Trent watched Teal as her fork froze in mid-air.
“And then when I got here, I couldn’t get her to eat or drink for two days. She passed out twice and had to be hooked up to get fluids in her.”
He growled. “ Teal.” Her name was all he needed to say.
She glanced sheepishly back at him as she shoved chocolate pudding into her mouth. Trent reached up and placed a hand on her side. She leaned into his touch before pulling back and continuing to eat.
“So, why isn’t she here now?” Trent asked.
Logan released a long breath. “She’s on the way. Jan-Erik has the girls.” Logan made his way to Trent’s tray and picked up the water pitcher. “I couldn’t have her here. Not until I was able to figure out what was happening.” Filling a plastic cup, he brought it to Trent.
“What is this lie you told for her?”
Logan placed the cup to his lips, and sniggered. “That this is Mrs. Teal Lofton-Reed.”
Trent nearly choked on his water, causing Teal to eye him warily.
A thought slapped him in the face a second later. “Where are my pants?”
Teal’s gaze narrowed. “Screw the pants. Why did being my husband make you choke on water?”
Logan’s soft laughter had Trent wanting to bust his lip open. “Nothing, baby, but why’d you have to lie?” He eyed Logan as he made his way to a pile of clothes on a chair in the corner.
“They wouldn’t let me in.” Taking a sip of her water, she turned to face him. “When I first got here, I was so out of it I was having a hard time speaking.”
“She was in shock,” Logan added, coming back after pocketing the ring box.
“They wouldn’t let me near you, and kept asking about next of kin. Logan was still on the phone with me, telling me to hand the phone off to a doctor.” Teal rubbed her face, a lethargic glaze filling her eyes. “He told them we’d just gotten married and that I was to make all the decisions for your health if I were able.”
“But she wasn’t,” Logan muttered.
“No, so Logan did. He was the one who made the call for the surgery to save your arm, and he also got in touch with a plastic surgeon to make sure your dick hand stayed pretty.”
Trent and Logan both burst into laughter at the inside joke Logan had revealed to Teal.
A nurse walked in just as Trent yawned. She gave a disapproving glare at Teal on the bed. Fuck that, Trent thought. He tangled his hand in hers and held her tight.
“Mr. Reed, look at you, wide awake.” Her chipper voice sounded familiar, but Trent was having a hard time placing it; and the longer he fought to grab the memory, the foggier his head became.
Clearing his throat several times, Trent waited until the nurse was no longer fussing with the machines. “How long have I been here?”
“I am about to call the doctor in.” The nurse offered Teal what he thought was a warm smile. “May I?” She gestured to Trent’s side, where Teal sat. “I need to check his IV.”
Teal released Trent’s hand and shifted from the bed. The nurse picked up Trent’s hand and inspected the line leading to the IV drip.
“You’ve been here for three days,” Teal answered. “After your first surgery, you didn’t wake up for a while, and then you had a seizure.” Her thin and solemn voice caused his heart to quake in his chest.
“That is normal, and the doctor warned them it could happen.” The nurse placed Trent’s hand back down on the bed. “You also woke up rather fast after surgery. And you spoke one name and one name only.” The nurse’s gaze turned to Teal. “I find it quite amazing the way a love for a person can make a person fight through pain and fear to come out of it calling for their loved one.” She straightened Trent’s covers. “I’ve seen it quite a few times, and I’m still astonished at the fact that sometimes love cures faster than modern medicine.”
Trent watched as Teal’s eyes watered, and she held onto Logan as if he’d been her lifeline while Trent was unable. She leaned into his friend, her shallow breathing and glazed eyes revealing the fact she was about to have a panic attack.
“Baby, come to me.” His voice still sounded weak, but Trent knew all too well the signs of an attack.
Logan led her to the bed and placed her hand in his right. He yanked her down and rocked her as best he could, murmuring loving words in her ear. He waited until her shaking subsided and breathing evened out before he spoke. “Give me the box.”
