Chapter 9

Austin leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, as Alexa and Callie chatted in her hospital room. After a night being monitored, Alexa was being discharged later today. Wyatt and Callie had swung by to visit, and his buddy had gone to grab coffees for everyone. Austin’s Jeep was parked in the lot, thanks to his friends, and he was looking forward to getting Alexa out of there. He hadn’t been home since yesterday, sleeping in his board shorts and tee shirt on an uncomfortable hospital chair at Alexa’s bedside. Crazy that they’d gone to the beach and hadn’t even been home yet.

He ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw, watching them, and Callie looked over and smiled. “You look like you’re a sentinel standing guard at the doorway,” she said. “Don’t you Navy SEAL types ever relax?”

“Nope. And I don’t mind playing watchdog. Those doctors and nurses kept barging in here all night. I was helping Alexa earlier when one breezed right in. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“Well, it is a hospital,” Callie said gently. She exchanged a knowing look with Alexa. “Your guy is just as protective as Wyatt.”

Austin lifted a shoulder, not sorry at all. If he could make Alexa feel more comfortable while he was here, he’d do it. She’d woken up several times last night in discomfort, and briefly, he wondered how she’d manage when they were home. The hospital bed raised and lowered, making it easier for her to get up. He could easily lift her out of his own bed, but Alexa was independent. She’d want to be up and doing things on her own.

“I can’t believe how quickly hospitals release people after surgery,” Callie said, seemingly echoing his own thoughts. “You still look like you’re in a lot of pain.”

“Well, I don’t feel great,” Alexa admitted. “Of course, anything is better than the excruciating pain when my tube burst. I promise this pales in comparison. The nurses were coming in and out all night, monitoring me, so I’ll probably sleep better in my own bed. Or Austin’s,” she added, glancing over at him.

“Damn straight,” he said, stalking toward the women.

Callie giggled. “He looks like a man on the prowl,” she teased.

Alexa smirked. “He just likes knowing I’ll be in his bed for the next week or so,” she said, giving him a knowing look. Austin grinned, then ducked down for a kiss, not caring that Alexa’s best friend was right there. And hell yes, he liked knowing Alexa would be sleeping beside him.

“Whew! It’s getting hot in here,” Wyatt quipped as he sauntered in, carrying four coffees in a drink tray.

“Thank goodness you’re here, because I was starting to feel like the third wheel,” Callie joked.

Wyatt chuckled, giving her a brief kiss. “No worries. I’m here now.”

“You’re sure you can have caffeine?” Austin asked, taking two of the coffees from his buddy and turning toward the hospital bed.

“Of course,” Alexa scoffed. “I had surgery, but I’m not dying. I can’t have alcohol while I’m taking these painkillers, and I sure won’t be sky diving or joining in your rigorous training on base, but caffeine is fine.”

Austin’s lips quirked as he handed a drink to Alexa, noticing Wyatt grinning at him. Maybe Austin was head-over-heels for her. Things had definitely progressed to more than just casual sex between them, and he didn’t exactly hate the idea of bringing her back to his place for a while. Having her there every night would be different, and Austin knew it. He felt like he was staking a claim on his woman, consequences be damned. Wyatt and Callie hadn’t necessarily been looking for a relationship, and those two were happy as hell. If things were changing between him and Alexa, he was all in.

“Oh my, I needed this,” Alexa crooned as she took a sip of her drink. “Wyatt, you are a God among men.”

“Hey now,” Austin mock-growled.

Alexa winked at him, and he was happy to see her in a playful mood, not in severe pain like yesterday. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she joked.

“Not so bad?” he teased, happy to see the flush of pink on Alexa’s cheeks. While he hated that she was still in the hospital, seeing her like this was better than when she’d been pale and lifeless on the beach. Callie had brought her a change of clothes earlier, and Alexa now had on joggers and a tank top, not the shapeless hospital gown. She’d said her denim cut-offs would hurt too much with her incision to put back on. Her brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and there was a spark of amusement in her eyes.

“Don’t forget, she picked you over that bartender at Coconuts,” Callie reminded him. “Alexa had been pining over him for months.”

“Not pining. Admiring his good looks,” Alexa corrected her friend. “But he doesn’t compare to my Austin.”

Austin felt a surge of warmth spreading through his chest at her declaration, and he exchanged a glance with Wyatt, who was still grinning at him. “That’s how it’s done, buddy,” Wyatt joked, giving him a fist bump. “That womanizer of a bartender is old news. It’s all you now.”

