by Katie Dowe
“Look who decided to join us,” Michael said with a smile.
She couldn't talk. She just stood there, rooted to the spot.
*****
“I'll leave you two alone,” Michael said as he looked at them. “I'll come by and check on you later, buddy.”
“Not too soon,” Blaine said softly, still looking at his wife. She moved as Michael reached the doorway and closed the doors behind him. “Hey.”
“You woke up,” she said huskily as she went towards him.
“Michael told me he sent you to get coffee.” His green eyes wandered over her face. Michael had also told him that she'd spent the night at his bedside. She stood at the side of the bed and looked at him.
“You scared me,” she told him.
“I know baby,” he took her hand. “When I received the papers—”
“Blaine—”
“Hush,” he said softly. “Just let me finish. I was about to come and find you but I had something to finish first. I had no intention of signing those papers, Sky. I let whatever it was between us get too far because I was so determined to hide what I feel for you. I saw my life flashing before my eyes and knew that there was no way on earth I could ever be without you. I love you and I make no apologies for loving you the way I do. You're my life and I want you to know that. I have no idea how you're going to deal with it but I love you more than I ever loved anyone or will ever love anyone in my life. Can you deal with that?”
“I love you,” she whispered tearfully. “I had to do without you for the past week or so and I couldn't function. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't do anything because you were n't there. I told myself that it was good that it was over between us because frankly it was taking too much out of me. But the fact of the matter is that I can't do this without you. I really started living when I met you Blaine, and when you left you took my life with you. I literally stopped living when you left and I never want to feel that way ever again. Can I deal with you loving me? I can deal with it because the alternative is dying. I died when you left and I don’t want to die.”
“Hey,” he was alarmed as he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. He tugged on her hand and she sat on the side of the bed. He pulled her into his arms and held her as she sobbed against him.
*****
She hadn't meant to but the strain of their separation combined with the thought of almost losing him was too much for her. She sobbed for what could have happened and for the second chance they'd been given right at that moment, determined that she would never take it for granted again. His arms closed around her and he held her gently to him.
When she had finished crying and lifted her head to look at him he wiped her tears with the pads of his hands. “Better?” he asked her gently.
She nodded. “I've soaked your bandages,” she murmured as she looked down at his chest.
“Probably time to change them anyway,” he said lightly. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“A little,” she ran her fingers over his unshaven jaw. “I kept watching to see if you would wake up.”
“I want to tell you to go home and get some sleep but I kinda want you to stay with me.”
“I'm not going anywhere,” she told him firmly. “I'll ask Del to get me some clean clothes so I can take a shower, but I'm staying.”
“I'd like that,” he told her softly.
*****
Two days later he was allowed to get up and be in a wheelchair. Skylar hadn't left the hospital at all and her friends had brought clothes for her to change into while she was there. She would spend the nights with him in the room and they would catch up on the time they'd lost when they'd been apart. People came and went at all times of the day and Skylar suspected that he was given special privileges because of who he was.
“So, you sit on the board of the hospital, huh?” she asked him the third day as he was having breakfast.
He gave her a sheepish look. “I do. I was planning to tell you.”
“Were you?” she asked with lifted brows. “And you were also planning on telling me that they wanted to name the pediatrics ward after you?”
“That too,” he said with a grin.
“Babes, you gave ten million dollars to the hospital to build the wing. That’s a pretty big deal and you never said anything to me about it.”
“It’s actually fifteen and it never came up,” he said lightly, his lips parting in a smile as he looked at her. “It’s no big deal. I have the money and the hospital wanted the wing so I donated.”
“You did more than that, as I heard. You worked on the building along with your men.”
“I wanted to do more than donate the money. That's the easy part. I wanted to have a physical input. I wanted to include a section where homeless children had a safe haven until they were provided a foster home. I also wanted to make sure that they got the care they really needed,” he told her sincerely. “I wasn't exactly homeless but the place I grew up in wasn't exactly a home.”
She got up from her chair and sat on the side of the bed, making sure not to jostle his leg. “You're a saint.”
“No,” he said seriously. “I'm just a man who saw a need and filled it. I make all this money and I'm still amazed at it. I don’t spend a lot of it because I don’t need a lot of clothes and the apartment I lived in before we met was just somewhere I crashed when I needed to sleep. It was never home. I was never home until I met you.”
Skylar stared at him and didn't know what to say for a minute. “When you say things like that to me it makes me feel unworthy of you, babes.”
“I don’t want you to feel that way.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “I'm just expressing the fact. You're my home and I never had a home before.”
“I love you, babes. I love the fact that I have the best man in the entire world,” she whispered.
“Maybe not, but I'll take it,” he said with a grin as he pulled her into his arms.
