***Doll***
I’m still a little groggy when I wake up for a second time. The doctors gave me something for the pain. Apparently, a piece cut through the vest when I got shot twice in the same spot, and it caused not only my ribs to bruise, but also some lacerations. I’m all patched up, but they’ve ordered me to sleep off the sedation and then I’m allowed to go home. Or I think so because I’m sure that’s what Ramrod said the first time I woke up.
I’m hearing people talk and I might be imagining things, but I swear I hear Xena. “So that idiot is taken care of? For good? I mean…not like he can come back from the dead and go on another killing spree, right? Because I would be seriously pissed off if I either get a call like I had a few hours ago, or even worse, one where I’m told I lost my best friend.”
“I made sure to pump him full of lead before I made him roadkill. Not to mention a public statement went to the media about the missing money. If anyone would be looking for it, it will all stop now, case closed. Don’t you worry your pretty face over such things, Rusty Fox.” Lochlan voice lowers into a smooth voice at the end.
Shit…did he just…
“Pretty face, huh? Rusty Fox, huh?” Xena repeats in an overly done husky voice that’s more mocking Lochlan than trying to seduce him, and I fist the sheets as I open my eyes…because this I gotta see.
Ramrod is right next to me but he’s watching those two interact. Xena is standing at the end of my bed, taking a step closer to Lochlan as she eyes his appearance. “Well now, overgrown Viking with your weird bracelets…”
Lochlan narrows his eyes. “My kid gave me those.”
Xena’s face falls but she keeps staring right at him and tips her head to the side. “You suck. Everything about you says there aren’t any kids in your life, am I right? That’s kind of like a low blow there making me feel sorry for saying that.”
I can’t help but snort. Xena is brilliant when it comes to figuring people out, and she saw right through that Viking, that’s for sure.
Ramrod’s face is suddenly blocking my view as he takes my head in his hands. “How are you feeling?”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It hurts like hell to do so, but it’s manageable. “Okay, I think. In pain but still here.”
“Fuck. I’m glad to hear that,” Ramrod tells me before he gently pushes his lips against mine but pulls back way too soon.
“I shouldn’t have pierced my tongue,” I mutter in frustration.
“You pierced your tongue?” Xena squeals and rushes to the other side of me. “Lemme see.”
I roll my eyes but do as she says, causing her to stick out her own tongue, showing off her piercing. Except she’s got a little scull instead of a ball.
“Fucking hell. I’m out of here,” Lochlan growls and stomps away.
“Jeezzz, he’s a grumpy one, isn’t he?” Xena mutters.
I turn to Ramrod. “I’m ready to get out of here too…do you think they’d let me?” Then I realize something and gasp before I say, “How’s Broke, any news?”
Ramrod’s face falls. “He’s got a fifty-fifty shot of pulling through. He’s out of surgery but he’s lost a lot of blood. We won’t know until tomorrow, if he pulls through the night. Chopper might be facing a few weeks of healing time, but other than that, he’s fine.”
My heart races at the thought that Broke might not survive. Wait…what? “Chopper? What happened?”
“Shit,” Ramrod mutters. “I thought you caught that the first time I told you, must be the anesthetic, dozing off or something…anyway, he crashed when they were following us and Arlo on the bike. Arlo shot at his bike and he flipped over. He’s got old leg injuries so it’s a bit tricky, meaning he’s got a few triggers that spike nightmares and shit, but he’s not in a life-threatening situation or anything.”
“Shit. What a mess…we’re going to need a lot of strength for all of us to pull through. Are you okay?” I eye his leg because I’m very much aware that Arlo shot him in the leg.
Although he might act as if he’s not hurt, it’s not a ‘let me put a band-aid on it’ but more like a ‘keep that leg elevated and taken care of’ kinda injury.
“I’m fine. Let me go find a nurse so we can speed things up and get you, and yeah…me too, into our own bed, huh?” Ramrod kisses the tip of my nose before he leaves the room.
