Everything You Need (25 page)

Chapter 28

“Is this necessary?” Ashton glared at the metal circle on his chest. It was the second time in half an hour that the doctor was listening to his breathing. They had been poking needles in him, taking his blood pressure and asking him questions since the moment he had, with Kalen’s help, crossed the threshold of the hospital.

“Inhale,” the doctor said.

Ashton took a deep breath. “I already said that I feel fine.”

The doctor hummed and hung the stethoscope around his neck before he stood up and looked at the output coming from the machine nearby. “It seems that you’re right, Mr. Langton.”

“When can I go home?” Ashton took his shirt, which had been tossed over the metal bars of hospital bed, and slid it on, frowning at the ache in his arms. He didn’t try to slip off the bed and stand, afraid that his legs would buckle under him, the same way they had when he climbed off the bed in Mary’s apartment.

“Soon.” The doctor took the clipboard off the bed and started to leaf through it.

“They’re going to keep you overnight,” Kalen said. He stood leaning against the wall beside the door. “At Ann’s request.”

“I’m fine.”

“In the course of a week, your body has been filled with a mixture of sedatives --”

“English, please.”

“You were filled with different kinds of drugs and we want to ensure there are no ugly side effects.”

“You wouldn’t want to end up with liver failure, would you?” Kalen said.

“Don’t exaggerate.” Ashton reclined back on the pillows.

“Your kidneys are damaged,” the doctor said. “Which means that for the time being, you’ll be on a strict diet with no salt and increased carbohydrates.”

“I assume that means no alcohol.”

The doctor looked at Ashton as if he were a moron. “We’ll prepare a diet plan for you and the list of foods and drinks you should avoid.” He hung the clipboard back on the bed.

“How’s Kris? Is her examination finished?”

The doctor frowned.

“Miss Mayer,” Kalen said.

“Oh, the girl who’s waiting outside.”

Ashton sprung into a sitting position. “She’s outside?”

“Yes.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yes,” the doctor said

“And she’s waiting outside?”

“She requested to see you.”

She wanted to see him? Warm bubbles of joy pooled in the pit of Ashton’s stomach. “Let her in. Let her in,” he demanded.

Kalen opened the door and disappeared for a moment, then reappeared with a girl.

Ashton’s breath hitched as his gaze landed on the blonde. The light coming from the lamp on the ceiling coloured her hair gold, and gave her skin a glow. She was tired, it was visible in the whiteness of her skin and the redness of her eyes. She was beautiful, so beautiful, so angelic, that all he could do was sit there and stare at her with bated breath. She was his angel, the angel that had burst into Mary’s apartment and rescued him. And right now his angel was coming closer, with a gentle smile on her face, while Kalen pushed her toward him.

Pushed?
The line of his vision widened and he frowned at the wheelchair in which she sat before he lifted his head to glare at the doctor. “You said she was okay.”

The doctor moved aside, so that Kalen could push the wheelchair past him. “According to the examination, there’s nothing wrong with her.”

“I’m okay. I only have a small wound on the side of my head. They were afraid that I might have a concussion, but there’s no sign of the symptoms. They recommended bed rest and somebody to monitor me for the next few days anyway,” Kris said. “And the doctor and those men in suits acted like I’m not capable of walking on my own and insisted on a wheelchair.” Over her shoulder she looked up at Kalen. “Who are they?”

“Just my grandmother’s staff.” Kalen parked the wheelchair before the bed.

Ashton moved to the edge of the bed and reached out with his hand to caress her cheek. “Hey.” He smiled.

“Hey.” She smiled back and covered his hand with hers.

Yes, she was so beautiful. He grabbed her hand, shifted backwards and tugged her up and onto the bed.

With her knees on the bed, Kris glanced at the doctor, pink dusting the bridge of her nose.

“Don’t be afraid, Miss Mayer. Since Mr. Langton’s libido has been heavily sedated, I’m certain that he doesn’t have any hidden agenda.”

A joker, huh? Ashton’s eyebrows furrowed when he faced the doctor. “Are you implying that I can’t get it up?”

“That’s right, Mr. Langton.” The doctor smiled. “Because of the drugs, you won’t be able to ‘get it up,’ as you put it, for quite a while.”

