Blended (Redemption #1) (29 page)

“Desire. It’s more than lust and aching for the rush of sex. I’m not going to let you go, Hadley.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” I pull the comforter up and over the both of us with his help. “Are you comfortable?” I ask quietly.

“As comfortable as I can be. Get some rest. I’ve got you.”

“And I’ve got you.”

“Goodnight, Rye.”

“’Night, Whiskey.”

An unpleasant warmth wakes me from a deep sleep. I blink in the darkness as a sharp pain sears through my abdomen, surrounding me in the heat of a branding iron.

“Fuck,” I hiss out as the burn intensifies. I attempt to move my legs, but I’m quickly reminded of my paralysis when I don’t feel a single thing. As the pain increases, it takes with it the ability to think clearly. The penetrating burn moves from my abdomen to my ribs and then to the small of my back. I buck my shoulders back as continuous currents of debilitating agony drag through what I can feel of my body.

“Hadley. Jesus.” My voice is weak, and I’m too quiet to wake her.

Sweat breaks out over my chest as I’m dragged through the throes of hell. A raw scream emits from my throat as I’m unable to bear it for another second. White spots begin to fill my vision as I feel her hand on my chest.

“Wade!” the bed shifts as a light flickers on.

“Madelyn,” I hear her shout beside me as my body starts to tear me away from her, from her voice.

“Whiskey, you’re okay. I’m here.”

Something cool touches my face as another voice joins in the chaos, which I cannot see.

“His medication has worn off faster than it should have. I’m going to give him morphine for this.”

“What’s going on?”

“The pain is too much for him to bear because he’s been overly active today. He’s suffering.”

“Please, just . . . help him,” my girl cries out as I feel a warm, stinging sensation entering my arm.

“Give him a minute. The morphine will take over shortly.”

Slowly, sections of my body seem to go numb as a coolness douses the fire inside of me.

“I’m so sorry, Wade,” I hear her sniffle. “Please. You’re okay, I’m not going to leave your side.”

I try to fight the calming sensation that the medication pushes me into, but I can’t open my eyes.
Goddamn it
. I need to see her. I flex my fingers and realize that she’s holding my hand. I manage to squeeze her petite hand weakly; it’s my only attempt to ensure her that I’m okay before I plummet into darkness.

I reluctantly wake in soft sheets as I’m shaken into reality. I debate letting sleep overcome me again until I hear her voice. “No, I’m okay, thank you, though.”

“You really should eat, Hadley.”

“I’m not hungry. Thank you again, Lilly.”

“All right, sweetie. I’m going to go pick up some clothing for you with Isla. We’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay,” she says, and I can hear agony lacing her words.

I think I drift off again because when I finally force my eyes open, and I’m able to turn my head to where my shot of whiskey is lying on her side facing me with her hands under her head and her eyes closed. She’s stunning. Something radiates from within her, making her irresistible to me. She’s unaware of how much she affects me, and waking up to the sight of her is something that I could get used to.

I reach out and run my fingers over her flawless cheek. Her softened features scrunch as her eyes flutter open.

“Whiskey.” There’s a softness to her voice, a hesitation in her body movements. I can tell that she wants to touch me or jump into my arms but she doesn’t reach for me.

“Rye.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m hanging in there. I’m stiff, but whatever she gave me helped me a lot.”

She sighs in relief. “You scared me last night. I’ve been overly concerned for hours. You wouldn’t wake up, and I just . . .” She fights to hold back her emotion. “I just wanted you to open your eyes and hear you tell me that you loved me.”

The corners of my lips angle upward. “You’re rather emotional, Hads, and I love you.”

“You do this to me, damn it,” she complains as she wipes at her weeping eyes angrily. “I can’t explain what I feel for you, but it’s—it’s like you give me something that no one else can.”

“Come here, Hadley. I’ll give you everything that you want.”

She shakes her head and refuses to move closer to me. “Hadley,” I state, “get that gorgeous ass over here. Now.”

“I’ll hurt you again.”

“You haven’t hurt me and you won’t. I need to touch you.”

“Madelyn said that you pushed yourself too hard yesterday, and that’s why you experienced all of that pain last night.”

“Fuck what she said. Hadley, if you don’t move into my arms, I will send Jacobs a message and have him physically move you closer to me.”

That gets a smile out of her, and she squirms closer to me.

“Whiskey?”

“Yes?”

She lies on her side and rests her head on my shoulder. “I think that you’ve spun me into glass.”

“You’ve always been fragile, Rye. You just haven’t seen exactly how vulnerable you are until I made you see it.”

“Possibly,” she grumbles. “Oh, Dr. Heath will be here soon. Madelyn called him to inform him of the night you had. I think she may have a little crush on you.”

I think this is Hadley telling me that she’s jealous, but I don’t push her on the subject. “It’s a damn good thing that she knows that we’re together then.”

“I don’t think that she cares.”

“She’s wasting her time.”

We’re interrupted by a knock on the door again, and I’m beginning to realize that this will be my life for the next two months. I fight the internal battle to tell whomever it is to leave, but I need to be stronger than I have been to survive this ordeal. I’ll recover from this injury, and I’ll do it with this dangerous and beautiful woman by my side.

It’s been a week since I’ve been trapped in this suite. It’s turning into more of a prison than a luxurious hotel. My mother walks into the room and takes a seat on the other side of the bed. “How are you faring, Waylon?”

“How much of an honest answer do you want to that?”

“Talk to me, dear.”

“About what? How the top half of my body aches from being still for too long, or the fact that I can’t feel a damn thing on the bottom half?”

“I understand that this must be difficult for you. It’s tough watching you go through it all, but you have a strong team of professionals behind you, and you need to put your faith in them.”

“Mother, have you ever known me to trust another with the outcome of my life?”

“I understand that you are finding it difficult to let others help you and give up control over your life, but you need to allow it just this once. You need to heal not only for yourself but for Hadley as well.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.”

“I’m not preaching to you. I just came to speak to you about her.”

I shut my eyes and rub a hand down my face before opening them again. “What about her?”

“I think that she’s as right for you as you are for her. After what you’ve told me about her and how she seems to be suffering from the same thing you went through, I understand the attraction to her. I understand the desire you must have to help her when no one else wants to.”

“It has not simply been about breaking her of an addiction. I enjoy who I am when I’m around her as well as how we react to each other, whether it be emotionally or physically. I feel connected to her in ways that I never thought would be possible with anyone.”

She sits up and pats my shoulder. “That’s what us old folks call love, Waylon.”

“I know. I’ve told her.”

“You have?” She seems shocked, but she quickly recovers.

“I have.”

“I’m glad. I think that she might be good for you, and I have enjoyed getting to know her in the few hours we spend together while you’re not hogging her.”

“I need her.” I laugh to myself. “I bet that you never thought you’d hear me say those words about a woman.”

“Nonsense. I’ve known that you’ve needed to find the right woman before you’d even attempt to make something out of a relationship with her, and now that you’ve found her, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Of course. Now, I need to run and get some things sorted out for Adriana. I’ll be back to check on you this evening.”

“I owe you for what you’ve been doing for Mothers of Brass this week.”

“Not at all, I’m simply being a mother to my Brass, as well as the charity. Sleep well.”

I nod to her as she gets up and leaves the confines of my room before I turn my head to the side and stare out the windows, and out onto the waters of Sydney Harbor.