His eyes drifted shut briefly, and then he opened them and gazed at me, steady and clear. “I do. Or I will try. I can’t promise that I won’t backslide now and again, but I won’t shut you out.”
“You’d better not.” Now that I’d had my outburst, tears followed—not sobs, but just silent, flowing tears streaming down my face. “I don’t want to live without you, Nicky. I want us to have a marriage where we are partners—true partners—in every sense of the word. What worries you is what you must share with me, and I’ll do the same. We share joy, laughter, successes and love—and on the flip side, we have to share the not-so-fun stuff, too.”
“How on earth did you get to be so wise?” Nicky used his free hand to wipe tears from my cheek. “Here all this time, I thought I was the older and more seasoned person in our marriage. But it turns out that you’re so much smarter about everything than I am.”
“I have good teachers,” I sniffed. “Honey and Handsome. My mom and dad. And you.” I touched his chin, letting my fingers trail over the warmth of his skin. “You told me that I didn’t have to change to love you. You told me that we were better when we worked together. And guess what? I listened to you.”
“I should start listening to myself, I guess.” He brushed a kiss onto the side of my neck.
“You should.” I rested my head on his shoulder, taking a moment to simply be and appreciate that we were sitting here, together, in our cozy home. We’d come so close to losing this—to losing us—in so many ways.
With that thought at the forefront of my mind, I shot an elbow against Nicky’s ribs, driving out a sharpoomphas he doubled over.
“What the hell was that for?” He glared at me, a wounded expression on his face.
“That was for scaring me to death. That was for making me walk into a hospital room and having to see you lying unconscious and injured, with tubes coming out of you everywhere, while the doctors told us they weren’t sure if you would recover or how you would be if you did wake up. That was for every terrified breath I drew in before you opened your eyes.” I huffed out a breath before adding, “I would’ve smacked you upside the head, but I was being kind, seeing that your brain is still healing from its trauma.”
“I have bruises and contusions all over me, you might recall.” Nicky rubbed at his side.
“I don’t remember seeing anything in that particular spot.” Crossing my arms, I treated him to a withering, narrow-eyed stare. “I chose my target wisely.”
“Oh, and I should be grateful for that?” He made a grand show of shifting away from me, as if I might strike again.
“Absolutely.” I nodded. “I think I’m entitled to be more than a little pissed off, and to be honest, it might last for a while.”
“I see.” Nicky studied me, and I watched as his expression softened, his lips parted slightly, and something that was not contrition spread over his face. A predatory gleam sparkled in his eyes.
“Nicky ...” I began, warning evident in my tone.
“Kyra,” he echoed, mocking me even as he leaned closer to me, creeping ever nearer.
I scrambled into the corner of the couch, holding out one arm. “No, Nicky. That’s not—don’t you dare!”
He chuckled. “Why not?”
“For one thing, the doctors said you were not supposed to resume regular physical activity for another four weeks. You’re supposed to be resting and not doing anything that might hurt your brain.”
“Oh, what I have in mind isn’t going to hurt my brain at all,” he assured me. “As a matter of fact, it might even be good for me—drawing the blood away from my head to another body part, you know.”
“For another thing—” I hopped up to sit on the back of the sofa, attempting to stay out of his reach. “For another thing, I’m still angry with you. Softening me up with sex isn’t going to work, buddy.” I shook my finger at him. “It’s going to take days—maybe weeks—of groveling before I’m ready to stop being mad.”
“But I do my best groveling naked. On my back, with you straddling my hips.” He leered at me, wagging his eyebrows, and then wincing, pressed one hand to his forehead. “Ouch. That actually hurt. Just moving my eyebrows gave me a headache.” Settling back against the sofa cushions, he cast me a rueful glance. “You might be onto something with the rest and recuperating business.”
“Just another time I’m right.” I slid down, bouncing on the couch before I snuggled next to him again. “But don’t worry. Out of respect for your head, I won’t do the I-told-you-so dance this time.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your restraint.” Nicky slung his arm around me and tugged me close. “Maybe for now, we should simply stick to cuddling.”
“I’m all about that.” I smiled, nuzzling into his embrace. “What about moving this party upstairs and cuddling in bed? We could turn onCaptain Americaand doze. I wouldn’t mind a nap.”
“Which one?” he inquired lazily. “Civil WarorWinter Soldier?”
“I was thinking all three, starting withThe First Avenger,” I suggested. “We can just turn them on and then watch ‘til we sleep.”
“Sounds like the perfect plan.” Nicky caressed my arm. “Should we arrange for some food for later? I’m not necessarily hungry now, but I will be. Hospital food sucks.”
“Alex and Jake are bringing over soup and sandwiches later on.” I patted Nicky’s stomach. “But I could probably manage to put something together sooner. We do need to fatten you up. You’ve lost weight, being in the hospital.”
“See my previous comment, re: hospital food sucks,” he murmured drowsily. His eyes were already closed, and I could sense his body relaxing into sleep. “But no, I’ll live until the rations arrive.” He tightened his hold on me. “I don’t want you to move.”
