Burning Love (Hearts on Fire #2)

by Heather Lyn

  Noah is down at the hospital’s entrance waiting for Aubrey. He called her on the way to the hospital. They wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance with her, so the second we arrived I started emphasizing the word “fiancé” in hopes it would get me to her. I just need to see her, see with my own eyes that she’s okay. She never regained consciousness before they took her from me.

  This is a fucking nightmare.

  I’m broken out of my thoughts by my name being called by the nurse I was just speaking to.

  “Mr. Michaels, come this way. I’ll take you to her room now.”

  Jumping out of my seat, I hastily follow behind her.

  “She’s still asleep. There was no swelling and she’ll have a pretty good bump on her head, but she’ll be okay. Kennedy woke up right before we took her in and she seemed lucid. The doctor gave her some pain meds, so she should sleep for a while.”

  She leads me to a room where the door is only partially open. The lights are down and I head inside, closing the door behind me. All I can hear is the beeping from the monitors next to Kennedy. Grabbing a chair that’s against the wall, I put it next to the bed and turn to Kennedy. She has a bruise forming on her cheek where he hit her, and her bottom lip is split. Sitting in the chair, I reach out and grab her hand, grateful it’s warm.

  I press a soft kiss to the back of her hand, then reach out and smooth her hair off her forehead. I can’t help the sigh of relief that goes through me. This could have been so much worse. Leaning forward, I rest my head on the bed and look up at her sleeping form.

  “I’m so sorry, Kennedy. I promise, baby, I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. They’ll have to get through me. I fucking promise.”

  And as I sit there with her, I know that no truer words have been spoken.

  ***

  I have no idea when I dozed off, but I’m awakened to someone running their fingers through my hair. Sitting up, I gaze around the room, taking in my surroundings.

  “Hey, sleepyhead.” I look up to see Kennedy sitting up in bed, giving me a wry smile.

  “Hey, you. How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. Nurse came in a few minutes ago to check on me. You were snoring, by the way.”

  “I do not snore.”

  “You do. Like a freight train. But it’s okay.”

  Scrubbing a hand over my face, I stifle a yawn. Getting up from the chair, I stretch quickly and then sit on the bed next to Kennedy.

  “Don’t lie to me. How are you feeling?” I reach out and grasp her hand, giving it a squeeze.

  “Really, Grayson, I’m fine. A little shaken up, but I’m fine. It’s no big deal and luckily, nothing happened that I can’t get over. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  “Yeah, clearly,” I snap, not meaning to be so harsh. I regret it when I see the tears quickly build in her eyes.

  “Shit, Kennedy. I’m sorry. You just scared the shit out of me. I saw him throw you against that wall and I’m pretty sure my fucking heart stopped. I shouldn’t have just spoken to you like that. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” I gently reach out and cup her cheek, brushing a stray tear with my thumb. Leaning forward, I press a gentle kiss to her forehead and let my lips linger for a moment. Sitting this close to her, I can’t help but think about what could have happened, even though I know she’s safe and going to be okay.

  Kennedy reaches up and places her hand on my chest, right where my heart is beating wildly against my chest.

  “I’m okay, Grayson. You saved me.” Her words come out in a rough whisper. And they are my undoing.

  I let go of her hand and pull her to my chest, holding her tight.

  “I will always save you Kennedy. Always.”

  Her arms wind around my waist and she squeezes gently. I brush my hand through her hair, noticing that it feels shorter.

  “Hey. When did you do this?” I lean back and run my fingers through her soft hair.

  “The day before I saw you at the diner. I’m surprised you didn’t notice then.”

  “Yeah, well, I was a little preoccupied. Sorry. It looks good. I like it.”

  She gives me a smile, touching her hair gently.

  “How did you know I was at the bar?” Kennedy is biting her bottom lip, and I can see the slight tremble to it. I start to answer her, but we’re interrupted by a knock at the door.

