Chapter 38
Myles
She’s awake. I feel like I can finally breathe again. Things were touch and go for a while there, but I knew she would make it through. My woman’s a fighter.
They transferred us to a private room out of the ICU.
It’s been two days since she woke up, and they’ve done nothing but run tests.
She’s exhausted. Last night, she let me help her take a long, hot shower.
She was hesitant at first because she didn’t want me to see her body.
It’s still healing from the torture she went through, but she’s still the most beautiful woman in the entire world in my eyes.
“Myles!” Her scream cuts through my sleepy haze.
I quickly sit up in my chair next to her bed and take her hand as her eyes start to open. They’re red from unshed tears caused by the nightmare she was trapped in.
“I’m here, Mina.”
“Sorry…Did I…Was I screaming?”
“Shh. It’s okay. You were having a nightmare.”
I move to sit next to her on the bed. Her body curls against mine as I wrap myself around her. I can feel her body shaking with her sobs as she tries to breathe through the tears.
“I’m here, Sunshine. I’m here,” I whisper softly as I try to soothe her running my fingers carefully through her hair as I whisper how much I love her.
“It was so real…” she whispers against my chest.
“The doctor said this would probably happen as your memories come back…Do you want me to get a nurse? Get you some meds to help you sleep?”
“No! I…I’m fine. I don’t want any sleeping pills,” she says frantically.
“Okay. No pills.”
“I just need you,” she whimpers as she clings tighter to my body. My heart breaks seeing her like this.
“I’m here, Sunshine. I’m never leaving you again. I promise.” I kiss the top of her head as I hold her against me.
I swear, if Quin is still alive out there somewhere, I will hunt him down and destroy him. I will tear him apart then burn the pieces until he’s nothing but ash.
I held her like this for what felt like hours, but she was able to sleep soundly.
No screams, no tears, no nightmares. Just the sounds of her breathing and snoring softly can be heard with the beeping of her heart rate monitor.
Another nurse named Gloria pokes her head in to check on Mina.
She’s a kind, older woman. Maybe in her mid-sixties.
She comes over to check Mina’s IV and pain meds.
She looks down at me holding my woman, and I wait for the judgmental glare, but she only smiles softly.
“Do you need anything, deary?” she whispers.
“No. Thank you though.”
“When was the last time you ate? I saw you in the ICU and now see you up here every day for the last few weeks.”
I have to think about that for a moment. Alexandria has brought me at least one meal a day that wasn’t from the cafeteria or the vending machine, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I ate.
“Last night? I think?” I keep my voice low. I can feel Mina’s fingers tighten their grip on my shirt.
“I’ll be right back.”
She walks away quickly before returning a few minutes later with a covered tray. Oh, goodie. More hospital cafeteria food. She closes the door behind her before walking over and setting the tray down.
“Thank you. I’ll eat in a little while…”
“Nonsense. You need to eat it while it’s hot.”
She pulls off the tray cover, and I can see it’s not hospital food at all. It’s a glass Pyrex dish filled with roast and potatoes. It’s steaming hot, and the smell is absolutely delicious.
I can feel Mina shifting against me before her head lifts and her eyes open.
“What’s that smell?” she asks as she sits up. She looks at the food and then at the nurse.
“I thought you two could use a real, home-cooked meal.” She smiles softly down at Mina then gently takes her hand. She pats her hand before turning her attention back to the monitor.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this…” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. You two remind me of my late husband and me.
God rest his soul. You can tell when two people are destined to be together.
” She smiles again at Mina before swiping a tear from below her eye.
“Plus, if you bought one more thing from that vending machine, I was going to lose my mind. Junk food is not a meal!”
Mina laughs as she hugs me tighter.
“Just don’t tell any of the other patients. I don’t have the kitchen space to cook for an entire hospital.” She laughs as she finishes changing out the IV bag. “Eat up, you two. I’ll be back in a little while.”
I pull the table over and grab a fork to break off a small piece of roast and potato. I lift it for Mina, and she looks at me with a smirk and her eyebrow raised.
“I can feed myself you know,” she teases.
“I know.”
She reaches for the fork, but I pull it out of her reach.
“Myles…”
“Just let me take care of you. Please?”
She licks her lips as the smell hits her nose again. It’s perfectly cooked, and the roast falls apart so tenderly. The longer she waits, the colder it gets.
