Page 57 of Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms
“I’m not really sure what you’re thinking.”
“I’ll update you later.” Without waiting for Maple to reply, I ended the call.
Following the signs to the emergency department, I passed the picket line again—searching for her among her coworkers one more time—and parked outside. Snow kept falling as I got out, and I held the lapels of my coat together as I ran inside.
A woman in blue scrubs looked up from the front desk as I approached. “Do you need to be seen?”
“Is Natalie Thatcher here?”
“Are you a family member or friend?”
“Friend.”
“I can’t give out any specific medical information, but she is here being treated, yes.”
I put a hand on my chest. A mix of relief and renewed alarm filled me. “I need to see her.”
“Just give me a minute. I’ll find out if she can have visitors.” She stood and disappeared into the back.
I paced around the waiting room, clenching my fists, rage burning hot in my veins. What had he done to her? I’d make him pay. I was going to tear him limb from limb.
He had no idea who he was messing with.
“Sir?” The woman was back. She pushed a clipboard across the counter. “If you’ll sign in here, I can take you to see her.”
Grumbling at the delay, I signed in. She disappeared again, and a moment later, a large automatic door swung open, and she gestured for me to come through.
My heart raced, my body thrumming with urgency. The woman brought me to a room, and I braced myself for the worst. What would I find behind that curtain? Bruises? Broken bones? Was she conscious?
I was going to fucking kill him.
When I stepped around the curtain, relief almost made my legs buckle. Natalie was there, sitting up in bed—alive.
And then she did the most remarkable thing. She smiled at me. And my heart cracked wide open in my chest.
CHAPTER 15
Natalie
In a day already filled with shocking events—no one expects to get sideswiped, even when the roads are icy—nothing could have surprised me more than seeing Jensen Lakes appear in the emergency department.
He paused just inside the curtain and stared at me, his expression filled with raw emotion. No cocky smirk. No intense eye contact. He let out a long breath, and his shoulders dropped as if a wave of relief washed over him.
I opened my mouth to answer what I thought would be his first question—are you all right—but he didn’t say a word. With a look of determination, he came over to my bedside, cupped my face, and pressed his lips to mine.
I’d been wrong. Somethingcouldsurprise me more than his appearance. His kiss.
The shock of his lips on mine was so astonishing that at first, I stiffened. But a heartbeat later, my eyes fluttered closed, my lips softened, and I melted.
His mouth was warm and inviting, working magic on mine while my mind went blank. He teased my lips apart, brushing them with his tongue. I opened for him, and he took the kissdeeper—still gentle, but with a passion that sucked the air from my lungs and made my entire body tremble.
He didn’t stop devouring me. It was as if he couldn’t get enough. As if I were oxygen and he needed me to live. Our tongues tangled, velvety soft. Deep to shallow, then deep again. Heat surged through me, and I gripped his arms, hanging on for dear life while he consumed me.
Eventually, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. My head swam with euphoria, and my swollen lips tingled. We held there for a long moment, noses brushing, breathing together.
And I knew one thing with utter certainty—Jensen Lakes had just ruined me.
Never in my life had I been kissed like that. So passionately. So thoroughly. Every kiss I’d ever experienced had been nothing compared to what he’d just done to me.
