Page 93 of The Scars of Us

My eyes snapped open before my gaze traveled down, focusing on hair the color of dark chocolate, porcelain skin, and a small, familiar body—Kaiya.How did she get here?

“As soon as she woke up, she made me bring her to you,” a voice answered my unspoken question.

My eyes met Kamden’s, who sat in a chair next to my bed. He looked like he had aged years since I saw him last, and exhaustion laced his face. Deep, purple bags rimmed his eyes, and his skin looked pallid. “Sounds like her. She’s so stubborn,” I chuckled, then winced from the resulting pain in my chest.

“You okay? Do you need me to get a nurse?”

I looked down at Kaiya’s head on my chest, and smiled. “Nah, I’m good now.”

“You love her?” Kamden abruptly questioned.

I looked up at him. After what we had gone through, after what I’d done for her, I didn’t have to even think about my answer. “Yes, I love her.”

He gave me a small, but genuine smile. “Thank you for…” He cleared his throat as his eyes watered. “For saving Kaiya. I don’t know how I can ever repay you, but I’ll find a way.”

“You don’t have to do anything. I have everything I need right here.” I gestured to Kaiya in my arms.

His smile widened as he wordlessly stood and walked to the door. When he grabbed the handle, he looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be outside if she needs me.”

Focusing back on the amazing woman next to me, I softly ran my fingers through her hair as I quietly spoke, “Wake up, my Warrior.”

She began to stir as I continued to run my fingers through her long locks. I probably should’ve let her sleep, but I needed to see her, needed to make sure she was really okay, especially since I hadn’t completely stopped the bullet. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to forget the image of it embedded in her skin.

Her head shifted as she looked up at me. Those gorgeous eyes captivated me as they met mine, making me lose myself in her as I sank into them.

“Hi,” she murmured as her lips tipped up in a soft smile.

“Hi. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but better now that I’m here.”

“I heard you fought your way over here.”

“Me? What about you? I heard you ripped your stitches open trying to get to me,” she countered as her mouth quirked up playfully.

“They told you that, huh?” I glanced away, slightly embarrassed by my behavior.

“Yep,” she replied, putting extra emphasis on the P as she gave me a teasing grin. “Now, why would you do something crazy like that?”

“When I want something, I have to have it. You know that.”

She scooted up a little, bringing our faces closer together, maybe only inches apart. “So did you get what you wanted?”

Closing the distance between us, I tenderly pressed my lips to hers, ignoring the light pain it caused in mine. “Now, I did.” I set my forehead against hers.

“Don’t ever do something like that again,” Kaiya scolded as she gripped onto my hospital gown, her playfulness from moments before gone. The tone in her voice told me that she was crying, so I pulled back to cradle her face in my hands. The sight of all the cuts and bruises, along with her tears broke my heart—I hated to see her hurt.

“I’d do it again if I had to.” I grazed my thumbs over her cheeks. I’d take a bullet for her no questions asked.

Her watery eyes locked on mine. “Why?”

We’d never talked about love before, both of us afraid of what it signified. Our pasts had made us scared to love, but after almost losing her, I wasn’t going to take what we had for granted anymore. “Because I love you.”

Her lip trembled as more tears flowed from her eyes. “I love you, too,” she sobbed before bringing our mouths back together again. Our lips caressed each other, embracing softly as our tongues lightly laced together. Passion was evident in every movement, present in every breath as we demonstrated the love that we had just spoke.

When we finally broke apart, Kaiya’s lips were swollen and her skin flushed beneath the bruising. Her cheeks were stained with tears as she looked at me.

“So, all I had to do was take a bullet for you to get you to tell me that you love me? Why didn’t I do that sooner?” I joked.

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