Page 64 of Darkest Kiss

"He's got a pretty serious concussion. Burns down his left side. Mostly second degree, one patch closer to third. His left eardrum's perforated, so his hearing's going to be off for a while. Weeks at least, maybe longer. He's got some smoke inhalation, so he'll be on oxygen tonight. A previous wound, a bullet wound, was opened. I cleaned it out again and stitched it.”

“Oh my god.” I clutch my chest. “But… but he’s okay?”

“He’s going to be. I want him here at least forty-eight hours, though. I'd prefer three or four days."

"Is he awake?" I blurt out.

"In and out." The doctor arches a brow. "I'm going to assume you're Noemi? He's been asking for you."

"He has?" I squeak.

"Come on." The doctor waves me toward the back. "You can be the first."

Ransom puts a hand on my shoulder, brief and awkward. The way you give strength to someone when you don't quite know how. Then he steps back and I scurry to follow the doctor.

Surrounded by beeping machines and hooked up to tubes, giant Rian is stuffed uncomfortably in the hospital bed. Stripped of his dark clothing, wearing a gray hospital gown, he looks all kinds of wrong. The left side of his face is bandaged from temple to jaw. Gauze packs his left ear and makes his blond hair look gray against the pillow. His burned arm is wrapped tight. There's an IV in his good hand, an oxygen line under his nose, and his eyes are closed.

Holy fuck. The man I thought was invincible seems anything but.

I cross to the bed and touch his fingers. Rian's red-rimmed eyes flicker open, hazily trying to focus.

"No– emi." His voice is scraped raw by smoke.

He's bandaged half to death with a tube under his nose, so I lift my hand to his face instead and trail my fingers over his jaw. "Hey." He shudders at my touch and it threatens to undo me completely. "I'm here. I'm right here."

Rian relaxes under my hand. His eyes close. I don't mind if he dozes while I pet him. A tear tracks down my face and falls on his arm.

I suck in a breath and start to withdraw, but his eyes snap open. "Don't– go."

Stupid tears. I swipe at them and try to calm him. "Nope. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Just let me grab a chair."

He grabs me with his good arm and hauls me on top of him, into the fucking hospital bed. My head squashes against his chest, my body pressed against his side. "Rian! I can't stay up here! You're hurt."

"Mm." He nuzzles the crown of my head sleepily. "Mine."

I squirm, afraid I'm going to rip out his IV or jar his burns. Ransom chooses that moment to stroll in. He looks at me struggling feebly against Rian's hold, and he laughs.

"Stop fighting him, Noemi. It'll be easier for you if you just give in."

I glare at Ransom. But I also quit trying to wriggle free. It's nice to be touching Rian, after all. He's safe here. He's going to be okay.

I close my eyes and breathe him in.

Chapter Fifteen

Rian

"Two weeks minimum,” Dr. Bernard argues. “You have a concussion, a perforated eardrum, bad burns, and a bullet wound has opened twice."

“Look, Doc.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and growl, "I'm leaving today."

"You're not," he pushes back. “Don’t make me sedate you, Mr. O'Sullivan."

The door opens. Noemi comes in, her hair damp, smelling so fucking sweet I could die. I lose all interest in the doctor.

She's been gone all of twenty minutes. Justin took her down the hall so she could shower and change into something that isn't three days old. I’ve spent every one of those twenty minutes acutely aware of her absence.

I get a hand around her wrist before she's fully through the door and pull her in.