Page 13 of Chasing Temptation
Chapter Five
When I wake again, the lights are glowing above my head and Quinn is stirring beside me.
I watch as her eyelids flicker open and she stretches her neck, proving just how uncomfortable it must be sleeping in that chair.
“Morning, beautiful,” I whisper, not wanting to scare her seeing as she’s not looked up at me yet.
Her tired eyes find mine and my heart aches that she feels the need to put herself second right now. She needs to recover just as much if not more than me after everything she went through.
“How are you feeling?” She swings her legs from the chair and leans towards the bed so she can take my hand in hers.
“Ready to leave.”
A small smile curls at the corner of her lips, and I will it to continue. Seeing her wide, genuine smile would go a long way to making me feel normal right now. “You’re so predictable.”
“How’s that?”
“I told your first nurse I saw that I had a feeling you’d be a nightmare patient.”
“That’s harsh, Quinn. Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I just didn’t have you down as the kind of man who lies back and takes what’s coming to him.”
“Well.” A suggestive smirk plays on my lips. “That all depends on the situation, doesn’t it? I’d gladly lie back and take whateveryouhad to give me.”
Her cheeks heat and my cock stirs beneath the thin sheet covering me, despite my slightly broken body. “Joe, you can’t—”
“Okay, kids. Stop getting the patient excited,” Shelly says with a laugh as she wanders in with a tray of pills for me.
“I’m just going to use the bathroom.”
Quinn gets up and I panic, not wanting to watch her walk from the room. For the first time since I woke up, my body responds properly when I try to move, and I manage to wrap my fingers around her wrist before she gets away. Only, her response to my touch isn’t what I was hoping for.
She gasps and rips her arm from my fingers, holding it across her body like I just burned her. Her eyes fill with tears before she runs from the room.
“Shit. Fuck.” Throwing myself back onto the bed, my hands scrub down my rough face.
“She’s been through a lot, sweetie. Just give her a little time. Do you feel up to having a go at getting to your feet? If you are, we could get you into the shower.” The image her words conjure up are incredibly attractive because my skin feels disgusting, but I hate the idea of being forced away from Quinn longer than necessary.
“As long as we’re fast. I don’t want to leave her.”
Shelly smiles, biting back the words that are clearly on the tip of her tongue.
I don’t think I’ve ever truly appreciated being able to stand up, but after being in a bed for god knows how long, I’m really fucking thankful as my feet just about shuffle me towards the adjoining bathroom. The fact that Quinn didn’t come in here makes me worry even more about where her head’s at right now.
The short walk to the bathroom, even with Shelly supporting me, is the hardest fucking walk of my life. My stomach aches where the motherfucker stabbed me. I expect that but not for my legs not to work. It gives me a bit of a clue as to why they want me to stay here for a week. It also gives me even more of a push to prove them wrong and get out of here at the first opportunity. And when I leave, I’m walking out of those motherfucking doors with my head held high and my girl by my side.
Thoughts of Quinn running out minutes ago dampen my enthusiasm, but it’ll be fine, right? She’s here. Shelly said she refused to leave. She’ll come back to London with me.Right?
I hate that I’m feeling so insecure. Until this happened, I didn’t once question whether Quinn was in this as deep as I was. Yeah, I knew she was scared, but she never let me see that she wasn’t serious. She hasn’t now, but with her being home and the two men who were haunting her gone, I just don’t know what to think.
“Take a seat on there, young man,” Shelly says, walking us towards a little white plastic seat. I couldn’t be more grateful to get off my feet.
I moan in relief as the weight is taken off and I relax back, so exhausted I could probably fall asleep right here.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Do your worst.”
