Okay! Here is the real next chapter since the last one was pretty short. There is swearing in this chapter, again too. So just be aware of that. I love you all so so much! I am so excited for Halloween. What are you guys gonna be for Halloween? I am going to be a half burned up and cut up pin up girl and the other side of my face is going to be perfect makeup and pristine! I'm excited. I love you all so much! Xoxo -Hannah
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CHAPTER 8: Ethan pulled off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of the hard plastic chair before settling back down, grimacing as his lower back protested.
He always hated hospitals and just one out of the many reasons were the chairs.
They were always a bitch to sit on and he was almost positive his ass was going to be permanently molded to the bottom of the chair.
God, when he was in some of the worst places possible, they managed to have chairs more comfortable than this, he thought with a growl as he shifted again.
Drake walked in just as Ethan was about to go all wrestler and smash it against the wall.
"How is she?" he rumbled, his deep and growly voice naturally bouncing off the tight confines of the waiting room walls.
Ethan sighed and raked a frustrated hand through his hair, shook his head.
"To be honest, I don't know. The last I saw of the damn doctor was when they were wheeling her away and all I was able to do was ask for a tox screen." He said with a growl and Drake shook his head as he shifted his big feet.
"Shit, man. I can't believe this happened at Cecily's charity fundraiser. Did you see anything?" he asked and Ethan held back a snort.
Oh, he had seen a whole lot and all of it was of blue eyes and beautiful black hair.
He snorted in disgust.
"No. That's the thing I can't believe. She was standing right next to me when it happened." He snarled.
Drake stared at his partner in disbelief. He had never seen Ethan this torn up before and he had never seen him foil a mission, either.
"She has gotten to you, hasn't she?" he asked quietly.
Ethan glanced up and a wry grin danced on his lips.
"Dude, she has gotten to me in every fuckin' way possible."
They were silent for a moment after that when a throat clearing had them looking up.
Sydney, who Ethan had learned as Alice's best friend, walked into the room, her gown swishing on the floor and her hands holding two cups of coffee that Ethan could smell from where he was standing.
She smiled and walked up as she quirked a brow, her eyes tired.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked and Drake cleared his throat and shook his head.
Sydney moved her gaze away from the monstrously sized man and to the blonde guy.
"You Alice's Ethan?" She asked and Ethan straightened, not only because he was being addressed, but because she had called him 'Alice's Ethan' and he couldn't deny the sharp pleasure that shot up his spine with the couple words.
"She talks about me?" he asked as a smirk pulled at his lips.
Sydney opened her mouth to reply when the doors swung open and an older man with silver hair and warm eyes entered the room wearing a white doctor's coat and holding a clipboard.
"Are you all with Ms. Amaro?" he asked and Sydney nodded her head before stepping forward, her eyes crinkled with worry.
"How is she? Is she okay?" Sydney asked, her voice rising.
The doctor only smiled at Sydney's concern for her friend.
"She is fine and she is going to be fine. When she came in her heart was weak and thready and she wasn't getting enough oxygen because her respiratory was depressed. We did a tox screen and she was drugged. Roofied to be exact." The doctor said and Ethan's hands clenched into fists by his side while Sydney grew rigid with anger.
No matter how tiny the girl was-she was feisty, Ethan thought in a flash away from his rage.
The doctor must have seen the impending danger with the murder flashing in Ethan's eyes because, hastily, he added, "It was a low dose. Would you like my thoughts?"
Ethan nodded.
"I think that this was meant to scare Alice-why, I wouldn't know, but I am sure you will figure it out." He said and Ethan gritted his teeth as more anger pushed at him, begging to be acknowledged.
"Now, she is still unconscious, but I suspect she will be waking soon. Any one person can go in with her." He said and then looked up from his clipboard.
"Has her family been notified?" he asked and Sydney nodded.
"Yes, they have."
She had to convince them to stay home until Alice called because Sydney knew Alice wouldn't want her parents coming here all worried so after about 10 minutes of telling them Alice was fine and would call as soon as she woke, they had-unhappily-given in. The doctor smiled with approval before he nodded his goodbye and left the room. Ethan took in a steadying breath. Right here and right now wasn't the place to release his anger. He turned to Sydney who now just looked tired, tired and relieved.
"I'm guessing you would like to go in and be the one person?" he asked and Sydney glanced up at him and opened her mouth, looking like she was going to agree when her mouth snapped shut and her gaze raked over Ethan again.
A smile curled at her lips.
"No, you go ahead. I want to go home and shower and get into some comfortable clothes." She said and looked like she was holding back a chuckle. Ethan bent to grab his suit jacket off of the back of Satan's ass torturer aka the hospital waiting room chair, even as he asked, "Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with her later."
