Blackmailing The Billionaire(23)

By the time they arrived, Cassie was aching and miserable. Her foot  hurt, her stomach was in knots and she hoped they just gave her  something to knock her out so she could sleep the rest of the day.

Max helped her from the car, placing her in a wheelchair, which she  didn't like at all, but it was better than him carrying her around,  since he was determined she not put any pressure on her foot. She  couldn't lie in his arms, anymore, without it tearing her up inside.

He wheeled her up to the counter and explained the situation. They got  her into a back room, immediately. She knew if she'd come in on her own  she would've sat in the waiting area forever. She felt a bit guilty that  he was able to use his name to get her quicker service for such a minor  injury, when she was sure there were people there that needed help far  worse than her, but her foot was really throbbing so she didn't complain  about it.

He stayed by her side the entire time. The doctor walked in, shook Max's  hand, then had her x-rayed, cleaned up, and wrapped in no time. It  figured that Max knew the doctor on call. Who didn't he or his family  know?

Luckily, her foot wasn't broken, just had a nasty bruise, and a slight  crack. It didn't need a cast, thank goodness, and she should be on her  feet in no time. It was as she'd suspected. The doctor gave her a few  sample packets of pills so she wouldn't have to stop at the pharmacy,  then ordered her to keep off her foot for the next few days. She knew  that would be impossible. She lived on her own.

"Thank you, Max," she practically choked out. He gave her a wide smile.

"I'm sure that thank you caused more pain than your injury," he said with a wink.

"I do appreciate it, but you didn't have to ruin your day by catering to me. It's not even a bad injury," she pouted.

"So, in your opinion, I should've just left you twitching on the  ground." When he said it like that, he made her sound ridiculous. Of  course, he wouldn't just leave her lying there, but his driver could've  easily taken her to the hospital. She was sure Max knew she would've  made him take her home and forgone the hospital.

He wheeled her back outside, where his driver was waiting. They loaded  her back into the car, and she leaned her head against the seat. The  pain pills were kicking in and she couldn't seem to keep her eyes open.  She decided to rest them for a moment. She was partially pulled from her  sleep when she felt Max's arms come around her. She just couldn't open  her eyes, so she laid her head on his shoulder, and quickly fell back  asleep.

Cassie woke up with her foot throbbing and turned over. She slowly  opened her eyes as she realized she wasn't in her bed. She pushed her  arm out, feeling the satin sheets, and the soft pillow. Yep, definitely  not her bed. She looked around just as Max walked in the room.

"Your foot is probably throbbing again. You've been asleep for several  hours," he said casually as he helped her sit up and placed a tray on  her lap.

"Where am I?" she asked, though she had a bad feeling she already knew.

"My house. The doctor said you couldn't put any weight on your foot over  the next few days so that ruled out your place," he said. She had to  fight down the panic. She couldn't stay with him, in his bed, surrounded  by his scent. She was trying to distance herself from the man. Him  taking care of her wouldn't help her accomplish that goal.

"I … I can't stay here," she stuttered.

"Of course you can," he said with steel running through his voice. It  was the tone she was used to when he wasn't willing to compromise. She'd  lost the battle before she uttered a single word. His mind was made up,  and short of a band of thieves coming in and kidnapping her, she  wouldn't be leaving his house until she could walk.

"Do you often take women as prisoners into your home?" she asked.

"Only the really lucky ones," he said with a wink. She was trying to  irritate him into leaving her alone, but apparently it wasn't working.

The pain in her foot overruled her stubbornness, and she finally took  the pill from the tray and drank it down, then picked at the food so she  wouldn't get nauseous from the pill.

"Feel better?" he asked after they sat in silence for about ten minutes.  She could feel some immediate effects, and hated to admit it to him,  but she was feeling a bit better already, but her eyes were already  starting to droop. She needed to use the restroom, but she didn't want  to ask for his help, she'd rather crawl in there. As if he could read  her mind, he pulled back the covers. She noticed, for the first time,  she was wearing an oversized t-shirt, and nothing else. He must have  changed her, which brought a blush to her cheeks.         

     



 

"I'm going to carry you to the bathroom. I'll come back in ten minutes  and pick you up again. There's a toothbrush in there. The doctor wants  your foot to stay in this wrap all night, so you should wait to bathe  until tomorrow," he said as he placed his arms under her waist and  knees. She began to protest, but he ignored her as he carried her into  the luxurious bathroom, and gently sat her on the edge of the tub. "I'll  be back in ten," he said before shutting the door.

Cassie quickly took care of her needs, and even managed to wash her  face. She was getting more and more tired, though, and it was hard to  hop around the bathroom. The jarring movement caused more pain to shoot  through her foot. She was going to try and hop back to the bed, but she  didn't know if she could make it without falling on her face. She  could've in her small apartment, but not his huge master bedroom.

Right on time, there was a light tap on the door, then Max peeked in.  When he saw her swaying by the bathroom sink, he quickly stepped in and  scooped her back up in his arms.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he admonished her. She was too worn out to  argue with him, so she just rested her head on his chest, and sighed  when he placed her back into the soft bed. He covered her up, and she  fell asleep before he could even turn out the light.





Chapter Nine





Something shifted on top of Cassie, startling her out of a deep sleep.  She tried to sit up, and found she was trapped. She started to panic,  kicking with her leg, trying to escape.

"Cassie, it's just me, calm down," she heard Max say. She struggled for a  moment longer, before the words connected with her foggy mind.

"Wh … what, where..?" She couldn't seem to get coherent words past her  mouth. She looked up to find Max leaning over her. She looked from his  worried expression, then downward, noticing he wasn't wearing a shirt.  The sight of him was both a relief and a worry.

"What are you doing here?" she finally remembered how to talk.

"I was sleeping until you nearly beat the crap out of me," he said with a  chuckle, leaning over her with his head propped on his hand.

"That's not what I meant. Why are you in bed with me?" she demanded.

"It's my bed," he said simply.

"I'm sure this house has other rooms, so why not just put me in one of those?" she asked.

"Cassie, it's not like we haven't slept together already. What's with the panic?"

"First of all, I felt trapped when I woke up and it scared me. Secondly,  we're not in a relationship and should no longer be sharing a bed," she  said in her most prim tone. He actually had the nerve to smile at her,  which sent her temper flaring.

"Someday, you're going to find out that you don't always get your way,"  she said in a huff. He chuckled. She was close to hitting him, which  surprised her, since she'd never been violent before.

"So, you'd be upset if I ran my hand along your stomach like this," he  said as he rubbed along her belly, slowly making his way toward her  breasts. She gaped at him, too shocked by his boldness to think about  stopping him.

"Or, you'd probably be real upset if I bent down and ran my tongue along  your neck like this," he practically purred, before he bent down and  smoothed his tongue along her throat, making her pulse jump and her  breathing become labored. It would be so easy to get lost in his  embrace. She couldn't remember why it was such a bad idea for them to  make love again, but she knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that  she had to stop him. She'd figure out why later.

"My foot hurts," she blurted out. In truth she hadn't thought about her  foot once since waking, but now that she'd used it as an excuse, she  realized it was throbbing. He immediately stopped and looked into her  eyes.

"Looks like a cold shower for me," he said with another chuckle, before  jumping from the bed, wearing only a pair of loose sweats that did  nothing to hide his aroused state from her. He went to the bathroom and  came out with a cup of water, then took a pill from the bottle on the  nightstand and sat next to her. Her eyes lowered to his pants, before  she realized what she was doing, and she jerked her head back to his  face. He smiled at her knowingly, then gave her a wink.