Reaching into his back pocket, Logan pulled out the velvet box. He leaned forward and handed it over. “Here you go.”
Trent took it in his hand. “Teal, baby, lift up.” She didn’t make any moves to sit up.
The nurse’s eyes widened when she saw the box. “I’m going to grab Dr. Pyzalski and bring him in to see you.” She headed out of the room quickly, no doubt knowing where the conversation was headed.
“Lift up, baby.”
Slowly, Teal lifted her fatigued eyes. She needed sleep, food, and Trent by her side.
Trent tapped her back with the box and waited as she turned around. When she froze in his arms, Trent knew she understood what was happening. “I thought I was going to wait and let you get settled in . . .”
Teal’s head whipped around so fast, Trent had to reach out to steady her. “Are you serious right now?” She turned back and took the box from his hand.
Trent wished he could open it and get on one knee, but his ass was going to be glued to the bed for a few more days.
As if reading his mind, Logan came around and pulled the box from her hand. Getting on one knee, he opened the box, presented it to her and waited. The sight was hilarious, as his best friend was on bended knee with Trent’s ring in hand.
“Teal,” Trent called. Her bright eyes filled with tears as she looked to him. “I thought to wait. But why?” He lifted his hand until it made contact with her soft face. “Will you fucking marry me?”
She burst into tears. She’d been through so much over the past few days. Trent wanted to make sure she knew this had been his plan long before today. It wasn’t his fear of death that had him proposing, but his love for her. “What is the point in waiting when you already know the only person you’ve ever truly loved is right in front of you?”
“Yes.” Her single word stopped all of his thoughts from spiraling. “Yes, I will fucking marry you.”
Logan stood and pulled the ring from the box. Trent watched as his friend pushed the ring onto her finger. He couldn’t have asked for a better friend.
“I was told you were already his wife.” A tall, slender man in a white coat entered the room. With a stern smile on his lips, he lifted Trent’s chart and spoke about blood clots, comas, and all things unimportant to Trent.
All he could do was stare into his fiancée’s eyes; her beautiful face plastered with a sappy smile.
“Teal Lofton-Reed,” she spoke in a joking tone.
Trent wanted to slap her big ass bottom, but only had one hand free. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and yanked her down. “Fuck that, woman. Just Reed—Teal motherfuckin’ Reed,” he said just before he kissed her deeply.
Pulling out the bottle of pills Trent had been studiously ignoring over the past few days, Teal glanced over at his still frame. His lips were in a thin line, and his breathing was a little rough, denoting the pain he was in. Though she understood he hated taking pills, as they fogged up his head, she knew pain management was an important part of the healing process. The doctor had explicitly told her how necessary it was to make sure Trent didn’t allow too much time to pass between meds. Teal had also learned that pain was often a trigger for panic attacks in people with PTSD.
She rattled the bottle. “No need to hold out, baby.” Her high heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she made her way around her desk. His eyes flittered open as she stood in front of him, a strained smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Trent eyed her up and down. “I love the way those heels sound. I can imagine throwing you over that desk and fu
cking you good and right.”
“Your pain-riddled ass couldn’t throw a dog a bone, let alone throw my big ass anywhere.” Teal ignored the challenge in his eyes as she reached down and checked his bandages. The shotgun blast had caught him in the chest, while also ravaging his left arm. The doctor had called him lucky, while Teal called it fate.
When he winced, Teal stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. He looked up at her, pain swimming in his red-rimmed eyes.
She moved back to her desk. “I told you, you shouldn’t have driven up here so soon after your surgery. And Tylenol 800 is not enough.” She grabbed the bottle of water she brought with her and walked back over to him. “And then, I told you to stay at the condo, but no . . . you have to be hardheaded at every turn.” She gave him an admonishing glare as she opened the pill bottle and shook two tablets into her hand.
Trent shifted, and groaned in pain. “I’m not letting you out of my sight, especially in a prison. Isn’t that Aaron guy who fucked with Logan still here?”
