Page 87 of Wild

She'd given her a painkiller for the discomfort and lay down with her. Several uncomfortable minutes passed while the singer's pain was intense enough to make her curl up, the doctor rubbing her back, trying to ease the tension out of her. When the pill finally started working, Mia was so exhausted she fell asleep. It took Erin longer — the scare was still lodged in her body and her cheek throbbed — but eventually she gave in to sleep too.

"It hurts," the singer says, rolling onto her side with one hand pressed to her belly. Erin leans over and presses a kiss to her temple.

"I'll order breakfast so you can take another painkiller."

Fifteen minutes later, Mia has a tray across her lap and Erin is sitting cross-legged beside her while they eat.

"Does it hurt?" Mia asks, nodding toward her cheek before swallowing the pill with her orange juice.

"A little." Erin runs her fingers carefully over the bruise and winces.

"I'm sorry," the singer says, genuinely upset.

The doctor winks at her to ease the guilt, and Mia feels a little squeeze in her stomach that makes her sigh.

"It's not your fault. If anything, it was mine for sticking my head where it didn't belong."

Mia lets out a laugh and then grimaces, pressing her palm to her belly.

"Does it always hurt this much?" Erin asks, because she's been with her for a little over two months now and doesn't remember Mia ever complaining.

"No, just sometimes, but it's a bitch."

Erin nods, privately thinking that it was probably part of what caused the faint — the blood loss weakening her — but she doesn't say it out loud. She doesn't want to plant that fear in Mia's body every time her period comes.

"I know. From now on, when you start feeling symptoms that it's coming, I want you to let me know, okay? Don't wait until it does."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to Noah about getting some bloodwork done for you this week."

"Again? I had it done in Boston and everything was perfect," the singer protests.

"I just want to make sure it stays that way. Finish your breakfast."

"You know you look like a total badass, right?" Mia says out of nowhere, nodding toward Erin's cheek. "Cargo pants, tight T-shirts, those leather bracelets, and now that bruise on your face... You're incredibly hot."

The doctor laughs.

"Good to know."

"You're also hot in suits like the one at the gala, when you walk around the room in those boxer briefs, or when you're completely naked — all of it works," Mia continues.

"Are you saying all this to seduce me?" Erin teases, draining her coffee and moving the tray off Mia's lap when they finish.

"I'm saying all this because I need you to know it — to understand that you're not some impulse to me, that I catch myself staring at you while you sleep, that I want to hug you all the time, and that I'm not just looking for something that only happens inside this hotel room. I want to go out with you. Take you to dinner, go for a walk, go anywhere you feel like visiting."

Erin shifts and moves closer.

"You want to have this conversation right now?"

"Yes. I need us to clear this up once and for all, because I think you don't do well with uncertainty."

The doctor exhales a small laugh through her nose.

"You're right," she admits. "I'm so new to this that I need to know what's actually happening. I'm not okay not knowing whether this is a fling we enjoy until my contract ends or whether it's something that could keep going after."

"I want it to keep going." Mia is nervous — terrified, really, at the thought of Erin pulling back. "I'm sure about how I feel about you. I told you yesterday, Erin — I want this to work. But I don't know what you want or what you expect from it."