“I swear to God, one more injury, and I’m cutting you off from medical care,” Doc said with a huff.
Nash grinned at her, but it was tinged with pain as she prodded his wound. “Sorry, Doc.”
I squeezed his hand as hard as I could, mine trembling with the action.
Nash cast concerned eyes at me. “Hey, I’m okay. Just a few stitches, remember?”
He was okay. I said the words over and over in my mind. Doc had told us the knife hadn’t gotten anything vital. Nash would have to take it easy for a couple of weeks, and he’d be sore, but he would be fine. I’d have some serious bruising around my throat and tender wrists and ankles, but I was otherwise fine, too.
“He stabbed you.” Tears brimmed in my eyes.
“He tried to. This is barely a scratch.”
A scratch didn’t require internal and external sutures. I shoved down my tears. This wasn’t about me. Nash didn’t need my tears. He needed my support. “Let’s just get you patched up.”
He studied me for a moment as if not believing my words. “Okay.”
Doc nodded and stepped forward. “You’ll feel a tiny pinch.”
She injected him with the local anesthetic, but Nash didn’t even flinch. We were quiet as we waited for it to take effect, but I didn’t let go of Nash’s hand.
“Can you feel this?” Doc asked, pressing a gloved finger above the wound.
“Nope, stitch me up.”
She shook her head but pulled out the suture kit.
“Mads, eyes on me,” Nash said.
My gaze flew from the kit to his face.
He gave me a tender smile. “Don’t want you passing out on me.”
I winced. “That was one time. So long ago.”
“I fell off my bike—”
“You fell trying to pop a wheelie,” I corrected.
“Yeah, yeah.” Nash waved me off. “I had to get stitches in my arm, and Maddie demanded to stay with me. But one little glimpse of that needle going into my skin, and she dropped like a ton of bricks.”
My cheeks heated. “I was ten.”
He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m not taking any chances.”
I didn’t want to either. It would be a long time before the image of Nash and Adam fighting was out of my head. The flash of metal. The look of pain on Nash’s face. I could still hear Adam’s crazy ravings as Holt cuffed him, and we waited for Lawson to arrive. He cursed and threatened to end us all.
“All done,” Doc said, snapping off her gloves. “You know the drill. Keep the stitches dry. You can cover them with plastic wrap in the shower. Come back in two weeks to get them removed. But if they get red or tender to the touch, call. And I’ve got a prescription for painkillers here.”
“I doubt I’ll need them,” Nash said.
I grabbed the slip of paper. “We’ll fill them just in case.”
Doc smiled at me. “Good luck keeping this one in line for the next two weeks.” Her smile faltered for a moment. “I’m glad you’re both okay and that you got the son of a bitch.”
My throat clogged. I didn’t have words to respond. Thank you didn’t exactly seem appropriate.
Nash patted her shoulder. “Thanks for patching me up.”
“How about you don’t come back for a while other than to get your stitches removed?”
He chuckled as he slid off the exam table. “I’ll do my best.”
Doc sighed. “Why does that worry me?”
Nash led me out of the clinic to the parking lot where Caden had left Nash’s SUV for us. I couldn’t help but stare at his T-shirt. The bloodstain wasn’t huge, but it was enough to leave a pit in my stomach.
I didn’t know how Nash was speaking to me, let alone touching me after all the trouble and heartache I’d brought into his life.
I cleared my throat, trying to force down the swirling thoughts. “Do you want me to drive?”
Nash gave me a gentle smile. “I’ve got a cut on my ribs, that’s it.”
I rolled my lips between my teeth and nodded.
We were both quiet on the way home, no noise but the hum of the engine. I was surprised the entire Hartley clan hadn’t been waiting in reception at the clinic, but Nash had assured them all that he was fine, talking to both his parents and Grae on the phone. I actually wished they were here with their loud, raucous energy. Anything to distract me from this painful quiet.
Nash slowed to a stop and turned off the SUV. I hurried to get out of the vehicle before there could be even more awkward silence. I rushed to the front door and then realized I didn’t have my keys. I guessed that happened when your crazy ex kidnapped you. There wasn’t exactly time to grab your purse.
“I’ve got it,” Nash said, moving beside me. “One of the techs took Clyde to my parents’.”
My heart clenched. “Was he okay?”
“A little freaked but fine. Mom has been feeding him all sorts of treats.”
“He’ll love that.” I moved inside, standing awkwardly in the living room. I could see the remnants of fingerprint powder in a few places.
“Mads…”
I didn’t want to turn to Nash. Didn’t want to see whatever lived in the expression on his face.
He moved in behind me, his heat seeping into my back. “Look at me.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to turn. Nash was right there. The way he always was. Nothing but open acceptance in his eyes. But then I saw it, the worry that lived beneath that.
“I’m so sorry,” I croaked.