“Whatever,” Ashton said, not worried about his sex drive, since right now he had more pressing things on his mind. He needed to know if Kris really meant what she had said, and to see if he could find out why she had distanced herself from him, and solve whatever was bothering her. He turned Kris around and, with his arm around her waist, drew her against his side.

She hissed.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

His hand slid over her back.

She flinched.

“Show me.” He bent over her and pulled her shirt away from her neck to peer inside. He sucked in his breath at the sight of an ugly bruise that ran alongside her spine.

“It’s nothing.”

“If you say so,” he said as he carefully set her against his side and laid her legs over his before he pulled the sheet over them, while all he wanted to do was to turn her over onto her belly, get rid of her shirt and examine her back. But there were people here.

“Ashton, do you really think this is a good idea?” she said while she snuggled against him.

“You mean joining me in bed?”

“Yes.”

He combed the blond strands away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. “Why not?”

She shrugged.

“You might as well,” the doctor said. “You both need rest and you both seem too stubborn to rest on your own.”

“You see.” Ashton wiggled his eyebrows. “Doctor’s orders.”

She hid her face against his chest and stifled a soft sound that sound suspiciously like giggling.

The doctor shook his head and, with a promise to return later, left the room.

Ashton leaned over her. “Are you laughing?”

“Maybe,” she said.

He smiled.

A cough.

Ashton lifted his head.

Kalen stared at them with an amused smile on his face. “Have you forgotten that you have company?”

“Nope,” Ashton said. “But I was hoping that as my good friend you would know when to leave.”

Kalen shook his head, still smiling. “Kris, when you’re ready to go home, the men outside will drive you where you need to go,” he said, then without waiting for a reply, he went to the door and disappeared through it.

“Finally alone.”

She glanced up at him and their gazes met.

He was drowning in the warm green of her irises. His fingers cupped her cheek and he bent over her. His mouth touched hers and he lost himself in the pleasure of her taste and touch. How much he had missed this. How much he had missed her. With his tongue he explored her mouth, gently, slowly, relishing the moment. He loved her so much that without her the word lost its shine for him. She wasn’t his, and he had no intention of forcing her to be with him, but how he wanted her, oh, how he needed her...

She melted against him.

The kiss ended and he gazed down at her, at the small smile on her mouth, at the eyes that looked like they sparkled. “I love you.” A quick peck on her lips. “I love you so much.”

She averted her gaze.

“I don’t love you because you look like Kate.”

“I believe you,” she said in a small voice.

“Then why are you looking away? Don’t you love me too? You said that you love me.”

She frowned and folded her hands in her lap.

Disappointment weighted his shoulders and grey sadness filled his mind as he stared at her lowered head. “You lied?”

“No.” Her teeth cut into her lower lip for a second before she lifted her head. “I did lie to you a lot, but I didn’t lie about that. I
am
in love with you.”

A sigh of relief left his throat and the world suddenly felt much warmer and brighter than a second before.

“But it’s not that simple.”

His fingers glided over her shoulder, then down her side. “No?”

She pulled her eyebrows tightly together and another crease cut into the skin above her nose, while her fingers slid over the sheet, gathering the fabric together before she crushed it into her fist. “My mother...”

“Yes?” He stroked her side and shoulder in circular movement, avoiding her back and the bruise.

Her teeth dug into the sensitive skin of her lip again. “She’s a drunk. She’s in rehab right now, that’s the reason I needed the money, because her insurance doesn’t cover all of her missteps.”

“It must be hard, living with an alcoholic.” He pressed a kiss on the side of her head, when all he wanted to do was to wrap her in his embrace and act as her personal shield.

“The boyfriend I had before, he couldn’t handle it.”

She’d had boyfriends? Of course she had; he hated every one of them. “How many boyfriends did you have?”

“Just one,” she said.

One man, a nameless man, a loser who let her get away. If he thought about it, he actually felt sorry for the poor sod, who probably didn’t even know what a great treasure he’d had and lost.

“He couldn’t understand that my mother always comes first. And he resented that I cancelled dates because my mother needed me.”

