Strangers with Benefits (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “Fine. But since you have complaints, you do it.”

  She shrugged. “Okay, let me grab a few things.”

  She checked the bathroom and found a large tub that she filled with a plethora of things: bodywash, a cloth, and a bottle of lotion.

  When she had everything together, she poured a dollop of the wash into the bin and half filled it with water. She didn’t want to make a mess on his bed, so she grabbed towels and carried them with her.

  “I’m going to need your help here. You’ll have to roll a little left and a little right so I can put these under you. Okay?”

  “That’s fine.” But when he rolled left, she heard him hiss.

  “Take it easy.”

  “I am,” he spat out from between gritted teeth.

  When she finally got him settled, she used the cooling water and a cloth to rub gently over his exposed skin, what little there was of it.

  His hips were one large patch of rash red skin.

  “I have a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What the heck happened to you?”

  He sighed. “Might as well tell you. It’s a long story though.”

  “Where am I going tonight? Nowhere.”

  “I was on doubles the last two nights so I could have a longer weekend. When I was on the last part of the shift, I got a call to be OTL for a burgundy late model Ford with multiple occupants due to a robbery at a fast food joint earlier in the night.

  “When I was on patrol, I saw a car pass by that matched the description. It was a souped up thing, with a lot of money invested. But when I pulled behind the car, the driver started behaving erratically—”

  “I hate to interrupt, but what’s an OTL? And what exactly constitutes erratic driving?”

  He laughed and winced. “Sorry for the office speak. OTL means on the lookout. If there’s been a crime performed, officers are sent information to watch out for. In this case, the only real description of the perps was the car they got away in.

  “Now, driving erratic can mean a number of things. Anything from swerving to unnecessary lane changes. It’s hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.”

  “Okay. Gotcha, continue.”

  She slid the gown upward and looked at his unmarked torso before she squeezed the cloth and washed over the skin there.

  “Well, I turned on the lights and siren, then asked them to pull over with the loudspeaker. They kept driving for a few blocks, then stopped all of a sudden. I radioed in for backup due to the odd behaviors and walked to the car to get the information from the driver.

  “When I got to the side door, the window rolled down and I was the end of a small automatic. Old piece of shit misfired and I ducked, but not quickly enough. The backseat passenger came at me next, only his gun worked and I took a bullet to the collar, just above the Kevlar, then another in the arm.” She looked at the bandaged arm within its sling and she immediately felt grateful he hadn’t taken one to the face instead.

  “Wow. But I heard something about you being run over.”

  “Yeah. Well, I was pissed and I ran behind the car. When I popped off a clip in the back of the tires, the driver backed up and caught my belt in the muffler on my way down. They dragged me a half mile before I was able to wrangle myself loose.”

  “So they shot you and backed up over you, too? Overkill much?”

  “There’s no counting for how people think when they are on an adrenaline rush.”

  “Did they catch the fuckers?”

  “Probably. I took out the tires with my shots, so they didn’t get too far on sparking rims.” He grinned.

  “Good.”

  When she finished with the through soaping, she emptied the basin and refilled it with fresh water that she used to remove the soap residue from the cleaned skin. Once she felt he was clean enough, she emptied the basin and helped him to shrug on a fresh gown.

  “I can’t wait to get out of here,” he muttered.

  “Why? You tired of my bedside manner yet?”

  “Maybe.” He grinned and laid his head back on the pillow.

  “If you’re healthy enough to complain maybe you should give yourself the next sponge bath.”

  “Maybe I will. Or better yet, I can chain you to my side and when you get sick of the smell, you’ll cave.”

  “Probably, but you’re weaker than a newborn baby. I think I could take you.”

  “If you feel Froggy, then jump woman.”

  “I—”

  “Are you terrorizing your nurses again?” Sidonie looked up, where a diminutive woman waited by the door.

  One look at her told her all she needed to know. It was Den’s mother. The woman was clearly of Asian descent, but she had an Americanized look to her that led Sidonie to believe she was native Carolinian born and her accent only confirmed it.

  “No, Mom,” he said with a sheepish tone that her son used when he was in the wrong.

  “Yes, he has, Mrs. McTavish,” Sidonie joked.

  “Hi, darling. So nice to meet you. I’ll make sure that when he’s back on his feet that he apologizes.”

  “No need. He already did,” she lied.

  “Well, that’s a new one.” The woman shuffled into the room and Sidonie offered her the seat that had slept in just a little while before. “Did you have anything to eat, Dennis Veera?”

  Sidonie chucked. Den pursed his lips slightly. “Yes, ma’am, Sidonie here refused to let me go without eating and fed me herself.”

  “I’m just going to go.” Sidonie picked her purse up and sidled for the door.

  “Wait.” Den’s tone brooked no argument.

  “What?”

  “Are you going back home now?”

  “Since your parents have arrived, I think it would be for the best.”

  He seemed disappointed, but said nothing.

  “It was nice meeting you, Mrs. McTavish.”

  She opened the door, where a huge man stood with his hand on the knob.

  “Sorry, sir.” She opened it wider to admit him entry.

