Chapter Nine
Though the doctor wanted to treat Miracle privately, Beast wouldn’t have it. He reluctantly left the room, but not until Miracle agreed to have Barbie remain. Barbie smiled and winked at her and Miracle relaxed on the bed while the doctor prodded and poked. He stared into her eyes, listened to her chest and her back, pressed parts of her throat. Between all this he scribbled against a chart, set it on the bed, tested her reflexes then muttered something about getting her prepped for an MRI. After more tests, he suggested a CT scan. He wanted to see if there were any issues with her brain after being on the brink of drowning so many times.
“You didn’t break anything,” the doctor said. “You’re going to be bruised, sore and swollen in some places for a few days. But you’re a lucky woman.”
Miracle felt lucky. She managed a smile.
Finally, before the doctor left the room, to set up the tests, he listened to her lungs again, scribbled in his chart and left with it.
“Is Beast always this ornery?” Miracle asked, pulling the hospital gown around her needlessly. It barely covered her ass. She didn’t want to accidentally flash poor Barbie.
“Only when he cares for someone,” Barbie replied. “And the short time since he’s met you, you’ve gotten a nickname and had him go rogue. I’d say he cares.”
Miracle’s cheeks burned. “I care about him too.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “He’s different than other men, you know? And the fact that the first time I met him he was half naked and grinding on me—is only a bonus.”
Barbie grinned. “Yeah. It seems I’ve been meeting men the wrong way.”
“I’d say. You need to get with the times.” Miracle laughed.
Beast entered the room then and sat on the side of her bed. Barbie patted Miracle’s shoulder and silently left the room. Alone with him, Miracle shifted so she could look up at him. He smiled at her then leaned in to kiss her deeply. Miracle moaned and pressed a palm to his chest.
“You scared me, Fleur.” Beast admitted, lifting his head to drop feather light kisses to her forehead, between her eyes, against her chin then her lips. “I was so terrified I’d never see you again.”
“I wasn’t worried.” She lied easily. “I knew once Tex got my message, you wouldn’t be far. I tried getting out and hiding but I didn’t know the layout of the place and...”
“So, the man with the cloth in his mouth and the bash against the head was you?” Beast asked. “We found him in a small room.”
Miracle nodded.
“That’s my girl.”
She grinned.
“You know that deal we made about not making love until this was all over?” Beast asked.
“Mmhmm.”
“It’s stupid.”
“I agree.”
“So.” Beast smoothed a large hand down one of her thigh then up another. “What’re we going to do about it?”
Miracle toyed with the front of his shirt, watching her fingers skim over the material. “Well, when we get out of here, you’ll take me home...”
“To my home.”
The strength of that one sentence made her tremble.
“To your home,” Miracle corrected. “And I’ll take a bath. Then, I’ll wait for you, naked in your bed. Is that something you could deal with?”
“I’ll learn.” He smirked. “But baby, you’ve been through hell. You’re in pain. I can wait.”
“I didn’t break anything,” Miracle said. “Ask my doctor. I’m sore, yes but I want you.”
“And I’ll wait until tomorrow before we make love.”
“Beast. I’m not fragile.”
“Fleur, please just trust me. Once you’re healed, I will do anything you want to your body.”
Miracle’s heart leapt with joy and nervousness. If she played her cards right, she’d be having her Beast very soon. After a few more searing kisses, the doctor cleared his throat and the reluctance in Beast’s eyes caused Miracle to touch his cheek. “It’s okay, hon.”
“We must take Fräulein Jones for her scans now. Once she has completed those, she will be free to go home, if we do not find any abnormalities.“
Miracle nodded.
A few female nurses entered and helped her from her bed and into a wheelchair. Though she wanted to protest, that she could walk, she didn’t want to worry Beast any more than she already had. She blew him a kiss just before they wheeled her from the room. As they made their way along the corridor, she glanced back to see Barbie walking liesurely along behind her nurses.
Miracle smiled.
After Beast took Miracle back to his place. The rest of the CIRO group opted, reluctantly, to give them some space. Though they called every day to see how she was doing, Barbie even stopping in to talk to Miracle in private. Beast didn’t pry.
A week passed with Beast regulating Miracle to bed. Her bruises were healing and she ached less but Beast was still scared—Miracle knew that. It was cute at first but after the first day she wanted to scream. She was tired of having him clean her body with a wet wash cloth and orange scented body wash. Saturday close to dinner time, Miracle frowned and climbed out of bed even with Beast protesting.
She made an irritated sound in her throat and glared at him. “Alric Gerhart! I’m taking a bath today. And that’s the end of that.”
