Incinerate

Reaching down, I begin to work her clit, stimulating her, and it’s not long before I can tell that she’s close.

“Open your eyes, baby,” I tell her, wanting her to see me, to have her undivided attention when she comes. She complies, and I reward her by finally speeding things up, pumping in and out of her rapidly until we’re both right on the edge of orgasm.

Moments later, when we’ve both found release, she pulls me down to her and places a kiss on my lips. She leaves the bed, presumably to clean up, and then comes back in. We settle into the bed together, and I move to my side but she grabs my hand and pulls me close.

“Hold me tonight?” she asks. I move in and slip my arms around her, pulling her close so our chests are touching.

“Get some sleep,” I tell her, not sure how either of us even has our eyes open at this point.

“I will. Thank you, Knox. It means the world to me that you’re here. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this without you,” she says, and I have to shake my head. This girl has no idea.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. You’ll never have to find out,” I tell her. The answer must satisfy her, because moments later, she’s sound asleep, and I know I’m not far behind her.

Charlie

THE NEXT morning, I wake up, dazed when I realize I’m in Knox’s arms, in our bed, in our home. Smiling at the thought—our home—I’m stretching when it hits me. In a rush, I lean over Knox to check the time. It’s after nine, and visiting hours have already started. Dammit! I meant to be up and ready as soon as I could, not wanting Dad to wake up without me there.

Jumping out of the bed, I remember how tender and sweet Knox was last night. It’s like he knew just what I needed. I wanted to get lost in the moment, to forget about Dad, forget everything for a little while. But he wouldn’t let me as he forced me to look at him, to know that he was the one making me feel pleasure. In the end, I was glad, because being lost in him was so much more soothing than being lost in my thoughts, and for a few moments, I was. Completely, utterly lost in him, and I didn’t care to ever be found.

“Charlie, what are you doing?” his sleepy voice asks as I start ru

“We overslept. I need to get to the hospital,” I tell him as I head into the bathroom, where I brush my teeth, splash some water over my face, and throw my hair in a ponytail.

Going to get my phone from the nightstand, I notice I have a text. Knox is getting out of bed, and I’m distracted as he moves to his closet, where he throws on a pair of jeans and a white Henley—one that fits his toned chest and makes my mouth water every time he puts it on. I only give myself a moment to check him out when he asks about the text. “As of half an hour ago, Olivia said Dad’s still asleep but his vitals are stable.”

Crossing to me, he gives me a kiss. “See, babe, everything’s fine. Let me rinse my mouth out and then we’ll be on our away. I’ll get you there in no time.”

“You don’t have to come, Knox. I know how much you hate hospitals, and I have no idea how long I’ll be there,” I tell him, giving him an out even though I can’t stand the thought of doing this without him.

Relief washes over me when I see him shake his head. “I told you last night that I’ll always be there. If I have to walk into that hospital every single day, I’ll be there. Just give me a couple of minutes,” he says, disappearing into the bathroom.

Wandering out to the living room, I find myself pacing the floor until he emerges from the bedroom. I don’t wait as he locks up the house, and he meets me at the car, finally on our way to the hospital.

“Do you think it’s a bad sign that he’s still not awake?” I ask, wondering how long he’s going to be out.

He grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze before he drops his down to the gear shift. “Remember what the doctor said? His body’s probably just letting him sleep longer to build up his energy levels. I’m sure it’s normal.”

Knowing he’s probably right, I lean over to turn the radio on, hoping some music will drown out all the thoughts that are racing through my mind. I’m anxious to get to the hospital, to see Dad in the light of day, not the middle of the night where it was hard to really study him.

It’s not long before we’re pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. When we make it to Dad’s floor, Knox asks a nurse about his status. She checks the computer and tells us that the doctor is with him, so she instructs us to take a seat in the waiting room. I can barely sit still, and Knox grabs my hand, brushing my skin with his thumb.

“Calm down, Charlie. You don’t need to be all frazzled and out of sorts when you see your Dad. You’re the strongest woman I know, and it’s because of that man,” he says, lifting my chin so I’m looking at him. “It’s okay to break when you’re with me. I’ll hold you whenever you need me to. I’ll always be here to wipe your tears. But when you walk in that room, you walk in with your head held high. You walk in as Charlie Davenport, the strong, independent woman I’ve come to care so much about. Don’t give him anything else to worry about while he’s recovering. If he sees you crying, it’s going to crush him, so can you do that? Can you be strong for just a little while? For him?”

His words almost break me, but I know he’s right. The last thing I need to do is stress Dad out. Knox places his arms around, and I sink into his embrace, clinging to him.

“Let it out now, sweetheart,” he tells me, and I do, not caring that I’m soaking his shirt.

Eventually I’m all cried out, feeling a little bit calmer and confident that I can go see Dad without breaking down. I pull away from him just in time to see Olivia and a doctor leaving Dad’s room. Olivia spots us and walks over. She looks a little better than she did last night, but I can tell she didn’t get much sleep. Knox and I both stand, waiting to hear the news.

A smile breaks out on her face, and I’m instantly relieved. “Your dad just woke up. He’s cranky, but that’s about it. His blood pressure’s back to normal, and everything else checks out. He’s waiting for you, Charlie,” she says, and I have to stifle a sob as Knox squeezes my shoulder. “I’m going to leave you alone and go do some paperwork in my office. I’ll be around later to check on him.”

We watch as she walks away, and I start to head to Dad’s room when I realize Knox isn’t with me. Turning around, I see him standing back, hands in his pockets. Moving back towards him, I place a hand on his arm. “What’re you doing, Knox?” I ask, wondering why he’s hanging back.

“Go see your dad, Charlie. You two need some time alone together. I’ll go down and get some coffee, give you some space,” he says, and my heart melts just a little bit at his thoughtfulness.

“Thanks, Knox. That’s sweet of you,” I tell him, and I mean it. Getting up on my tiptoes, I place a soft kiss against his lips. “It’s like you can read my mind. You always anticipate my needs. As much as I hate what happened to you, I’m glad I landed on your doorstep, Knox Wellington. I know you’re probably not ready to hear this, but if I’ve learned anything in the past fifteen hours, it’s that life’s short. Too short for me not to tell you how I feel.”

He’s watching me intently, waiting for me to continue. I take a deep breath and finally open up my heart to him. “I can’t exactly pinpoint when it happened. I don’t know if it as when you opened up to me about your past or when you made me burn scrambled eggs. The night you sang to me or all those times I was so infuriated by you—and by the fact that I couldn’t get you off my mind. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it happened. I don’t care when or where, but Rugged, I fell in love with you, and every day you’re by my side, I fall even harder.”