It takes another two hours before I’m indeed in our own bed. Well, not exactly our own bed, but in a room over at the clubhouse because Ramrod doesn’t want me to climb up the stairs. Although he might not admit that he can’t climb the stairs with his wounded leg either. He also wants us to be close to the others and have Xena in a room next to us. All of this makes me fall even more for the man that already holds my heart.
It’s early morning when he slides underneath the covers ever so slowly so the mattress doesn’t shake that much. My ribs hurt, and every breath I take is rough, but it also makes me aware I’m alive to feel pain. As well as love, because that’s what I feel the most. His love.
Ramrod flips on the TV and sighs. This sigh might not mean much to anyone else, but I can hear the words he’s not saying in it. He wants to pull me close but he also doesn’t want to hurt me, it obviously pains him. But what he doesn’t know is that it also pains me and that I’d rather have the physical hurt than not being able to feel and have his scent wrapped around me. I try to move but that hurts like hell so a frustrated growl leaves my throat.
The damn man chuckles. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I angrily tell him. “I’m not. I want to be in your arms, on your chest. Kissing, with tongue I might add, and I can’t do any of those things.”
Now he’s openly laughing at me. “Come here love, let me help you. We might not be able to play with your piercing, but I can gently place you against me as long as you’re comfortable, because I want you close to me so fucking much.”
I sigh in contentment, with pain, but it’s easily forgotten when I hear his heartbeat and his strong arm is keeping me in place. Ramrod kisses the top of my head and mutters something I can’t hear but automatically I reply, “I love you too.”
His body freezes and he gently tips my head back. “You heard? You do?”
Smiling, I tell him, “I didn’t, but I do…so could you repeat it, or tell me again so I can hear it?”
“I fucking love you so damn much, woman,” he growls and takes my mouth in a rough kiss but my tongue is still burning and when I whimper, he pulls back.
“Shit. I can’t even say I’m sorry. But I’m so fucking thankful to have you here in my arms. We just need to fast forward a few weeks so you’re healed and I can fuck you. Damn…and slide my cock in your mouth so I can enjoy your piercing in many ways,” Ramrod groans.
“Stop talking,” I tell him because my pussy is starting to hurt already and it’s not something I can deal with right now. “Pick a movie so we can fall asleep like this and make the days pass faster.”
“Smart woman,” he tells me as he picks a movie and hits play.
We both get lost in the feeling of gentle strokes, his hand on my back, my fingers sliding over his bare chest, knowing we have all the time in the world to enjoy each other fully for the rest of our lives. Because for the first time since we’re together…there’s no threat hanging above our heads.
I’ve lost my sister. There’s no getting back from that, or the loss I feel. But I know I have someone to lean on, to share this with, and I know he has my back every step of the way.
We got some good news an hour ago when Deeds woke us and entered the room to tell us that Broke pulled through the night. The doctors think he’ll have a fighting chance to fully recover. I might have cried in relief when I heard that. Even though I don’t know the other ol’ladies that well, they have already entered my heart in a friendship that’s meant to grow stronger each day.
“Stop humming that song,” I mutter but I’m smiling so freaking big while butterflies overtake my stomach.
“Not until you give me an answer,” Ramrod tells me.
“Not until you pop the question instead of humming a song, you dork,” I fire back.
“I wanna marry you,” Ramrod tells me.
“Yes,” I reply and wait to see his face light up before I add, “That’s the song you were humming. I love music, and I love it when you sing ridiculously loud and mess up the lyrics.”
He narrows his eyes at me for not giving him a direct answer, but I can’t hold back the full-blown smile. “And you, I love you, and my answer is yes, I will marry you.”
His tongue is in my mouth again, knowing we shouldn’t, but I’ll rinse my mouth in a minute because right now I need to seal this moment with a kiss that truly captures what we both have been waiting for…just us, and the rest of our lives together.