by J. H. Croix
With this coffee, I didn’t even think sugar could mask its prepackaged flavor. I had just taken another gulp when I heard the sound of movement behind me. Glancing back, I saw Boone. He wore a hospital gown and had an IV on a wheeled stand beside him. His head was shaved on one side, and a row of stitches was visible.
The subtle motion of the coffee in the thin paper cup alerted me to the tremor in my hands. I was frozen for a moment, my eyes scanning over him before I took several steps in his direction.
My heart was pounding so hard, every beat reverberated through my entire body. “Oh my God, Boone. Are you okay?” My voice sounded shaky as I suddenly rushed at him, closing the distance between us. I caught myself, stopping abruptly in front of him. “What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be in your bed or something?”
My eyes scanned him rapidly, and I lifted a hand. I placed it incongruously on the wheeled IV stand, almost afraid to touch him anywhere.
“I’m fine,” he murmured, his voice coming out just ragged enough that I thought he was deathly ill.
I pointed up at the stitches on the side of his head. “You cut your head.” My voice sounded weird and jerky, and my hand shook when I held it up.
“I’m fine, baby,” Boone said, taking a step closer and sliding an arm over my shoulder and down my back. He somehow managed to pull me close even though he was hooked up to an IV.
“You’re not fine, Boone,” I protested. For some strange reason, arguing over whether or not he was fine steadied me inside. “What happened?” I peered up at him, my heart squeezing and anxiety spinning tightly in my chest.
“We responded to an accident. I climbed down a cliff with Jackson and some of the other guys. The last thing I remember is looking up at Walker on the way up. Apparently, a good size rock fell and hit me on the head. I was just about to call you,” he said, his hand sliding up and down my back in a soothing pass.
I didn’t quite feel right that he was the one trying to comfort me, so I tried to take charge. “You need to go back to your room. Isn’t there something about head injury protocol? Do that.”
He let out a gruff laugh, pulling me against his chest. I took a breath and burrowed my face into his neck. He smelled like disinfectant. “Yeah, they already did that. I’ve been awake long enough. I guess someone will need to keep an eye on me until tonight, but I’m fine. I promise.”
“Well then, why are you hooked up to an IV? Plus, they did a terrible job shaving your head,” I murmured into his chest.
I looked up again, raising a hand to lightly trace my fingers along his shaved hairline just beside the stitches. It was a neat, tidy line of stitches, roughly three inches long. “Have you seen yourself?”
A smile kicked up at one corner of his lips. “Yep. It’ll grow back.”
“I can get you an appointment with my boyfriend to tidy up the other side,” a voice said from the doorway.
Peering out from the shelter of Boone’s embrace, I saw the same nurse who I thought might have been kinder than Miss Protocol.
Boone glanced over and smiled slightly. “Brent, this is Grace. She found me before I even called her.” Brent stepped into the room, crossing toward us. Boone looked from me to him, adding, “He’s been my nighttime nurse, the one who’s been checking on me. Thank God I can deal with him.”
I met Brent’s eyes and smiled. “I found him even though Miss Protocol wouldn’t tell me where he was. Now, can you help me get him back to his room? Because somehow, I don’t think he’s supposed to be wandering the halls.”
Brent’s brows hitched up. “Miss protocol, huh? Don’t give her too hard of a time. She’s just doing her job. And yes, I’d be glad to escort Boone back to his room. He absconded without telling any of us where he was going,” Brent offered pointedly.
Boone—who was too cheerful by far, as far as I was concerned—chuckled as he turned to follow Brent out of the room and down the hallway while I followed. “My ibuprofen kicked in. Plus, you said I should be cleared to go soon.
Brent glanced over his shoulder. “After the doctor clears you. In the meantime, let’s go to your room and check all your vitals before I unhook you from the IV.”