*****
But there was something else he forgot to mention to her. She wheeled him into the children’s wing and was taken aback as the children flocked to him and called him ‘Mr. Blaine’, wanting to know what happened to his leg and if they could draw on it and sign it.
By the time they were finished the cast was fully covered with scrawls and colorful drawings. “What happened to your leg?” A fifteen year old boy with thin arms and an intense look on his face asked as he came over to him.
“I wasn't careful and I fell,” Blaine told him. “What happened to your arm?” he countered as he stared at the cast.
“My dad is a drunk and he broke it,” the boy shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
“I would say it is.” Blaine told him. “Where is he now?”
“They have him locked up but now my mom says that without him bringing in the extra money we'll probably starve.”
“I'm sure that's not true. As a matter of fact I'm going to make sure of that,” Blaine told him.
“How?” the boy demanded.
“I'll make sure that as long as you and your mother are alive you'll have food to eat and will be taken care of,” Blaine promised him.
“You're the rich guy who donated this wing.”
“I am,” Blaine said soberly. “When are you supposed to get out of here?”
“In another couple of days. My name is Tyler Carter.”
“Nice to meet you, Tyler Carter. We'll be in touch.”
*****
He was able to go home two days later. The flowers and get well cards had been given over to the children’s department and Bradley had come by to make sure he was okay.
“Everything okay now?” he asked as they sat in the room and waited for the doctors to discharge him. Skylar had gone to the cafeteria to get them something to drink before they left.
“Absolutely,” Blaine looked at his friend and smiled. “Thanks man, for being here for us.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Brad t
old him. “I expect that you'll be taking a long vacation, maybe seeing some places with your wife.”
“I was thinking of a cruise when I'm up to it.”
“Sounds good.” They both looked up as Sky came into the room.
“We're all set, babes,” she handed her husband the can of grape soda. “Thank you very much Brad.”
“No problem.” He got to his feet. “Let me wheel him out, Skylar.”
She nodded and saw as the nurses gathered around to stare at the two men. They were very similar in coloring and were probably the richest men they'd ever seen at the hospital. They were worth several glances.
Bradley stopped when they got to her vehicle and helped him into the passenger seat before stepping back. Skylar waved to him as she turned the engine on and headed out of the hospital parking lot. They were finally on their way home.
*****
She helped him over to the sofa in the living room and took the crutches from him. He placed his broken leg onto the ottoman she'd placed there and leaned back against the cushions.
“How about something to eat?” she asked him softly.
“Would you mind just sitting next to me for a little bit?” he asked her, patting the space beside him.
“Of course.” She took her seat and he put his arm around her shoulder. Skylar snuggled close to him with a sigh and closed her eyes.
“I just want to have you in my arms for a minute. It seems like we haven't been this way for ages. It feels good.”
“It does,” she murmured. “What would you like to eat?”
“Anything.” he kissed the top of her head. “But I'm not ready yet. Talk to me about the store,” he urged.
She started telling him and noticed halfway through the conversation that he'd started sleeping. She listened to his even breathing and smiled as she eased out of his arm gently. She got up and stared at him. His head was leaned back against the cushions and he was snoring gently. She picked up a blanket that she kept there and spread it over his legs before leaving the room. It was already late afternoon but he had medication to take. She figured she would do something simple for them to eat when he woke up. With a smile on her face she went about tidying up before going into the kitchen to prepare them something to eat.
*****
“Baby, I can manage,” he protested. “You haven't been to the store in almost a week. I can hobble around and get things done on my own.”
“I'm not leaving you,” she told him firmly as she handed him a cup of coffee. She'd decided to work from home and leave the day-to-day stuff in the capable hands of Claudia, her assistant. The woman had told her that she was fine and they could manage without Skylar. It was the first week of June and the store had been restocked with new summer items and orders were already piling up. Her aunt had come to visit as well as her mother, and her friends had popped over to offer their help but she just wanted to spend time with her husband.
His green eyes studied her over the cup of coffee. “I know what you're doing.”
“And what is that?” she asked as she sat opposite him at the dining table.
“I'm not going anywhere, baby,” he told her.
“I know that.”
“Do you?” he asked her with lifted brows. “You spend time watching me sleep and you hover around me as if I will disappear like smoke if you step away . I'm here Sky, and I'm staying.”
“I almost lost you, so...” She shrugged and continued to sip her coffee.
“Are you talking about the accident?”
“What else?”
“Because you were never in fear of my leaving you. I had no intention of leaving. I told you that I wanted space because I was hurting, and I never intended for it to get that far,” he said sincerely.
“But it did.” She shrugged and got to her feet. She took the cup from him and went into the kitchen. “You want more?”
“No,” he called out. “Would you please come and sit back down?”
She came back and would have sat on the chair but he took her hand and pulled her onto his lap. She made sure to avoid his broken leg. She looked at him in challenge. “What?”
