“Angel,” I want to grab her and pull her into my arms but every inch of her seems to have tubes coming out of it.
She lifts her arms up slowly, trying not to disrupt all of the medical equipment, and I’m able to wrap my arms around her waist.
“You’re really okay?”
“Well, I’m in desperate need of a shower and every inch of my body hurts, but other than that I’m just peachy,” She laughs.
“Was it Brahm?” I ask immediately.
“Of course,” she says grimly. “I would ask you to try to climb in and snuggle with me but I don’t believe I bathed in the past three and a half weeks so I’m pretty gross.”
I let out a short laugh.
“‘Do you need me to write you an equation for how many fucks I give? Now scoot over.”
“You are such a nerd. You know I feel bad for all of those girls who came to you looking for a bad boy, tattooed, rocker and got Stephen Hawking instead,” She teases.
I swallow the lump in my throat. I carefully climb in beside her and do my best to cuddle close to her without disturbing her tubes.
“I doubt Stephen Hawking has his dick pierced,” I point out.
“Okay, you’re sexy Stephen Hawking,” She concedes.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I whisper against her temple before planting my lips there. “I thought you were dead. And, they wouldn’t tell me any updates about you. I thought that even if you died they wouldn’t tell me, because your parents didn’t like the way I looked.”
“I’m okay, I promise I’m fine,” She murmurs in a soothing tone. “Do you want to know what I was thinking when I thought that I was about to die?”
“If you want to tell me.”
“I was really mad at Brahm for taking me away from you. I was thinking that I had so recently worked up the courage to tell you how I really feel about you and we had so much ahead of us. I was thinking about us getting married, and having children, and growing old together and I was so mad that Brahm was stealing it away from me.”
Feeling her small body against me I feel like I’m whole again. Tears of relief streak down my cheeks. No one has ever wanted those things with me.
“I’m going to give you all those things,” I promise her.
“Good, but not until I finish college,” She says with a laugh.
I nuzzle my nose into her neck and revel in the fact that my Angel is alright. I thought I would never get to hold her again, never get to kiss her, or tell her a corny joke.
“Don’t tell the guys I cried, okay?” I say with a small laugh.
“You’re secret is safe with me,” She assures me, kissing my cheek gently.
“Hey, what do you call it when a pepper won’t leave you alone?”
“What?”
“Jalapeno business.”
She throws her head back and laughs. God I love the sound of her laugh.
A knock on the door startles us both, we look over to see the detectives entering. They give me a suspicious look immediately and I fight the urge to give them the finger. I understand they were doing their job by questioning me, but for christ sake I think it’s obvious at this moment that she’s clearly not afraid of me.
“Ms. Moore,” The young, female officer greets her. “I’m detective Johnson. We want to talk to you about your attack.”
“Sure,” Eve nods.
I make a move to get up but Eve’s hand on my arm tightens, a silent plea for me not to leave.
“Maybe it would be best for Mr. Wright to give us a few minutes alone,” The older male detective suggests.
“Why? I want him to stay,” Eve protests.
I gently pry her hand off of me and kiss her nose.
“I can’t stay sweetheart, I’m a suspect.”
“What?” Eve practically shrieks, sitting up so rapidly that she nearly pulls all of her tubes out. “Asher didn’t hurt me. It was my ex-boyfriend Brahm. He’s a complete psycho. He’s been leaving me creepy notes for months, too. You can go get them for evidence, they’re in my dorm.”
My eyes go wide. That asshole has been bugging her for months and she never told me? She gives me an apologetic look.
“Sorry, I just figured that he’d get the hint eventually and back off.”
“Let’s start from the beginning,” Detective Johnson suggests, pulling out a notebook.
Eve tells them all about the attack and the subsequent captivity. My hand remains tightly grasping hers the entire time as she relays details about Brahm striking her repeatedly, how he would watch her use the bathroom, and how she was chained to a fucking heater for three weeks. My eyes drop to her wrists and I notice the purple bruises there. If I ever see that fuckwad I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.
“Ms. Moore, it’s important for us to know if he raped you,” The female detective inquires gently.
I flinch at the question and consider covering my ears. I can’t hear this. I can’t hear her talk about him forcing himself on her, taking her delicate body violently.
“No,” She says firmly, looking directly at me so that I can see her eyes and know that it’s the truth. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
“He said he was going to and then I bit his fingers and made him bleed. While he was trying to stop the bleeding I escaped into the woods.”
“Good girl,” I kiss her forehead fiercely. “I am so proud of how strong you are.”
“Alright, I think that’s all we need for now. We’ll take him into custody as soon as we find him.” She places a business card on the nightstand and the detectives leave.
“Stay,” She says, grasping my arm.
“Baby, nothing in this world could pull me away from you right now,” I assure her. I kiss her forehead again and pull her against my chest. “Now, sleep baby.”
Eve
The sound of muffled, angry voices wakes me. I blink several times, attempting to orient myself to my surroundings. There’s just something inherently disorienting about waking up in a hospital, even if it is for the second day in a row. I’m alone in my room again and the angry, conversation seems to be taking place in the hallway.