While we were walking down the hall, Dawson’s voice carried to us. “Well, there you are.” Looking back, I saw Dawson break into a jog to catch up to us. “The lady at the front wouldn’t tell me a damn thing.” He stopped beside us, where we had paused to wait in the hallway. “Looking good,” he drawled with a nod at Boone’s stitches.
Boone winked. “I needed another scar. Plus, when my hair grows in, this one won’t show.”
“Damn good thing,” Dawson teased.
“How is this funny?” I demanded, looking between them.
“Because he’s fine,” Dawson said, his smile fading as he looked at me. “We weren’t laughing last night. But, now that we know he’s okay, we can tease him. This is how we cope.”
I took in a shuddering breath and shook my head. “Fine.” Looking to Brent, I added, “Let’s get him to his room, so you can do whatever you need to do.”
“I sure as hell don’t want to stay any longer than I have to, so if you could speed this process up, that would be great,” Boone chimed in.
“You’re staying as long as they tell you to stay,” I said sternly.
Dawson’s brows hitched up. “Better listen to Grace.”
As I followed them down the hallway and into the hospital room where Brent began the steps that would lead to Boone’s discharge, I tried to get my heart to calm down. Although I’d been slowly circling this conclusion for weeks now, there was an urgency to my feelings now.
As painfully difficult as it was to let go and try to trust in Boone and what we had, either I scrambled up the courage to do so, or I regretted it for the rest of my life.
I loved him, and I didn’t want to miss any more time with him. I was tired of trying to play it cool, tired of working so hard to keep my walls up because it kept me safe.
Somewhere along the way that morning, we had a brief few moments alone. This was after Dawson had departed, and a few other friends had checked in. Brent left the room with assurances that the doctor who’d already been by was signing off on Boone’s discharge.
I glanced over to where Boone sat with his hips resting on the edge of the hospital bed. He had changed out of his hospital gown into a pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt, graciously delivered by Jackson after I gave him the keys to the duplex.
Boone was running his finger over the area where the IV needle had punctured his skin on the inside of his forearm. He looked up, catching my eyes. “No bruising. Whoever put that in did a clean job.”
Caught in his warm gaze, emotion tightened in my chest and my heart swelled, beating wildly. “I’m guessing that was Brent, huh?”
“Maybe,” he replied as he looked at me across the space that separated us. I was standing by the windows, with my arms crossed tightly in front of my chest. As if drawn up by an invisible string, I turned, my arms falling loose as I closed the distance between us and stopped in front of him.
Boone rested his hands on my hips and pulled me in between his knees. “I love you,” I whispered. I let it slip out, too tired of even trying to hold it at bay, much less trying to keep the truth from him.
His eyes swung to mine, the intensity in his gaze stealing my breath. “I never stopped loving you, Grace.”
And then, he was pressing hot, open kisses on the side of my neck and proceeded to get a little bit naughty for hospital room protocol.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Boone
I leaned back into the cushions on the couch in Grace’s living room. I rolled my shoulder experimentally, just testing to see how it felt. Although I didn’t remember the rock hitting me on the head, I definitely remembered the one that whacked me on the shoulder.
My shoulder was sore, but it would be okay. Strangely, my head hurt less. Probably because I didn’t move it all the damn time. Two days had p
assed since I was discharged after that night in the hospital, two days during which Grace fussed over me like crazy.
She approached from the kitchen with a tray that had a large pizza, specially made for me by Dani along with a beer from Lost Deer Brewery. I’d had to have Brent call her to assure her it was okay for me to drink beer. I wasn’t even taking anything more than ibuprofen, but she worried anyway.
She set the pizza down on the coffee table and handed me the beer. I immediately set it down, catching the hem of her shirt and tugging her close. “Come here.”
She was wearing a loose T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that swung around her ankles. There was nothing remarkable about what she was wearing, but I thought she was sexy as hell. Her hair was piled up in some sort of bun on top of her head with loose tendrils framing her face.
“I’m right here,” she replied as she glanced down at me, brushing an errant lock of hair away from her forehead with the back of her wrist.