  We look up to see two police officers step into the room. One I recognize as Garrett Walker, Brody’s brother who arrested the asshole. The other guy I’m assuming is his partner.

  “Ms. Grant. Glad to see you awake. I’m Officer Walker, and this is my partner, Officer Miller. We’re here to follow up on the incident last night.”

  Climbing off the bed, I turn to the two men and reach out to shake their hands. After giving a nod, I place myself in the chair next to the bed and again take Kennedy’s hand in mine, rubbing my thumb across the back. I can feel her pulse racing and I know it’s because she’s terrified. I place a gentle kiss to her palm, hoping to help calm her down.

  ***

  I never let go of Kennedy’s hand during the entire interview. She cried through most of it, having a hard time remembering portions of the night. I saw red the entire time. While she was telling them how she met this Blake fucker, I received a text from Noah asking what’s going on. I noticed the time on my phone and saw that it was three in the morning. We got to the hospital around ten last night.

  The officers left about twenty minutes ago, after getting my statement. Now we’re just waiting on the doctor to clear Kennedy to go home. Another knock comes at the door and before we can say anything Aubrey comes rushing in, Noah behind her. Kennedy bursts into tears and the girls hold tightly to one another. Noah and I look at each other and he nods at the door. Kissing the top of Kennedy’s head, I follow Noah out into the hallway. We walk in silence until we find a vending machine where we can each get a cup of nasty-ass coffee. While he waits for his to brew, I pace, running my hands through my hair.

  Noah claps a hand on my back, handing me a cup. “Ya gotta calm down, Gray. All your anger isn’t gonna help Kenni. She needs you.”

  “Oh please, Noah. Until last night she could have given a shit about me. She’s in shock. You saw how she reacted to Aubs. She didn’t do that when she saw me.” I take a sip of my coffee, wanting to spit it out when I taste how gross it is.

  “Dude...never mind.” Noah grabs his cup from the machine and then motions to the chairs next to us. We take a seat and I immediately lay into him.

  “What, Noah? What words of advice do you have for me? No offense, buddy, but I couldn’t give a shit what I should be doing right now. The girl I fucking want more than my next breath of air was almost fucking raped tonight! And she doesn’t even care that I’m here for her.”

  I drop my almost full cup of coffee in the trash can next to me and stand up again, not able to sit still. I’m broken from my pacing by Noah grabbing me. He puts his hand on the back of my neck, forcing me to look at him, much like I did to him at the fire last summer.

  “Gray. Listen to me, man. I don’t know all the details, but Kenni told Aubrey everything. Her family. Everything. She wants you, Gray, but she’s terrified. So fight for her. Don’t let her push you away. You fight as hard as you fucking can, and you prove to her that you’re not going anywhere.” Noah’s looking at me so intensely I can’t do anything but nod at his words.

  “You be angry all you want. If that had been Aubrey, I’m not sure what I would have done. But, she’s okay. She’s going to be fine. You need to make peace with it and be there for her. Because when she falls, who’s going to be there to catch her?”

  “You sure have become a sappy shit since Aubs took you by the balls. I mean, do you even have any dangling anymore, or do you just have a full-on man-gina going on now?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Chuckling, I shove Noah and head back down the hallway to Kennedy’s room to see a doctor going in. We hur
ry in as he’s shaking hands with Kennedy. Aubrey is sitting on the bed next to her, and she gives me a smile when she notices us. Aubrey gets up and comes over to us.

  “Everything okay?” I ask as I look over at Aubrey. She’s following whatever the doctor is saying to her as he shines a small flashlight at her eyes.

  “Yeah, I think so, Gray. She’s gonna be okay. I told her that she should crash at your place today, if that’s okay? I don’t want her to be alone.” Aubrey is looking back and forth between me and Kennedy.

  I nod. “Yeah, that’s fine, but I have a shift in like three hours. She’s gonna have to be alone there until tomorrow.”

