Page 90 of My Craving

“Hey, Daddy.”

The change in his face is immediate. He brings my hand to his mouth and presses his lips against my knuckles before reaching for the water beside the bed.

“How do you feel?”

“Like somebody stuck a knife in me.”

His mouth tightens as he helps me take a few sips through the straw. “The knife damaged your spleen. The surgeon was able to repair it, but you lost enough blood that you needed a transfusion.”

I sink farther into the pillow while I work through that. Pieces of last night come back without any order—the ballroom, Adrian, blood, the inside of the ambulance, and Duncan sitting beside me with my hand in his. Then I remember being scared.

The last thing I remember clearly is his mouth against my knuckles when he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him too, and there’s nothing after that until waking up here. Duncan sets the water aside and sits back down. He hasn’t released my hand once, and when I look at the dried blood covering his shirt again, I realize he probably hasn’t left this room since they allowed him back after surgery.

“You stayed.”

His thumb moves slowly across my skin. “There was nowhere else I was going to be.”

Duncan is usually impossible to read unless he wants me to see something, but there’s no hiding the exhaustion on his face. His thumb keeps moving over my hand, slow and steady.

I shift my arm toward him. “Come here.”

He moves carefully onto the edge of the bed and bends over me, avoiding the IV and my injured side as I wrap an arm around his neck. His arm goes around my shoulders, and his face presses against my hair. I hold him without trying to tell him everything is okay until the pull in my side becomes uncomfortable and he feels me tense.

Duncan immediately eases me back against the pillow but stays close.

“I remember seeing you coming toward me after it happened.” My voice is rough from sleep. “You looked terrified.”

“I was.”

The admission is quiet and simple. A few months ago, I’m not sure Duncan could have said it that easily. His hand slides along my jaw before settling against the side of my neck. “I kept replaying it while you were in surgery, trying to find some point where I could have gotten to you sooner. By the time I saw Adrian behind Xavier, you were already moving.”

“I didn’t think about it. I saw the knife and went for him.” I curl my fingers around his wrist. “I wasn’t trying to sacrifice myself for Xavier. I wanted to stop Adrian before he hurt him. Getting stabbed wasn’t part of the plan.”

“I understand that.” His thumb brushes beneath my ear. “If you had waited for me or Declan, Xavier might be the one in this bed. I hate that you were hurt, Nash, but I’m not going to ask you to watch someone you care about get hurt just so I never have to be afraid of losing you.”

I stare at him because that isn’t what I expected to hear. Not that long ago he would’ve lost his fucking mind over what I did. Now he’s sitting beside my hospital bed telling me he understands why I did it. I pull him down until I can kiss him. He’s careful with me, one hand braced beside my shoulder while his mouth moves softly against mine.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, mo sholas.”

He stays close for another moment before settling back into the chair, his hand returning to mine.

I ask what happened after we left the hotel, and Duncan tells me Adrian is in custody while Alina is still missing. Ronan and Taylor are handling it, which explains why Duncan is sitting beside my bed instead of trying to run the search himself.

Before I can give him shit about finally learning how to delegate, someone knocks on the door. Declan comes in with Xavier tucked against his side, his hand resting at Xavier’s waist as they walk toward the bed.

Xavier looks tired, but he’s here and he’s okay. There’s no blood on him now, no crowd between us and no asshole with a knife anywhere near him.

“You look like shit,” I tell him.

His eyebrows lift. “Have you looked in a mirror?”

“Not yet, but I’m guessing I win.”

That gets a small smile out of him, but it doesn’t last. Declan pulls a chair over and sits beside him, keeping his hand on Xavier even after they’re settled. Duncan stays on my other side, close enough that his leg is pressed against the bed.

Xavier looks at me for a while before his expression changes. “I don’t know what to say to you.”