“Come in!” Dex called out, pulling the blanket up to cover us. “Oh, wow, that smells great,” Dex said, sliding out of the bed to sit on the chair so the rolling table could slide over the bed for me to eat.
He accepted the tray of lasagna, salad, and warm bread from the orderly and began to eat as if he hadn’t seen food for weeks, leaving me to pick at my food and wonder what my Omega was hiding.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dex
“Baby, can we talk?”
I’d managed to distract Otto from the earlier conversation by bringingMortal Enginesout when we were done eating, but now Otto’s voice sounded pensive. I stuck my finger in the book to mark our spot and wiggled far enough from Otto’s side that I could see his face. That took some doing in the cramped space of the hospital bed.
“Sure. What about?”
“I know the doc doesn’t want me to be upset,” Otto rolled his eyes, “but I feel like things aren’t right between us.”
“Um, you do?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?” I asked hesitantly, not sure I wanted the answer.
“A few reasons,” Otto said quietly, reaching over to take my left hand and stroking his fingertip down the length. “For starters, you’re not wearing a ring.”
Oh, hell.
“Uh, no. I, um, don’t, um, wear a ring.”
“Why not?”
Well, shit. I really should have phrased that differently. I was floundering for a response when a knock came at the door. Otto cursed under his breath at the interruption, but I quickly called out for the visitor to enter.
“Otto! Man, good to see you awake.” Myke was his usual cheerful self as he dragged a chair from the corner and spun itaround, straddling the seat and resting his arms on the back. “You know who I am?”
Otto nodded. “Kravets.”
Myke grinned. “That’s right. A lot happened while you were catching up on your beauty sleep. Can I have a few minutes of your time?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Dex? We’ll need some privacy, please.”
“Oh, of course!” I jumped out of the bed, catching my foot in the blanket. I would have tumbled to the floor, but Myke was up in an instant, catching my shoulders and helping me balance. “Thanks.”
Myke chuckled. “You know I’m happy to catch you any time, kiddo.”
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “It’s bad enough my dads call me that,” I groused. “Not you, too.”
Myke laughed again and patted my cheek. “Whatever you say. Clark is down in the lobby. He wanted to take you to get some coffee while I chat with our buddy here.”
“Okay.” I started when a growl came from the bed. “You don’t mind?” I asked Otto.
“No, of course not.” Otto’s words were fine, but they came through gritted teeth. “Will you come back?”
“Um, if you want me to, yeah.”
“I want you to, baby,” Otto said softly. “I always want you with me.”
Knowing that that wasn’t really true, I had to swallow a lump in my throat as I forced a smile. “Then I’ll be back after a bit. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
