he should pull through.

My knees wobble and I have to sit on the bed. When I put my phone down my hands are shaking. I snap the hair tie a few more times to calm down.

Dean’s had plenty of scrapes before and I’m sure the girl is just overreacting, but there’s an anxious knot in my stomach.

Things have changed between us recently, but I still love the asshole.

I can’t lose my best friend.

I can’t lose anyone else.

Running my hand over my face, I sigh, “What a fucking night. Looks like I’ll have to leave you alone for a little while.” I stroke her forehead hoping to elicit some sort of response from her, but there’s still nothing. I’d think she was actually dead if it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Of her tight puckered nipples. Fuck me, I need some space.

Before I leave, I pull the covers over her and hope she doesn’t wake up before I get back.

“Is he going to be okay?” I recognize the tiny voice instantly as the woman on the phone. She’s only a little thing and she’s practically shaking as a nurse asks her questions.

Dean would want me to step in and help her. She’s his and that means she now has me to protect her as well.

Coming up behind her I clamp a hand down on her shoulder and her entire body turns to stone.

“She’s clearly in shock. Give the poor girl some time to process what's happening rather than bother her with questions.” I smile at the nurse, hoping it’ll make her leave as soon as possible.

“Yes, of course. I’ll let you know as soon as we know your husband's condition,” she says before scurrying off.

Wait, did she say husband? If they’ve gotten married and not told me, I’m going to be pissed.

Slowly the girl's mass of brown hair tips back as she peers up. Her big doe eyes make her look like she’s going to pass out at the sight of me. Bet if I said boo she’d buckle instantly.

I bend down and whisper in her ear, “Husband?”

She shrugs out of my grip and scowls up at me. Oh, how cute.

“Dean’s going to blow his load when he hears you've been telling everyone he’s your husband!” It's a struggle not to laugh. She’s fun to mess with. This is too good. Dean's so possessive of her and he’s going to hate that this is how I met her.

“I’m assuming you're Bones?” She keeps on scowling at me.

Giving her a once over I glimpse the bruises on her neck. They immediately make me think of my own girl back home. Anger rises inside me and I have to remind myself that if she didn’t want to be with Dean she could have already run tonight.

“You the sweet little sex slave he’s been pining over?”

“The what?” she gasps, her cheeks blushing red as she looks around nervously.

“You’re not the girl he snatched up?” I’m like ninety-nine percent positive she is, but it’s fun to tease her anyway.

“I—I am. I’m Willow. It’s not like that though.”

There’s some defiance in her eyes now. I wonder if my girl will ever feel this way about me?

“I know,” I say to help reassure her. I’m not about to kink shame the poor thing for being a pain slut. “How is he?”

Letting out a sigh, she says, “I don’t know, they won’t tell me anything. I heard them say he needs a blood transfusion. That’s not good is it?”

To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be quite that serious. The worries that I had beaten down on my way here start to resurface.

Not letting them show, I tell her, “I wouldn’t worry, darling. Knowing him he’ll be absolutely fine. He doesn't realize how lucky he has it.”

She looks about ready to collapse on me, so I lead her over to a row of plastic chairs in a quiet corridor. I don’t sit next to her. I’ve got too much energy to keep still. Hospitals make me agitated, always have since I woke up alone in one when I was only fifteen.

“What do you mean?” Judging by her expression, she really doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. How has he not told her about his condition?

I’ve always made sure to keep an extra eye on him when we’re on jobs together since he’s likely to get hurt and not know it. He can’t feel pain and he seems to think that makes him invincible, but it’s the opposite.

“Bullet wounds hurt like a bitch.” I shrug as I peer down at her. Again she just looks confused. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?” She quickly stands up, but her eyes roll back and she falls back down into the chair.

“You don’t look so good.” Although she’s in the best place if she does pass out, I’d rather not have to get anyone else involved right now. “Let me get you something. I need to find the Doc anyway.”

Leaving her to it I go to find a vending machine. She’s probably just in shock and needs some sugar.