“He’s ancient history,” Alexa agreed. “Not that anything had happened between us anyway. He was just some eye candy, but trust me, he’s no Navy SEAL.” She patted Austin’s bicep teasingly, but a jolt of arousal shot through him anyway. He’d have to be careful with her now while she healed, but when she was better, he’d show Alexa exactly how happy he was that she was okay. “So, when are we having another beach party?” Alexa asked, changing the subject.

“Never,” Austin quipped, watching as the others tried to hold back their amusement.

“We need a do-over. Technically, yesterday was the do-over, but we’ll give it another go,” Alexa insisted. “Third times the charm and all that.”

“We haven’t had good luck with the beach lately,” Callie mused. “The volleyball game ended with my flashback about the hijacking. The party yesterday—well, anytime someone gets taken away in an ambulance isn’t ideal.”

“No shit,” Alexa said, and they all burst into laughter.

“We’ll figure something out,” Wyatt said. “I don’t think Austin’s going to let Alexa out of his sight for a while. I’ll take you to the beach if you want,” he promised Callie.

“Yeah, yeah,” Alexa said, waving a hand carelessly around. “I’ve got to get better before we can plan another party. I meant after that. We should invite some of our single girlfriends. Hudson asked to be set up a while ago. Sawyer is always up for some fun. Although Ryan does have that waitress at Coconuts who seems interested.”

“He seemed surprised by that,” Austin said, setting his coffee down and crossing his arms.

“Just another clueless man,” Callie said. “He thought she had the hots for Sawyer.”

“Plenty of women do,” Austin said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “If he ever wanted to settle down, he’d have no shortage of willing and available females.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about setting up Sawyer,” Wyatt said, smirking. Austin almost wanted to laugh at how disappointed Alexa looked.

“Bummer,” she muttered.

“You just need to worry about getting better. What about your clients?” Callie asked, suddenly looking worried. “Do you have photoshoots already scheduled for this week?”

“A couple. One I can reschedule, but I’ve got a family on vacation who booked a session on Friday, plus a wedding over the weekend. Maybe I’ll convince Austin here to play assistant.”

“I’m sure I could manage hauling some photography gear around,” he said mildly. He didn’t like the idea of Alexa working only days after emergency surgery, but this was her career. He doubted he’d be able to talk her out of the sessions she’d already booked. Still, walking around in the hot sun and crouching down to get the perfect shot on the beach couldn’t be good for her when she was recovering from abdominal surgery.

“I know. He doesn’t want me to go,” Alexa said, clearly reading his thoughts.

“He’s worried just like us,” Callie said gently. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“I’ll just play it by ear,” Alexa said, and Austin resisted the urge to groan. While he loved how passionate and independent she was, he didn’t want her to get hurt. “Thanks again for bringing some things over for me,” Alexa continued. “It wouldn’t have been great wearing the hospital gown home.”

“Of course. Austin wasn’t about to leave you here alone to go grab your things.”

“Just let us know if you need anything else,” Wyatt said. “We can drop it off at Austin’s place later. We’ll head out soon, and hopefully they’ll get you on your way.”

“One way or another, we’re busting out of here,” Austin agreed.

“Busting out of here. What are you going to do, sling me over your shoulder caveman style?” Alexa asked. He looked over and could see the amusement dancing across her face. Damn. He wanted to kiss the hell out of her right now, but she looked so relaxed resting in bed, sipping on her coffee. For a brief flash, he had images of more days just like this—Alexa cozy in bed, sipping on her morning coffee. He got up much earlier than her thanks to his early PT, but on weekends? Hell yeah. He didn’t mind taking her coffee or breakfast in bed. There was nothing sexier than seeing her first thing, her face soft with sleep, her little camisole and shorts clinging to her curves.

Alexa smiled as he gazed at her, and his mind jolted back to reality. “Don’t be silly. That would hurt your incision. I’ll just scoop you up in my arms and walk out of here,” he teased. “Good thing you’re little.”

Wyatt bit back a smile, putting his arm around Callie. “What do you say? Should we leave these two crazy kids alone?”

“I’m sure they can manage without us,” Callie said. She pulled away from Wyatt for a moment to give Alexa a quick hug then snuggled back up against him. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she reiterated. “You really gave us a scare yesterday.”

“Well, Austin can’t get rid of me that easily,” she said.

Wyatt and Callie said their goodbyes, and then Austin was alone with his girl. “You’re holding up better than I would in this place,” he said. “I’d be going stir crazy wanting to get out of bed.”

“Have surgery and then tell me how you feel,” she said.

Austin sobered. “But how are you doing with everything that happened?” he asked quietly. “We weren’t trying to get pregnant, but—”

“I know I should probably be sad, and if we’d actually been trying for a baby, I’d be devastated. But since that wasn’t even on my radar at the moment, it’s hard to be too upset. The pain and surgery sucked, but it almost doesn’t seem real. I hope that doesn’t make me a terrible person,” she confessed.

