Page 9

But I still needed to be sure. My hands ran over her body, and even though I was still seeing things on a slant, I knew her body by heart. Every scar and curve on her skin I’d memorized long ago.
“Nice plan, Hunter,” I heard her mutter.
“It would have been fine if your locket hadn’t fallen off.”
“What did you do?” I finally asked, pulling Kate against me, tucking her in between my legs.
“Hunter knocked you out and dragged you in here so you could see me.” I could hear the irritation in her voice, which I happened to agree with.
“It was so he could see you. I tried to get him to bring you coffee like a normal person, but he insisted on stalking you. What did you want me to do?”
“Not knock me out,” I muttered, running my lips over Kate’s neck. Her pulse hammered under her skin, and that’s what brought me the most comfort. I ran my tongue over her pulse point, reminding myself that she was okay.
“I wanted Kate to see how bad you’re getting.”
“Noted,” Kate answered. She stepped back from me, only pissing me off more than I was with Pappy. Gripping my face, she forced me to look at her, which wasn’t all that hard considering all I did was stare at her. “This has to stop. I know you’re terrified to let go, but that’s all over. We have to get back to normal.”
“When have I ever been normal?”
“Touché,” she smirked. “What are we going to do about this? You can’t follow me everywhere I go. I stayed on the property as long as I could, but that couldn’t go on forever.”
“Move the clinic.”
“We already discussed this,” she sighed. “You wouldn’t let all my patients through the Reed Security gates. Next idea.”
“Quit.”
“Not happening,” she chuckled. “I have to have purpose.”
“You do. You’re my wife and the mother of my kids. We can’t live without you.”
“And you don’t have to,” she whispered, pressing her lips to mine.
I grasped her around the neck, holding her close as I deepened the kiss. The pain in my chest only deepened with every moment my lips were against hers. I always felt like I was having a heart attack after I thought she was gone. Even after the threat was gone and she was in my arms, it didn’t stop the overwhelming fear that radiated through me.
Hunter cleared his throat like the dick he was. “Not that this moment isn’t beautiful, but we still have a problem we need to fix.”
“It’s simple. You’re going to keep him at work,” Kate answered.
“Yeah, because that’s worked out great so far,” Hunter chuckled.
“You’re going to have to make it work. You’ll have to wean him off me.”
I grunted, not liking that idea. “Or I can continue doing what I’m doing.”
“And have you pass out again in my clinic?”
“I didn’t pass out in the clinic,” I argued. “And I wouldn’t have passed out if someone hadn’t jabbed me with a needle.”
“It was necessary. You’re losing it,” Hunter argued. “You can’t stalk your wife anymore. I won’t allow it.”
“I’d like to see you try to stop me.”
“Enough,” Kate cut in. She sighed, resting her hands on my shoulders. I knew that look in her eyes. I was about to get another lecture. “Hudson, I love you more than anything in this world, but we can’t keep doing this. I need my husband back.”
“You always have me.”
“Yes, craziness and all,” she pursed her lips. “I need the man who was a little bit stalkerish but still had his own world. We can’t keep going on like this.”