“I like the sound of the ‘serving my every whim’ thing,” Payne said, rubbing his thumb along Hunter’s inner wrist. Hunter shivered in reaction.
“Too bad we can’t do anything at the moment,” he said. “Though I’m willing to go get anything the doctor says you can have. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want me to find a book and read to you?”
“I’ve got to stay awake a while longer, so reading to me sounds like a good idea,” Payne said, giving him a grateful smile. “I was about to go crazy from boredom before you arrived.”
“Reading it is. Let me go see what I can find. If it’s like other hospitals I’ve been in, the nurses will have something to keep their patients from climbing the walls.” Hunter stood, then leaned over to kiss Payne gently on the lips. “I love you, you know. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life as I was for those few seconds when I called out to you and you didn’t answer. Don’t do that to me again, okay? I might not survive it.”
“I love you too.” Payne rested his palm against Hunter’s cheek. “I promise I’ll do my best not to put you in that situation again.” He paused, gnawing on his bottom lip. “I’ve been putting out some feelers with Ghost. He might could use me at the training facility.”
Hunter stared at Payne for a long moment. Maybe making a big change wouldn’t be so hard if he had someone to do it with. All he knew was he wanted to be with Payne, no matter where they were. He’d finally found what Mark had with Jen, and the past few hours had proved there were no guarantees, whether he was in the field or driving down the street. But he would do whatever it took to make sure he and Payne were both as safe as they could be. No thrill in the world compared with knowing that Payne loved him.
Finally, he smiled.
“Would you mind asking if he has room for two?”
