Cam cracked a smile. It hurt. “You do realize I’m in a pretty dangerous profession.” Talking hurt too, but he was okay. He could sense it was just bruising, nothing broken. He must’ve been unconscious when the helicopter crew picked him up, and they probably sedated him then let him slowly wake up. He’d ask for details later, but the important thing, now that he was awake, was that he see Sage.
“Yes! And I pray my guts out morning, noon, and night for you.”
“I didn’t know you prayed.”
She shook her head and offered him a drink of water. Cam sucked down the cool goodness. It was heavenly. Thinking of heavenly. “Where’s Sage?”
“She ditched you because she couldn’t handle the emotional burden of seeing someone she loved being hurt.”
“Seriously?” Cam’s heart was thumping hard.
“No, you dork. She’s not lame like you.”
Cam smiled. He sure loved his sister.
The nurses came in and exclaimed over him waking up. They took his blood pressure and reassured him that his vitals were all normal then took out his catheter and got him up and to the bathroom. He really did feel okay and was happy when they agreed to remove his IV. He asked for some juice then asked for somebody to find Sage. They all tittered over that and finally left him alone with Caylee.
“Where is she?”
“Her parents called. Don’t worry. She’ll be right back. She’s been here stressing over you since you tried to play hero yesterday.”
Cam smiled.
“She’s a doll. I can see her being my sister,” Caylee said with a broad wink.
Cam’s insides warmed. Caylee approved. Sage had been in his arms before the attack. Now if only he could show her how he felt. But first he had to get out of this bed again, brush his teeth, take a shower, and find some real clothes.
“I don’t want to talk to her right now.”
“What!” Caylee exploded.
“Not like this.” He gestured to himself. “Get me some toiletries, sis, and help me get cleaned up.”
“Dude, you just came out of a gnarly concussion. She’s not going to care if your butt is hanging out of your hospital gown.”
“I care. This is one of those things you have to do right.”
Sage rolled her eyes, but pushed the nurse’s button as Cam elevated his bed and concentrated on ignoring the pain in his head and swinging his feet to the ground. He’d get cleaned up somehow. Then he’d find Sage and show her exactly how much he cared.
Cam wrapped his hands around the scratchy blanket and pushed it off of him.
“So, you really care about this girl, huh?”
“I love her, and I want to tell her that somewhere more romantic than a hospital room.”
Caylee beamed at him. “You love her?”
He nodded.
“Well, let’s get you cleaned up. Then you just need to talk to her and try to contain all your flowery expressions of love.” She winked, knowing anything Cam said would not be flowery.
“Okay.” A rush of excitement alleviated some of his pain as he thought of seeing Sage. The nurses listened to Caylee’s explanations of why he needed to get cleaned up, but the young one was adamant. “He needs to get cleared by the doc if he wants to check out.”
“No, I don’t.” Cam growled at her. “I can leave against medical advice anytime I want. If you want me cleared, find the doc.”
“Okay.” She hustled out of the room as the other nurse helped Caylee get toiletries set up for him in the bathroom. The hospital had some clothes for him. They fit horribly. The T-shirt was too tight on his shoulders, and the sweats were riding up on his ankles, but he couldn’t be picky right now.
It was humiliating that the nurse insisted on staying with him while she cleaned him up, but Caylee had promised to go find Sage and take her to the courtyard. The nurse said it was pretty with flowers and benches. Anywhere but a hospital room to be with Sage.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sage backed away from Cam’s hospital room door. Caylee’s voice cussing Cam out followed her down the hallway. I don’t want to talk to her. Those lines repeated over and over again in her mind. Why didn’t he want to talk her? What had she done now? Her being injured before had flipped him out and made him turn from her. Had him being injured done the same? All she knew was she couldn’t handle this emotional roller coaster.
