Page 68 of Burn Bag

“Um…what’s the problem?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Mrs. Kavanaugh, this is your second trip to the ER in just two days. Now, I have to ask, is your husband abusing you?”

Relief flooded me so fast that I burst out laughing, unable to stop as tears poured down my face. I thought I was about to be told I was dying or something.

“Do you think this is funny?”

“No,” I waved him off, trying to catch my breath. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just…” I still couldn’t breathe, but was trying to get it together so the doctor didn’t call security or something. “It’s just…I thought you were going to tell me I had a terminal illness or something.”

“And your husband hurting you is better?”

“Hurting me?” I started laughing again, clutching my stomach as I tried desperately to find the words to make him understand.

It took a lot of gasping and a few bursts of word vomit for me to get the story out, but I finally did. He didn’t look too happy about my reaction, almost like he was dying to pin spousal abuse on Bradley, but he finally grunted and took me at my word.

“Kristy said you were something of the odd couple,” he grunted. “I just had to be sure for myself.”

“I understand,” I said, wiping the remaining tears from my face. “And I promise you, this is a series of unfortunate accidents. I don’t think Bradley has it in him to hurt a fly. Well, maybe a cat,” I clarified. “If one peed on him.”

He glowered at me. “Animal abuse is no joke.” Then he turned and stormed out of the room.

Shaking my head, I rested back on the pillow, still chuckling every now and then about the ridiculousness of the situation.

I knew immediately when he entered the room. I could smell something shift in the air, the way only a man like Bradley could fill the space with his masculinity. Sighing heavily, I turned into his hand as he brushed it against my cheek. It was so nice to have him beside me again, and maybe that was a little odd for a man I’d just met, but it felt right.

“Should we go home?” he whispered.

I nodded, wanting nothing more than to lay down in his arms for the rest of the day and pretend that we were a happily married couple and already in love.

“Movie day?” he asked.

“Will there be popcorn?”

“And candy.”

“Sounds amazing,” I sighed.

“Good. Let me get the paperwork and we’ll get out of here. Do you think you can get dressed on your own?”

I nodded, but I was already dozing off as he continued to brush the back of his hand across my cheek.

“I’ll be right back.”

I could have sworn I felt him press a kiss to my lips, but I could have been imagining it. But in my mind, it was real, and he really did love me. In my dreams, Bradley was the love of my life and we’d be happily married for the rest of our lives.

18

KAVANAUGH

I definitely couldn’t handle havingher hands on me this morning, so I made sure to slip out of bed before she woke up, which wasn’t too difficult considering the pain meds had knocked her out. She said last night that she didn’t need them, that she was feeling better, but I made her take them anyway. I wasn’t taking any chances.

It occurred to me as I was making breakfast that I had wanted a woman who could do all the cooking and cleaning, yet I seemed to get the total opposite. There was no way I was letting Daphne anywhere near a stove again, and based on how she wielded that mop and broom yesterday, I wasn’t entirely sure that letting her anywhere near cleaning supplies was a good thing either.

Not that it mattered. We were just getting to know each other. We’d see how things progressed, but for right now, I was perfectly happy with the way things were. Chaos and all. It wasn’t exactly the relationship I had been hoping for, but maybe it would turn out for the best.

But I was definitely going to have to figure out how to move forward in our relationship without mauling her every chance I got. My cat scratches were healing, which was a relief since I got hardnearly every time I was around her. It was painful as hell when those cuts broke open when my cock couldn’t control itself.

Somehow, it seemed wrong to maul her when we hardly knew each other. Even though she had her hand on my cock yesterday morning.

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