Dangerous to Know & Love (46 page)

They set off down the corridor, walking slowly,

“I missed you, baby doll,” he said softly, watching her face carefully.

“Me, too. Ass.”

“Ass?”

“Among other things.”

“Are you mad?”

“Daniel Colton, you haven’t even seen mad yet. Just you wait until you’re better.”

“Okay,” he said, happily.

“We got an ‘A’ on our Business assignment.”

He smiled. “Told you, baby doll.” Then he stopped as a thought occurred to him. “Were you here, last night?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Oh. I thought I’d dreamed you.”

“You… you dream about me?”

He answered by pulling her into his chest.

“Always,” he breathed onto her lips, before kissing her completely.

“I don’t fucking believe this!”

Lisanne broke away from Daniel as she heard Zef’s angry voice behind them. Daniel, of course, hadn’t, and he smiled at his brother.

“Hey, man!”

His smile faltered as his eyes took in Zef’s glare of hate, burning its way toward Lisanne, and her tension – almost fear.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing, little brother,” said Zef, forcing a smile. “Brought you some shit.”

He waved some motorcycle magazines in Daniel’s face.

“Thanks, man. We’re just getting some coffee. You want in?”

“Nah, I’m good. Just dropping these off. Got some business to take care of. Catch you later… when you’re alone.”

He said the last part so only Lisanne knew what he’d said, then shoved the magazines into her hands before loping off down the corridor. Daniel watched him, looking worried.

He turned to Lisanne.

“Has he said something to you?”

“Um, well…”

“Lis, please? I hate people talking
about
me and not
to
me.”

Lisanne sighed. But she was saved answering when her dad reappeared carrying four coffees in paper cups.

They made their way back to his room, Daniel walking slowly and carefully. He looked tired now, as if the short conversation and shorter walk had utterly worn him out. Lisanne was so used to his limitless energy as he bounded around, that this listlessness worried her. His balance worsened, making it necessary for Lisanne to carry the coffee, while her dad helped Daniel back into his bed.

He frowned and leaned back carefully, his hands on his head.

Monica threw a look laced with significance at her daughter. “I think we’ve tired Daniel out – we should go now. You can come back later on.”

Lisanne nodded, then tapped Daniel’s hand.

“We’re going now.”

He gave her a weak smile. “Sorry,” he said, quietly.

She kissed his cheek, and laid her hand on his chest over his heart. And she was wearing the locket he’d given her – she knew he’d understand.

The mood as they left the hospital was somber. They’d arrived with such high hopes and now Lisanne was feeling not only deflated, but concerned, too.

“Honey, would you like us to stay one more night?” asked Monica, sensing her daughter’s anxiety. “Then we could drive Daniel to his house when he’s released. Harry will be fine with the Milfords for another night. We can all travel home together.”

“Thanks, mom,” said Lisanne quietly.

Her dad gave her a hug.

“He’ll be fine. It’s still less than 24 hours since his operation. Give him time.”

While Ernie called the motel to reserve their room for another night, Lisanne and her mom waited at the entrance. Monica tried to persuade her that worrying wouldn’t help.

“Daniel needs you to be positive right now. I can’t imagine what he’s been going through – and without any real family support from what I can see,” she added, frowning. “Despite what has been going on between you two.”

“I… I thought he was going to break up with me. Mom, I was so horrible to him. I feel so bad. And now this…”

She passed her mother the letter Daniel had written, and watched her face as Monica read it through. When she’d finished, she hugged her daughter tightly.

“Daniel is a very special young man,” she said. “I’m glad he’s found my very special daughter.”

Lisanne managed a small smile, mostly to reassure her mom.

When they returned to the hospital several hours later, Monica and Ernie decided to wait in the lounge again, giving their daughter a chance to see Daniel alone. But as she entered his room, he’d only had a chance to smile and say hi, before she was overtaken by a young doctor, tailed by a bevy of medical students.

“Mr. Colton, I’m Dr. Mendez, I’ll be taking a look at your wound.”

“Where’s the other guy – Palmer?” said Daniel, sounding defensive.

The doctor turned and looked at Lisanne when he answered. “
Doctor
Palmer has instructed me to supervise your recovery period.”

