“How’d it go?” Trent asked, leaning over the chair into my space. I thought about kissing him like I did when I caught Patrick checking him out, but he frowned. “You’re in pain.”
“I was,” I echoed, running my eyes over his face.
“C’mon,” he said, grabbing the handles of the chair and the IV pole. “You’re going back to bed.”
“Frat boy!” I pretended to be scandalized. “There are people present.”
“Har-har.” He pretend laughed. “The only thing you’re going to be doing in bed is sleeping.”
As long as it was with T, it was all right with me.
32
Trent
* * *
“I don’t like it, frat boy.” Drew’s hoarse complaint made me pause while tugging the blankets around him.
“Like what?” I asked, ready to fix whatever it was.
Gently, his hand reached for mine, tugging it away from the blanket and into his lap. The pad of his thumb stroked over the inside of my palm, making tingles race over my scalp and down my spine.
“This,” he answered, showing me the unattractive state of my wrist, then turning my palm to show me the uncovered stitches. “You haven’t been taking care of yourself at all.”
“I’m fine.” I rebuked gently, unsuccessfully attempting to tug my hand away. His grip was weak, but refusing any kind of touch from him was beyond me. Especially since there were so many days when I wondered if I would ever be blessed with it again.
“You aren’t fine,” he argued. “That looks like dog meat. And these”—he pointed accusingly at the stitches—“look infected.”
I frowned, looking at the wounds once more. I guess it did look a little gnarly. “Don’t touch it,” I fussed, this time using more strength to pull away. “The last thing you need is any kind of infection.”
“But who cares if you have one?” He accused.
“Drew,” I said patiently.
“I get it.” His voice was gruff, but his eyes still latched onto the wounds. “But it’s enough now, T. I want that shit cleaned up. I don’t like seeing it. I don’t like knowing you’re hurt because of me.”
Making a light sound, I went to him, cupping the back of his neck and staring until his eyes met mine. “Nothing about any of this is your fault.”
“You reached through a fire for me, didn’t you?”
I sucked in a breath. “How’d you—” I realized. “Romeo,” I swore. What the fuck did he tell Drew?
“You crawled through wreckage not even the rescuers were willing to go through.”
“They were working on clearing a path,” I bitched. “You didn’t have time for that.”
“You assaulted people.”
“They should have stayed out of my way.”
“You reached through a fire for me, Trent,” he repeated.
Furrowing my brow a bit and tilting my head, I asked, “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
He made a strangled sound that made him wince with pain. Caressing the back of his neck, I leaned in to briefly kiss the corner of his mouth. “I would do a lot more than that for you.”
His hands were cool when they cupped my face, and the intensity of his sky-blue eyes gave me that butterfly sensation in my stomach. “They were horrible to you.”
My heart squeezed, I had to work to swallow. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t.” His fingers tightened against my cheeks. “Don’t act like the hurt you feel is somehow unimportant.”
But nothing would change it. And keeping all of that shit away from Drew made me feel better, so why bring it up? Why let it make an already grim situation darker?
“I know what you’re doing,” Drew intoned, sighing. “You’re pulling—” His eyes strayed to something behind me. “Patrick,” he called, lifting his voice so it would carry out into the hall, but it cracked partway through the call.
Alarmed, I jumped up off the bed, wondering why Drew was suddenly calling for his nurse.
Patrick, who was walking by, paused. “Did you call me?”
“Come here,” I called so Drew wouldn’t have to. Then I faced him again. “What’s wrong? You need some more pain meds? You need the bathroom? You—”
“I need Patrick to clean up your wrist and hand.”
It took a minute to assure myself it wasn’t him who needed something. Relieved, I let out a breath. “Seriously.”
“Patrick, can you do that?” Drew ignored me to look at his nurse.
He nodded. “Sure. I’ll just go get some supplies and be right back.”
He bustled out of the room, and I lifted a brow at Drew. “You’re going to let him touch me?”
“Don’t try and get out of it, Trent.” He warned.
Damn. How’d he know what I was doing?
“But put on a shirt, huh? I’m sick of everyone in this place gawking.”
Ahh, there it was. Pressing my lips together to stop the grin trying to split my face, I went for the duffle bag. “People keep needing them,” I told him, still rather pleased he was jealous. After a few minutes of digging around in the bag, my hand was still empty. I turned toward Drew, sheepish. “There aren’t any left.”
Annoyance and exasperation flashed over his features. It was pretty fucking cute.
“I’ll have Patrick get you some scrubs,” he muttered. “After you get cleaned up, you can run home for more.”
All amusement vanished when anxiety consumed my insides.
“No.” The word ripped out almost savagely. Drew glanced up immediately. “I’m not leaving. Don’t ask me to do that. I won’t,” I said, rushing to where I’d tossed the shirt I used earlier to dry up the water. Scooping it up off the floor, I held it out. “I’ll just put this on.”
Drew leaned forward, wincing a bit but not relenting, and snatched the fabric out of my grip. “Come here.”
I went.
He patted the side of the mattress, so I lowered onto it gingerly.
“Closer.”
I started to protest.
