I came as often as the hospital allowed, remaining with Theo until the nurses had to chase me off. During that time, I cooled his burning skin with damp towels, fed him ice water through a syringe. I sat by his bedside and held his hand, calling upon every god and deity I could think of.
Those three days that Theo was unconscious were easily the longest of my life.
As the doctor had predicted, his condition deteriorated after our conversation that night. His skin burned with fever and he was delirious, thrashing from night terrors in his sleep. His eyes opened sometimes, glazed and unseeing, and he murmured incoherently about things that broke my heart.
I was grateful that the other guys dealt with police matters while I was with him. Theo had been right, it had been Charles Presley who had sent the assailant after him.
That was yet another problem on the list that seemed to be ever-growing, but knowing that Ryland was on it took a huge load off my mind. It also meant that the guys weren’t here during Theo’s moments of weakness. Theo would have hated for anyone to see him in such a vulnerable state.
I cared for Theo the best I could, taking over the nurses’ duties whenever they allowed. It broke my heart to see him weakened and delirious. The hoarse pleas that he murmured in his sleep revealed so much about the boy that Theo tried to hide away from the world. It made me want to go back in time to be there for him, but I could only hold his hand as he re-lived those nightmares alone.
One night, his eyes opened. My heart leaped for a moment, until I realized that he was still insensible. Those amber eyes were unfocused and unseeing, darting wildly from another nightmare.
I tried to talk to him. “Theo? Can you hear me?”
“Who?”
“It's still me. Karin.”
His hand flexed in mine instinctively, gripping so hard my fingers felt like it would break.
“Karin.” He licked his dry lips, his voice raw. “Don't go.”
“I'm not going anywhere.” I held his hand with my other one, gripping tightly as if I could transfer my strength to him that way. “I'm right here.”
“Don’t leave. I'm sorry.”
I blinked away the sudden heat in my eyes. “I won't. I'm staying right here with you, I promise.”
Theo didn't seem to have heard me. He became incoherent again, and I could only wait and pray.
Someone up there must have heard my desperation, because after a long, torturous night, Theo woke again.
This time, he stared right at me with amber eyes that were weary but alert.
“Hello,” he murmured, looking as if he was surprised to see me.
I was stunned too, and filled with impossible hope. “Hello.”
“What day is it?” he asked.
“Wednesday.”
“Was it Presley?”
“Uh huh.”
“I’ll sue the fucking pants off the wanker,” Theo muttered, closing his eyes in irritation. “He’ll rot and die in a cell.”
I burst out in a startled laugh, tears mingling with my relief.
Theo cracked a smile in response, and that was when I knew he was going to be okay.
***
I was in the hospital for two weeks. It felt like two years.
When I awoke, I expected to be let out and free to carry on with whatever the hell I wanted, but all they did was transfer me to a regular private ward for further investigation.
I didn't need further investigation, I needed to be out of this bloody room and these ridiculous garments. I badly needed a shave, and I needed to get my bearings back.
But more imperatively, I needed to be somewhere away from Karin where she wouldn't see me in my current state—weak, defenseless, utterly vulnerable.
Karin didn’t notice my unease, or if she did, she ignored it. She insisted on fussing over me every single day, poring over every minute detail. She asked if the bandage was pulling on the stitches. She checked my temperature every ten minutes. She texted Mrs Smith updates on my condition every day. Just this morning I was subjected to a video call where the two of them took turns lamenting my pitiful plight.
It came as a relief, therefore, when I was finally discharged. I received the news like a man in hell reaching for a glass of iced water.
Karin zipped up the overnight bag at the base of the hospital bed and patted it with a satisfied look. “I’ve got all your medications in here. Did I miss anything?”
The bag was bursting at the seams with things she had brought from my place previously—a toothbrush, shaving kit, enough spare clothing to outfit the whole of Africa.
I looked away, irritable and unable to meet her gaze when I was in this pathetic state. “Stop fussing Karin, I’m not an invalid.”
“You were just a week ago. Can’t you skip the dressy pants and wear sweats instead? No one's going to judge you.”
“Absolutely not. Sweatpants are strictly for working out—they do not exit the gym.”