“Asher?” I call out, my voice slightly less raspy than yesterday.
The voices suddenly stop. Then, the door opens.
“Are you okay, Angel?” He asks peeking his head in, concern filling his eyes.
“Who are you talking to?” I’m met with a reluctant, furrowed brow.
“We have a right to see our daughter.” My mother’s shrill voice carries through the door.
I frown and then nod reluctantly, letting him know it’s okay to let them in.
“You can see your daughter,” Asher concedes.
Just then the doctor arrives.
“Is everything alright here?” He asks, edging past Asher, into my room.
I nod sheepishly.
“We haven’t officially met, I’m Dr. Andrula,” He introduces himself.
He looks me over and tells me that they want to keep me at least one more day for observation. I thank him for his care and he leaves.
“Eve, do you want me to let your parents in?” Asher pops his head in and asks once the doctor is gone. I nod reluctantly, I should face them I suppose.
“Um, yeah. Could you tell everyone else that I’d rather see them after I get home and shower tomorrow?” I ask.
“Sure, I’ll give Nikki a call while you talk with your parents. But I’ll be right out in the hall so if you need me just shout, okay? Do you need anything else?”
“A cheeseburger?” I ask hopefully. “And a milkshake,” I add excitedly. “From that place I like across town.”
“You think that I’m going to go all the way across town to get you lunch?” Asher asks with feigned aggravation.
I flash him a ‘you know you will’ smile and bat my eyelashes at him.
“Please? I almost died,” I add.
“Alright, alright.”
“Oh, and a co
okie.”
He pretends to scowl at me and I laugh.
“I almost died!” I remind him.
“You know you’re not going to be able to use that for everything,” He warns.
“I almost died,” I retort.
“You know that I love you?”
He, makes his way over and presses his lips tenderly to mine.
“Not as much as I love you,” I tease.
He nips my bottom lip playfully. He pulls away and his lips move to my ear, his breath on my neck sends an excited ripple through me.
“Baby, I have to tell you...you’re breath is horrendous.”
I smack him in the chest.
“You are so mean,” I accuse. “I thought you loved me.”
“I do love you, that’s why I’m going to kiss you again even though your breath is like hot garbage,” He jokes, leaning in for another kiss.
I dodge his lips and try to squirm away from him.
“Stop, you’re being mean,” I protest with a giggle as he places kisses all over my cheeks and nose, trying to reach my lips but failing each time I dodge him.
I hear my mother gasp as she walks into the room and sees Asher leaned over me, our lips pressed together, and likely hearing my teasing words as well. I blush bright red and pull away from Asher.
“Hi mom, hi dad,” I greet them sheepishly.
“I’ll be back with your food in a little while,” Asher says before giving me one more kiss and then skirting around my parents to leave.
“How do you feel?” My father asks, pulling up a chair beside my bed.
My mother continues to stand off to the side with an expression on her face that looks like she’s been sucking on a lemon.
“I’m okay daddy,” I assure him, reverting to the quiet, respectful tone that I’m accustomed to addressing him with.
“If you tell us where your dorm room is we can pack up your stuff today so you’ll be ready to come home when you’re released tomorrow,” My mother suggests.
My mouth falls open.
“What? I’m not coming home. I still have another semester to finish. I’m glad this happened while I’m on winter break, I would’ve never been able to catch back up if I missed three weeks of classes,” I argue.
“You can’t stay here. Look what’s happened! Is this about that man?” She asks, distaste dripping from her tone.
I bristle at the implication of her perceptions of Asher.
“That man is the love of my life. He’s intelligent and kind, he’s my best friend. However, he’s not the reason I’m not coming home. I’m not coming home because I still have school, I’m not going to quit halfway through the first year. I’m going to finish my degree here, I’m sorry if you don’t approve of that.”
My mother gapes at me, taken aback by my defiance.
“Eve, you can’t be serious about him. He’s clearly a delinquent. Why don’t you date a nice Christian boy whose values parallel your own,” My mother suggests.
I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.
“First of all, it was a ‘nice Christian boy’ who tried to murder me,” I inform her.
She narrows her eyes, clearly not believing me. She must think that Asher told me to lie about Brahm, or something equally ridiculous.
“And, second of all, I’m an adult now and I can make my own decisions. I don’t know what my values or beliefs are yet, I’m still working that out. But, I do know that Asher loves and respects me. So if you want me to be happy then you’ll be nice to Asher, or you won’t see me ever again.”
My mother chafes at my ultimatum.
“Of course we want you to be happy,” My father breaks in quietly, always the antithesis of my mother. “Perhaps the two of you could come stay with us during your spring break so we can get to know him better?”
“I’d like that daddy.”
The next evening Carrie Anne comes by my room, shortly after I’m examined by the doctor, to let me know that I can go home.
