Page 31 of Some Like It Hot
“Riley—”
“I’ll do it myself.”
“What about your morphine drip?”
“The bag went empty about four hours ago. Please, Larke. I’m fine. I gotta get out of here.”
Her face turned dark. “Listen. You can’t dig or chop or doanything. I don’t know why—”
“Because they’re all I have!” He didn’t mean to raise his voice, so he cut it low. But he met her eyes. “Because those guys are depending on me, and I can’t let them down.”
She stared at him, unblinking. He didn’t move, his jaw tight.
“It’s not up to you to save everyone.” If she wasn’t angry before, he had no doubt about her tenor now. “You don’t have to run into trouble or…or get yourself killed doing something that others can do—
“What if they can’t?” He shook his head. “Listen. I’m not trying to be arrogant here, Larke, but the fact is, for some reason, I’m, well for lack of a better term,fearless. I’ve known for a long time that I’m different. Maybe it’s my ADHD, maybe it’s my curiosity, but Ilikedanger. I like doing the hard things. I like showing up when others can’t. I like…” He sighed. “I like to jump into fire and do anything and everything I can to stop it and save lives.”
He closed his eyes, his jaw tight. “I know that sounds crazy. And reckless and prone to trouble, but…I guess I’m just broken that way.”
She was still silent at the end of the bed.
He opened his eyes. “I know that’s the last thing you need or want. And I’m sorry about that. But that’s who I am.”
She stared at him a long moment. Then she came over to the side of the bed, took his free hand. Met his eyes. “Don’t apologize. You say you’re not like your dad, but you’reeverythinglike him, Riley. Or at least the man I suppose he was. What is the SEAL warrior creed?”
His throat was tight. “‘If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.’”
“Yeah, that one.” Then she let go and went into the bathroom.
He leaned his head back on the pillow. No, he wasnothinglike his old man. His father would have never made a mistake like he had. Never would have landed in some hospital, cozy on pain meds for a little dislocated shoulder while his fellow soldiers were on the line fighting. Maybe for their lives. His dad was a planner who thought out everything.
Not the kind of man to take crazy risks.
Larke emerged from the bathroom with toilet paper and a washcloth. Came over to his arm with the IV.
“This might pinch.”
“Seriously.”
She held the toilet paper over the exit wound, then wrapped the washcloth around the cannula and eased it out. Pushed on the wound with the paper to stop the bleeding. “You need a bandaid—”
“I’m fine. Just get me out of here.”
She checked the wound, then wrapped the cannula in the paper and placed it on the tray near the bed. “You’re free, hotshot.”
He couldn’t stop himself. He reached up, wrapped his hand around her neck, pulled her down to himself, and kissed her.
And it wasn’t sweet or patient or particularly honorable, but the kind of kiss that spoke of the way she made him feel—as if, even though he had issues that should make a girl run, she still…wanted him.
As if to prove it, she sat on the bed, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him back, slowing him down, letting him linger.
Letting him know that maybe, just maybe, he had a shot at being the guy who meant his words.I can be more, if that’s what you need.
Yes. Yes, he could.
Her pocket buzzed, and she pulled away, her eyes on his. He was breathing hard, painfully aware now of the flimsy blanket between them and how much really, he didn’t want to go back to the line, but probably should make a beeline for it if he—
“Dad. What’s up?”