“Well, joke’s on you. You won’t get to wear sweatpants for a looong time, because the doctor said no exercise or activity that pulls on your stitches, no alcohol, no smoking, no—”
“He might as well neuter me and be done with it,” I muttered.
Karin scowled. “You agreed to those instructions yourself, remember? No take-backs.”
I cursed and sat back in the bed, letting my eyes slide shut for a second. “You sure took advantage of my drug-induced stupor.”
“Advantage?” Karin‘s eyes bugged. “You’ve been a complete freaking nightmare! Snapping at everyone, walking around without a nurse…” She glared at me. “Trying to escape in the middle of the night.”
I shrugged. “I had to get back to work.”
“Oh, please. You hate work.”
“I hate this more. Sitting here like a bedridden fool while you do everything for me.” I looked away, disgusted and embarrassed at myself. “I’ve been rendered fucking useless.”
“You're injured. No one’s gonna judge you for letting me take care of you.”
“I still don’t like it.”
That was the biggest lie I ever told. The problem was that I liked Karin fussing over me far too much. I liked having her attention all to myself, and that was as alarming as it was infuriating. I was anything but needy—it would be a cold day in hell when that happened.
“Like it or not, I’m taking your bag. And please, please use the crutch this time.” She raised her eyebrows. “Unless you want another two weeks in here. I could try to catch you if you fall, but I can’t guarantee it.”
The threat of another fortnight in this white-walled prison made me cave. Karin let me lean on her as I got up with the help of the crutch. I felt another disconcerting bout of helplessness at my dependency on her.
My decision to give in to Karin was promptly regretted the moment we went out to the waiting area.
Three wary faces greeted me, with Gabriel and Cam looking significantly surlier than Ryland. I was taken aback that all three of them had showed up.
“You made it out alive.” Cam folded his arms, staring at me in the same way he used to with people he mistrusted. “Not surprising. If you're that easy to kill, I’d have done it years ago.”
“Cyanide,” Gabriel said decisively. “Into his coffee. He won’t taste it cause it’s bitter like his fucking soul.”
I shifted my weight against the crutch, trying not to look like a ridiculous twat. “Easton, has anyone told you today that you're pretty damned witty?”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes warily. “No?”
“Well, there's always tomorrow.”
Gabriel snarled, and Karin gave me a ferocious glare.
Ryland quickly got up, ever ready to disperse the situation. “Valentine.”
“Wyatt. I understand you’ve been pursuing matters with Charles Presley.”
The dark-haired male nodded. “The old man’s all but done. I’ve been waiting for this a long time, so thanks for the excuse to do it.”
“You’re welcome,” I said smoothly. “You’ve also held off on the matter with Estelle while I was…”
“Bedridden?”
“Out of commission. I… appreciate that you waited.” I rarely indebted myself to anyone, and my thanks was dragged out of me through clenched teeth.
Ryland looked surprised for a moment, but he recovered quickly. “No problem, you’ll know better how to deal with her anyway.” He watched me closely, wearing the same look that Cam and Gabriel had—the one that said they didn’t know yet whether or not to trust me. “Unless you've changed your mind?”
“He hasn’t,” Karin answered confidently. She stood by my side, a tiny thing clutching that oversized bag, having no doubt that I would do the right thing this time and not let her down.
I felt a tightness in my chest as I gazed at her profile. “I haven't.”
Ryland nodded once, relieved. “Good. We’d have taken her out without you if it came down to it, but it’s nice to have everyone on the same page for once.”
“I agree. I'm done dragging this on; it's time to end it. Make the arrangements and keep me posted.”
Icy blue eyes narrowed at me. “I don't take orders either, Valentine,” Ryland echoed the words I said to him months ago. “And welcome back.”
After Ryland dropped Karin and me at my residence, he made Karin swear to be home by night time.
“As your future brother-in-law—”
“I know, you have to keep me safe to keep Allie safe, so on and so forth. Got it. I’ll see you back home, bye!” Karin shut the door in his face just as he opened his mouth to add something.
I smiled in satisfaction. One could only deal with Ryland Wyatt in small doses or the high-handedness would get too overwhelming to bear.