Cam had risked his life to save her, but that was his job. His instinct was to save. She loved him, and not just because of how heroic or handsome he was. She truly loved him. She shook her head and hurried down the hospital hallway. If he didn’t want to talk to her, there was nothing she could do to change his mind. Tears flowed freely as she hurried to escape.
Sage’s parents had brought her car last night, so she could leave if she needed to, or to take Cam home after he awakened, like they all had been hoping and praying for. Now he was awake, but it was nothing like she’d been hoping for. She should just go find her car and get out of here, but she was hesitant to leave. She wanted to give Cam the benefit of the doubt, but she really didn’t know if she could handle a relationship with someone who kept saying things that hurt her, whether it was intentional or not.
She was pacing the hallway instead of leaving like she’d planned when Caylee came running toward her.
“Sage! Come with me.” She dragged her away from Cam’s room.
“What? Where are we going?”
“Cam’s awake, and he wants to talk to you.”
“Shouldn’t we go to his room then?”
“He wants to talk to you somewhere nicer.” Caylee winked at her and continued dragging her down the hall and into an exterior area that was filled with trees, bushes, flowers, picnic tables, and benches. “Okay. We need to wait here for a little bit.”
Sage wanted to ask Caylee about what Cam had said. If he wanted to see her here, why hadn’t he wanted to see her in his room? She hated to act insecure, but it was eating at her.
Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and smiled. “This is my brother,” she said to Caylee.
She pushed yes to answer the FaceTime call and smiled at his handsome mug. “Hey, Levi,” she said.
“Whoa, he’s a hottie,” Caylee said over her shoulder.
Sage smiled.
“Who is that?” Levi asked.
“Caylee. She’s Cam’s sister.”
“Hi.” Caylee gave him a little wave and a flirtatious smile.
“Hey.” Levi grinned, lifting his eyebrows in a suggestive way that almost brought a smile to Sage’s face. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
“Is Cam okay?”
“Yes.” Caylee answered for Sage. “He just woke up, and he wants to talk to Sage alone.” She drawled out alone like Cam was going to either attack her or ask her to marry him.
“No, he doesn’t. I heard him tell you that he doesn’t want to see me.”
“What?” Levi and Caylee both exploded.
“Why would he say that?” Levi asked.
“No, you misunderstood the context.” Caylee defended Cam. “He didn’t mean it like that.”
“Obviously it sounded like that to Sage. This is the second, or no, third time he’s made her feel bad.” Levi’s brow was drawn down. “That’s it! You’re staying away from him, and I’m coming there on the next plane to kick his butt.”
Caylee grabbed the phone from Sage’s hand. “It’s a misunderstanding. You don’t need to overreact like some roided-up Neanderthal.”
“Overreact?” Levi huffed. “I don’t overreact. I’m the calmest person I know!”
“Ooh, think pretty highly of yourself, do you?”
“No.”
Sage stared at Caylee and her brother on her phone. They were screaming at each other, and she didn’t know how to fix the situation.
“Of course you do. I’ve dated Air Force pilots before. You’re better than all of us lowly civilian folk. Your parents must be so proud.” Caylee�
��s voice dripped with venom.
Sage had gotten to know Cam’s sister over the past two days, and she really liked her. She had no clue she could be so fiery and defensive. Obviously she was defending Cam and the way she’d emphasized parents was pretty telling, but did she have to attack Levi?
“Who are you?” Levi asked. “Give me back to my sister.”
“No! Not until you say you’re sorry and apologize to my brother.”
“Apologize to your brother? He needs to apologize to my sister! He’s the one who keeps breaking her heart, who doesn’t know how to treat her right. Your dad must’ve completely failed on training him how to respect a woman.”
“We don’t have a dad!” Caylee yelled.
“Sage?” The deep, husky whisper came from behind her.
She whirled around and just drank in the sight of him. Cam had bags under his eyes, bruises on his face and arms, but his deep blue gaze was solely focused on her like she was the only woman in the world. She liked the way his too-small t-shirt emphasized his muscular shoulders. Taking a cautious step toward him, she ignored the verbal match behind her.
