Page 117 of The Arrangement

“Where is he?” Her voice rises above the cacophony of the room’s noise. “He’s my husband, and I will see him now!”

I chuckle.There’s my girl.

“Hey,” I say, wincing as a blast of pain shoots through my head. “My wife’s out there causing a scene. Do you think you could sneak her in here?”

“Sure. Just a moment.”

He moves silently through the room and disappears into the hallway. He jumps out of the way as Chloe rushes into the room.

Tears stain her face. Her eyes are wild. As soon as her gaze settles on me, she sobs.

“Will you stop it?” I ask, chuckling. I hold my good arm out and she slides into the bed next to me and throws her arms around me. “Hey, hey, hey.” I wince. “That’s … not the shoulder.”

She lifts off me and sits up, scanning every inch of my body.

“Are you okay? Please, tell me you’re okay,” she begs.

“If I’m guessing, I have a concussion, and my left arm and shoulder are royally fucked. But I think I’m pretty good otherwise.”

She’s not convinced. “What happened to you?”

“Lie with me. I need to touch you. Just stay on my right side, okay?”

She curls up next to me, her hand splayed over my heart. I sigh, becausethisis what I need. My beautiful wife. The only woman I’ll ever love.

“I’m not sure what happened,” I say. “I was flying home and had engine failure. I found a field where I could land, but the winds were awful. The plane was tossed around, and a wing clipped the treetops. That’s the last thing I remember for a while.”

Her tears are hot against my skin. “I was so scared, Jason.”

“I just wanted to get home to you.”

She sits up, looking me in the eye. “You didn’t call.”

“My phone was dead, and instead of stopping to buy a cord or borrowing someone’s at the airport, I was just focused on getting back to you.”

I touch the side of her cheek. She leans into my hand as if it’s the balm to her wounds. She’s the balm to mine.

“Jason …” She squares her shoulders to mine and grins. “This is not how I was going to do this.”

“How were you going to do this?”

“It included me straddling you and wearing the black lingerie you love so much.”

I want to take her hand and place it on my hardening cock. Instead, I raise my eyebrows andtellher to look lower. And she does. Then she bursts out laughing.

“You almost died tonight,” she says. “Simmer down.”

“You still turn me on. I’d probably be hard for you in a casket.”

She smacks my chest. “No casket jokes, asshole.”

“Speaking of assholes, where’s Gannon and the others?”

“In the waiting room. Your mom is at the other hospital with Renn. They have her pretty medicated because she was losing her shit.” Her grin turns sheepish. “I threatened your brothers and Bianca to let me back here first. They didn’t put up too much of a fight.”

“Probably because they know I’d throw them out and ask for you.”

She presses a kiss to the center of my lips. I try to deepen it, but she pulls back.