  Noah interrupts me. “Nah, man. You’re off today. I called Chief and explained. I’ll cover your shift. I was supposed to be off to help my momma do some stuff around the yard, but it’s no big deal, I can do it another day. Kennedy needs you, man. Be with her.”

  Throwing my arm over his shoulder, I give him a half hug and then head over to Kennedy. She looks up as I start to sit on the bed and gives me a small smile.

  “You’re the fiancé, I assume? I was just explaining to Kennedy that she needs to take it easy for a few days. While her head injury wasn’t as serious as assumed, she still needs to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Nausea, vomiting, those kinds of things. But she’s all set to go home. The nurse should be in shortly with the discharge papers.” He pats her on the leg, then leaves the room.

  I look over to see Kennedy staring at me with her eyebrows raised.

  “Fiancé?”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. When they brought you in they weren’t going to let anybody but family in to see you. And since, as far as I know, you don’t have an emergency contact, I just said I was your fiancé so we could have access to you.” I shrug.

  “Oh. That makes sense.”

  The nurse comes in a couple minutes later with paperwork in her hands and a pair of light blue scrubs.

  “I know they’re just the paper ones, but I figured you’d rather have these to leave in than that hospital gown. The police had to keep your shirt since it had blood and evidence on it.”

  It annoys me the way the nurse is being so blunt and vulgar about the situation, but then again she probably sees this kind of incident more than a normal person. But Kennedy isn’t just someone. She’s my girl, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

  The nurse hands her the items and then leaves the room. Aubrey gives Kennedy a hug and tells her that they’re leaving but to call her later.They’re leaving us alone on purpose.

  Kennedy asks me to wait outside while she gets changed. A few minutes later she’s all set and the nurse comes to the room with a wheelchair to take her out. I carry her small hospital bag filled with the heels and jeans that she had on in the bar. Kennedy is fidgety in the chair and won’t make eye contact with me when she looks up. Sensing her anxiety, I reach down and take her hand. She quickly tightens her fingers with mine, and I can’t help being happy that I’m giving her comfort. When we get down to the main level I head out to the parking garage to my Camero. After pulling it up to the emergency entrance, I can’t help but smile when I see Kennedy there waiting for me.

  It’s a quick drive back to my house, and Kennedy is silent the entire time. She has her arms folded and she’s turned to face out the window. When we pull in the driveway, she doesn’t make a move to get out. It’s not until I open my door that she follows suit. Heading into the house, I have to stifle a yawn. I’m exhausted, and I know she has to be too.

  “You wanna go get some sleep, darlin’?” I toss her hospital bag on my couch.

  “Yeah, I’m beat. Can I use your guest room?”

  “Of course.” I lead the way and make sure the bed has fresh sheets and blankets. I toss her one of my T-shirts for her to sleep in. When it’s all set, I check the time on my phone. It’s only five in the morning, and the sun won’t be up for at least another hour or so. Luckily, my bedroom and the guest room have blackout curtains, so we’ll both be able to sleep once the sun comes up.

  “Okay, well, if you need anything just holler.”

  She gives me a small smile and climbs into bed, turning away from me and pulling up the covers. I leave the door open a crack, then head across the hall to my own room, hitting the bathroom to relieve my bladder before stripping down to my boxer briefs. I pull my cell from my pants pocket and plug it in before climbing into bed. Getting comfortable, it feels as if it’s mere seconds before I start to fall asleep. Exhaustion is kicking in fast.

  ***

  I’m woken out of a dead sleep by the jostling of my bed. I must have left the hallway light on when I fell asleep because there’s a sliver of light in my room. Turning over, I come into contact with soft dark hair and a small body trembling. Kennedy. She climbs under the comforter and cuddles in close to me. I’m so taken aback I can’t do anything other than pull her into my arms. Lying on my back, she cuddles up against me and she tucks her face into my neck, and that’s when I feel a wetness slide down my neck.

  “Hey. Everything okay, Kennedy?”

