to apologize.
He shakes his head. “I didn’t tell you to stop,” he whispers, and brings my face back close to his. Our mouths touch with intensity, his tongue sweeping against mine. I hear another groan of pain from him, but he doesn’t stop. His grip hardens on my hand and I can tell he’s in a lot of discomfort.
I push him away to lie against the bed. “This is hurting you, literally,” I say, and push him back down when he tries to resist.
“I don’t care. I’ve been waiting to tell you—no—show that I love you. I’m not wasting this opportunity just because I have a damn flesh wound.”
God, I love this man.
“There will be many more moments where you can show me how much you love me. I assure you of that,” I reply, combing back his hair and trailing my hand down his cheek. “Once you’re better, of course.”
“I almost died tonight. The only thing that got me through was the thought of you in danger. Plain and simple. I didn’t save you tonight, Dani. You saved me,” he states, his breath catching, as another surge of pain hits him.
“What about Phoebe?” I ask.
“You know what I meant.”
I smirk off to the side and pan back over to him. “So, which side is your injury on again?” I ask, pointing back and forth to his left and right sides.
He takes my hand and places it on the wounded area on his right. “Why do you want know?”
I climb up on the bed, careful not to touch his sensitive spot or unhook any of his IV’s. “Because I want to do this,” I reply, and attack his mouth with mine. His hands clutch my back and pull me forward. I feel every one of his muscles tense up from the ache he’s enduring to kiss me.
“This hurts so good,” he speaks around my mouth as our lips continue to entwine with one another. It’s becoming difficult to gauge where his end and mine begin.
“Please tell me if it gets to be too much, okay?” I say breathily.
He pauses and backs his lips away from mine. “Dani, that’d be impossible.”
He grabs my ass and thrusts my hips into his. His grip is firm, yet tender at the same time. I smile, imagining us back in his twin bed with nothing on. I’m finding myself longing to be that close to him again, but groan internally when I realize that’s not a possibility right now.
“Whoa, you cannot be doing that in here,” someone says behind us. I turn to see a nurse standing there, her eyes wide with surprise. “I do believe visiting hours are over. Besides, I think you’ve given Mr. Reed here enough to dream about tonight that you can be on your way,” she adds with a hearty laugh.
“Oh my God—I’m so sorry you saw that,” I say, trying to move off the bed without disturbing anything.
Parker grabs me when my feet touch down on the ground. He pulls me toward him for one last kiss before I go.
“Get better, okay?” I whisper once our lips separate.
He grins. “I already am.”
The nurse clears her throat behind me and I stiffen. Moving toward the door, I turn around once more to glance at Parker. I wave to him just before the nurse ushers me out.
Chapter Thirty Three
“Thanks for letting me sleep over last night,” Phoebe says while packing up her overnight bag.
“Well, my Dad and I weren’t about to let you sleep in that house alone after what happened,” I reply, handing her a shirt that fell from the bag.
“I’m so not looking forward to going home, but at least there will be a deputy with me.”
I can tell she’s scared just by the tone in her voice. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”
“I’m sure. Besides, there will be a mob of angry trick-or-treaters egging the house if I’m not there to pass out candy. And like I said, there’s always the hottie-tottie deputy to protect me,” she laughs, but it sounds empty.
There’s a knock at the door before it’s cracked open. “Everyone decent in there?” my dad calls.
“Yeah, come in.”
He moves into the room. “Are you ready to get going, Phoebe? I’m taking you over to your house and waiting for Deputy Miller to meet us over there.”
She nods and drags her bag from the bed.
“Wait, who’s staying here with me?” I ask.
“Jackson and Samson will be downstairs until I—”
“Samson? Really? I hate that guy,” I