The Love He Craves (The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan Book 2)

by Jenkins, Gemma

  She retrieved her toothbrush and tube of toothpaste from her overnight bag and disappeared into the bathroom. As soon as she was locked in, she leaned against the door, drawing deep breaths into her lungs to try to calm herself. She would have stayed in there the rest of the night, sleeping on the floor if she could have, just to get away from them. Unfortunately, she couldn't.

  After brushing her teeth, Nyxie emerged and went about ignoring them as she made up the couch to go to bed.

  She lifted the quilt and climbed into her makeshift bed, pulling the quilt over her shoulders and closed her eyes before remembering she needed to charge her phone. With a sigh of irritation, she got up and took her phone to the plug with the power strip they had all been using to charge their phones. Six plugs with six chargers and hers the only one able to charge tonight. Hopefully, Kylie would have thought to buy one when she took the kids to the store to buy pajamas and clothing for the next day and whatever else they needed. She unplugged Declan's charger. He had an important call to make in the morning. His phone needed to be charged and even if it didn't, it was exactly the excuse she needed to leave the RV until they were asleep.

  "Declan's phone battery was low. He needs to charge it to call about his fellowship. I've got my keys to the RV. No need to wait up for me."

  As quickly as she could, she put on her shoes and slipped out the door into the brightly lit parking lot. She kept her eyes moving as she crossed the mostly deserted asphalt. It felt a lot like crossing the truck stop lot at home. She tried to be on the lookout without being overly scared. But she was relieved when she was back inside the hospital.

  Nearly all the people she saw were leaving and she knew visiting hours were over, so she took the stairs to his floor because the elevators opened up right in front of the nurses' station.

  The room was mostly dark, but light enough for the nurses to move around when they made their rounds. With his eyes bandaged, it was hard to tell if he was asleep. His breathing seemed deep and steady, so she crept around as quietly as possible to put his phone on to charge.

  He hadn't stirred. She should just go back to the RV but she needed to be with him for a little bit. Climbing onto the bed near the foot, she slowly crawled between Declan and the rail. She intended to lie down beside him for just a few minutes.

  "Nurse, what are you doing? My wife could walk in and catch us."

  "Jerk!"

  He laughed. "Uh, I mean, Nyxie, what are you doing? The nurse could…. I knew it was you," he said opening and lifting his arms to the side so he could hold her. She stretched out on her side next to him and his arm pulled her firmly to his side with her head on his shoulder.

  "That didn't take you long to escape my parents. I figured you'd wait until you heard Coach snoring."

  "Your parents walked in on me while I was changing. They saw my bruises," she blurted. "Who walks in through a closed door without knocking? They just stood there staring. I had to tell them to shut the door. If I walked in on someone wearing nothing but their undies, my reflex would be to close the door or turn around before I saw anything. Not them—not your parents. No. They had to look their fill."

  "Shit. Did I leave marks this afternoon?"

  "Oh, yeah."

  Nyxie expected him to chew her out for not locking the door. She blamed herself, why wouldn't he blame her? If she had locked the door, none of that would've happened.

  "Don't let it bother you. I’ll take care of it."

  Nyxie's whole body relaxed with relief. She resisted the urge to ask him what he intended to say or do. Her Dom had said he would take care of it and that was all she needed to know.

  "May I stay here with you?" she asked.

  "I was hoping you would."

  Chapter 39

  Declan hovered in that realm between wake and sleep when an involuntary noise of surprise came from the nurse upon seeing Nyxie in bed with him.

  "Shh, you'll wake her," he whispered.

  With his eyes bandaged, he could only follow the nurse by listening to her movements.

  "Visiting hours are over."

  "We’re not from Colorado. We are on our honeymoon." He didn’t mention they had an RV in the parking lot where she could go because he liked having Nyxie right where she was, next to his side.

  The nurse huffed quietly. "I can get her a cot, but she can't stay in the bed. She could become tangled in your IV or mess up your blood pressure readings."

  "She stays."

  Declan’s head jerked away when he felt an intrusion into his ear. He quickly realized she was taking his temperature.

