Tell Me What Is Priceless (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

“Be-ut-ful! Why? Too much!”

“I didn’t pay for this. You did. You are a very rich lady. I knew you would be mad if I paid for all of this. What Jake did got me curious about was what was so special about the Queen’s Dragon. While you were in the hospital, I took a ride up and got it. I was playing with it later on and found out that the handle of the blade was a puzzle box. When I finally got it open, I discovered a cache of jewels inside it. I sold them to a dealer in Paris. I split the money between an account for you, stocks, and mutual funds. The yard is paid for, the porch is paid for, and so is the new roof on the house. All your medical bills are paid, and you made a sizable contribution to the hospital. You also bought me a new Lexus and one for Kale. He and Jenny have a small house around the corner as payment for the service of helping me care for you. The Queen’s Dragon is in a locked case in your computer room, which now has a bright, sunny corner window for your collection of cactuses. Everything is documented, and the taxes are, of course, paid. Am I forgetting anything? I don’t think so.”

Blaze’s eyes grew larger as he spoke, and she glared at him. “How much?”

“The jewels sold for eight point five mill. With the investments I made, everything is paid for, and you are steady around five mill or so.”

Blaze’s cheeks paled of color, and she began to choke as she swallowed wrong. Zar patted her back and smiled. “Easy. I don’t want you to pass out on me. Are you all right?”

Blaze panted for air as she tried to shake her head no. “Ice.”

Zar got up and came back with a cup of crushed ice. He fed her a few tiny pieces and then put his hands to her cheeks. “You need to speak slowly. Form each word in your mind and then say it. The muscles of your face have been worked, but they are stiff. Your jaw and your tongue haven’t worked on their own in a long time. Everything will come back, but it’s going to be an effort. Take it slow. Now talk to me.”

She swallowed the ice, feeling a tremor run through her neck. Her words came out slowly as she followed his advice. “Jewels yours. Too much. I walked away. Why?”

“You walked out on me to protect me. I suppose part of this is a slight feeling of guilt. It was the Queen’s Jewels that got you in this situation. Or at least I think it was. Jake killed himself, and you are the only one who knows what happened. Do you know?”

“Yes. Jewels. Kill me. He dead?”

“I gave him the option, and he took it. Everyone thinks that he went up on the roof to fix a leaking gutter. I can only guess, but I think he purposely took a fall and killed himself. It worked. His family got the money from his life insurance. They are well cared for financially. I can never tell you what thoughts went through my mind after I found you that night. You were having a seizure, and Nan and I were sent to wait out in the hall. So much went through my head in that time while we waited. I kept coming back to how you made me feel, physically and mentally. I wanted to go into the room and shake you. I wanted to scream that I loved you and you couldn’t die. I’ve said I love you a million times in the last seven weeks. I know that you couldn’t hear me, but I said it anyway. Blaze, I love you, and I know that you are behind my thinking by a long shot. I have spent seven weeks caring for you, and I want you to be with me. I want you to marry me and say that you will be mine forever. I know it’s rushing you, but I had to tell you.”

“I only know you two days. Give time. You don’t know me.”

“I know that. I want to know you. Nan and I’ve talked about you as we did your therapy together. I know you better than you know me. I wonder if Kale called Nan or not.”

“No, but home soon.”

“Nan moved in with Nicky last week. Kale and Jenny moved down to the basement. They will be moving into their house now that you are awake. That just leaves you and me. Do you want me to call your mother?”

“No. Call later.”

“She is really strange, isn’t she? You don’t like her very much, do you?”

“No. Tolerate her.”

“She is your mother, Blaze.”

She struggled to move her head, the muscles of her neck feeling shaky as she did so. “Gives me creeps. Cringe, she touches me. Don’t want here.”

“Okay. I’ll call her later and tell her. I will say that you are sleeping and that you will be going to the hospital in the morning. It’s weird. My mother is dead, and I would give anything to have her back. Your mother’s alive, and you can’t stand her.”