On my search I bump into Luka Vincent, just the doctor I was looking for. I gave him a call when I was on my way here and he got everything sorted so no cops would be involved. He’s the one that always patches Dean and me up, no questions asked. I think that’s only because he doesn’t actually care to know the answers, not because he likes us. He’s a peculiar guy. All sunshine and rainbows to the general public and an absolute asshole when he’s hanging out with criminals like myself.

“Luka,” I grin at him and he rolls his eyes. Before he can walk away from me I loop my arm around his shoulders. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“I work here.”

Christ, he can’t take a joke.

“Seems like you got everything sorted for Dean.” I angle us towards the vending machines up ahead and buy some snacks for Willow.

He ducks out from under my arm and looks around. “You know it’s not the first time I’ve had to cover for him here.”

“How bad really is it?”

Straightening out his white lab coat, he says, “He’s in surgery, but he should pull through.”

I give him a few taps on the chest. “You've got a heart of gold in there…somewhere.”

“I just don’t have time to deal with you. Either of you.”

“Oh come on let me buy you a coffee to say thanks.” Pressing a couple buttons on the machine in front of me I buy him one then get a hot chocolate for Willow. She doesn't look like she’ll do well on coffee.

Holding the flimsy polystyrene cup out to Luka, he turns his nose up and starts walking away. “I’m good.”

"Could have said that before I bought the damn thing." It’s too hot, but I drink it anyway. The caffeine hit will do me good.

Hurrying after Luka I catch him as he turns the corner to where Willow sits with her head in her hands. “I didn’t realize he had anyone other than you in his life,” Luka says as he stares at her.

“She’s a recent addition. Make sure she's not left hanging around for answers. She deserves to know when he’s okay.”

“Fine.” His easy answer surprises me. Guess he’s also got a soft spot for sad girls.

“Just wait here one more sec, I need to talk to you about something.”

“I don’t have time—” I’m already walking away before he can finish his sentence. I give Willow her snacks and she eyes me nervously. Is my girl going to be this timid? I hope not. As fun as it is to tease like this, it does get boring pretty quickly.

When I head back to Luka, the blank stare he gives me sends a chill through my bones. “Seriously, I don’t have any time for this. I’ve got my own business to deal with without having to look after the pair of you. Talk to Dean when he’s awake, try and knock some sense into that thick skull of his. He can’t keep doing this, he’s really going to get himself killed.”

I know more than anyone that he’s right. No matter how many times I’ve told Dean to be careful over the years he never listens. He’s reckless and toys with death like it’s an old friend.

“I’ll try. Look I’m gonna need a favor. I need you for a house call as soon as you can.”

“You may pay me, but that doesn't mean I can drop everything whenever you need something.” Luka shoves his hands into the pockets of his white coat as he glares at me.

“I’ll pay you whatever you want. I’m serious. Name your price. I really need this.” I'll beg him on my knees if that’s what it takes. He’s one of the two people I trust to know about my captive situation. One has a bullet in him, so Luka’s the only one who can check her over.

He searches my face and eventually, his stiff posture loosens ever so slightly. "Anything I need to know ahead of time?”

I could kiss him right now. Wonder if he’d let me or if he’d punch my lights out right in the middle of his hospital?

I’m about to open my mouth to tell him about my girl when his gaze flicks towards Willow. The little thing is eavesdropping on us. “Later,” I say instead. I can text him the details once I’m out of here.

He nods and heads back to work, leaving me to check on Willow. I sit with her until she finally seems stable enough to be left alone. There’s no point in us both hanging around here. She’s not going anywhere, she’s seriously in love with him, even if she doesn’t seem to realize that.

My phone goes off and it’s a message from Luka’s pager with the amount he wants me to pay for his home visit. What would be an eye-watering sum for most is nothing to me. My knee bounces with anticipation and I can’t wait to get home.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” I tell Willow as I stand up.

“You're leaving? What am I supposed to do? What do I say if someone asks questions again?” She’s still jittery, but I think that’s just her natural state. No coffee was a good idea.

“Don’t worry. No one will bother you. I’ve made sure they’ll tell you straight away what’s happening. If you need anything ask for Doctor Vincent. The best thing you can do for Dean now is be here when he wakes up.”

I kinda feel sorry for leaving her alone, but I can’t just sit here. Dean will understand.