“Yes.”
The heat of a blush covered her face and chest. The thought of him looking at her naked made her shaky. She thought part of it was an embarrassment from being naked in front of him, but another small part of herself was turned on by it. But what if he didn’t like what he saw?
“I love your body, pequeña. I don’t want you to be embarrassed. I’m going to know your body better than you do. All you have to do is trust me and know I’d never hurt you.”
He tugged gently and then sighed when she didn’t release her tight grip. “Chica, trust me.”
“What if you don’t like the way I look?”
“I’ve already seen your body, and I love it. I swear.”
Amber released her grip when he tugged again. She bit down on her lips as he gently slid the top of the gown off to lie around her hips on the mattress. It took all of her bravery to keep her hands down at her sides.
“Okay, good girl. Lift your arms but go slow so that it won’t hurt.”
She did what he asked, and within a minute, he was sliding the top down her torso. Next, he stood her up, pulled the hospital gown off her, and laid it on the bed before picking up the scrub pants and squatting in front of her.
“Here, pequeña. Step into this.”
She balanced herself with her hands on his shoulders and stepped into the pants. He stood and pulled them up over her hips and tied the front to keep them up.
“Good. Let’s get you back in bed to rest until she gets back.”
“I don’t want to lie down. Can I sit in a chair instead?”
“How about if I hold you?” He pulled her over to the chair, sat, and carefully pulled her onto his lap. “Tell me if I’m hurting you,” he said.
Amber shook her head. She had some discomfort, but she’d put up with that and more to be this close to him. He cuddled her against his chest.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, tucked her face against his neck, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
The soft-toned whispering woke her. She opened her eyes to see the nurse walk out the door.
“There you are. Are you ready to go home?”
She looked up at Cesar and nodded.
“Good. The nurse is bringing in a wheelchair for you.”
The nurse walked in, pushing the chair. Cesar stood with her in his arms and set her in it. “I’ve got it from here. Thank you, nurse,” he said.
“All right.”
Cesar wheeled her out of the room, down the hallway, and into the elevator.
She shivered when he placed one of his hands on her shoulders.
“Are you cold, pequeña?”
She looked over her shoulder at him and shook her head. “No. Why do you call me pequeña or chica? What does it mean?”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Pequeña means little one, and chica means girl or woman in Spanish. I think of you as my woman.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll get you home and comfortable and then get some food in you. How does that sound?”