“The doctor wants you to take it easy for the next week or so,” Carrie Anne explains. “The three weeks of inactivity as well as the extreme dehydration, malnutrition, and general stress that your body has endured could cause you to feel fatigued or dizzy over the next few days. The biggest thing is we want you to be careful to avoid any head injuries in the next few weeks. So I’d say just listen to your body to decide what you feel up for, and as long as the headboard is padded then go to town.” She gives me a wink before turning to leave.
“Let’s get you home. Everyone wants to come over and see you in a few hours.”
My legs feel stiff and a little weak as I get out of bed.
“I have to get my clothes and stuff from my dorm before we go to your house.”
“No, I already had Hadley get your stuff and take it to my house. I was wondering if maybe you’d want to stay indefinitely instead of just until the semester starts,” Asher suggests nervously.
A smile plays at the corner of my lips.
“That sounds okay,” I say with forcing a casual tone.
“Good, then let’s go home.”
Asher
As soon as I get her home, god it feels good to refer to my place as her home, It’s our place now, she pins me with a lustful look that has me fighting against a hard on.
“I need to take a shower, immediately, do you want to give me a hand...or two?” She suggests, licking her lips.
My dick immediately sits up and takes notice of her invitation, but my brain managed to retain enough blood to see that it would be a dick move to make love to my girl the minute she walks out of the hospital.
“Maybe it’d be better if I gave you a few days to recover.”
I pull my lip ring between my teeth, trying to keep a firm resolve. Because, right now all I can think about doing is kissing every inch of her to reassure myself she really is okay.
She holds my gaze as she strips out of her clothes right there in the living room, leaving them in a pile at her feet. I suck in a breath as I take in her naked body. She’s really here, she’s really mine. Still holding my gaze she steps closer to me and gets up onto her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. I clench my fists to keep from reaching out to grab her body.
“Suit yourself, but I’m unbelievably horny so I guess I’ll just be in the shower using my own fingers to get off.”
She turns and saunters off to the bathroom leaving me standing there for several seconds, my mouth gaping and my brain short circuiting on the image of Eve in a steamy shower getting herself off.
I shed my clothes right in the living room like she did and I practically sprint after her.
I pull back the shower curtain and step in behind her.
“I’m glad you decided to join me.”
My gaze travels down her body, slick and inviting. Then my eyes latch onto the purple and yellowing bruises smudged throughout her body. My hands tremble as I reach out for her and pull her gently against my chest, trying to breathe around the lump in my throat. Once I've gotten myself under control I reach for a shampoo bottle and fill my hands before massaging the shampoo through her hair. She moans appreciatively and my cock twitches, but I do my best to ignore it.
“Angel, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d....” I can’t even bring myself to say the words.
I’d come so close to losing her and the thought of it absolutely punches a hole in my chest every time I think about it.
“I’m going to marry you one day.”
“Okay,” She says simply, grabbing the shampoo and turning to face me. She reaches up and I duck my head so she can wash my hair like I just washed hers. “I love you, Asher.”
“I love you too, Angel.”
I kiss her gently, almost afraid that she’s going to turn into a wisp of smoke and disappear.
Eve
After our shower all I want to do is sleep. Which is crazy because I’ve basically done nothing but sleep for the past three days.
“You lo
ok tired,” Asher notes as I pull on one of his t-shirts and a pair of jeans.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
I’m sure that everyone is dying to see me and see for themselves that I’m okay.
“Liar,” He accuses, his lips quirking up in a smile.
“Everyone’s going to be here soon. At least let everyone visit for a little bit then you can go all macho man and kick them out so you can take care of me,” I offer.
He kisses my cheek and tucks a strand of my wet hair behind my ear.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” He says for the tenth time since I woke up yesterday.
“Me too.”
Soon Nikki, Lee, Abby, Ethan, Remy, Dex and Hadley all show up and I’m overwhelmed with hugs and tears.
“We’re so glad you’re okay,” Nikki says over and over again.
“So is that fucker in jail or what?” Abby asks, cutting right to the chase in true Abby fashion.
“The police stopped by this morning, right before I left the hospital, to let me know that he’s in custody. I’m going to have to testify. And, Ethan, you’re probably going to be subpoenaed to testify about that time he showed up while I was working. Hopefully this will all be behind us soon enough.”
“Listen, Eve, if you feel like you need someone to talk to just let me know. I can give you the number of my therapist, she’s really great, and there’s no shame in needing help coping after a trauma,” Abby offers.
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,” I promise.
Maybe I’m still in shock from the whole thing, but so far all I feel is happy to be alive. I have my friends, I have Asher, and I have my whole life ahead of me. I reach for Asher’s hand and smile up at him. It’s hard to believe the person I’ve become, and I couldn’t be more excited for the future.
Chapter 26
Eve
I stand in front of the bathroom mirror, naked, reveling in the fact that the last of my bruises have finally faded. Every time Asher had looked at me naked over the past ten days I’d seen him flinch or sadness fill his eyes when he would catch sight of one of the bruises covering various parts of my body. Maybe now he'll finally have sex with me again.
Naughty Angel (Sexy Nerd Boys #2) Page 20
