Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Sutton
Istarted to tell everyone that I’d rather just go back to the office and have Wellston stitch me up, since he was by far the best at it out of all the guys who worked there, but the look Marti gave me when I mentioned skipping the hospital had shut me up pretty fast.
I’d never seen her angry, and I was man enough to admit that I didn’t think I’d want to. There had almost been a dare there in her eyes. Like she’d wanted me to argue, so she could set me straight.
The emergency room was busy, which was another argument for my case that I didn't bring up, but since I was all but passing out when we walked in, they quickly found me a bed, got me stitched up and hooked up to a bag of fluids and antibiotics.
Marti had stayed close to me the entire time the nurses and at one point the doctor was in there with me.
Nobody seemed inclined to ask her to leave, and I wouldn’t have let her go even if they’d asked.
Not only was it not safe, especially knowing that her brother was very obviously in town, but also because I liked having her close.
It seemed like everyone left all at once, taking the unnecessary chaos with them and leaving me with a still worried, but determined looking Marti, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what she was going to say before she even said it.
“You’re fired.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly what I’d expected, but it was close enough.
I nodded. “Okay.”
Her brow tightened and then released, and she nodded also. “Okay. I’m moving back to my apartment.”
I started to sit up, but the tug on my stitches made me cringe, and she rushed to help, letting me lean on her while I scooted.
“Okay,” I said again.
She reached for the cup of water they’d left me, but I shook my head, and she left it where it was, opting to fix my pillow instead. “I thought I was going to get more of an argument from you.”
I shrugged, leaning my head back and rolling it to look directly at her. “Your apartment is plenty big for the both of us.”
“No.”
“Yep.”
“I don't want you there.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you can want in one hand and crap in the other? See which one fills up faster.”
She curled her lip, pulling her head back in offense. “Yes, and that’s disgusting.”
I smiled. It was the smile that Wellston always said made me look like a pirate… Whatever that meant. “Agreed. And I’m not really sure how it makes sense, but you aren’t going back to your apartment without me.”
She let out a little noise in her throat that sounded like a whine and let her body flop like a kid. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
Did she understand how cute she was? If she was hoping to run me off, she wasn’t going to manage it looking like someone I wanted to pull into my arms and kiss.
I pointed to my side nonchalantly. “This is nothing.”
She was not impressed. “Nothing?”
“Well, it’s not much.”
“You were stabbed.”
“It’s not very deep.”
“Still stabbed.”
“More like a poke.”
“With a knife.”
“It was a small knife.”
She sighed, closing her eyes and reaching up to massage the bridge of her nose. “You’re very stubborn.”
“I am.” I reached for her hand, pulling it away from her beautiful face and drawing it to my chest.
“Fine,” she finally agreed, rolling her eyes. “We’ll stay at your house, but I don’t want you confronting my brother by yourself again.”
I nodded, knowing full well that the next time I saw him, even if I was completely alone, I wasn’t letting the guy out of my sight, and this time I would be ready for him.
I slid my hand up her arm, gripping her elbow and pulling her toward me, barely even cringing as I scooted over on the bed while I dragged her along.
“What are you doing?” She demanded dryly, frowning.
“I want to cuddle.” I tugged her even further, until she had to throw a hand out to catch herself so she didn’t tumble right on top of me.
“You can barely fit in this bed.” Her voice was high with disbelief. “They’ll turn me in for elder abuse if they come in here and see me hogging the bed.”
I laughed, not stopping until she finally sighed and climbed up, gingerly easing next to me, careful not to touch where my wound was on my side.
“You’re my comfort animal.” I pressed her head into my neck, doing my best to ignore how her breath felt on my skin. “Probably a rodent. All quiet and unassuming until you irritate it, then you question if it’s rabid.”
I huffed out a breath when she smacked my chest, the smile on my face utterly ridiculous. I was glad nobody was around to film it. I didn’t need to see how stupid I looked right then.
“He really could have hurt you. Killed you,” she whispered after a while when I’d nearly fallen asleep, tilting her head back to look at me.
I’d been so good. I truly didn’t want her to think that she owed me anything, and I definitely didn’t want her thinking that the only way I would protect her was if she promised me more, but I’d been stabbed.
I just wanted a tiny taste. And wasn’t this the perfect place?
Even if I wasn’t strong, and that need for more took over, we were in a hospital. There were rules.
I held back for a whole five seconds before I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. I watched her eyes widen just before contact and then slowly fall closed, and even though I’d meant for it to be a peck, her soft hum had me tilting my head and deepening it almost immediately.
Her lips were soft, and her mouth was sweet from the tea she’d had earlier.
Kissing her was instantly addictive, and if the guy on the other side of the curtain hadn’t cleared his throat like he knew exactly what was going on over here, there was a chance I would have forgotten we were in a hospital.
So much for that theory.
We pulled back slowly, and I dragged my lips over hers one more time before easing back to watch her face. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip was clamped between her teeth. Her cheeks were rosy, but I was happy to realize there was no embarrassment in her gaze.
“Weren’t you the one trying to talk me out of this relationship not long ago? I mean, you are eleven and a half years older than me.”
I pecked her lips again. “Don’t say it like that.” Another quick kiss. “Now that I’ve made up my mind, you’re stuck with me.”
“Clingy.”
Another kiss. “Unrepentantly.”
Sighing, she pressed her head back to my shoulder. “I’m sorry my family is so crazy.”
I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but she’d shared her family history with me, and clearly felt guilty about something that wasn’t her fault.
It was probably time to share my history.
“My dad used to tear through our house like a wrecking ball. He broke everything in his path, including my nose more than once.” She gasped, her gaze snapping to mine as she reached up and ran her finger over the clearly crooked bridge of my nose.
“When I was thirteen, he broke my arm, and my mother shot him while he was still wailing on me. She killed herself two weeks later.”
It didn’t really affect me anymore; it had been so long ago that it often felt like another life, but it was clear by the look on Marti’s face that she wasn’t as numb to it as I was.
“I’m so sorry,” her voice was tight and her eyes were glossy.
“Your family is no crazier than mine. The opposite might actually be true.”
She frowned, swallowing hard before she lay her head back down. “It’s not a competition.” Her fingers came up and traced the collar of my shirt. “But if it was, at least your family isn’t trying to kill us.”
I huffed a laugh, and pulled her tighter to me, ignoring the pulling in my side. “Thank God.”