Page 205 of Into These Eyes
Over her head, I spot a box on the bedside table. Managing to reach out and snag a wad, I hand them to her. Only when she’s dried her face and blown her nose does she finally look at me.
I cup her cheek in my hand so she can’t hide. Staring into her eyes, I see the fear, the anguish, the relief. And love, and desire, and hope. “Give me those lips,” I grumble.
She hesitates. “But … morning breath.”
“I don’t give a fuck about morning breath. We’ll cancel each other out. Now shut up and come here, woman.”
Grinning, she surges forward and plants her lips on mine. It’s that first kiss she gave me, so sweet and filled with comfort and the reassurance that she’s mine. I love that kiss, but right now, I need more. While our lips suck and teeth nip, my body lights on fire, leaving me thankful the catheter came out yesterday.
With some sort of sixth sense, the thigh resting atop mine slides upward. When it finds my erection, she gently rubs up and down its length, releasing a groan into my mouth. Christ, I want to ravish her and fuck her into oblivion, but my body’s in no condition to achieve either of those activities right now.
Pulling back, her gaze skates down to her rubbing thigh. “How long until you can be inside me again?”
“I haven’t quite gotten around to asking the doctor that yet. But I can’t see any harm in having you sit on my face. Should we check with him when he does the rounds?”
“Definitely,” she giggles.
The door swooshes open and an orderly brings in a tray. Once everything’s set up, Jamie takes the lid off the plate.
“Mmm, scrambled eggs and bacon, a muffin, apple juice and coffee. You’re not allowed any food, right?”
I squeeze her side, then find the remote to raise the bed. “Feed me, woman. I’m starving.”
And she does just that, offering me a bite for every mouthful she feeds herself. By the time we’ve devoured everything, we’re both sleepy again. But I fight it. I need to know.
“So, Reid’s been arrested?”
She stares at me, bewildered. “Anika didn’t tell you?”
“She told me about the operation your friend was leading, that they were waiting on the arrests before they’d let you come see me.” The look on her face sends fear spiking through me. “They got him, right?”
She shakes her head. “They didn’t need to. I shot him. I killed him.”
I stare at her in stunned silence. Never once did it cross my mind that she’d killed the man I blamed for so long. Shit. My failure to even remember he was a threat almost cost us our lives. Now she’s the one who has to bear the burden of killing a man. Because of me.
I tighten my arm around her, the need to protect her from the fallout overwhelming, even though it’s far too late. “Jesus, Jamie. Are you okay?”
“I’ve got a battle wound,” she says, a slight smile on her lips as she gently pats her hip. “Just a graze. A couple of stitches. After I shot him, he shot back.”
My heart thunders, my eyes never leaving hers.Fuck. He could’ve killed her. It’s a miracle she’s still here, but I don’t want to worry her with my thoughts. I want hers. “I’m talking about how youfeelabout it. The truth, J.”
She looks into my eyes for a long moment. I see a hardness there I haven’t seen since she glared at me in court. But there’s vulnerability within those depths as well.
Hesitating a moment, she says, “I never thought I could do something like that. Not until I was right there in the moment. He was going to kill us both.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry.”
“No. Fuck him. No one hurts the man I love without consequences. And I’m not sorry. He was evil. Does it make me a bad person for being glad I’ve erased him from this world?” Uncertain, she bites her lip while she waits for my answer.
I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “You’re not a bad person, Jamie. You’re my fucking hero.”
Resting her hand on my chest, she shakes her head. “You’re the hero, dummy. I know you would’ve done the same for me. I know he took you by surprise, that you fought him after he shot you. And I know you saved both our lives.”
“I was useless, I couldn’t—”
“Not finished,” she says, placing a finger over my lips. “When I heard his voice, I was operating on automatic pilot. There was nothing in my brain except getting to you. If I’d done that, we wouldn’t be here. It was you … you yelling at me not to go out there, to get Bennie and the Jets. It took me a second to figure that out, but when I did, it saved us.Yousaved us.”
As I start to deny her statement, she kisses my lips, no doubt to shut me up again. I felt like I’d completely failed her, yet she’s not having it. I suppose there’s a nugget of truth there. At the time, my words were my only way to try and protect her. As luck would have it, they’d worked. But the credit isn’t mine. Not by a longshot.