  "Can you, please, tell me what you're doing before you do it?"

  "I need to take your blood pressure but I can't with your arm under her."

  Knowing that taking the blood pressure on an arm with an IV was only done in unusual circumstances, Declan reached behind his head and extracted his pillow. As gently as he could, he lifted Nyxie's head and replaced his arm with the pillow. Before he could roll her away from his chest, the nurse gave Nyxie a brusque shake.

  "Come on, sweetie, it's time to go."

  "She stays," Declan said forcefully.

  "Oh, sorry, I guess I'm in the way," Nyxie said, pushing herself upward.

  "Yes."

  Throwing his recently freed arm across her to prevent her from getting up, Declan softened his tone and said, "You're fine, baby. Go back to sleep."

  The nurse stayed quiet for a beat before speaking. "I don't know what they do where you're from, but this is unacceptable."

  "Look, she stays where she is, or I walk, AMA."

  "Declan…,” Nyxie said in a plaintive tone.

  "I can't force you to stay if you want to leave against medical advice, but you will leave without your follow-up instructions and prescriptions. If you don't put the antibiotic meds in your eyes, you could get an infection and lose your sight permanently."

  "What's your name?"

  Declan heard the nurse shift and wondered if she was pointing at a whiteboard on the wall.

  "Jenny."

  "First of all, Jenny, I have an M.D. after my name. I already know the follow-up instructions and I can write my own script for the antibiotics and if I need more than something over-the-counter for pain, I have friends who can call one in for me. I am young and healthy. Neither the surgery on my eye nor the setting of my nose could be called invasive. I am not really sure why they decided to keep me overnight other than to check my eyes in the morning."

  "It's against the rules."

  "Please," he said. "It's been a really stressful day. If she's not next to me, how will I know she is here?"

  "Christ! Whatever," Jenny said, giving in. “Apparently it's true what they say about doctors being the worst patients."

  "Thank you. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

  ~*~

  Roy and Dorothea entered the hospital room well before visiting hours commenced to find Nyxie in bed stretched out next to Declan.

  "See, I told you she would be here," Dorothea said. "No reason to call out a search party."

  "Shh," Declan said quietly. "Don't wake her up. She had a rough day yesterday."

  Nyxie stretched slightly, her body and hand moving against him with a small groan radiating from her throat. "I'm awake," she rasped. "’Morning."

  He felt her stretching towards his face and he automatically turned his head and waited for the kiss he knew was coming. Her hand reached out and her fingertips gently scrubbed at his unshaven whisker stubble. Their lips touched in a quick peck and he could feel Nyxie pulling away to climb out of bed.

  "Stay," he said, trying to tighten his grip before she left his side.

  "I need to pee," she said impatiently, pulling free and navigating around the bed rail to climb out. His side instantly felt the chilled air of the room as her heat quickly dissipated, making him tug the covers up.

  “Uh, excuse me," he heard Nyxie say and wondered who she was talking to, his father or his mother. “I, uh, need my p
urse.”

  He could imagine her cheeks turning bright pink, as asking for her bag on the way into the bathroom was tantamount to standing on a crate and announcing she was having her period. "Thanks."

  The latch to the bathroom door clicked, followed by the rattle of the lock. Who could blame her for locking it when his parents had already invaded her privacy once.

  Shit, he thought as he remembered what Nyxie had told him that they had seen when they walked in on her changing her clothes. He wished he could see his parents' faces right now—gauge their reaction to last night's unfortunate reveal. Maybe it was just as well that he couldn't see their expressions. Would they look hurt, as if they had created a monster? Did his mother look angry or his father look as if he had wished he had turned Major over his knee a few times? Maybe she wouldn't be such a hard-ass if he had.

  Say something, say anything.

  "I guess they'll release me in a couple of hours," he said.

  "Yes, I think the nurse mentioned it yesterday," Dorothea said, her tight disapproval evident in her voice.

  "Have you already booked your flight home?"

  "Not yet," his father answered. "We wanted to hear what the ophthalmologist had to say."

