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“But . . .”
Beast leans in, getting nose to nose with me. “You are not to blame for this shit, so get the thought out of your head.”
I take in the tone of his voice and nod. Granted, I still feel it and will apologize to the others later. For now, I’ll drop it.
“Now, someone’s going to get the doctor so we can make sure you’re okay,” Beast states, looking over his shoulder to my brother.
Closing my eyes, I relax in the hospital bed, wishing I were home with Jagger. Without opening my eyes, I whisper, “Jagger.”
“He’s at Reaper’s. Paxton and Sage are loving up on him.”
That’s good.
My poor cat must think I’ve abandoned him.
“When we get you out of here, we’ll be staying at Reaper and Ivy’s until you’re well enough to go home. He’ll be waiting for you when we get there.” Beast must’ve sensed my thoughts because those words eased a part of me.
“Okay,” I utter, feeling myself growing exhausted. “I think I’m going back to sleep now.”
“Rest, Butterfingers,” he murmurs and presses a kiss to the back of my hand with the IV.
I should ask him why my other hand is in a cast, but I don’t. It’s not something I want to know at the moment. That can come later, when I’m not so tired.
“I want to go home, I’m tired of being in here,” I proclaim two days later, glaring at Beast.
“Baby, you’ll go when they say you can,” he remarks, a slight smirk curving on his lips.
“They can release me. All I’m doing is lying here, watching mindless TV and reading trashy magazines. I don’t have anything new on my Kindle to read, and I don’t want to do any rereads right now.” Huffing, I wish I could just get up and go, but Beast won’t allow it.
“Bristol, you need to be patient.”
“Screw patient. I want to go home.”
“Let’s see what the doctor says when she comes in. How’s that?” he offers.
“I guess.” Shrugging, I roll my head against the pillow.
My body still hurts really bad, but I can handle it better if I wasn’t going stir-crazy being in this hospital room. I want to go home, or at least to Reaper and Ivy’s house, where I can get in my old bed and curl up with Jagger while Beast holds me.
Beast moves into my line of view and leans in bracing hands on each side of my waist, taking care not to hurt me in any way. “I know you want out of here as fast as you can, but for me, baby, let them do their job in taking care of you. If something were to go wrong, I’d lose my shit because I can’t lose you.”
“Beast.” His name comes out no more than a whisper.
“Listen to me, Bristol,” he commands gently. “We dug you out of the debris. I didn’t know if you were okay or not. I carried you out of there. We brought you to the hospital, and I didn’t know if you were going to be okay or not. I need you to be okay, so please don’t argue about this.”
My chest tightens, and I lick my lips while nodding. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Butterfingers, and I swear the moment you’re out of here and healed up, I’m marrying you. I’m not about to let you go. Not again. Not ever.”
“Is this your way of asking me to marry you?” I can’t help but giggle.
“Damn right, it is.” Beast presses a tender kiss to my lips.
“Then it’s a good thing I have no problem with saying yes or holding on to you as you hold me.”
I don’t know what else is going to happen. I know it’s not over with. Not when it comes to the Scarlet Needles. Beast told me what he could about it all, and it’s scary to think about, but I trust him and the others to protect us all. He’ll do whatever it takes to see to my safety. I’ll hold on to him to make sure he staysalive to have a future with me so I won’t ever be without him again.
BONUS SCENE
