Men of Firehouse 44: Colby and Bianca's Story (10 page)

             
He slowly pulled away, licking his tongue over her lips and then smiled.  “Feel better all ready.  Wanna climb in bed with me and find out for yourself?”

             
Bianca laughed, and then pulled a chair close to the bed.

             
“Not the answer I was hoping for there, hot stuff.”

             
He watched her face grow serious.  Worried. 

             
“Are you, okay?”  She whispered.

             
“Don’t I act, okay?”

             
“You have oxygen on and an IV.”  She said pointing.

             
“Look I have smoke inhalation.  The oxygen is because it helps and the fluids are to just make sure any mucus I have in my lungs stay thin.  That’s all.  I really don’t think that is going to happen.  Usually, I’m outta here in the morning.”

             
Her eyes grew, and he knew he had just fucked up.  “Usually?  How often?”

             
And here it came.  “Honestly, once every few months or so one of us is in here.  It happens.  We don’t like it but that comes with the job.  It’s never serious.  Just observation.  If I wasn’t required to do this, I would walk out and go home because I would be fine.”

             
He watched her nod her head, twiddle her thumbs and look around the room all while her eyes swelled up with tears.

             
“Don’t.  Don’t do that.”  He quickly stood, pulling his oxygen off and wrapped his arms around her.  “You don’t have to worry.  I swear, I’m fine.”

             
“That’s what you say now.  What if next time it’s worse?”  She sniffled.

             
“There won’t be a worse next time.  This is about as bad as it gets.”  He turned them both, sitting down in the chair and pulling her into his lap.  He placed his hands on her cheeks staring into her eyes.  “It won’t get worse than this.  I promise.”

             
“How?  How do you know?”

             
He took a deep breath.  She was right, he didn’t know.  “I don’t.  But I trust my men to get me out when before it happens.”

             
“What if they don’t?”

             
“What if you walk into your class tomorrow and one of your students or parents pulls a gun and fires directly at you, killing you?”

             
He smiled when she rolled her eyes.  “Not likely to happen.”

             
“Really?  Have you watched the news lately?  It seems like more and more there are school shootings and it is usually a student doing the aiming.  It isn’t impossible.  So answer me this, how do you know that you won’t be the teacher killed protecting her students on tomorrows news?”

             
She smiled and sniffed again, “Because tomorrow is Sunday.” She laughed.

             
“Smart ass.”  He wrapped her tightly into his arms.  “I like it when you laugh.  I don’t enjoy seeing you cry.”

             
“I don’t’ enjoy seeing you making the news either, or being pulled from a burning building almost lifeless, but it happened.”

             
“You saw all that?  No wonder it freaked you out.  It always looks worse than it is.  Especially to someone without any medical training or experience.”

             
“That’s what they say, doesn’t make it any better though.”  She whispered.

             
“I can’t say that you won’t see me there again, but I can tell you this, I’m okay and because of me so is that little girl that was in that building as well.  To me, it was worth it.”

             
Bianca laughed again.

             
“What’s so funny?”  He asked, smoothing her hair from her face.

             
“That’s almost the same thing Crystal said when she drove me home.”

             
“Drove you home from where?”

-Bianca-

             
Shit! 
“Um… I was here earlier.  I left though.  I heard you talking with Drew and I freaked out and ran.”  Wasn’t her proudest thing to admit to, but her big mouth had put her there.  She hadn’t intended on telling him that part.

             
“Oh, I see.”

             
She turned her nose up into his neck, taking a breath of his scent.  He smelled like smoke and him mixed together.  Oddly enough, quite the turn on.

             
“Are you mad?”  She said, sitting up looking into his eyes.

             
He smiled.  “No.”

             
“Good.  Now you should get back in bed and put that thingy back in your nose.”  She went to stand, but he stopped her.

             
“No.  I should sit right here and hold you because it’s what you need.”

             
“Really?  You’re worried about what I need when you need that oxygen more than you need me in your lap right now.”

             
“No I don’t.  I need to know that you are okay.  That’s what I need.”  Then he smiled devilishly at her.  A hint of danger flashing in his eyes.  “And maybe something else.”

