Page 21 of Seductive Desires

I made sure to tiptoe into the room after Dr. O’Connor told me Mateo was asleep. He looked peaceful so I made myself comfortable on the chair by his bed and pulled out my knitting. He had his own private room that was almost too fancy to be a hospital room. It had a large armoire in the corner and a flat screen TV. It was even decorated nicer than the rest of the rooms I’ve ever seen in hospitals. My mom’s room was nowhere near this nice. I was halfway through the scarf I was making for him when Mateo finally opened his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped. I tended to zone out when I was knitting, it was relaxing, so he took me by surprise. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

He shifted and flinched. “Terrible. These beds are not comfortable.”

I snickered. I’m sure it was a huge step down from the fancy bed in that hotel, even without the injury. He looked down at my hands that were still moving. I’ve been knitting long enough that I could do a few stitches without looking, mostly by feel.

“What is that?”

“A surprise.”

“What kind of surprise?”

I rolled my eyes. “If I tell you, it would ruin the surprise.”

I could feel his eyes on me as I moved through the motions. It was a little weird, having him watch me. I almost felt like I would screw up.

“Who taught you to do that?”

“My mom. We had a rule that instead of buying gifts during holidays or birthdays, we would make them instead. She didn’t make a lot of money and honestly I loved it, especially when I got good enough to start making things without her help and could surprise her.” I picked up my bag from the floor, showing it to him. “She made me this for my birthday. It was the last thing she was able to make me. She got too sick in the end.”

He reached for it and I let him take it. He ran his fingers over the embroidery almost reverently. “She was very talented.”

I nodded. “She was. She made me clothes and toys, anything really. It was cheaper to get the materials than it was to buy it, especially if we shopped at thrift stores, which we always did. I managed to keep some of the clothes she made me. They’re tucked away for now. I want to give them to my kids when they’re old enough.”

I felt my cheeks burn. I should not be talking about kids with the guy I just started seeing. He didn’t freak out though, he just nodded.

“To share her with them. It is a good thing you could save them.”

I put the project down for a while so I could tend to him. I got him some water, laughed at the faces he made during breakfast, and eventually asked Dr. O’Connor if it was okay for me to order him some food for lunch because he was acting like he was dying at this point. Dr. O’Connor agreed, though he gave me some things to avoid. After everything Mateo went through, his stomach might be upset so gentle foods were better. I doubt it would’ve mattered much considering Mateo wanted nothing to do with fast food. He had me order ramen from a fancy Japanese restaurant down the road and paid extra for them to deliver it since they normally don’t offer that.

Mateo complained when I ran downstairs to pick up the food. I was not having the poor delivery person try and navigate a giant hospital to bring him a meal. When I came back, he was being helped into the bathroom by some orderlies and ended up flashing me his butt because the gown was open in the back. I actually choked on my soda, pounding my fist against my chest to clear it.

They deposited him back in bed without incident but it seems like the trip to the bathroom wore him out and he looked a little pale. After he ate a little, I hovered over him, worried. I frowned, brushing the hair from his forehead.

“What is wrong, mariposa?”

“I don’t like seeing you hurt. I wish I could do something to make it better.” I already set up the pillows like Dr.O’Connor mentioned and it seemed to make him more comfortable but he still flinched with every movement. “Do you need more medicine? I could ask the nurse.”

He caught my hand, kissing the center of my palm. “Having you here with me is medicine enough.” Again with the cheesy lines but this time my heart beat a little faster. I was starting to like the little cheesy lines.

When he flinched again, I tried readjusting the pillows. I didn’t realize at first that I was leaning that close to him until I felt his hand on my waist. “You know, I do have an idea on how you can help with the pain,” he purred.

I scoffed. “You are in no way well enough for sex and we are in a hospital.”

He gave me a shit eating grin. “I was going to ask for a kiss, mariposa, but I like your idea better.”

My face lit on fire. Way to go Mariana. When I went to pull away, embarrassed, he tightened his grip on my waist, keeping me close. At this point, my face was hovering over his, my hand still gripping the pillow by his head. My eyes were on his, searching for something, though I had no idea what. When I dropped my gaze to his lips, his free hand came up to cup the back of my neck, drawing me forward.

I wanted to keep it simple, a small kiss because I wanted to make him feel better. I didn’t think he would go as crazy as he did. When I tried to pull away, he tightened his grip, making me gasp. He took advantage, deepening the kiss, his free hand threading through my hair to keep me from moving away. The moment he pushed past my lips, it seemed to set us both off. My fingers dug into his hair as I took control. Being on top had its perks. He groaned, nearly pulling me on top of him. When he grunted in pain, I wrenched away from him and continued backwards until I was standing at the foot of the bed, panting.

“Come back here,” he growled.

I shook my head. I had seriously lost it right there. I was practically about to mount him in the middle of the damn hospital and he would have freaking let me.

“Mariposa…” It sounded like a warning but he was in no way able to force me to do anything, no matter how much I wanted to listen.

---