This man is so intense, even his touch is electric.
“Enjoy the night, kids,” Hana calls after us as we walk out of the suite.
When we stop in front of the elevator, Kao murmurs, “God, you smell good.”
The doors open, and we step inside. Kao’s fingers tighten around mine, and then he says, “We’re not going to the restaurant.”
“Oh?” A smile tugs at my lips. “Where are we going?”
Kao lets out a chuckle, “You’ll have to wait and see.”
As we walk out of our building, Summer comes rushing around the corner, but then she pauses. “Wow, you both look beautiful. Enjoy the evening.”
I watch her dart away before I can even reply.
Did Kao…? Nah… But…
I look up at him. “Are we going to the hall?”
“Damn, I knew you’d catch on,” he says, a broad smile stretching over his face. “I figured since we missed the Christmas Ball and you worked really hard on it, you should at least experience it.”
My heart. Can he be any more thoughtful?
A happy smile begins to play around my lips as I cautiously lead Kao to the hall. When we step inside, and I see all the decorations, my smile turns into a bubble of laughter. “It looks so good. I love the winter wonderland theme,” I murmur.
There’s only one table situated in the middle of the hall, and a band is ready in the corner.
“Are we going to dance?” I ask, a fluttering of anticipation in my chest.
“Of course,” Kao states.
Kao pulls my chair out for me. “Thank you,” I murmur as I sit down. Kao presses a kiss to the top of my head.
The waiter brings a sprite for Kao and a coke for me, then he hurries out of the hall.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I already placed an order with the kitchen,” Kao says. “I’m having pizza, so you don’t have to feed me.”
“Shoot, there you go and spoil all the fun,” I tease him.
He chuckles, then asks, “Are you okay with the seafood platter? I know you love it and felt it was a safe bet.”
I reach over the table for his hand and give it a squeeze. “That sounds perfect. Kinda like my man taking charge. I could get used to this.”
“Your man?” His mouth lifts into the sexy grin I love so much.
“Yeah,” I murmur.
“So, you’re good with us being in a relationship?” Kao asks.
“Yeah, so much for taking our time, right?” I laugh. “I should’ve known you’d just sweep me right off my feet again.”
“I won’t let you fall this time.”
Kao’s words make emotion well in my chest. I stare at him, feeling so thankful that we found our way back to each other.
“I love you, Kao.”
KAO
Finally, hearing those words from Fallon, my life feels complete, and I realize there would be nothing worse than living a life without her.
I rub my thumb over the back of her hand and say, “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
Fuck, she looks absolutely breathtaking in the dress. I just hate that she’s covering half her face and wish I could reach over and tuck the hair behind her ear. Not wanting to ruin the night, I keep still.
A server brings our food, and once he steps away from the table, Fallon says, “All dressed up, and things are about to get messy,” Fallon jokes. “This is perfect.”
While we eat, the band plays background music. The atmosphere is peaceful, and I’m grateful the night is going according to plan.
“Earlier, I was sitting in the living room, and for a moment, the blurriness faded a little,” I tell Fallon.
“Oh, my God! That’s great,” Fallon exclaims. “Give or take two to three weeks, and you should start seeing color, right?”
“Yeah, it’s hard to predict. Every person heals differently. With a little luck, I’ll be back to normal by the end of the month.”
“Yeah, we’ll have plenty to celebrate then.”
I take a bite, and after swallowing, I say, “You should join the decorating committee again.”
Fallon pauses for a moment. “We’ll see after the surgery.”
“I’ll go with you to the meetings,” I try to encourage her. “Hell, you can even give me work to do.”
“Why do you want me to join it again?”
“You loved it, Fallon,” I explain. “I want you doing the things that bring you happiness.”
“You know what would make me happy?” she asks.
“What?”
“Us dancing.” I hear the playful tone in her voice, and not wanting to upset her, I drop the subject of the decorating committee.
Standing up, I hold my hand out to her. Fallon moves around the table, and taking hold of my hand, we walk to the dance floor.
The band instantly stops the song they’re playing, and a moment later, the guy sings the opening notes to Stand By Me by John Newman.
Placing one hand on her side, I take a step closer to her. We begin to dance to the song I picked specifically for this moment. It says everything I feel.
“Kao,” Fallon whispers, her voice quivering with emotion. She moves her arms around my neck and holds me tightly as the words drift to us.
I wrap her in a tight embrace and press a kiss to the side of her head. “Thank you for standing by me.”
She nods against my chest, and I feel her body jerk.
“Turned out I wasn’t so perfect,” I try to joke, but the moment is too emotionally charged.
Fallon pulls back, and then she presses her mouth to mine. Tasting her tears, I bring my hands to her face, and using my thumbs, I brush them away.
She pulls back and whispers, “You are perfect.”
“Only in your eyes,” I tease. A sense of Deja vu washes over me, sending goosebumps racing over my skin. “Damn, that felt weird, like we’ve done this before.”
“We did,” Fallon says. “Right before we were hit by the truck.”
Not wanting the night to take a turn for the worse, I say, “Guess that means we’re really meant to be.”
“How do you figure that?” she asks, laughter in her voice.
