“I know. It will get better. I promise. It’s going to take some time for her to heal, physically and mentally. For both of you.”
“I don’t care about me.”
“I do.” He pulls a pen light from his pocket, doing the standard tests for a concussion. He did it a million times last night. The only reason I got to be at Aspen’s side instead of in a hospital bed myself, was that either Pierce or Freya would come by every few hours to check my vitals.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re supposed to be elevating your leg.”
“I’ll do it when I get my girl home. Until then, I’m sitting here or at her side if she’ll let me.”
“She’ll come around. Hang in there, and if you need anything, give me a call. Freya will come by in a few hours to check on you again.”
“How long are you going to coddle me?” I hate having other people fussing over me.
“Until I’m satisfied that you’re well enough to go home. When are your folks coming?”
“They’ll be here tonight.”
“Good. Maybe they can convince you to go home and get some sleep or a shower. My God, bro, you stink,” he jibes. I reek of smoke.
“She ran into a fucking burning building for me.” He knows this already, but the more I say it, it still doesn’t quite sink in.
“Love will do that to a person.”
“I’ve been so caught up in the whole Dom/sub relationship. It seems so trivial now.”
“I get it, bro. I had to train Freya. I know it’s different with you and Aspen. Freya came looking for the lifestyle. The lifestyle came looking for Aspen.”
“Would you have walked away if you were me?”
“If it were Freya? Fuck no. I would move heaven and earth for that woman. The sooner you just accept that, regardless of the beginning, Aspenisyour submissive now, and she needs you more than ever. Recovery like this doesn’t happen overnight. You need to be prepared for that.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes. She is everything to me.” He gives me a solemn nod, knowing that the road we pave from here is going to be hard.
When the nurse finally leaves Aspen’s room, she allows me back in, but I’m not prepared for seeing my girl in silent tears, completely wrung out after her wound care. I can tell by the look on Jude’s face that she struggled to be in here. It should have been me.
“The nurse said you did really well.” I lean in to press a kiss to her forehead, but she buries her head in the crook of my neck, her right arm holding me tight.
“Ry…” She sobs.
“I’m here, baby girl. I’ve got you. You’ve just got to let me in.”
“I want to go home.”
“They need to keep you here until you’re strong enough to go home. A few more days at least.”
“This isn’t what our relationship is supposed to be. I wanted to be beautiful for you. For you to watch.” My heart drops into my stomach. Is this what I’ve taught her? That she’s somehow not worthy of me?
“You are the most beautiful, kind, and brave woman I’ve ever met. Nothing is ever going to change that.” I climb onto the bed beside her, careful not to jostle her. I’m half falling off, but she leans into my chest, her cries softening.
I think it took it out of her—getting through the dressing change—and she slowly drifts off, her breaths evening out as I stroke her hair. I soak her in, the gravity of what she did for me weighing heavily on me as I stare up at the ceiling.
Jude heads out to get us both coffee, and I’m grateful to have someone else who loves this woman as much as I do. “Thanks for being in here with her earlier.”
“This is what she does when she’s overwhelmed. She pushes me away. I guess I was the lesser of two evils today. She’ll come around.”
“How do the burns look?”
