His fingers run through my hair, and reading my body, he holds me tighter, keeping me still while knowing damn well that I’d do anything in my power to roll on top of him and kiss him deeper.
His kiss is everything I needed, except unlike the others I’ve received from him, this one is lacking life. What used to be so full of burning flames, is now just a raw sizzle. It’s lacking the desire and urgency, and I realize that while we both so desperately want each other, things will never be the same between us, not while Carver is so full of guilt.
Everything shatters inside of me and this realization kills me faster than his bullet ever could.
I pull away, and as I look up into his broken stare, I see that he’s come to the same realization that I have. Carver and I will never be together.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, his heart falling out of his chest in broken, little pieces. “If I could go back …”
“I know,” I tell him, dropping my head back to his warm, strong chest and allowing his arms to fall back around me. “I know.”
CHAPTER 4
“WINTER? WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR DELICIOUS ASS?” Ember’s voice travels from one end of the ward right to the other, and judging by the scowl resting upon Nurse Rachel’s face, she disapproves.
I cringe, knowing this is going to result in one less Jell-O for me today. Rachel and I have come to an agreement over the last two days. If she gets me all the Jello-O and ice cream that she can get her hands on, then I’ll happily participate in all her frequent checks. Hell, half the time I even do it with a smile on my face.
“WINTER, BABY. TALK TO ME.”
I look back at Grayson who shakes his head, knowing damn well that I was only seconds from yelling back at her. “She’ll figure it out eventually,” he tells me. “There’s only so many doors she can barge her way through.”
“Good point,” I grumble, watching as Rachel double checks my chart and hangs it back on the end of my bed before curiously eyeing Grayson. There have been four separate occasions over the past two days where she has stormed into my room only to find me snuggled in bed with a different guy. The first time she walked in to find me and Carver together, she was pissed, especially considering that I’d only been awake after surgery for maybe a half-hour. Since then, she’s stopped fighting it and has just told the boys to be careful, but it wasn’t necessary. The boys are more careful with me than she is.
I hear Ember’s thundering footsteps grow closer and laugh as she throws open a door. “Oops, fuck,” she grunts. “Sorry.”
The door is slammed once again only for us to hear the very next door being barged open. Rachel glares daggers at me. “If she pisses off my patients, you and I are going to have a problem.”
“It’s fine,” I grin. “Ember has one of those adorable faces that you just can’t get mad at.”
“Trust me, no one is that adorable,” she mutters under her breath, coming around and strapping the blood pressure monitor around my upper arm to do her thing.
I sink back into my bed and can’t help but laugh as the next door is thrown open, directly across from my room, knowing exactly what she’s going to find in there.
“Winter?” she calls into the room. “Shit, sorry wrong ro—WHOA. Hello, there. My name is Nurse Ember, can I offer you a sponge bath?”
The unbelievably sexy guy across the hall laughs, clearly finding her just as amusing as I do. “Sorry,” he says, the smitten laughter in his tone more than adorable. “I’ve already had my sponge bath today. I’ll take your number though.”
Oooh, damn. He’s smooth.
“No shit,” Ember says, making me laugh as I imagine the way she’d be gaping at him with her mouth hanging open. “Really? I didn’t think that line would actually work.”
“Sure as fuck did,” he tells her. “I’m Corey.”
“And I’m free on Saturday night.”
“Perfect. I’ll be out of here on Friday.”
“Nice. Wait,” she says, her voice still somehow travelling right through the ward despite her talking at a normal tone, at least a normal tone by Ember’s standards. “You’re like … not a part of some secret society and intent on murdering my best friend and using me to do it, right?”
“Wow,” Corey responds as I bite down on my lip, desperately trying not to laugh as she perfectly describes her twisted ex, Jacob Scardoni. “That was oddly specific.”
“Well a girl can never be too sure, you know what I mean? Guys are either serial killers, rapists or just trying to get in my pants.”
Corey laughs. “I’m not going to lie, the thought of getting in your pants sounds pretty fucking great to me, but I’m a gentleman, I promise. You know … unless you don’t want me to be.”