Cuff Me

I could still taste his lips, and the tang of his tongue fighting against mine. I don’t think I had ever gotten so turned on from making out. I was practically humping his leg just to relieve some of the pressure. He was just so warm and strong, his masculinity flooded through my veins and through my core. I wanted him so badly, as much as I wanted all of them—and I still wasn’t sure what to do about it.

I left the restroom and Dina was right there to corner me. “What’s up with you today?” She was chipper, always smiling.

I hoped I could be like that one day. Truly happy, as she was with her husband. I never really thought of things like that until a few weeks ago when I fell into a shitty situation, only diluted by the three men plaguing my every thought.

“Nothing. Just tired,” I lied.

I made my way back to the nurse’s station with her on my tail. She never gave up if she wanted information from someone. Especially me. It only took me a few minutes to finally spill.

“Someone was following me last night.” I took her to our usual hideout corner. I spoke quietly but she exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear, defeating the purpose. I managed not to roll my eyes.

“What? Are you serious?” She grasped my arm like I didn’t have feeling in my extremity. When I winced she pulled away apologetically, but her eyes were still wide with worry.

“Yeah. I was at the grocery store when I first thought someone was following me, but I thought I was just being paranoid. Turns out, I was right. When I got back home, I saw someone taking pictures of me from across the street,” I explained.

A heavy silence fell over us. It was different saying it out loud to her because she wasn’t directly involved in the situation, so it felt more real. Nate was there from the beginning, so I never had to really get into it with him. Dina just looked at me all worried and concerned, and I almost felt like I had to convince her that everything was okay. Even though I knew it really wasn’t, and I feared how things would turn out.

“Holy shit. Are you okay? Shouldn’t you be under protection or something? That’s serious shit!” she shrieked.

I almost smiled at her response. She was such a supportive person, and she didn’t even have to be. I appreciated that from her, and I wished I could show it in return. But to be honest, her life was pretty normal. I didn’t even think people like that existed anymore, but there she was right in front of me.

“I’m okay. And…the two cops and that detective I told you about have been watching me. Nate was there with me, but he didn’t say much before he left. They’re all trying to tell me as little as they can.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

It was ridiculous, but I understood where they were coming from. I knew they trusted me but part of their jobs, I figured, just wouldn’t let them tell me every detail of the case. There was something more, but I was still a witness in their case on the surface.

“Okay…it’s still super scary. Sorry, that doesn’t help?” she said almost to herself. “Who is Nate again? And the other two?” she added.

I sighed heavily. My chest tightened at the thought of them. I definitely needed some girl talk about it, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to reveal everything. I was even still on the fence myself.

“Nate is one of the cops. He’s…well, they’re all beautiful. I mean, I thought super sexy cops were a myth, but they aren’t. Nate and Max are like magazine cops with muscles and sexy eyes. Alex is the detective, he’s always dressed up in a suit, even with a vest. But…they’re all kind and protective. It was weird at first but…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? They sound amazing.” She giggled.

“Yeah, but it’s…isn’t it weird?” I said in a hushed whisper.

“Not really. It isn’t impossible. Lots of people are attracted to more than one man at the same time. As long as you don’t get your head all screwed up,” she added with a smile.

I grinned at the thought. “I think it already is.” I giggled.

“Hmm. As long as they’re there to protect you, that’s good. So, any other details?” She mocked a wink.

I just shook my head. “Yeah, right.” I hopped off the bed. “We should get back to work.”

It seemed as soon as I said it, the work came to us. Both of our pagers went off and we rushed into the ER. As soon as I saw the man being wheeled in, it was like being taken out of the room and transported back to that horrible morning.

The suit was almost exactly the same. Even the damned haircut. The only difference was that he wasn’t dead. In fact, he was screaming about just how alive he was.

“He tried to kill me!”

I thought he was just being hysterical, but he had a gun shot in his leg. I briefly noticed Dina nudging my side, and then leaving to take care of him when she saw I wasn’t responding. I knew I had to get out of my own head and focus. After a few calming breaths, I could.

“Sir, you need to stay calm, so we can take care of you.” I went into full nurse mode and tried to pretend like I wasn’t imagining him in a bunch of different scenarios.

Was he sent here on purpose to watch me? Anything was possible in my eyes.

“I was robbed. That dumb bastard…he took everything! The fucking Irish thug—I can’t believe this.”

At least he wasn’t yelling anymore, but he was still pretty hysterical. I was cleaning his wound and knew I would have to put him under because he wouldn’t keep still. The ER doctor wasn’t the most patient with those who didn’t stay still. The wound looked deep, and I hoped he wouldn’t need surgery or have any nerve damage. It was just above his knee on the side of his left thigh.