by Tatum Throne
“Not too bad for digesting the fact that he’s been in a coma for two years. He’s going to need some physical therapy before he can go home.”
As they started past the nurse, she touched Shane’s arm. “He’s going to need someone like you to be at his side through all this.”
“I agree,” Rask said.
It was exactly where Shane needed to be but he didn’t know what he needed to do to be there for Dusk. “Okay, I can do it.”
As they walked into the room, Shane had an overwhelming feeling that his life was about to change and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Dusk looked at him from the bed. To Shane’s surprise, he was sitting up and eating. The feeding tube was gone from his bedside.
Their eyes connected and all time seem to stop. Something within Dusk’s eyes flashed, but he quickly looked away before Shane could figure out what it meant. Curious, Shane stepped closer to the bed, forcing Dusk’s gaze back toward him.
Whatever spark of recognition there was, it was gone when their eyes met a second time. All that was left was a cold hardness and the truth of that night vibrating between them.
Shane went to the windowsill, leaning against the wall as chief Rask took the lead. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
Dusk shook his. “Not too much. The doctor said my memories will come back with time.”
“Good.”
“When can I come back to work?”
The question seemed to surprise the chief. Honestly, it surprised Shane, too.
“The last thing you need to be worried about is getting back to work.”
“I need to be back on the job. I can’t stay at home.”
“How about this, as soon as you get the okay from the doctor and Detective Sergeant. Saxton, you can come back to work.”
Surprise lifted Dusk eyes to Shane’s. Again, there was a flicker of heat that he knew he would have explored at another time and place but not here, not like this. “I’ll be at your side through your recovery. I’ll make sure you get back to work.”
It was as though someone else were speaking through him. He wanted the opportunity to see Dusk thrive again.
“No.”
The one word shot across the room and momentarily left everyone stunned. It was the chief who spoke first. He came in close to Dusk. “If you want to get back to work, you have to do what I say, understand?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good.”
“Now, Shane’s not going to leave your side until I say he can leave it. I’m going to go find the doctor. I’ll see you before I go.”
As the chief left them alone, Shane became very aware of the fact that both of their lives were going to change. Two years ago, Dusk’s had changed harshly. He was about to make up for those two years of pain and suffering he caused him. He couldn’t give him back those two years but he sure as hell could make a difference in his life and get him back on his feet.
“So, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.”
Dusk continued to stare past him and out the window. Shane did not like being ignored. He wanted Dusk’s full attention.
Dusk had changed in so many ways over the last year. He was no longer a strong muscular man. He’d been athletic and interested in the SWAT team. He was going to need training for SWAT, if he was going to get back in the line of duty again.
“What’s bothering you?”
Dusk shrugged. “I don’t like to be anybody’s burden. You have a life. You don’t need me weighing you down.”
Their glanced briefly at one another and Shane felt his heart flutter possessively when he thought about this man being with another person. During the two days they’d spent together, there’d been a deep sexual vibe. Now that Dusk was awake again, Shane was feeling the same profound undertow trying to pull them closer.
Shaking off those thoughts, Shane paced the room, looking out the window. It was still raining outside. He could feel Dusk looking at him, so he kept his gaze fixed out that window for a few extra-long seconds.
“I want to get out of here.”
“You will.”
“The doctor said as soon as I hit my milestones in physical therapy, I’ll be able to leave the hospital.”
“When do you think that’ll be?”
“I’m hoping it’ll be sometime this week.”
Shane turned away from the window, pinning Dusk with a hard stare. “I want you to call me as soon as you get out of the hospital.” Shane dug into the side pocket of his tactical pants, taking out his business card. “Call me anytime, and I’ll come pick you up. Unless you have somebody else in mind?”
As he watched Dusk’s shaky hand take the business card and grip it tightly, he saw his eyes harden as they became guarded. “No. I’ll need a ride.”
“Good. I’ll catch up with you later.”
In the hallway, Shane saw Chief Rask talking with the doctor. The conversation quickly ended when the chief caught sight of Shane coming his way. The doctor shook his hand and walked away.
“How did it go?”
“I think he’s open to my help which is good.”
The chief patted his shoulder. “You shouldn’t feel bad about what happened. We were all lucky we didn’t lose him.”
He nodded but Shane couldn’t shake the sense of loss and burden he felt for the man he barely knew. Dusk was a young officer with so much potential. He had been paired with Shane to give him experience and that involvement had backfired.
Shane ran a hand through his hair. As he glanced over his shoulder, he caught sight of Dusk getting out of bed on his own. His legs were shaky and weak. He shouldn’t have been trying to get out of bed.
Without thinking, Shane rushed back into the room, grabbing hold of Dusk before he could fall. Shock moved through Dusk’s eyes.
“You’re not going to do this on your own.”
With his strong hands around Dusk’s waist, Shane became very aware of how much muscle Dusk had lost. Dusk looked as though he’d been shaken to the core. Whatever was bothering him was churning deep within him.
