Awaken Me (The Jaded Series Book 4) (51 page)

I can barely contain my excitement as I walk around the bed. I feel like a kid who’s gotten everything he’s ever asked for at Christmas all at one time. I immediately grab on to Chris’s hand and bring it to my lips. She looks rough. The hair that was in a braid has pieces falling out all over the place. She looks paler than normal. Her eyes have shadows under them, despite her being in a coma for days. And her face looks leaner, even though she was constantly being given nutrients through her IV. Even through all this, she’s absolutely beautiful.

A tear slides out the corner of her eye. I lean down and kiss it away.

“Hi,” I whisper with my forehead resting on hers. We both have our eyes open. This close I see the little black specks in the green.

“Hi,” she whispers, her voice sounding weak. “What—” She croaks.

“Shit!” I reach over and pour some water in a Styrofoam cup. After putting a bendy straw in the cup, I help her sit up a little and bring the straw to her lips. There’s a pinch in my heart when she winces from moving. She takes a few sips before lying back down, out of breath just from that movement alone. She wiggles her fingers by my hand and I know she wants me to grab it again. I lace our fingers together, kiss the back of hers, and bring her hand up to lie over my heart.

“What happened?” Her voice sounds clearer, but still weak.

“You were in a coma for four days. The placenta didn’t pass all the way, so you developed an infection,” I tell her and watch helplessly as pain flashes in her eyes, making my chest ache.

“I’m sorry—” I start, but her squeezing my hand stops me.

“Don’t,” she croaks out. “I love you.”

I squeeze my eyes shut with her words. Another tear falls from me, landing on her cheek. I feel like a damn fountain. I’ve never cried so much in my life.

I open my eyes, stare deeply into hers, and tell her what I should have told her a long time, but was too afraid to.

“I love you, Chris. So goddamn much.”

Her eyes light up brighter than any firework I’ve ever seen.

“There’s something I have to tell you, Sugar. And you need to let me say it, okay?”

She wants to protest, I can see it in her eyes, but after several seconds, she gives me a single weak nod.

“I am so sorry for what I said that night. I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for walking away from you when you told me about the baby. I’m so fucking sorry for every single pain I’ve caused you.” I stop and close my eyes for a moment, the reminder of every shitty thing I’ve done to her momentarily robbing me of breath.

“I was so scared,” I whisper hoarsely. I open my eyes and bring my face away from hers a few inches. I want a clear view of her face. “I’m still terrified that I’ll lose you somehow, but there’s no way I can stay away. It’s just not something I have in my power. You should hate me and never want to see my face again, but I swear, Chris, on everything I am, I’ll never let you down again. I’ll never walk away from you again. I’ll always be where you need me to be. And I’ll always love you with every piece of myself.”

The smile that comes across her face is one that I want to see a hundred times a day, and I’ll make it my mission to give her something to smile at like that for the rest of my life.

Her smile dims some and with it my world darkens.

“I love you, Nick,” she says shakily, her words bringing my world back to burning bright. “And I know you love me.” Something flashes across her eyes that has my heart skipping a beat. “I saw you.” She halts for a minute to take in an unsteady breath. I’m about to tell her stop, that she can talk later after she rests, but she stops me. “No, I need to say this.” After a second, I nod. “Anna was with me. We saw you when you thought I was dying on this bed. I never want to see that look on your face again. It tore me to shreds. It was Anna that made me realize I had to come back. It was she who gave me to you.”

Her words shock me to my core, but at the same time don’t surprise me. I always knew Anna was watching over me. As clichéd as it sounds, I’ve felt her presence with me from the beginning. I think that’s why I’ve held on to her for so long. It never really felt like she was gone. After my visit to the gravesite, the presence was no longer there.

It would be just like Anna to send someone for me. There’s no way she could have picked someone better than Chris. She’s perfect. More fucking tears appear in my eyes, but this time I blink them away.

Thank you, Anna
, I send up silently to her.

A throat clearing has me and Chris turning to Jase, who is now standing on the other side of the bed. His eyes are red rimmed from crying. The look on his face is a mixture of astounding relief, happiness, and worry.

“Chris,” he whispers brokenly.

As much as I don’t want to, I let go of her hand and step back to give them privacy. Chris notices and immediately turns her head my way.

“Stay. Please don’t go anywhere.”

Her pleading words and the panic in her eyes have me stepping forward again.

“I’m not going anywhere. Ever again.”

Content with my words, she turns back to Jase, who picks up her hand.

“Thank fucking God you’re okay,” he breathes, and bends down to kiss her cheek. “You can’t ever do that again, Chris. I can’t watch that shit again,” he finishes, his voice cracking.

She smiles tenderly at him and whispers roughly, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just promise me you won’t ever do that shit again.”

Her smile widens when she whispers, “I promise.”

“Welcome back.” Jase smiles back at her. “Come here.” He bends and carefully gives her a hug. His shoulders shake silently as he buries his face in her hair. When he pulls back, it’s Chris who wipes his tears away with a quivering hand.

“I love you, big brother.”

“Love you, too, little sister.”

Andrew steps up to the bed next. Jase moves to the side to give him room.

“Hey beautiful,” Andrew’s deep voice rumbles.

“Hey.”

“You had us scared for a bit there.”

“Yeah,” Chris replies with a frown.

One good thing about Andrew is that he can make anyone laugh in any situation with his warped sense of humor. And right now he doesn’t disappoint when he says, “Now that you’re back, maybe I can finally get the Jase lovin’ I’ve been missing for days. Poor boy’s been too worried to fuck.”

“Oh, God, Andrew.” Chris groans, turning her head to the side and sputtering out a strained laugh. “I don’t need to know that.”

Even though I don’t need that visual in my head, I can’t help the laugh that slips out.

