Fated Bliss (Bliss #2) (18 page)

Chapter 16

Samantha

What did he
expect? Was I supposed to give him googly eyes and breathe,
‘oh, Benny-boo, I’ve missed you so, so much’
?

Not happening.

I was beyond livid with him –
he’s in Bliss!
– but the pain was too horrible to do much about it.

At least I got in one good smack.

Ben’s face had a perfect pink handprint on it, giving me a great sense of satisfaction.

“Are you going to keep your cool so I can start the stitches?” Ben questioned, rubbing his sore cheek.

“Asshole,” I growled.

“Samantha…” he drawled, growing impatient.

Another thought struck me.

“Was this all some sick game to you? Was Lyric in on it?”

“Lyric?” His brows shot up, but he blanked his face quickly. “Samantha, now is not the time.”

I hated when he wiped his face of all emotion. It made me think he was hiding something.

Well, he had been. He never told me he lived in Bliss!

Bastard.

“Dad?” I heard questioned from behind Ben. The voice was identical to Ben’s, which was bizarre.

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, then shifted and turned around.

My jaw dropped.

Ben’s twin was standing there.

I hadn’t been hallucinating earlier. There really was a younger version of him.

Mind.

Officially.

Blown.

A brother, maybe?

“Is she gonna be okay?” Ben’s twin asked, his face ashen. “Dad…the blood…”

Dad?!

Utterly floored, my eyes pinged between them. There was no doubt about it – that was Ben’s kid. Okay, so they weren’t identical, but the similarities were astounding.

Ben’s a father?

Was that possible?

If Ben was honest with me, which I highly doubted now, he said he was thirty-two. That kid had to be at least sixteen or seventeen. All of that meant Ben had to be the same age when his son was born.

Yep.

Mind.

Blown.

When I assumed Ben had secrets, I would have
never
guessed this.

“She’ll be fine, Linc,” Ben told him. “Why don’t you wait in my office or the waiting room? I’ll get you when we’re finished.”

The kid gestured at me. “Is she mad at me? Is that why she slapped you?”

“No, Linc. She’s not upset about that. She’s mad at me,” Ben assured him, his tone gentle, concerned. He obviously loved his son deeply.

Linc still appeared confused and frightened, but he nodded and swiveled to leave. Before he walked out, he pointed sad eyes at me and said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that,” he motioned at my face and arm, “to happen. It was an accident.”

I softened towards him. The poor kid was beating himself up.

“I know you didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you,” I soothed him. “We’re cool.”

Wait?

Am I slurring?

I noticed a syringe in the nurse’s hand as she walked away. Pain meds, I reminded myself, feeling a whole lot loopier than I had a moment ago. But at least the pain was gone.

Thank God for small favors.

A smile brightened Linc’s face suddenly, capturing my full attention.

He was definitely his father’s kid.

Beautiful.

“Cool,” Linc repeated, then left the room.

“You are in so much trouble,” I slurred to Ben.

“I know, sweetheart,” Ben whispered, sighing in frustration. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“No.” I pointed at the door. “Him. You’re gonna have girls knockin’ on your door at all hours once they see him. They’ll be comin’ out of the woodwork. You two are dangerous to Bliss.”

Ben chuckled lowly, the sound causing a slight tremor to roll through me.

Yep, he still has a crazy power over me.

Continuing to chuckle, Ben sat back down on his stool and rolled it around to my right arm, growing nearer. He swept some hair from my face, pushing it behind my ear. His hands and face were comforting and so damn tender, reminding me of our night together. He did that then, and it had a profound effect on me.

You’re mad at him, Sam.

Right.

Mad.

But he’s so cute.

A grin tugged at Ben’s lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever been described as cute before. And I’m glad I have power over you, sweetheart. You’ve been driving me mad since I first saw you.”

My eyes widen. “Did I just say that out loud?” I whispered, horrified.

His grin spread into a full smile. “Yeah. The morphine’s starting to
really
kick in. It happens. How’s the pain?”

I stared at those plump lips of his, dreamily murmuring, “Hmm, pain…? What pain?”

