Chapter 448
[ 558 words ]
Chapter 448:
Jarrod winced as her sudden movement sent a sharp, electric shock of pain through his shoulder, his splinted right arm forced to remain rigid against his side. He could not return her embrace with both arms, but he moved his functional hand to the back of her head, pulling her face into the curve of his neck. He leaned into her, anchoring her weight against his chest, careful to shield his broken, splinted limbs from the impact while holding her as close as his physical limitations allowed.
Her sudden lunge knocked her arm against the bedside table. The tray the nurse had left went flying. The bowl of warm broth tipped over, splashing all over the front of Jarrod’s uniform.
He didn’t even notice. He just held her as best he could, his good hand stroking her hair, breathing in the scent of her. She was safe. She was in his arms. Nothing else mattered.
Jarrod leaned over her, his movements careful and restricted, mindful of the heavy brace locking his right arm against his chest and the throbbing, splinted fingers of his left hand. He studied her, his eyes full of a raw, aching tenderness that his battered body could not suppress.
She reached up, her fingers tracing the rough stubble on his jaw. “You look terrible.”
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said, his voice thick and low. “I searched all night, Caroline.”
The vulnerability in his voice was a physical blow. “I came to find you,” she whispered. “I heard about the earthquake, that it was near your base. I had to know you were safe.”
Her words, meant to explain, instead lit a fuse. Fear, sharp and violent, flared in his eyes, quickly followed by anger.
He reached out, his one functional hand hovering near her, but he couldn’t grip her shoulders as he desired without risking his own agonizing fractures. Instead, he gripped the fabric of the bedsheets near her shoulders, his knuckles white with the intensity of his restraint. “Are you insane? Who gave you permission to come to a disaster zone?”
He leaned in, careful to keep his injured arm braced safely against his ribs, and pressed his forehead against hers. It was a desperate, hard-won proximity that felt like he was trying to protect her with every ounce of his remaining strength.
Re𝘢𝖽 𝗼ո a𝗻y 𝖽𝗲𝘃𝘪c𝖾 𝘰𝘯 𝘨a𝗹n𝘰𝗏𝗲𝗹𝘴.𝖼o𝘮
“Listen to me,” he commanded, his voice a low, non-negotiable order in her ear. “From this moment on, you will never leave my sight. Ever.”
The raw, possessive power of his declaration stunned her into silence. She could feel the fine tremor running through his body and knew this wasn’t about control. It was about terror.
She didn’t fight him. She wrapped her arms around his back, patting him softly, a gesture of comfort that bypassed his protected right arm.
He slowly relaxed, his frame sagging slightly as the adrenaline faded. He pulled back just enough to look at her, the fear in his eyes replaced by a burning, intense desire.
He kissed her. It wasn’t gentle like before. It was hard, demanding, a kiss that staked a claim and branded her as his. It was a desperate, primal affirmation that she was alive, and she was his.
She was breathless, her head spinning, but she didn’t push him away. She kissed him back, a clumsy, untutored response that was all her own pent-up fear and longing.
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