Marina’s expression sours when I glance up at her, tucking my phone into my pocket, but she says nothing. Her dark, pin straight long her moves with every step she takes towards my desk. Her eyes narrow, “Is this why you called me here?” she scoffs. “So you can rub my nose in your happiness with your wife?” The way she says the word wife with so much disgust angers me. Since the moment she woke up from her coma; she’s been hateful towards Rosalind. Hell, I’m disgusted with myself for how I treated her. “She’s not just my wife,” I growl, feeling Onyx simmering just beneath the surface, but I hold him back. If this is going to go as I expect, that’ll be a tool for later. Marina rolls her eyes, shaking her head, “You are unbelievable. You spent years with her and the moment I wake up, she’s your mate. That makes no sense, and you know it,” she grits her teeth, “She’s a fraud and you are a fool.”Her words grate against my nerves. I have so many questions, but right now, I need to ask
“Stats are dropping again,” Riley, one of my nurses screams from behind the curtain.My legs are moving before I can think. My eyes scan over the monitor, “Blood pressure is dropping rapidly. His heart is out of rhythm. “Two milligrams of Atropine,” I shout, and the nurse scurries away quickly.James’ grandfather’s body begins convulsing, and the shallow sound of his gasps drowns out the bustle of the hospital. I can’t let him die.The flatline of his heart pulls me back into the moment, and without thinking, I climb on top of his eerily still body, pressing my palms to his chest.One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. I make it to thirty before his heart shows any signs of life. My panicked eyes meet Riley’s as she’s thrusting the syringe into his line. My arms are tired, but I don’t stop. Right now, the only thing keeping his heart from stopping is the rhythmic pump of my hands.“Sir, you can’t be in here,” I hear a nurse shout as the curtain draws behind me. I pay no mind, smelling Jam
“James,” Marina’s voice grated against my eardrums. “Thank goodness. Tell them to let me through.”My eyes lose focus as I stare at her and the reoccurring headache that just won’t go away intensifies.How did she know that James was here?James remains quiet behind me, almost as if he can tell I’m slowly putting the pieces together.During our phone call, he’d mentioned having a meeting with someone.“Was she with you at the office?” I turned around slowly, feeling my heart practically gallop like she was participating in a race.“She was my meeting, but I swear,” James gripped my shoulders, staring into my soul, “It’s not at all what you think. I’ll get rid of her and explain everything.”I nodded slowly, feeling numb. Every single time something like this happens, James pulls away and all the progress that we’ve made crumbles to dust.“She’s not welcome anywhere near this room,” James growls as he walks towards the nurse’s station. “Until I figure out whatever the fuck you’re up to
“Why did he want to speak with you alone?” James growled as I walked back into the room. His eyes looked crazed as he stared at me expecting an answer.“He just wanted to congratulate me on successful compressions and ask me in private if I felt like I could remain as your grandfather’s doctor considering he was my family.” My brows pinched together as I watched his shoulders relax, “What’s going on with you?”“What do you mean?” he fired back, almost too quickly. As if he were expecting the question.“You just seem really angry,” I whispered, walking towards him.“I am angry,” he ran his fingers through his hair. “Today has been a nightmare, and it shouldn’t have been. I planned my day out perfectly. First, with you in my bed. Then, getting to the bottom of whatever the hell has been wreaking havoc on my life, and then finding myself back in bed with you.”A half-hearted smile grazed his face, making him look forlorn. The way his eyes held mine made me feel as if he were apologizing
“What’s the prognosis looking like?” James’ grandfather arches a brow, glancing out to the hallway at James’ retreating back before meeting my gaze.“I don’t have all of the answers for you yet, but you’ll be going in for an echo,” I started, but he cut me off with the shake of his head.“Women, I aint talking about my health. I’m healthy as an ox,” he smirks.My lips purse as I pin him with a confused stare, “I’m not sure I understand what you mean..”“You and my boy out there,” he chuckles softly. “I had to get him out of here to talk to you.”A warm flush creeps up the length of my neck before settling on the tops of my cheekbones. “Things are going….. well.”He snorts, “Well? That’s it.”James’ grandfather has this way of making someone feel as if they’ve known you your entire life. He speaks with the warmth of a father, and despite not having much of a relationship with him; It doesn’t feel that way.“How much do you know?” I walked around to the side of his bed with the bag of f
James appeared with a cardboard tray of coffees just as his grandfather had finished telling me that I needed to be careful when it came to Onyx. But I’ve met him…. He seemed far more interested in me than anyone I’ve ever met. And he’s my mate, so he wouldn’t hurt me… right?James reached up, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I guessed.” A deep sigh left his lips, “I hope you like it.”I noticed the lighter color peeking through the tiny hole in the lid and a smile graced my lips. “As long as it’s not black; I’ll be fine.”His eyes lit up as he watched me take a sip, and I felt like a teenager all over again. The thought of knowing that someone pays attention to the little things makes me feel special. “We were supposed to sit down for lunch the other day, but you stood me up,” James’ grandfather narrows his eyes, wincing as he adjusts himself on the bed. “Joan tells me you’ve been a bit busy getting into trouble.”“Let’s not do this now,”
The blush that spreads up the length of Rosalind’s neck before painting her cheeks with a rosy hue sends a flurry of emotion through my veins. Since Onyx has returned to me; Every feeling with Rosalind has been heightened. I don’t feel the need to hold myself back from her. Before, I felt as if I was teetering on the edge of who I really am. Shielding her from my true personality was like an armor that I’d built in the event that she wasn’t our true mate. ‘You are a fool for every thinking otherwise,’ Onyx snarls in my head. I didn’t disagree with him, but I still found myself trying to make sense of it all. He’d felt my bond with Marina back in Blackwood. While it was delayed, I assumed it was due to whatever had happened with Onyx before I’d turned eighteen. A shiver rolled down the length of my spine as I remember how dark those days were. I felt like a prisoner trapped in my own mind. I could see everything that was going on in my life, but Onyx was piloting my body. The pa
The door wasn’t even shut when James’ fingers laced through my hair, angling my face so that he could capture my lips in a searing kiss. With one hand on the small of my back, and the other tangled in my locks; He kicked the door shut, walking me backwards until the skin on my shoulders pressed against the cool wood. The hand that was on my back moved around to my throat, slowly creating a trail of sparks as his thumb pressed against my pulse point, “Fuck, Rosalind. Less clothing. Now.”James didn’t waste any time sliding the straps to my tank top down before ripping them clean from my body. He stepped back, eyeing me appreciatively before I watched in amazement as his nails formed into claws. He dragged the sharp point on his thumb down my lip, nicking the skin as he pulled it away from my mouth. His eyes swirled with bright green as the pad of his thumb smeared the small bead of crimson across my lips, “So fucking stunning.”Now I was most definitely rendered speechless. James’ e