Josh
He blinked, slowly coming back into consciousness.
The first thing he saw was a pair of very concerned-looking hazel eyes peering down at him.
“Hi,” came a voice from just below the eyes, the sounds emerging from between a pair of beautifully plump lips. Sandy-brown hair hung down the one side of her head, framing her facial features perfectly on that side.
Hannah.
“Hello, beautiful,” he murmured, surprised to hear his voice actually work.
The face above him blushed and pulled back slightly.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” another voice said dryly, gathering his attention.
Josh tilted his head slightly to the side to see a familiar face.
“Ajax?” he mumbled, the words coming out thicker as he tried to speak with some volume.
The big bear shifter smiled. “Well, his memory is intact as well. That’s a shame.” Then to Josh he said, “Yes, it’s me, alive and well and back in King City.”
There was laughter around him. He blinked sleep from his eyes as best he could and craned his head. Everyone was there.
Ajax and his mate Arianna. Jared, Connor and Madison, Justin and Shay. And of course, the most beautiful of all.
Hannah.
“Why does it look like I just spoiled someone’s funeral?” he asked.
A warm hand caressed his cheek, bringing a sigh of contentment from him.
“Because that explosion messed you up big time,” Hannah said.
“Really? Other than needing some water, a shower, and some time alone with you, I feel fine,” he said, gathering himself and sitting up in the bed, ignoring the laughter and look of embarrassment on Hannah’s face.
“She’s telling the truth,” Madison said, stepping forward. “The bomb drove a piece of metal into your skull. The exterior wound closed over it however, and your damn head is so solid that it was embedded within it, so it didn’t get pushed out. We finally took you to a hospital for some scans when you didn’t wake up, and that’s when we found it.”
Josh looked around, wide-eyed. “No shit,” he said slowly with a whistle. “How long was I out?”
Madison looked over at Hannah.
“A week,” she said.
“Bullshit,” he scoffed. “Shifters don’t fall unconscious for that long.”
Then he saw the look on Hannah’s face.
“Hey,” he said, cradling her head and bringing it close to his, until their foreheads rested against each other. “I’m fine,” he told her, ignoring the others as they filed from the room to give the pair some time alone.
He felt a tremor run through her body, then she pushed herself up onto the bed next to him without saying a word.
“Hannah,” he said. “I’m okay now.”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she said, and then the tears began to fall.
“You didn’t,” he whispered softly. “I’m here now, and I’ve got you.” He wrapped his arm around her a little more snugly to prove his point.
Hannah let out a deep breath and wormed her way even tighter into his arms, resting her head on his chest.
“Good,” she said. “Because I don’t want to go through this again with anyone else.”
“Me neither,” he agreed. The next words slipped out before he could filter them through his brain. “I love you, Hannah,” he said softly into her ear.
Her hand reached up to brush against his jaw. “And I love you,” she said, tilting her head up so that he could kiss her.
With a growl he pulled her up and on top of him.
“Joshua,” she admonished, a mischievous twinkle sparkling in her hazel eyes. “Are you trying to seduce me already? You’re supposed to be on bed rest.”
He grinned. “Then I guess you’ll have to do most of the work.”
Hannah’s jaw dropped open in red-faced surprise as she sputtered for an answer.
A hooked finger made its way between her thighs, the tip of it pressing just where he wanted it to.
“Oh,” she said, biting her lip in response to his touch. “I suppose, just this once, that I could take pity on you.”
Josh laughed and pulled her face down to him. “You’re not going to get a rise out of me from that comment,” he told her. Then he frowned, and wiggled his hips slightly. “Well, maybe not the rise you had expected.
Hannah’s hand dropped behind her, brushing against his rapidly hardening cock.
“How do you know this isn’t what I wanted all along?” she told him with a wicked smile.
Josh just smiled.
Life was good.