Page 98 of Keep Me Safe
“I’m furious,” he whispered against my lips, just before he kissed me.
He must have mistaken my soft sigh for pain, for he pulled back, but I latched on to him, dragging him back into my desperate kiss. I deepened it, forcing him to hunch over further. I didn’t care that it was awkward with my blood pressure cuff on my arm. Or that I surely looked like hell while he looked so damn good.
He was kissing me, and that was all that mattered.
When it ended, our foreheads pressed together and I clung to him, grabbing fistfuls of his expensive suit. A tremble shook my shoulders.
“You’re safe,” he said, stroking a reassuring hand up and down my arm.
There was a short knock on the door, our only warning before it swung open. He straightened from the bed, but I grabbed his hand on the bedrail, not ready to sever the connection between us.
A woman in her mid-forties entered, wearing medical attire. She gave a polite smile, obviously not wanting to interrupt this private moment, but she had rounds to do. She was the night nurse just coming on shift and didn’t speak English, so he offered to translate.
There were routine questions, such as my pain level or any alarming symptoms I’d noticed. Then the nurse began asking about administrative things. After a while, Shawnstopped translating and took over, handling it for me. I wasn’t upset about it; in fact, I was grateful. This was an extreme circumstance, and for once I’d allow him to make decisions for me.
“Tell me what you need,” he said when the nurse was gone. “Tell me what I can do.”
I took a deep breath. “Take me home.”
38
SHAWN
It wasunclear which home Kara meant. My apartment in Munich? Her flat in Maastricht? Or perhaps she meant the same home that Jason always claimed was his . . .
America.
Fine. I could do that. As soon as the doctors were confident the drugs were purged from her system and her concussion wouldn’t require anything more than rest, I begun the process of making that a reality.
And after she’d fallen back asleep, I finalized those plans with my assistant.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked L when she sat up.
“Since you were making out with my sister.” Her eyes were more vibrant than Kara’s and not as guarded, even when she was shooting daggers at me. But I much preferred her sister’s icy blue ones.
“You have no one to blame but yourself for that. You introduced us.”
“I also introduced you to Markus. Do you make out with him?”
She glanced at Jason, who was passed out so hard he looked dead. He hadn’t slept until it was clear Kara would be all right, and maybe he hadn’t truly slept since the CIA had taken Juric. Now he was making up for lost time.
L’s gaze returned to me, more serious. There was a question she was trying to put together in her head.
“Out with it already,” I said, a half-smile.
“Do you love her?”
I inhaled deeply, my gaze going to the woman asleep, her face peaceful in sharp contrast to the bruise fading on her cheek. This terrible ordeal had proven my feelings beyond doubt. “Yes.”
“Then be careful with her,” she said. “If you hurt her, I’m going to have to hurt you.”
I bit back the desire to tell her she looked adorable when she threatened me. “All right, noted.”
The final phone call squared away, I tried to get comfortable on the chair and sleep for a few hours, but as soon as I nodded off, Kara thrashed on the bed. She slid over to one side and looked at me expectantly.
“Get over here,” she whispered.
This was a command I was more than willing to follow. I lay down, pulling the blanket up over us. I was on my side, off the wound on my back, my feet hanging over the edge of the bed. Her head turned to me, waiting impatiently for my hold.
