The mom tone was back and I couldn’t contain the smirk on my face while I worked to not only hold back the laugh rumbling in my chest, but also control the way the rest of my body was responding to her sass. It seemed to be getting harder and harder.
I’d say no pun intended but I’d be lying.
River flared emotions that I’d never experienced, and they’d been roaring to life since the first time I’d laid eyes on her. But since she told me she loved me and that she wouldn’trun again, my body had been vibrating with the urge to make her mine in every way.
To make her my wife, my lover, and my everything.
But no matter what, just her being in my life was all that mattered. Even if it meant things stayed the way they were. I just didn’t want to lose her again. I knew there was much I didn’t know that could change everything.
Never for me, but maybe for her.
“I am not taking your bed, sweetheart.”
She let out an exaggerated huff. “Fine, I’ll sleep in it with you.”
And that had me caving.
I got to lay next to her in the hospital bed and it was amazing. The idea of sleeping in her bed, with her in my arms, sounded like heaven.
“You sure?”
She sent me a sweet smile. “Yes, I liked lying next to you last night. Only the bed will be more comfortable.”
So, there I was, a mound of pillows behind me, propped up so I was comfortable in her bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom and join me.
The door opened and I almost swallowed my tongue.
Sweet baby Jesus.
I was sure River thought she was downplaying her appearance by slipping on a gray pair of soft, cotton sleep pants and light-lavender, V-neck T-shirt, but she was mistaken. The easy, girl-next-door look, paired with her long, damp—just out of the shower—hair falling around her face and her violet eyes that sparkled like crystals was enchanting.
River was a dream.
The fact she didn’t know the appeal she had only made her that much more beautiful.
She stared at me, then the bed, and worried at her lower lip.
“Sweetheart.” I leaned forward and patted the bed in front of me. “Come talk to me.”
Tentatively, she walked toward me and sat down where I had indicated. Turning her body slightly toward me, our eyes connected. I reached out and took one of her hands in mine.
“I never want you to be uncomfortable or scared. It would kill me if my presence did that to you.” I rubbed my thumb back and forth across the top of her hand. “I would be okay on the couch.”
She was shaking her head, that stubbornness of hers setting in again, but the unease in her eyes was saying something different.
“I think...” River blew out a breath. “I think the hospital was just… different.”
It was clear her mind was working through something and she wasn’t done talking so I just nodded in understanding, waiting for her to keep going when she was ready.
“There’sneverbeen a man in my bed.”
As the words left her mouth, her eyes grew distant and she was no longer looking at me. Her body started to tremble and it was clear she was somewhere else.
“Well, only once,” she whispered in a tortured tone. “But I didn’t want him there.”
When tears started sliding down her face, my heart felt like it had been through a shredder. “Baby, if you’re not ready to tell me, it’s okay.”
Her eyes focused again and I could tell she was seeing me then.
