Chapter 5

Chapter 5

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I stared at the dead phone. The distorted voice kept echoing in my head. Stop digging… next time the syringe won’t miss. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out. The hospital room felt too quiet now, too dark. Every shadow looked like it could hide another intruder.

I pressed the call button hard. Nothing happened fast enough. Tears stung my eyes. My broken leg throbbed, my ribs ached, and fear sat heavy in my soft belly. Why was this happening to me? I was just a nurse trying to live my life. I didn’t dig into anything. I couldn’t even remember the crash clearly.

The door opened fast. Ethan rushed in, his face tight with worry. He must have been close by. “Lila? What’s wrong? The monitor spiked again.”

I grabbed his hand the second he reached the bed. His skin felt warm and strong. “Someone called. They threatened me. Said to stop digging into the accident or they’d come back. They mentioned you too.”

Ethan’s jaw hardened. He sat on the bed and pulled me carefully into his arms again. I melted against his chest, my heavy breasts pressing soft against him through the thin gown. His hand rubbed my back, then moved lower, resting on the wide curve of my hip like it belonged there.

“Shh. Breathe for me,” he whispered. “I’m right here. No one is touching you again.”

I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his clean scent. Even scared, my body reacted to him. The way his fingers traced slow circles on my side sent little sparks through me. He held me tighter, one big hand sliding down to squeeze the softness of my thigh just above the cast. Gentle but hungry.

“You’re so warm,” he murmured against my hair. “So fucking soft everywhere. It makes me want to wrap myself around you and never let go.”

His words cut through the fear a little. I looked up at him. Those piercing blue eyes stared back, full of protectiveness and something hotter. “Ethan… I’m scared. But when you touch me like this, I forget everything else.”

He leaned down and kissed me. Not soft this time. Deep and demanding. His tongue slipped into my mouth as his hand moved up, cupping one of my heavy breasts through the gown. He groaned low in his throat when he felt the weight of it.

“These are perfect,” he said against my lips. “Full and soft. I’ve been thinking about them since I first saw you.” His thumb brushed over my nipple, making it harden instantly. Pleasure shot straight between my legs. I moaned quietly, my thick thighs pressing together under the sheet.

He kept kissing me while his hand explored. He pushed the gown lower on one side, exposing more of my caramel skin and the top of my breast. When his mouth moved down to kiss the soft flesh there, I gasped. His tongue traced slow circles, teasing but not quite giving me everything I suddenly craved.

“You taste so good,” he whispered. “I want to bury my face between these thighs and worship you until you can’t think about anything but my name.”

My body was on fire. Wetness pooled between my legs. No man had ever made me feel this desired. My soft belly, wide hips, thick curves — Ethan touched them like they turned him on more than anything. His hand slid under the sheet and rested on my bare thigh, squeezing the fullness there.

But then he pulled back with a frustrated breath. “We can’t go further here. Not yet. Not while you’re still healing and there are threats around us.” He fixed my gown and pulled the sheet up, but his eyes still burned. “Soon, Lila. When you’re stronger, I’m going to take my time with every inch of this beautiful body.”

I nodded, breathing hard. The fear was still there, but now mixed with need. “What are we going to do about the call? The police?”

“I’ll handle it,” he said firmly. “I have connections. For now, you stay in this room. I’m moving you to a more secure wing today. And I’m assigning a private guard outside your door.”

He stayed with me for the next hour, helping the nurses move me to a new room on a higher floor. It had better security and a nicer view of the city. Once we were alone again, he helped me eat breakfast, feeding me bites when my hands still shook too much.

“You don’t have to do all this,” I told him.

“I want to.” His fingers brushed my lips as he gave me water. “You’re under my skin now, Lila. Your curves, your strength, your smile. All of it.”

The morning passed with tests and doctors checking on me. Ethan stayed professional when others were around, but every chance he got alone, his hands found me. A squeeze on my waist. A kiss on my neck. Light touches that promised more.

By afternoon, I felt a little braver. “Tell me about you,” I said while he checked my leg. “Why does a man like you want someone like me?”

He looked up, serious. “Because you’re real. Most women I’ve dated were all surface. You… you feel like home. Soft. Warm. The kind of body a man can lose himself in.” His hand rested on my belly, gently rubbing the soft curve. “And I love this. All of it.”

His pager went off again. Another emergency. He kissed my forehead and left, promising to return soon.

I tried to rest, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. The threat from the call kept coming back. Who wanted me dead? Was it connected to the hospital? To Ethan’s past?

Evening came. The new guard stood outside my door. I felt safer, but still on edge.

Then my phone buzzed again. Another unknown number.

I shouldn’t have answered. But I did.

The same distorted voice spoke, colder this time. “Nice new room, Lila. Pretty view. Tell the good doctor his family secrets are about to come out. And you’ll bleed for them.”

The line went dead.

I dropped the phone, panic rising fast. How did they know about the new room? How were they watching me?

The door opened. Ethan walked in, smiling at first. But his face changed when he saw my expression.

“Lila? What happened?”

Before I could answer, the lights in the room flickered once. Then twice.

And the heart monitor started screaming.