Page 23 of The Lost Melody

Roark kisses my forehead, and I know he’s glancing at Turner over me. “Greg is supposed to have a nurse stay here while you’re healing,” Turner says, and I can hear him tapping out a message. “I’m checking to see where she is.”

“I really hate nurses,” I complain, the closest I can come to pouting as I cry.

Orion chuckles, and I cry harder because it’s not funny. He moves to stand in front of me, pushing my hair out of my face. It feels oddly intimate, and yet doesn’t bother me for some reason.

“I have always hated when women pout, but it’s adorable on you, and I have no idea why,” he tells me. “As for disliking nurses, I know how to cure you of this, Lennon.”

My lips part in surprise that he used my name. His thumb traces my lips, his eyes heating, and I shift in Ror’s lap. I’m in no shape to explore this right now, so I kiss his thumb instead of sucking on it.

Orion still reacts visibly, and you’d think I had indulged in more than I had. He swallows hard, moving his finger, even as he stares at my lips. “It’s hard to stand this close to you,” he says so softly I find myself leaning forward slightly. “Going back to your fear, what if we kill it together, hmm? Nurse Elaine is still alive, and Greg said we could play with her if we want. Soo… ya want?”

He’s so close to me, I can feel the warmth of his breath. I nod as there’s a knock on the door and startle. “It’s okay, Lennon, Turner and Derek will check the door,” Roark murmurs, kissing the back of my neck.

I melt into his arms nodding. “I’m so sleepy,” I sigh, my pendulum of emotions starting to get the best of me.

“Let’s see who’s at the door, and then get you to bed, okay? It’s my understanding that she’ll be on call as needed.”

I nod, my eyelids already so heavy, it’s too much trouble to keep them open.

I know I’m safe with them, they’ll make sure to put me to bed.

6

ROARK

She really is beautiful.

Staring down at Lenny, the tears glisten on her eyelashes like diamonds. Her eyelashes are as light as her hair, and I’ve always been fascinated by them.

“You really are all obsessed with her,” Orion says softly, careful of the dozing woman in my arms.

She just fell asleep, and if I don’t have to wake her for the nurse, I plan to let her sleep. She deserves some uninterrupted time for herself. Even in the hospital, they would wake her with the constant checking for vitals.

“I worship the ground she walks on, especially now,” I tell him. “Lenny is the glue that holds us together, she always has been. She came to us scared to death of her own shadow when she was barely nineteen. She made her life work, putting one foot in front of the other because courage is doing shit even when it scares you.”

Orion’s eyes flick up to me before dropping back to Lennon. He leans against the wall, his gaze never leaving her. He should speak for himself, because he’s just as obsessed, I just hope he figures out how to wade through the landmines between him and my girl.

I don’t mind sharing, but Orion and Lennon are on very different pages, and he doesn’t understand the emotions he’s feeling. It could make him dangerous.

Turner and Derek walk back into the kitchen, and I glance over to them. The nurse walks in as well, and I relax slightly. She appears to be in her mid-twenties, which is younger than the nurse Lennon had at Hidden Hills. The more dissimilar the two of them are, the better.

“Hello, I’m Miranda,” she says softly, as her eyes drop to Lennon. “I’m here to be as unobtrusive as possible, and I’ll only jump in to check on her, or in an emergency. Agent Fox gave me a little background on Lennon, and I understand she’s not a fan of nurses. I wouldn’t be either, frankly, however I think she’ll need some supportive care. Lennon is likely still dehydrated too.”

I nod, happy Miranda knows some of what is happening. “Lennon thinks she may have pulled on some of her stitches, possibly. She stretched the wrong way, and appeared to hurt herself, so you may need to check that later. She just fell asleep.”

Miranda nods. “Sleep will be really important to her healing. It can wait for tomorrow, but I’m going to want to set up an IV in the morning with nutrients and saline that’ll help her with the fatigue and dehydration. If you’ll show me to a room, I’ll get out of your way and see you tomorrow,” she says with a shrug. Miranda must see my surprise, because she smiles.

“I’m here for Lennon. She may not always enjoy my presence, but I’m here to make sure she’s alright. Sleep could be stressful, so I’m going to ask you to slip a monitor onto her finger so that I can keep an eye on her stress levels and heart. Lennon is just coming out of a traumatic situation, and she was in shock not too long ago. I refuse to discount that.”

Yeah, I definitely like her.“Thanks, Miranda. If you want to leave the monitor with me, I’ll be sure to put it on her once I have her in bed. I appreciate you being careful with Lennon, and we may be overprotective for a while.”

Miranda shakes her head. “I’m surprised you’re not worse, honestly. I’m a traveling nurse, signing on with the government right after I graduated, so this isn’t the worst I’ve seen. It’s just the first time I’ve wished harm on someone after seeing just the chart,” she mutters. “Here’s the monitor, just show me to the room, and I’ll be out of your way.”

Miranda hands a surprised Derek the monitor, and Orion steps away from the wall to show her to a room. It makes sense that he would since we don’t know the layout of the house, but his willingness to help like this shocked me.

“I think I like her,” Derek murmurs as he watches them go.

Turner nods. “I think anyone who works with Lennon will need to be a little stabby over what she’s gone through. I’ll clean up the kitchen, Ror. You find the room with the biggest fucking bed, because I want a snuggle fest with you guys,” he says. “Derek, you too,” he barks as he starts to leave the room for god knows what reason.

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