Karin heaved a loud, satisfied sigh as she dumped the overnight bag on my sofa. “That went well,” she said cheerfully.
I turned and made my way back to my bedroom on the ridiculous crutch, eager to be rid of it. “It went spectacularly badly.”
It was my first time in ten years meeting all three of them together again, and conversation had been stilted. That was hardly surprising seeing as we were enemies now, but that didn't mean it hadn't struck some kind of nerve within me.
Karin caught up to me, taking my other arm to support me.
“That feeling you have right now?” she offered. “It's called regret. People use it as a sign not to make the same mistake again, hint hint.”
“Point taken, princess.”
“You feel it with me too, don't you?”
I did, on a degree that was a thousand times more intense. I regretted that things turned out the way they did. I regretted being the one who made it that way.
But most of all, I regretted not having the strength to fix it earlier.
“As a matter of fact,” I eased down on my bed and tossed the crutch aside, “I do.”
“What changed it?”
“You,” I said simply. “You're the source for my courage, or what little of it that I have.”
“Objection, judge sir,” Karin declared, “but this man has a lot of courage indeed.”
My lips quirked. “It’s “Your Honor.””
“Yeah, it disappeared the moment you seduced me. What about it?”
Her grin was infectious. “You seduced me, princess. That much is obvious.”
“This time, maybe. But back then…” She sighed wistfully. “You made me fall so in love with you.”
“And I let you go,” I said in a low voice. “I was a fool.”
“You still are. I'm waiting for you to notice that I'm straddling you.”
As if that would fly under my radar. Her pussy was mere inches from my cock, and I was already growing hard.
I raised a brow. “Didn’t you mention something about doctor's orders not too long ago?”
“No activities that may tear your stitches,” Karin said dutifully. “But you're about to find out that I can be very, very gentle…”
I groaned when she cupped my cock through my pants. “Karin, love, I appreciate the thought, but I have to ask.” I took her hand and held it in mine, loathe to let go.
“You know by now that I’m not good for you,” I said grimly. “Are you certain you want to get tangled up in me?”
Karin’s gaze softened. “I told you a thousand times that I’m not afraid of you.”
“And you got hurt because of that.” My jaw tightened. “I won’t let it happen again. Whatever bullshit I’m embroiled in, I intend to keep you far from it.”
“But that’s not what I want,” she protested. “I want to help you out of that bullshit.”
“I won’t risk you, Karin. Nothing will change my mind.”
“Hmm…” Karin’s eyes narrowed in thought. “What about this…?”
She took the hem of her dress as she watched me, her lips curving provocatively. The fabric trailed up her thighs at a torturously slow speed, revealing smooth, creamy skin that begged to have my tongue on it.
“Poor baby, it must have hurt so bad,” she purred. “I'll take good care of you. You just lay back and enjoy…”
My gaze never left the ascent of her dress, sharpening hungrily when it finally came to the juncture between her thighs. Blood rushed to my cock when Karin revealed what was underneath.
Or rather, what wasn’t underneath.
“Surprise,” she breathed, holding her skirts up like she’d just unwrapped a present for me. The way her legs straddled me showed off her pussy to its full effect; wet, slick, and spread wide for me.
“I went commando for the occasion.” She bit her lip. “You like? Sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
I laughed hoarsely. “I’m grateful you didn’t, or I’d have taken you right there in the hospital ward.”
“Does this mean you’ll change your mind about keeping me out of your problems?”
“Not at all.” I ran my hands up her thighs, feeling her warm curves under my fingers. Karin sucked in a breath as I went higher, jerking when my thumbs brushed her clit.
“Too much?”
She gasped when I began to pet her clit. “N-no, but I’m supposed to be pleasing you.”
“But you are, with the show you’re putting on for me. Give me more.”
Karin obeyed, taking off her dress completely and tossing it on the floor. She straddled my erection in my pants, gloriously naked in the glow of the late afternoon sun. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and down to her waist like vines of wildflowers.
God, but she was magnificent.
I took her breasts in my hands, lifting and squeezing. They were large and generous, nearly overflowing in my hands. Her areolas were puckered, the color of roses, and their effect against her pale, translucent skin was mind-numbingly erotic.
