Page 79 of Maverick

“Are you okay? Do you hurt at all? Fuck, Willow. You scared the shit out of me. I thought I lost you.”

Maverick took my hands in his and brought them to his lips. He gently kissed my knuckles and gazed down at me. I took my hands from his and brought them to his face.

I grazed his rough cheeks, the stubble from his beard tickled my fingers. “How long was I out?”

I could see the turmoil behind his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes always turned dark and stormy when he was battling his emotions.

Maverick cleared his throat. “A week. They had you in a medically induced coma to help you heal. Started to wean you off the medicine yesterday.”

“Were you here the whole time?”

He carefully sat down on the bed next to me. “Of course. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I almost lost you, Willow. How could I live with myself if I lost the woman I love?”

I sat up and looked at him, baffled by his confession. “The woman you what?”

A blush crept across his cheeks. He looked down at me bashfully. “The woman I love. I love you more than anything, Willow. I’m so sorry it took me so long to say it. I was scared, dumb, foolish. Oh hell, I fucked up. I should have told you that day I met you on the side of the road. I knew you were going to be a wild ride that was going to shake my whole world up.”

I pulled his face down to mine and placed my lips on his. He held back and gently kissed me. When we pulled away, I gave him a curious look. “You know you can kiss me with some more oomph. I’m not broke, Mav.”

We both laughed and he took my face in his hands. Maverick leaned down and kissed me like it was our first time. His fingers tangled in my hair and pulled me closer to him. Maverick’s tongue pushed past my lips to duel with mine.

I moaned and leaned up for more when a cough made us pull apart. We both looked up to see Doctor Tickner and Lilah standing in the doorway.

Lilah just laughed and made her way to my bed. “Well, looks like you’re doing good then. How are you feeling, Willow?”

I smiled and the blush on my cheeks started to disappear. “I’m doing okay. I did press the button for more medicine. I’m also a little confused about how I got here and what happened but other than that, I’m doing pretty good.”

Doctor Tickner came over and started to review my charts before coming over to me. “Confusion is normal for a head injury. Thankfully, the damage was minimal and we were able to heal you right up.”

Lilah sat next to me and placed her hand on mine. “That’s the good news. But unfortunately, we have some bad news as well.”

Doctor Tickner flipped through my chart again. “Yes. Due to the extent of the injuries, you will need to spend a significant amount of time in a rehabilitation center.”

“How long? What about Orion? What about Maverick?”

Lilah gently rubbed my arm. “One thing at a time, Willow. The rehab center is right here at the Medical Center. We only have a few beds, but you scored one of them. You will need to be there for about a month or two, depending on your progress.”

I sighed and leaned my head back on the pillow. “Fuck me.”

Maverick laughed and Lilah playfully rolled her eyes. Doctor Tickner chuckled and started to sign some papers. “It will go by quickly. Once you graduate rehabilitation, you will need to find a place to live. They are building some new apartments downtown, but they won’t be ready in time for you. I cannot release you unless you have a home, Willow. And I would like it to be near somebody who can check up on you.”

Lilah stood up and smiled. “She’ll stay with us. We have plenty of room and me or Mama will always be there. I mean if that’s okay with you, Willow.”

Maverick moved closer to me and looked at Lilah. “No. She’ll move in with me.” He turned and looked down at me. “You already know the house. Orion knows the house and is comfortable there. And all of your stuff is already there. No need to spend more money for a place you won’t be staying.”

“Listen, bossy pants. How about you ask me first? You just told me you loved me and already are demanding I move in?”

He sheepishly hung his head and gave a puppy dog look. “Willow. Please move in with me.”

I laughed and leaned up to kiss him. “Of course I will. I just wanted to hear you say please. But I do have a big question for everybody.”

They all nodded and I gently pet Orion. I was struggling with my emotions and with the pain that was suddenly spreading across my body. Lilah could tell and walked over to the machine and pressed the button.

“Take your time, Willow. And if you are in any amount of pain, you need to let us know right away. We need to keep track and we can always up your medicine, okay?”

I nodded and cleared my throat. “I remember bits and pieces of what happened. But it all feels like a bad dream. Can you please tell me what happened?”

Maverick and Lilah looked at each other and their green eyes went dark. Doctor Tickner nodded toward both of them and left the room. Lilah and Maverick seemed to have a whole conversation without saying a word. She got up and left the room and then came back in with somebody behind her.

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