Saved by Venom 3 (Grabbed)(11)

“It’s in my pocket, sugar.” Venom eased onto the bed, his hip against hers, and brushed his bare fingertips along her cheek. “You’re in the infirmary aboard the Valiant, the battleship where I’m stationed.” Lifting her hand, he kissed the back of it. “You scared me, Dizzy.”

Scared him? Hell, she had terrified herself. Never in her entire life had she felt such stabbing pain. Passing out cold had been a blessing because the searing-hot ice-pick-through-the-brain sensation had finally stopped.

Looking up into Venom’s taut face, she read the worry clearly. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“Scaring you.” Her voice sounded a bit gravelly so she cleared her throat.

“You don’t have to apologize for that. Are you thirsty?” He reached for the small blue cup and matching pitcher on a rolling tray.

“Very.” Her mouth was so incredibly dry. Realizing she was flat on her back, she started to sit up but Venom’s huge paw gently flattened against her chest. Her questioning gaze flicked to his face. “What are you doing?”

“Easy,” he said calmly. “You’re not supposed to sit up too fast. Let me handle it.”

She was too groggy to argue with him. He flipped out a panel attached to the side of the bed and tapped at some sort of screen. Though most technology was forbidden on her planet, the area of The City where she lived had been teeming with illicit and black market goods, including handheld tablets with touchscreens like that panel.

Slowly the bed began to incline. She expected to experience pain or dizziness as she shifted positions. Her brow furrowed as she felt…nothing. There was no swooping in her belly or aching behind her ears. It struck her quite suddenly that she could hear everything. That annoying ringing that normally plagued her when she woke had vanished.

“Venom!” She snatched his hand. “I can hear!”

The flash of fear that had crossed his face when she grabbed him faded quickly. Grinning down at her, he cupped her jaw. “You couldn’t hear well before the surgery?”

“Not always,” she said. “I had this awful tinny ring in my ears whenever I moved fast and especially in the morning.” She touched her forehead in wonder. “I’m not dizzy.”

He ran his thumb across her lower lip. “You’re still Dizzy though.”

She rolled her eyes at his lame joke. “Funny.”

He chuckled softly and picked up the cup of water. Carefully he pressed it to her mouth. “Small sips. You might be a little queasy after the anesthesia.”

She dutifully followed his directions and swallowed tiny drinks until her parched mouth and throat felt better. “Thank you.”

He set aside the cup and slid back down onto the bed next to her. Taking her hand in his, he explained, “When you passed out on the transport ship, the medics sedated you and gave you some medicine so you wouldn’t be sick again.”

She groaned and glanced away in humiliation. “I’m so sorry I caused such a scene.”

“Don’t,” he whispered gently. “You’re not the first person to get sick or pass out on a flight. It happens all the time.”

She cast a skeptical eye his way. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Feeling marginally better about embarrassing herself, she reached up to touch her left ear. Venom’s hand shot out with lightning speed to stop her. “No.”

She frowned at him. “Why can’t I touch my ear?”

“You have tiny incisions. They’re already healing but you shouldn’t touch them.”

She gulped nervously. “What did they do to me?”

“They used a thin probe, like a fine wire, to bust up the obstructions that were causing your dizziness and nausea and that ringing in your ears. They did it with lasers and sonar waves.” He glanced at the partly open door. “I can ask one of the surgeons to explain it to you.”

“Later.” She was certain the doctor would come in to speak with her eventually.

“They inserted some drains to make sure fluid and deposits won’t build up there again. You’ll have to have them checked periodically but the docs expect you’ll have no issues in your recovery.”

“When can I leave the infirmary?”

“I’ll take you home in the morning. You could leave now but I want them to keep you overnight just in case.” He gazed at her with such intense desire. “I’ve waited a long time for you. I don’t want anything else to go wrong.”

Though his voice was naturally gruff, he spoke with such tenderness. She still couldn’t quite reconcile this big menacing soldier with the genuine kindness he showed her. Since pulling her onto his lap out there in the snowy forest, he had treated her like some kind of precious prize to be protected and cherished.

“How long have you waited to enter one of these Grabs?”

He wrapped some of her pale hair around his thick finger. “Years. Over ten,” he clarified.

Her lips parted in shock. “Ten years? But—why wait so long?”

“I wasn’t…” His jaw tensed. “It wasn’t the right time for me to bring a woman into my life until recently. This new deployment here above Calyx is long-term and stable. It’s relatively safe here, all things considered and a good place to start a family.”

The longing in his voice cut through all her anxiety over the rather rash decision she had made back in the forest. She wasn’t silly enough to think it was going to be easy to build something real with Venom—but she didn’t doubt that he was sincere about all the things he had promised her when he knelt in the snow.

Venom traced the ugly scars on her throat. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d been treated on the Indefatigable after you were wounded in the bombing?”

She shrugged. “I assumed it was obvious. How else would I have survived these types of injuries? I mean, there are some underground doctors in The City but none of them have trauma training.”

He ran his fingertip along a gnarly bump. “Do you know who brought you onto the ship?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have any memories of my time in that ship’s hospital. They used heavy sedation to force accelerated healing on me. They dropped me back on Calyx in my father’s care while I was still sedated. I think they had me up here for like a week.”

Venom looked annoyed. “They just sent you back like that? What if you’d had complications?”

“There was a medical team in The City center but I recovered without any problems.”

He let his hand fall from her neck. “Did your mother work in the embassy?”

“No. Why?”

“I wondered why you were extended the courtesy of our medical care. I understood that most of your people who were injured in the bombing refused our offers of aid. Did they take you because you were so young?”

Dizzy hesitated and picked at the edge of the crisp gray sheet covering her lower half. She didn’t want to lie to him, not at the very beginning of their relationship. However bizarrely it had begun it felt as though it had long-term potential. She didn’t want an untruth between them this early in the game.

Finally she sighed and admitted, “My mother was having an affair with one of the men at the embassy. One of your men. I didn’t know it until about a week before the bombing when I heard my parents arguing about it. I started following her to see what made this other guy so special that she’d break up our family and then…well.” She touched her neck. “I woke up back in my bed at home almost ten days later.”

“I see.”

Feeling the need to defend her mother’s memory, she added, “My mom was a good woman. She loved me and she was such a great mother to me. She fought to have a career and was incredibly successful at it. Everyone loved her and—”

“Dizzy.” He spoke firmly but gently. “I’m not judging her.” He tapped her hand. “Did you know who the man was?”

She frowned at him. “Why are you asking all these questions about my mom’s affair?”

“I’m sorry.” He held up his hand. “I shouldn’t pry. It’s the tactician in me. I want to know all the angles.”

“Look, even I don’t know all the angles behind that story. Frankly I don’t want to know them. Whatever my mother was doing was really none of my business. She’s gone now. None of that matters anymore.”

Venom remained silent for a few long moments before tipping her chin. “You hungry?”

“What?” His question took her off guard.

“It’s almost dinnertime. Would you like to eat?”

She hadn’t had a bite since breakfast with Ella. The thought of her best friend sent pangs of sadness through her. Venom must have seen it on her face because he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“My friend,” she said. “I just realized I’m probably never going to see Ella again.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well…I understood that most brides who are taken never have contact with Calyx.”

“That’s not true. We try to establish contact between new mates and their families whenever possible. So long as your friend passes a background check I don’t have any issue with you maintaining regular contact with her.”