“You have to stop,” he told her quietly. “We said things that should never have been said between us. It was foolish and thoughtless and I hope that we'll never hurt each other that way again. We suffered a hell of a lot over that period and I don’t want us going through that again. I don’t want to be away from you, Sky, but the fact is even if we're apart—as we will be when we each go to do our own stuff—when we're apart we're still together. Do you get what I'm trying to say?”
“I'm not leaving you,” she smiled at him faintly. “I missed taking care of you when you weren't here and I want to take care of my husband who isn't fully able to take care of himself. Maybe I feel a little fearful sometimes but that's not what this is, Blaine. The store can survive without me for a little bit. You're what's important to me and I'm staying here to take care of you.”
“Okay,” he looked at her quizzically. “As long as you know that I'm here to stay.”
“I know.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I was thinking of going for a drive. You've been in this apartment for a couple of days and before that you were in the hospital. It’s nice out.”
“Where would we go?”
“To the park,” she told him. “To smell the summer flowers blooming and to take in some fresh air.”
“I'd like that,” he murmured. “But first I want this.” He brought her head to his and took her lips with his. They hadn't touched like that in a long time and both of them felt the punch of desire that was always between them. She opened her mouth beneath his and her fingers curled into his t-shirt as she gave in to the desire that always took her by surprise.
*****
He watched her with a smile as she fed the ducks and laughed as she got ice cream all down her chin. He pulled her close and used his tongue to lick it off before he transferred it to her open mouth. He had been in a state of intense horniness ever since they'd shared that passionate kiss at the apartment and now he felt the punch of raw desire inside his gut. With a shaky breath he put her away from him and took a deep breath to control the desire inside him. He felt it coming back again. The dash of emotions that came rushing back to overwhelm him. He'd tried to control it and put it under some sort of subjection but it was not working.
“Don’t do that,” she told him quietly as she looked at him.
“Do what?”
“You don’t have to hide what you feel, Blaine. I don’t want you to.”
“I don’t want to crowd you,” he said lightly as he looked at her. He shook his head and stared at the birds pecking away at the crumbs. The park was virtually empty with just a few men in wheelchairs and the women who took care of them. School was still not out for the summer yet so the park wasn't overrun with kids and their parents’
“What's it going to take for you to forget that careless statement that I said to you?” She crouched down in front of him and forced him to meet her eyes.
“It’s not what you said,” he told her softly as he touched her face gently. “It’s what I feel when I'm with you. It’s too much.” He smiled grimly. “It’s crazy and it makes me feel so damned helpless. It’s me and the fact that it takes me over, babes. I love you that much I know but when I touch you like that I want to consume you and it has to be controlled.” He shook his head. “I can't control myself when I touch you. Right now I want to tear you apart and have you right here.”
“Then let’s go back home,” she said softly. “I love that I can make you feel that way.”
His eyes held hers. “I don’t.” His hand tightened on her face, his expression must have looked intense.. He took one of her hands and placed it over his crotch. Sky moaned as she felt the hardness of his erection through the cargo shorts he was wearing. “My cock is aching so much that I'm finding it hard to sit still. Here in the park in front of all these people, I want to sink my
dick inside you. Jesus!” He breathed thought his teeth as he stared at her. “We need to leave right now.”
Chapter 16
“Where are we going?” Skylar asked him, puzzled. They'd been driving for the past half hour and he refused to give her the slightest hint as to where they were headed. It was the first day of July and his cast had been taken off just a week earlier. He'd been declared fit to do anything he wanted to do. He'd taken her for a spin on a friend’s boat last Sunday and they'd made a day of it. They'd finally gone on that honeymoon in the middle of June even though she'd protested that he still wasn't fit to travel. They'd gone to Paris and the UK and had taken a short trip to Hawaii after that.
“You'll see.” He turned to look at her with a smile. “We're almost there and I must say you're the most impatient woman I have ever known.”
“You got that right.” She looked out at the passing scenery. They'd left the urban area a few miles back and were heading into a rural area with a lot of wild flowers growing in abundance and the houses few and far between. He pulled into a dirt road, which continued for a mile before he stopped in front of a broken-down fence leading up to a large ranch-type house that looked like it had been deserted for years. He got out of the jeep and went to open the gate before getting back in to drive. He stopped the vehicle at the front door and killed the engine. “What do you think?”
“About what?” she asked him puzzled.
“About the place.”
“It looks deserted and sad-looking,”
He grinned as he opened the door and got out, coming around to open her door for her to get out. “It's two acres of land and there's a stream up top. The place is also fertile and has incredible potential. The house was built about four decades ago and even though it's run down, the stones are still the real deal.”
“Blaine, what are we doing here?”
“I bought this place for us,” he told her as he took her hand.
“What?” She pulled at him and he stopped.
