Chapter 4
REV
Several minutes later, every muscle in my body tightened instinctively before I even fully looked up.
Delaney stepped out slowly beside Hadley, swallowed whole by a set of navy scrubs that had obviously been made for someone bigger than her.
The loose cotton pants had been rolled twice at the ankles, and the top hung off one shoulder, exposing the pale line of her collarbone.
Her strawberry-blond hair was still damp from where Hadley had helped clean her up, the soft locks wavy around her face now instead of hanging tangled and wild with dirt.
Even bruised and wrapped in borrowed clothes, with exhaustion still clinging heavily to every movement she made, she was still one of the prettiest fucking things I’d ever seen in my life.
The moment Delaney stepped through the doorway, those striking hazel eyes swept the room, searching until they locked onto mine. My reaction was so fierce, it almost knocked the breath from my lungs.
There wasn’t any hesitation in the way she looked for me either.
Her gaze went straight to mine like some instinct buried deep inside her had already decided I was safe, and the tiny release of tension that softened her shoulders once she found me did dangerous things to my head.
The realization wrapped itself around every protective impulse already burning through my bloodstream.
Mine.
Damn, that word was becoming a fucking problem.
That possessive certainty had clawed through me ever since she stumbled out into the road and threw herself into my arms, but seeing her look for me like that only rooted it deeper.
I crossed the room toward her without hesitation. The second I reached her side, she visibly relaxed beneath the oversized scrubs. Hadley noticed it too, if the knowing smile tugging at the corner of her mouth was anything to go by.
“She’s trying real hard to stay awake,” Hadley murmured.
“I’m fine,” Delaney whispered. But she barely made it two steps before exhaustion visibly hit her again, her body swaying faintly.
“Easy there, angel,” I murmured, sliding one arm around her waist before she lost her footing completely.
The second my hand touched her, she melted toward me while her arms looped loosely around my neck. It was as if she had already learned I’d catch her before she hit the ground.
The oversized scrub top shifted a little when I lifted her, exposing more smooth skin along her throat and shoulder. The sight damn near made my mouth water despite the situation. Fuck me.
It was fucking ridiculous how hard my body reacted to her. Even exhausted and bruised, every little thing about her was affecting me.
The soft weight of her pressed against my chest, the warmth of her thighs resting over my forearm beneath the thin cotton scrubs, the faint scent of clean skin and soap now lingering beneath the remnants of fear and adrenaline—it all hit me harder than it should have.
My cock thickened painfully behind my zipper while my mind instantly filled with filthy images I had no business thinking about right now.
Whether her skin would flush pink all over when I kissed my way down her body. The sounds that would drag from her pretty mouth that had nothing to do with fear. What she’d look like stretched out naked beneath me on dark sheets while I buried myself deep inside her.
Wondering if she’d make those same soft little sounds if my mouth was between her thighs instead of my hands wrapped around her waist. I desperately fucking wanted to know how she’d look coming apart underneath me while those striking hazel eyes went glassy and dazed with pleasure instead of panic.
For fuck’s sake, man. Get your damn head on straight.
I carried her back toward the hospital bed, but the second I started lowering her, her arms tightened around my neck, stopping me before I could fully set her down.
Not panicked this time, just unwilling to let go.
It felt more instinctive, like her body simply refused to let too much distance settle between us.
That sent another pulse of heat straight through my bloodstream.
“Angel,” I murmured, my voice roughening despite myself.
Her lashes fluttered heavily while she looked up at me with obvious exhaustion. “Don’t go.”
The words were soft enough that they were probably impossible for anyone else in the room to hear clearly, but I caught every single syllable. Something possessive unfurled in my chest at the sound of it.
Instead of forcing her onto the table, I shifted directions and lowered myself onto the chair beside it, settling her carefully onto my lap instead.
She curled against me, her body fitting against my chest like she’d always belonged there.
My hand spread across her lower back beneath the oversized scrub top while the other settled over her thighs, keeping her secure against me.
The position was dangerously intimate, considering how badly my body already wanted her. But it felt right.
