Sweet Temptation (Sweet #4)(91)

“What hospital?” Connor asked.

“I’m not even sure. Holler at Damon. He’ll know.”

“Okay, meet you there.”

Micah nodded and ran back over to the helicopter. The pilot motioned for him to get up front. Reluctantly, Micah left Angelina in the care of the medic and climbed aboard.

Angelina woke to instant disorientation. White. Everything was white and harsh. It hurt her eyes and she quickly snapped them shut again.

The second thing she registered was the smell. And then pain. Dull, not completely overwhelming, but nagging, distant.

Relief. If she hurt, she couldn’t very well be dead. Now that she was certain she was alive, the pain could go away, thank you very much.

She opened her mouth to ask that the pain go away, but her voice didn’t cooperate. She coughed. Big mistake. A groan escaped. A pitiful-sounding groan, but at least she hadn’t lost all her vocal capabilities.

“Angel? Baby, you awake?”

She chanced another peek, cracking one eye open, and saw Micah standing over her bed, his eyes so worried she wanted to reassure him.

“Light,” she croaked. “Hurts.”

“Sorry,” he said contritely.

She closed her eyes again until he returned, touching her cheek tentatively with his hand.

“You can open now.”

She opened her eyes and found the dark much more comforting. His outline became discernible when he flicked on the bathroom light. She blinked at the sudden burst, but then he closed the door so that only a faint glimmer shone through.

“Where am I?” she asked hoarsely when he returned to the bed.

He sat down in a chair by her head and cupped her cheek with a gentle hand.

“You’re in the hospital. Do you remember any of it? They had you in the ER for quite a while. The bullet wound wasn’t serious so they moved you to the floor. You cracked some ribs, though, and they want to watch you for a few days.”

She licked her dry lips. “The baby?”

She couldn’t look at him when she asked the question. The pregnancy had been a huge shock to her. She could only imagine what the news had done to him.

He nudged her chin, still stroking her cheekbone with one finger.

“The baby is fine for now. They did lab work to confirm the pregnancy, and they said your HCG levels were normal.”

Fear sliced through her chest. “For now?”

“Shh, sorry. Bad choice of words. You’re pregnant. I just meant that we have to play it by ear. You went through a hell of a lot.”

You could still miscarry.

She heard the words as surely as if he’d said them.

She sagged into her pillow, pain pounding a little more fiercely through her shoulder. She took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. Fire swelled through her rib cage. Tears slid down her cheeks as she panted.

Micah swore and pulled his hand away from her face. “Let me get the nurse. She can give you something for pain.”

He punched the call button, and when he didn’t get an immediate response, he abruptly got up and strode out the door. A few minutes later, he returned with a nurse in tow.

Angelina gratefully extended her good arm with the IV line in her hand for the nurse to give her the injection. When she was done, the nurse patted her softly on the arm.

“Try to get some rest, hon. I’ll be back to check on you later.”

“I have so many questions,” Angelina murmured when the nurse had gone. “So much to say.”

Micah bent and kissed her forehead. His breath stuttered unevenly over her skin as if he held to his control by a thin thread.

“We’ll talk later, Angel girl. We have all the time in the world. Right now you need to rest and get better.”

“Stay with me,” she said.

The drug worked through her veins, leaving in its wake sweet relief and marked lethargy.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Hold me?”

“I wish I could, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Won’t hurt. There’s room. I can move over a little.”

“No! No,” he said in a softer voice. “Stay where you are. I’ll manage.”

She held her breath as he gingerly settled himself next to her, but she shouldn’t have worried. He took such care that she barely felt him when he edged close.

Awkwardly, he put his arm over her waist, lower than her injured ribs.

“This okay?” he asked.

She nodded against his chest and nuzzled her cheek against his shirt. It didn’t hurt to dream a little longer. Dreams were a safe harbor against hurt and grief. For just a little while she could escape, because when she woke up, she had to let Micah go.

CHAPTER 40

Micah lay next to Angelina, listening to her breathe. She’d drifted off almost as soon as he’d climbed into bed with her, and he didn’t dare move now for fear of disturbing her. Plus he liked holding her. He needed to hold her. He’d come so close to losing her.

He carefully moved his hand from her back, sliding over her hips and then low on her belly. He cupped the area just above her pelvis where the baby—his baby—was nestled.

That knowledge blew him away. His baby. A life created by him and Angelina. Part of him was shamed that the baby had been created in a moment of blind lust, at a time when he’d lost complete control. He would have rather the conception happened when he’d tenderly made love to Angelina. But their relationship wasn’t tender. It wasn’t easy. It was volatile. She gave and he took. But that was going to end. Starting now.