Page 3 of Fury

He smirks. “I never lose.”

“You’re telling me the other guy came off worse than this?” I ask, laughing.

“How have you been, Xanth?” he asks again, this time with that little lost boy look in his eye.

I gently run my hand over his cheek. “Good. How about you?”

“Good.”

“You’re in The Chaos Demons,” I note, staring at the club patch on his jacket. They’re well known around here, especially to us emergency workers.

“They keep me in line,” he says, a smile playing on his lips.

“And they keep us busy. It’s mainly just cuts and bruises,” I tell him, “but I’d like to have your ribs X-rayed.”

He’s already pushing to sit up. “I’m all good. Save the NHS some money.” I gently push him back down, and he smirks. “Still trying to be dominant, I see,” he says, and I feel myself blushing.

“Let me at least clean up your face.” I pull the bed light down over him and drag my tray of implements closer. I’m not ready for him to walk out of here without having properly spoken. I begin to wash out a cut above his eyebrow, and he winces. “So, are you married?” I ask.

He laughs. “No. You?”

I’m surprised at his answer. He’s good looking and has the personality to match. Even as a naughty teenager, he was funny and made anything seem possible. He always had girls swooning over him. “No, not married.”

He looks just as surprised. “You remember we made a pact, right?” he reminds me, and I laugh as I use gauze to pat the eyebrow dry.

“You were always making pacts and promises. How many girls did you promise to marry if they were still single by thirty-five?”

His smile fades. “Just the one, Xanth.” The look in his eye is so serious, I have to turn away to compose myself.

“Glue should hold this cut, but if it continues to bleed, come back for stitches.” I carefully glue his cut and hold it together for a few seconds.

“What time do you get off work?” he asks.

My heart slams harder in my chest as I glance at my watch. “In half an hour.”

“I’ll wait.”

“What for?”

“You,” he says simply.

“This is crazy, right?”I whisper to my friend and colleague, Julianna.

“Yes, but all the best things are. He’s just an old friend.”

I stare back at the cubicle where Reese is waiting for me. “But I’ve met someone.”

“You’re freaking out, Xanth, and getting way ahead of yourself as usual. This is just a catch-up. He might turn out to be a right knob, and you’ll be texting, asking me to get you out of there.”

I give a stiff nod even though I already know she’s wrong. I’ve thought about Reese Northman every day since the day he left me behind. “I’ve spent all this time looking for a man, and now, two come along at once.”

Julianna rolls her eyes. “I could think of worse problems to have.”

I slip my coat on and grab my bag. “I’ll text you later,” I tell her, air-kissing her cheek.

Reese is sitting on the bed staring at his mobile phone. He glances up when I tug the curtain back. “Ready?” I ask.

He nods, shoving his mobile away and following me out.

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