“Ugh! Fine!” she huffs before opening her mouth.
The moan she lets out as her lips wrap around that fork goes straight to my cock. Fuck. I don’t even know how long it’s been since…well, anything. I haven’t left the hospital. And it’s not like I could do anything here.
She savors the small bite before swallowing and licking her lips.
“Oh my God. It’s so good, right?” Her eyes open excitedly as she looks at me. The fork still hangs frozen in the air, and I’m lost in thought as I look at her. “Myles?”
“What? Yeah…I haven’t tried it yet.” I quickly stab a bite with roast and potato.
I need to keep my mouth distracted or else I’m going to kiss her.
The second the bite hits my mouth I also let out a small moan.
The taste explodes on my tongue. The warmth is spreading through my whole body.
Yeah, I guess three weeks of granola bars, Twinkies, and peanuts out of a vending machine isn’t real food.
“Fuck. That’s good,” I groan as I swallow the bite. I cut her off another bite and feed it to her. She leans against my body and hums in appreciation.
“She was right.”
“About?” I ask.
“Both things. We needed a home-cooked meal…and the other thing.”
I can see her cheeks blush as she shifts against my body.
“What other thing, Sunshine?” I toy with her. I turn so I’m facing her more as I cut her off another bite.
“You know…”
“Tell me anyway,” I say as I lift the next bite to her. I keep it barely touching her lips. Her eyes lock with mine. I lean closer replacing the fork with my lips hovering against her own. “Tell me, Sunshine. I want to hear you say it.” I practically whisper against her lips.
“That we're destined to be together.” Her breathy pants are all I can focus on.
I don’t want to push her. As much as I want to crash my lips to hers.
Consume every fear, doubt, or ounce of sadness in her body and replace it with the love I feel for her in every god damn cell of my body, I can’t.
She’s been through so much, and I want to make sure she knows I don’t need anything from her.
I only need her by my side until she’s ready.
“Sunshine…” I whisper. I place my forehead against hers, letting our bodies sync. Our heartbeats. Our breaths. Our fucking souls.
I open my lips to say something else…to tell her how much she means to me.
How I know we’re destined to be together because I’ve never felt so connected to someone in my entire life.
Never has there been someone whom I could honestly say my very existence was tied to their life force.
If we had gotten there and she wasn’t alive, I wouldn’t be here…
I would have ended it or let Quin kill me because a world without her in it isn’t a life I want to experience.
I don’t even want to fucking think about it.
Her lips press against mine, calmly at first, but increasing in pressure.
I can feel the desperation in her kiss. The way her fingers tangle in the fabric of my shirt as she pulls me closer to her.
I’ve missed her. Even though I’ve been sitting by her side for weeks, I’ve still missed her.
I’ve missed the way her eyes light up when I speak to her.
The way her lips would tilt into that half-tilted smirk, and the crimson blush that would spread across her cheeks and chest whenever I praise her.
*Knock* *Knock*
She pulls back, but only slightly. She lets her head fall against my chest again as our breathing slows. The monitor was muted but glancing over, I can see the lines going wild. No wonder they’re checking in again.
“Sorry to interrupt. Just here to switch out her pain medication. How are you feeling?” the younger nurse asks. Her name is Shay according to her name badge.
“I’m all right. Do I need the pain medication?”
“It’s completely up to you. Right now it’s set on a slow drip, but I can switch it over to where you press the button if you need it. Would you be more comfortable with that?”
“Yes, please. Thank you.”
The woman leaves to go check with the doctor. I can feel Mina shifting beside me. Her lips are pursed like she’s in pain.
“Hey. Are you sure you don’t need the medication? You don’t look comfortable right now, and it’s been out for a while.”
She looks up at me with those beautiful eyes that I swear makes my breath stop. The soft blush starts in her cheeks and works its way down her chest. She bites her lower lip, as if contemplating what to say next.
“Uh…I’m uncomfortable…but not from the pain.”
Oh?
Oh!
“Oh…” I can’t help but chuckle as I cup her face to kiss her again. “I told you, Sunshine. As soon as you’re healed, I’m going to remind you exactly how much you mean to me. I’m going to worship this body…”
My fingers trail gently down her neck like a ghostly breath whispering against her skin. I can feel her body slightly tremble.
“I’m going to kiss every inch of your body to commit it to memory.”