Page 64 of Devoured By You

The challenge would be making him see that.

When the doctors brought him round, I expected he’d be confused, in pain, struggling to comprehend how he’d ended up in the hospital. But when reality set in, I could only imagine the shock. I watched a documentary recently about a sports star who had an accident and ended up paralyzed from the waist down. During the hour-long program, told over a period of a year, he’d gone through all five stages of grief, ending, eventually, at acceptance of his new reality. But it had been tough, on him and on those who loved him. We were all in for a rough ride.

The nurse tending to Blay glanced over at me as I entered. She gave me a tight smile, then retreated to a chair in the corner of the room. Blay was hooked up to various machines, the constant beeping something of a reassurance. As long as the machines made that repetitive noise, then Blay was okay.

Tented sheets covered his legs, and his shoulder was bandaged from his other gunshot wound. I still couldn’t get my head around it. A gun. To a Brit, the concept was alien, and while guns were far more prevalent in the US, cruise ships were one of the safest places in the world. The security was so tight, and every passenger was checked on and off the ship, as well as having to put their bags and jackets through a scanner, similar to an airport.

I pulled a chair closer and sat, holding his hand. He was so warm, so alive.

“Hey, you.” I bent my head and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, then rested my cheek on top. “So, everyone’s here. Your mum and dad, Nolen, Marlowe. Aspen, too. Kadon is on his way, too.” It felt odd to talk about people I hardly knew, and in Kadon’s case, I’d never met, but if there was a chance Blay could hear me, I wanted to reassure him, to provide some continuity and familiarity. A one-way conversation wasn’t easy. In the end, I pulled out my phone and opened my e-reader app, choosing a thriller I thought Blay might like. I’d gotten through the first chapter when a tap came at the door, and a tall, blond-haired guy with a chin dimple poked his head inside the room.

“Hey, I’m Kadon. Do you mind if I…?” He trailed off, his eyes going to Blay. They narrowed, and his mouth pinched around the edges. “I don’t want to intrude.”

He spoke as if he was the outsider and I was the gatekeeper. There was something about his demeanor that made me want to give him a hug. I pointed to a second chair. “I’d love the company, unless you’d rather be alone with him.”

Kadon shook his head, edging farther into the room, his steps slow and tentative. Eventually, he reached the chair and sat down.

“I can’t fucking believe it.” He raked a hand through his shaggy hair, grabbing a fistful.

“I think we’re all struggling with that one. I’m Jill, by the way.” I stuck out my hand. He shook it.

“Yeah, my folks told me. According to Aspen, you’re the woman who finally made Blaize Kingcaid fall.” He flashed a dazzling grin but struggled to hold it, almost as if he thought smiling was disrespectful to his brother.

“I don’t know about that.” My eyes drifted to Blay, then back to Kadon. “But when he wakes up, you can guarantee I’m asking him if that’s true.”

Kadon gave a low, brief chuckle. “You should know that when the Kingcaid men fall in love, they fall hard. There’s no escape now. He’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.” His eyes filled with sorrow as he realized what he’d said. “Fuck. You know what I mean.”

I touched his arm. “I know.” Sighing, I returned my gaze to Blay. “This is so strange for me.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know any of you, and if I’m truthful, I hardly know Blay. Yet I feel as if I’ve known him all my life, and your family has been so welcoming and understanding under terrible circumstances.”

“But?” Kadon coaxed.

How did he know there was a but? Was the entire Kingcaid clan a family of mind readers or something?

“There’s an inner voice that keeps telling me I’m intruding. That, in times of crisis, family is what’s important.”

Kadon said nothing for the longest time, even when I looked at him, waiting for an answer.

“My brother is thirty-one, and do you know how many females have passed through his life since puberty?”

I winced. Jesus. Was he punishing me for something?

“A lot.”

Hey knife, meet heart.

“The key phrase here is ‘passed through.’ Blaize is the consummate playboy. Or, I should say, was the consummate playboy. Yet from the brief conversation I had with Aspen, which Nolen backed up, ever since the ship set sail, my brother has glued himself to your side.”

“Not quite,” I murmured. “He’s had a few issues to deal with.”

“But he made time to spend with you.” Kadon’s lips lifted to one side. “My brother doesn’t date, Jill. Not really. I figured that out years ago. It was the reason I never bothered to learn the names of any females on his arm. I’d only see them once, so what was the point? What I’m trying to say is that you have as much of a right to be here as any of us. Almost two weeks with Blaize? That’s like… twenty years in most people’s books. Trust me.” He touched my hand. “He wants you here.”

I placed my hand over the top of his, feeling oddly connected to a man I’d only just met.

“Thank you.”