“Closer,” he demanded.
Making sure the IV line was nowhere in the way, I scooted farther on the bed. A bed that was definitely not made for two men of our size.
His arms wrapped around my midsection; his body pressed against my side. Worry assailed me first because of his condition, but it was eclipsed almost instantly by something far more overwhelming.
Relief. Quiet.
Love.
Sometimes I wondered if he knew just how incredibly powerful he was. There was no one else on this planet, no one else in existence, who had the ability to crumble my walls while at the very same time give me strength.
It was incredible and so overwhelming tears bunched behind my eyes, blurring my vision.
I kept my face turned away because although I was no longer fighting a panic attack, I was equally overcome. Trying to control my emotions had been a real issue for me as of late.
It was embarrassing. I was stronger than this.
The stronger they are, the harder they fall.
I could feel the thickness of his beard against my skin. The solid width of his chest against my side. His cheek seemed cool against my shoulder, and even though he’d been here for countless days, he still smelled like home to me.
Swallowing thickly, I held still, not wanting him to let me go, but also not wanting to cause him discomfort.
“Take it,” he whispered. “Let yourself accept the comfort I’m trying to give you, T.”
“Drew.” I warned him not to do this. Not to pierce my heart this way.
“I don’t know what to say,” he whispered, holding on to me. “There are no words to take away what they did to you. But I can give you something.”
I didn’t look at him, but my head tilted in his direction. Looking down, I glanced at where his arms wrapped around me, and under them, I felt the way my heart thudded heavily.
“I can give you me.”
I stilled.
“I know you’ve h
ad me a long time now, frat boy. Over five years. And not once did I ever doubt us. They tried to take me. They tried to make you doubt me. Us. They made you feel abandoned and unworthy.”
“Drew.” I cautioned again, emotion so thick rising in me that it was physically painful.
“I almost died,” he whispered. “It feels like a dream now, but I know it’s not.”
Unable to speak, I wrapped my hand around his arm, gripping him close.
“I heard the steady flatline of the machines attached to me. I saw myself lying on the table, and a bright light opened up on the other side of the room.”
I tried to lurch up. I tried to run away. I couldn’t hear this. I couldn’t see the vivid pictures he painted in my mind. How many times had I almost lost him over the last week? How many times would I have to relive it? This had been my worst nightmare, and it changed me.
It changed everything.
“Listen,” he said, holding me with strength that honestly surprised me. “Please, listen.”
I collapsed back onto the mattress because I wouldn’t deny him any request. And even though I wanted to run, the only place I could go was to him.
My head bowed, chin almost to my chest, as his arms encircled me once more.
“That light was beautiful, and it beckoned me.”
A choked sob broke from my throat.
“You gave blood to me, right?” he asked.
“How’d you—” I began, then realized. “Romeo.”
“Not Romeo.” He denied.
My eyes found his. He smiled, gently wiping a tear clinging to my cheek. “I feel you inside me. You’re practically my DNA now.”
The bottom fell out of my stomach. “How—”
“I saw the nurse bring in the blood you sent. I watched it flow into my lifeless arm… into my emptying veins. My life, which had been fading fast, was restarted by you. I turned away from that beautiful light and climbed back into my ravaged body. Do you know why?” he asked, suddenly, pushing up my chin so he could look into my eyes.
I shook my head.
“Because I’m not going anywhere without you. Not ever.”
Another sob ripped from my throat, and my body slowly wilted until my forehead was on his shoulder and his palm rubbed over my shuddering back.
“What they did was cruel and ugly. It hurt you, and that is something I will never ever forgive or forget. But it doesn’t matter. My parents could ship me to Alaska and put you in a cell, but we’d still be together. No one will ever be able to take the bond we share.”
My hand climbed up his back, my fingers clutching against the hospital gown with every inch I went.
No longer able to hold it in, a sound ripped from my mouth, making me turn my face into the crook of his neck. All the pieces I’d managed to hold into place despite the cracks and fractures literally making me look like a roadmap crumbled. I couldn’t hold it in any longer, couldn’t hold it back.
“I was so scared you were going to open your eyes and look at me like a stranger. That you would believe the things he said.” I confessed, pushing even closer into his neck.
“Ah, baby,” he murmured, cupping the back of my head. “There’s too much of you inside me for that to ever happen.”
Salty wetness slid between his skin and mine, taunting my lips. The tip of my tongue slipped out, licking against his neck, soaking up the liquid emotion. Need spiked my veins like vodka in a glass of OJ. Before I even knew what I was doing, my lips latched onto his skin and sucked gently. The motion calmed the storm raging in me. It tempered down the most intense emotion and allowed me room to breathe.
The hand on the back of my head tightened, the pads of Drew’s fingers digging into my hair.
A small, needy sound filled the space around us, which must have been me because Drew responded by tilting his head a little to grant me further access.
With a growl, I sucked deeper, satisfaction blooming across my midsection like an earthquake.
“All right,” Drew murmured, using barely any pressure to pull me back. “As much as I don’t want to stop you…”
There was a popping sound when I pulled back from his neck, realization crashing over me like a fucking tidal wave. Horrified, I stared down.