“I won’t be like that, I promise.” He would take Kris any way he could, even if that meant that he was not occupying the top spot on her priority list. Actually, he would be satisfied if he managed to climb up to her first five priorities. “I want to be there for you.” Even if they didn’t start dating, he wanted to help her. “You have to allow me to help you.”

“Are you sure? Being with me would mean that you have to deal with my mother. I mean, not directly, but she calls me and needs me all the time and I’m always jumping because I’m afraid that she will do something stupid if I don’t -- I promised my grandfather that I’d take care of her, and I’m honouring that promise the best that I can.”

“I understand, and yes, I’m sure. I want to be with you.” The back of his knuckles caressed her cheek. “Always.”

“Always,” she repeated.

“Yes, always. Any way you’ll take me.” He smiled down at her and he meant it. “I love you, and my love doesn’t tie you to me, but ties me to you. I’d do anything for you.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and her eyes glittered as if she was going to cry any second now. She snuggled against him and hid her face in the dip between his shoulder and neck, while her hand fisted his shirt.

“You’re not crying, are you?”

She shook her head in a no.

“Are you certain?”

She nodded.

With her in his arms, he reclined back onto the pillow. He started to comb through her hair, yawning. “I’m tired. Are you tired?” His eyelids fluttered closed. He forced himself to prise them open.

She nodded; her breath brushed against the skin of his neck as she shifted so that she was lying on her belly, half tucked against his side, with one of her hands at his left shoulder and with the other one on the pillow, beside her head.

He bent his elbow, covered the hand at his shoulder with his and laced their fingers. He yawned again. He wanted to talk more about her mother and what her drinking put Kris through. They also needed to discuss Mary and her actions, and clear up all the misunderstandings that had managed to put a gap between them. And they need to talk about them and their feelings and how to proceed with their relationship. But right now, he was suddenly so tired that he had trouble keeping his eyes open. He just needed a short nap. He closed his eyes. Yes, just a short nap, and then they would talk, he promised himself before he allowed himself to doze off. But when he woke up a short time later she was gone. Again.

Chapter 29

Kris rummaged through her handbag, tossing things out, while she searched for the source of the ringing. “Where is it? Where is it?” Her fingers touched the smooth plastic and she pulled it out. Disappointment slumped her shoulders when she saw the caller ID. She answered it. “Yes.”

“Hi, it’s Camden. Are you home?”

“Yes.” She pushed the bag under the end table and lowered herself onto the edge of the armchair.

“Do you remember when I mentioned to you that I have a friend who is looking for a place?”

Had he? Oh, yes, he had said something, a few days ago. “Yes.”

“Well, he’s with me right now, and I was wondering if I could bring him to your place, so you two could meet? You would be able to interview him and he would be able to see your place.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

She sighed and pulled on the strands of her hair. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you in five,” Camden said and cut the line.

Kris sighed again and went to the call history to glare at the display. It had been a week since she had lain beside Ashton, listening to the beat of his heart and hearing him say that everything was going to be okay and that he would always stand by her side. Always. “You promise me things and then you don’t even call me!” She felt the urge to throw her phone against the wall and then stomp on it.

Even though she was free this week, and she should have been resting at home, she went for a stroll, passing the gallery three times, always slowing her step when she walked past it. Once, she even went for coffee in the nearby coffee shop, and yet, she wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of Ashton, let alone talk with him.

She could have called him, but... He was the one who had claimed that he loved her, he was the one insisting that they should be together and he was the one who had told her that he was nothing like her ex-boyfriend. If that were true, why wasn’t he here by her side? Not only that, he didn’t even have enough decency to call her and let her know how he was doing.

You should have waited for him to wake up before you left
, a tiny thought protruded into her mind. That might be true, but what was she supposed to do, ignore her mother’s calls and spend the night crowded on a one-person bed?

“I shouldn’t have told him about my mother,” she said out loud. He had claimed that it didn’t matter, after she told him, but now that he’d had time to think, he had probably figured out that he didn’t love her enough to be able to tolerate that kind of baggage.

She tugged on her hair again. She had talked with Kalen, subtly trying to learn not only how Ashton was, but whether they had talked about her, and if Ashton’s feelings for her had changed, but that man was too sparing with words. If she could have, she would have used Rose as an ally, but the redhead was still sulking because nobody had told her about Ashton’s disappearance.

The intercom buzzed.

