Page 26 of Black Bay Defender
“I think she’s going to wake up soon. Maybe even today.”
Grady was grateful he’d swallowed his mouthful of coffee or he might have spewed it at Jayla, he was so surprised by that statement. Lark had been getting steadily better, he’d seen that with his own eyes, but this was the first time someone had predicted that the end of the convalescence was imminent.
“What makes you say that? Did something happen?”
“The doctor, when he came by to check on her last night, said her responses looked good.” Jayla shrugged up a shoulder. “I don’t know what that means exactly, but he took her off the IV and said he thought she’d come out of it very soon. Then, this morning, I thought I heard a noise so I went in to check on her, and when I said her name, she mumbled something.”
A mixture of hope and relief and excitement swelled in his chest and he stood so abruptly his stool tipped over to clatter on the floor. “She spoke? What did she say?”
“It was more like a ‘mmbri’ or something like that, but that’s good news.” The woman shot him another one of those mega-watt smiles. “She’s coming back.”
Without thinking about it, Grady lurched around the counter and pulled ‘a Kong’ when he picked Jayla up and bounced her in his arms. Jayla laughed, while Perrin turned around and brandished her spatula like a sword. “Come even a step closer,” she hissed, “and I’ll brain you, so help me God. Kong is bad enough, don’t you dare start pulling that shit too.”
Kong raised a hand to his heart and gasped. “You have wounded me, fair maiden.”
Perrin snorted, and the other two women giggled, but Grady had a one-track mind. Lark. She was waking up and he wanted to be there when she did. Snagging up his coffee cup he strode for the bedroom.
The room was cool and dark, the blinds still closed on the windows. Settling into the chair beside the bed, he looked her over carefully. The bandage had been removed, revealing nothing but two small pink spots near her hairline that would soon fade. To heal so completely after being grievously wounded… Incredible. It still blew his mind.
She’d been dressed in another one of those silky-looking pajama sets, this one a pale blue. That bright hair was a splash of vivid color spread out on the white pillowcase below her head. The fan of her lashes shadowed cheeks that no longer looked gaunt, but rosy with health, and that gorgeous face framed by scales that would glitter once she was back under the sun, was set in serene lines of peaceful sleep.
Taking her hand, he stroked his thumb over her knuckles and her lashes fluttered. Grady’s breath caught, held as he waited…
Another flutter of those lashes and the tip of her tongue pushed through to lick her lips.
Softly, quietly, he spoke. “Lark.”
Her brow furrowed just the tiniest bit.
“Come on, beautiful. Open your eyes.”
Another flutter and then those lashes rose to reveal the vivid, near-glowing green of her eyes. Her pupils dilated as she gazed up at him with confusion.
Grady smiled. “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty.”
Another heartbeat of confusion in her expression before it was replaced with a look he thought might be surprise. She yanked her hand away from him and then promptly slammed the heel of it hard into his chest.
“Oof.” The unexpected impact rocked him back in his chair so forcefully, that the front legs rose off the floor before banging back down hard. Lark threw off the blankets, temporarily blinding him with bedclothes, as she moved to put distance between them. Concerned, Grady lurched to his feet. “Lark,” he uttered, holding out his hand to her.
The gesture brought a sound from her that sent chills up his spine and had him freezing in place. A hissing growl was the only thing he could think of to describe it and the sound was pure aggression. Her eyes locked on his and would have mesmerized him if it weren’t for the ocular upgrades that negated her gift. Her mouth opened in a more traditional hiss, revealing her fangs that were glistening with venom.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Grady shouted, holding both hands out in a sign of surrender.
The others barreled into the room, Kong in the lead, and it was the sight of the big guy that diffused the situation. Her fangs folded back as she breathed his name and Kong immediately came forward to embrace her. “I’m here, Lark.”
Grady shifted his weight, not sure what to do and those viper green eyes snapped to him and narrowed as she demanded, “Who the hell is he?”
Chapter Fifteen
“That’sGrady,”Kongsaid,smoothing his hand over Lark’s tumbled hair. “He’s a friend.” And then in a teasing tone, added, “You know we wouldn’t let just anyone in your bedroom.”
Lark eyed Grady suspiciously, her gaze lingering a bit longer on the metal plate over his ear and then his prosthetic arm. “I don’t know him.”
Those words had a hollow ache settling in Grady’s chest.
Kong glanced over his shoulder at the three women hovering in the doorway. “Call the doctor.” Perrin nodded sharply and left the room.
With another sweep of his hand over her hair, Kong asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