Without thinking, Shane tilted up his jaw so that they were eye to eye. “Trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you ever again.”
“Shane…don’t.”
“It was my fault you were in this situation in the first place and I want to make sure that you don’t get hurt again.”
“It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I should have been more careful.”
“No.”
As his heart broke for the man he wanted to know well, Shane felt the last two years slip away.
He thought about all those times he came to the rehab center to hold Dusk’s hand and to read to him. The book that even now was sitting on his bedside table.
Shane wanted him to know he had been there for him when he needed him most but didn’t know how to tell Dusk. Now was not the time—not yet.
“You can let go of me now.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready to yet.”
A blush moved over Dusk’s neck as Shane spoke, lifting the corner of his mouth in a flirty way, and winked. He heard the soft laughter of Dusk’s voice echo through the room. The sound was so fragile and intimate it made Shane think about the kind of laughter that was shared between couples in the bedroom.
He wanted to spend more time there with Dusk but he knew the chief needed to get back. “I’ll check on you tomorrow. Don’t try to do anything without the nurse.”
“I promise, I won’t…but…you like to give orders, don’t you?”
Dusk appeared to look at him in a curious way. “Yes, I do. And I prefer all of my orders to be obeyed.” Shane came in close to the bed one last time as Dusk slipped back on it. “Are you going to have a problem with that?”
“No.”
A shiver appeared to race down Dusk’s spine as their eyes held. It took all of Shane’s effort to leave the room. Now that the man he so desperately wanted was awa
ke, he did not want to let him go. He couldn’t wait to get this man back on his feet and back to the life he had waiting for him.
* * * *
Dusk watched as Shane left his hospital room. He didn’t have any place to go. He didn’t know what had happened to the house he’d bought only months before his coma. There was a good chance that all of his belongings were gone. As he watched Shane leave his hospital room, Dusk thought about the last time he saw him.
The memory was like a faded dream he couldn’t latch onto but knew was there. Right before the shot had rung out, they had been talking in the car.
A flutter moved through Dusk’s heart.
They had been on patrol together and had gotten close. He had been tempted at the time to ask Shane out but couldn’t cross that barrier. What if he said no? Even more important, what if it ruined his chances on SWAT. There were too many risks to loving someone he just met. It was why he’d been distracted the night he’d been shot. Dusk headed slowly toward the bathroom and rested on the edge of the sink counter.
When he looked in the mirror, he saw the jagged scar on his temple. He wanted to erase it, along with the memory of what happened and get back the two years he had lost. There was no way he was going to get the time back or the man. Too much had happened and too much was between them now.
As if sensing that he and Chief Rask were being watched, Shane was the first to look over his shoulder into the room. The chief came back inside as he leaned heavily against the doorframe of the bathroom.
Chief Rask came to the edge of the bed. “I forgot to mention that we took care of your apartment and kept you on the payroll while you were out.”
“Oh, wow.”
“You have a home when you’re ready to go to it.”
Relief poured through Dusk; he couldn’t believe how much his Department had rallied around him when he needed them most. “Thank you.”
“No worries.”
An overwhelming sense of loneliness consumed him as he watched the chief and Shane walk down the hallway toward the elevator.
When he was finally alone, Dusk tried to pull himself together but was having a hard time of it. He called for the nurse. He was ready to get out of there. “I want to see the physical therapist and see if I can meet those goals now.”
“You’ll have to wait until the morning. You need to rest so that you can get some strength back. We’ll get you out of here in no time.”
“I’ve rested and slept for way too long.”
* * * *
Over the last ten days, Dusk worked hard to meet his therapy goals.
The physical therapist came in and crossed the room surprised to see Dusk standing next to the bed. “What do I have to do to get out of here today?”
“I just need to make sure you’re steady on your feet and you can perform all your daily activities without having trouble.”
“I’m ready.”
Despite having little energy and weakness in his legs, he walked across the room. He couldn’t believe he didn’t fall. He even went to the bathroom to brush his hair and stood in front of the mirror for several seconds before turning.
“Do you want to watch me take a piss or are we good?”
He crossed his arms and smiled. “How about you prove to me you can stand there for at least two minutes and we’re good?”
As he stood there, he felt his muscles shaking. He was not about to give up. He was going to make it home.
With a grin on his face and sweat running down his temple, Dusk knew he was going to get out of the rehab center today.
“Well, you can get out of here but I don’t want you driving yourself home. In fact, you should probably not drive for quite a while.”
“I’m fine with that.”
A few hours later, Dusk was signed out of the center and on his way. He should have called Shane and felt bad that he hadn’t but he knew the man hadn’t expected him to get out of the hospital so quickly. Shane was still at work as it was and not able to get to the rehab center to give him a ride.
Now Dusk knew he was making excuses but he didn’t care. He needed time to get home and to feel whole before he saw Shane again.
