Indivisible Line (31 page)

“Tell me . . . I don’t care where you start. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”

Where to start?
She breathed in and out. “When you were brought to my operating table, bleeding and fighting for your life . . .” She paused while the memories flooded back. “I knew I had to save you. Even if I had to improvise, I wanted you alive.”

“Thank you for saving my life. I don’t think I ever told you how grateful I am for what you did. ” Greg buried his face in her hair.

“Now that Cade is gone, is the danger over?”
 

“I’m sorry for putting you through hell again.” He grimaced, and his breathing increased.

“What is it?” Sarah’s mind shifted at once to his medical needs. “Let me get your pain pill.” She turned to get up from the bed, but he restrained her.

“Let me say this first. I want you, Sarah, more than I’ve ever wanted any other woman. I married Cassandra thinking I loved her. I know now that what I was attracted to was the idea of landing a trophy wife, not Cassandra herself. I made a big mistake. Now, you’re in my life, and I want to make things right between you and me. I tried to shield you from my problems, but that just made them worse. I won’t make that mistake again.”
 

“What do you mean?”

“Your father and I had some words the day after you were admitted to the hospital. He pretty much accused me of tainting your purity. Maybe not those exact words.” Greg shook his head.

“My father said that? Somehow it doesn’t surprise me anymore.”
 

He nodded. “Then I uprooted you from LA and transplanted you here. At first I thought I was making a sound decision. I would get to see you every day because you believed you owed me.”

Sarah’s head shot up, and she punched him in the arm. “Are you telling me that you made that up? You’re not experiencing those side effects?”

He gave her an apologetic smile. “I may have stretched the truth a little bit.”

“Which part?” She tilted her head, her eyes narrowed.

“Well, the spasms are real, as you already know. The blood, well . . . I did experience some allergic reactions early on, but a lot of it was an exaggeration.”
 

“And I bought your lies—all of them. I swear, you rich people are so manipulative.”

Greg’s solemn expression told her that she’d struck a chord.
 

“I may have gone a little overboard, but I had your best interests at heart. Besides, I didn’t believe you’d ever be interested in an old guy like me.”

“You’re just nine years older than I am,” she protested.

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Then you had the accident. I blamed myself for it. I realized I plucked you from your comfort zone because I was thinking more of myself. It wasn’t fair to you. And then I started falling for you. The possibility scared me, so I tucked tail and ran.”

Sarah searched his face. “Tell me, is it so bad to find yourself attracted to me?”

Greg’s eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. “No, except I have nothing to offer you except a tangled life. I can’t even protect you from my father’s verbal attacks. I have nothing to give you right now—not a name, not even a safe environment in which to thrive. All I have to give is my word that I will do my best to make it work between us.”

The tenderness of the moment and his heartfelt admission brought tears to Sarah’s eyes. Lifting her hand to his face, she brushed her fingers against his cheeks and smiled. “Maybe I should tell you how I feel about you, too. I have nothing to give you. Even my father doesn’t want me around. I’m not trophy-wife material for you to introduce to your parents and to society.”

Greg kissed the palm of her hand. “I don’t need a trophy wife. But I’ll be damned if I don’t know your worth. You mean more to me than anything. Even more than my own life—”

She silenced him with her mouth. Despite their awkward position, she kissed him hard, intent on reiterating her feelings for him, but realized after a moment how tired he must be. Greg needed his rest. He’d have a long day tomorrow, including more poking and probing from the doctor. She hoped he’d agree to the transfusion after he found out that she’d donated her own blood. Greg had a lot to live for, and she’d be damned if she’d let him give up on making a full recovery.

“I want to keep talking, but you need sleep. You have a long day ahead of you, and I wasn’t able to sleep well while waiting for you to come home.” She gave a wide yawn.

“Home—I like the sound of that. I will pretend to believe you’re tired, but we’ll talk more about this tomorrow.” Greg smiled and kissed her lips once more. His weary eyes twinkled a bit. “I want to hold you while we sleep.”

Sarah wasn’t about to argue against holding, embracing, and feeling his warm body against hers all night. She flicked off the light, and the room plunged into darkness. Greg twisted and shifted into a more comfortable position, tugging on her arm so she’d join him. She kissed him good night before she turned her back to him, fitting her body into the curve of his like a puzzle piece. It was a perfect fit.

Her head rested on his arm, while his other hand relaxed around her body, cradling her close to him. She could get used to this. They were quiet, neither one choosing to break the silence with words.

Once she heard Greg’s breathing even out, Sarah smiled in the darkness, feeling a mix of relief and worry. Although she was glad they’d admitted their feelings for each other, she couldn’t help but wish their situation weren’t so damn complicated. Still, this wasn’t the time to dwell on the negatives facing them. They would figure those out together once Greg had healed.

With a sigh, Sarah let her mind relax. The steady tempo of Greg’s heart against her spine invited her to give in to the oblivion sleep offered, safe in the arms of the man she loved.

“I love you,” she whispered. Sarah closed her eyes and savored her words for a moment, feeling liberated and light. She’d been dying to share them with him for so long.

“I love you more, Sarah.”

She smiled, and the last thing she remembered before sinking into sleep was the overwhelming feeling of bliss and contentment. He’d said it. What more could a girl ask for?