             
She laughed, standing quickly.  “I don’t think so.  You need rest so you can get out of here in the morning.  Bed. Now.”

             
“Mm. Yes, Ma’am.”  He stood, climbing back in the bed.  “I’ll stay here all night on one condition?”

             
Condition?  What does he want now?  “What?”

             
“You get your sexy ass in this bed with me and keep me company.”  He slid over, raising the blankets for her to get in.

             
“I don’t think your nurse would like that so much.”  Bianca said, raising a brow.

             
“I don’t care what she thinks.  The only person I care about is you.”

             
Her breath caught.  Had she just heard him right?  He cared about her?  Tears pricked her eyes again, and then her body was moving into the bed with him. 

             
She felt his strong arms wrap her up and everything felt like it should be.  She rolled to her side, letting him spoon her from behind.  His lips began kissing her neck, licking her ear lobe and for a second, she forgot where she was.

             
“Not happening, smoky.”  She laughed.  “Someone could walk in.”

             
His hand came over her side and gripped her breast, squeezing it as his mouth continued.  “Isn’t that the fun of it?”

             
“Maybe somewhere else, but not here.  I mean it, either cool it and put your other half away…”  She could already feel his erection pressing into her.  “Or, I’m about to have a long night in that chair.”

             
He growled, moving his hand to the flat of her abdomen.  “Fine.  Lonely night in the chair it is.  But you have to get up first.”  He gripped her tight, pulling her over to him, not giving her the time to take a breath before he covered her mouth with his.

             
She melted in his arms, realizing this was what she needed.  This was how she knew him.  Take charge and take what he wanted kind of guy. 

             
Their tongues mingled, she tasted of him and he was heavenly.  She gasped for air as he changed the position of his mouth, tilting her head slightly, giving him more access to her mouth.  Just his kiss alone was stirring her insides up again. 

             
Things were getting out of control quick when she felt herself begin grinding herself against his erection.  She forced herself to pull her mouth free.

             
“We have to stop.  Not here.”

             
She smiled as he playfully pouted but then gave in.

             
“Fine, but in the morning your ass is mine.”

             
She laughed and turned back on her side.  Her ass was his?  Did he mean literally? 

Chapter Twelve

-Colby-

              “So follow up with your primary in a couple of days and no work until you get a release.  Doc said he knows what happened last time and you aren’t about to be that sneaky this time.  He already called, Chief Rhodes and made him aware of your discharge instructions.”

             
“Go figure.”  Colby said.

             
“Don’t worry.  I’ll make sure he goes.”  Bianca smiled.

             
He looked at her and almost, almost took her dare.  He knew she was wanting him to argue the point, but he wasn’t about to bite her bait.  But he would bite something else the minute he got her back to his place.  Well, maybe not the moment.  He was sure Brutus would need out for a bit.

             
“Good.  Here is your paperwork, sign here and you’re good to go.”

             
He scribbled his signature and stood.  Thankfully, Drew and Brett had come by early and brought him a change of clothes.

    
They hadn’t stayed long because when they showed up, Bianca was still sleeping in his arms and he wanted it to stay that way.  So he whispered thank you and with his hand, gestured for them to go back out the door.  Both of them had looked down at her, smiled at him and then left.  He would hear about it later, he was sure.

             
“Let’s get out of here.”  He wrapped his arm around her and led her out.

             
He couldn’t wait to get her home, out of her clothes, and laying on his bed, or her bed for that matter.  He didn’t care where they were really, just as long as he got to do what he had wanted to do since the minute she had stepped into his hospital room.

             
Thankfully, the hospital wasn’t far away and they were quickly inside.  Bianca had stepped over to her apartment but promised to return quickly after Colby had lip locked her and threaten to kick her door down if she wasn’t back in ten minutes.

             
When she shut her door to her apartment, he went over to his.  When he opened the door, he had expected Brutus to jump all over him, but instead, the apartment was quiet.  He flipped on the switch and immediately saw the note laying there on the table.

             
Took Brutus with me for the night.  Chief said we could keep him at the station. Swing by and pick him up when you’re ready.

             
The note wasn’t signed, but he knew it was Drew’s writing.  A nice surprise for Colby.  He took a quick shower and made a decent pot of coffee all before he heard a knock on the door.

