Jensen: No, Carson, you can’t do that. Tell Skyler to put her nun chucks away.
Wilder: Besides, we need to wait for Jayce to heal up. He deserves the first blow.
Zander: How are you feeling, Jayce?
Owen: How’s Sutton? She okay?
“They’re worried,” I say, handing him back his phone so he can respond to their messages himself. “They’ll be glad to have you back on the ice, even if it does take a while.”
He groans as he sends off a text. “Don’t remind me. I’m going to lose my fucking mind waiting for the doctor to give me the go-ahead to play again.”
I chuckle, snuggling into his side again. “You need to be patient. You’re lucky as it is, and you don’t need to push yourself. Don’t worry, though. Your grandpa is arranging for you to have the best physical therapy and care possible. You’ll be back to your old self in no time.”
For a few minutes, neither of us speaks.
Then a quiet grunt slips from him.
I lift my head, worried. “Did I hurt you?”
He exhales through his nose. “No. It just hurts to breathe.”
My heart aches and guilt slams through me and I instantly try to pull away. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He slides his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer again. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
I gaze up at him, so grateful he’s here with me. I’m exhausted. Emotionally and physically tapped out, and all I want to do is putthis whole day behind us, but there’s one question that I can’t shake. It’s rattling around in my head, making it impossible to relax enough to actually go to sleep.
Turning my face up toward him, I whisper, “Why did you do that?”
“Why did I do what?”
I frown. “Twist us so you took the attack and not me. They were after me. It’s all my fault you got hurt.”
His gaze locks with mine and when he answers, his voice is unwavering. “I did it because I love you.”
The words hit me like a physical force. My breath catches, and for a second, the room feels too quiet. My heart pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears. Instead of joy flooding through me, though, panic creeps in.
“Jayce…” I push myself up, staring down at him, searching his face. “You’re on pain medication.”
His brow furrows.
“You just went through something insane.” My voice tightens despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “Your adrenaline’s still crashing. You almost passed out earlier.”
“Sutton…”
“So don’t say things like that right now,” I blurt. “Not if you don’t mean them.”
“Starling…”
“No,” I cut in, my throat burning now. “I mean it. Don’t do that to me.”
He goes still.
“I know what this arrangement was supposed to be.” The words tumble out faster now. “And I know you said you didn’t want anything real, and that you didn’t believe in…”
“Sutton! Stop for just a damn minute!”
His voice is firm enough that I do finally stop talking. He sighs and pulls me back down against him. I resist for half a second, then I melt into him.
