Tragically Wounded (10 page)

I lay in Nicole's bed with her cradled by my side, her head rested on my chest, and her delicate hand was splayed on my stomach. I hadn't let her go since she'd hugged me several hours ago. Not that she'd tried to get away at all, because she hadn't. She was clinging to me just as much as I was to her. It had only been a couple of days we'd been apart, but it had felt like a lifetime. And Lord knows I never wanted to go through that again. I owed Toni big time, too, and I would do whatever I could to repay her for getting Nicole and I back together.

We hadn't made love even though we both wanted to. Missing several doses of my medication had really affected me. I was in no shape to be physical with her, no matter how badly I wanted to be. I'd told her that and she'd been more than understanding and patient. She was like my own personal angel. I promised I'd make it up to her as soon as I was back on schedule and I wasn't in so much pain. And I knew exactly how I was going to make it up to her. It would be perfect. It would be a night she would never forget. At least, I hoped she wouldn't ever forget.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, tilting her head to look up at me.

"How nice it is to have you in my arms again. I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Sean." Her fingers traced circles on my stomach sending shivers up my spine. 

"And I was thinking how I owe Toni for getting us back together tonight."

Nicole laughed, "Yeah, for once Toni's meddling paid off."

"She cares about you."

"I know. I know she means well, but sometimes she doesn't know when to butt out."

"Well, I'm grateful she didn't butt out this time. If she had, you might never have spoken to me again," I teased with a wink. Nicole gave me a sultry smile then settled her head back down to my chest, snuggling closer to me with a contented sigh.

I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her just a little closer. I had an appointment with Dr. Monroe tomorrow morning and then physical therapy. The thought of having to leave here, of having to leave Nicole, tore at me. I wanted to spend every single moment I could with her. Then an idea struck me. "Do you have any plans tomorrow afternoon? Sasha and her husband are taking me to an early dinner before they head back home. Will you go with me?"

She once again turned to look at me. "Are you sure they won't mind?"

"No," I smiled, "Sasha is the only family I have and I know she would love to get to know you a little better."

"Yeah, okay, if you're sure she won't mind, I'd love to go. I kind of feel like I owe it to her to get to know her."

 "Why do you say that?" I asked, stroking my hand up and down her arm, loving how her flesh erupted in goose bumps beneath my touch.

"I had some pretty mean thoughts about her before I knew who she was to you, of course," She gave a nervous laugh.

I nodded thoughtfully, wondering exactly how mean Nicole's thoughts had been. I didn't think she had a mean bone in her body and it was on the tip of my tongue to ask what kind of thoughts she had, but I refrained. It didn't really matter. Things had been sorted and all was well with us now. "Can I ask you something else?" My voice was hesitant. Maybe it was too soon to ask her this. Guess it was too late now.

"Yeah, of course, you can ask me anything," she said.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "Dr. Monroe thinks my relationship with you is good for me, but he's also worried about how you're handling the complexities of dating a war veteran. It's not just my physical injury, Nicole. I have a lot of emotional scars, too." I glanced down to see her intently staring at me. "So, I was wondering if you'd be willing to go to some counseling sessions with me. You know, so we could both talk to Dr. Monroe and you could ask whatever questions you wanted."

"Is this okay with your doctor? Counseling is a very personal thing. I don't want to impose or anything," she said.

I sighed. Well, it wasn't a flat out no. There's still hope. "Yes, Dr. Monroe actually suggested I bring it up when I felt ready."

"And you're ready? We haven't really known each other that long."

"I know, but I think this could be good for both of us. I want to be completely honest with you, Nicole, and the best way to do that is for you to know the stuff I'm dealing with. So far, when I've been with you I've …"

"Yes, I'll go," she said, cutting me off.

I adjusted so I could get a better look at her face. There was a little bit of uncertainty in her eyes, but I guess that was to be expected. A smiled pulled at her full, pink lips, and I knew she was doing this for me, because she knew how important it was to me. And I only loved her more for it.

"I want you to be comfortable and I want you to know you can ask whatever you want."

