Page 146 of Bishop's Queen

CHAPTER FORTY

Ella rubbed the sleep from the corners of her eyes with her good hand, sure that she had accidentally double-dosed her pain medicine.

Gone was the constant noise of the hospital. Too much of her time had been spent in that room. She really didn’t do well in medical facilities, but the outpouring from the public had been overwhelming. Even Vamanato had sent her flowers, and that made her smile while dealing with the burn treatment.

But she wasn’t there anymore, and unsure of what she’d just seen, Ella tried to open her eyes again, only to find herself face to face with Brick. He could stand on the ground and rest his head on the bed.

“Good morning,” Ella whispered, letting the scent of coffee pull her further awake. Brick licked her face, and she wrinkled her nose, using her good hand to wipe it dry. “Yup. I’m awake.”

Confident that she was not on painkillers, she shifted to look away from Brick.

Bobbing across from the foot of the bed was a ginormous balloon with the words “I’M A DICK” printed in bold lettering. It was also shaped appropriately well, given the message. “I was not dreaming.”

She had to laugh, and Brick licked her face again.

Bishop walked in. “Hey.”

She angled toward him and propped herself up. “Hey.”

She bobbed her eyebrows, not pointing to the big floating cock balloon in the room but letting it speak for itself. “That’s an interesting way to wake.”

“I was told that maybe I should say I was sorry.”

Ella propped herself against his headboard. “You saved my life, while I basically refused to leave.” Where did she get a balloon that said she was a moron? “You almost died in the process.”

“Not even close,” Bishop blustered.

“You could’ve.”

“Titan strong, baby.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Am I going to hear that a lot?”

“Yeah, probably.” He threw himself on the bed, flopping down. “More than that,I’m sorry.”

Now fully awake but with a sore wrist, she could carefully snuggle against him. “Don’t apologize but apology accepted.”

“Good. Because this is what I figure.”

“You’ve been figuring?” she teased.

“Babe? Once you work at a place like Titan, with ladies like Sugar and Cat? Nic and Beth? When they drag you to a place that has cock balloons and don’t blink when you ask to put ‘I’m a dick’ on it? Yeah, I’ve been figuring.”

Ella snort-laughed. “Oh boy.”

“Once in a lifetime, you meet a person who changes everything. Tell me I haven’t changed everything for you. Because you have for me.”

“You haven’t.”

“Bull, Ella. Bull a thousand times over.”

“Bish—”

“You’re supposed to fall in love with the person who forces you to enjoy your craziness, Crazy. And woman, I enjoy it. Need it. Love it. I love you, babe. Don’t you get that?”

“You didn’t change everything. You set the bar. And when you weren’t there, the world fell apart. Now that you’re back, everything, for me, has gone back to as it should.”

“Well…”

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