Chapter Twenty-One
Reunion
Amy
Amy winced as she shifted tentatively in the bed. Despite the copious quantities of painkillers the medics had given her, the sharp throb in her side was still agony whenever she moved, and given that pulling in air counted as motion for her ribcage, that meant most of the time.
Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to drift back to the events of Kyle’s bedroom. The friction between him and Seth had been bound to come to a head, but even she hadn’t accounted for the extent of their antagonism.
All she could remember was seeing Seth pushing the blade in her lover’s direction and knowing there was no time to think—she just had to act. She couldn’t let Seth harm Kyle. She loved both of the arrogant fuckers too much to see one potentially killed and the other sent back to prison for the lunacy.
Throwing herself between them had saved them both from those fates, but it had meant she’d taken the brunt of Seth’s ill intent. As it was, the blade had only torn through her muscle wall, and while that wasn’t great, she was eminently grateful it hadn’t done any major damage. Despite her blood loss and the risk of infection, she would recover and live to tell the tale, knowing she would never press charges against Seth. Her act of sacrifice kept her son out of prison and her lover alive, and somehow, she’d find a way to iron out their differences and make amends.
“Idiots!” she whispered, grappling with another jolt of pain. “They’re both as bad as each other.”
“Are you okay?” The nurse on duty turned, her brows furrowing as she examined Amy’s drip.
“It’s just the pain.” Signaling to the dressing the nurse had applied, Amy flinched.
“Is it still no better?” The crease in her brow deepened.
“Not much,” Amy admitted. She considered being stoic, but she couldn’t see the point. If there were more drugs the hospital could offer, then she’d take them. Anything to get past the initial ordeal and allow her to start to heal.
“Let me speak with the doctor.” The nurse smiled. “Maybe we can tweak a few things and aid the discomfort.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, hopeful the medics could do something to quell the excruciating pain.
The real irony was that both of the men butting heads in her life were more like each other than they’d probably care to admit—headstrong and with a tendency toward arrogance. She reckoned they would learn to respect each other once they’d managed to put their egos aside.
“Little girl!” Kyle burst through the door like a maniac, dashing around the bed to her side.
“Sir!” The nurse waved her finger in his direction. “The patient needs calm, please.”
Kyle glanced back at her admonishing tone, reading her name on the small badge pinned to her uniform. “Understood, Nurse Reilly. My apologies. I promise to remember.”
“Well…” The nurse blushed, tucking the loose strands of her fair hair behind her ear. Evidently, the old ‘Kyle-charm’ was alive and kicking. “No problem, but please try.” Glancing back at Amy, she continued. “I’ll speak to the doctor now.”
“Thank you.” Amy forced the words out, watching Nurse Reilly wander away before she rolled her head on the pillow to Kyle’s anxious eyes.
“Sir.” She wanted to smile at his apprehensive expression. Amy couldn’t recall ever seeing Kyle so stressed before. It had taken her own son stabbing her in an attempt to hurt him for the man who loved her to show concern at her bedside. Until that moment, he’d been happy to tether her there and leave her to fester. “How are you?”
“Never mind about me.” He dismissed her inquiry with a shake of his head. “ How are you , beautiful?” Pulling in a breath, he gulped. “For one appalling moment, I thought I’d lost you, thought he’d killed you…” His voice broke, thick tears chasing each other along the bridge of his nose.
She watched his show of emotion with interest. She had never seen him truly emotional before.
“I’ll be okay,” she reassured him, regretting her attempt to rest her hand over his on the side of the bed as the pain temporarily robbed her of breath. “The doctors have said so. I just need to rest and heal.”
Although goodness only knew how that would work with the perverted routines Kyle seemed to have established for her. One thing was for certain—there’d be no spanking for some time. As the thought flitted through her head, she couldn’t decide if she was gleeful to deny him or disappointed by the loss.
“How’s Seth?” She frowned, recollecting how frantic he’d been when the paramedics had arrived. “Is he okay?”
“He’s the one who did this to you.” Kyle grimaced.
“He’s my son,” she corrected, “and I’d like to know how he is.”
“Fine,” he answered, although she had the distinct impression Kyle hadn’t even spoken to Seth since she’d departed Brock Hall.
So much for reconciliation.
“He’s at home.” Kyle frowned. “Although, honestly, I don’t want him there.”
“Please.” She blew out a long and agonizing breath. “If I mean anything to you, be decent to him. He’s young and often mistaken, but he’s my son, sir, and I’d do anything for him.”
