“I remember everything apart from my time in the hospital. Two years of my life are still lost. I want to know why the smell of cleaning chemicals makes me physically sick...I want to go and visit the hospital and, hopefully, get to read the records they have from my stay there.”
Quinten stayed silent as he felt his anger at Saige’s treatment begin to rise. He hated that she went through everything without him. He should have been there with her, but he wasn’t, through no fault of his own, but it still caused an ache in his heart.
“We’ll go together.” He lifted her into his lap and cuddled her to his chest. “Whatever happens from now on, we face it together.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “I love you, Saige. I never stopped, and it hurts deeply to know that I was kept away from you when you needed me the most.”
“I guess in a way, I had it easy because I’ve only recently remembered you and what we had back then. I feel guilty for that. All those years you sat on death row, remembering me, and I was trying to live my life knowing that something was missing but not knowing what.” Saige wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sweatshirt and met his gaze. “I love you, Quinten. I loved you before and I love you now.” She smiled. “You’re stuck with me, honey.”
“That makes me happy.”
Day 18
6:15am
* * *
Quinten spooned Saige all night, and instead of sleeping, he kept waking, thinking his imagination was playing tricks on him and she really wasn’t in his arms. He felt a touch of guilt because every time he’d woken he made love to her over and over again, needing to be as close as he possibly could to the woman he loved—the woman he felt loved him just as much.
He smiled as Saige lay between his thighs, her head against his stomach, her fingers sliding through the hair on his chest.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to move again,” she mumbled, her breath like a caress over his naval.
He couldn’t keep the satisfied smile from his lips. “I don’t mind keeping you in bed all the time, although I think my balls might need a rest.”
She chuckled. “Mmm.” She slipped her hand between them, over his hardening dick and massaged the balls in question. Her gentle fingers tickled between his legs and just the feel of her touching his sac had his dick rock hard in an instant. “I’m not sure they’re listening.”
Rolling her to her back, Quinten held her arms over her head and nibbled at her neck, moving lower along her collarbone, and came to a stop as his mouth hovered over an erect cherry nipple.
Her cell vibrated across the bedroom floor. They must have knocked it off the bedside table at some point.
“Ignore it,” she begged, and wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.
He kissed the waiting nipple and moved off her to get the phone. “It could be important.” He frowned down when he saw it was her father.
Saige seemed about as keen as he did when Quinten passed her the phone. “You better call him back. You’ve got a lot of missed calls from him,” he suggested.
“I’ll call him, but only if you come back to bed and hold me.”
“Anything.” He climbed on the bed behind her and cradled her between his thighs; his hands rubbed soothing circles on her stomach. “Call him and get it over with.”
He felt Saige inhale and exhale before she lifted the cell and waited for her father to answer.
The minute he did, Richard’s voice came over the phone loud and clear.
Saige held the phone away from her ear and gave it an odd sort of look. Quinten tugged her closer and held her tightly. “I’m here with you, baby,” Quinten whispered. “Don’t forget you can do anything.”
She nodded and switched the phone to speaker. “Dad, I’m not saying where we are, but, yes, I’m with Quinten.”
There was silence on Richard’s end. “Do you know that Christina has left me for Alex? She could never keep her hands off that man. I should have gotten rid of the Petersons when I had the chance. They’re all no good.”
“Dad”—she rubbed at her brow, anger and embarrassment filling her face with heat—“you really can’t blame Christina for wanting to be with the man she loves. You’ve had affairs for years with different women. At least Christina has only ever been unfaithful with the same man.”
Richard spluttered, and that time Quinten really did struggle to hide his amusement. He’d known that Richard had affairs, but he hadn’t known a damn thing about Christina and his brother, which kind of ticked him off.
“You would take her side.”
Saige sighed. “I’m not taking sides and I’ve had enough of this conversation. Christina left because she was unhappy and, believe it or not, she’s in love with Alex. I suggest you get over it and find someone else. I mean, it’s not exactly going to be difficult for you.”
“Saige!” Richard shouted as Saige hung up.