Teal could hear the pain in his words. She shoved the pills at him, and cocked a brow when he didn’t take them from her. “Why are you worried about that loser? He is housed in D block. It is literally a mile away from where we are right now.” She shoved the pills under his nose, a stern look on her face.
Trent gingerly sat up in his chair, his face hardened in fury. “I won’t stand down until that fucker is dead.”
She rolled her eyes. “Stand down? Boy, please. I could mow you over right now, and there wouldn’t be a damned thing your sickly ass could do about it.” Trent’s defiant gaze hardened and Teal sighed. “Fine, follow me around if you want, but take the meds, Trent.” She softened her voice and added, “It kills me to see you in pain like this.”
Though the shot missed vital organs, it had shredded his arm and entered his chest. He was set to start physical therapy, but Trent was not taking that shit well. He constantly refused his medicine, and there were times she caught him in the midst of mild panic attacks, which concerned Teal. The doctor had told them both that it was to be expected with Trent’s past PSTD and the traumatic hostage situation they’d been in.
Teal had found herself waking up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, silently sobbing as she gazed around for Jake. She could still smell his hot breath and feel his teeth on her neck. Teal closed her eyes briefly, pushing away the nightmares that plagued her.
“No, that shit fucks with my head.” He motioned at her purse. “You got anything else in there?” Trent awkwardly shifted his big body in the chair, his frame too large to fit comfortably.
Teal shrugged. “Yeah, maybe some Midol, you took all the Tylenol.”
Trent gave her a toothy grin. “Yeah, I feel some cramps coming on.” Teal offered him a sad smile. “Let me have that instead.” At this point, Teal didn’t care what he took as long as he took something. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a bottle of Advil.
“I’ve got Advil, too. Forgot about that.” She went to him and placed two pills in his mouth.
“More,” He grunted.
Watching as he swigged the pills with a chug of water, Teal crossed her arms over her chest and propped her hip onto her desk. She picked up her nameplate, twirling it between her fingers she asked in a blasé tone, “Why don’t I call Logan and tell him to come and get you?”
Trent’s angry gaze narrowed on her over the water bottle. “I am not letting you out of my goddamned sight.” His terse tone was resolute.
She eyed him while taking in his bandaged arm, pale skin, and trembling body. Running her hand through her hair, she felt at a loss. How was she supposed to convince her man that she was fine when she didn’t feel fine?
“I know.” She lifted up and sat further back on the desk. “But baby, Shayla shot Jake and they are both in jail right now. I am perfectly safe here.”
Trent glared at her, his lips in a thin tight line slashed across his face.
“We are in a fucking maximum security prison, Trent. Don’t start with me on this again, all right?” Teal bit her lip. To say that she’d been walking on eggshells with Trent was a gross understatement. His masculinity had been called into question the second Jake slid between her legs and threatened to rape her bloody.
However, Teal believed that Trent’s love for her was proven more times throughout her visit and cemented the second he took that gunshot. Though Teal still suffered from nightmares, she refused to live in fear, or under the suffocating refuge of Trent’s excessive overprotection.
She cleared her throat. “The administration building at Capshaw is one of the safest places to be. So don’t fucking start with this overprotective bullshit at my job.” Hopping off the table, she went to him and kneeled. “I need you to focus on healing, and not on me. I am fine.” She wasn’t so sure about that, but she sensed in time she would be. “I wasn’t shot, you were. Now stop being a baby. I’m calling Logan.” With that, she stood and headed to the phone.
Trent’s arm shot out and grabbed her. With a sharp yank, he pulled her back into his lap.
Painstakingly, Teal twisted as not to hurt his injuries further. The infuriating man had no sense of self-preservation and was constantly over exerting himself. Teal carefully adjusted herself in his lap. “Damn it, baby—”
Trent stopped her complaint by devouring her mouth with a fervor Teal had missed over the week he’d been recovering. Holding her with his good arm, he squeezed her tighter and deepened the kiss. Teal’s body heated with desire, and she struggled to tamp it down. She didn’t want to injure him further. Pulling away, her lungs struggled for air as she commanded her body to cool down.