Ben bit one of his luscious lips to keep from laughing, luring me in deeper. “Good.”

I would have probably done something illicit if someone hadn’t snarled, “Holy shit!”

I glanced over and saw Grey and Adam standing in the doorway, staring at me in horror. “Hey, you!” I gave them a finger wave. “What are you doin’ here?”

“She’s higher than a kite,” Adam stated, somewhat amused and shocked.

“I am?!” I breathed and glanced around. “No, I’m not. I’m lying…” I looked at the thing under me. “I’m lying on a gurney…?” My voice went up a higher octave in shock.

How did I get on this thing?

“She’s had a good amount of morphine,” Ben educated him.

“What happened?” Grey questioned, far from happy. “Your son didn’t say much, other than she was hurt.”

“She stepped on a rake in your parent’s yard,” Ben informed him, opening sterile packages and setting tools on the table next to us.

That’s one big needle.

Ben glanced at me and winked. “You’ll be fine. I’ll give you a local to get it good and numb in case the morphine doesn’t work. You won’t feel a thing.”

“Did I say that out loud again?” I whispered, my eyes huge.

“Yes,” he answered humorously.

“Hold on,” Grey interjected, his voice dark and disturbing. “A rake?”

Ben looked over his shoulder and elaborated, “She stepped on it, and it smacked her in the face. She stumbled and fell on a garden fork next. She was lucky it only got her arm.”

Grey and Adam walked around the side of Ben and stared down at my arm. “Holy shit,” Adam whispered, a tad green. “That’s a lot of blood.”

“It is,” Ben agreed. “But I’ll have her stitched up in no time.”

Adam shook his head and met my eyes. “A rake? Seriously, Sam?”

“A rake did that to her face?” Grey asked again, pissed and disbelieving.

“Uh oh,” I whispered to Adam and Ben. “He’s goin’ into big brother mode. Watch out! No one’s safe! Everyone, take cover!”

Adam gave me a lopsided grin. “It’s okay, sweet cheeks. I’ve got you.”

I wasn’t sure or not, but I thought I heard Ben whisper, “Sweet cheeks?” under his breath.

Adam shot Ben a quizzical look, so I assumed I hadn’t imagined it.

Oh! I needed to tell Adam! Adam knows why I’m mad at Ben.

I checked to make sure I didn’t speak aloud again, but no one was looking at me strangely.

I was good to go.

“Adam?” I beckoned him closer with a finger. Ben rolled backwards a little, giving Adam space to bend down. I tried to keep my voice really, really low when I told him, “That’s him,” and pointed at Ben.

I wasn’t as quiet as I would have liked, because Ben warned, “Samantha…”

“Him?” Adam questioned, confused.

“Yeah, remember…? London. Crazy monkey sex. So many orgasms it blew my mind. The guy disappearing. It’s Ben.”

I heard a growl, a deep, long sigh, and two distinct giggles.

Wait?

Is that me giggling?

Nope.

No giggling here.

“What in the everlovin’ fuck is she talkin’ about?” Grey barked.

“Oops,” I murmured, staring into Adam’s blue eyes. “I think they heard me.”

Adam ogled me strangely. “Really? Just figurin’ that out, Sam? You practically yelled it.”

“I did?”

“Yeah, sweet cheeks.”

I bit my lip and winced, groaning, “Ow, that hurt.” I touched my mouth and found it swollen and split. “And stop callin’ me sweet cheeks!”

Ignoring me, Adam glared at Ben and straightened, squaring his shoulders in aggression. “That was you?”

Ben closed his eyes and hung his head. “Dear Lord, this day can’t get any weirder.”

Grey was done being ignored. “What is she talkin’ about, Adam?”

“Look,” Ben grumbled. “Right now is not the time for any of this. I will happily answer everyone’s questions later, when Samantha’s better.” His hand circled my wrist as he rolled closer again.

“Get a different doctor,” Grey barked. “Get your hands off her!”

“I asked for a different doctor after I slapped him,” I informed him, then heard another giggle. I glanced over my shoulder and found Lily and Joan watching us in fascination. “Hi!” I called out and gave them a finger wave. “I forgot you were back there.”

