Nat strode to the bed and grab Sam’s bandaged hand. She spoke quietly in a wobbly voice. “I’m so sorry, Sam. If I hadn’t—”
“This isn’t your fault.” He told her. “No one could have known that this would happen. I’m sure Sam wouldn’t want you to feel guilty.”
Nat nodded and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. She bent, kissed Sam’s forehead, and then turned to Riel. “Sam’s really special. Please, please love her with all you’ve got, because that’s how she loves you. She needs happiness in her life.” Natalia walked toward the door and stopped. “I’m not sure if Sam understand what a mate means to your kind, but she knows what love means to her. And it means everything.”
Riel stood there in silence listening to the sounds of the machines beep. Emotions ran rampant inside him for his mate. Anger, fear, love, and pain all mingled to make a cocktail of frustration he’d never felt before. He walked toward her and sat by the bed. Frustration he’d never felt before filled him.
For those endless moments when she’d stopped breathing, his heart had ceased to beat. Even if she wasn’t his mate he’d still want her. She’d captured his heart the first moment he’d seen her. His mate was not going to be hurt again. And he wasn’t letting her go.
* * *
When she opened her eyes, the first thing Sam noticed was the darkness. She was in a hospital room. And Riel was sleeping on a chair beside her bed. She grinned. His head lolled forward in repose. The slight beard growth and messy brown hair made him look so sexy. A white T-shirt did a poor job at concealing his bulging muscles beneath. Memories of how she ended up in the hospital assailed her brain. He’d saved her, again. If she didn’t already love him, she surely would now. The man had gone into a burning house to get her out.
She tested her voice. “Ry.” The low croak was barely audible, but his head shot up.
He moved forward and caressed her cheek with one hand. “Don’t talk. Raven said you’re throat is going to hurt for a while. Let me get you some ice.” He moved toward a table and filled a plastic cup with ice chips.
Trying to make herself comfortable, she turned her head to the side rail and searched for a button to lift the bed to a sitting position. Once she was finally sitting up, she smiled. He sat on the edge of the bed and passed her the cup.
The cool comfort of the ice chips going down her throat rivaled the pleasure from eating the best ice cream in the world.
Several chips later she tried her voice again. “Thank you.” No longer a weird trucker hack, her voice had the low, husky tone found in phone-sex operators. She grinned, cleared her throat, and tried again. “Testing, testing. If you’d like for me to strip, press one now.” When Riel’s brows lifted, she laughed and then coughed. Crap, she should’ve known her lungs were still not ready for comedy hour.
He quirked his lips, but his frown was all concern. “How do you feel?”
“Better than I did the last time I saw you. The house?” Hopeful that something was salvaged, she bit her lip and waited.
He gave a sad shake of his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s all gone.”
All of Ginny’s memories evaporated because someone wanted to be rid of Sam. The only thing left was that trunk she’d taken to Riel’s home. Ginny’s home was the only place she’d ever really belonged to.
Tears gathered in her eyes, and she blinked back the need to cry. Not only had she lost Ginny, but she’d lost a lifetime of memories with the only relative who had ever cared for her.
“It’s OK. I know there was nothing you could do. Hell, you got me out alive. Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. The spiky hairs of his beard growth pinched at her skin when he sniffed her. He fluttered soft kisses over her neck and shoulder. Having his nose by her throat brought a measure of comfort she hadn’t expected.
His soft rumble vibrated by her ear. “You don’t need to thank me. I would never let anything happen to you. You’re mine.” And she was in full agreement. She was his, and he was hers.
* * *
When she finally returned to Riel’s house, the first thing she did was shower. After five long days in the hospital, she carried the grime of the world on her skin.
Her amazing man had gotten Nat to buy her new clothes. They were situated in his closet waiting for her. Everything she needed of a personal nature sat by his toiletries in his bedroom.
Remembering Sophia’s words about Riel wanting their mating to be Sam’s choice, she decided not to wait any longer. She’d almost died twice, and the reality was that anything could happen. There were no guarantees in life. Why stop from acknowledging how she felt because it was kind of soon? Who said there was a right time to tell someone you loved them? All she knew was that she wasn’t going to go another day without him knowing the extent of her feelings. She was in love with him, and there was no way she’d live the rest of her life without him knowing. Aside from her feelings, her body and hormones were wreaking havoc with her mental stability. She was still horny as hell, and her body craved him in the worst way.