and stubble on his cheeks and jaw. He had obviously had a shower since she had seen him last, but she doubted he had done more than eat a quick meal before returning to her side.
To keep his promise to me.
Too tired to think, she snuggled in closer and closed her eyes, falling asleep to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. This time her dreams were peaceful and familiar. When she woke to Cipher’s sudden movement a long time later, she instinctively clutched at his side, grabbing his shirt and holding him close. His hand covered hers and rubbed along the length of her arm. Sounding reluctant, he said, “Baby, I have to get up.”
She flushed at the endearment and let go. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He kissed her temple. “I’ll be right back.”
She sat up as he slid off the hospital bed and crossed the room to a frosted door. It slid to the side, disappearing into the wall as he approached and slid back out to close behind him. She deduced it must have been the bathroom.
When he emerged, he returned to her bedside and helped her stand. The thin gown puddled around her feet and was so oversized that Cipher had to wrap the excess around her waist and hold it. He moved the tubes coming out of her arms and nose with his other hand before unhooking a box mounted on the wall. All of the tubes were plugged into it.
“The med box can be carried or put on a rolling pole,” he explained. “I’ll hold it for you, but if I’m not here and you need to move around, you can ask a medic to put it on a pole.”
Uncertain about the tubes, she asked, “How do I move?”
“Slowly,” he said with a smile. “Carefully.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Obviously.”
He seemed impressed. “I had no idea you had a sassy streak in you.”
“You barely know me,” she remarked without thinking.
He didn’t take offense to that. “We have all the time in the world to learn everything about each other.”
Remembering what he told Risk, she asked, “Did you mean it? Have you really claimed me?”
“Yes.” He answered without hesitation. Then, as if worried he had overstepped, he said, “I should have asked you first.”
“Ask me now,” she replied boldly.
“May I keep you?”
She arched her brow. “Like a pet?”
He grimaced and amended his question. “May I keep you as my mate?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
Her stomach swooped as he smiled brightly down at her. It was the first time any man had ever looked at her with so much joy. As he led her to the bathroom and placed the box on the counter next to the sink, she suspected he seemed so happy because he finally had someone that was his. Like her, he was alone. She understood the longing in his eyes. She understood what it was like to want someone to share the burdens and triumphs of life.
When the door closed behind her, she took a few moments to explore the bathroom. It wasn’t very big, but it was the nicest one she had ever seen. There was a shower on one side and a toilet and sink on the other. As she handled her business, she marveled all the wonderful luxuries now available to her. Only briefly, while working at one of the bigger mines as a teenager, had she been able to regularly visit a real, honest-to-goodness bathroom with plumbing and hot water. Those seven months on the job had been like paradise.
Back at the cabin, she had to haul water from the well and heat it over the wood burning stove for a shallow bath in their old metal tub. Needing to pee in the middle of the night meant using and then emptying a chamber pot or braving the darkness with a lantern or flashlight, if she had the batteries, to visit the outhouse. She would be able to shower whenever she wanted, brush her teeth without having to haul water or fight off bugs and critters to pee at three in the morning.
Her initial excitement at having access to an indoor bathroom faded quickly when she realized how very poor she was compared to Cipher. As she washed her hands under the motion activated faucet and watched the soap foam on her skin, she felt deep shame. On the mountain, when a man and woman decided to live together, there were expectations of a financial nature. The man had to prove he