Had it already been five minutes? She stood and went to the front door, where she pressed the key on the intercom. “Yes.”

“It’s me,” Camden said.

“Come on up.” She pressed the key with a picture of a lock on it that opened the front door. She stood behind the door, watching the staircase through a peephole.

Half a minute later, Camden appeared on the stairs, a tall man behind him. He looked familiar, the man, he reminded her of Ashton. Then they come closer and she saw that it
was
Ashton. They reached the landing.

Ashton.
Her mouth curved into a smile, only to narrow into a thin line in the next moment.
Ashton!
The man who didn’t have the decency to call. With her eyebrows low over her eyes, she shoved the door open and pointed her finger at Ashton. “What’s he doing here?”

“Hello to you too.” Ashton crossed his arms.

Camden’s eyes darted between the two of them. “Didn’t you two make up?”

“You didn’t call me all week.”

“I did call,” Ashton said. “But all I got was the ‘the number you have dialled is currently unavailable.’”

“I didn’t have any problems,” Camden said.

“I know, you told me.” Ashton scowled.

“Get inside.” Kris opened the door wider. She grabbed Camden’s jacket and hauled him inside. “You too.” She glared at Ashton.

“At least you aren’t slamming the door in my face,” Ashton murmured as he pushed his way inside.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you couldn’t reach her?” Camden kicked off his shoes and put on a pair of slippers from the basket on the chair between the wardrobe and shoe cabinet.

“You wouldn’t have been willing to help me prepare the surprise, if you knew.” Ashton followed Camden’s example and slipped his feet into slippers, his gaze scrutinising the small anteroom.

“That’s sneaky, but you are a sneaky kind of a guy,” Camden said resentfully.

“What surprise?” Kris asked.

“Ta-da.” Ashton widened his arms.

“That he’s your new tenant.”

“If you’ll take me.” Ashton’s arms fell to his sides.

“Why should I, when you didn’t even call me?”

“I told you that your phone was disconnected.”

What a liar. “No, it wasn’t. I had it on all the time.”

“Yeah right.”

“No, it’s true.”

“Whenever I called her, my calls went through,” Camden said.

“See!” She narrowed her eyes at Ashton.

“Mine didn’t. What am I supposed to think? And with the way you left me in the hospital, not even saying goodbye --”

“What did you expect me to do? Spend the night with you cramped on that little bed?”

“Yes. Or at least wake me up before you left.”

“Wait! You changed your number.” Camden turned to Ashton. “Which number did you call? Her old one?”

“You have a new phone number?”

“Yes.”

“Why haven’t you told me?”

“I forgot.”

“You forgot!”

“Don’t yell at her.” Camden stepped before Kris.

“I’m not yelling,” Ashton said in much softer voice. He sighed and rubbed his neck, his eyes on her. “So you weren’t avoiding me?”

“No.” She sidestepped Camden.

“And you love me?”

She glanced at Camden before her focus went back on Ashton. “Do you really want to live here? What about your flat? The one you share with Kalen?” The one she had learned about from Rose.

“We cancelled the lease. He’s moving in with Rose, for the time being, and since I’m homeless and you’re in need of a tenant, here I am.”

“What about the studio?” She lessened the distance between them by one step.

“What about it?”

“You live there.”

“I just crashed there.”

“It seems that I’m not needed here anymore.” Camden wiggled his way between them to get to his shoes. He put them on, then faced Ashton. “While you’re here, you’d better be on your best behaviour.”

“I’m always on my best behaviour.” Ashton took off his jacket and hung it on a hook above the basket of slippers.

Camden turned to Kris. “If he gives you any problems, throw him out, and if you can’t, you have my number. Call me, and I’ll throw him out for you.”

“Thank you.” Kris gave him a quick hug then watched him leave. When the door closed behind him, she asked Ashton, “How did you convince him to help you?”

“By making him feel sorry for me.”

“You’re horrible.”

“I know.” His wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “But you love me anyway, right?”

She looked up at him, expecting to see him grinning down at her, but his face was serious, as if his life depended on her answer. “Yes, I do love you, very much.”

He nodded, hiding a smile, but she could see it twitching at the corners of his mouth.