To his surprise, his house was in order and dust-free. It looked as though someone had been staying there and keeping it clean. That thought had him looking at his home as though he no longer recognized it.
Out of habit, he went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, shocked to see that it was stocked. Someone had been staying there, but who? He didn’t have any friends or family, and he wasn’t dating anyone at the time of his injury.
That had him going upstairs to look around the master bedroom. Everything was in order, as though he had just left that morning for work. The memory of how he had thrown his towel on the end of the bed lingered in his mind. Dusk went to the towel, running a hand over the blue fabric, expecting it to still be wet but it was dry.
That morning, he had been going into work like any other day. This time, he hadn’t come home though. On a whim, he decided to check out the guest bedroom.
Surprise moved through him when he saw that the spare bedroom was being used. He frowned hard, wondering who could be staying there.
Who would have a key to stay there? The bed was neatly made. Dusk went over to it and sat down. He pulled back the covers and reached for the pillow. He looked at it and lifted it to his nose, where he inhaled deeply. His eyes widened when he realized who it smelled like.
Shane.
Why was he staying there? His heart started to hammer out of his chest, and he felt the room start to spin. Shane didn’t know that he was out of the rehab center yet. He wanted to get out of there but he couldn’t find the energy or the courage to move. It was still early and Shane would still be on duty.
Dusk wondered if he would swing by the center looking for him? He should have told Shane he was released but he couldn’t deal with him—not yet. Instead, Dusk lay down on the bed, gripping the pillow to his chest and inhaling deeply again. With the scent of the man he so desperately wanted lingering within his mind, he fell into a heavy sleep for the first time in days.
With a jolt, Dusk opened his eyes. It was as though something had awakened him but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He looked around the darkened room and it took him a few minutes to orient himself.
For a split second, he thought he was still in the rehab center but there were no glowing lights or tubes connected to him. Then he recognized his guest bedroom. His heart was racing out of his chest as he thought about the man who he was about to see.
He could hear Shane talking to somebody but the conversation was one-sided and that told him that he was talking on his cell. He could hear him moving around downstairs in the kitchen. The desire to run and hide was an overpowering chant within his body but he couldn’t get his feet to move.
Instead, he felt himself walking backward until his shoulders touched the closet doors that were half open. He slipped into the walk-in closet. It was there within the darkness that he felt like a thief.
The sound of heavy footsteps moved upward on the hardwood stairs. Coming face-to-face with Shane right now was not what he wanted. He felt physically and mentally weak. He usually wasn’t like this and that scared him.
Deep down, he wanted to have another chance with this man but there was a good chance he wouldn’t. Closing his eyes, Dusk willed his heart to stop racing but it wouldn’t. He didn’t want to be caught like this. Through the break in the door and the wall, Dusk peaked out into the room.
More importantly what was Shane doing here? Why was he living in Dusk’s house? He should have felt violated by this but all he felt was a wild curiosity to know the person who was taking care of his life while he was gone. Why did Shane feel so responsible for him?
The sound of Shane’s voice echoed through the guest bedroom as he moved, taking off his utility belt and starting to undress. Hard, corded muscle wrapped tightly around Shane’s chest and thighs. Black
boxers were snug around his athletic ass. Dark, intricate tattoos rippled over his back as he moved. When he turned slightly, Dusk saw black chest hair trimmed short over his pecs.
The sound of the call ending snapped Dusk out of his thoughts. He heard a heavy sigh escape Shane’s parted lips.
Dusk saw Shane head toward the bathroom and into the shower. Right then, Dusk waited for the sound of the door closing when he realized it was never coming.
Determined to get out of there before Shane got out of the shower, Dusk slipped from the closet. Even though it was his house, he felt suddenly like a stranger who didn’t belong.
For the briefest of seconds, he saw through the open door the man he so wanted to see but was terrified to see face-to-face.
A quiet whoosh of his breath left him as he glanced into the bathroom and through the glass-encased shower. He caught sight of Shane standing naked within the shower. Water cascaded over his body, hugging and loving it and bringing those tattoos to life.
Shane was muscular in ways that Dusk would never be. Dusk’s mouth instinctively started to water. His rim started to tingle when he thought about having this man take control of his body. He was angry and wanting, all at the same time. He felt his cock go rock-hard and he wouldn’t find relief anytime soon.
As though Shane sensed someone watching him, he looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with Dusk. Shock and surprise moved through his eyes as he stood there. Without warning, the shower clicked off and Shane reached for the towel with a flick of his hand covering his prick.
Shane walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of him with shock and confusion. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Dusk took a step back. “I could ask you the same.”
Shane took two steps toward him. “You shouldn’t even be standing up.”
Unable to get past Shane, Dusk took another step back. “I’m fine.”
Still, Shane advanced with another step, closing the distance. He was so close that Dusk could feel the heat of the shower lingering on his skin. “You’re not. How did they even let you out of the rehab center? And more importantly how did you get home?”