“Even this.” He nodded toward the side Seth had slashed.
“Yes.” She swallowed. “Even this, because that’s my job. I take the blade, so he doesn’t have to.”
“Actually, I think the blade was destined for me, little girl.” Kyle’s tone had shifted to that wry timbre that always affected her. “Seth was the one brandishing the knife.”
“You know what I mean.” She managed a small smile. “I’ll send him some money so he can stay at a hotel until I’m released. Then, we’ll talk.”
It was only thanks to Kyle that she had that money, but nonetheless, it was hers, and she’d give it to Seth if she chose to.
“Got it all figured out, have you?” Kyle’s eyebrow arched as his chuckle enveloped her.
“Yes, I have, sir.” She forced herself to meet his eyes, ignoring the rising tenderness.
His brow rose, his hand moving to cradle hers. “Go on.”
She had his full attention then, his blue eyes boring into her as though they saw straight into her soul. Taking another shaky breath, she was glad for the opportunity. They’d reached something of a dangerous impasse at Brock Hall, and in an odd, masochistic way, she wasn’t sorry Seth had brought things to a dramatic crescendo. Things between her and Kyle would have to change going forward, which would require effort on both their parts.
“We have trust issues, sir.” She was stating the blinding obvious, but she had to start somewhere. “I know we know that, but everything that’s happened has been exacerbated because of them.”
Shards of memories that proved her point flitted through her mind. Perhaps they wouldn’t have been in the bedroom if Kyle hadn’t cuffed her there. Maybe if she’d taken Jonah’s call and responded to his and Seth’s messages, she wouldn’t have ended up being stabbed.
There was no way to know for sure, but one thing she did know was they couldn’t go on the way things had been. She had to use what Seth had done to help Kyle to see that. Without change, she feared their love was doomed to wither and die.
“I know.” For perhaps the first time, there wasn’t a trace of self-importance in his tone. If anything, she thought she heard a glimmer of regret there. “I’m sorry for any part I played in causing this.” He nodded toward her injury. “I know Seth pulled the weapon, but I was goading him and trying to get a response.”
“You got one.” She might have laughed had she not been so sore.
“Yeah.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I guess it’s that fear of losing you again.” He shrugged as though it was stupid. “You might be the first person I’ve ever truly loved, Amy, and I don’t always know how to deal with those feelings, especially when I’m competing with your sons.”
“It’s not a competition.” She wished she could reach out and catch his tears, but it seemed like a stretch too far in her current predicament. “I have plenty of love to go around, sir.”
“I know.” He shook his head sadly. “It’s silly, a grown man being intimidated by your existing relationships. I’m sorry, little girl. I’ve said I’ll do better, and I need to. I was wrong to keep you cuffed. I just sometimes don’t think…”
“Yes, you do.” She laughed despite the pain. “Just not always with your head, sir.”
“That’s cheeky, little girl.” He squeezed her fingers. “But I suppose you’re not wrong.”
“They say it’s never too late to stop being afraid.” She paused, watching his reactions carefully. “And I’ll be there to help if I can.”
“I know.” His lips twisted into a smile. “I’m so fucking grateful for you, and the first way I’m going to show you is by inviting Seth to stay.” He let out the air he’d been holding. “If he wants to go to a hotel, that’s fine, but he’s welcome to stay.”
“Thank you.” Kyle’s gesture meant more to her than he could possibly know. “I hope once he cools down, he’ll stay.”
Time stretched out around them in the tiny hospital room, the machine monitoring her heart beeping faster as she realized, even after everything, how damn fortunate she was to find a man like Kyle.
He was everything.
He’d changed everything.
And even better, he was prepared to change again—for the love he bore her.
“I really wish I could kiss you right now, but…” She glanced down at her side.
“Too painful, eh?” He leaned closer, that familiar smirk painting his handsome face.
“Yeah.” She drew in a sharp breath.
“Normally, I’d appreciate your pain, but…” He scowled, moving so close that his warm breath brushed over her face. “It’s not half so much fun when I didn’t inflict the hurt.”
“That’s sadistic, sir.” She leaned into his heat, needing him despite everything. “It must be why I love you.”
“Come here.” His free hand rose to the back of her head, cradling her as his lips swooped.
She mewled, not because of pain, but for every fiber of her being that yearned for him. For his every fucked-up maneuver, William Kyle was her master—the man who had simultaneously lifted her up and brought her to heel.
Lost in the fog of their colliding passion, neither of them seemed to notice the door opening and Nurse Reilly returning, or if they did, they just didn’t care.