“We didn’t get it right the first time, so fate intervened and gave us a repeat.”
“Like a do-over?” she asks.
“Yeah.”
Just then, the band begins to play Never Enough by Lauren Allred. Their timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Fallon and I move slowly over the floor as the music weaves a spell around us. As the tempo builds, I feel the moment deep in my bones, and it’s incredible.
As the singer utters the last words, I lean down and press a kiss to Fallon’s lips. She leans into my arm as we walk back to the table, and once we’ve taken our seats, she says, “Thank you for an amazing first date.”
Chapter 21
FALLON
Even though things between Kao and me are better than they’ve ever been, I’m anxious about taking him for his follow up appointment today.
It will be our first time together in a car since the accident, and I pray nothing goes wrong.
Taking a deep breath, I walk to the living room and find Kao waiting. He’s sitting on a couch, and I notice his right knee jumping.
He’s nervous as well.
I push my own anxiety down and say, “Let’s go. I’d rather be early than late.”
Kao gets up, and I hold my hand out to him. When our fingers interweave, I give him a squeeze. “I’ll drive slow.”
“I trust you,” he replies, and hearing the sincerity, I frown.
“You seem nervous?”
“I’m just anxious about what the doctor will say.” He gives me an encouraging grin. “Hopefully, it’s all good news.”
“I’m sure it will go well.”
We walk out of the suite, and by the time we reach my car, my stomach is tight with knots.
Kao stops me before I can open the driver's side door, and he wraps me in
a hug, pressing a kiss to my mouth. “We’re going to be fine. Okay? You’ve got this.”
I let out an anxious breath and then climb into the car.
When we both have our seat belts on, I suck in a deep breath of air and start the engine.
Please let nothing bad happen.
My heart begins to pound as I steer the vehicle out of the campus gates. It feels like I’m learning to drive all over again, my eyes darting everywhere. I grip the steering wheel hard, painfully ready should another car swerve in our direction.
Suddenly Kao says, “Will you go away with me this coming weekend?”
I quickly wet my dry lips, then asks, “Where?”
“Where it will be just the two of us. Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe?”
“That’s a three-hour drive,” I squeak, far from ready to spend that long in a car.
“I’ll arrange a helicopter.”
My mouth curves up. “You’ve thought about everything, haven’t you?”
“Of course,” he chuckles. “I’ve booked a villa from tomorrow night through to Sunday afternoon.”
“What if I said no,” I tease him.
“I was willing to risk it.”
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” I ask as I pull the car into the parking area outside the medical center.
“Five o'clock?”
“Sounds good,” I grin as I turn off the engine, and then I let out a relieved breath. “We made it.”
“I never doubted you for a second,” Kao murmurs as we climb out of the car.
When we walk into the doctor's office, Kao stops by the reception. “Kao Reed. I have an appointment at ten.”
“Take a seat. Dr. Hodgson will be with you in a minute,” the receptionist says with a sweet smile.
The instant we sit down, I rest my hand on Kao’s thigh. I know I’m being possessive, but the receptionist looked a little too friendly in my opinion.
Kao covers my hand with his own, and he leans into me so he can whisper, “I can’t wait to get this behind me so we can go back to the suite and make out.”
I smile at him, and turning my hand over beneath his, I weave our fingers together. “My hermit. We’ll have to live in the mountains once we’re married.”
“You’d do that for me?” he grins happily.
“Of course. I know how much you hate being around people.”
“Except you,” he murmurs lovingly.
“The doctor will see you now,” the receptionist calls, popping our happy bubble.
“Should I wait?” I ask Kao, but he shakes his head and pulls me to my feet.
I stick close to his side as we walk down a short hallway and then into an office.
“Good to see you, Mr. Reed,” Dr. Hodgson says, and they shake hands.
“You too.” Kao gestures to me, and then he chuckles. “I brought my girlfriend for support.”
The doctor spares me a smile as I sit down on a chair that’s situated against the opposite wall.
Dr. Hodgson gestures for Kao to sit behind some heavy eye equipment. “How do you feel?”
“Much better. The itchiness and pain are gone. Mostly my eyes just feel scratchy,” Kao answers.
“How are the migraines?”
I have to press my lips together to not answer on behalf of Kao.
“I had a bad one yesterday. I don’t get them as often anymore,” Kao replies.
“Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?”
“Two.”
Dr. Hodgon’s moves back. “Now?”
“Four.”
He steps all the way back to where I am. “And Now.”
Kao pauses for a while before he murmurs, “I think four.”
“That’s good.” Dr. Hodgson goes to take a seat opposite Kao, and he inspects his left eye first. “Look up. Down. Left. Right. Straight ahead.” A couple of seconds later, Dr. Hodgson says, “Pressure check.”
I clasp my hands on my lap, my gaze glued to Kao.
“The pressure looks good. Your left eye is eighteen, and the right fifteen. I’m pretty happy.”
“That’s good,” Kao chuckles.
I have no idea what that means, but I’m happy the doctor seems pleased.
Dr. Hodgson’s stares long into Kao’s eyes, then he says, “The graft has attached nicely. The corneas are crystal clear. I don’t see any air bubbles, which is good.” He shifts closer to Kao again. “Look straight ahead for me.”