Sometime during the night, throbbing in the lower part of his injured limb woke Greg from a sound sleep. The pain was so great that his sweat soaked his flimsy hospital gown. Despite the discomfort, he refused to move, fearing he’d wake up Sarah. He suffered in silence, hoping it would soon pass. His breathing shallow, he willed his mind to focus on pleasant thoughts to combat the pounding in his leg and the persistent nausea.

Barry had begged him to reconsider his decision not to accept a transfusion, but Greg had remained adamant. Now he was paying the price for his obstinacy. He didn’t care—Sarah had given him her blood, and accepting blood from another now seemed like a blatant betrayal of that bond. It was a bond—whether she liked it or not—that would forever connect them. He gazed down at her once more. Her eyelids were twitching and her lips were parted. She was beautiful when she slept. He could lay there forever just watching her.

Another surge of pain racked through his body, and Greg remembered the pill the male nurse had left for him. Man, wasn’t he a bastard for putting on that little show? But the guy had deserved it. No one ogled his woman. He liked the sound of that—
his woman
. The display might not have been one of his shining moments, but he had been powerless to contain the green-eyed monster.

He tried to figure out the best way to grab the little cup containing the pill without disturbing the woman in his arms. Forget the water. He’d chew on the tablet if it meant not waking up Sarah. He didn’t want to move, but the damn pain made it impossible for him to go back to sleep.

Torn, he lifted her head in the gentlest way possible to free his arm. The minor flexing of his muscles sent a searing pain shooting through his thighs and radiating through the rest of his lower limb. He tried to stifle his involuntary cry but without success.

Sarah’s eyes flew open, and she jerked up. “Greg, what’s wrong?” Her voice, still laced with sleep, cracked in the darkness.

So much for not waking her up. “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.” Greg gritted his teeth and swallowed back a groan.

She sat up on her haunches. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. What’s wrong?” He could see her trying to read his expression in the darkness.

“Damn!” Another wave of pain shot down his leg. Greg looked at her through unshed tears and closed his eyes.

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”

He nodded and ground his molars. The bed dipped when Sarah stood, and Greg listened to her footsteps rounding the bed before her hand touched his arm.

“Here’s your pain pill. You should’ve taken it before we went to sleep.” She pressed the little paper cup into his hand. Despite her reprimanding tone, Greg caught the concern etched in her face when she helped him up.

“Thanks.” He accepted the medicine and popped it in his mouth, hating himself for crying like a big baby.

“Here’s a glass of water.”
 

Sarah handed him a glass, and he drank in quick, greedy gulps.
 

“Do you want more?”

He shook his head. “If I drink more, I don’t think my bladder will hold out ’til morning.” Greg shifted his position, hating the perspiration-drenched material he wore.

Without a word, Sarah padded into the bathroom and returned with a urinal. “I will leave the lights off. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble at all.” She handed him the plastic container and pivoted around. He detected laughter in her voice.

“You’re too smart for your own good.” He took the handy urinal and worked on relieving himself. Mortified or not, he had to go, or he’d be crossing his legs until the morning. Once finished, he hung the urinal on the bedrail. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”
 

Sarah turned around, and he caught the smile on her face. Feeling embarrassed about her waiting on him, he closed his eyes while Sarah took the urinal from the rail and went to the bathroom. The sound of the toilet flushing followed. She came back a moment later holding out some baby wipes and a change of clothes for him.

“Can you sit up?”

Greg struggled to lift his body into a sitting position, but the pain continued to hit him in spurts. The damn medication still hadn’t taken effect yet. “I can’t.” He flopped back down against the pillow. A feeling of dread washed over him. If this was how the rest of his life was going to pan out, it would be a pity if Sarah were reduced to being his babysitter. He’d wanted to give her more—this wasn’t quite the route he’d wanted to take.

It was a good thing that she couldn’t see the look of disgust etched in his face. He grunted, despising himself more with each passing second.

“Support your body with your arms, and I’ll do the rest.” Climbing onto the bed, she waited for him to hoist his body up before she propped several pillows behind his back. Without effort, she lifted his arms one at a time to slide off the sleeves of his gown. Using a towel, Sarah wiped the sweat from his back and slid a fresh gown onto him, tying the ribbon at the back of his neck. “Better?”

“Yeah.” Embarrassment and gratitude warred inside him.

After she’d put the dirty linen away, Sarah climbed back into bed and snuggled up to him once more without skipping a beat. “The pain meds should start working any time now.” Her arms circled his waist, and her face rested in the crook of his neck.

“I love you.”

She looked up at him, her eyes tender. “I love you more,” she replied, repeating the same words he’d used earlier.

How could he be in two places at the same time? It was heaven to cradle her in his arms, but it was also hell. Yeah . . . the pain had to go away. He’d had enough of
that
to last a lifetime.

The minutes ticked by, and relief came at last. The pain began to subside, replaced by the promise of sleep. “That’s my line, you know . . . I own the words—
I love you more
,” he heard himself say before the warmth of slumber embraced him.

Chapter 22

Sarah awoke to the tail end of what sounded like a shriek. Loud, rude voices interrupted her glorious time in dreamland. Her eyes popped open, and still disoriented, her sleepy gaze settled on the faces of a couple peering down at her. The man’s face was somewhat familiar, but the aristocratic, blond woman standing next to him wasn’t. Sarah glanced around, pulling the sheets up to her chin, feeling vulnerable. After a moment, she was able to focus and remember where she was. She tried sitting up, but Greg’s arm was splayed across her body, making it impossible to move without waking him.