Drew made a sound, cutting off the thought. “Up here.” He beckoned, forcing my stare up to meet his.
Searching his eyes, I looked for any sign that I somehow hurt him. Jesus criminy! He literally just told me about his near-death experience, and what did I do?
I turn into Dracula and suck on his neck!
His laughter made me blink.
Oh my God.
His smile was gorgeous. It broke my heart into pieces and put it back together so perfectly it was like it was never broken at all. I’d missed that smile, the flash of his teeth, the dimple I knew was hiding beneath his beard. I missed the warm sound of delight that vibrated his throat and the way his eyes lit up with joy.
“Trent?” His smile vanished, and he grabbed the hand I’d pressed unknowingly against my chest. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
I shook my head. “No. Sometimes it just hurts to love you this much.”
His eyes softened. Everything about him softened. His hair, which needed a cut before and was now making him a contender for Sasquatch, fell into his eye.
I pushed all the hair up away from his beautiful face. “You were laughing.” I tried to scowl but failed.
“If anyone is Dracula, I think it would be me. I’m the only with your blood swimming in my veins.”
I blinked, whispering, “You can hear my thoughts?”
He smiled again, this one just as devastating as the last. “I can.” He confided. “Some of your thoughts are dirty as fuck, frat boy.”
He was messing with me. I was gullible as hell. I did have a dirty mind, though.
He laughed. “You said it out loud, frat boy.”
Grasping his jaw, I pushed his head back, glancing at his neck. “There’s a mark,” I said darkly, but deep down, I was fucking proud of that mark.
“Good.” I guess he was proud of it too.
“Did I hurt you?” I asked, brushing a thumb over it.
“The only thing that hurt was making you stop.”
“I got, ah, caught up… What you said…”
Pressing his forehead against mine, I saw his smile in his eyes. “We have an audience in the hall,” he whispered.
I went on red alert, shoulders stiffening.
Drew curled a hand around my neck, keeping me close. “That’s the only reason I stopped you.”
I made a mental note to be more in control of myself. If he couldn’t be trusted to stop me from basically attacking him, then I had to be on alert. Dude was in no condition for any kind of foreplay.
“Do you think they heard what you said?” I whispered. His words still echoed around inside me, feeling like a summer night’s breeze, soothing the worst of the day. Soothing almost a week’s worth of hell.
“I only care if you heard.”
Swallowing, I bobbed my head. “I heard.”
“I meant every word, Trent. I’m still alive because of you. And not just because of your blood… Because I love you. Because even in death, you were my only thought.”
I was getting choked up again. If I didn’t get this shit under control, I was going to have to surrender my man card. It would have to go wherever Romeo’s and B’s went. “I love you too. So much.”
“If you don’t want to leave this hospital, don’t. I won’t ever send you away.” In an act I felt intensely endearing, Drew dragged the pad of his thumb over my eyebrow like he was smoothing it down.
Pressing my lips together, I gathered up his hands, kissing the backs of them.
“That hurts.” He pouted, staring at the IV taped across one.
I kissed it again.
“Knock-knock!” Patrick said rather loudly, rapping on the doorframe.
Maybe I should have been embarrassed. Wait. No. I wo
uld have been embarrassed if anyone had overheard the kind of exchange Drew and I just shared just a week ago.
Now?
Now I didn’t give a flying fig (that’s right, I said fig) if he recorded it and posted it online. Maybe the “perfection” I’d been trying so hard to maintain could take some notes.
Still holding Drew’s hands, I glanced around at the man as he waltzed right into the room. “Got the supplies,” he said, holding up some type of basket.
I made a face. Drew tugged my hand. “I don’t like seeing it, Trent.”
I relented.
“We’re here!” Ivy chimed, walking in the room, followed by Rimmel, B, and Romeo.
Both girls came rushing over to Drew’s bedside, both of their lower lips wobbling.
“Drew! Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?” Ivy wailed, sniffling.
Chuckling, I got up from the bed to give her and Rim some room.
“Ives,” Drew said, “sorry to make you worry.”
She handed me some bag, then gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Watch his head,” I cautioned.
Yeah, it was ironic. Me telling her to be careful after I was sucking on his throat.
“Come over here,” Patrick called. “There is more room to work.”
Everyone looked between me and the nurse. I held up my wrist, then started across the room.
“Shirt.” Drew reminded me.
“Bro, this hospital is not clothing optional,” Braeden quipped.
“I’m fine with it,” Patrick bantered.
Drew made a sound, then started gagging. Ivy and Rimmel descended upon him like mother hens, and there was no way I was getting through.
I wasn’t anxious, though, not like before. I guess his words really did help calm something inside me. Instead, I poured him a glass of water and set it close for when he needed it.
“Dude.” I levelled Patrick with a look. “It’s not happening.”
Just because I was calmer didn’t mean I’d put up with people upsetting my person.
“I know, but I can still enjoy the view.”
“Braeden!” Drew gasped.
“I got this,” B said, grabbing the nurse, who frankly was half his size, by the neck. “You got to go.”
#Fate Page 18