Sydney's eyes twinkled as she handed him one of the coffees.
"Oh, I'm sure I won't hear the end of it." She said and the laughter she had been holding in finally came out, following Ethan as he walked to the elevator and got inside. He walked down the lengthy hallways, pushing down the memories that rose ruthlessly with the familiarity of the white tile floors and drab green painted walls.
Finally, Ethan stepped up to room 415 and opened the door, closing it with a soft 'click' behind him. He turned back around and found Alice laying on the bed.
She was covered with a white sheet and a blue knit blanket. Her skin was pale, a lot paler than usual and way too pale for Ethan's liking. Her eyes were closed, hiding the beautiful blue pools he was beginning to miss. He walked up, pale and silvery moonlight streaming through the windows and giving everything a haunted glow before he lifted a finger, unable to help it as he twirled a lock of black hair around his finger.
Just as he thought- it felt like cool silk. He let the soft hair fall back to the pillow and he sighed, before taking in a deep breath and clenching his hands into fists.
God, he was screwed. He was so completely and utterly fucking screwed.
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Alice woke slowly and with a throbbing head.
It felt like she had a million of oompa loompas performing a musical and using her skull as a drum. Her mouth tasted foul and her throat was so dry, it felt like she had ate sand. Slowly and with much caution, she opened her eyes.
The bed she was laying in was uncomfortable and she already felt an ache beginning in her lower back. The sheets were cool against her skin while the blue knit blanket that lay on top of her was warm. The pillowcases under her head were scratchy against her skin and the smell of a chemical disinfectant tickled her nose making her want to sneeze.
There was one large window on her right, showing the dark black velvet of night while the milky glow of moonlight filtered in to reflect against the white tiles she knew would feel life ice against her feet and toes.
She licked dry lips and moved her gaze slowly, methodically so the intense throbbing in her head didn't intensify and finally her gaze latched onto bright green eyes staring directly at her. Ethan Carter looked wonderful.
Wonderful and tired, she noted.
He had taken off his suit jacket and his tie so he only wore his dark creased dress pants and a crisp white dress shirt that was stretched taut against the muscles that lay underneath.
God, he was hot. But, as she continued her evaluation of him she noticed there was something dark about his eyes here-something cold that hadn't been there before. No, she realized. It had been there-this icy coldness, but now-here, for whatever reason his gaze was even colder and darker than usual. She didn't like that.
Not one bit.
She cleared her throat, breaking the silence of the room and hoping that she would tear his uncomfortably intense gaze from her face.
It didn't work.
She cursed silently before squaring her shoulders and scooting up on the bed so she wasn't flat on her back while they spoke. She didn't like that idea either. Or maybe she liked the idea of being flat on her back with him way too much. Pushing that warming and completely inappropriate thought away, Alice narrowed her eyes as much as she could with the horrible pain throbbing in her temple.
"What happened?" she asked in a low voice and even the sound of her voice grating her ears made her grimace as the oompa loompas increased their tempo.
Ethan slowly sat up straighter and gave her a smile that was strained and cold.
"You don't remember?" he asked quietly.
She shook her head, instantly regretting the motion as she did it and ignoring the warmth she felt seep into every pore and limb of her body when Ethan's eyes became concerned.
"No, I don't," she said and that was the truth. She remembered the charity fundraiser and dancing with Tony and Ethan, remembered hearing Anderson Drew's speech and then...there was a waiter and she had some champagne, then...darkness. Ethan's jaw clenched as he finally drop his beautiful green gaze to his hands.
Sighing deeply, he ran a hand over his hair and finally looked up so he could look her in the eye.
"You were drugged." He said simply and without any sugar coating. They both knew that any amount of sugar coating wouldn't be enough to help her out here or the situation.
Slowly, painfully, the softly uttered words penetrated the thick pain-filled haze of her brain and fear tightened every muscle in her body as her stomach rolled and bile burned the back of her throat. She pushed it down with force and swallowed hard.
"D-drugged?" her voice came out a terrified squeak.
Ethan nodded slowly as his neck flushed red with anger and his eyes glowed brightly holding the hottest yet coldest of rages.
"Yes." He growled and her lip quivered and her eyes stung as they filled with tears.
She didn't want anyone to see her cry and especially this beautiful and utterly infuriating man. She used anger to her advantage. Her eyes flashed to Ethan's spitting blue flames.
"Did you drug me? Wanted to get to third base easier and quicker without the niceties? You like your woman limp and asleep, investigator?" she snarled and instantly regretted her words.
Every muscle went still in Ethan's body and his head was down so she couldn't see his eyes, but when he did raise his eyes to her, the breath that she had been taking into her lungs after her rant froze, caught, and broke off completely in her chest at the frigid yet burning glowing green eyes she was met with.