“No, I mean, come here.” I snuck an arm around her hips to pull her down on my lap.
“Boone! What are you doing?”
When she wiggled, I held her firm. “Getting you right where I want you,” I teased.
I knew she could feel the hard ridge of my arousal pressing against her bottom, and that was perfectly all right with me. I had a point to make.
“You’re injured,” she protested as she turned to look at me, her cheeks flushed pretty and pink.
“I’m completely fine. Is it my hair? I thought Brent’s boyfriend did a nice job of evening it out.”
Grace giggled. “It’s not your hair, and he did make it look much better,” she said, lifting a hand and smoothing it over my close-cropped locks.
“Grace,” I pleaded. “I’ve got you all to myself, and you’re treating me like I’m fine china. They don’t even think I’ll have any residual effects from getting knocked out.”
I gave her a little tug, and she fell against me. I pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her and reveling in the feel of her skin rising in goosebumps under my lips as I trailed hot kisses across her collarbone.
“Boone,” she protested, rather weakly I might add. I knew I’d won when she let out a soft moan when I nipped the sensitive skin right behind her ear.
“Come on, sweetheart. I’ll let you be on top,” I murmured as I reached between her thighs.
“Not fair,” she gasped as her hips arched reflexively into my touch.
I slid a hand up under her T-shirt, gratified to find she wasn’t wearing a bra. I was even more gratified to discover her nipples puckered tightly as I cupped a breast and teased my thumb back and forth over one.
Once I sweet-talked her out of her clothes, I made quick work of mine. Despite her protests, I was perfectly capable of getting my shirt off and freeing my cock from my boxers.
“I promise I’ll rest and just sit right here,” I teased as I leaned over to catch one of her peaked nipples with my mouth, giving it a sharp suck and a nip with my teeth.
“You’re nothing but trouble,” she murmured as I snuck my hand back between her thighs to find her hot, wet, and ready for me.
Despite her protestations, she didn’t resist, straddling me and rising up, her gaze flashing as I felt the sweet heat of her entrance tease the head of my cock.
“I’m nothing but yours,” I said just as I gripped her hips and guided her down over me.
Much as I liked to think I had some control when it came to Grace, I had none. She shredded it. As her slick heat sheathed me, I let my head fall back into the couch pillows, letting out a rough groan.
It didn’t take long before my release was barreling towards me, spinning tighter and tighter inside as Grace cried out when I pressed my thumb over her clit. Her nipples jutted forward when she arched back, her entire body shattering. I let go, surrendering myself to her and to the rush of my release.
I was hers—body, heart, and soul.
Epilogue
Grace
Approximately 5 years later
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said, hands on my hips as I stared up at Bruce. He let out a plaintive meow, his tail twitching from where he sat perched on the tree branch. “How the hell did you get up there? And Boone isn’t home, so I don’t even know what I’m gonna do.” I eyed Bruce, considering my options.
Bruce came to us as a kitten when he was found wandering on the side of the road near Stolen Hearts Lodge. With Wayne having passed away peacefully in his sleep a few months prior, we hadn’t hesitated to take in Bruce. Since Wayne had been named after Bruce Wayne, we stuck with the tradition and gave Bruce the other half of the name. We’d have to get more creative if we ever got another cat.
Even with the ladder, Bruce was out of my reach. I let out a sigh.
“Hey, sweetheart!” Boone called from behind me.
Turning back, my heart thumped hard, and a smile stretched across my face. “Perfect timing,” I called as I approached him. “You’re home a day early.”
“Daddy!”
I watched as our son raced across the yard, bumping into his father’s calves and flinging his arms around his knees. At one month past three years old, Adam was constantly on the move.
Boone swept Adam up into his arms, lifting him high and spinning him in a circle before he lowered him to rest on his hip.
“How ya doing, buddy?” Boone asked as he reached a hand toward me, gesturing for me to come closer.
