61. Brogan #3
She hesitated for a few minutes, then smiled at me. “I'll give you half an hour. “
“Thanks.”
When she exited the room, I moved back over to Declan and sat down.
His color had returned about seven days into the coma.
I remembered staring down at his still form in nothing more than an unflattering hospital gown and thinking he was still the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
Now, however, those eyes I loved so much were focused intently on me, and those full lips of his were parted.
He was still the hottest man I'd ever seen in my life.
“What happened to me?” Declan asked.
I’d already known it’d be the first thing on his mind. “What do you remember?”
“A c-crash… then I woke up here, but everything else is still so hazy.”
“There was an accident, and you were brought here to the hospital. Not long after, you had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest. They said there was swelling in your brain, so they put you in a medically induced coma to—”
“A coma? How long have I been in one?”
“Ten days since the accident.”
“That can’t be… I—”
“It’s going to be okay. You had a traumatic brain injury from the crash. You're really lucky to be alive.”
“I was going to see you that night.”
“I suspected as much, and I was on my way to see you too.”
“You were? Why?”
“I wanted to tell you that I love you.”
“You do? You’ve been so pissed off at me. I didn’t think you could ever love me again.”
“Again? I never fucking stopped loving you.”
Declan flashed a half smirk/half wince. “I knew you were a goddamn liar when you’d said you hated me. I need to know something, though.”
“Anything…”
“The accident… Were you there? I keep thinking I saw your face, but I don't know if it was real. It was dark and—”
“I was there, baby. I’ll always be there when you need me.
When I saw your car and the ambulances, I stopped and raced over there yelling for you.
I thought you might’ve seen me, but I couldn't be sure. They whisked you off to the hospital so quickly, and I’d called your parents on my way there, then Enslee once I got here. ”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks are ever necessary. I love you so much, and it kills me knowing we’ve wasted so much time.”
“Because you’re stubborn as hell,” he said, and I smiled.
“I’m a stubborn ass. I can admit it.”
“And you have a very fine one.”
“Only Declan Fitzgerald would wake up from a coma and start flirting.”
“It's not flirting when it's the truth. You and me… I almost feel like this isn’t real.”
“It’s real, baby,” I replied as I picked his hand up and started to kiss it again. I laid kisses on his palm, then down to his elbow, only stopping when he coughed.
“I need water, Brogan.”
I remembered my own bottle, so I took the cap off and brought it to his lips. “Easy,” I warned as he started to drink from it. When I pulled it away, he smiled. “Is that better?”
“Much better.”
“Are you sure you're not in any pain?”
“No, because you’re here.”
“I'll always be here,” I swore to him.
“Kiss me,” he said, and as I picked his hand up, he pulled his away. “On my mouth. I need to kiss you, Brogan.”
I stood up and leaned over him so I wouldn’t hurt him, then pressed my mouth to his, intending to give him a soft kiss until he thrust his tongue between my lips.
I’d been so starved for any taste of him, so while I knew this was wrong, nothing ever felt more right.
Declan’s mouth moved over mine, and he tried to coax my tongue into his mouth, but I refrained, not wanting to cause him any harm.
Still, it felt like an eternity when it’d been no more than a minute or two at the most before I pulled away.
I quickly sat down, trying to hide the evidence of my erection. The very thought of Declan was enough to make me hard, so his touch was like a match to gasoline. Even I knew this was an inappropriate place to be aroused, especially since he’d just come out of a coma.
“Do you remember what led up to the accident?”
“I was coming to see you.”
“I know, but did you lose control of your car? Or was there something else involved?”
He closed his eyes. “I can’t remember it all. I was driving one minute, then I wasn't in the next. I might’ve passed out because when I reopened my eyes, I was being pulled out of the car and put onto a gurney. I want to remember, but—”
When I heard one of the machines beep in warning, I glanced over and saw the spike in both his blood pressure and pulse and quickly interrupted him. “It’s okay. You don't have to think about any of that right now.”
“W-will you stay with me?”
“I haven't left this hospital since you've arrived.” I then remembered Chris and Katie. As I stood up, he grabbed my arm.
“Please, don’t leave.”
“I’m just going to be gone for a minute.”
“No, Brogan. Please—”
“It’s okay. I don’t plan on leaving your side tonight.” I didn’t wait for him to respond before I exited to go search for his parents. Before I could call them back from dinner, I saw the nurse and doctor talking to them in the hallway. At my smile, his mother clutched her chest in relief.