Beast kissed her deeply then promised to have something ready for them to eat by the time she got out. But as she stared into the tub, with the water, Miracle found she was glued to where she stood. Just the sight of it caused fear to rise in in her throat, threatening to choke her. She covered her face with her hands, unable to stop the sensation of being held under the water, of the air leaving her lungs and panic set in.
Though she knew she was safe, Miracle couldn’t shake off the panic. She sobbed softly while reaching for a towel. After wrapping it around her body, she made her way out to the kitchen and waited until Beast turned to her.
“That was a fast...Miracle?” He rushed to her.
Miracle fell into his chest and sobbed harder. His arms circled her as he rubbed her back and kissed her head.
“Tell me what’s wrong? What can I do?”
“Can you take a shower with me?” Miracle managed. “I can’t...I can’t be alone in the water.”
“Sure.” Beast lifted her head from him so he could see her eyes. “Sure. You should talk to someone.”
“Someone?”
“A professional.”
“Beast, I’m not crazy.”
“I know that, Fleur. But you’ve been through something very traumatic. No one expects you to come out of that unscathed and asking for help isn’t a weakness.” Beast caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “I’ll go with you if you want, but someone who’s trained to handle this kind of thing would be better at helping you than me. Please, promise me you’ll let me take you to see someone.”
“I promise...”
“Okay. Let me turn off the stove and we can get washed up.”
This time when Beast took her into the shower, Miracle kept her eyes on him. She refused to look at the tub or the standing shower. She watched him peel his clothes off to expose his gorgeous body. Her eyes dipped to the black bands. “Who did you lose?”
“Lose?”
Miracle touched the bands around his right forearm.
“Right—their names were Bullet and Soul—short for Soul Train. They were two of the original members of my team. Bullet died in a car accident a year after the team formed. Soul passed away in his sleep two years later.”
“I’m sorry.”
Beast smiled at her. “Don’t be. It was a while ago. Now, it’s time to focus on you. Are you ready?”
Miracle nodded. “You told me you were brought up by nuns? What’s up with that?”
“My parents died when I was about six,” Beast explained, raking his fingers through her hair. “I had no other family so the government took control of their estate and me.”
“Were you ever adopted?”
“No.”
“Baby.” Miracle sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. If I had been adopted, I’d probably be a lawyer or something. Then I wouldn’t become GSG 9. I wouldn’t be a CIRO and I wouldn’t have met you.”
Miracle blushed. “Aww.” She had to kiss him then. “That’s a beautiful thing to say. Do you want children?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t think about it.”
He laughed. “Don’t have to. I think I’d be an amazing father.”
She kissed his cheek then for she agreed with him.
Beast pulled her towel away and she shivered as his gaze touched her body. But his eyes didn’t go hot and sexy as before. Instead, he gritted his teeth and took her hand. Miracle sighed and took a shaky step toward the shower. But the moment she lifted a foot in, she was paralyzed.
“It’s okay, Miracle,” Beast whispered. “You’re safe. You’re with me.”
Miracle shook her head. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can. You’re strong.” Beast kissed the back of her fingers. “I believe in you.”
Hearing those words from him, gave her the strength to lift her other foot in, but she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest. She felt him shift around until water, the perfect temperature, landed against her back. She gasped and squeezed her eyes closed tighter.
Next was the scent of orange. They’d stopped on their way over to buy a few things she needed but Miracle couldn’t concentrate. Instead, Beast picked up everything. The body wash was one of those things. It calmed her as he washed her back, her neck, then lathered her hair. Panic surged through her then but Beast cooed at her softly while sliding his fingers through the wet strands. Those simple actions eased the tension away, and she sighed against him.
He continued working away at her body, massaging her shoulders, her lower back and the spot between her shoulders. When it was time to do her front, Miracle reluctantly leaned away from his body so he could reach between her breasts, over her stomach then between her legs.
He bathed her with care, washed her hair with gentle fingers and once he rinsed her body, he embraced her beneath the water. They kissed, Beast turning his back to the downpour. Miracle suddenly forgot all about what had happened and the fear she felt when it came to water. In that moment all that mattered was the man with his arms around her, his lips pressed to hers and a swelling of her heart that made her want to fly.
When the water ran cold, Beast helped her from the tub, dragged a towel over her to dry her. He stopped long enough to wrap a towel around his hips then carried her to bed. He then disappeared into the bathroom but soon he returned.
“You’re wearing too much,” Miracle told him.
“It’s only a towel. And I thought you may want to rest a little,” Beast said.
“No,” Miracle said. “You promised.”
He bowed his head but the smile he had on his lips couldn’t be hidden.
“You’re a beast, aren’t you?” She teased.
Beast looked at her, a brow arched.
“Prove it.” Miracle dared.