“Of course not, and I know what you mean. We didn’t even know about the pregnancy until it was essentially over. Hell, I’d love to have kids someday, but I figured everything would happen in order—get engaged, get married, go on an awesome honeymoon…then get my wifey knocked up.”

“I didn’t figure you for such a romantic,” she said, but her eyes were twinkling.

Austin lifted a shoulder. “My parents have been married for thirty years. It seemed to work for them. And in my line of work, guys have to protect their families. It’s not unheard of in the military for engaged couples to have a quick wedding before a long deployment just in case something happens.”

“That’s…morbid. But I know you’re right. You’re forgetting that my dad is retired military,” Alexa reminded him.

“Good point,” Austin said, suddenly feeling foolish. As much fun as they had together, and despite the fact that he knew her body intimately, they hadn’t rehashed their entire life history to one another. If Alexa hadn’t woken up in the hospital, he didn’t even know how to reach her family. They were on another island, Kauai, from what he recalled, but he didn’t know their names. He didn’t have any contact information.

“Well, we haven’t always spent a lot of time talking,” she teased, seemingly trying to make him feel better. Austin took her hand, licking his lips. “Kiss me,” she ordered, seemingly thinking the same thing as him. He leaned in and kissed her, one of his hands palming the back of her head as he held her where he wanted. Alexa was flushed when he finally pulled away, and Austin couldn’t resist the grin that spread across his face.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Yep. You must have the magic touch.” He jokingly waggled his eyebrows and didn’t miss the spark of interest in her eyes. They’d always connected physically, with Austin easily able to make her lose control.

“It’s going to be hell waiting until you’re healed,” he murmured.

“Yep. We’ll just have to find other ways to occupy our time,” she joked. “I should probably call my parents when we get home. I know my mom will panic when I tell her I’ve been in the hospital. It’s rather ironic since she just called yesterday to check up on me.”

“It’s nice to have people looking out for you.”

“It is and isn’t,” she said, and Austin couldn’t disguise his laughter. “To be honest, they didn’t really approve of my photography career. Dad would’ve loved if I’d joined the military, too, or at least took on a civilian contractor job.”

“Plenty of those around here,” Austin said.

“Exactly, but my heart was never in it. Of course, I’m so proud of what you and your friends do, and of my dad’s career, but I needed something creative. I couldn’t sit at a desk all day, and I’m just not cut out for your type of work either.”

“You don’t have to explain your choices to me,” he assured her. “You’re an incredibly talented photographer. I can snap a picture with my cell phone, but I’ll never be artistic in the way that you are. I am worried about your photoshoots coming up this week, but—”

“You’ll help me,” she interrupted, locking those pretty brown eyes on him. “Pretty please?” she asked.

Austin resisted the urge to smile, feeling his chest clench. Shit. He was such a goner. Alexa could ask him for anything, and it would be hard to say no. He’d felt affectionate toward her since they’d first met, and he was attracted to her in a way that had surprised him. The chemistry between them had that inexplicable spark, but it was more than just that. His feelings for her had continued to grow, and he’d do everything in his power to let her know it. “Of course I’ll help you. We’ll have to work out the details for the morning session, because normally I’m doing PT and already on base.”

“I can get Callie to help with that,” she assured him. “If you can come to the evening and weekend wedding with me this week, that would be amazing. After that, I should be good as new.”

“What’d the doctor say?” he asked with a frown.

“Something about four weeks to fully recover, blah, blah, blah. I promise I’ll be careful,” she added. “You don’t need to worry so much.”

“How could I not worry, Lex? I care about you.”

“Me too,” she said with smile. “I mean, I care about you, not myself.”

“I’m starting to gather that,” he gently chided. But when she reached up to pull him closer, he couldn’t resist, one hand cupping her cheek, the other resting on her thigh. Austin kissed her slowly, enjoying the way she let him take control. Alexa was breathing heavily when he pulled away, and Austin smiled. He’d love nothing more than to stretch her out on his bed when they got home and make love, but that wouldn’t be happening until she was completely healed from her surgery. “I guess if you try to rush off too soon, I can always just kiss you until you forget about everything else,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Ugh, you don’t play fair,” she pouted, but he saw the spark of amusement in her eyes.

“Nope. Not when it comes to you.” She looked surprised for a beat, and Austin rose, a funny feeling in his chest. He cleared his throat, his gaze landing on Alexa’s tiny frame. “I’m going to go check at the nurses’ station and see when we can get you out of here. I want you home and in bed.”

“Sounds good, sailor,” she said with a mock-salute, and Austin tried to hold back his laughter. Life with Alexa was never dull, and he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe and at his side.