5. Not A Child

By the time the car reached their destination, Rose had dozed off. For a moment, Roman was thinking whether he should wake her up or let his men handle her. His aversion for women, especially the meek and mellow who were hiding another side of them, made it difficult for him to think straight. 

Yet, he found himself reaching out to her, tapping her forehead with two of his fingers. 

And although the gesture itself was softer than one would expect of someone like him, it was all it took for Rose to spring up into a sitting position, and say, “Sorry I dozed off. Are we there yet?”  

“Yes, we are,” he declared at once, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, wondering if her dozing off was but an act – for his gesture was too soft for her to wake up so abruptly – before brushing off all doubts… 

Now wasn’t the time to start questioning his decision to bring her to his mansion. Besides, Leila couldn’t attend to him in her current state. He shouldn’t be too suspicious. He had been the one to seek out the woman, not the other way around.  

Soon, his men opened the door on his side, showing him the respect he was due, whereas she simply left the car, like the clueless little outsider she was. 

She froze in place as she looked around, no doubt the imposing building intimidating her in more ways than one. The beautiful gardens were such a stark contrast to the austere looking building too. He could understand why her jaw all but dropped to the floor. Nevertheless, his lips quirked into a small smirk. 

He was strangely fascinated by the woman standing next to him. She showed no fear even though he was sure she wasn’t without any. She also made it a point to make sure his recovery would be quick and efficient. 

The moment they stepped inside, she said in a firm tone of voice, “Kindly show me to the room where I will need to treat you.” 

“Can it wait?” He raised an eyebrow at her, in a manner so demanding, it would have made someone lesser beg for mercy… But not her. 

“Mr Bianchi,” she began in earnest, her chocolate brown eyes boring into his, “I am here as your nurse, and, mind you, I take my job seriously.” 

“Fine,” he heaved a sigh, knowing she was a woman, and women tended to nag. And he could do without something that troublesome.   

He gave a curt nod to one of his servants, and they soon led the way to a room, which he had ordered to be prepared for this very purpose. 

Indeed, Roman, being as cautious as he was, had ordered that a room be prepared for the sole purpose of his treatment. He didn’t want Rosalina invading his privacy. He didn’t want her in his room.  

Soon, she was making sure every item on the list was there on the table in front of her. He, on the other hand, was taking his shirt off, as per her request.

“I will need to make sure your wound is clean, and that requires some touching, Mr Bianchi,” she declared after a moment. “Please just bear with it.” 

** ** ** ** ** 

It took all of Rose’s willpower to look Roman Bianchi in the eyes, and be as assertive as she should be, considering she was his nurse. 

His icy blue eyes were impenetrable, and she almost got the breath knocked out of her each time their eyes met. 

The man was dangerous, and his very presence was intimidating… But she knew that if she were to let him do as he pleased, he would be burning up again by evening. 

Once he removed his shirt, she requested that he lay down. And he did so, without so much as a grunt… Not that it was necessarily an indication of good progress. The man had barely grunted the day he was brought to the clinic, even though he had a couple of gunshot wounds. 

She inspected his wound and even probed it with her gloved hand. He merely narrowed his eyes at her as she did so. 

“Is this really necessary?” He asked after a moment. 

“Absolutely,” she assured him. 

Then, she inspected the bandage and it had no stain. Nevertheless, she still changed it. 

“I will be inspecting your wound daily, and changing the bandage every couple of days,” she told him matter-of-factly, doing her best to treat him the way she would treat any other patient. “As for monitoring, you’ll have to bear with me 3 times a day.” 

“Once a day,” he said in a gruff tone of voice. 

She frowned ever so slightly, trying to comprehend his words… And when it sank that he was bargaining for the number of times his chart needed to be filled up, her eyes bulged in a way that was no doubt comical. 

“Please tell me you’re joking,” she giggled nervously. 

“I am not,” he assured her, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“And I refuse to put your health in jeopardy, Mr Bianchi,” she let out firmly. “You do enough of that on your own.” 

She didn’t even know how the words slipped past her lips. 

Her eyes bulged even more if that was possible. 

He chuckled as he allowed her to measure his blood pressure. 

When she was done, he drawled, “For a nurse, you sure have spunk, Rose.” 

She didn’t know what to say to that. She had crossed the line already a couple of times with this dangerous man. 

“I would advise you to think of me as your employer, not your patient, from now on,” he then told her in a tone that bordered on the bored, but in which the danger was almost palpable. “As such, you would need to also monitor that mouth of yours.” 

“Yes, Mr Bianchi,” she nodded stiffly, gritting her teeth in anger, even as she did her best to show him she wasn’t scared of him. 

“Twice a day,” he then went on in a tone that brokered no argument, and she knew at once what he was speaking about. 

“I’ll make do with that, Mr Bianchi,” she nodded at him, the ghost of a smile stretching her lips. “I will advise you to drink plenty of water, and not scartch or remove the bandage. If it bothers you, rest assured. I have already inspected it.” 

“I am not a child,” he grumbled as he put back his shirt on. 

“I would never suggest you were,” she was petrified, realizing how she must have sounded. 

He chuckled at that point before telling her, “Between our treatment sessions which are to take place in this room, you are free to do as you please.” 

That was her dismissal, but he was the one to leave the room. 

The man truly was something else!