Fifty-Two

The medicine must have kicked in, and Hank fell asleep, waking up hours later with an excruciating pain in his shoulder. Lord, it hurt! He wondered if one day situations like this would stop in his life. He was beyond fed up not having a proper care in a hospital when shit like this happened. At least this time around it was Melina there for him, not that he gave her much of a choice in the matter, and a smile made its way to his lips, but short-lived. The image of her consternated face, and non-stop tears the entire process, puzzled and upset him.

Another sharp stung on his shoulder, and he lost his breath, hissing. Henry inhaled a lung full of air and let go little by little. It was then, orange blossoms surrounded him in an intimate caress. He had woken up with lots of thoughts running wild in his head, plus the pain bothering him. He didn’t notice Melina tangled up in him. Listening to her soft breathing was relaxing, but he wished he could see her face. There was no moon in the night sky, and the room was filled with darkness.

Melina didn’t break her promise. She came back to stay with him, and he didn’t dare living his bed after she threat to cut his balls off, he was sure as the day he was born, this new Melina would follow through with it, besides, she must have given him a relaxant, because he fell asleep with a smile on his lips and in peace as soon as he heard her audio.

The stung on his shoulder that followed left him breathless, and he grunted loud. Melina swung herself out of bed in autopilot mode, standing beside the bed and reaching for the lamp on the nightstand with her heart drumming in her chest.

*Crap!* She was too tired and slept heavily. *What a shitty caretaker she was!* They stared at each other, and he had a surprised look on his face mixed with pain.

Melina peeked at the clock. Two in the morning, she should have given him his med an hour ago. Once more, she was inflicting pain on him. It wasn’t her fault he was stubborn enough and didn’t want to go to a hospital, putting himself through agonizing pain, but she couldn’t shake the feeling from her system.

“You’re in pain!” she said and put her palm against his forehead, checking for fever. Thank Lord he was fine. No infections. “I’ll be right back.” Pivoting, she headed to the kitchen, giving him no chance to speak. She came back with a glass of water and medicine in her hands.

“Melina…” His voice was throaty when her name escaped his mouth. Her eyes were still puffy and red-rimmed, and he felt like an ass.

“Let me help you up, so you can take the medicine.”

He nodded, and she circled his shoulder, pulling him forward and stuffing pillows behind his back. Melina’s eyes watered when he grunted and whispered in her ear. Once he got comfortable, she sat next to him and placed the painkiller in his mouth, then the glass of water to his lips.

“I still have my left arm, so you know.” He pointed with mischief. Henry didn’t take his eyes from her, and he felt that these last few days his life hovered around studying the emotions showing there. “I don’t mean I’m not appreciating, on the contrary.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’m so used to doing this with Evangeline, that…” She trailed off, choking.

“Why the tears, Melina?” he asked, exasperated.

“I hate seeing you in pain, even more when I’m the one inflicting it,” she muttered, and her last words barely audible.

“Are you nuts? It’s not your fault I’m in pain.” He was dumbfounded. What was wrong with this woman?

“Besides, I’m a vet. I’ve never stitched a person before, so I don’t know how it’d heal. I don’t want you to end up with an ugly scar.”

“Don’t bother Kitty Kat, it’s just one more scar on a monster, that’s all.” But nothing had prepared him for what came next. As soon as the nasty words came out of his mouth, the loud sound of a smack filled his ears and a burning sensation on his left cheek joined with the pain in his shoulders. Melina had slapped him square in the face. His eyes darkened, and hers widened, realising what she had done.

“I’m sorry…” She tried to get away, but even injured, he moved quickly. Henry grabbed Melina by her pajama tank top, pulling her to him and tightening his hold on her. He hissed in pain from the move, and she gasped, hitting his hard chest.

“What kind of kink nurse are you to spank your charges?”

It was a low, menacing growl, spreading a delicious tingling sensation throughout her body and traveling down Melina’s back to settle between her thighs. Their faces were a mere inch away, chocolaty melting in pools of honey. Their breaths hitched, and when her lips parted, his eyes traveled to them. She swallowed hard, staring at him with misty eyes.

“I didn’t mean to, but…”

The air surrounding them was heavy with the tension of the moment. She had to act fast. He needed to let her explain herself. Melina cupped his left cheek, soothing the burn in there. The skin got red since she hit him hard, but it angered her listening to him calling himself a monster. Also, guilt swamped her, because she was the one who made him believe in that.

“But…” He raised an eyebrow to his hairline, waiting for her to finish speaking.

She didn’t. Soft lips touched his cheek, moving tenderly across the burning spot, making his heart skip a beat, then pick up the pace and hammer against his ribcage as if it was about to pop out. He groaned under her softness and tightened his arm around her waist. Their relationship was spiraling out of control. They owed each other a serious conversation, but he didn’t have the guts to do it. Her fingers toyed with his beard, and when her lips brushed against his own, all the control he was trying so hard to hold disappeared.

Henry's free hand slid up her back in a gentle caress. His fingers laced in her hair, resting his palm on her nape, bringing her closer to him. What was a tentative kiss in the beginning gave place to a hungry desire when he made his way between her plump lips and their tongue collided, curling around each other and eliciting a moan from both. It started a sensual kiss, but as their bodies got heavy with need, the kiss took a route to rough and demanding. A jolt of electricity sizzled in his veins when Melina’s soft, keen sounds greeted his ears, moving straight to his groin.

Melina didn’t know for how long their heavy make out lasted. Only that air faltered and she was getting light-headed, but she didn’t want to let go of his lips. His hand had glided back down her body and settled on her butt once she circled his neck. He squeezed her ass, pressing her down on his erection. Her blood thickened like waves of molten lava coursing through her veins, flushing her fair skin and taking the fire to all the right places. In their erotic moment, she forgot all about his injury and touched the cut in his head. He whimpered in pain, bringing both back to reality.

They rested their forehead together, trying to catch their breaths and staring at one another. There was so much going on in those pools of honey that a raging storm wouldn’t be the right description. He had to understand that she didn’t hurt him on purpose, even if she had to beg him to give her a chance to explain her stupid actions. Maybe he’ll never forgive her, but it wasn’t in her heart to hate him.

“I’m sorry if I made you believe you were a monster. You’re not.” Her tone softened, and Melina tried to put a lot of truth in her words. “You have a caring heart beating here, Henry.” She put her hand on the right side of his chest, feeling in her palm his erratic beats. His eyes were dark, fixed on her face. “Please, give me a chance to make things right. Don’t push me away. Let me cross this wall you erected around you, because if you don’t, I’ll climb it, and I’ll jump to the other side, so I’ll get stuck with you behind it.”

Words. Where were his words when he needed them most? Those beautiful chocolaty orbs, looking at him, waiting for his response, and he was short of words! She stunned him with her confession, filling him with hope and dreaming of a future with her. It was so perfect, her soft body against his, the heat of her skin, the smell of her perfume. If got to be shot to gain all this attention from her, he’d be glad to take a couple more bullets. He didn’t control the shivers assaulting him for having her on top of him. But he needed an answer.

“What has changed, Melina? Why, out of the blue, I’m not the monster who messed up your past anymore?” He wasn’t angry, but there was a hint of sadness in his questions.