             
Of course, he hadn’t expected his mother to be standing there when he opened it wearing nothing but a towel and a smile.

             
“Mom!”

             
She wrapped her arms around him.  “Why is it that every time you wind up in the hospital, I either hear about it in the news or read about it in the morning edition?  I told you time and time again I would tear your hide up if you didn’t call me next time.”

             
He pulled back, “Mom, it’s not that bad.  It was nothing.”

             
He watched her anger grow, “Don’t you tell me it was nothing!  I ought to find a belt and give you a good hiding for that.”  Tears began to fill her eyes.

             
“Mom, don’t cry.”

             
He wrapped her back up in his arms, thinking women and hormones the entire time.  Then he watched Bianca turn the corner to his doorway.

             
She froze.

             
“Mom, I would like you to meet someone.”  He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around.  “Mom, this is my girlfriend, Bianca.   Bianca, this is my mother, Rose.”

             
He watched excitement fill his mother, the tears quickly dried as she wiped those that had fallen and then pulled Bianca into her arms.

             
Colby laughed when Bianca looked up at him in total shock. 
Did he just say girlfriend?

             
“Uh…Nice to meet you.”  Bianca said.

             
“Oh, it’s lovely to meet you.  I was beginning to think my son was gay.”  She laughed.

             
“Mother!”  Colby couldn’t believe she had said that.

             
She finally released her grip on Bianca and looked over at Colby.  “I had always heard how my son had a way with the ladies, but I had never seen him with one.  I was beginning to think they were nothing but rumors.”

             
“Oh, they aren’t rumors.”  Bianca said, keeping her eye on Colby.

             
Colby chuckled, she looked like she was begging him to save her.  “Come on, Mom.  Give her some room to get in the door.  I just made some coffee.”

             
“Coffee does sound lovely.”  She said, walking over and making herself at home.

             
“Sorry.”  Colby whispered.

             
“Me too.  You really need to go put some clothes on so I can think straight.”

             
Ah, ha.  So that had been it.  It wasn’t that she was shocked to see his mother, to meet his mother, it was him standing there all wet and basically naked that had her speechless.

             
“Wanna come help me.”  He teased.

             
“Not with your mother pouring our coffee.”

             
Colby laughed, turning to his bedroom.

             
He could hear them talking, but couldn’t exactly hear what they were saying, and to be honest with himself, he probably didn’t want to know.

-Bianca-

     “So Bianca
, dear, tell me about yourself and how you met my son.”  The tiny woman settled herself upon the couch and patted the cushion next to her.  “Knowing my son there has to be a story behind it.”  The twinkle in her eyes reminded Bianca of the look Colby would get from time to time, usually when he was up to something.

     Walking towards the kitchen, “Can I get you something to drink?” Stalling for
time, Bianca opened the refrigerator to inspect the contents. “Looks like we have orange juice or soft drinks and he just made coffee.” 

    
His mother smiled.  “Nothing for me, dear.  I have coffee already.”

    
Bianca glanced towards his mother, she knew there was no getting out of it. Pulling out a Pepsi, she popped the top and walked back to the couch.  This was not exactly what she had planned for this morning.  Nowhere close.  Damn it.

      By the time Colby walked from the bedroom
, the two women looked as if they had been best friends forever, Rose pressed a hand to her stomach as she laughed at something Bianca had said.  Tears were rolling down her face as Bianca described Colby coming to the rescue of Sunshine.

     As always the sight of him in his low-rise hip hugging jeans took her breath away.  The snug under armor he wore
, showed off the six-pack he worked hard to keep. His hair still damp from his shower hung in wavy tendrils to his shoulders.  Her hands itched to run her fingertips through it.

     “So
, what have you two been talking about?”  The nervous tone to his voice made Bianca think there was something he didn’t want his mother to tell her.

     “Don’t worry
, sweetheart, we haven’t had enough time to get into any deep dark secrets.” Winking at him, she made to stand as if she was leaving.

     “Oh please
, don’t leave on my account.  Join us for lunch.  I would love to hear more about Colby’s childhood.  I can just imagine what a handful he was.”  Not realizing how close he was, she stood and was immediately enclosed in his arms.  Leaning back against him felt natural.