I needed a taste.
“Give it to me,” I murmured. “Put it in my mouth.”
Karin got on her knees, careful not to jostle my wound. She placed her hands on my shoulders, lowering her breasts to me. Her right nipple hovered over my face, teasing me and rubbing over my lips.
I captured it in my mouth with a ragged groan, suckling and working it eagerly. The feeling of the round, hard bud against my tongue nearly made me come in my pants.
A soft gasp escaped Karin and she pressed closer still, demanding more. My hands went unerringly to where she needed me. I held her hip with one hand, the other slipping between her thighs to fondle her slick lips.
“Theo!” Karin moaned loudly at the contact, her back arching so her breast went deeper into my mouth and her pussy was angled against my hand.
I slipped two fingers into her, priming her to take my cock later. Karin bit her lip, moving on them with her eyes closed. She was growing wetter by the second, soaking my fingers. The scent of her arousal nearly drove me insane with lust.
She began to tighten around me, but before she could come, she eased off my hand.
“Take it off,” she said breathlessly, reaching clumsily for the buttons on my shirt. I shed it as she reached for my belt and got rid of that too. I undid the button of my pants, slid the zipper down.
Finally I eased the waistband of my boxer briefs down to reveal my cock, already stiff and aching for her.
Karin wasted no time. She wrapped her fingers around my shaft and began to pleasure me, sliding her hand up and down in steady strokes. Air hissed through my teeth as she worked me.
“You’re so big.” She licked her lips, her silver gaze watching as a bead of precum emerged from the slit of the head. “I want to taste you.”
Without warning, Karin shifted down to my cock, taking the head into her mouth.
I thrust helplessly, and she made a sound of pleasure as she lapped up the precum I was making for her.
“I love how much you want me,” she murmured, holding my stunned gaze as she kissed her way down the side of my shaft. “I can’t think of anything else other than putting you inside me.”
My hands sank into her wild hair, torn between holding her down and pulling her up so she could fuck me.
The latter worn out. I clutched her ass as she straddled me once more, her pussy mere inches from the head of my erection.
“Could we do it raw?” she asked shyly.
“Absolutely.” There would only be Karin from now on, no one else. I was done with the pale imitations of her when she was irreplaceable.
Her eyes went heavy-lidded as she lowered herself, sliding her hot, tight passage onto my erection.
“Bloody fucking—” My head fell back on the pillow as Karin seated herself all the way on my cock. Her wet heat took every inch of me inside her, squeezing me in little pulsing tremors that made my eyes roll back in my head.
Then she started to ride me.
“Fuck yes,” I groaned. “Use it all you want, love.”
Karin braced her hands on my chest, taking me deeper into her with every roll of her hips. Her lips were parted, faint pants coming from her as she rode me. Her scent surrounded me; the sweet vanilla of her shampoo, the musk from her pussy. I took it all in, growing harder with every passing second that I was inside her body.
“I thought about us so much the past week,” Karin whispered, rocking her body on mine. “I remembered how much we wanted each other, and how much we gave up.”
I palmed her ass, squeezing her as she moved. “Does this have anything to do with—” I groaned when her inner muscles clenched around me, “—with the shit I spouted when I was sedated?”
“Uh huh.” Karin began moving faster, her eyes glazed with pleasure. “You said everything I wanted to hear.”
I groaned aloud as she bounced on my cock. “And what did I say?”
“You said…” Karin’s nails sank into my chest as she gasped loudly. “You said the “S” word.”
“Sex?”
“Sorry. And not just that.” She threw her head back, an expression of pure ecstasy on her face. “You said… the “L” word.”
I wasn’t surprised I had. I had been in love with Karin for years now.
A ragged groan escaped my throat, and I sank my hands into her ass and slammed up into her.
Karin cried out in bliss, and the sweet sound nearly made me spill inside her. “Theo! Your w-wound—”
My wound be damned. Karin Beckett was riding me; I wasn’t going to let this moment slip me by.
I held her down as I thrust into her, taking her the way I’d always dreamed about. My solid mahogany bed began to shake, the frame hitting the wall in time to our lovemaking.
