Chapter 31
JULES
W eary eyes lifted upward as she poked her head into the hospital room. It was darker in the room than the hall, and her own eyes needed to adjust, blinking rapidly back at him as she entered.
That familiar smirk caught the corner of his lip, mustache twitching as Riley took her in.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. He was stretched out in the hospital bed.
She stood with her hands folded behind her, pressed between the now closed door and the small of her back.
Nerves kept her rooted in place as she scanned his expression, searching for any signs of agony twisting behind his easy smile.
“Were you going to come over here?” he asked in amusement. “I can’t really meet you in the middle right now.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.
Riley in a hospital gown looked wrong. This was all wrong, and she found herself second guessing what would be alright. Even though her heart screamed at her to run and jump into that bed with him. To feel him close and know that he was fine, after all.
“Juliette.” His voice was gruff. “If a seven-hundred-pound horse couldn’t do my back in, I think I’m safe with you.”
She crossed the room slowly, giving him ample time to come to the realization that she should keep back. Instead, Riley lifted his arm. He waited for her to pass within his reach and then in a swift motion, he took her around the waist and pulled her the remaining distance to him.
Falling forward from his sudden tug, she landed with her hands on either side of his head, her knee catching on the edge of the bed.
With one more tug, he had her completely seated beside him, one leg dangling off the side, the other curled up so her thigh skimmed along his ribs.
Her breathing hitched as his eyes glowed up at her, a dark teal in this light.
She stared back, mesmerized by the blue-green swirl in his affectionate gaze.
Riley kept his arm hooked around her, his hand clasping her hip as if afraid that she would flee. Raising his other hand, he trailed his fingertips across her cheek. “You came,” he murmured.
“Of course, of course I came. Riley, I couldn’t breathe when Coop called. Please tell me you’re going to be okay.” Her words came out rushed as his thumb dragged along her bottom lip.
“Hey, wild thing. Look at me. Don’t I look okay?”
She shook her head. “You always manage to look okay. But you’re in the hospital.” Her voice cracked as it rose an octave. It was enough for him to let out a calming hush.
His fingers slid upward, disappearing into her hair, and his thumb dragged back and forth at the base of her skull. The gesture had an immediate soothing effect on her spiral of worry. She leaned down closer, lifting a hand to his chest and pressing a kiss to his jaw.
A sigh escaped him, his eyes fluttering closed as her lips met the short stubble of his cheek. Her mouth continued to follow his line of facial hair, dropping a kiss to the corner of his mouth next—his mustache tickling her face.
When her lips grazed across his, gentle and testing, he murmured, “Hospitals are pretty public, darlin’.” She responded by taking his bottom lip between hers.
“Jules,” he moaned, his mouth moving to sink together with hers.
She forgot about being gentle as her tongue slipped into his mouth, riding the vibrations of his moan. The hospital bed creaked as she shifted, angling herself over him more to deepen the kiss.
Riley responded like a man starved for her affection. And she was more than happy to serve him up a whole feast.
Their mouths moved together in perfect unison, and the hospital around them became only a distant memory.
Then Cooper’s voice boomed from the doorway. “Sure looks like he’s doing alright to me,” he chuckled.
Beneath her, Riley tensed. A weariness returning to his gaze. He was expecting her to pull away, which was fair—she had done that to him one too many times before.
Instead, she twisted until she was tucked into his side, facing their friends. Understanding that she wasn’t going anywhere, Riley adjusted his arm around her. His hand falling affectionately across her thigh. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, and she could feel the smile on his lips.
“Maybe put a sock on the—” Cooper started again before Grey gave him a shove.
“How are you doing?” The gruff team lead asked, effectively ending his friend’s comment. The two of them crossed the room behind Maddie, who came to sit in the armchair beside the bed. Grey stood at her side while Cooper dropped down on the foot of the bed, making himself right at home.
“I feel fine right now. And I’m not sure why—maybe Doc loaded me up with some powerful stuff.”
“Do they know what happened?” Jules asked.
“Not yet. There was talk of swelling, my past fracture, something about vertebrae and discs. After shooting me up with a steroid, they ran some scans, that’s all I’ve been doing this whole time.
” Riley’s answer carried a hint of his familiar, nonchalant tone.
The situation warranted more though, in Jules’s opinion and she glanced over at him apprehensively.
As if able to read her thoughts, he dropped his face into the crook of her neck and murmured, “Don’t be worrying about the what ifs.
Might as well wait until the doctor tells us what it is. ”
“Cooper said you couldn’t feel your legs,” she replied.
“Is that why he’s sitting on my foot? ‘Cause I can feel that.” He smirked as his friend jumped up frantically, only to realize Riley was joking.
Rolling his eyes, Cooper took two steps to lean against the wall beside Grey and Maddie. “Smart ass,” he muttered.
“This isn’t a joke,” Jules snapped. Her shoulders sank in defeat.
“We’ll give you two a minute,” Maddie offered, softness in her eyes. She stood from her seat and ushered the guys out with her.
Once the door closed behind them, Riley shifted Jules so she was facing him once again.
“You’re right,” he started, nudging her chin with his knuckles until she met his gaze.
“Jokes aside, I’m going to do things right this time around.
I already started by telling the doctor the truth about all the symptoms I’ve been experiencing.
And I agreed to any of his recommendations.
Last time, he pushed for surgery, and I refused. ”
She loosened an unsteady breath, his words acting as a soothing balm. And although it was lessened now, the sting of concern was still present. “Why did you refuse surgery last year?”
“At the time, I was really convinced there was nothing else out there for me. If I couldn’t compete, I was nothing.
Surgery meant giving up and admitting my reality.
Working hard to overcome it on my own, it felt like maybe I could overcome it completely.
” Riley let out a dry chuckle. “Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Part of me knew that, but I felt like I had to try. ”
She pressed her forehead against his, gently cradling his jaw. “You have always been so much more than just a roughie.”
“I noticed you acting like I was something more around our friends just now.” He raised an eyebrow in question.
“It’s important that you know this was never about playing a game. Or about hiding you. I was afraid. I still am but…” She stumbled over her words. Admitting her feelings about Riley meant admitting everything tied to him. That she wanted to stay here. She wanted to belong.
His eyes shone full of conviction as he pulled back to look up at her. “Before the injury, I’m not sure I truly knew what fear felt like. After, I’ve been like a foal learnin’ my legs and afraid to fall. And nothing, I mean nothing terrifies me more than you disappearing from my life again.”
Jules let out a soft sigh, her heart tumbling over itself. She didn’t want to disappear on Riley. She didn’t want to run. “I don’t belong there.”
He dragged his thumb across her collarbone. “Belong where?”
“My home. Graham Equestrian. I don’t even have my family to belong with now that my grandpa is gone, and my parents are separated.
And here’s the thing—if I can’t belong there, I don’t feel like I can belong anywhere.
Because that’s what home and family are supposed to be, the place where you belong. ”
Looping his hand across the back of her neck, Riley pulled her down into a tender, slow kiss. He took his time, his tongue working meticulously. It was one of those kisses that caused a heaviness to take up residence low in her core. The kind of kiss that said he saw her, and she belonged with him.
She was breathless when his mouth broke from hers. “If you don’t feel you belong there,” he started, his nose nudging her cheek. “Maybe it’s because you’ve been taking the scenic route to where you do belong.”
“Where’s that?” She whispered.
“Here—Sterling Ridge. The ranch.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and murmured against her skin. “But mostly, you belong with me.”