Page 35 of Burn for Me
Getting up, Kitty poured a glass of ice water a nurse had brought in while the doctor had been talking to Gray. Handing it to him, she smoothed a hand over his forehead where a lock had fallen. Ignoring the glass in his hand, he leaned into the touch. Savoured the feel of her cool hand on his skin.
The simple touch had him feeling like he was suddenly in free fall. He didn’t recognise the sensation immediately. But when he did, his heart clenched. Just as it had when the doctor had addressed Kitty as Mrs James. In that instant, it became abundantly clear what the feeling was. Love. Pure and simple. He was in love with Kitty. In the time it had taken for him to draw a breath, his life had changed.
Looking up at her, he saw tears gather in her eyes.
“Hey now. What’s this?”
Shaking her head, Kitty took a moment to answer.
“Sorry. I...” The words faltered as she choked back a sob.
Reaching for the hand still cupped around his face, he laced his fingers through hers.
“Talk to me, love. Tell me what’s got you so upset?”
Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no words came out. Gray watched as emotion chased across her pale face. Realising just how pale she was, he took a moment to really study her.
Understanding bloomed uncomfortably in his stomach. If he wasn’t so out of it with drugs pumping through his system, he’d have clued in sooner. Of course she was upset. He could only imagine the anguish she’d been through. For them, it was all part of the job. For their loved ones, it was a lot harder. Raising the bed into a more upright position, Gray pulled Kitty into his embrace as best he could. Which was somewhat uncomfortable since she stood on the same side his leg was in a sling.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. That was a bit slow of me.”
Shaking her head again, Kitty still said nothing. Seemingly couldn’t speak through the sobs now racking her body. Tightening his arms around her, Gray placed gentle kisses on her head as she burrowed into his embrace and gave vent to emotions that had obviously been bottled up.
* * *
God,this man! He’d been through hell and back, but all he was concerned about was her. Could he possibly be any sweeter?
Kitty curled farther into his embrace, accepting the comfort he so readily offered, crying harder. So overcome with the emotions of the past two days she couldn’t keep it bottled up anymore. It demanded to be released, acknowledged, soothed. It would no longer be denied.
She should be the one who was being strong for him. But he showed no signs of needing it. Still, she felt selfish even as she took from him. Finally getting a grip on herself, Kitty slowly pulled back out his arms. Standing up straight, she searched for something to wipe her wet face. She shuddered to think what she must look like. No makeup, red nose, and puffy eyes.
“Thanks, Gray, but I’m okay now.” Swiping a tissue under her nose again, she continued, “Drink some of your water before the ice melts completely.”
“Don’t worry about the ice, Kitty. Talk to me.”
“I’m fine now. Sorry. It’s been a rough couple of days. For everyone, I guess.”
“I don’t care about everyone else, damn it! I only care about you. I know what you’ve just been through isn’t easy. Just talk to me,” Gray ground out through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed.
She was completely taken aback by Gray’s apparent anger. Had yet to experience this side of him directed at her. The only time she’d seen him in any kind of bad mood had been over the fires being set by an arsonist in Kloofnek. And she found she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
To be fair though, he’d been through one hell of an ordeal. And now he was having to deal with her breaking down. She should be taking care of him. Not the other way around. Drawing a breath to tell him just that, something on her face must have given her away, because he spoke first.
“Don’t. Don’t even say what’s you’re thinking. I’m not interested in hearing that bullshit. I know the risk I take when I put that uniform on each day. I signed up for this. You didn’t. This just landed in your lap.”
Huffing out the breath she’d just taken, Kitty realised arguing was pointless.
“Fine. What do you want me to say, Gray?”
“How about being honest with me about what you’re feeling?”
“You sure you want to hear how I’m feeling?” she snapped back, her own anger stirring to life.
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to. You can’t keep it bottled up, Kitty. It’s not healthy.”
“So, you want me to tell you that I felt like I was losing my mind, thinking I might never get to see you again?” As she spoke, anger took a deeper hold. She was tired and seriously not in the mood for this. “Or would you prefer me to tell you I felt like a piece of me was slowing dying as I sat glued to the TV, hour after hour, as I waited for news? Any news.” She paused to take a breath. “What exactly would you like me to say, hmm?”
“Kitty, honey–”