Trent’s hard cock laid thick and hot beneath her ass. Thrusting upward, his lips made their way to her neck, placing hot and wet kisses over her heated flesh. Teal was so fucking horny, she couldn’t see straight.
“I love you, Teal.” Trent’s softly whispered words brought a smile to her lips. His gentle thrusts stoked the flame for her lust, almost making her forget she was in her office.
Teal grasped the arm of the chair and pulled back. “Love you too. But I’m still calling Logan.”
Trent grasped his chest in mock horror. “Shit, was the kiss that bad?” He laughed. “I know it’s been awhile, but calling my buddy over me?”
Teal gently shoved his shoulder. “Boy, please. I do not want that damned man.” She lifted off his lap. “What I want is for you to go back to Katie and Logan’s place and wait for me.”
Leaning back, Trent took a pain filled breath. “No.”
Teal shook her head and walked around her desk. Giving into the fact there was nothing she could do to convince him to go to Logan’s, or even her condo, Teal continued to pack her desk. She’d given her notice to Jan-Erik, but since she and Trent weren’t married, she couldn’t use her FMLA to take off work and nurse him back to health.
After realizing she would have to come back to Vermont while Trent recovered in Kentucky, Teal quit her job. Fuck notice. Luckily, Jan-Erik, kind boss that he was, decided to step in and help her out. He’d approved her request to use the rest of her vacation and paid time off credits in her notice. This way, Teal could quit, get paid for six weeks, and still have Capshaw as a reference when she looked for a job in Kentucky.
Shit was finally coming together.
She finished packing her desk just as her cell rang. It was Logan for Trent, but Trent had fallen asleep sitting up in the chair.
Teal hefted a box and her hip. “Baby,” she called.
Trent shifted and woke with a jerk. “Fuck me!” He groaned and gently cradled his bad arm with his good hand. Glancing around blurry eyed, his gaze made its way to Teal.
She cocked a brow. “Is that a request?” She headed toward him with the one box she planned to take home today. Jan-Erik would ship the others to her in a couple of weeks.
Trent’s eyes cleared as he shook his head. “A demand.”
Teal was in serious need of her man. Sh
e’d thought to take it slow with him, however it now seemed ridiculous. Trent wasn’t about to let her deny him for another week.
She motioned for the door. “Let’s go.”
He stood, wavering a little just before he caught himself. Straightening to his full six-foot-four height, he strode to Teal, took the box out of her hand, and said, “After you.”
She chuckled at the sheer strength in her man—the intensity he exuded, and his will to protect her at any cost. Confidently, Teal walked out of her office and down the hall. Though, she knew there was nothing to fear in the admin building, her confidence in Trent’s ability to overcome anything had her holding her head high. There was a long struggle ahead of them, but she believed they would not only survive, but thrive.
Back at the condo, Trent lay on the bed knocked the fuck out. Though Teal was a bit disappointed, she’d expected it. His body was in the process of healing, and he couldn’t heal if he didn’t rest.
Teal left the bedroom and headed into the kitchen. Her condo was bare, accept for a few boxes and the furniture she agreed to leave for her new owners. The condo had sold fast, as the area and quality of her home had made it a great contender in the market. That, and the fact she had an assumable loan.
She glanced around the thirteen hundred square-foot, one bedroom, one bath condo. Peering at the furniture she was leaving behind. It had all been purchased with Paul. What had she been thinking staying with him for so long? She’d allowed herself to get lost in the relationship, making it hard to find her self-worth after the break-up. Because if Paul couldn’t commit to her, who would?
A man like Trent, that’s who. Someone who’d take a bullet for her.
Teal knew there were women around the world who would balk at the idea of a woman not finding her true strength until a man pointed it out, but that was exactly what’d happened for her. And she had to admit, a good man would remind you of your worth. Which is why she felt confident in her next action.
Indelible: Beneath His Ink (Teal and Trent Book 2) Page 19
