Page 339 of A Matter of Time

“Loving you is gonna fuckin’ kill me,” he rumbled.

I turned my head to look up at him and smiled into his beautiful eyes.

“God, Jory, I was so scared. Nobody knew where you were and… you can’t just⁠—”

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”

“You scared the shit outta me.”

I put a hand on his left, which was wrapped around the handle of the wheelchair. “You know I would never do that on purpose.”

“We gotta get you checked out and⁠—”

“I’m okay.” I soothed him. “I just need to sleep.”

“Baby—”

“Is Caleb okay? I was so scared when⁠—”

“He’s really out of it,” Chloe said from beside him. “Do you see his pupils?”

The nurse directed us into a room and Sam lifted me from the wheelchair up onto the bed.

“I’ll be right back with a doctor,” she promised, directing her words to Sam, giving me a smile and then closing the door as she left.

“Jesus, J, your pupils are huge,” he told me.

“Oh yeah?”

“Did somebody hit⁠—”

“I got hit in the back of the head,” I told him before I sighed just looking at him. “I really missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said softly as his hand went to my hair and he leaned my forehead into his chest. “Oh shit, J, there’s a huge bump back here.”

“I’m okay.” I tipped my head back and kissed his chin. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“J,” he said sharply, shaking me a little. “Baby, open your eyes.”

I realized suddenly that I was looking down a long tunnel at him. “Sam, I love you.”

“Jory! Baby!” he yelled at me, and it felt like there was a dip, like I was riding a roller coaster—that drop in your stomach just before you start down. And then there was nothing at all.

I groaned as I opened my eyes. “Crap.”

“J?”

I rolled my head to the left, and there were Sam and Dane and Aja.

“Hey, baby.” Sam smiled at me, his voice soft, gentle, reaching out to put his hand on my cheek. It was so warm, and I leaned into it. “How ya feel?”

I grunted. “I feel like shit. What’s wrong with me?”

“You got a mild case of hypothermia, a concussion, and you’re really dehydrated. They’ve given you three IV bags already.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes, honey. You were really out of it before.”