Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons 5)

“Just a cut,” she said. “Molly cleaned it and bandaged me up.”

“Jesus Christ,” I murmured, relief and guilt warring inside me. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“For what?” she asked in confusion. “It was an accident. It’ll heal in a week.”

That’s when I remembered the blood that had poured over my fingers when I’d cut the tape binding her wrists. “I did that?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“It’s nothing.”

“I shoulda seen them comin’,” I said, staring at her beautiful brown eyes and the hollows beneath them. “Shoulda never let that happen.”

“I didn’t see them, either,” she said softly.

“Not your job to,” I replied in disgust. “I fucked up.”

“You saved me,” she said, leaning down so our faces were only inches apart.

“Wouldn’t have needed savin’ if I woulda been watchin’ our backs.”

“Mack,” she breathed, reaching up to trace my jaw with her fingertips. “It’s over.”

It was then that I realized I could feel her fingers on my bare jaw.

“Shit,” I said, raising my hand to my face.

Rose giggled and it was one of the best sounds I’d ever felt in my life.

“They shaved my goddamn face?” I asked incredulously. “All of it?”

Her eyes twinkled as she nodded. “I think they needed to see what they were working with. Your face is a mess, baby.”

“Doesn’t feel too bad,” I replied, moving my jaw around. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but pain exploded in my cheek.

“The bone’s broken,” she said, grimacing. “Careful.”

“Yep,” I replied. “It definitely is.”

“Your hand might need surgery,” she said quietly. “But they took care of the wound in your thigh and the one in your chest.” Her breath hitched. “They had to remove part of your lung.”

“Must be why it hurts to breathe,” I joked.

Neither of us laughed.

Rose’s face crumpled.

“Hey,” I said, frustrated that I couldn’t pull her against me. “It’s alright, baby. I’m fine. We’re fine.”

“I just kept thinking that we wasted so much time,” she said, her words garbled. “And I was so stubborn, and—”

“I’ll give you as many kids as you want,” I said, cutting her off. “Fuck, Rosie, I’ll give you anything.”

“We can talk about it later,” she said with a watery laugh.

“Kiss me,” I rasped, unable to wait any longer to feel her against me, even if it was just her lips.

My mouth tasted like shit and neither of us had brushed our teeth in days, but it was the sweetest kiss we’d ever had by far. I wanted to pull her into bed with me and feel her skin against mine, trace every part of her to make sure she was as okay as she said she was. Hell, I’d be happy to just lay with her in the quiet for a while.

“Child present,” Kara announced as she walked into the room.

As Rose stepped back and I got the first glimpse of my daughter, I felt a lump lodge in my throat, making it impossible to speak.

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” Kara said as she came toward me.

“It’s alright,” I choked out, lifting my good hand so she could hold it.

“I was really scared,” she whispered, staring at me the way she always had, silently asking me to make it better.

“I was too, princess,” I confessed. “Did Trix take good care of you?”

“I’m not four,” she said, the sarcasm in her voice softened by the smile she shot me. “But, yeah. All the kids camped out at the house while I was there.”

“You look tired,” I said, soaking in the sight of her face. While we’d been held, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from imagining her in my mind, all the expressions she’d made when she was a baby that I still saw on her face now, the way her thumbs were double jointed and how she thought it was hilarious to show people, the way she still spun her way around the house, even though she’d stopped taking dance classes when she was seven. The idea of never seeing her again had damn near killed me.

“I’m okay. But Nana says she’s going to take me back to the house so you can get some rest,” she complained.

“Probably a good idea,” I replied. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep, but I wasn’t too fired up at having her hang around the hospital while I was laid up. Shit had been crazy and she deserved a little normalcy.

Kara wrinkled her nose, but didn’t argue.

“Take Rose with you,” I said, glancing at my woman. She was swaying a little on her feet, but she still shook her head.

“No way in hell,” she said. She looked at Kara. “Sorry, toots.”

“I’ll come back later, okay?” Kara said, her hand tightening around mine.

“Sounds good, princess.”

With a sigh, she let go. “Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too. Be good for Nana.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The room was quiet after she left, and I felt my eyes growing heavy, but before I could fall asleep, the sound of heavy footsteps had me looking toward the door.