Page 52 of Savagely Yours
“No, weird sensation.”
“I think you’re feeling the catheter. You’ve been in and out for days. I’ve been changing out the bag. We were worried about your kidneys, which took a slight hit in the beginning, but westarted treating the infection right on time. Your urine’s been fine for the last twenty-four hours.”
I needed more information. I needed to know what he meant by him “changing out the bag” and that my “urine” was fine. There was no way this man had handled my pee. If he had, the infection might not have killed me, but mortification would.
“Don’t forget I can read your mind.” He kissed the side of my head. “I know what you’re worried about, and yes, I handled your pee.”
Had it not been for his body supporting mine, I would have keeled over. I barely wanted a trained hospital nurse to handle my bodily fluids, never mind the man who didn’t know I was in love with him. I didn’t even let my family enter the bathroom if I was using it. On the outside, I was an open book, but that open book came with a few hang-ups.
“Some even spilled all over me,” he added.
I sucked in a breath, which led to a noise that sounded like a cross between a moose and a cow.
“I’m joking, baby.” He gave the side of my head another kiss, then my shoulder. “Still, changing the bag was no big deal.”
I mumbled my dissent and looked up at him from over my shoulder, eyes narrowed. He angled his head to meet my gaze, and although we only had the candlelight, I could see the amusement glittering in his irises.
God, I’d missed this.
Missed him.
“Keep squinting those pretty eyes at me if you want to,” he warned. “I can call you baby. Matter of fact, I can call you whatever I want because you’re too tired to hit me.”
He had me there.
But I had a fantastic memory.
I would remember this moment to strike him later.
However, that fantastic memory kicked in, picking up on the first part of his response. My brows felt like they shot up, but I was too exhausted to be sure.
“Yes, pretty eyes,” he said. “Your eyes are so fucking beautiful to me, Tapley.”
A stir awakened in my stomach, one that reminded me of Louisiana summers when I was a kid, skipping rocks with my sister and cousins and the ripples each stone would leave behind.
“Now, I’m going to lay you back down, and then I’ll have to leave,” he went on. “I won’t be gone for long. I’m going downstairs to get Dr. Lin. Since you’re up, he’ll want to remove the Foley. It’s not a comfortable experience. Wouldn’t hurt if you went back to sleep.”
He moved, eased me back onto the mattress, and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin.
My mind began to rove.
He was calling me babe and baby, kissing my forehead, and changing my urine. I never forgot the look on his face at the laundry, and a slew of questions sprung up like an underground oil reservoir.
Was it because I was sick? Once I was better, would he return to being distant, giving his weapons very telling names as if they were a reminder that my feelings needed to cease and desist? Or were we finally in a place to get everything out in the open?
“Sleep, okay?” He smoothed my brow with his thumb and followed the gentle path with a light brush of his lips. “Don’t worry about anything right now. Just sleep. Promise I won’t be gone long.”
I closed my eyes.
Real Dez dissolved, and Dream Dez took his place. Then Dream Dez kissed my brow and whispered, “God, I love you,” which carried me the rest of the way into a peaceful slumber.
The next timeI opened my eyes, there was light out.
Dez entered the room carrying a glass of water, round balls of ice floating in the crystal-clear liquid. Rather than his uniform, he had on a pair of pants and a T-shirt, which I took to mean that it was either the weekend or he had the day off. Based on the information about Totten that I’d gleaned thus far, Class One Elites were only truly required to be on duty three days per week. Yet, what they did with the rest of their time, not even LaSalle had been able to figure out.
Smiling, he set the glass on the bedside table. “Hey, you’re up. Good morning, sunshine.”
I returned the smile. “Good…morning.”
