Chapter 29 What I Want
Elena cracked eggs into the pan, hyper-aware of Pierce sitting at her kitchen table behind her. The morning felt strange, too quiet, too charged with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Her uncle, the company. The almost-kiss that wasn't almost anymore.
She made scrambled eggs and toast, simple and fast, and brought two plates to the table. Pierce took his without comment, and they ate in silence that felt heavier than it should.
"I've got to get back to work today," Elena said finally.
Pierce's fork paused halfway to his mouth. "No."
"I wasn't asking." She kept her voice steady. "I have a shift in two hours."
"Elena, you just found out your uncle tried to have you killed."
"Which is why I need to do something normal." She looked at him. "I can't just sit here thinking about it."
Pierce's jaw tightened. "It's not safe."
"Derek can come with me. He can sit in the cafeteria and glare at people for eight hours if that makes you feel better." Elena held his gaze. "But I'm going."
Something shifted in Pierce's expression. He set down his fork. "You're serious."
"Yes."
He stared at her for a long moment, then pulled out his phone. "Derek. You're going with her to the hospital. Stay close."
Elena felt something loosen in her chest. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Pierce said quietly.
The hospital felt both familiar and strange.
Elena moved through the emergency department on autopilot, checking charts, attending to patients, doing the work she'd done a thousand times before. But everything felt slightly off, like she was watching herself from a distance.
Derek sat in the waiting area with a newspaper he wasn't reading, watching every person who came through the doors.
"You've been gone a while." Marco appeared beside her at the nurses' station, arms crossed. "Everything okay?"
"I had a family emergency," Elena said, not looking up from the chart she was updating.
"For weeks?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It was complicated."
Marco leaned against the counter. "You know you can talk to me, right? If something's going on."
Elena met his eyes. Marco had always been kind, always tried to look out for her. And she couldn't tell him a single true thing about her life right now.
"I'm fine," she lied. "Really."
He didn't look convinced but let it go.
The shift dragged. Every patient felt heavier than usual, every decision harder. By hour six, Elena's feet ached and her head was pounding and all she wanted was to go home.
To her apartment, where Pierce was.
The thought stopped her cold in the middle of the hallway.
When had that happened? When had Pierce waiting in her apartment become home?
At 9 PM, Derek walked her to the car. The ride back was quiet. Elena stared out the window, exhausted in a way that went beyond physical.
When she opened her apartment door, the smell of Chinese food hit her immediately.
Pierce was at the kitchen table, laptop closed, takeout containers spread across the surface. He looked up when she entered, his eyes scanning her, checking for damage.
"You ordered food," Elena said.
"You were at work and I can't cook." He gestured to the containers. "It seemed logical."
Elena dropped her bag by the door and moved closer. The containers were from her favorite place, the one she'd mentioned once, weeks ago.
She couldn't even remembered why she mentioned it but he'd remembered.
"Sit," Pierce said. "You look exhausted."
Elena sat. He handed her a plate, opened containers without asking what she wanted. Somehow he'd gotten all her favorites.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Elena hadn't realized how hungry she was.
"How was it?" Pierce asked finally.
"Work?"
"Yeah."
Elena set down her fork. "Weird. Everyone wanted to know where I'd been. I lied to all of them." She looked at him. "I've never been good at lying."
"You'll get better with practice."
"That's depressing." She groaned.
Pierce's lips twitched slightly. "Welcome to my world."
Elena went back to eating, but the silence felt heavier now. Full of things neither of them was saying.
She finished her plate and leaned back in her chair. Pierce had been here all day, working, waiting for her to come home. The thought did something strange to her chest.
"We should talk about it," she said quietly.
Pierce looked up. "About what?"
"The bathroom." She said awkwardly. "The kiss."
His expression didn't change but something shifted behind his eyes. "What about it?"
"We just..." She couldn't find the words. "Didn't talk about it after."
Pierce set down his fork carefully. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know." Elena wrapped her arms around herself. "That it meant something. That it didn't. That we're both losing our minds from stress and proximity."
"Which one do you want it to be?"
"I asked you first."
Pierce leaned back, watching her with those ice-blue eyes that saw too much. "It meant something."
Elena's breath caught. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." His voice was quiet but certain. "Did it mean something to you?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Pierce stood slowly and moved around the table. Elena's heart raced as he stopped in front of her chair.
"I've been thinking about it all day," he said quietly. "Thinking about you."
Elena stood, and suddenly they were too close, breathing the same air. "Pierce..."
"I want to kiss you again." He said, voice rough. "But if I do, I'm not going to want to stop."
"What if I don't want you to stop?" Elena asked, voice cracked.
Something dark flashed in his eyes. "Elena."
"I'm serious."
"You're exhausted." He said, voice sharp. "You've had the worst few days of your life."
"Don't." She cut him off. "Don't tell me what I want."
Pierce looked at her for a long moment. "Then tell me. What do you want?"
Elena looked at him, this man who'd crashed into her life, who'd protected her, who'd stayed. This criminal she was supposed to hate.
This person she was terrified to need.
"I want you," she said quietly. "I want this."
Pierce's hand came up to cup her face, thumb brushing her cheekbone. He moved slowly this time, giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn't.
When their lips met, it was different from the bathroom, slower, more deliberate. Not desperate and scared, but intentional. Like he was savoring it, memorizing the taste of her.
Elena's hands found his shoulders, then slid to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Pierce's other hand went to her waist, anchoring her against him.
The kiss deepened. His tongue traced her bottom lip and she opened for him, a soft sound escaping that made his grip tighten. Elena pressed closer, needing to eliminate any space between them.
Pierce's hand slid from her face to tangle in her hair, tilting her head back. Elena matched him, months of tension finally finding an outlet.
When they finally broke apart. Elena's eyes stayed closed, feeling his breath on her lips, his hands still holding her like he couldn't quite let go.