“I can’t believe you’re out of bed,” she said.
He took a few more halting steps her direction. “The doctor wasn’t very happy about it.”
“We should get you back to bed.” She crossed to him and held out her hand.
Cam took her hand, squeezing it gently. Warmth traced up her fingers and seemed to wrap around her heart.
“No. Not until I talk to you for a little while.”
“Why do you want to talk to me now?” She couldn’t help the defensive tone that crept into her words. She felt awful that he’d gotten hurt so badly protecting her, but she didn’t want to hear his excuses for why he’d said something so hurtful again.
His eyes widened. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I heard what you said.” She bit her cheek. “You didn’t want to talk to me earlier.”
“I didn’t want to see you while I was laid out in a hospital bed. I do have a little bit of pride.”
“Too much pride I’d say.”
Cam gave a soft laugh and tugged her toward him. “We need to get something straight, beautiful girl.”
Sage couldn’t hide the smile that his endearment brought to her face, even though she was a little upset that he’d laugh at her. “What’s that?”
“If we’re going to be together, you’re going to have to get over these insecurities.”
Sage stared at him. “I’ve been dealing with them all of my life.”
Cam wrapped his arm around her waist. “Well, you’re done with them.”
Sage’s breath shortened. “How do you figure?”
He moved even closer. He didn’t smell like his usual cologne, but he smelled clean and his breath was minty. “I’m going to spend every day telling you how beautiful you are, how much I love you, and how special you are to me, and you’re going to believe me.”
“Oh, really? Says who?” Now she was really smiling. He loved her, and he planned to spend every day telling her?
“I’m the captain. You have to obey me.”
Sage laughed. “So, Coach Captain Cameron Christian Compton. I’m going to have to spend every day obeying you?”
He grinned. “Yep.”
“What’s my first order?” She mockingly saluted him.
“I’m hurting pretty bad.”
“Oh.” Sage felt awful. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I need some kisses to make it better.”
“Oh? I think I can do that. Where?”
He held out his arm that had a large bruise on it. Sage gently kissed it. Cam smiled and turned his head where there were scrapes down his neck. She kissed him softly there. Cam let out a soft moan that made her stomach smolder. He pointed to his cheek, and she kissed it. Cam grinned and pointed to his lips.
Sage laughed. “I don’t see any cuts or bruises there.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m the captain, and when I give an order, you have to obey.”
Sage’s laughter deepened. “O Captain, My Captain,” she said before she kissed him and savored the warmth of his lips and the feel of his large hands pulling her in.
“I can see this is going to be a very well-balanced relationship,” Sage said. “You giving orders and me fulfilling them.”
Cam smiled down at her. “I love you, Sage. You have my heart. I’m going to spend my life following your orders.”
“Oh?” Her heart was thumping hard at his tender words. They weren’t ones she ever thought she’d hear from the tough Captain. “I didn’t know a Captain knew how to obey orders.”
“If I can be with you, I’ll learn.”
Sage gave him a quick kiss. “How about we just work together and nobody orders anybody around?”
“Sounds good.” He kissed her back. “Unless I need kisses to make it better. I might have to order you around then.”
“We’ll make an exception then.”
“I might need some more kisses right now.”
“How many?”
“Let’s start with twenty and see how that goes.”
Sage smiled and kissed him. She lost track of time and kisses as she savored being in his arms.
“You two done with all the love talk? I think we’d better get this tough guy laying down again.” Caylee’s amused voice came from behind them.
“I’m feeling miraculously better.” Cam nuzzled Sage’s neck with his lips and held her close. “You done yelling at Levi?”
“I hung up on him.” Caylee held the phone out. “Family parties should be fun with that guy.”
Sage pocketed her phone. “We’ll have to teach you two how to kiss and make up.”
“Don’t plan on it with that thick-skulled punk.”
