“Sawyer.” His name leaves my lips on a cry, and I lean forward to hug him as best I can. One of his strong arms comes around me. He buries it in my hair and holds me close. “Are you hurting?” I pull away. “I can call a nurse. I?—”
“I’m okay.” His brows furrow, and he studies me. “Are you okay?”
The tears make it nearly impossible to see clearly. “You took that blast for me. If it weren’t for you—” I trail off, unable to say it out loud. I wipe my eyes with my uninjured hand, then reach down and take Sawyer’s again. “You could have died, Sawyer.”
“You seem surprised,” Sawyer says. “Have I ever done anything that made you think I wouldn’t die for you?”
I open my mouth to respond. To tell him that I don’t want him to die for me, but no words come out. How can I put that into words? How can I tell this man that I love him so much it makes my chest ache?
“Come here, baby.” He starts to scoot to the side but hisses when the movement hurts him.
“You need to stay put, Sawyer.”
“I need to hold you,” he counters, continuing to move anyway, until there’s a small space barely large enough for me to lie on my side. I lower the railing as he lifts the blanket, then cautiously climb onto the bed, turning on my side and laying my head in the crook of his uninjured arm. I take the blanket and pull it over both of us, moving slowly so I don’t further hurt my broken wrist. As soon as it’s settled over us, I close my eyes and focus on the steady beating of his heart.
He’s alive. He’s here. Sawyer is okay.
“I thought I lost you,” I whisper. “Lying there in that debris, when I saw your body. You keep almost dying on me, Sawyer.” This makes the third time this year that I’ve nearly lost him.
The first was just over eight months ago when a building collapsed on top of him, Weston, Ryker, and my brother in Savannah. Then, the abduction six months ago. And now—I close my eyes tightly, hoping to keep some of the tears at bay.
“What was the damage?” Sawyer asks.
“Two broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, collapsed lung, and some burns on the back of your neck.”
He’s quiet for a moment, processing what I just told him. “Could have been worse.” His tone is far too chipper. Too calm for what happened.
“Of course it could have been worse. You could be dead,” I snap, then instantly regret it. “Sorry. I’m tired.”
“No need to apologize.” He presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “What about you?”
“A mild concussion and a broken wrist.” I hold up my wrapped hand. “I get my cast tomorrow.”
“What color are you going to pick?”
I sit up slightly to look down at him. “What color am I going to pick?”
He grins. “I bet you go bright neon yellow. A lot of people would probably guess pink, but it’s not bright enough for you.”
I stare down at him. How is he talking about cast colors right now? “Sawyer, this is serious. You almost died. You did hear me, right? Your shop is gone. Completely leveled. Zane said there’s almost nothing left.”
He smiles at me. “I’ll rebuild it.”
Again with the smooth, unbothered tone. “How can you be so casual?”
“Because buildings can be rebuilt. Bodies can heal. But the one thing that matters, Anastasia—the one irreplaceable thing in my life—is you. And since you’re lying right here beside me, safe and sound, my world is right side up.”
The declaration has fresh tears streaming down my cheeks. “You’re irreplaceable to me, too, Sawyer Maddox.”
He smiles again. “Good. Would be awkward if I wasn’t.”
I laugh softly, feeling even more of the stress drain off of me.
As I remain propped up on my elbow, our gazes hold. The desire to be closer hits me with such force, I’m helpless to deny it. So, I lean in, so close that I can feel the heat of his breath on my face. Sawyer’s pupils dilate, and his hand stills where it’s been rubbing small circles on my back.
And then I close the distance. Our lips meet softly, a gentle stoking of the fire that’s been between us since the moment we met.
Need hammers within me, a burning desire for more. More of him. More of this. More days spent with him, sitting in my coffee shop. More nights curled up on the couch, watching TV.