  "Do you need to hurry back? They're supposed to remove the patch from my left eye, but even so, I don't think I should drive—no depth perception and all that. I thought, since Dad drives the team in the big motor coach buses, maybe you could drive the RV for me so we could meet back up with the kids. I was hoping you might take the kids to the Grand Canyon and Four Corners while Nyxie and I head home in the Jeep."

  "The Grand Canyon?" Major said. "Kids won't like the Grand Canyon. They would be bored in fifteen minutes."

  "Book one of those helicopter tours or something. Take them to the zoo if you want. They've never gone anywhere or done anything. Cody's not up to anything too physical—no amusement parks. Maybe you could take them rafting if you can find someplace tame."

  "I don't know," Roy said. "School is starting in a couple of weeks, I was planning on starting two-a-days on Monday."

  "Dad, can’t Ronnie handle that until Wednesday? Or are you afraid he'll outshine you?"

  "Ha! That man doesn't know anything that I didn't teach him."

  "Please, Dad. It’ll give you a chance to get to know your new grandkids. And Kylie will stay. She’ll take responsibility for keeping them entertained—she's great—it won't be any work."

  "Declan, honey—"

  Nyxie came out of the bathroom, stopping Dorothea's protests. "I don't think it's a good idea either," she said, obviously overhearing the whole conversation. "I can drive the RV. Didn't I already prove it? The kids will understand why we have to go back early. Your folks can fly back today."

  "Yes, and you driving the RV may have been the most terrifying four hours of my life, baby. Besides, if we all go back together, the Jeep will be in-tow. It will be like learning to drive it from scratch again. The RV will be harder to stop and the brakes could get hot negotiating the mountains. I'd rather have an experienced driver at the wheel. Besides, you and I will get a few days by ourselves on our honeymoon."

  Declan heard Nyxie's soft sigh of resignation and knew she would not protest further. Wow, perhaps his senses were heightened as they said happens when people lose their sight. He assumed it was a skill that normally developed over time. Or perhaps he just knew his wife that well.

  "Mom, Dad, it's up to y'all."

  He wondered what looks were passing around the room. Was Nyxie pleading with her eyes for them to say no? Did his parents look irritated?

  "When was the last time y'all had a vacation? And it's all on me. If the bed isn't comfortable enough, spend the night at a hotel and get a couple of suites."

  "And you wonder why you're blowing through your inheritance," his mother grumbled.

  "Mom, I'm not. I get a paycheck. I paid cash for the house, so I don't have a lot of daily expenses."

  "Had a paycheck. Isn't your residency over?"

  With everything that had happened, Declan had almost forgotten the call from Dr. Hastings. "Oh, what time is it? I need to call Dr. Hastings about the fellowship."

  "It's 8:30—9:30 back home."

  He heard movement around the room. "Here's your phone," Nyxie said.

  "Did you dial it for me?"

  She pulled back the phone. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

  "Wait," Declan said. He took a deep breath to relieve his nerves and took a second going over in his mind what he wanted to say and needed to ask. "Okay, I'm ready."

  Declan held out his hand, but she didn't immediately hand his phone to him.

  "Do you think I might need to write anything down for you? I have a notebook and pen in my purse."

  "Good thinking."

  "Got it," she said after fifteen seconds of digging through her shoulder bag. "Ready?"

  "He nodded, holding out his hand for the phone.

  ~*~

  Nyxie stood with her pen poised over her notebook waiting to be useful. His end of the call mostly consisted of Declan saying, “Yes sir,” with a small amount of chatter. Slowly, a smile began forming on his nicely shaped lips. The more they spoke, the more teeth his grin revealed.

  She loved his smile, but didn't feel as if she saw it nearly enough. Were his teeth naturally straight? Would their children inherit his beautiful mouth? Her parents always blamed her overbite on sucking her thumb. But even if their kids did have her overbite, she would love them just the same and not make fun of them.

  "Seven AM on Monday morning. I'll be there. Thank you, Dr. Hastings. I'll see you then."

  His parents congratulated him as Nyxie opened the camera app on his phone and took his picture.

