Ever since I regained consciousness in the hospital, dreams of home infiltrate my sleep more often than not. If they were nightmares, I could see how it would be problematic. But these aren’t anywhere close to night terrors. These are good dreams of good times—better ones than I’ve had in years. But even so, every time I wake with these memories, there is a weight bearing down on my chest heavier than anything I’ve endured—I miss my family and secretly crave stability.
“Baby. You okay?” The roughness of his voice punctures through the dark as he reaches to squeeze my hip under our covers.
I take a deep breath and do my best to ignore him. It’s not the first time he’s reached out to me since I arrived here but Cole Carson has kept his promise—he hasn’t touched me. Not really. Not the way I’m used to—the way I came to beg him to when we were an us.
“Bella—”
“I’m fine,” I lie. “Trying to get comfortable.”
Through the moonlight peeking between his old blinds, he looks down from where he’s propped himself up on a forearm. “It’s not time for your meds. What do you need? Another pillow?”
I blink slowly and tell him the truth. “This sweet side of you is honestly freaking me out. If you don’t watch it, you’re going to be forced to turn in your arsehole card.”
That doesn’t win me a smile, but rather a hike of his thick, arched brow, which is more like the Cole I fell for a lifetime ago. “Don’t worry, the asshole will be back when you can roll over in bed without wincing from pain. Tell me what you need.”
I close my eyes and do my best to roll away from him. “I know you think you’re the answer to everything, but I’m capable of getting comfortable on my own.”
That’s a lie too. I’ve never known physical pain like I’ve experienced since I woke up after surgery.
“I might be an asshole but you’re still the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever met.”
I’m about to argue, but before I get a word out, his muscled chest is flush with my back, his pelvis cradling my bum, his quads glued to my hammies.
“What are you doing?”
His hand hits my hip and pulls my body to his. “Give me your weight.”
“I said I was good.”
“And I know you sleep better on your side but that’s got to hurt like a motherfucker right now. This will help.”
His warmth seeps into me and I tell him the least of my worries. “I’ll get hot.”
He flips the covers off both of us and his scruff pulls at my hair. I’m not sure he’s shaved since I’ve been in the States. “There. Now, be quiet and go back to sleep. Unlike you, I’ve gotten used to six hours in a row. Don’t make me irritable tomorrow.”
Cole’s hand is locked on my hip, holding me to him where we’ve become one in his bed.
He runs his hand down the outside of my thigh and isn’t gentle when he gives me another squeeze. “Not trying to fuck you, sweetness. Just trying to get some sleep. Relax.”
I sigh but do it rolling my eyes. He knows how I feel about him demanding me to relax.
But allowing some of my tension to dissolve into him does feel a bit better.
“See?” he gloats as our bodies meld. “You’ll be begging me to fuck you soon enough.”
I pull my pillow into my chest because being cocooned is the first thing that’s taken the edge off in days. Being able to rest on my side while feeling weightless might be orgasmic in and of itself. “Don’t be so full of yourself. And you’d better go to sleep. The elderly need their rest.”
A rumble from his chest vibrates through me and he shakes his head. “It’s what drew you to me. Practically had to beat you off with a stick.”
I close my eyes. “I see dementia is setting in.”
“I agree.” He pushes in tighter, demanding not only my weight, but everything else I don’t want to think about at the moment. His cock, that I will only admit to myself how much I miss, has sprung to life proving his virility and youth. “I’ve got to be crazy to be taking you on.”
Finally.
Something we agree on.
“I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
My eyes fly open.
He keeps talking. “You’ll be fine. Told Red to be on his best behavior and I’ll make sure he feeds you a