“Well, you can start by looking at Daniel when you speak to him,” snapped Lisanne, “as he’s just had a cochlear implant and he still needs to lip read you because he’s
still deaf
.”

The doctor looked irritated and flustered, but turned to repeat the information to Daniel. Lisanne noticed that several of the students were holding back grins.

“Are you family?” he said to Lisanne, trying to reassert his authority.

She crossed her arms. “Yes.”

The doctor sniffed and looked disgruntled, then directed his attention to Daniel’s wound. The students stood in a semicircle around him, dutifully taking notes.

“This patient presented with idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss from the age of 14, and chose this elective procedure after losing hearing below 110 decibels, at the age of…”

“Fuck!” yelped Daniel, as the doctor knocked his ear while pulling off the bandage.

Lisanne took a step closer, ready to act as a bodyguard, should it be needed.

The doctor probed the wound, more carefully this time, but Daniel still winced. Lisanne’s face lost some of its color when she saw the jagged six inch incision snaking upwards from behind his left ear, sewn together with small, precise stitches. Either side of the wound, his head had been completely shaved. She could see now why he’d opted for the buzz cut.

The skin looked pink and angry to Lisanne, but the doctor seemed pleased.

“Yes, that’s healing up nicely. No sign of infection. Any tenderness?”

Lisanne sighed and stood in front of Daniel. “He wants to know if there’s any tenderness?”

“Of course there’s fucking tenderness! Are you sure this guy’s a doctor?”

This time the medical students chuckled quietly and the doctor flushed with anger.

Lisanne giggled. Daniel winked at her, and a slow smile stretched across his face.

“Lis, can you check to see if my brain is hanging out? I’m not sure this guy would recognize it.”

She slapped his arm.

“Stop it!”

He just grinned. “Take a souvenir picture for me, baby doll?”

Lisanne grabbed his phone and took a couple of shots of the grisly sight. She couldn’t wait for it all to be a dim and distant memory.

“Any numbness? Can you feel that?”

The doctor touched the tip of Daniel’s ear.

“Huh, no, nothing. That’ll be a cheap piercing.” He raised his eyebrows at Lisanne, who tried to look cross.

“Any loss of taste?”

“I’ve been eating hospital food all day – how the hell am I supposed to know?”

Lisanne snickered.

“So, doc, can I get out of here?”

The doctor walked around to face Daniel again, obviously annoyed.

“Let me see how your balance is, Mr. Colton.”

Daniel swung out of the bed smoothly, but wobbled as he stood up, another attack of vertigo sweeping over him.

“And walking?”

Daniel grit his teeth and made it across the room, swaying slightly.

“Hmm, Dr. Palmer has recommended one more night in hospital, Mr. Colton,” said the doctor, ignoring Daniel’s curse, “and I concur. We’ll see how you are in the morning. I’ll send in a nurse to dress your wound. You’ll need to keep the gauze strips for another week.”

The doctor swept back out of the room, his head held high, the flock of students lagging behind.

Lisanne heard one of the students whisper, “He was cute! He can be my patient any day.”

She threw an angry look but it bounced futilely off of the girl’s back.             

Daniel was oblivious and sitting back on the bed, looking mutinous.

“Hey,” she said, stroking his cheek. “It’s only one more night. You were expecting that, right?”

“Easy for you to say,” he said sulkily. “Seeing you is the only good part of the whole fucking day.”

She smiled happily. “Kirsty says ‘hi’ and Harry said something that I didn’t understand:
he’s practicing
. Does that mean anything to you?”

Daniel smirked. “Guy talk. Don’t worry about it.”

“Ugh, I don’t think I want to know.”

“Did you tell Kirsty?”

Lisanne sighed as the shutters came down, and Daniel’s expression resorted to the careful blankness that she found so frustrating.

“She drove me here – I had to tell her.”

“Has she… told anyone else?”

“I don’t know. Vin maybe. I could ask her…”

He lifted his hand to his head then dropped it again. “Yeah, I don’t want anyone else to know…”

“Okay.”

He rubbed his forehead tentatively.

“Have you got a headache? Sorry – dumb question.”

He lay back, wincing as his head touched the pillow.