“Theo...” Karin was breathless as she moved on me. “Theo, yes… Oh god, I’m coming.” Her silver eyes were dazed as she rolled her hips. “I’m com—oh god, yes, yesss…”
Karin arched her body as she cried out and ground herself on me. Her inner muscles clamped greedily around every inch of my cock, squeezing tighter than a hand. It felt so bloody good that I nearly spilled.
I forced myself to hold it inside her until she released me. Then I withdrew, took my cock in my hand and pumped hard, once, twice. Hot ropes of cum lashed across Karin’s breasts as I came harder than I ever had in my life.
I yelled her name as I thrust helplessly into my hand. Karin watched, looking breathless and fascinating at the way I was losing control for her.
“Bloody fucking hell.” My voice was ragged with desire. “Karin…”
My hand blindly found her thigh where she straddled me She was trembling from her climax, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Her hair was wild, her lips swollen. Her skin was pink all over.
I stared at her in shock. “That was…”
“I know,” she panted.
Then she craned her head, looking down at my cum on her body. “There’s like a billion of you in here,” she breathed.
God, she said the damnedest things. I’d never grow tired of the surprises.
Eager to have her in my arms again, I wasted no time in grabbing a handful of tissues from the bedside. Karin cleaned herself up with them and tossed them aside, then lay back down in bed with me.
She bit her lip. “Does your wound hurt?”
“No.”
“How do you feel?”
I considered her question. “I feel… strange.”
“Hmm. A good kind of strange?”
“Absolutely.”
There was still work to be done, but it didn’t seem quite so suffocating now. In fact, I doubted I had ever felt more at peace.
I frowned down at Karin in wonder. The effect she had on me was shocking. For the first time in my life I wasn’t restless, aching to get up and do something else. I had spent my life chasing distractions, never knowing contentment, or if I was even capable of it.
Now that Karin was in my arms, in my bed, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
“You’re going to see Estelle soon, aren’t you?” Karin asked, shifting on her side to gaze at me. “Will you be okay?”
“It’ll be unpleasant, but I’ll be alright.”
“Okay.” She reached a finger out, tracing my bandages lightly. “When the time comes, I’ll be waiting outside to cheer you on. And when we get home… I’ll give you a new present.”
The promise of her present had my attention, but one other word stood out. “Home?”
“Uh huh. Oh, didn’t I tell you?” She grinned. “I’m moving in with you.”
Her words made me stupidly hopeful, but I tried to rein it in. “Are you certain? I wanted to do it properly this time, give you all the romantic things you dreamed of.”
“Oh please, you’ve already blown it out of the water.” She patted my arm reassuringly. “I’m a smart girl. I see a guy who’s literally willing to jump in front of a knife for me, I snap him up faster than a dollar bill.”
I frowned at her in wonder. “If this is a dream, it’s very realistic.”
“Isn’t it?” Karin’s gray eyes were soft as she nestled her cheek in my open palm. “And in this dream, I say the “F” word to you.”
“You’ll have to tell me what that means, love. The “F” word means something else to the rest of the world.”
“I forgive you.”
My chest clenched. “I like your definition better.”
Karin lay back in bed, smug with satisfaction. “I know.”
I couldn’t help a smile as I watched her. It seemed hard to believe that after all these years, what I’d always dreamed of but never dared hope for was finally within reach.
But as usual, Karin wasn't one to respond in the usual way.
Out of nowhere, her eyes started filling with tears. She sniffled loudly, and I was instantly alarmed.
“What's the matter? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No.” She dabbed at her eyes. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Don’t ever put yourself in danger like that again.”
I lay back down in relief. “If the need ever arises again, I would. I’d die for you.”
“You almost did,” Karin retorted.
Then she bit her lip, looking hesitant. “But I want something more than that,” she admitted. “I want you to live, properly, and happily. I know it’s hard, but I’ll be here with you. Promise me you’ll try?”
I stared at the girl in my arms, bewildered and humbled by her. She was made for me, and I was not about to let her go again. Not for anything, or anyone.
“Alright,” I found myself saying. “I promise.”