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“Such a shithead.”
“Who cares a lot about you.”
“Who cares a lot about me, yes.” Lesley smiled that eye-crinkle smile and rolled her eyes and Antony wanted to see her smile like that all the time.
“So,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, “You tell her how wonderful I am?”
“You’re just as bad as she is, you know that?”
Antony scooted up and leaned over, resting his forearms on either side of Lesley’s head. “We haven’t even begun to plumb the depths of how wickedly bad I want to be with you, Lesley.” He looked down at her lips, which had parted, and felt her soft sigh.
“Oh, really.” Lesley licked her lips. “That sounds like a bit of a challenge.”
A dark gleam shot through his eyes, and his mouth curved into a knowing smile. Then he leaned forward, kissed her on the tip of the nose, and pushed away. “It’ll have to be a challenge for another day, I’m afraid. I don’t want to get barred from the hospital. And you need the rest.” He slid from the side of her bed to the other side, where he moved the reclining seat closer to her.
“You don’t have to stay,” she said as he settled in.
“Mmhmm. I want to. If you haven’t noticed, I enjoy being with you.” Antony leaned back and propped his feet up on the side of the bed and nudged her forearm with his toe. “You’ll get released tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll come stay with me.”
Lesley froze. “That’s not necessary.”
“No, it’s not, but it is practical.”
She pursed her lips and look sideways at him. His body was relaxed, but she saw a hint of tension in his neck and jaw. “Practical?”
“Well, you’ll be on post, which means you’ll be close by.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I would like for you to stay with me.” He turned his head toward the ceiling, and Lesley watched as he swallowed once, then twice, before turning back to her. “I’ve hated every minute of this. Knowing that you’ve been stuck in here. I’d just really...please stay with me? At least think about it?”
Lesley smiled. “Okay. But only if you get some decent sleep tonight.”
He stood and sat back down on the bed, nudging her until she moved.
“I meant your bed, Ant,” she said, laughing. “I don’t think this’ll work.”
“Just wanna hold you for a few minutes before I go,” he mumbled into her hair as he gathered her up in his arms.
He stroked her hair and rubbed her neck and shoulders and pressed kisses against her brow as she damn near purred with contentment. That ache in his chest, that had been quietly thumping with her admission of trust, and his fear at potentially losing her, came ripping to the surface. He almost choked with the intensity of it.
Antony squeezed his eyes shut and hoped she didn’t hear how fast his heart was beating. When she went limp in his arms, a rush of relief took some of the edge off. She was asleep. Her breath came out in little huffs, deep and steady.
He moved slowly, untangling himself, and got her settled without waking her. He pulled the blanket up over her and tucked it gently around her form, then leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, lingering to feel her warmth. As he straightened, she smiled sleepily and snuggled down in the bed. Antony felt his chest seize again, driving the breath out of him, and he quickly left the room, waving distractedly at Belva on the way.
Five minutes later, Antony slid behind the wheel of his car and sat, chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. He pressed his hand against his chest and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down.
No. It wasn’t. He wasn’t. It was way too soon for any love business. This was just a reaction to all the adrenaline of the last few days.
Fuck. FUCK.
A light tap on the window made him jump. He looked over with a curse to see someone in scrubs and rolled down the window.
“Hey man, you okay?” The man was wearing a lanyard and had his stethoscope loosely clutched in his hand, concern etched across his brow.
