Page 10 of Loving Leila
Before I can say a word, Kyle answers the doctor. “No problem, doc. I’ll be there to take care of her.”
Oh, uh-uh. No. Nope. Not going to happen. I’d rather stay here.
“Excellent. Nurse Collins here will tell you what to watch for and what to do,” the doctor says. “I’ll pop in again later to check in on you.”
With that, she’s gone.
“You need something for pain, Ms. Asherton?” the nurse enquires.
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I watch her leave before carefully turning my head toward Kyle.
“You can’t take care of me.”
“Sweetness, this isn’t up for debate. It’s either that or staying here. I’ve got some downtime, so it’s all good.”
“No, Kyle, it’s not all good –”
“I’m sure you must be in need of a little pain relief by now.” The nurse comes bustling back into my room, a syringe and a plastic cup with pills in hand.
She puts the syringe on the bedside table, hands me the little cup, then water. When I’ve swallowed those down, she urges me onto my side, sliding the injection in with expert precision. Once I’m settled again, she makes sure I’m as comfortable as possible before taking her leave with a kind smile.
I can already feel the pain meds taking effect. I’m not ready. There’s so much more I want to say to Kyle. Before I know it though, I’m slipping into the blissful darkness of sleep, the words dying unspoken on my tongue.
Chapter 9
Kyle
Rubbing a hand over my chest, I try to ease the ache. Leila looks so tiny lying in that hospital bed, pale as a ghost and hooked up to all manner of machines. At least the steady beeping of the heart monitor reassures me she’s alive. I haven’t lost her.
I can’t get the image of her crumpled and bleeding on the floor of the ship’s cabin out of my mind. Fear and helplessness held me in a stranglehold I couldn’t shake off. When I discovered the bomb strapped to the hijacker, everything in me screamed to be the one to carry her to safety.
Instead, all I could do was watch as Ace gathered her in his arms as if she were made of spun glass and carry her away from me. It sucks that it took Leila almost dying for me to have my come-to-Jesus moment.
I thought I was doing the right thing for both of us when I broke our relationship off. In my mind, it was unfair to expect her to live the life of a military wife, never knowing where I am at any given moment. Never knowing when that dreaded knock on the door might come.
Watching the hell Sherri went through after Maverick died, I didn’t want that life for Leila. To protect her, I left. Or at least that’s what I believed I was doing back then. As the scene in that cabin replays in my brain for the millionth time, I realize it was all me. My fears, insecurities, worries.
As I watch her sleep the deep sleep of the drugged, I make her a promise not to waste this second chance we’ve been given. Now all I have to do is get her on board with the idea. Yeah, that’s going to be fun.
For now, I’ll sit here watching over Leila and be grateful for the chance. We’ll figure the rest out. At some point, I must have dozed off. I jerk upright at a sound, unable to identify it. Then I hear it again. Clearly caught up in a nightmare, her legs churning as though she’s running from something or someone, I’m worried Leila will hurt herself.
Quickly and quietly as I can, I toe my shoes off and ease myself onto the bed beside her. Drawing her into my arms, I rest her head on my shoulder and drop soft kisses on the top of her head and forehead. As I rub a hand softly up and down her arm, she starts to settle until finally, with a sigh, she calms.
It feels incredible to hold her in my arms again. I’ve missed this simple joy. There was never anything to beat the feeling of coming home to Leila at the end of a mission, holding her in the middle of the night as she silenced the demons that followed me home. Then to wake to her beautiful face in the morning and make love to her.
God, I’ve missed her.
I only meant to calm her, but must doze off again as I lay content for the first time in a long time, savoring the feel of her body against mine. Coming awake at a soft sound, I find the nurse checking Leila’s vitals.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. She was having a nightmare, and I didn’t want her to hurt herself. It was the only way I could think of to soothe her.”
“No problem, sir. Ms. Asherton’s vitals are actually the best they’ve been since she came in, so it’s clearly working.”
Her words and kind smile warm me, but I know it’s only a matter of time before those very stats climb. Once Leila’s awake, I have no doubt that legendary temper of hers is going to make an appearance. And I’m betting it’ll be sooner rather than later. She’s made it pretty clear how she feels about me having popped back up in her life.
