“Hey, ladybug.”
His hoarse voice had me wide awake in an instant, my eyes locking on his. His emerald-green eyes, framed by dark lashes, even with the fog of sleep and painkillers were the most striking eyes I’d ever seen. When they were locked on me, I felt like I could barely breathe.
“I’m here,” I confirmed quietly as the machines beeped around us, sounding far louder as the electricity crackled between us. “I’m not sure why.” Surely his sister, his club, hell, anyone who’d known him longer than two conversations should be sitting here instead of me. And yet, I couldn’t for the life of me pull myself away.
“Yes, you are,” he replied assuredly.
For a few heated moments, we simply stared at each other before he shifted slightly, a hint of pain flashing on his face before he masked it.
It was enough to snap me out of my fog. “I’ll get the nurse,” I announced, rising.
“Wait.” He held a hand up to stop me. “Give me a few minutes before they come in here and prod at me.”
I sat back down reluctantly, torn between what he wanted and what I thought he needed.
“What are you reading?” he asked, his gaze on my discarded magazine.
Damn, why did I have to be reading a magazine with advice on how to have multiple orgasms splayed on the cover? “Cosmo,” I replied sheepishly.
He grinned playfully, no doubt having caught the cover headline. “Learn anything helpful?”
I quirked a brow in challenge. “How to make a body disappear five different ways.”
He barked out a laugh. “Damn, remind me not to cross you, woman.”
“You’d be wise not to,” I replied tartly, my false bravado armor against the tremors inside.
He smiled, his gaze warm on me. “Good thing I don’t plan to. So, what have I missed?”
“Your sister’s been here every day. Dallas, Lanie, Cason, and Tank too.” I explained. “They went to their motel for the night.”
“They treating you well?”
I hadn’t been expecting the question but was quick to assure him with a nod. The truth was, I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to the girls, what with me coming to visit just as they were leaving, but what little we’d shared, I liked. They reminded me of my own close-knit crew of women. I’d talked to the guys even less, though knew enough to determine that Cason and Tank were clearly cut from the same cloth as my Knights family, exuding alpha maleness without needing to say anything at all.
He nodded, appeased. “I’ll be sure to tell them, again, that they should go home. I don’t want them waiting around on me. Though I plan to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.” He grumbled in frustration.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” I murmured. The fact he’d nearly died had wrecked me more than I cared to explore. “You’ll stay as long as the doctors tell you.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his full lips. “That so?”
“Yep.” I nodded. “And, speaking of which, I’m calling the nurse,” I added, hitting the call button before he could protest.
He groaned, resting his head back against the pillow. “You’ll pay for that one, woman.”
I chuckled. “You canthankme when you heal.”
“Oh, I plan to,” he replied, the intent in his gaze making my cheeks heat.
“Mr. King, up and around, I see?” a nurse said by way of greeting as she strode into the room, saving me from combusting where I sat.
“I’m gonna go get a cup of coffee,” I murmured, wanting to give him some privacy.
“You’re coming back, yeah?” he pressed.
“Yeah, I’ll come back,” I replied softly before slipping from the room.
By the time I returned, he was asleep again, and I reclaimed my chair by his bedside.
