Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Ryder…” I croaked, trying to contort myself so I could kiss the top of his head. Every movement was agony, but I managed to press my lips to his hair.
He sighed, then lifted his head. “Hi, baby,” he whispered. He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine in a long, slow, tear-laced kiss as though afraid to separate from me. “I am so fucking happy to see those gorgeous dark eyes,” he said when he finally drew back.
Usually, that kind of compliment would have made my face heat, but I had too much going on in my head to be embarrassed by his effusiveness. “What…” I frowned. Why did my throat hurt and my voice sound like I’d spent a weekend screaming? I tried clearing my throat, but it was so damn dry it only hurt worse.
“Shh, don’t try to talk. You’ve had a tube in your throat and a ventilator breathing for you for the past four days.”
My eyes bugged. Four days? “What—”
“Shh, rest your voice.” He kissed me again, then rested his forehead against mine. “Fuck, I missed that.” When he tried to pull away, I tangled my hand in his shirt with a weak grip, but he got the idea and kissed me again with a happy sigh.
“Tell me,” I managed to whisper when we separated again.
He nodded but didn’t straighten away from me. “Okay, um, I’m not sure what you remember, but you went to the house to meet Kenny.”
I nodded, sending a spike of pain spearing through my cranium. I tried to disguise my reaction, but I couldn’t hide anything from Ryder, who frowned.
“I’m okay,” I rasped. “And I do remember that. I mowed the lawn, and Kenny was late. I was in the kitchen and heard someone come in. Thought it was Ken, so I called out to him. But it wasn’t Kenny.”
He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t.”
“He kicked my ass.”
Ryder snorted a half laugh, but more tears leaked from his eyes as he nodded.
“How bad is the damage?”
“I’ll tell you if you stop talking so much.”
I glared at him, making him chuckle. “Missed that glower almost as much as I missed you fucking me.
Jesus.
“Do you want water?”
I wanted an entire ocean’s worth, but I shook my head.
Then winced.
“All right, stop moving. I can tell you’re going to be a terrible patient now that you’re awake. Stay still and stop talking.” He chuckled. “Two things I never thought I’d have to say to you, but here we are.” He blinked a few times as though clearing a fresh round of tears, then straightened his shoulders in a symbolic pulling himself together for a moment. “You have bruises everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Um, three broken ribs, a broken eye socket, which I’ve learned is called an orbital fracture, and…” He swallowed. “A skull fracture.”
My eyes widened. “Shit.”
“Kenny found you and called EMS. Your lung collapsed on the way here, and with all the swelling in your face and throat, the doctors were worried about you breathing on your own. They sedated you and had a ventilator breathing for you for four days while they gave you steroids to reduce the swelling. Earlier this morning, the ICU doctor determined you were stable enough to try breathing on your own, so they discontinued the ventilator and removed sedation. And now you’re awake.”
My head hurt. I wasn’t sure I could process all that information with my rattled brain, so I just said, “Are you okay?”
Waving a hand, he laughed the most fake sound I’d heard from him. “Me? Of course. I’m fine.”
“Ryder…” My usual no-nonsense glare and serious tone were hard to project in a hospital gown with bruises, broken bones, and IVs.
He stared at me for a moment before sagging. “These have been the worst four days of my life. When I saw you that night…” He blinked and averted his gaze.
Fighting through the discomfort, I cupped his chin and forced him to face me. “You matter as much as I do here, Ryder. Tell me.”
So much sadness filled those beautiful blue eyes, even the green fleck I’d loved since before I allowed myself to really know Ryder had a somber hue to it.
“Fuck, I’d never been so terrified. I love you, and I’ve known that for a while, but I don’t think I fully understood what it meant until that night.”
I smoothed a hand over his stubbly jaw, making him nuzzle into me like a cat. Damn, that felt nice. It’d feel fucking amazing between my thighs against my ass. Perhaps we should revisit his policy on facial hair once I am fully functioning. For now, all I wanted was to comfort him and let him expel whatever poison had infected his veins over the past few days.
“You were hurt, and I couldn’t do anything. Nothing, Alex. For a while, I didn’t even know if-if you’d make it. Fuck, I’d never…” He stared straight into my eyes, letting me see the torment he’d gone through over the past few days. “I’ve never been that terrified. I could barely breathe. It felt like my soul was being torn from my body and shredded right before my eyes.”