Cam laughed. “I guess I’ll have to call Levi back and make amends for my family.”
“Man, you are turning into some kind of wimp,” Caylee said.
Cam focused back on Sage. “Don’t tell my crew, but for this woman, I’ll be a wimp.”
Caylee laughed at them as Cam kissed Sage again. He could never be a wimp, but she loved knowing that he would do anything for her.
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Thank you for reading Rescued by Love. If you enjoyed Cam and Sage’s story, you might also enjoy Pass Interference: A Last Play Romance. Keep reading for a sneak peek!
Pass Interference: A Last Play Romance
“Lily.” Ike interrupted her as she demonstrated to the six a.m. group training session how to do a proper dropping pushup. Several of them were cheating and she knew they could do it correctly and would thank, or possibly cuss, her tomorrow when their chest muscles felt like they’d been ripped apart.
“Malee needs you,” Ike said.
“I’m in the middle of a session here.”
“I’ll take over.”
She hesitated.
“She said it’s really important.” Ike winked. “Like maybe as important as you going out with me Saturday night.”
“Not happening, Ike.”
Several of the class members overheard and snickered at Lily shooting down the body-building trainer. His looks weren’t the problem, it was his attitude toward women. Like they were beneath him in the professional realm, but he would forgive them for that if they fawned all over him and dated him. Ick. He asked Lily out so often she’d become an expert at rejecting him.
“You’ll give in someday.”
She laughed. “I highly doubt that.”
“You really need to go talk to Malee now.”
Lily noted that he was actually being serious and acquiesced. “Okay. The workout’s all on the board.”
Ike squeezed her arm as she walked past.
“Thanks,” she muttered. He was an okay guy, but always too
cocky and flirtatious. She was at the gym to work or workout, not to flirt, but that was a hard concept for some of the men.
A few of her class participants gave her desperate looks. They liked her to be there to motivate them through the boot camp style class. Ike did a good job. He just wasn’t as intense as she was, tended to start talking with the clients rather than pushing and motivating them the entire hour.
Lily always made sure that her clients got their money and time’s worth and then some. She’d lived through lean times growing up with six siblings and fighting her way through college with a scholarship, grants, and a full-time waitressing job. She worked in the fanciest gym in Golden, Colorado, the Fitness Academy. It was nice and had all the equipment a trainer or gym goer could hope for. It might not be as ritzy as some of the gyms in downtown Denver, but it was closer to her home and family in Georgetown, and the rent in Golden was much cheaper than Denver. Some trainers, Ike, would claim she shouldn’t feel guilty about taking rich people’s money, but she refused to take advantage of a client’s time or money, no matter how much of it they seemed to have.
She walked down the hallway and the stairs to the personal training office across from the main weight room. Poking her head in, she saw a tall, well-formed man with his back to her. Some men were just built right and this guy definitely had some good genes. The broad shoulders and sculpted lines of his neck, back, and arms, right down to his glutes and legs. The soft cotton of his T-shirt and fleece of his sweats couldn’t hide any of his musculature from her trained eye.
Was he applying to be a new trainer? Lily immediately felt the competition swell in her. She was fighting to get enough clients as it was. Giving deals for training and trying to prove she was every bit as good as any male trainer. With her specialty in sports-specific training, she was building up a great clientele of high school athletes, and even some from the local college. Her dream was to someday work for the Denver Storm. A girl had to have dreams, even if they were monstrously big.
Her boss, Malee, stared at the man as if he was a superstar. That didn’t bode well if she was hiring him to train here. Lily really liked Malee and she was great to shuttle clients Lily’s way, but this guy could steal her clientele just by being a walking billboard. Maybe he was a future client, though he didn’t look like he needed any body sculpting help, that was for sure. Their low conversation didn’t carry, so sadly Lily wasn’t getting any clues ahead of time.
Rescued By Love: Park City Firefighter Romance Page 12