“I didn’t,” Ben muttered, then explained to Grey, “I’m the only one here qualified to do her stitches.”

“I could do it in a pinch,” Lily offered.

I always loved Lily. She was the best Sunday school teacher.

“I’m glad you think so,” she told me, winking.

I pouted. “I said that out loud again, didn’t I?”

“You’re not helping, Lily,” Ben snarled and shot an
I’m in charge
look at Grey. “No one but me is doing the stitches. Now, if you two don’t shut up and let me help my patient, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“You’re kind a’ sexy when you’re bossy,” I voiced. “Who am I kiddin’ – you’re always hot. Those eyes alone sealed the deal. But when you’re talkin’ dirty and-”

Grey growled again.

“Oops,” I repeated.

“You’re not helping either, Samantha,” Ben informed me, back to being amused again.

“Right. Got it.” I made a motion with my good hand like I was zipping up my lips. “I’ll shut up now.”

“Good,” he murmured and pulled the gauze from my arm. Grey and Adam inhaled harshly, snagging my attention.

I followed their gazes to my arm, and my stomach roiled. “Oh, God,” I groaned between gags.

“Grab the trashcan!” Ben shouted, just in time, too.

I leaned over the gurney as a trashcan was thrust in front of my face and vomited. I proceeded to lay back down again and promptly pass out.

I shouldn’t have looked.

Chapter 17

Ben

Adam and Grey remained
quiet as I stitched Samantha’s arm, who was still unconscious, but the air in the room was thick with hostility. It was only a matter of time before the third degree began.

“Take her back and get an X-ray of her cheek and nose,” I told Lily as I slipped off my gloves and threw them away. “The swelling looks bad enough that I suspect a hairline fracture.”

“Sure thing,” she assured me and walked to the end of Samantha’s gurney.

Adam was kind enough to hold the door for Joan and Lily as they wheeled Samantha out of the room, but that kindness was about to end.

Three.

Two.

One.

“What in the hell happened in London?” Adam demanded.

“I was wonderin’ the same thing,” Grey added, shooting lava at Adam and me with his eyes.

“That isn’t something I owe you two.” I leveled them with my best
back off
glare. “If Samantha decides to relay my explanation after I speak with her, that’s her decision.”

“I don’t think so,” Grey objected. “You’re not gettin’ anywhere near her.”

I tilted my head to the side, not intimidated in the least. “Are you her brother or her keeper?” I let that resonate for a moment. “Samantha isn’t the type of woman that lets her big brother, or any man for that matter, order her around. She can make her choice for herself.”

I didn’t add that if she didn’t want to talk to me, I’d hound her until she finally caved. Samantha needed to hear me out. However, if the scene she made in here earlier was anything to go by, I wasn’t going to have too much trouble. I would have gotten a little more enjoyment out of the whole scenario if her brother wasn’t in the room.

Talk about uncomfortable.

“He’s got you there,” Adam allowed, assessing me with shrewd eyes. “It is up to Sam, though you’ve got an uphill battle. She’s not very happy with you.”

“No kidding?” I drawled and pointed at my face. “She made that perfectly clear when she came to and smacked me across the face.”

“Serves you right,” Grey grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

“Yes, it does,” I agreed. “I deserved it.”

That broke the ice somewhat, and both men deflated.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Grey questioned, unable to hide his worry.

“She’ll be fine.”

“Wait. She passed out. Does she have a concussion or something?” Adam asked, his agitation mounting.

“After listening to Linc and witnessing her reaction to her arm, I believe it was the blood.” I met Grey’s gaze. “Has she had that reaction in the past?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She can’t stand the sight.”

“Right. So, to answer your question,” I turned my attention to Adam, “no. But we need to keep a close eye on her and her arm.

The door opened suddenly, and Brad, Emma, and Lincoln rushed in. “Where’s Sam?” Emma asked, panicked.

“She’s back in X-ray, but she’s fine,” I explained. “She has a lot of bumps and bruises, and she’ll be sore for a while. It’s nothing life-threatening, though.”

“How did this happen?” Brad growled, a vein in his forehead protruding.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Lincoln shrink back.

