Page 6 of Toy

“Don’t mind at all. You’ll have to apologize to her for me, though. I’m sure my bullet-wound stitches aren’t exactly the nicest thing to look at right now,” he said with a tight smile.

I laughed. “It’s her job to look at stuff like that. She doesn’t mind, trust me,” I replied. “By the way, she told me to tell you when you finally woke up—if you feel like you got hit by a truck today, it’s because they’ve been lowering your painkiller dosage.”

“I guess that explains why I’m suddenly lucid, too.”

I nodded. “Yeah. You should be able to think straight and remember stuff now. But if the pain gets too bad, I can call the doctor, and he’ll come and check you out.” I gently slapped my palm against my forehead. “Oh! That reminds me. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. Speaking of doctors, guess who treated you?”

“I have no idea.”

I racked my brains, realizing I’d suddenly forgotten the doctor’s name. “Shit. I can’t actually remember his name, but he said he remembered you. He recognized you when you came in, and he told me he treated you when he used to work at another hospital. He helped after the whole incident in Amiens.”

“What does he look like?”

“Short, skinny. Gray curly hair.”

“Dr. Melbourne?”

I nodded. “That’s it, yeah.”

Mason let out a groan. “Let me guess. He said: ‘this guy is one lucky son of a bitch’.”

I lifted a brow. “How did you know that?”

“It’s what he said to me when he treated me for all the burns. ‘You’re one lucky son of a bitch’. Didn’t feel so lucky at the time, believe me.”

I smiled. “I think he meant you’re lucky for surviving something that would normally kill a person. Twice.”

“I get it.” He cocked his head to the side. “But the only thing I really feel lucky about is meeting you.”

My cheeks flushed. “I never thought I’d hear you say something so corny,” I said softly, a smile curving up my lips.

Mason pushed himself higher on the bed. “Seriously,” he said gruffly. “I don’t deserve you, or any of this.”

I arched my brows again. “Mason, you took a bullet for me. I think we’re square. Besides, I’m the lucky one. If I wasn’t at your house that day, Tom probably would’ve gotten me.”

He shook his head. “That’s my fault. I should’ve had the security team following you everywhere. Not just monitoring your apartment.”

I shrugged. “I’m pretty sure Tom still would’ve found me and taken me eventually. And like I said, you took a goddamned bullet for me. So you can stop with all this ‘I don’t deserve you’ crap. You do, and I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me now.”

He smiled and nodded slowly. “Pretty sure I can live with that.”

“Good.” I returned his smile, noticing how he was eyeing my lips.

I leaned in and let him kiss me. It was slow and soft at first, and then he pulled my lower lip into his mouth, giving it extra attention with his teeth. I gasped at the scorching intensity, breathing deeply. God, how I’d missed this.

Mason finally released me, leveling his eyes with mine. “I love you,” he said in a low, soft voice.

“I love you too,” I murmured, filled with unshakable joy as I stroked a hand over his hard chest. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re still here. I seriously thought I was going to lose you that day.” I pulled my hand back a moment later. “Speaking of still being alive, you should finish your breakfast before you starve.”

“I know what I’d rather eat after that kiss,” he said, arching one eyebrow.

I giggled softly. “Tempting, but you need your strength. You’ll have to have the bacon and eggs instead.”

I watched him work away at the food, and then I stood up. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’m going to make some coffee for myself and get you some juice to wash all that down.”

“I’ll get it,” he said, sitting up straighter.

I shook my head. “No, stay there. The doctor doesn’t want you to walk around yet. Not for another three days, at least.”

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