Oh, he was pissed.
No, he was fucking furious. God! Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?
Slowly, Ethan stood and walked over to her bedside-not once taking his eyes off of hers. Her mouth clamped shut and it clamped shut tight.
For once, she thought with an internal snicker before that stopped, withered and died as Ethan came to a stop at her bedside. His arms shot out in a movement faster than she could comprehend, effectively caging her in.
The smell of him invaded her senses and flared every nerve ending until she was a crackling pile of electricity. She looked up, unwilling to look away from his unfathomable gaze.
"First," he whispered in a deceptively calm voice.
"Don't ever accuse me of drugging a woman or taking a woman while she is under any influence-especially drugs. I find that as the worst insult you could accuse me of," He leaned in close, so close she could smell the dark roast coffee on his breath-hot against her lips and something deep inside of her whimpered with want and longing. He moved his hand so that he was caressing her face with his thumb.
Softly his voice came out, but something deadly to her-like an ember on the wind waiting to catch on something soft and drifting to catch flame. She knew that she was that soft and drifting thing and she knew she would catch fire if he got any closer, that she was sure.
"Second, I wouldn't need a woman under any influence to want me or under any influence because she would be screaming for me to have her before the beginning of the night." He said and vaguely Alice heard her heart monitor sky-rocket beside her, a slow beeping that increased until it was a messy crescendo of noise, something completely similar to the feelings and warmth roiling inside of her. His lips were so close to hers and all she wanted was to feel them mold against her own.
Slowly, her hand came up to copy his action of holding her face and she ran her fingertips over the rough velvet of his skin before letting her hand fall to his chest so she could bunch the fabric in her hand.
God, she wanted him.
She wanted him to kiss her more than she had ever wanted anything in her entire life.
His nose brushed against hers and a soft sound came from her throat as her leg rose from the blankets, restless.
He growled low in his throat and bent to kiss her when the door slammed open.
She jumped and they smacked their foreheads together.
Both of them elicited a groan of pain as the nurse rushed in. She was a small petite woman, curvy with long brown hair.
Her eyes shot to Alice, the monitor and Ethan cradling his head on the floor.
Her cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I am so sorry! Her heart monitor was very high and I was worried something was wrong," she said and walked over, pink cheeked, to check Alice's vitals. "You gave everyone quite the scare. Especially this one." She said and nodded to Ethan, who looked away as his jaw tightened.
"Now, be careful." She said and gave a meaningful look to both of them even as bright pink spots bloomed on her cheeks and walked out of the room. The room was silent except for the soft jazz playing from another patient's room.
Surprisingly, Alice could hear it very well, even understand the lyrics.
It was smooth and romantic and made Alice want and long even more.
Ethan straightened and walked over to the large recliner and grabbed his suit coat before saying a quiet "Goodbye,".
Fear gripped Alice with an iron fist by the throat and before she knew what she was doing her hand had shot out and gripped Ethan's wrist.
He stopped, rigid and slowly looked down at her hand, her soft skin against his own. He didn't try to hold back his groan and Alice blushed as she swallowed and cleared her throat.
"Please," she said, voice cracking, "Stay with me. I do not-cannot be alone tonight." She said softly. Ethan stared at her for a moment, his eyes taking in every curve of her face before he sighed, nodded and managed a wry grin as he rumbled out a "Scoot over."
Alice obliged, confused.
She thought he would just sit down in the same chair, but instead he lifted the blankets, exposing her long bare legs to his hot gaze. He groaned again and Alice smiled inwardly before turning on her side so she was facing the window that was sprinkled with white snow. Alice felt him sit down on the bed, kick off his shoes before he maneuvered himself beside her.
She was so far on the side of the bed, one more centimeter and she would be on the floor.
Knowing all well he shouldn't, he chuckled deeply, shot out an arm and pulled her flush against him.
He growled and nuzzled the soft skin of her neck.
"Goodnight, Ethan." Alice whispered and felt him smirk against her neck.
Dangerous.
" 'Night babe." He whispered.
So unbelievably dangerous, she thought with a sleepy sigh and snuggled in.
She was in dangerous territory and god help her, she didn't care.
She didn't care at all.
He kissed her neck and she smiled as the darkness took reign over her again.
Not. At. All.
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AH! Omg! I kind of maybe totally LOVED writing this chapter! It was so fun to write and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I loved doing it and I cannot wait for you guys to see what I have in store! It is going to be great and I just hope with all of my heart you like it-that you love it! ;) Let me know if you have any questions or concerns-just feel free to contact me(: I love you all! Keep tuned for the so much more to come! VOTE. COMMENT. FOLLOW. SHARE. I love you guys so much! -Hannah :D