Poor fella.

He needed to face this head on, though.

“Linc,” I prompted, “explain to Brad and Emma what happened.”

Wide-eyed, he stepped forward and approached Emma and Brad. “It was an accident,” he began and then proceeded to recall the events, putting on a brave face.

“Good God, boy,” Brad barked. “You’re like a whirlwind.”

I opened my mouth to defend Lincoln, but Emma beat me to it.

“Brad, do you not see the poor kid? He’s beatin’ himself up over this.” Emma cupped Lincoln’s face and smiled sadly. “It’s okay, Linc. Accidents happen all the time. You didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Lincoln swallowed hard. “I really am sorry. She surprised me, and then it all just happened. If I could go back and change it, I would.”

“I know,” Emma murmured.

God, how I wished my mother was like that with him, loving and affectionate. She just threw money at him.

I immediately brushed that notion aside.

“Right…” I cleared my voice, getting my head on straight. “So, Samantha should be back shortly. If her X-rays come back clean, she’ll be able to go home. She’ll need to be watched closely for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Someone should-”

“This isn’t our first ER visit,” Emma interjected, shooting a meaningful look at Adam and Grey. “These two had plenty of scrapes and bruises when they played football back in high school.”

Good to know.

“I’m going to write her a prescription for antibiotics and pain meds. She’ll need to keep her arm in a sling and rest it until the stitches are removed. It is imperative that she doesn’t strain her arm and that it heals properly.”

Adam snorted. “Good luck with that. She’ll hit the ground running once she’s back on our level again.”

“Back on our level?” Emma glanced at me, needing clarification.

“She received morphine. She was a little…loopy.”

“And informative,” Grey added under his breath. “
Too
informative.”

Kill me now.

I prayed he wouldn’t elaborate.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” I said before he had a chance. “I have some other patients I need to check on. You are more than welcome to wait here for Samantha.”

“Can I wait too, Dad?” Lincoln questioned, staring at me with big, innocent eyes. The poor kid was still freaked.

I rubbed his hair playfully. “Sure thing, bud.”

“Thank you, Ben,” Emma offered.

“My pleasure,” I assured her.

Once I was out of the room and away from prying eyes, I let out the breath I’d been holding since realizing my patient was Samantha.

She’s okay.

Just a few bumps and bruises, but she’s okay.

I couldn’t have dreamt the turn of events, but I needed to think this through. Her living in Bliss changed a lot of things – her being Brad and Emma’s daughter especially. Pops held them in high regard. Plus, Emma and Mom were once friends. This whole ordeal was one giant cluster-fuck. Add the fact that Samantha pretty much laid it out for her brother…

I’m so screwed.

I had a small bone to pick with Lyric, too. What Samantha said earlier still dumbfounded me. What did she tell Lyric that made her think this was a game? I know I didn’t say anything of the sort.

I opened the door to my office, having every intention of calling Lyric, when my name was called from down the hall. I glanced back and found Adam jogging my way.

Who is he to Samantha?

Their closeness caused an insane amount of jealousy to rise up in me. When he called her sweet cheeks earlier, I had to suppress the all-consuming rage overwhelming my system and force myself to remain seated.

Had they ever been intimate?

Although I was a man, I could still recognize Adam’s appeal. He was just as tall as me and in good physical condition. I was positive women found him attractive.

Did Samantha find him attractive?

They were obviously close enough that she told him about our night together, so maybe it was just friendship.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Adam questioned, breaking my thoughts.

I frowned when I noticed my death-grip on my doorknob. “Sure,” I answered, swinging my door the rest of the way open, and waved him in. “Follow me.”

He closed the door behind him and rested against it. I rounded my desk and took a seat, showing him that I still wasn’t intimidated by leaning back and letting my body language appear at ease.

“So…what can I do for you?” I prompted, though I had a good feeling he only wanted to talk about Samantha.

“Look,” Adam began, “Sam is a big girl, and she’s gonna do whatever the hell she wants to do – I won’t get in the way. Still, I think you need to understand a few things.”

“Adam-”

“When you didn’t call, she called me. She was hysterical.” My mouth snapped shut. “Sam isn’t the hysterical type. I’m sure you’ve already gathered that.”

