He laughs. “Well, I’m not sure the patients would agree with you, but hey, at least I’m not scheduled to work until tomorrow night.”
The deep, low chuckle catches me off guard with the soft sound perfectly soothing me. “And you’re hoping the excitement wears off by then?” I ask, trying to gauge his intentions. Suddenly the vehicle fills with silence. I must have hit the nail on the head.
Time passes as I listen to the wiper blades swipe the rain off the windshield. When we come to a red light, he finally responds, “No, but it will give me a little more time with you before I have to leave you.” I know he’s only talking about leaving for work, but somehow the pain that he’d leave for good strikes me. I shake it off because I’m just tired and hurt, so my mind is all over the place.
Silence takes over again. We’re close to the expressway when he asks, “Are you hungry?”
“No, thank you. I’m just sleepy.” I let out a long yawn as if I triggered my body with just mentioning my fatigue.
“Okay.” He smiles, and then we drive in silence for a few minutes or what seems like a few minutes. I must have fallen asleep because I wake up when he opens the passenger door. “We’re home, Princess.”
He scoops me up and kicks the door closed. I attempt to protest lazily. “You don’t have to carry me.”
“I’m not going to deny myself the pleasure of having you in my arms, even if it’s purely an innocent action.” I can’t deny myself either, so I snuggle against his chest, breathing him in. As soon as we’re inside, he marches me upstairs. “I’ll give you a tour later. You need rest.”
He flicks the lights with his one hand but refuses to set me down until we’re in the room.
“Um, I was wondering if I can take a shower?”
“You can. Give me a minute and I’ll wrap your arm to protect the stitches.” He comes back with cellophane and wraps my arm. “I’ll turn on the shower and I’ll set out some clothes for you to wear. They’re probably going to float on you, but I’ll order something online to arrive in the morning.”
“That’s too much. I just need to get my clothes from my house.”
“No, it’s not safe. I’ll take you on my day off if that makes you feel better.”
“Okay.” He kisses my forehead and leaves the room.
The bathroom is right out of a dream, but then again, so is the bedroom. I’m sure the rest of the place is equally awesome if he’d turned on the lights to let me see it. The water feels so good on my skin that I let it flow for minutes without moving. I should be washing up, but I’m so comfortable. I can’t remember the last time I truly felt that way. It had to be before my father met my stepmother. It’s been eight years of torture. Could it truly be over? Could Edward be the one? More than likely not, but a part of me wants to find out. He’s so damn handsome that I can barely breathe when he turns those pretty ocean-colored eyes on me. At least I have a temporary place to stay.
A half hour or so later, I turn off the water, wrapping a towel around my body. When I step into the bedroom, I see a set of clothes laid out on the bed for me. There’s a plain grey T-shirt and a choice between boxers or shorts. The shorts look way too big, so I pick the black cotton boxers. I’m skinny, but as I slide the boxers over my ass, I realize I have a round bottom. After I dress, I decide to look around the room, wondering if he plans to come back in or if that was goodnight.
I open the closet, and it’s full of his clothes. It dawns on me that it’s his bedroom. Is he planning to have sex with me tonight? I hope not. It’s not that I’m not interested, but we don’t know each other.
Edward knocks on the bedroom door. I jump and quickly close the closet door and run lightly to the edge of the bed before saying, “Come in.”
“I’m glad they fit a little. I did take your undergarments and robe to order you some new clothes and then tossed them in the washer. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, I’m grateful for all that you’ve done for me.”
“You don’t have to be, but I came to check on you before bed.”
“I’m fine. Goodnight, Edward.”
“Goodnight.” He walks out again, and I want to run out there and ask if he wants to share the bed with me. It makes no sense how being away from him actually aches in my chest.
Chapter 4
Edward
I mentally read off all of the known STIs that I can over and over as I try to force myself out of the bedroom. It pains me to leave her as if she’s going to disappear as if she’s just a dream. I stand in the middle of the hall, stopping and listening in case she needs me. Finally, I leave and work my way downstairs unable to find an excuse to stay there. Going into the linen closet, I pull out a sheet and throw for my makeshift bed on the sofa.
“Hey, Jackie boy, how are you hanging?” The dog twists his head, wondering what I’m doing as I shake out some sheets to toss over the cushions. I have a second bedroom but it’s not furnished, so I prepare the sofa for the night. I’ve slept on much less comfortable spots over the years. It’s the one thing you learn as a doctor—how to sleep anywhere and anytime.
He whines and rubs his nose on my arm. “I found you a momma, Jack, but we’ll tell her that later. You’re going to love her, but she’s mine, boy.” He whines again, and that means he wants to go out. It’s too late for a stroll and I’m not getting dressed again, so I take him out to the backyard to do his business. The rain has lightened up, but it’s still too wet for him, so he makes his bathroom break quick and we’re back in the house. Filling up his bowls, I walk over to the sofa and make myself comfortable.
I wonder if she’s okay up there. Is she used to sleeping alone? Is there a boyfriend wondering where she is? I suppose I should have asked these questions, but I’m afraid I’ll lose my shit if I don’t get the correct answer. She didn’t call anyone at the hospital, which is a good sign that she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Well, she has a man now, and I’m going to do all I can to make sure she understands that I’m not above doing whatever I can to keep her with me. In a matter of half a day, I’ve officially become a stalker and maybe a kidnapper. We’ll have to see where it goes.
I lie down and cover my body, slamming my head back on the throw pillow, trying to get comfortable. It doesn’t work, so I turn sideways and adjust myself into almost a cradling position. I know that the only thing that’s going to make me fall asleep is coming deep inside of Ella, but it’s most definitely not in the cards tonight.
I pick up my tablet from my coffee table, open it to the latest thriller from the bestsellers’ list, and begin reading. Jack climbs up on the sofa like he’s a damn lap dog and snuggles down by my feet, using my calves as his own pillow, grumbling.
Ignoring him, I go back to the book, which sort of takes my mind off the beauty in my bed until I feel sleep calling me.
A loud thud wakes me up, and I fall off the sofa. A scream follows the fall, and I remember that Ella’s upstairs. Jack lifts his head, grunts, and then cuddles back into his position on the sofa. I wonder if I just dreamed it, but I still have to check. Taking the stairs two at a time, I open the door and see that she’s not on the bed. I call out her name with a true sense of panic.