Page 15 of Spade
“Well, my house had a few extra beds, and you’d be welcome to pick your favorite,” he said. Cynthia wondered if one of her choices might be his bed, but asking him that didn’t seem like a good idea. “It won’t be forever. Just until Razor and I can figure out who did this to you.” He had a point. If someone was after her, she’d need a place to lye low until the cops could figure out who it was.
She sighed, “Fine,” she breathed. “I’ll go back to your place with you, but I’ll need a few things from my apartment. Would you mind stopping by there so I can pack what I need?”
“Not a problem,” he almost whispered. Spade seemed shy again, almost like the first day he met her at Ink’s shop. She liked that side of him for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that she made him nervous, or maybe it was that he was showing her a side of him that most people probably didn’t get to see. Not only was he a biker, but he was an undercover cop. He had a hard exterior that she got to see through, and for some crazy reason, that made her hot.
The nurse walked into the room holding up some papers. “Who’s ready to get out of here?” she asked. Cynthia enthusiastically raised her hand, making the nurse and Spade laugh. “You’ll need to have someone stay with you for the next few days until you see your primary care doctor for a follow-up. You’ll need more bloodwork done in about three to four days, and then, if you get the all-clear, you’ll be able to live on your own again. Do you have anyone to stay with you?” the nurse asked Cynthia. She was talking to her, but looking at Spade as if she expected him to volunteer.
“She’s staying with me,” Spade insisted.
“Great,” the nurse said. “Well, I’ll go over the paperwork with you both, and then, we can get you out of here.”
“Thank you,” Cynthia said. She wasn’t sure that she had made the right call about staying with Spade until this very moment when he sat on the edge of the bed with her to study the papers that the nurse handed to her. He asked questions, and all she wanted to do was sit and sigh at how he was willing to take care of her—especially after the way that she treated him by lying about a boyfriend. Maybe Ink was right. Maybe Spade was a good guy, and she just needed to give him a chance. Hopefully, this time, she wouldn’t get her heart broken.
They had stopped by her apartment and Spade helped her to quickly pack a week’s worth of things. He wanted her to pack more, but she didn’t want to assume that she’d be there longer than that. She was amazed at how close they lived as he drove five minutes down the road to his neighborhood.
“You live in a gated community?” she asked as he punched in the code to get in.
“Yeah, as an undercover cop, I can’t be too careful,” he admitted. She had never thought about that before—not that she had met any other undercover cops. One thing was for sure—Spade would be able to keep her safe at his home, and she was happy that he pushed her to stay with him.
“This is my place,” Spade said, parking his car in the driveway. He cut the engine and stared at his house as though seeing it for the first time. “It’s not much, but it’s home.” She could tell that Spade was nervous but had no idea why. He had nothing to be nervous about. Cynthia thought it was wonderful. Her tiny apartment could never compare to his house.
“Your house is beautiful,” she almost whispered. “Are you sure that you want me to stay here with you?”
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation. “I’d like you to stay here for as long as you’d like. I mean, it’s the only way to keep you safe until we can figure out who drugged you.” For a split second, she thought that he was asking her to move in with him, but that would be ridiculous—the barely knew each other, no matter how badly her body wanted him, her mind was being rational and telling her that she was being foolish.
“I appreciate that,” she said. Cynthia did too. The thought of going back to her apartment alone right now scared the hell out of her. But the question remained—was the person who drugged her drink out to get her specifically? “We can’t be sure that drink was meant for me. What if someone was just being a jerk and trying to drug anyone in the bar that night? Ink picked those drinks randomly. Heck, he could have given one to Charlie, and then, she would have been the one in the hospital. I don’t believe that I was actually a target in all this. I think that it’s more like I just have bad luck.”
“I agree with you on some level, but we need to be sure. If you’re right, then you’ll be able to get back to your life soon. Don’t you want to be sure that you weren’t the target though?”
She sighed, “Yes,” she admitted.
“Good,” he said, getting out of the car. “I’m going to grab your bag from the trunk, and then, I’ll help you into the house.” She wanted to protest and tell him that really wasn’t necessary, but he had already got out of the car and shut the door. She was going to have to convince him that she wasn’t an invalid, but she had a feeling that it would take some time.
He showed her around his home, and she had to admit, it was pretty great. It didn’t look like the bachelor pad that she was expecting. Spade stayed true to his word and let her pick the bedroom that she wanted to stay in, and she chose the oneacross from the master bedroom. Maybe she was acting foolish, but staying close to him made her feel safer.
“Thank you for doing all this for me,” she said. It was only late afternoon, but she was exhausted. “Do you mind if I get some sleep? I think the trip home has worn me out.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “When you wake up, I’ll make us some dinner. Do you need anything?” She wanted to ask him to sit in the room with her, but she thought better of it.
“No, thank you,” she said.
“No problem. If you think of anything, I’ll be in my bedroom.” He walked out of her room, pulling the door shut behind himself. And Cynthia sat down on the bed. She pulled off her shoes and stripped down to her shirt and panties, which she usually slept in, and got under the covers. Sleep quickly found her as she let herself relax for the first time in days. She felt safe at Spade’s house and that said a lot about the man who was quickly becoming a big part of her world, even though she fought that from happening with all her might. He still found a way to break down her defenses, and for that, she was grateful.
“Hey,” a voice whispered into her ear, “wake up, Cynthia.” She’d know that sexy, deep voice anywhere—Spade. He appeared in her nightly dreams, but she was sure that wasn’t what was happening right now. No, this time, she knew that he was close, and she opened her eyes to find him lying next to her in bed.
“What happened?” she asked. “Why are you in my bed?” Cynthia sat up and looked around the room. She wasn’t in her room anymore. She was in Spade’s room, and she wondered how she had gotten there.
“You’re in my bed,” he corrected.
“How did I get into your bed?” she asked. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep, thinking about how safe she felt in Spade’s house.
“No clue,” he admitted. “I was downstairs prepping dinner and when I came back up to my room, you were in my bed. So, I decided to let you sleep and take a little nap myself. I didn’t get much sleep in that awful chair at the hospital.”
Cynthia lay back next to him and Spade wrapped his arms around her body, tugging her close. He was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her face. “Did you have a bad dream or something?” he asked.
She shrugged, “No clue,” she admitted. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and sighed. “Is this okay?” she asked. Being close to him helped calm her nerves. Heck, being close to Spade felt like a balm to her soul. Suddenly, the past year faded and all she felt was safe, and dare she say it, wanted. Spade made her feel that way; something that Eric never made her feel.
“It’s more than okay,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