“It’s weird – talking feels sort of uncomfortable. It feels like the vibrations from my voice are moving the implant. I don’t know. I know that’s not possible. It’s freakin’ bizarre to think I have a chunk of metal in my head.”

Then he opened his eyes again and smiled up at Lisanne.

“You know what’s good for curing headaches?”

“What?” she said, wary of the wicked gleam in his eye.

“Hey, come here.”

He held out his hand and pulled her down until she was sitting on the bed next to him, smiling the sexy smile that always got Lisanne hot and bothered.

“Sex,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“Sex is great for headaches. Just sayin’.”

“Daniel! We can’t… I’m not… I can’t even believe you’re suggesting it! You’ve just had surgery! No. Definitely not.”

He kissed her neck and licked the base of her jaw.

She moaned softly.

“I’ve missed you, baby doll,” he whispered. “Feel what you do to me.”

He moved her hand down, and she felt him becoming hard beneath the hospital sheet.

She gasped and glanced toward the door, but she didn’t move her hand away either.

He shifted his hips upwards.

“Lis…” His voice was almost pleading.

Keeping her eyes on the door, she slipped her hand underneath the sheet.

She glanced quickly at Daniel. He was watching her intently, his lips slightly parted. He was hot and hard under the sheet and she ran her fingers along his length, seeing his eyes darken with need and lust. She grasped him firmly and a soft noise broke from his lips. She moved her hand more quickly, feeling his body responding.

And then her mother knocked on the door. Lisanne jerked her hand away so quickly, Daniel gagged and nearly swallowed his tongue.

“Is everything okay in here?” said Monica, staring anxiously at Daniel’s flushed face.

Then she looked at her daughter, who seemed to be finding the floor of extreme interest.

“Daniel has a headache,” Lisanne stammered.

There was an appalled silence.

“I see,” said her mother tightly. “Well… we should be going now, Lisanne. We’ll give you a ride back to campus. You feel well, Daniel.”

Lisanne raised her eyes to Daniel, who seemed to be having trouble forming words.

“Yeah, yeah,” he gasped.

“Um, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Uh huh.”

Monica grabbed her daughter’s arm and marched her out of the room.

*     *     *

Daniel wished to hell and back that Monica had waited just another two minutes before deciding to check on them, and interrupting what was proving to be a very enjoyable hospital visit. Two goddamn minutes! That woman could win a gold medal at cockblocking.

It had felt so good to have Lis’s hands on him. He hadn’t been sure he’d see her again after she’d slapped him that night – he’d really thought it was all over for them. She wasn’t the first woman who’d hit him and he knew it didn’t usually mean anything good. He’d just held onto the hope that Lisanne would relent once she knew the truth – once she’d read his letter.

It had been hell not touching her after Thanksgiving, but somehow it had felt wrong when he knew what he was keeping from her.

Seeing her again at the hospital, it had been a relief. More than that – it had given him some peace. But now his frustration was at an all time high. Sighing, he shuffled into the private bathroom to finish the job in hand, then cleaned himself up.

While he was there he brushed his teeth, even though it hurt to open his mouth fully. Everything in his head ached and he wondered if he could have more painkillers yet. He’d have given his left nut for a smoke – or some weed.

The bathroom door opened a fraction and he saw Zef peering cautiously around the door.

“Hey, man. Thought you might be on the can. You okay?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got to stay another night. Balance is all shot to hell.”

Zef frowned. “Bummer. Can you ride Sirona like that?”

“No, not till the doc says so. Could be a week or so.”

“How you gonna get around, man?”

Daniel shrugged. “Walk. Take the bus. Maybe you could give me a ride?” he said, looking at Zef hopefully.

“Well, yeah, but I’m pretty busy.”

“With what?”

“Don’t ask.”

“Come on, Zef. You said you’d talk to me after Thanksgiving, but I’ve hardly seen you.”

“That’s because
you
were planning to get that junk shoved in your skull.”

Daniel felt angry. Not this
again
. “Don’t start.”

“All because of some piece of skirt! What is going on with you?”

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Daniel’s voice held a quiet warning.

“You want to talk, so let’s talk!” Zef said angrily. “You always said you never wanted the operation, then you meet this chick and suddenly you’re having surgery on your head. Explain it to me.”