"Okay," She planted a kiss on my chest, and then said, "Thank you."

"For what?" I said with a smile.

"For wanting to be so honest with me about everything, it means a lot to me. Not many people in my life have cared enough to do that."

I gently guided her onto her back and rolled onto my side so I was leaning over her. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it wasn't unbearable either. I caressed the side of her face with the back of my hand, leaned down, and kissed her slowly and softly on the lips. She laced her hands around the back of my neck and moaned into my mouth, making me want to forget all about the pain I was in so I could make love to her. I pulled away just enough so I could look into her big, hazel eyes. I took a deep breath and said the one thing I'd been wanting to tell her for days. "I love you, Nicole."

The glint of tears shone in the corners of her eyes and her lips trembled when she spoke. "I love you, too, Sean."

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on hers. She loved me. Nicole Baker, the woman of my dreams, my singing angel, loved me. It was a dream come true and I knew I was never going to let her go.

A month had passed since Sean and I had our misunderstanding and then reconciled. We spent every free moment together. The only time we weren't together was when Sean had therapy or I had practice. He slept at my apartment every night. I'd cook dinner then we'd snuggle on the couch watching movies, sometimes we'd play music, and other times we'd go straight to bed and make love. The way we were with each other was like something out of a fairytale. And much to my surprise, things between us didn't seem to be fading at all. In fact, our passion only seemed to grow with each passing day. Sean was doing so well and I could see how much better he was compared to when I'd first met him. I knew he still had a long way to go, but at least he was getting better and not worse.

I reached up and adjusted the blind-fold Toni had tied over my eyes. "Where are you taking me?" I asked her for the dozenth time.

"We're here, so stop your fidgeting," she said, bring the car to a stop and turning it off.

"Can I take this off now?" It was making me itchy.

"No," Toni laughed as she opened my door and helped me out of the car. "It won't be much longer then you can take it off. In the meantime, stop fussing. I'm not telling you anything."

I sighed, but kept my comments to myself and allowed Toni to guide me to wherever it was she was taking me. Sean had called me this morning and told me that Toni would pick me up around noon. He wouldn't tell me anything else. I had no idea why Toni was picking me up, or where she was taking me. All I knew was that she was taking me to see Sean and that the two of them had been scheming behind my back. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"Okay," Toni said, grasping my arm, bringing us to a stop. "Now, stand perfectly still and don't move, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," I said with a nod. I strained to listen, to see if I could hear anything that would give me a clue to where I was. I heard birds chirping. The smell of fresh cut grass and the faint aroma of wild flowers were carried on the light breeze that caressed my face.

"Hi, Nicole." Sean's voice so close to my ear startled me. "I'm going to untie the blindfold now."

I nodded and remained still as I felt him reach around behind my head and untie the blindfold. His cologne tickled my senses and sent my heart into a flutter. I blinked against the bright sunlight and tried to focus my eyes. Sean stood in front of me, blocking my ability to see anything but his gorgeous face and warm brown eyes. I smiled at him. "What's with all the secrecy?" I asked, putting my arms around his neck.

"I wanted to surprise you," he said, wrapping his arms around my stomach and pulling me closer to him, his lips finding mine. I would never tire of kissing him or what it felt like to be wrapped up in his strong arms.

"So, what's the surprise then?"

Sean released me and stood beside me, lacing our fingers together. "That," he said, nodding.

I looked around. It was the same place we'd had a picnic the day after the symphony. Sean had laid out a blanket in the same exact spot as before. Only this time, there wasn't a picnic basket. There was a bucket with a bottle of champagne and two glasses along with a tray of chocolate covered strawberries. I smiled. "You didn't have to go to so much trouble. You could've just asked me to meet you."

"Yes, but that would've ruined the effect," he said with a wink. I couldn't help but smile when he did that. "Come on." He tugged on my hand. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

My heart raced as I followed him toward the blanket. What could he possibly want to talk to me about? Oh God, he wasn't going to break up with me, was he? No, if that was his intention, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Besides, I trusted Sean and I knew he would never hurt me. Once we were both settled, Sean poured the champagne and handed me a glass. My hand trembled.

