Heart Of The Billionaire(46)

Maddie sighed as Max’s arms came around her, pulling her into a fierce hug. “Finding you was something I never expected, but I’m grateful. I just wish I could have found you earlier. I hate what you went through in your childhood. It couldn’t have been easy for you.”

She clung to him, tears streaming down her cheeks, already sensing that Max was a man who felt deeply.

Oh, Max. You need to heal. I can feel so much pain inside you.

Maddie could feel Max’s loneliness in the desperation of his embrace. Her brother was in pain, but she could do nothing except hold him tight, hoping her joy in finding him could somehow touch his empty soul.

“Hey…take your grimy paws off my fiancée.” Sam’s teasing growl sounded from the door. Max and Sam exchanged grins, both of the men looking relieved that they didn’t have to brawl anymore.

Maddie released her brother, turning to Sam with a worried frown. “Did the doctor say you could be walking?” she asked, her voice admonishing.

Her heart did a happy dance as she looked at Sam, still in tuxedo pants covered with a hospital gown. He was battered and bruised everywhere, but he had never looked so good. His smile was slightly pained and his normal fierce stride was slower from the pain of his injuries, but damn, he looked good, especially since she had feared he had been badly hurt, or worse.

He gave her a wicked, lopsided grin. “Yes, Dr. Demanding, he did. I made him come to Radiology to look at the x-rays immediately. I wasn’t staying strapped on the damn uncomfortable board any longer than I had to be.” He walked toward her slowly, and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek.

Maddie’s breath hitched, wondering how an innocent kiss could feel so sensual.

Because Sam’s every touch is filled with intimacy and it gets to me. Bad.

“So you’re throwing your financial power around again, making the medical staff do your bidding?” Maddie asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. She was fairly certain Sam hadn’t asked the physician politely. Sam had demanded…and because he was a generous donor to the medical facility, he got whatever he wanted.

“You’re a doctor, and it’s never worked on you,” he muttered, disgruntled.

Maddie folded her arms in front of her, lifting a brow as she met his gaze. “That’s because I’ve been on to you for years. That charming smile doesn’t work with me,” she informed him, trying to keep a straight face.

Honestly, she could barely refrain from throwing herself into his arms and clinging to him until she convinced herself he was going to be okay. Memories of him vaulting onto that railing and leaping over a treacherous drop to get in front of her to protect her kept haunting her brain over and over like a horrible nightmare. What guy did something like that?

A man who cares about me more than his own life.

“You love me. You know you do,” Sam said huskily, a teasing yet vulnerable timbre in his voice, the back of his hand smoothing over her cheek as he said it.

Maddie smiled, unable to help herself. She had heard Simon and Sam banter so many times, heard Sam tell his brother the exact same words. Simon’s answer to that particular comment was nearly always…“Not today.”

She caught his wandering hand and held it over her cheek, her heart racing as she answered softly, “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. I love you every moment of every day.” Really, how could she reply to him any other way? Sam needed love and she would never again pretend that he wasn’t her world. She was done hiding her feelings and not revealing how she felt. He had terrified the hell out of her tonight. Life was too short not to say exactly how she was feeling.

His eyes turned liquid, sparking like the exquisite gemstone color they resembled. “Damn, sweetheart…I like your answer a hell of a lot more than Simon’s,” he rasped emotionally, his gaze entwining with hers, his eyes speaking volumes. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words from you?”

Maddie shook her head, unable to speak.

“Forever,” he replied emphatically, his fingers wrapping around hers, his grip almost painfully tight. “Let’s go home.”

“You haven’t been cleared to leave, and you’re staying until I consult with the doctor,” she demanded. There was no way Sam was leaving until she knew every tiny injury he had.

“Tyrant,” he accused with a charming smile. “It’s pretty hot. Do you want to play doctor when we get home?”

Maddie shivered, the thought of examining Sam’s body in detail would have been arousing if he wasn’t beat to hell. Ignoring his sexual innuendo, she answered, “You need to take it easy. You’re going to be sore.”