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“I will.”
Elise glanced at Gideon. “So how much blood did he give me, anyway, to be this done up? Is he okay?”
He snorted in his sleep.
The nurse laughed. “You wouldn’t believe how much he fussed over you. Then he barked about how he needed to give you more blood and kept after the doctors so much that Colonel Seriffe finally ordered us to give him something to sleep.”
“You drugged him.”
The nurse nodded.
“Well, he can be pretty stubborn.”
The nurse snorted. “Understatement, but then I’ve never met a Militia Warrior who wasn’t.”
Elise thought back on all the events of the past twenty-four hours. But there was a gap she needed filled in. “Can you tell me if you know anything about what happened at the river? Maybe you overheard something, but did everyone make it out okay? Rachel, Duncan, and the others?”
The nurse drew close and put a hand on her shoulder. “They all made it out. The Colonel said when you came around I was to be sure and tell you. He knew you’d be worried. Rachel and Warrior Duncan were here for a few minutes, but you were still out cold.” She lowered her voice. “I heard it from reception that they got into a huge fight, right in front of Colonel Seriffe. Warrior Duncan is in big trouble. They used to date, you know, Duncan and Rachel. I lost the pool when they didn’t get married.”
Elise smiled. But her arm was pretty numb, so she slowly pulled the poor limb out from under Gideon and flexed her fingers a few times to get that awful tingling started, then she put her arm around his shoulders. He moved into her, and murmured something in his sleep about freedom, and snuggled close.
“You’ve got yourself a good man there.”
Elise met the nurse’s gaze and nodded. She smiled again but this time tears started to her eyes and wouldn’t stop. “I know. Believe me, I know.”
To his mind, she sent,Don’t worry. You’ll have your freedom.
Chapter Nine
When Gideon awoke, his face was smashed into a pillow. He blinked a few times, uncertain of where he was. The room was lit with a soft glow. The blinds on the windows showed black slits between.
Nighttime.
Where was he?
He felt groggy as hell.
He heard movement, as though someone behind him was moving from one part of the room, then back.
He turned over, stretched, and yawned. He blinked again. “Elise? You’re up? Christ, how long did I sleep that you’re up and moving around? This is the hospital, right?”
“Yes. I’ve been discharged. I was just waiting to say goodbye.”
At that he sat up, a little too fast. His head swam. He put his hand to his head. Then he remembered. “Seriffe ordered me to take those damn pills.”
She shrugged and a smile turned up one side of her mouth. “You were a little … out of control.”
“No, I wasn’t.” He tried to remember. He had been insistent that she receive the best care. She’d looked so pale. “I thought you needed more blood.”
She chuckled. “Gideon, reports are that you yelled at the doctor for ten minutes. You called him an ass**le. He finally called Seriffe.”
“I did all that? Jesus.”
“Yeah, but it was kinda sweet. You were looking out for me.”
He glanced at the suitcase on the stand by the door. “What are you doing?”
He watched her swallow and she didn’t exactly meet his gaze. “I thought I’d go to a hotel. I have a little money saved. I hear the Bredstone is one of the best in the world.”
The Bredstone was over by White Lake on the other side of the White Tanks. “That’s pretty far away.” He scowled. He could feel his brow forming a solid ridge.
He slipped his legs over the side of the bed and ran his hands through his hair, pushing it away from his face. He couldn’t imagine what he looked or smelled like. He’d been battling, then he’d come here. He’d had enough sense to change into jeans and a T-shirt, but yeah, he needed a shower.
He leaned over and did some floor-staring. He really didn’t want her to go to the hotel. He also didn’t want to crowd her. “So do you want to go to a hotel?” He swung his head to look at her. He felt like he was about sixteen and trying to gauge if his hoped-for girlfriend wanted a second date.
She did some floor-staring herself. She smoothed a pair of jeans over her arm. She shrugged again. “I think I should go.” She met his gaze. “Don’t you think I should go?”
“If you want to, of course.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. She turned back to her suitcase and laid the jeans on top of a sizeable pile. He wasn’t sure if she’d be able to close it.
“Where’d all the clothes come from?”
At that she faced him and smiled. “I’ve been practicing my folding skills. I brought all of this from my home in Surprise.”
“Nice,” he said.
“Thanks. I’m getting better.”
His heart started racing. Ah, shit. He had to talk to her. He had to take her home with him. He just had to.
But man, doing this felt like he’d just set a flame-torch to every nerve on his body.
He took a few deep breaths. He stood up and steadied himself, then turned toward her. Even though he was dizzy, he crossed to her. He got a little too close because when she turned around, she bumped into him.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry.” She looked up at him and he froze. Could a woman be more beautiful than Elise? No. Never. Her glittering brown eyes, full lips, sculpted cheekbones.
When a wave of strawberry flowed over him, he staggered, righted himself, then caught her chin in his hand. “Aw, f**k, Elise. Won’t you come home with me? Won’t you stay with me? I want you there. Bad.” As declarations went, this one really sucked.
Elise’s eyes opened wide. “You want me to come home with you? Really?”
Why so much disbelief? Oh, yeah, he’d been screaming about how much he didn’t want to be with her for the past twenty-four hours.
He gathered his courage and said, “I’m not the most eloquent man. I never will be. You should know that. But here it is. I’m in love with you, and not just that ratty little hey-sleep-with-me kind of love, but the deep kind, the kind that wants a forever and a life with you and kids, maybe, if any of that appeals to you. Shit. Does it?”
“Appeal to me?”
“Yeah. Can you see a life with me, even though it will probably be f**ked up with a lot of danger, and death vampires, and horrible wounds, and all that shit?”
