Only Pleasure(113)

Kia had known that. As she had felt the pain moving through her at the knowledge Brockheim just might kill her there, she knew Chase loved her. And that he would easily have tried to trade his life for hers.

"If I had done as you warned me, and not left your side, it wouldn't have happened," she whispered. "It was my fault, Chase. I couldn't let him hurt you because I was stupid. Besides, would you have suspected Harold of doing something so insane? I always thought Moriah got her insanity from her mother. Margaret was always a little different. Harold was always so steady, so patient."

He snarled, then groaned. His head dropped to the pillow by her shoulder, and she felt the tension radiating through him.

"I'm spanking you for this," he growled, "when you're better."

"Ah, my reward." She grinned, though it still hurt a bit. "I was wondering when you would get around to that."

His chuckle was rough as he lifted his head. His fingers whispered above the bruise on her face.

"I love you." He stared into her eyes, and she saw the truth of it. She saw all the bitter fury, the ragged pain he had felt when he burst into that room and saw her on the floor. She knew, because she knew how she would have felt. And she couldn't have borne knowing he had been hurt so severely.

"I love you," she whispered back. "But we really need to begin discussing events concerning Moriah Brockheim. You should have told me, Chase. Perhaps I would have understood more."

He shook his head. "Steel fucking spine," he whispered.

A frown snapped between her brow. That was what her father was always muttering to her mother. It couldn't be a good thing.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" she demanded, despite the lethargy stealing over her again.

"Hell, I think it's both." He leaned forward and kissed her lips gently. "Go to sleep, baby. You're going to need your strength when you get out of here."

"Don't leave me," she sighed. She was slipping away, the drugs they were giving her for the pain taking hold of her senses.

Her hand tightened on his. Chase laced his fingers with hers and brought them to his lips.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. Not even for a second."

He had been there for two days. He had showered in the bathroom attached to her private room, but other than that, he hadn't left the room. He wasn't leaving. If he had to take his eyes off her longer than what he absolutely had to, he might go insane.

"I love you," she whispered again as she slipped into sleep.

"I love you, Kia. Rest, baby."

He held her hand as she relaxed into sleep, unaware he was being watched until his head lifted and he saw Drew Stanton standing in the doorway.

Drew's expression was somber, his brown eyes a bit bitter, but accepting. In one hand he carried a vase of flowers. He moved into the room and set the flowers on the table by her bed and stared down at her.

"He bruised her cheek," Drew whispered sadly.

"As you did," Chase reminded him. He wasn't ready to forgive the other man for that.

Drew nodded slowly before meeting Chase's eyes again. "I courted her and I married her because I thought you wanted her. I thought, look at me, the big shit. I have something Chase Falladay wants and can't have."

Chase stared at him in surprise.

"You always had her, though." He sighed. "And when I saw her in that room, willing to die to protect you, I guess I finally grew up." He shook his head. "Maybe, if I had cared more for her than I had for myself, things might have been different."

Chase shook his head. "I would have taken her from you eventually."

To that, Drew smiled. "No, you wouldn't have. Kia keeps her promises, Chase. All of them, no matter what, no matter how much it hurts her. You'll find that out. She doesn't back down. She doesn't fight. She doesn't rage. But you'll see." He nodded, amusement sparking his eyes.

"You'll find out. She's stronger than any other woman you'll ever meet, and most men."

He already knew that. Chase stared back at Drew, holding that knowledge close to himself. He had known that for a while now.

"I'm heading to England," Drew said then. "New job, better position and pay." He shrugged. "Tell her I said goodbye."

He turned and stepped toward the door.

"Drew." Chase stopped him as he passed the end of the bed. The other man turned back to him. "Thank you for being there. For seeing what I missed when she stepped into that elevator."

Drew's lips quirked. "You weren't the only one worried." Then he nodded and turned and walked out of the room.

Chase stared down at Kia and whispered another prayer. A thank-you.

Other than the concussion and some bruising, she was going to be fine. She would be out of the hospital in the morning and home where she belonged. In their home. In his bed.