“Yes, I have,” I agreed, feeling like an even bigger asshole for how everything went down.

“She’s gonna kill me when she finds out I said this to you, but it has to be said.” His eyes darkened dangerously. “You hurt her. Even though your time together was brief, she began to care for you, and you hurt her.”

I made my decision then and there – she was going to be mine. All of the facts, Brad, Emma, Pops, and even Lincoln, didn’t matter. I wanted her with every fiber of my being.

“I know,” I stated simply.

His face registered surprise. “You know?”

“Yes, I know.” I opened the top drawer of my desk and pulled out the notepad that sat on top of a stack of papers. “Before anything happened, I had a pretty clear understanding of her character. She doesn’t let people in that easily. She’s rather innocent when it comes to sex and dating, so she doesn’t do either much. Am I correct?”

He appeared even more surprised. “No, she doesn’t date
at all
. Especially after what her ex did to her.”

“Right, the Facebook asshole.”

Adam blanched. “She told you about that?”

“Yep.”

“Interesting.” He pursed his lips and eyed me oddly.

“For her to tell me that, to allow me into her bed…her body…she had to trust me to a degree. Am I right?”

“Yes,” he gritted out, not liking my wording.

“That meant something to me. Actually, it meant everything. You have no idea-” I cut myself off from saying things I shouldn’t mention about Gwen and my past, and I threw the notepad on my desk. “Look at that.”

“What is it?” he questioned suspiciously, stepping forward.

“Just look at it.” He picked it up and scanned it. “As I was saying, what Samantha and I shared meant a lot to me. She wasn’t the only one that started to develop feelings, feelings I wanted to explore. She’s extraordinary…
special
.” I rubbed my jaw, feeling uneasy. I was doing something I said I wouldn’t, but he came in here in hopes to get me to back down.

Well, that just wasn’t happening.

“I didn’t get around to telling Samantha that I was moving here. She didn’t divulge the name of the town she lived in, either – Samantha only said that she lived in North Carolina – so I was very surprised when she showed up here today.”

“If that’s true, then why the disappearin’ act? And what’s this?” He threw the notepad down on my desk.

“Like I said before, I need to explain that to Samantha. I’ve already given you more than I should have. I will say this – I had a good reason…an important reason.” I tapped the notepad with my fingers. “
This
is a list of all the B&Bs’ within a sixty-mile radius of Asheville. Well, all but the ones in Bliss.” A small smile snuck its way to my lips at the craziness of the situation. “There were two important facts Samantha gave to me about herself. One, she lived an hour outside of Asheville. Two, she owned a bed and breakfast. You can see that I’ve already crossed off a good portion of that list.”

His eyes widened, realization sinking in. “You’ve been lookin’ for her.”

“Yes. When I was able to call her finally, she had already checked out of her hotel and I couldn’t find her anywhere to explain. So, once I got here, I started searching. She deserved to know why I didn’t call. I knew that she would have felt used and betrayed, and that was the last thing I wanted.”

Adam fell into the chair in front of my desk, astonished. “Wow. That’s nuts.”

“Yes, it is.”

“So you had no idea she lived here.” He laughed, slapping his knee. “How in the world did that happen?”

I grinned. “Hell if I know. It about knocked me on my ass when I realized my patient was Samantha.”

“No kiddin’.” Slowly, he sobered and considered me again. “You care about her, don’t you?”

“Haven’t been able to stop thinking about her,” I told him truthfully. “She’s been driving me crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

“Sam’s special,” he murmured.

“I’ve said that already.”

“That, you did.” He chuckled again. “I’ll see what I can do about gettin’ Grey off your back. He’s only lookin’ out for her.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I shook my head, not wanting special favors. “This is my battle to fight. I’ll win both of them over eventually.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself, Doctor,” he remarked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“Not sure, determined,” I corrected him.

He grinned and leaned forward, snatching a pen off my desk. He scribbled something on the bottom of my notepad. “Here’s my number. You’re not what I expected, Ben. Not at all. We’ll grab beers at Bobby’s or somethin’.”