Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
When I lifted my head, Beau was bare from the waist up, a sheet covering the rest of him. Large bandages peppered his chest. One near his heart. Another on his sternum. On the opposite side over his ribs. To the left of his belly button.
Gripping the sheet in my fists, I pushed myself straight.
“If you put your arm near his mouth,” Alice said with a nod. “He’ll drink. Instincts are a beautiful thing.”
Sliding to my feet, I leaned over Beau and pushed my coat and sweater up my arm, pressing the bare skin against his mouth. Nothing happened for a minute.
It felt like everyone held their breath. No one moved.
When his mouth opened and immediately clamped down on my wrist, I let out a sob of relief, my legs going out from under me.
“Got you,” Alice said, her strong arms wrapping tightly around my waist. “He’ll only take as much as he needs. Don’t worry.”
I almost pushed her away. Don’t worry? I wasn’t worried Beau would take too much. He could have anything he needed. I’d never been less afraid for myself. There wasn’t any room for self-preservation, not then.
“Good,” I whispered to Beau, pressing my lips against anything I could reach. His forehead. Cheek. Nose. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
Beau’s eyes opened slowly and met mine, panicked as he let go of my arm and swiped the tiny beads of blood with his tongue.
“You’re okay,” I repeated. “I’m okay. We’re at the house.”
Cupping his cheek in my hand, I watched as his eyes scanned the room, taking in the family that surrounded him. He let out a small, relieved puff of air and looked back at me.
“Kiss me,” he ordered, his voice broken and rough.
Alice laughed quietly as she let go of my waist and stepped away.
“I don’t take orders from you,” I argued with a small sob, leaning down to press my lips to his.
Before I’d even lifted my head, he’d lost consciousness again.
“No,” I yelped, jerking back to look at him. “No, wake up.”
“It’s okay,” Erik said, tearing his gown off as he moved toward us. “He needs the rest.”
“He woke up,” I argued, shaking my head as I stared at Beau. “No, he was just awake.”
“This is just sleep,” Alice said, carefully laying her hand on my shoulder. “Sleep will help him heal. This isn’t a bad thing, I promise you. He’s just sleeping, Reese.”
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest as I traced the contours of his face with my fingertips.
They spoke quietly behind me. I wished they’d all go away. I just wanted to be with Beau.
“Reese, we’re going to take him into a bedroom, all right?” Ambrose said, stopping on the opposite side of the table. “Somewhere more comfortable.” He paused. “For both of you, okay?”
Why was he still bothering me? Couldn’t they see that I wanted them to leave us alone?
Raising my head, I looked at Beau’s older brother. He looked almost as devastated as I felt.
“Just into a bedroom,” he repeated. “We’ve got a spare downstairs that’s all ready.”
I forced myself to nod. It was too bright in there anyway. There was no way that Beau could get any rest with a light shining in his face.
I shuffled out of the way as Beau’s brothers rolled the table toward the door by the sink.
“Come on,” Danny said softly, walking beside me as we followed them into the downstairs of the massive house. The door opened up to a place under the stairs near the kitchen—one I wouldn’t have thought was anything more than a closet if I’d seen it from the other side.
“Erik,” Mattie called, hurrying toward us.
“It went well,” Erik replied tiredly as Mattie reached Beau’s side. She murmured words I couldn’t hear.
There was a dull roar in my ears.
The room they took us to had a wide window with the curtains pulled back. There were no dressers or anything on the walls, but two plush chairs sat on either side of the bed. I hovered as Ambrose and Chase transferred Beau carefully onto the crisp white sheets of the bed, pulling them up to his waist before taking the operating sheet away.
I dropped numbly onto one of the chairs as the room began to clear.
Chance and Ambrose strode away, asking Alice about something I couldn’t hear. Erik stood on the opposite side of the bed while Mattie leaned over it, fussing with Beau’s bedding.
Looking down at my hands, I shuddered.
I was covered in blood. It was caked around the cuticles and beneath my fingernails. There were smears of it disappearing into my sleeves. Dropping my chin, I looked down at my coat. The originally purple fabric was nearly black.
Erik practically carried Mattie out of the room as she began to cry.
Leaning over, I set my hand on Beau’s bare arm, resting my cheek on the bed between us.