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He pressed his hand to the old scars and drew in a deep breath.
They’d made it through today.
The privacy curtain was ripped aside without warning. Samuel jumped and reached for the only thing nearby: his water cup.
Jessica stood there, dirt smudging one cheek, and stared at him with big, watery eyes.
“Scared the shit out of me,” he muttered and relaxed back against the mattress. He reached out a hand to her. “Come here.”
She crossed to the side of the bed then bent forward at the waist to gingerly put her hands on his shoulders in a semblance of a hug. She pressed her cheek to his chest and squeezed her eyes shut. He in turn wrapped his arms around her and squeezed as tight as he dared.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she muttered over and over again.
Samuel dug his fingers into her hair none too gently and forced her head up.
“You still don’t care about yourself enough.” Though he tried to tamp down on his anger, it simmered inside of him and his voice came out harder than intended.
A fat tear slid down Jessica’s cheek. “But of course, I don’t. I care about you more.”
Emotion welled up inside of him. Big feelings he wasn’t ready to tackle.
He pulled her to him and kissed her gently, mostly because of how swollen his mouth was from taking repeated punches to the jaw. Her lips were gentle and sweet, everything he wanted.
“You might literally be the death of me,” he muttered.
“Don’t say that.” She leaned an elbow on the bed and splayed her free hand against his chest. “I’m sorry. I was stupid. I’m sorry.”
He slid his fingers over her cheek and down to her lips.
“You were ill-prepared. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“No, I’ll… I’ll stop. I’ll leave it up to you.”
He snorted and pain shot through him.
Fuck.
That was going to suck.
“That’s going to work about as well as asking a fish to stop swimming.” He couldn’t stop touching her. “Your first instinct isn’t to run, like most people. You’re a fighter, and I’ve been asking you to go against your nature. That was my mistake.”
He’d make sure she got more serious about her self-defense training for starters. She’d done well thus far, but she could do more.
Her lower lip trembled and he could see the waterworks about to start.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered. “I’m fine. It’s this concussion that’s got me messed up, that’s all.”
“It’s my fault.”
“Sh.” He placed his hand over hers. “No more of that.”
“But—”
“No. More. Of. That,” he said in a firm tone. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Maxwell Edward isn’t going to bother anyone else anytime soon.”
She took a deep breath then nodded.
Jessica had a big heart. She’d done all of this out of love. And that just made him care for her more. Because no matter how much he gave, she’d always be there stride for stride. That was someone he wanted in his life.