Page 97 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
Deafening silence falls around us as I try to take in a breath, but Sawyer’s body is still crushing me, making it impossible for me to get air.
“Fuck!” he groans out. He rolls off of me to the side, and that’s when I see blood all over me. My hands start frantically searching myself, trying to see where I was hit, until I realize it’s not my blood- it’s Sawyer’s.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! Sawyer?” I sit up in a panic. Grabbing the towels he was runnin’ with, I start applying pressure to the right side of his chest, close to his shoulder, where blood is spilling out.
A second later my door busts open and five uniformed officers come rushing in, guns drawn.
I sob with relief when I see Cooper. He takes in my bloody state. “Shit, Grace, are you all right?” he asks, rushing to my side. “What the fuck happened?”
“That motherfucker shot me!” Sawyer replies with a painful groan.
“Because you threw yourself in front of his bullet, ya idiot! What were you thinkin’?” I cry, yellin’ at him. Even though I want to kiss the hell out of him.
“I was thinking about saving your sweet ass, Cupcake… Fuck!” He sucks in a sharp breath when Cooper adds more pressure to his wound.
“Jesus, you’re bleeding like fucking crazy. Did the bullet go through?” Sawyer grinds his teeth against the pain and shakes his head.
“Oh god! I’m so sorry. I love you so much! Please don’t die, Sawyer,” I sob, resting my forehead against his, my tears falling into his face.
He wraps a hand around the back of my neck and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I’m not going to die, baby, it just hurts like a motherfucker.”
The paramedics rush in a minute later and load Sawyer onto the stretcher even though the stupid man tried to tell them he would walk.
Cooper offers to take Chuckie to the animal hospital for me so I can be with Sawyer. I feel terrible not bein’ the one to be there for him, especially since he’s hurt because of me. My heart is breaking that the two I care most about in the world are shot and bleedin’ because they saved me.
Turning to the side, I hug Chuckie gently. “Cooper’s goin’ to take good care of you boy, okay? I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I watch Cooper cover him and carry him to his car, before I follow the paramedics to the ambulance.
The rest of the night happens in a blur. My mind is still in shock by everythin’ that happened and my heart is heavy with worry for Sawyer. I’m so happy to see all of our friends already in the waiting room when I arrive at the hospital. Cade, Jaxson, Julia, Kayla and even Katelyn.
All the girls wrap me in a group hug. “I’m so sorry, Grace. We shouldn’t have let you leave, we should have went with you,” Kayla says guiltily.
“No, none of this is your guy’s fault,” I reply sadly. “No one knew there was any danger and I had needed to be alone at the time.”
Except now, the whole reason why I was upset in the first place all seems so stupid.
Kayla and Julia sit on either side of me, both of them keep an arm around my shoulders to offer comfort while we sit patiently and wait for Sawyer to get out of surgery.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to stop cryin’. Excusing myself, I go to the bathroom on my own, hoping I’ll be able to compose myself. I don’t look in the mirror, knowing if I see my face, it will only make me feel worse. I let out a heavy breath and gently splash some water on it, wanting to wash away my tears, fear and heartache.
A few minutes later, when I’m feeling a little more collected, I walk out of the bathroom to see Cade by himself, pacing nervously. When he looks up and sees me, his expression softens… well, soft for Cade.
Knowin’ he’s worried about Sawyer, I walk up and wrap my arms around his waist. He tenses only for a brief second before huggin’ me back, and it’s a real hug not his usual awkward pats.
“He’s going to be okay, Grace, trust me. I’ve been trying to get rid of him since I was eight fucking years old, he’s not going anywhere.”
And for the first time tonight I smile, rememberin’ Sawyer’s story about the two of them.
I pray he’s right, because if not, if I lose Sawyer too, I know I won’t survive it.
The sound of deep, quiet male voices begins to pull me from sleep a second before I hear the sound of a door clicking shut. Feeling a big, warm hand in my hair, I open my eyes and wake fully. I sit up quickly and wince, my body brutally aching from the night before. But my pain completely fades the moment I lay eyes on Sawyer, sittin’ up in bed.
He watches me with a sexy smile. “Hey, Cupcake.”
Relief fills me at hearing his voice; it’s been almost twelve hours since he’s been awake. Coming to sit beside him on the bed, I lean down and give him a gentle kiss. When I go to pull back, he threads his fingers in my hair and keeps my lips against his and gives me the softest, slowest, most delicious kiss.
My heart breaks when I think about how close I came of never gettin’ to feel this again. Sliding his hands down to frame my face, he pulls back just slightly, keeping my face only an inch from his.
“Hi,” I say softly, givin’ him a small smile, “sorry, I wanted to be awake for ya when you woke up.”
As his thumb moves across my cheek tenderly, I turn my face slightly to press a kiss to his palm.
“Don’t be sorry, baby. You should have gone home with Jaxson and Julia to get some sleep.”
