14. Brent

CHAPTER 14

brENT

I woke the next morning wrapped around John with my head on his chest. He held me tightly and as soon as I realized we were piled on a single twin bed, it all made sense. And I was almost positive I was lying in a pool of my own drool. Thank god I'd brushed my teeth.

My stomach rumbled violently, waking him. "You okay? Need to go back to the bathroom?"

Lifting my head, I wasn't quite ready for the ribbing I expected to receive. It was mortifying that my hookup had to take care of me after a bout of food poisoning.

But what I saw when I looked into his soulful eyes was the last thing I expected. He was concerned, and for some damn reason, cared about me. And that look in his eyes made me think of something else I wasn't ready to face. But I had to look away because that stare hit me hard.

"I don't think so. Not yet." I groaned as I tried to shift onto my side. Everything hurt.

John sat up but didn't take his hands off me. "Be careful. Don't fall off the bed."

Whether I wanted them or not, strong tattooed arms tethered me to him as he shifted his back to the wall. He was being so fucking sweet to me.

"Lay on your back, sweetheart."

I complied like a good soldier as he stayed perpendicular to me. Sighing, I relaxed into the comfortable bed as he draped his arm across my hips. He avoided placing the full weight of it over my stomach but held me in place.

I closed my eyes and draped my forearm over my forehead.

"Would you like to try some more Gatorade? I'm sure you're dehydrated."

"No, not yet," I murmured, dropping my arm.

My head tipped to the right until it made contact with his shoulder. Soft lips found my temple as he released my hip to stroke my head. And when his long fingers began to massage my skull, I was lost in his comfort.

"How did you know I had a headache?"

"I possess mystical powers of observation. And I've had food poisoning before. It ain't pretty."

I huffed out a quiet laugh, but that hurt. So his long fingers went back to massaging the pressure points on my skull and left me temporarily pain-free.

"You're good at this."

I felt him shrug. "Comes with the territory. Being a parent will do that. Prepares you for bathroom combat on all fronts. It's part of the mission you can't avoid no matter what."

"Makes sense." My replies were all short because words rattled my brain.

John's lips found my head and lingered a little longer. It took everything in me not to curl into him and ask him to hold me again. But as it turned out, I didn't have to ask. The mind reader himself slipped his right hand between my shoulder and the bed, then pulled me to him until we were chest to chest.

My neck rested on his biceps, immediately slowing my throbbing headache. His lips found my forehead, making a fucking tear slip from my eye. I hadn't been cared for like this since before my brother got sick. And he was opening old wounds without even knowing it.

"I'll get in my bed." I tried to push away, but he refused to let go.

"Stop. Are you uncomfortable?"

"No, but you must be."

John chuckled lightly. "You're not getting away from me, so do us both a favor and just relax. I've got you, sweetheart. I've got you."

Emotions I had suppressed and didn't want to feel welled up inside me. Every wall I'd built around my heart was beginning to take on tiny fractures that could eventually leave me in ruins. But no matter how hard I tried, there was something about Commander John Langdon that kept me coming back for more.

The only escape I had was to go back to sleep. And when I was out, if my body clung to him, my head didn't need to know.

By late afternoon, I felt more like myself. John had spent the entire day asking me to drink something and if I was hungry.

"I can run across the street to the market and get some popsicles if you want."

I smiled at him even though I felt like total shit. "You missed your calling, Nurse Langdon. You don't have to do all this. If we'd been at home, I would have slept through it all."

He sat down on the bed across from me.

Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers over his mouth before pointing at me.

"And you honestly think I would have left you alone to deal with all that?"

I squirmed as he stared at me. "I would hope so. I'm a grown-up. I can take care of myself."

John frowned at me, then sat up. Releasing a humorless laugh, he ran his hand over his dark hair, which was still damp from the shower. The slightest movement caused the scent of his aftershave to fill the space between us. He didn't even have to touch me to make me want him.

"I guess I'm going to have to remind you what kind of man I am."

He didn't have to show me anything. I already knew, and the idea of getting close to him scared the motherfucking shit out of me.

Standing, he moved the three feet from his bed to mine as I turned onto my side to give him room to sit.

John pivoted and cupped my face.

Without thinking, I put my left hand over his. "What kind of man are you?"

Our eyes locked as he swept his thumb back and forth over my cheek.

"I'm the kind of man who gets what he wants. I thrive on a challenge and don't run when things get difficult. I'm a man who knows when they've found someone special, it's okay for things to get messy. I trust my instincts. So much so that I willingly married a man in a drive through ceremony in Vegas officiated by Santa Claus."

My eyes widened. "No fucking way."

He sighed and stood up. "One day you're going to believe me the first time."

Reaching for his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet and opened it. Within seconds he pulled out two pieces of paper, then put them on the bed in front of me.

My heart had begun to hammer as I slowly sat up. I glanced up at him as I picked up a photo. Sure enough, there we sat in his truck with Santa Claus hanging out the window of the drive-thru chapel while Mrs. Claus looked on.

I picked up the second paper to find it was a photocopy of our marriage license.

"Holy shit, John," I said, my voice pitching higher than normal.

He shrugged and sat back down. "I told you. So if you think for one minute that I would allow you to suffer alone, you'd be dead wrong."

Before a full panic attack could set in, he put his hand back on me." Brent, the most important thing you need to know is I'm all in. I know you're going to need some time to wrap your head around it, but I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. If I have to keep reassuring you every day, I'll do it. You'll either get sick of hearing it, or you'll finally believe me."

John leaned over and kissed me like he'd never kissed me before. And I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he ever changed his mind about me.