“I just spent hours with him while he tried to keep you with me.”
“I wasn’t going anywhere.” He paused, trying again to lift his hand and this time succeeding. When he wrapped his fingers limply around my forearm and tried to pull me even closer, I gravitated towards him without thought. “I promise. I meant what I said to you.”
The pull on my arm was even more demanding as I looked up at him, and with a small smile and a roll of my eyes,I climbed up on the bed next to him, careful to avoid the areas that the doctor said would be most tender.
“Tell me again,” I whispered, my body settling next to his, my breath washing over his naked shoulder. I was being needy, but it was just the two of us, and I didn’t mind him knowing how much I needed him, because as long as he was fighting, I would be, too.
Chapter Fifty
Drew
Iwasn’t aware of much throughout the next few hours of my life. Three could have passed the same as seventy. Light came and went from the room and the darkness took over. The only time I ever felt truly conscious was when Doc had filled me with enough drugs to ease the pain in my shoulder, and when Ayda was by my side. We were two broken bodies, but for the first time since we’d become a couple, we felt like one whole.
I’d known I loved her for weeks. I’d known she’d been the one to turn my head in a way the hundreds of women before her hadn’t been able to, but now things felt different. Things felt stronger even though physically, we were both weaker.
She didn’t have to speak whenever she entered a room. I could feel her, and every time I heard the slide of her bare feet along the floor, that small smile of mine crept upon my face. Even if it did sting like a motherfucker.
The cuts to my body were everywhere, in all the most strategic places. Places that weren’t designed to heal easily, like the creases of my skin that would always tear if I stretched, and over old scars that had already taken too many years to heal. It was what made it feel like a slow process anda long time before I could lift my ass out of the bed without having someone else pull me up.
After what must have been a few days, possibly even a week, I’d had enough. I needed out of the room and I needed to go deal with the shit I knew was out there waiting for me in The Hut. The nights were about to become heavy with nightmares and worries if I didn’t act quickly, and to be perfectly honest, I was really fucking tired of being tired.
There was a fresh start waiting out there for all of us. If I raised my hand up to the sky and stretched enough, I felt like I was only an inch or two away from touching it. All I had to do was reach and push myself that little bit harder.
The first time my feet hit the floor of The Hut and I pushed up from the bed to stand on shaky legs, I had to close my eyes and dig deep to find my center. Ayda was in the bathroom, and there was no doubt about the fact that had I tried to move when she’d been around, she’d have been planting my ass back down. But I needed to do this now.
What I wasn’t expecting was for her to walk back in the moment I had taken my first few steps forward. The door swung open slowly and we both froze in place as we eyed each other’s expressions.
When all I saw staring back at me was a small shake of her head and a smirk that I was sure was starting to resemble my own, I grinned at her.
“Don’t challenge me to a race. I’m not a good loser.”
Crossing her arms and resting her hip against one of the dressers, she tipped her head to the side, her smile growing even bigger. “At the risk of pissing you off, what would make this easier for you? You’re too stubborn to go back to bed, aren’t you?”
I shuffled forward, keeping my eyes on hers until I was towering over her. It felt like forever since I’d looked down on her. She’d been the one peering down at me since we got out of that warehouse, and it was only then that I was realizing just how strong she’d been for the both of us.
Lifting my hand to her chin, I pinched it between my finger and thumb before planting a kiss on the end of her nose.
“Shush, woman. I’m good. Never felt better. I’m a lion, remember?” My attempt at a fake roar sounded more like a dying cat.
“My lion get an antelope stuck in his throat?” she asked with a quiet giggle. Uncrossing her arms, she slid them around my waist, mindful of the injuries there. “I won’t say another word about your invalid status, as long as you don’t push yourself too hard. We got a deal?”
“Deal,” I said through a smile, wishing I could tell her how good it felt to be held that way again. I eyed the door over her shoulder before looking back down at her. “You can keep your eyes fixed firmly on my broken ass if it will put your mind at ease. I have a feeling it’s gonna get rowdy out there once they see me up on my feet. Care to be my guard dog, Hanagan?”
Pushing up on her toes, she kissed the edge of my jaw. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I clung to her way more than it felt natural to, but I was discovering a little something about myself with every new hour that passed us by. It was okay for me to lean on Ayda. I fucking needed her.
The guys saw me before I registered any of them. The slow murmur rose into a loud boom of throaty howls, laughter, hand clapping, foot stamping, with a few insults thrown myway as a way of showing their affection. Despite the pounding in my head, I creased my face together, let my brows rise up awkwardly and gave them all a smile. Ayda’s fingers curled into me that little bit more every time one of the men got too close, and I made sure to look down to reassure her I was okay whenever I felt her tense. She loved the men as much as I did, but right then, I was her only concern. That much was obvious.
“Nice to see you back on your feet, brother,” Slater said as he stood beside me, taking small steps forward while I tried to keep up with the pace and the excitement in the room. I wasn’t wearing anything but my sweat pants again, and it was pretty obvious from the way the men’s eyes fell to my exposed skin that all my injuries were being added up, noted and stored away in their revenge banks. They’d seen me messed up before, but never like this.
I glanced up at him, smiling flatly and giving him a small nod. “Is that polite conversation from you, Slate? No asshole, fucker or stupid bastard? I’m touched.”
“Don’t be a stupid bastard, you stupid bastard.” He smirked.
Jedd was up next, never touching me or greeting me with a slap on the shoulder the way he usually would, but his face said enough. He was glad to have me back.
“Don’t cry, Jedd,” I coughed out, straightening up and trying to stand taller as I pulled Ayda closer to me.