Every tiny movement she made only tightened the leash on my control further.
My mind kept slipping toward thoughts that were hotter and dirtier than they had any right to be under the circumstances, especially every time the loose neckline of the scrub top shifted enough to expose another tempting glimpse of pale skin.
Cage glanced over while tossing supplies into a trash bin, his expression dry as hell. “If you stare at her any harder, you’re gonna set off smoke alarms. And try not to look at her like you’re deciding between marriage and murder, brother. It’s unsettling.”
Hadley snorted softly while organizing bandages nearby. “That’s rich coming from you considering how psychotic you acted when I got a paper cut making dinner.”
Cage looked offended. “You needed stitches.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“It bled aggressively.”
“My man’s dramatic,” Hadley teased.
“I’m attentive,” Cage calmly corrected.
“You hover like a homicidal mother hen,” Hadley shot back sweetly.
“Same thing.”
Despite myself, the corner of my mouth twitched faintly while Delaney shifted weakly against my chest, clearly too exhausted to follow the conversation anymore.
“You okay, angel?” I murmured quietly against her hair.
“Mm-hmm.” The sleepy sound barely resembled a real word anymore. “Tired.”
“No shit,” Cage muttered.
Hadley elbowed him lightly before smiling toward me. “She feels safe with you.”
Delaney’s fight to stay conscious was clearly fading fast. Her breathing slowed against my chest while the tension gradually drained from her body inch by inch. Every few minutes, her head would jerk lightly like she was trying to stay awake, but exhaustion kept dragging her under.
“You can sleep, angel,” I murmured, my thumb brushing slowly across the small of her back.
Her fingers tightened faintly against my shoulder while she whispered, “Don’t leave.”
The plea scraped through my chest hard enough that I had to tighten my jaw before answering.
“I’m not going anywhere right now,” I promised.
That seemed to settle something inside her because her body finally relaxed fully against mine within mere minutes. Her breathing evened out while her face softened with sleep, her lashes resting against cheeks that were still faintly flushed from fear.
I stared down at her far longer than I probably should have, unable to stop touching her. My hand kept sliding slowly across her back beneath the thin cotton top, feeling the warmth of her skin while my possessiveness grew with every passing second.
Delaney shifted weakly against me, and my entire body tightened when her knee brushed higher against my thigh.
Fucking hell. Even half-asleep and wrapped in oversized scrubs, she was killing me slowly.
My hand flexed against her waist while my cock pressed heavily against my jeans, painfully hard from holding her this close for so long.
I wanted her so badly it almost made my teeth ache. It wasn’t just sexual—although that part was damn near overwhelming. I wanted all of her attention. Her trust. Her body wrapped around mine exactly like this every fucking night.
The realization probably would’ve scared most men. But I’d seen this happen so many times, I’d already accepted the truth. Delaney was my forever.
And that certainty only got stronger the longer I held her.
Unfortunately, reality still existed outside this room.
“You need to tell Kane,” Cage finally said after several minutes, referring to our club’s president.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, my hand still spread across Delaney’s back. “I know.”
This wasn’t the kind of shit I could handle without the club’s backing, and handling Delaney’s situation wasn’t something that could wait.
But leaving her, even briefly, caused something ugly beneath my ribs. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to stay exactly where I was with her asleep against my chest, where I could physically feel she was safe.
Hadley’s expression softened as she stepped closer. “Rev, I’ll stay with her until you get back.”
My jaw tightened at the thought of setting Delaney down and walking away from her, even for a few damn minutes. My arms instinctively tightened around her sleeping body before I forced myself to ease the grip.
“She won’t wake up alone,” Hadley promised. “I swear.”
Cage leaned one shoulder against the wall beside her, watching me with entirely too much understanding in his eyes. “Kane’s gonna need details before he starts moving pieces around, brother.”
Yeah, I knew our prez needed answers. The club needed to start figuring out exactly what kind of danger Delaney had dragged onto our doorstep.
Didn’t make me hate it any less.