She reached up and cupped his cheek. He was so handsome, with his black hair smoothed into a low ponytail, but he always looked handsome, even when he had his hair down and all ruffled up. There was some sort of fragility about him. Was it because of the tiredness and the weight loss she could see in the paleness of his skin and hollow of his cheeks? “How are you? How do you feel?”

“Great, now that I’m with you.” He kissed her palm.

It tickled. She smiled and tiptoed with her fingers over his mouth and then down his jaw. “Are you serious about this tenant thing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Her hand slid down his neck. It felt so good to be able to touch him, to feel as if she had every right to touch him. He loved her. And she loved him.

He frowned.

“I’m not saying that I’m against it.” Quite the contrary. Her fingers were now gliding over his shoulder and down his arm. She couldn’t stop touching him. For a whole week, she had been missing him, wishing for his call, yearning to hear his voice and thinking that he had forgotten about her and his promise. Her fingers wrapped around his, she shifted forward, slightly bent, her forehead softly bumped against his shoulder.

“What is it?” His hand cupped her neck.

“I thought that you changed you mind, that because of my mother...”

“I would never do that.” His fingers rubbed her scalp. “I said that I would never force you into anything, but I wouldn’t give up on us either, not without a fight. That’s why I’m here. Look at me, please.”

She leaned backwards and their eyes met.

“I know that you don’t trust me --”

“That’s not --”

“Yes, it is. It’s okay, I understand. I know how it is when you’ve been hurt or disappointed, about how hard it is to put your heart on the line again. I know that very well, that’s why I’m here.” He smiled. “If you take me, I’ll move in, and we’ll take this slowly and I’ll work hard to earn your trust.”

“Are you sure?” She tightened the hold she had on his hand.

“I’m very sure.” He kissed her nose.

“Really, really sure?”

“I’m positive.” He released her neck, stepped backwards and swung their arms, a grin on his face and his eyes glittering with naughtiness. “I’ll tempt you though, and try to seduce you all the time, but I’ll never enter your room without invitation. You are always welcome in mine, though, even if it is in the middle of the night.” He winked at her. “Actually, you are especially welcome in the middle of the night.”

She shook her head, smiling “Do you want to see the room?”

“Yes, please.”

She tugged him behind her as she led him into the hallway and through the first door. It was nothing special, the room. It was large enough to hold a wardrobe, chest of drawers, a desk, a bed and a nightstand. She felt slightly embarrassed by the worn-out and mismatched furniture, especially since she had heard how luxurious his apartment with Kalen was. “It’s nothing special.”

“It smells nice. Like you. I always wondered where the smell of roses came from. Now I know, from the fabric softener.” He wiggled his hand out of hers and went to the freshly made bed. He faced her, stretched his arms and fell backwards onto the bed. He bounced once. “This feels nice.” He sighed. “Very nice, and it smells like you. Well, not exactly like you, but close enough.” He patted the spot beside him. “Why don’t you join me?”

“Is that your way of seducing me?” She slowly walked to him.

A half-smile stretched his mouth. “For that I would take my shirt off. But I can take off my shirt now and we can have --” He pinched his eyebrows together and sat.

“What?” She stopped before the bed.

“This was
his
room, right?”

“His? You mean George?”

“Yes.”

He scowled and his gaze lowered to the bed. “Can I burn it?”

“What?”

“The mattress.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

He lifted his head. “You two had sex on this bed, right?” The scowl on his face darkened.

To keep a smile from appearing on her face, she tightly pressed her lips together. “You’re jealous.”

“Of course I’m jealous.” He shifted closer to the edge of the bed, so that his legs hung over it.

“But you weren’t before.”

“I was always jealous; I still am, actually, I just didn’t let it show. He was the one living with you, while I...”

She cupped his face and smiled down on him. “I never slept with him.”

“But you said --”

“I lied.”

“You did? Why? I’m glad that you didn’t sleep with him -- overjoyed actually -- but why did you lie?” He covered her hands with his. “To make me jealous?”

“No.”

“You heard the rumours about me and wanted to get back at me?”

“To push you away.”

“Ah.”

“It didn’t work, though.”

“I already said, I would have taken you any way I could get you.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Except I would have never tried to force you to be with me, I hope you know that. How is your bruise?”