      “I will show you a handful.” The words softly spoken for her ears only was enough to brighten her cheeks and moisten her panties.  “
Mom, if you leave, I’ll be in the doghouse and I would rather be in something else.”

             
“Colby!”  Bianca gasped.  How in the hell could he say something like that in front of his mother.  Men!

             
“Don’t worry about me.  He gets his sex drive from his father apparently.”  His mother chuckled.  “So back to lunch, what do we want?”

    
The decision was easily handled with a taco salad.  It was something that was easy and quick to throw together. 

    
Bianca and Rose gathered the ingredients they needed between the two apartments. The three of them gathered around the counter talking and laughing as they chopped vegetables, grated cheese, and fried hamburger.

     “I can’t remember when I have had such a good time with my
son.  He’s usually too busy for me.  Bianca, you must be just what he needed.  I may have to insist he keep you around if this keeps up.  The only other girlfriend I met was an evil woman, only interested in what was best for her.”

    
Bianca smiled, looking across the table at Colby.  She couldn’t tell how he felt about what his mom had just said.  His face was a blank slate.  He refused to meet her eyes, instead he stood and began clearing the table.

     “
Did I say something wrong?”  Rose, turned asking Colby.  Bianca just watched as Colby went about his task.  Then his mother stood and with teary eyes, excused herself to the bathroom. 

     “
Colby, what was that all about?  It’s not like she went into details about your past.  I know it’s none of my business but really, it wasn’t that bad.”  Taking her plate to the sink she reached out to touch his arm.  “Look at me.”

     Jerking his arm away he looked into her eyes.  “You’re right it is none of your business!  She had no business even bringing it up.
I don’t intend on talking about it either.  End of story!”  The pain in his eyes spoke volumes before being hidden behind the anger.

     Feeling a jolt of pain in her chest
, she backed away from him.  Tears welled in her eyes as he turned his back to her once again, and started washing the few dishes that were left.  She quietly and slowly, walked out the door.

   
She didn’t know if she was expecting him to come after her or not, but the fact that he hadn’t even noticed that she was gone, bothered her.  She wasn’t exactly sneaking out, the door had shut normally, and he had to have known.

             
She opened and closed her apartment door, leaning her back up against it, she didn’t bother fighting off the tears anymore.  The look in his eye when he had said, “You’re right it is none of your business!” caught her completely off guard.

             
It wasn’t like his mother had said anything wrong.  Hell, everyone had a past.  Bianca had a past.  An embarrassing past at that, and she had been honest with him.  Why couldn’t he just be honest with her?  And more importantly, how did this morning turn into this?

 
 
-Colby-

             
Colby turned around just in time to see the door close.  He wanted to go after her, but what was he supposed to say, sorry, I bit your head off, sorry, I’m such a dick.  He didn’t know what to say.  His mother knew that bringing
her
up was an issue.  He still had times when he wanted to get his hands around Stevens.               

             
Stevens had been his mentor when Colby had been just a rookie.  He never expected that while he was showing Colby the ropes, Stevens was using the ropes on Colby’s fiancé.  They had gotten together in high school and were together until that day.  The day when Colby came in and found his fiancé tied to the bed and Stevens whipping her with a flogger. 

             
She tried to tell him it was what she needed, that she needed to feel pain.  She had realized that about herself.  She even tried to tell him Stevens could teach him how to give her what she needed, but Colby wasn’t having any part of it. 

             
He didn’t have bad feelings against her for needing the pain, it was the going behind his back that bothered him.  She should have just told him to begin with.  Pain wasn’t a turn on for him, nor giving it, but they could have ended their relationship on better terms and moved on with their lives. 

             
“Well, not only were you able to make your mother cry, but your girlfriend as well.”  Rose bit out as she grabbed her purse and the overnight bag she had packed.

             
Colby turned, ready to bite back, but he could see the hurt all over her face.  Shit!

             
“Mom, don’t go.  I didn’t mean to be so grouchy.”  He stood there watching her stiffen her shoulders, and understood what she wanted. Needed. “I’m sorry.”