Nash’s brows pulled together. “Mads, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who needs to apologize. If I hadn’t left—”
I pressed my hand to his chest, halting his words. “You were upset. I shouldn’t have hidden what happened from you. I just didn’t want to hurt you. And now, I have. By keeping secrets. By letting a monster into our lives.”
Nash’s arms came around me, pulling me close. “I would put up with a million monsters for you.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes, a few cascading over my lower lids and tracking down my cheeks. “But you shouldn’t have to. You come from a normal family. You don’t welcome abusers into your life. I’m a mess, Nash. And I can’t help but think you’d be better off without me.”
Nash’s grip on me tightened. “Look at me.”
I brought my watery gaze to his.
“See me. See how I’ve loved you since that day in kindergarten. See how there’s been no one in this world who has understood me better than you. See how you make me feel free and accepted and whole. See how I would never want to live a day without you.”
The tears came faster. “Nash…”
“I love you with everything I have. And there is no one more perfect in my eyes than you. Not because you do everything just right, but because you always welcome me just as I am. You are my home, and I never want that to change.”
I pressed my face against his neck, my tears dampening his T-shirt. “I’ve loved you in every incarnation. And I don’t want to miss any future one either.”
“Good. Because I hate to break it to you, but you’re stuck with me.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, and I tipped my head back. “There’s no one I’d rather be stuck with.”
Nash dipped his head and took my mouth in a slow kiss. His tongue parted my lips with teasing strokes. Only when his warmth bled into me did I realize how cold I’d been.
I lost myself in the dance of our mouths, relishing every stroke. Nash’s hand slipped under my T-shirt, exploring my skin. His fingers felt like heaven, but I forced myself to pull back. “We can’t. You need to rest.”
He looked down at me, green eyes blazing. “I need you.”
I warred with myself. I wanted that closeness with Nash, to feel all of him. But more than that, I wanted him healthy and whole. “You could rip your stitches.”
The corner of Nash’s mouth kicked up. “Not if you do all the work.”
A smile stretched across my face as I shook my head. “You move too much, and I’ll tie you to the bed.”
“Kinky. I like it.” But he was already herding me toward the bedroom.
The second we were inside, he tugged his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor.
I wagged my finger back and forth. “I thought I said you weren’t allowed to move too much.”
He arched a brow at that.
I dropped to my knees, untying one boot. “Lift.”
He did, and I pulled it off. Then I repeated the action with the other. I straightened, my fingers going to the button on Nash’s jeans. I unfastened it and lowered the zipper. Tugging his jeans down, I looked up. “Step out.”
My voice was husky, even to my ears.
Nash’s eyes blazed, but he obeyed.
My fingers hooked in the waistband of his boxer briefs. My gaze locked with Nash’s as I pulled them down. I took my time, my fingers skimming down his muscular thighs and the rest of his legs. His cock stood at attention, straining.
The need coursing through Nash’s body made me feel powerful in a way I desperately needed. I leaned forward, taking him into my mouth. Nash groaned. “Mads…”
My tongue swirled from base to tip as Nash’s fingers tangled in my hair. I hollowed my cheeks, sucking him deep.
Nash cursed. “You gotta stop. I’m not gonna last. Need you too badly.”
I pulled back, staring up at him.
Nash’s thumb stroked across my cheek. “You’re too beautiful for words.” He bent, reaching for my shirt, but I leaned out of his way.
“Uh-uh-uh.” I pushed to my feet, pulling the fabric over my head and tossing it to the floor. My hands reached behind me and unhooked my bra. I let that drop, too.
The flare in Nash’s eyes had a smile stretching across my face. I unbuttoned my jeans and shimmied out of them and my panties as I kicked off my shoes. “On the bed.”
Nash slowly backed up until he hit the mattress, but he never took his eyes off me.
“Lay back.”
He did as I ordered, scooting back on the bed until his head was nestled on the pillows. Still, his eyes never left my body. He traced each dip and curve as if he were tattooing it on his brain.
I climbed onto the bed, straddling him, carefully avoiding his stitches. I hovered just shy of where we both wanted and stared down at him. “I love you, Nash. I always will.”
It was a promise and a vow. And I’d seal it with my body.
I sank onto him, my eyes closing at the delicious stretch.
Nash let out a guttural groan. “Nothing feels as good as you. You’re heaven and home all at the same time.”
His hands rested on my hips as I began rocking, finding that rhythm that was ours alone. Each tilt of my hips sent a spike of pleasure through me.
“Need your eyes, Mads.”
I’d gotten lost in the sensations, the sea that was Nash and me. But I forced my eyes open. Seeing the need in Nash, the want, the love, it sent fire blazing through my nerve endings.
The movements of my hips sped up as Nash’s hands tightened on them. My mouth fell open as the cord inside me pulled tight to the point of breaking.
“Love you, Maddie. Forever.”
His words were all it took. That cord snapped, fraying in a spiral of feeling. I let myself fall, knowing Nash would always be there to catch me.