  “No problem, miss.” It was funny, Den looked just like his father, but at a smaller size. He was about halfway between his mother’s diminutive height and his father’s hulking stature. He had inherited the man’s curls as well, even though the elder McTavish had a ginger hue to his locks instead of the coal color that Den sported.

  “Sidonie, don’t go,” Den demanded, even as the statement was blatantly vulnerable. How could she say no to that?

  She turned back and looked at Den just before she dropped her eyes. “I’ll just go downstairs and catch some air while you talk to your folks. But I have to go home tomorrow.” She could likely convince her BFF to stay at her place and just go to work from there in the morning. With a quick jaunt, she could be home by three when school let out.

  Chapter Twelve:

  DENial

  As soon as he woke up in the hospital, Den’s first thought was about Sidonie and not even about the painful fact that he had been shot.

  His second thought? Well, he almost freaked out when he saw the IVs that had been inserted in his hands. He hated needles and the idea of being pricked with them while he was unconscious made him a bit disgusted, not mention nauseous.

  Den looked at his parents and knew they were worried. His dad wouldn’t say a thing, but that was his way. Pa was the salt of the earth, a man that ate a steak and potato almost every night for years, until his heart couldn’t take the rich butter or extra salt.

  His mother was a softie. She was a quiet woman and most that knew the couple would think their father wore the pants in their family, but they would be wrong. His mom ran the home with an iron fist and brass knuckles batted in cotton so no one saw it coming.

  Although, when he thought about it, Sidonie was exactly the same. She was a sweet and gentle creature, but under the adorable veneer was a spine of steel and a wit that only those closest to her would ever see.

  She might be a city girl
, but she had county values.

  And he liked it.

  He especially liked knowing she was nearby. He wasn’t surprised that she drove to see him. She was loyal. But despite all of that, she put up with his bad attitude and even talked shit back. It was nice to be able to have a woman really get him and enjoy his sense of humor.

  Most women that would get him were LEOs themselves, but he didn’t like the idea of dating another officer. When he came home, he wanted to wash the day away instead of rehashing arrests or discussing the job.

  “So who is Sidonie?” his mother asked and Den looked at her blankly for a moment.

  “Sorry, went off there for a sec.” Sounds like I picked up more than one thing from her.

  “I saw. But I noticed she was dressed in her regular clothes, not the uniforms these girls usually wear.”

  “She’s my girlfriend.”

  His father’s brow furred up for a moment, but he didn’t say anything. His mother, on the other hand, clapped her wrinkled hands together.

  “Really? How come I’m just hearing about her? Earl, did Dennis say anything about a girlfriend and I missed it?”

  “Naw, honey. He didn’t say anything to me neither.”

  His parents were usually pretty familiar with his girlfriends, as there were only a handful that were around long enough to meet them.

  “It’s recent,” he muttered to let them know it wasn’t up for discussion.

  There was a quick knock at the door.

  “Hey. I came to check you out.” It was Anna. The woman was nice enough, but he hated being fussed over. Expect for when Sidonie did it.

  For some reason, it felt okay to have her bathe him like a child. That didn’t mean he liked it. But her hands on him were more tolerable than those of anyone else.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Nope. None at all.” Anna winked and quickly checked each monitor and jabbed on the tablet. Then she looked at the bandages and smiled. “Looks like Sidonie got the job done. I see you’re nice and clean. She even got your ears.”

  Den wanted to curse the woman out, but he grunted instead. His ears weren’t dirty to begin with.

  “I see the tray is clean. She must have gotten you nice and full, huh?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted.

  “What’s your pain level on this chart?”

  “Really?” he asked her, didn’t even try to hide the scorn he felt, and his mom tsked.

  “Dennis Veera McTavish? You know better than that.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He looked back at the nurse and smiled, a bitter baring of teeth and looked at the numbers on the childish chart. There were a series of faces all in varying frowns and he picked one in the middle to shut the nurse up. “Five.”

  Anna beamed and Den knew she enjoyed his embarrassment as her grin said it all. Fuck it, she deserved the tiny victory. “Would you like to remove the catheter?”

  “That would be nice.”

  He would like use of his penis again, even if it hurt when they took it out, couldn’t be any worse than seeing a woman empty a bag that contained the contents of his bladder had shredded his ego.

  “Okay, I’ll be back in a bit to take it out. I want to give you a chance to empty your bladder from dinner first.”

  He knew it was going to hurt, but delaying the removal wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. The only reason he kept his mouth shut was the face of his mother as she looked over him with worry in her eyes.

  His pa would kick his ass if he hurt his mom, and rightfully so.

  Den sighed. It was going to be a long night.

  He wondered what Sidonie was up to. Her word was good and he knew she would return, but she didn’t say when. His father grunted and shifted in the chair as his mother walked back and forth and he knew the lecture was about to begin.

  His mother told him that he was going to get hurt as an officer and while he knew that was a possibility, he had done everything he could to prevent himself from getting injured. It wasn’t always an option to play it safe, his career called for him to rush in where others would rush out.

  And that was part of what he loved about it. He got the chance to feel like a superhero even if he was only human.

  He got the chance to help other people with their problems, to make sure that people could feel protected.