Adam launched into one long run-on sentence, ending with “…and then my spider toy got torn by Bruce.”
Boone pressed a kiss to Adam’s forehead. “Well, if that’s the worst thing that happened while I was gone, that’s not too bad.”
Boone pulled me close, his arm sliding down my back and coming to rest at the dip of my waist. I glanced up just as he looked my way, his warm gaze catching me. “And how about you?”
“Bruce is in the tree again, and I’m glad you got home early.”
With Adam still in his arms, he dusted a kiss on my temple and caught my lips with his briefly, the promise contained there enough to send my belly spinning in flips.
“You have a job to do,” Adam announced, bouncing his heels against Boone’s leg.
“Sure looks like it. Why don’t I go ahead and take care of that?”
He released me and eased Adam to the ground, striding into the shed along the side of the house and returning with the ladder.
Not much later, we were in the kitchen. I made pancakes while Boone filled us in on why he got back a day early. Short answer: he and Wade drove through the night like idiots. As it was, he was exhausted, but I wasn’t going to complain. He was back home, and that was pretty much all that mattered.
I set down a plate in front of him and another in front of Adam. He’d been chattering nonstop to Boone. “Oh, before I forget. We’ve got the guys coming to fix the boiler this afternoon. I hoped to have it done before you got home, but you’re early.”
One of those dangerous smiles unfurled across Boone’s face. Slow and sly and guaranteed to get me a little hot and bothered. “I don’t mind. Just good to be home.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and I took a breath, letting it out slowly. I had another surprise to share with Boone, but that would wait for later. For now, I’d bask in the fact that he was home.
Four years had passed, during which a lot had happened. Boone asked me to marry him late one afternoon when we were still living in the shared duplex. He’d paid rent all along, but it was a complete waste of money. His place was really nothing more than a glorified closet for him.
We still rented the duplex out, and it was a good source of passive income. We’d moved though. Boone built us a house, nestled into a bluff that looked out over Stolen Hearts Valley. I adored it.
It did, in fact, turn out that those migraines had been a side effect of my birth control pills. My IUD had served me well until it fell out, and Boone and I decided to take that as the
chance to try to get pregnant. That had happened remarkably fast.
I’d finished my dissertation and taken a position at the local community college. I also still covered shifts at Stolen Hearts Lodge whenever Dani was in a pinch.
Meanwhile, Boone was still a first responder, but his position had expanded to doing trainings all over the country. He traveled every few months, and I missed him even when it was only a few days.
My attention was brought back to the moment by Bruce jumping on the table and swiping Adam’s pancake.
“He took my pancake!” Adam exclaimed.
Boone caught my eye, fighting a grin before he glanced over at our son, his gaze completely somber. “He did. What shall we do about that?”
Bruce was tearing at it on the floor by the window, so the pancake was a lost cause. Adam sighed and looked up at me. “Do we have any left?”
After breakfast, while I was making a fresh pot of coffee, my mother arrived to pick up Adam for the day. The moment she was out the door, Boone came up behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist and dropped hot kisses along the sensitive skin right at the juncture of my neck and shoulder.
I shivered slightly and leaned my head back. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Not too tired for this,” he murmured right before he cupped my jaw lightly, angling my face so he could bring his lips to mine.
Boone
I dropped my head into the dip of Grace’s shoulder, still shuddering from my release. The thing was, I couldn’t be away from Grace for any length of time without wanting her the moment I saw her again.
I prided myself on being a good father, but the hardest part was keeping my hands to myself when our son was around.
“Thank God your mom was already coming to pick Adam up,” I commented when I lifted my head.
We were still in the kitchen. Because, yeah, I had it that bad for Grace. It was all about efficiency when I was this desperate for her. We happened to be standing in the kitchen the moment I got her alone. I was quite convinced kitchen counters were made for sex more than anything else. The height was just perfect. Grace’s legs were curled around my hips. She relaxed them, letting them dangle off the counter as I brushed her hair back from her face.
