Page 73 of The Sinner's Touch

Angel shook her head as she watched him wheel himself out of the room. He was quite a character. He flirted with every nurse who so much as looked at him. At least she now knew where Nik got it from. Dimitri was the original manwhore.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

Kade’s anxious voice pulled her attention back to him. He’d lost weight. It worried her. He didn’t look good. His skin was still ashen. “I’m fine. Sore, but fine. You, however, look like shit.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t look like roses, either, Mrs. Kincaid.”

She scrunched up her nose. Her hair was an oily mess. She could smell it. The nurses promised her a shower in a day or two. The plastic surgeon had better give her the go-ahead. Sponge baths were not her thing.

“You up for talking?”

She swung her gaze back to him. He sounded so serious. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Me and you.” He bit his lip. A new habit she’d noticed he did when he was nervous. He looked more than nervous. There was fear in his eyes.

Angel had been trying to find a way to talk to him about their relationship too. The fear that plagued her the first two days after his surgery was still like a live wire in her stomach. She’d almost lost him. She wasn’t prepared to let him go.

“I’ve been thinking about us too.” She fiddled with her blanket.

“I’m hoping you’ll think about giving us another chance.” Kade wheeled his chair closer to her bed so he could take her hand. “I know I don’t deserve a second chance, Angel, but I’m asking for one. I love you. More than you can ever possibly know.”

“I’m not going to promise it’ll work out, Kade, but I love you too. I always have. A wise old flower told me fate sometimes gives us a good kick in the ass when we fall off the path. Seeing you almost die was my kick in the ass. So, yes, Kade, I’ll give us another chance. No more lies, though.”

“No more lies,” he promised and gave her the biggest shit-eating grin, which made her laugh.

“Aww, isn’t this just precious?” Nikoli waltzed in. “So, you’re staying in the family, Angel Girl?”

“It appears so. At least for now. Kade and I still have a lot to talk about, but it looks promising.”

Nikoli slapped Kade on the back then leaned in to carefully hug her. “Welcome to the family,sestra.”

“You always did have the worst sense of timing,” Kade grouched.

“Don’t be a sore loser.” Nikoli pulled up a chair and plopped down. “You have all the time in the world to spend with your wife. I came to visit. Lily and I are leaving tonight for Florida to visit her mother. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need me for a few days. I can stay if you do.”

“No, I’ve got Viktor, Dimitri, and Angel. We’ll be fine.”

“Look what I found!” Dimitri rolled back in, Viktor behind him carrying bags of food, the labels proclaiming they were from Joe’s.

“You could have helped me, motherfucker.” Viktor glared at Nikoli, who blew him a kiss.

Angel looked over at Kade, and he smiled, shaking his head. There went their alone time.

But it was good to be surrounded by family. They would have all the time in the world to spend alone later. Right now, they would enjoy their family.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Grumpy didn’t even begin to describe how Angel felt. She’d been in this hospital for almost two weeks because she’d developed an infection. Her fever had raged for over a week, and the hospital wasn’t taking any chances. Until the infection was cleared out of her system, she was stuck here.

Kade had been released four days ago. He slept here, but at least if he wanted to, he could leave.

And it was Christmas Eve.

She was stuck in this place on Christmas.

Her tabletop tree in the apartment had probably died by now. She’d asked Kade to check on it, but as he hadn’t said a word about it, she took that as a sign the thing was now in the trash.

Thank God for online shopping. At least she had gifts for Nik, Viktor, Dimitri, and Lily. Kade’s had arrived this morning, and the nurses distracted him long enough for her to wrap it. They’d asked him to help play Santa in the pediatrics wing. He never could turn down children. They were his weak spot.

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