  She shakes her head and burrows in closer. Pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, I hold her tighter.

  “Talk to me, darlin’. What’s going on? Please, Kennedy. I can’t fix the problem if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

  I feel her breathing hitch and then she’s pulling away. I lean up on my elbow and stare down at her. Kennedy’s beautiful brown eyes, even in the dim light, look red and swollen. Clearly she’s been crying. I reach out to trace her cheek with the back of my hand.

  Taking a deep breath, she looks up at me.

  “I’m just so mad, Grayson. I was so stupid to go to a bar alone, especially one I’ve never been to before. I was running away from my feelings. I let myself be vulnerable for the first time in a long time. And in doing that, well I just...I can’t stop thinking about what could have happened. He could have….” Her voice breaks and she takes in a quivering breath, clearly trying not to cry.

  “Hey, no, baby. Nothing would’ve happened. Don’t even think about that. You’re safe. I have you, and nobody or nothing will ever hurt you again. I swear it, Kennedy.” I pull her to me again, shushing her and whispering to her how sorry I am that this happened. This girl, this beautiful, kind, perfect girl is fucking gutting me whole. And there’s nothing I can do to make her pain go away.

  “I don’t remember much. I remember the smell of his cologne, and I remember him hitting me. But the one thing I remember was how sad I was that I would never get my chance.” She pulls away and looks up at me, sniffing quietly.

  “Your chance at what?”

  Before I can react she’s sitting up in bed and her soft lips are pressed against mine. For a second I don’t respond, but when she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down to her, I can’t help but close my eyes and give in. I lean down and keep her gathered in my arms, pouring every ounce of myself into this kiss. Without any coaxing, she parts her lips, biting gently on my bottom lip. Fuck me. Rolling over, I never remove my lips from hers as she opens her legs, allowing me to lie between them. I still haven’t made contact with her tongue and I can’t wait any longer; I seek entrance and she opens for me. The second her tongue circles with mine, I’m done for. I immediately press myself against her, gently thrusting my hips around hers. Gasping into my mouth, her legs—those fucking legs—come up to wrap around my waist.

  But before we get any further, my brain finally catches up to my hardening dick and I’m tearing my mouth from hers, breathing harshly.

  “Fuck, Kennedy. What was that?” I pull myself off her and roll onto my back, throwing an arm over my head.

  She immediately sits up, adjusting the shirt she’s wearing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” she says quietly.

  Sitting up, I flick on the light on my nightstand. Her cheeks are red, and I’m not sure if it’s from shame or excitement.

  “No, don’t be sorry. I definitely think we should fu
cking be doing that. I’m just confused. You went through something traumatic tonight, and I refuse to take advantage of that. Talk to me, darlin’. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  We turn to face each other on the bed. I can tell that she’s nervous, and doesn’t know what to say, but then she takes a deep breath and looks at me.

  “I like you, Grayson. And for so long I’ve had to take care of myself. I never open up to anyone and I keep myself hidden away. And I was okay with that. Until I met you. You’ve made me feel things in this last year that I never thought I would feel. Never thought I could feel.”

  Fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, she hesitates before continuing.

  “I have no idea how to do this. Be with someone. But I want to be with you. I don’t know much, but I know this. I’m not the same Kennedy without you. You’re my best friend. And you make me brave. You make me want. I’m just so scared of getting hurt.” She has tears shining in her eyes, but her smile is huge. I smile back at her.

  “I would never hurt you, Kennedy. Never. No reason to be scared of me. I’ll prove to you that you can trust me. I’m not sure what caused you to close yourself off, and I hate that something hurt you so much, but you can trust me, baby. I promise.”

  Leaning forward, I softly kiss her again. She smiles against my lips and pulls me down onto her. The kiss never heats up or intensifies. It’s gentle. It’s real. It’s us.

  Breaking the kiss, I shut off the bedside light and lie back down, settling her against me. Kennedy lays her head on my chest and holds on tightly to me.