  It was a good fit for him, in a way the farm never could be.

  He could run the farm with his eyes closed. It was a lot of work, but he knew it like the back of his hand, knew it the same way he could break down and clean his weapon with his eyes closed.

  He knew how to fix every broken part on any tractor on the property. He knew how to rotate the fields for the next ten years off the top of his head.

  But that wasn’t the life he envisioned for himself, not even now, when he was faced with his own mortality. His arm ached and he wanted to push the button for more meds, but he wouldn’t do it. Not with his folks hovering around him and fearful for his wellbeing.

  There was a soft knock on the door and when it opened, Sidonie popped in. His heart started racing before he knew it and the monitor picked up the faster pace with a beep.

  “Hey. Sorry it took so long.”

  “Come here.”

  She walked to the side of his bed and he wished the arm on that side didn’t hurt so much so he could rub her balled up fists.

  Sidonie looked down at him. “When was the last time you took your meds?” She knew him all too well for someone who had only been around for a month.

  “I haven’t.”

  She huffed. “You’re a blockhead.” She pushed the button to release the pain medication.

  Within seconds, he relaxed and his troubles drifted away. He was still awake, but not truly aware.

  He looked at the twinkle in Sidonie’s eyes and wanted to feel her warmth. Was him, or was it cold in here? “Will you lay down with me?” he asked her and she flushed.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Den.”

  “But you’re so purr-tyy.” He heard the slur in his words, but he found he didn’t care.

  Sidonie laughed. “Thanks, hon, but I don’t think your parents want to watch us cuddle on your tiny bed.”

  “They won’t care… Ask em.” He chuckled.

  “Go to sleep, Den.”

  “Never! Unless you come to bed with me.”

  “Uh, how about you just rest for a minute and then I’ll get in when I put on my PJ’s.” He knew she humored him, but he was serious.

  “Then gimme a kiss.” She chuckled, but dropped her lips to his and gave him a stingy peck that she ended with a buss on his nose.

  “Your Pa and I are going to grab something to eat. We drove straight through to get here and didn’t stop, except to gas the RV.”

  “Y’all can stay at my place if you want. Sidonie made chili,” he mumbled, although he had no idea why he’d made the offer, even though it came out of the blue.

  “That chili is four days old, Den.”

  “So? Still good,” he muttered. It was. He had planned on having a bowl when he got off work that night.

  Sidonie shook her head.

  “I’ll be back.” She rubbed her fingers over his, gently enough that he about didn’t feel the touch at all.

  “Where you headed?”

  She chuckled. “To the bathroom, if you can stand me being away that long.”

  “Nope,” he groused.

  “Too bad.”

  She disappeared and he heard the water turn on, but that was all he remembered, despite the fact that he struggled to stay awake.

  Before his eyes closed, he looked at his mother. “Momma?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Don’t let her leave.”

  “I won’t.” The other woman chuckled as he drifted away.

  When he came to, he had an odd urge to pee. It was odd because he hadn’t had to in what seemed like forever. But he lifted the blanket with his decent hand and realized Anna must
have removed the catheter while he was drifting in and out at some point.

  He tried to sit up, but that was a struggle.

  “Huh? What’s wrong?” He looked over and realized Sidonie was still at his bedside.

  “Gotta piss.”

  “Oh, yeah. Anna took out the catheter. You can get up and go to the bathroom or I can bring you a bed pan.”

  Those weren’t really choices, as he had zero desire to use a bed pan.

  “Help me up.”

  She got up and shuffled over to the other side of the bed, where all of the IV’s hung and she slid them away. Then she lowered the bed with the remote.

  “Okay. I’m going to help you, but I’m not as strong as you, okay? So it’s going to take some work.”

  “Please.”

  “Since you asked so nicely.”

  It took almost three minutes to get him upright and standing and another two to shuffle at a snail’s pace to the bathroom door. She got him in front of the toilet.

  “Think you can aim?”

  “I can try,” he muttered.

  “I’ll help.” She lifted the front of the gown and grabbed his penis.

  Yeah, it was a penis. No way was the pitiful thing a cock at the moment.

  She held it over the basin. “Go for it.”

  He did, and cursed a blue streak. “Fuck! That burns like hell!”

  “I bet. Shouldn’t be so bad the next time though. Do you need to do anything else?”

  “You askin’ if I have to shit?”

  She flushed. “Yes, actually I am.”

  “No,” he grumbled.

  “Want to brush your teeth?”

  He rubbed his tongue over his teeth and the buildup told him he had to. “I guess.”

  She grabbed a brush from the sink and spread a dollop of paste. “You okay to do it for yourself?”

  “Yeah,” he grumbled, he should be able to do at least that.

  “Okay. I’m just going to stand here with you. Then we can go back to bed.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Sevenish.”

  “Can I have the real time?”

  “Yeah, when you take your sorry attitude back into the other room we can check together.”

  “Sorry, Sid.”

  “Hm,” she mumbled.

  But she never left his side. Instead, she placed her arm around his chest and helped him to stand upright in front of the sink. His hip was in major pain and the fact he burned himself pretty badly on the asphalt had not helped the situation any.