Jase slaps Andrew’s ass and scowls at him. “Dude, that’s my sister.”

Andrew turns to him and winks. “So, she knows we fuck. Hell, she’s practically seen us humping on the dance floor at Jaxon’s.”

Chris groans again and rolls her eyes, but there’s mirth there. The sight sends a shot of joy straight to my chest and damn near slams me backwards.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need to hear about it,” Jase retorts.

Andrew just grunts, leans down, and places a soft kiss to her lips. The move should make me jealous, but doesn’t. I know that this is one of Andrew’s ways of showing affection and that he doesn’t mean anything sexual by it.

Mia, who’s been standing beside me, steps closer to the bed. No words are spoken as her hip pushes me out of the way so she can lean over to give Chris a hug. When the two girls pull back, Mia has tears silently streaming down her cheeks as she brushes back some of Chris’s hair that’s fallen on her face.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Mia chokes out. She’s not the type to get emotional, so witnessing it now is hard to see.

“Thank you,” Chris says in a low voice, a small smile tipping her lips up.

Chris turns her head once Andrew pulls back, and I’m glad to have her eyes back on me. Eyes that have black rings around them and look like they can barely stay open. Fear shoots through me with the thought of her going back to sleep. What if she doesn’t wake up again? I know it’s irrational and something I’ll need to get over, but I can’t help the fear. She needs to rest as much as possible so her body can heal, just like the doctor said.

I push the stabbing fear away.

Sitting on the side of the bed, I grab her hand. “You need to get some rest.”

Her eyes begin to droop and her body sags back on the bed. She smiles tiredly. “You look like shit, Nick. You need to sleep too.” Her voice still sounds scratchy.

I chuckle. “I will.”

It’s going to be a long time before I’m able to sleep again. I’m too scared to have my eyes off her long enough to close them to get any sleep.

“You’ll be here when I wake up, right?” she slurs, unable to hide the fear in her voice. Her eyes start drifting shut.

I kiss the palm of her hand and tell her quietly, “Go to sleep, Sugar. I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I’m never leaving your side again.”

Relief flashes in her gorgeous green eyes when she opens them one last time. I shove the fear away when they close. She looks just like she did when she was in her coma.

“Lie with me,” she whispers.

Although the bed is small and I’m sure half my ass will be hanging off, there’s no way I can tell her no. To have Chris fall asleep lying beside me is something too great to pass up. I was so scared I wouldn’t have this again.

Appearing too weak to move, I gently scoop Chris up and shift her over a couple inches. She slits her eyes open as I lie down beside her. I hear a shuffling sound and look over to see Andrew, Jase, and Mia standing in the hallway talking to Bailey and Jaxon. All of them look over, and I can’t help the smile that comes across my face. My girl came back to me. To all of us, but especially to me.

“Love you,” she mumbles sleepily.

I bring my eyes back to her and take in her beautiful face. I lean over, kiss her soft lips, and whisper, “Love you, too, Sugar. More than you’ll ever know.”
 

Chris

Six months later…

I wake to feel the sheet on my back slowly move down my body until it’s at my knees. Then a rough hand starts where the sheet stops and barely grazes up my leg, over my butt cheek, then my side. I moan and arch my back because it feels good, but also tickles. Warm breath caresses my ear as I’m kissed on the back of my neck. I’m on my stomach, naked, with my face turned away and one of my legs bent. The hand reaches my shoulder, slides across it, and then travels down along my spine until it meets my ass. I hold my breath with anticipation as just the fingertips travel down the crack of my ass and find my wet center. Instead of sliding between my lips like I desperately need them to, two of the fingers separate and scissor on either side.

“Nick, please,” I moan into my pillow.

“Hush, Sugar,” he whispers against my ear. “Let me play.”

I want to protest and demand he touch me where I need him the most, but I hold it in and let him play like he wants.

The fingers run back and forth several times, tormenting me, before he pinches my clit between them. Fireworks shoot behind my eyes, and I cry out.

“Oh, God!”

Lips meet my neck once again. Nick latches his teeth there and sucks greedily with a groan. He works my pussy as he lays openmouthed kisses along my neck and shoulders. My hands fist in the covers while I fight the urge to roll over, climb on top of him, and take his cock deep inside me.

The bed shifts and a second later, Nick’s weight is on me as he straddles my upper legs. His chest meets my back and his cock nudges my butt.

“Spread your legs for me, baby,” he says, nipping at my ear.

I do as he says, but I can only spread them a few inches because he has both of his legs on the outside of mine.

He reaches between us and a second later his hardness meets my soaked pussy. I whimper with the explicit sensations it sends through me. I will never, for as long as I live, get tired of the feeling of having Nick touch me. Every time he does, it feels like the first time.

He doesn’t enter me like I expected him to. Instead he pushes his cock down until it lies flat against my pussy, and slides it longways between my folds. When it nudges my clit, I see a thousand starbursts behind my eyes.

He lifts his hips slightly, sliding against me over and over again. He has one arm underneath one of mine. With it, he grabs a handful of hair and tips my head up. I can’t go far because of the way I’m lying with his weight on me. But it’s far enough for him to reach my lips. He slips his tongue inside and tangles it with mine. His taste is another thing I will never get tired of.

“Fuck, baby, you drive me fucking insane,” he says against my lips.

He plays with my pussy with his cock, and I lie there and enjoy every second. I start lifting my hips to meet his short thrusts. I’m so close to falling over the edge; I just need a few more strokes. When he senses my impending orgasm, he stops pumping and settles his weight on me. I yank at the sheets in my hand and groan in frustration.

“Do you want my cock in you, Chris?” he asks huskily.

“You know I do, Nick. Please!” I whimper.

When I try to lift my hips to get him to move, he chuckles.