Then Dr. Hodgson gets up. “If your eyes become foggy or cloudy, I want you to call us. Don’t rub or push against your eyes, but so far, everything looks good.”
Kao moves out from behind the equipment, a relieved expression on his face as he smiles at the doctor. “That’s good to hear.”
“The blurry vision will start to get better, and you’ll start to see finer details soon.”
“And color?” Kao asks.
“Like I mentioned before, you’ll see primary colors first, probably red. Don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning and you can see color. The blurriness will take longer to fade, though.”
“Will I need prescription glasses?” Kao asks.
“I don’t think so. Let’s wait to see what your vision settles on.”
They shake hands again, and just like that, the appointment comes to an end. I expected it to take much longer. When I rise to my feet, Kao comes to take hold of my hand.
“See you in a month, unless a problem pops up,” Dr. Hodgson says with a pleased smile.
“Have a good day,” I murmur before we leave.
KAO
I let out a breath of relief as we leave the medical center. There’s always the worry that my body will reject the donor tissue. Hearing my eyes are healing well, eases my worry.
Before we reach the car, I lift Fallon’s hand and press a kiss to her thumb. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“I thought it would take longer,” she mentions as she unlocks the doors. “I’m glad it’s all good news.”
After we climb in the car, I say, “I can’t wait for the color to return.”
During the drive back to campus, I feel Fallon growing tense again. “Are you excited for the weekend?”
“Yeah, we’ve never gone away.” She quickly adds, “Just the two of us.”
“I like the sound of that,” I murmur while grinning.
A smile flutters around her mouth. “Going away with me?”
“No, just the two of us.”
We make it back to Trinity in one piece, and the instant we’re out of the car, I pull Fallon into a hug. “That’s one milestone conquered.”
“Yeah, I feel better now,” Fallon admits against my chest. She lifts her face to mine, and I press a kiss to her lips. “First food, then a nap.”
“Sounds amazing,” I chuckle.
Once we’re back in the suite, Fallon places an order with the restaurant while I grab us each a bottle of water.
“The order won’t take long. I’m just going to change into sweatpants and a t-shirt,” Fallon says before she disappears down the hallway.
I might as well do the same. I walk to my room and change into comfortable clothes before tidying my bed, so it’s not a mess when we come to take a nap.
When I walk back into the shared space, Fallon’s sitting at the island in the kitchen. My eyes glide over the hair hanging in her face, and it grates against my insides.
Moving to her, I lift my hand and brush her hair back. She quickly turns her face away. “Don’t do that,” I whisper as I take hold of her chin to turn her face back to me. “Let me see my beautiful girlfriend.” I lean forward and press my lips to her scars. Keeping still, I take a deep breath of her, then I pull back and lock eyes with her. “God, you’re breathtaking.”
Her chin trembles, and she swallows hard as she drops her gaze from mine. “Only two weeks.”
There’s a knock at the door, but I first press a kiss to her forehead before I go to answer. I take the food from the delivery guy and
carry it to the counter. “What did you get us?”
“Vegetables. Lots of veggies. You’ve been eating too much junk food,” she chastises me.
I pull a playful disgruntled face as I open the container, and sure enough, Fallon ordered a vegetable platter. I can’t even make out half of the food, but not wanting to disappoint Fallon, I keep my face expressionless.
“Humor me,” Fallon chuckles. “You can have a burger for dinner.”
“I can live with that,” I joke.
Able to make out the corn on the cob, I pick one up. Fallon pops something that looks like a mushroom in her mouth, and before I can take another bite of the corn, she brings her fork to my mouth and whispers, “Open.”
I do as she orders, and when I taste the mushroom, the corner of my mouth lifts.
When we’re done with our way too healthy lunch, I grab Fallon’s hand and drag her to my room. “I was a good boy, and I ate all my veggies.” I grin at her as I shut the door behind us, and this time I lock it. “Now for dessert.”
Fallon lets out a burst of laughter as she climbs onto my bed. “What kind of dessert?”
Placing my knee on the mattress, I crawl over her. Lowering my head, I gently bite her bottom lip, then murmur, “Your mouth.” I press a kiss to her neck. “Your skin.” Moving down her chest, I push up her shirt, and my teeth scrape over her hip. “All of you.”
Fallon’s voice is low as she teases, “What happens if someone walks in on us?”
“I locked the door,” I growl as I push her sweatpants’ waistband a little lower. Glancing up at her and seeing her eyes focused on me, I say, “Unless you’re tired and you want to sleep.”
She shakes her head, and it has me crawling back up her body until I’m braced over her. Bringing my hand to her right cheek, I brush the hair away, and keeping my palm over her scars, I press my mouth to hers. Deepening the kiss, I settle my lower body between her legs, wanting her to feel how hard I am for her.
This moment is not about finding pleasure, but to show Fallon how much I love and desire her.
Chapter 22
FALLON
Kao’s kisses have a way of drugging me until I’m high on the taste of him. When his muscled body presses against mine, there are no scars – and I feel feminine beneath him.
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