“I’ll say.You’ve got everything in there but the kitchen sink.”It was true.There were various kinds and sizes of bandages as well as medicine, from injectable stuff to pills and creams.
This time, he gave me a small grin.“Yep.It’s my jump kit.I’ve always got something with me for emergencies.This is my backup.I swap them out every few months as things are ready to expire.”
“Really good idea.”I smiled back at him, hoping this was him getting back to normal via his medical background.
When he focused on my wounds, he winced, using a clean cloth to gently clean the small punctures as well as the burn.He used some kind of cream on the area before he covered it with a non-stick bandage.
After he finished, he closed his jump kit and set it on the floor.Then he sat back on the bed and took one of my hands in his.He brought my palm to his mouth, kissing the center before he put my hand on his chest and held it there with both of his.The tenderness of the gesture made my heart ache.
“I went to prison for killing a guy in a bar fight.”
OK, that caught me off guard.“What?”
“I was at a bar with a girl I was seeing,” he continued, not answering me but I honestly wasn’t sure he was completely with me in that moment.“It was our first date.I didn’t love her.Wasn’t even sure I liked her.She was a nurse I worked with in the OR and I was letting her think she was playing me.”The corner of his lips lifted in a humorless smile.
“Anyway, we were at the bar and a drunk cowboy kept hittin’ on her.She’d gone to the bathroom and on her way back he grabbed her, pulled her into his arms to dance.”Pain frowned, his thumb rubbing over the back of my hand absently.“She struggled but he wouldn’t let her go, so I intervened.I mean, I wasn’t gonna try to force her away from the guy if she didn’t want me to.But she shoved at him.”He looked down, shaking his head slightly.“Anyway, I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him off her.One thing led to another and I got the last punch in.Only he fell, hit his head, and caved in his skull.”
“Oh, no.I’m so sorry, Pain,” I whispered, my heart going out to him.
“I’d have done the same thing.I don’t regret my actions.I regret I killed someone.So I did my time without complaint.But, when I was being held down today, when you were lying there looking at me with so much pain in your eyes…” He took in a shuddering breath, his grip on my hand tightening.“I went to prison defending Sonda.”He met my gaze then.I could see darkness swirling there.That’s when I realized there was nothing in the world this man wouldn’t do to protect me.Nothing.No matter the consequences.“I’ve never felt more helpless in my life than I did when I looked at the man I’d just killed defending a woman I wasn’t even sure I fucking liked.Until today.So make really fuckin’ sure I’m the bastard you want.Because I will rule you, Nadine.If it means keeping you safe and with me, I’m afraid there is nothing I wouldn’t do.”
His words should have scared me, but the truth was I felt the same way about him.I’d run out of the clinic into the yard because I had to help him.Looking back, even knowing I’d get tased -- or worse -- I’d have done the exact same thing.
“I know.I told you before.I see you.I see you.I’m right here.Still breathing.Not terribly hurt.I’m still here.I’m still yours.”
His eyes darkened.“Mine.”That single syllable vibrated with possession.
“Yes.I’m yours, and I need you now, Pain.”
That was all it took.Something primal flashed in his eyes before he captured my mouth in a kiss that stole my breath.This wasn’t like before.This was raw need, barely controlled.He framed my face with his hands, thumbs stroking my cheekbones as his tongue swept into my mouth.
I arched into him, ignoring the protest of my sore muscles.Nothing mattered except feeling his weight on me, his hands on my skin.I needed this connection more than I needed my next breath.
“Need you,” I whispered against his mouth.“Please.”
Pain pulled back, his eyes searching mine.“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.”I reached for the hem of his shirt, tugging it upward.“I need to feel you against me.”
He helped me remove his shirt, revealing the muscled expanse of his chest.I ran my hands over his skin, feeling the strength beneath my fingertips.The scars that mapped his history.Each one told a story of survival, and I wanted to know them all.
When my fingers brushed an oddly jagged scar just below his ribs, he caught my wrist.
“Prison fight,” he explained quietly.Then he grinned.“Got stabbed with a spork.”
I blinked.“Wait.That was you?”
“I wish I could say otherwise, but yeah.That was me.And believe me when I tell you no one laughed harder than me.Hurt like a bitch, but I got stabbed with a spork.There is nothing about that statement that’s not funny.”
“I’d disagree, but as long as he didn’t get anything vital, I can’t.”
“The prongs weren’t deep enough to get through the muscle.Also, it was wooden and not very strong.”
I chuckled lightly but leaned up and pressed my lips to the scar, feeling him shudder beneath my touch.“I’m glad.I never want you to have to go through any of that again.I need you here.With me.”
“Honey, I will do whatever I have to if it means I get to stay with you.”
“Good.Now.Make love to me, Pain.I don’t want to wait any longer.”