“I uncomfortable around her. Talk something else?”

“Name a subject.”

“Kiss.”

Zar leaned forward, holding her chin in his fingers as he softly kissed her. She parted her lips, clumsily trying to respond. Zar pulled away and chuckled. “I can’t take a kiss like that right now. I’ve slept with you for seven weeks, and my body is feeling a tad untended.”

“Do something about it.”

“Like what? Do you want me to jerk off as I kiss you?”

“Why not?”

Zar stood up and turned her chair, wheeling her back into the house. He clipped the harness back on and lifted her back into the bed. Blaze giggled. “Clothes off. I want to see you.”

He obliged her, stripping out of his suit and then lying down next to her. “This is too weird.”

“Help me roll on my side.”

Zar leaned, helping her to shift her body, and was surprised by the amount of help she was giving him. “Blaze, how much can you move on your own?”

“I think some. Can you put a pillow under my ribs? This is hurting my arm.”

He headed into the other room and came back with pillows for her ribs and her head. Once the pressure was off her arm, she showed him that she could flex her fingers. “They work. Zar, I have been dreaming about you forever.”

Blaze was admitted to the hospital the next morning, and Zar went with her. They made provisions for him, considering the circumstances and the contribution that had been made in Blaze’s name. All the tests came back with the best possible results, and they removed the tube from her stomach and began to start weaning her back onto food. The catheter was taken out, and she found out quickly just how sore she was from it.

Ralph showed up on the second day and began her therapy. Zar worked with him, learning what exercises she needed to do. It was a day of pain, and Blaze closed it out by accepting the offered pain medication. She woke up late in the next night to find Zar on the tablet. Her mouth was dry, and she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. The slight noise caught Zar’s attention, and he turned to her. “Hey, sleepy. You weren’t kidding when you said the pain pills knocked you out. Are you feeling better?”

“No,” she said in a whiney, irritated voice. “I’m tired of being prodded, probed, and scanned. I want to go home.”

He shut the tablet and slid into bed next to her. “I know. So do I. Are you sick of me yet?”

“Yes. No. I just feel helpless and discouraged.”

“You are doing great. You can almost hold a cup without spilling it. You even fed yourself yesterday afternoon. Ralph says if you keep it up, you might be able to use a crutch and me to walk soon. A walker would be better, but with your arm being so weak, it’s impractical. I even asked him about some light, easy sex, and he said maybe by the time you go home.”

Blaze let her head fall onto him and groaned. “You asked him that? What exactly is light, easy sex?”

“It’s sex that is not too strenuous, and yes, I asked him. He thought it was funny but said that it’s a common question. Actually, he suggested trying things that would give either or both of us gratification without actual intercourse.”

“Did he get specific, or are we supposed to play that suggestion by ear?”

“He suggested oral sex or that maybe we invest in a vibrator.”

Blaze felt her face growing hot and knew that she was blushing. “You are just breaking my balls, right?” She had used a toy in the privacy of her own bedroom, but the idea of Zar using it with her was slightly embarrassing.

“No, I’m not. That’s what he said.”

The door opened, and Blaze’s mother walked in, her bright and cheery demeanor making Blaze cringe. Zar kissed the side of her head and leaned back onto the bed. “Good evening, Helen. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Why are you in bed with her? I can’t imagine you are supposed to be there with her. You have a bed of your own. I can’t understand why they are letting you sleep here anyway. This is a hospital. I didn’t know such things were allowed.”

“I have to learn what’s necessary for her therapy so, when we go home, I know what to do. What better way than to have me stay here with her? We’re not consorting in the hospital bed, Helen. I assure you,” said Zar.

“Oh my god,” Helen said. “Protect my child from the evils of life. You are leading her down a stony path, Zar. I find it appalling that you would say such a thing. I really think that he is bad for you, Blaze.”

“I really think I’m a big girl, Mother. I can make my own decisions. You did a good job of drilling right and wrong into my brain as a child. I now think that I’m old enough to do as I please.”

