Page 4 of B.D.E: Falling Hard For A BBW
Ivy Monroe
The loud crash from the back of the store made me jump so hard, I nearly knocked over the entire display of romance novels.
I clutched the edge of the counter; breath caught in my throat as panic set in.
I should’ve been upstairs in bed by now finishing up the Arranged Love Affair by Mona Leah that was waiting for me on my nightstand, but instead, I was down here doing inventory like some overachieving nerd.
“Sweet Lady” played low through the speakers, a half-full mug of my special cinnamon tea was on the counter, and my clipboard was in my hand as I hummed without thinking.
That was before the loud crash cut through the soft playing music, like something heavy had fallen in the back of the store.
I froze as my clipboard slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a clatter.
Every instinct I had was screaming run… but my feet wouldn’t move.
I was scared shitless but also pissed about somebody trying to break in on little old me.
Rosehall, Georgia wasn’t the kind of town where stuff like that happened.
It was a small place, tucked just outside the big city, and because the population was low, everybody knew everybody.
My first thought was that it had to be someonenotfrom here.
Nobody local would be that damn bold… or that cruel.
Well, unless it was some knotty-head teenagers up to no good.
I wasn’t close enough to the kitchen to grab a knife, so I quickly scooped up my fallen clipboard, clutching it tight like a damn weapon as I stepped from behind the romance shelf, heading slowly to the back.
As I moved past the stairs, I heard another grunt coming from behind the counter closest to the back door.
My dumb ass should’ve run upstairs and grabbed my phone but curiosity got the best of me, so I kept moving closer to where the sound was coming from.
As I came around the counter, I froze. There was a man slumped against the shelves; tall, built and dressed in black.
He looked like he was barely holding himself up but even in his current state, I could tell that he was built… strong and solid.
“Who—who are you?” I questioned, as I watched his chest rise and fall.
I looked him over, waiting for him to answer me and I noticed the blood, so much blood, soaking into his shirt and dripping on the floor beneath him.
And somehow, even as he laid there bleeding out, he still looked dangerous as hell.
He lifted his head slowly, as his eyes landed on me.
I instantly felt like heat was dragging over my skin, slow and heavy.
I was scared out of my mind. But my body didn’t care.
It was reacting to him like it had a mind of its own, like it already knew trouble when it saw it… and didn’t want to run.
“Shit, your bleeding,” I said, snapping out of the daze he’d put me in.
Ivy, this man is laying here bleeding and you’re lusting over him? Girl, help that man!
I dropped to my knees beside him and began trying to find where all the blood was coming from.
He grunted again and that’s when I noticed that the pain was coming from his side since he had one of his hands pressed there and it was covered in blood.
I was so caught up in his appearance and the shape he was in that I hadn’t noticed that his other hand housed a gun, which stopped me dead in my tracks.
“Don’t call nobody,” he grunted.
I stared silently for a second, trying to figure out what to do. For whatever reason, he didn’t want me to call for help but from the sight of all the blood he was losing, he needed immediate assistance.
Ivy, the man has a gun for God’s sake, he has to be a criminal.
“I—what? You need a?—”
“No cops and no fucking ambulance! Just… let me sit!” he yelled out, causing me to jump.
I sighed and nodded but kept quiet as I put my hands near his chest, trying to stop the bleeding.
If he didn’t want to seek medical attention for whatever reason, the least I could do was patch him up and possible stop the bleeding so that his stubborn ass wouldn’t die right here on my floor.
His chest heaved and his eyes were now closed again.
Then, he slumped forward and went still.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. I gently nudged his shoulder. “Hey. Hey, stay with me. Please don’t die here,” I whimpered.
I knew I should’ve run upstairs to get my phone and called for help, but the moment I looked at him, really looked at him, something shifted.
He was beautiful, in a rough way. He had a strong jaw line, full lips that were parted and thick lashes.
His braids were long and neat, even soaked in sweat and blood at the ends of them.
His tattoos peaked out from his sleeves and collar.
His body—God, he looked like sin in human form; broken dangerous and beautiful.
I’d read about men who looked like him in my urban romance books but never had I come face to face with one.
Sure, I’d been around plenty of men while attending secondary school as well as college, but it was only in passing.
A few male customers would come in just for coffee, my homemade muffins and treats that I made daily and make small talk but that was it.
I was drawn to this man though. In ways that I couldn’t explain and damn sure didn’t understand.
I was no longer afraid either and that terrified me more than the blood on the floor.
“Okay,” I whispered to myself, swallowing hard as I pushed up from the floor. “Okay, don’t die. Just… don’t die.”
I rushed to grab the first aid kit that was under the sink in the kitchen, my hands shaking the whole time.
I snatched a clean towel, a bottle of water, some gloves and whatever else I could find.
My brain was spinning but I moved on instinct, trying to save this man.
He was to fine to die right here, right now.
I knew I had to do whatever I could to help him and worry about the consequences later.
By the time I got back to him, he still hadn’t moved from that spot.
I dropped down next to him and got to work, whispering the only prayer I remember from childhood as I peeled back his shirt and tried to stop the bleeding.
From the looks of the hole in his side, he had to have gotten shot. Maybe even been in a shoot-out.
Ivy, calm down, this ain’t one of those street lit books you be reading. Focus, this man is dying!
What the hell had I just gotten myself into?