  "Nyx, you took a picture of me like this?"

  "To commemorate the moment."

  She quickly texted the picture to her phone and to his parents' in case he might delete it later. She was surprised to find his parents listed in his contacts as Major and Coach and he had her under Love of my Life.

  "Nyxie, Roy ate the Cap'n Crunch you had in the RV," Dorothea said, her voice laced with disapproval.

  "Yeah, and the roof of my mouth will never be the same again," Roy interrupted.

  "Would you like to go down to the cafeteria with me for breakfast?"

  "Uh.” Nyxie furiously tried to come up with an excuse not to go, without sounding rude. Declan wouldn't let her get away with skipping breakfast, so she couldn't say she wasn't hungry. "Declan might need help navigating his breakfast tray," she said, noticing his meal already sat on the rolling table under an insulated dome.

  "Roy can help him."

  "Sure," she capitulated, trying not to let her apprehension sound obvious in her voice.

  "We'll be back in half an hour or so," Dorothea said in a sugary sweet singsong way.

  Nyxie stretched over the rail and kissed Declan's cheek. "See you in thirty."

  "See ya.”

  When Nyxie turned, Dorothea stood at the door, holding it open. Nyxie took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was to come. She had no doubt the woman wanted to discuss the bruises she’d discovered on Nyxie's back and bottom the night before.

  "Nyxie?" Declan called from the bed as she neared the door. Nyxie turned with her eyebrows raised waiting for what he wanted to say. "Is she gone?"

  "I'm still here. Sorry."

  "Omelet with spinach, fruit—watermelon if they have it and whole milk."

  Inwardly, Nyxie blanched as she realized he was telling her what he wanted her to eat. In front of the kids, Nyxie would ask him to pick out her meal, under the guise of wanting to try new things, and he would order for her. However, this was blatant. But then again, his parents already knew their marriage was far from traditional after seeing the marks.

  "Declan, your breakfast is on the tray in front of you. Your dad can help you," his mother said.

  "That's what I want Nyxie to eat."

  "Yes, sir," she said. If he wanted t
o treat his parents to the scope of his domination, she would let them see her submission, but she wasn’t happy about it. She might have snapped the words at him to show her displeasure, but fighting back did not come naturally to her, especially where Declan was concerned. Besides, maybe by not fighting it or sounded irritated, they could see she was not being forced to do anything against her will.

  Her cheeks flamed with heat as her eyes pivoted to Roy's confused countenance. She turned and walked out the door, avoiding Dorothea’s gaze as she passed. Keeping a brisk pace, Nyxie rushed to the bank of elevators hoping to catch one just as the door was closing so she could slide in at the last moment. Beyond all hope, Nyxie prayed that she would innocently give her mother-in-law the slip. If she could lose her, maybe she could just pretend she had gotten lost to avoid having breakfast with the woman. But true to her unlucky nature, there were no open elevator cars to escape into.

  Dorothea caught up with her as she waited for the next available conveyance. Nyxie neither spoke nor looked at her as they waited for the car to arrive. She prayed the elevator would be filled with people so she could delay whatever Dorothea felt she needed to say.

  No such luck.

  As soon as the doors cocooned them inside the escapeless and possibly shrinking box, Dorothea opened her mouth.

  "You know you don't have to eat what Declan tells you to."

  Nyxie cast a quick sideways glance at her. "I know."

  "He won't know the difference. I'm sure as heck not going to tell him."

  Nyxie stared at the display above the door, watching as the digital numbers descended in value.

  "If I can’t get what he told me to eat, I will tell him."

  Dorothea made a tsk of disapproval. "Or you could fib.”

  "Of course I could, but I won't. Declan is trying to teach me to eat healthier. He wants me to consume the eggs for protein and the spinach and watermelon because my iron is low. He asks me to eat whole eggs and drink whole milk because he knows I'm underweight and I need the calories. I appreciate that he cares about my health and wants me to learn something I should probably already know."

  Although it was partially true, Nyxie suspected his mother could probably detect the BS in her statement.