"I have to admit, I'm a little worried about what you want to talk to me about," I said.

Sean smiled slowly, "Don't worry. It's nothing bad," he assured me.

"Okay," I said, still not too sure. He raised his glass and clanked it against mine before taking a small sip. I did the same, the cold, bubbly liquid sliding down my throat with ease. It tasted good.

"Things are going well with us, don't you think?"

"Yes, they're great. Why?" No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep the fear from creeping into my voice.

"You have no regrets about being with me? Especially knowing more about me and my injuries?"

"No, of course not. I love you, Sean, and I don't say that lightly. Why? Are you having doubts about being with me?" Fear spread like wildfire through my body, consuming me to the point that it was becoming difficult to breathe.

"No." He smiled and shook his head. "Just the opposite actually," Sean said, reaching into his pocket and clutching something in his hand that I couldn't see. He took our glasses and set them aside. Then he took my left hand into his, stroking my knuckles with this thumb, and smiling. "I love you, Nicole. I love you so much and I can't stand the thought of living a life that you're not a part of."

I held my breath as he opened up his other hand to reveal a diamond ring. My heart felt like it stopped beating, and everything around us stilled so the only sounds I heard were of our heartbeats and Sean's shallow breaths.

"Nicole, I want to spend every moment for the rest of my life making you smile. I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep with you in my arms every night. You make me feel like a whole man again when I thought I never would. Will you marry me?" He asked, sliding the ring onto my finger.

My throat constricted and my eyes burned with tears. I took my hand from his and held it up in front of my face, admiring the beautiful, sparkling ring. It was absolutely perfect, and I couldn't tear my gaze from it.

"Nicole?" he said gently.

I smiled through my tears. "Yes," I whispered. "Oh my God, yes!" I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him as if he were the life sustaining air I needed.

"My God, I love you," he muttered, dragging his lips from my mouth down to my neck. "You have no idea how happy you've made me."

"I have an idea," I said, tilting my head to the side, giving him greater access to my neck. All it took was one more kiss and our bodies erupted with a burning passion that neither of us had ever felt before. I couldn't believe it, but before I knew it, we were both naked. It barely registered that we were outside. Thank goodness it was a secluded park and for the fact Sean had the good sense to think ahead and bring another blanket to cover us with.

My fingernails dug into the hard flesh of his biceps as he entered me. Like always, I cried out, but this time it was more from the pure pleasure than anything. I was getting used to him, to his size, and it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did the first few times. Now it just felt good. Every time he entered me, every time he brought me to orgasm, it was like we were experiencing each other for the first time all over again. Our souls connected on such a deep level the thought of losing Sean threatened to destroy me.

Sean moved in and out of me, slow and steady, his lips never straying too far from mine. His low, raspy voice whispered to me as we made love. "I can't seem to get enough of you, Nicole. I don't think I ever want to."

"Sean," I moaned his name, knowing exactly how he felt but unable to say so because my body was being ravished by my orgasm. I writhed and shuddered beneath him until I just couldn't take it anymore. Moments later, I felt him succumb to the pleasure, and then he collapsed on top of me, his face buried in my neck. I stroked his hair and neck. "I can't believe we're getting married."

He chuckled and put his weight into his arms, his hands on either side of my face. "Yes, we are really getting married."

I smiled and looked at my ring again, "It's a beautiful ring. I love it so much."

"Good, I'm glad," he said.

Sean eased out of me and I groaned from the sudden lack of contact. We both quickly dressed and finished what was left in our champagne glasses. "We have so much to figure out," I said, taking a strawberry from the tray and popping it into my mouth.

"Like what?" he asked, looking at me with a smile.

I shrugged. "You know, just all the wedding details. And where we were going to live; are you going to move into my apartment with me or are we going to get a new place?"

Sean kissed me. "There's no need to worry about all that right now, honey. We have our whole lives ahead of us."

I smiled as a wave of excitement washed over me. He was right. We did have our whole lives, and we had them together.