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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The dull ache in Colin’s side was enough to remind him where he was before he opened his eyes. He couldn’t place the job, but he knew without a reminder that he lay on his back, surrounded by medical equipment on the completed side of surgery, coming down from a post-op high.
Dry mouth made his tongue furry, and his eyeballs had a pulse. But this had to be better thanwhatever laid him out to start with. Grimacing, he tested his limbs one at a time, failing to recall much past the clouds and the cobwebs.
A gentle touch caressed his hair. Sweet words whispered to him. Colin wanted warmth. He needed the comfort, and like the fog evaporating, small increments of alertness broke through the haziness until he knew Adelia was nearby, quietly talking and tellinghim stories.
“Glad to see you waking,” she urged him further awake.
He ran his tongue along the roof of his mouth. Vivid memories sputtered into place. Distant beeps of medical equipment chimed. He squinted, pulling from the noise, needing to escape the pain.
“You’re okay.” Her cool touch slid along his forearm. “Everything is fine now.”
Colin groaned when he angled onto his side, grindingthrough the last hold of his waning anesthesia.
“Try to remain still,” she cooed.
Who knew how long had gone by since he last opened his eyes, but this time his eyelids stayed opened, and Adelia’s face came into focus.
“This feels like shit,” he muttered.
She laughed loudly as though that wasn’t what she expected. “I bet it does, baby.”
His heart lodged in his throat. “You’re here.”
“Wouldn’tbe anywhere else.”
“Ha.” If he could make their world a better place, he would. Snap his fingers and wish she didn’t have a reason to stress. “Hey.” He licked his chapped lips and grinned. “Think I’m good as new.”
“Unreal.” She shook her head. “I’m not a huge fan of the macho tough guy stuff.”
“What?” He pulled back his elbows, trying to sit, and changed his mind. “It’s just a scratch.”
“I’d hoped to have someone reasonable to chat with when you woke up.” She side-eyed him. “But I guess not.”
He cleared his throat, taking a sip of the water she offered. “You’ve had unreasonable people?”
“Delta’s medical team is intense.”
He chuckled. “So are military guys.”
“Maybe everyone is, and I’m just a free spirit,” Adelia added.
“As compared to who?” Colin scoffed.
“I don’t know?”Adelia rubbed his shoulder. “A motorcycle gang?”
Colin cracked up at that and maybe the image of Adelia the free spirit and ignored a brutal bite in his side. He leaned the opposite way to pull her closer.
“Careful,” she warned. “I have strict instructions.”
Tape haphazardly clung as he lifted his arm, gritting his teeth and draped it behind her back. “That’s better.”
Adelia tensed as if shemight break him if she moved.
“Come on. Take a breath.” He rubbed the part of her arm that he could reach, almost enjoying the soreness from the slightest moves. It was like an invisible badge of honor. No one could see that it hurt to comfort her. “Adelia…”
“I’m fine.”