Zar squeezed her shoulder, feeling her tense in his arms. “Helen, Blaze is a responsible woman. She doesn’t need you to come in here and preach to her. It’s an unnecessary stress right now.”

Helen glared at Blaze as if waiting for Blaze to defend her. When she didn’t reply, Helen asked, “Do I cause you stress?”

“Yes, you do. I don’t need you to come in here and bombard me with your ideas of right and wrong. I don’t want religion crammed down my throat. Zar has been here for me since the beginning, and I want him here. He makes me happy. Can’t you at least appreciate him for that?”

“Satan makes a lot of people happy. It’s a false happiness that leads you into the fires of hell. You should be looking to God for your happiness and strength. Instead you find false emotions in a man with money. I’m heart-struck to think that you have betrayed your vows to David and to God.”

“My vows to David? He has been dead over a year. You can’t honestly think I should be sitting around mourning for him. I’m entitled to a life, Mother.”

“He was your husband, and even if he is gone, you are betraying him in the arms of this man. Don’t you think he sits in the heavens and casts his eyes down on you in disapproval? He sees what you are doing because you were joined to him by the Holy Spirit. David must be weeping as you let yourself fall into degradation.”

Blaze took a deep breath, finding it ever more difficult to breathe. “Mother, you are a Holy Roller who hides her past sins behind the veil of religion. Get out and leave me alone. I’m not a little girl anymore, and I don’t need your abuse.”

“I’m not abusing you,” her mother said, her voice taking on an angry note. “I’m trying to keep your soul from falling into the hands of evil. This man is only interested in what your body can give him. You need to find a man who is your own age. One who is bound by God and goodness. I do not hide anything behind my religion. Your father and I have always been religious. You used to find favor with God. I pray for you every day, but I fear the fallen side of life has corrupted your heart.”

Zar pushed back her hair as he listened nervously to her breathing. “Blaze, are you all right?”

“No, get her out of here, I can’t breathe.”

Zar grabbed for the buzzer and then turned to Blaze’s mother. “Get out! You are upsetting her, and she can’t handle it right now.”

A nurse hurried in the door and looked to Zar. “What’s wrong?”

“She is having trouble breathing.”

“I’ll get the doctor. Mrs. Zeal, you are going to have to leave.”

“Me?” she screeched. “Tell him to leave. I’m her mother, and he is nothing. What kind of place is this that they will allow a boyfriend to stay and they tell the patient’s mother to leave?”

Blaze glared at her. “Get out, Mother!”

Her mother ignored her as she glared at the nurse. “Well?”

“Zar is her fiancé, and Blaze has asked you to leave.”

“Her fiancé? I don’t think so. She has not said anything to me about marrying this man.”

Both women turned to look at Blaze for an answer. She closed her eyes, putting her hand out for Zar. He sat back down next to her, leaning his head against hers as he stroked her face. “I think that you are having a damn panic attack. Calm down. Take deep breaths. She is leaving and is not welcome to come back. Relax, Blaze. Concentrate on your breathing and calm it. Slow and easy breaths.”

She concentrated on his voice, forcing her body to relax and take in air. Her lungs seemed to open slowly, leaving her suddenly feeling as if she could breathe. Zar leaned over and nipped her nose, getting her to open her eyes. Blaze laughed, her breaths evening out as she looked at him. Helen said, “See, God is punishing you for your evil thoughts toward me. Lying is also a cardinal sin.”

Zar turned to her, but before he could open his mouth, Blaze said, “So is beating your children. God is not punishing me for finding love in my life. He is not going to condemn me for being with a man who treats me like gold. I do not go against anyone for being happy. I’m sure God is not narrow-minded or cynical enough to be angry because Zar and I find pleasure in being with each other. If he is only after me for my body, then he had better run like hell, because my body has been a lifeless sack of flesh for the last eight weeks. Now, please take your comments and your judgmental bigotry and get out.”