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I turned and went back to Garrett. The best way to help was by freeing him.

  It wasn't until I shoved Michael's body off him that I saw the big red puddle. Sir's eyes were closed, a terrible pallor creeping across his skin.

  I looked in the corner and saw the sharp switchblade Michael had pulled for one last strike, its ivory handle smeared dark red.

  I was on him instantly. I worked off the gag, then started on his handcuffs, but he wasn't responding.

  Desperate, I pumped my hands on his side, tracing the wound, covering it. Garrett's thin eyes opened and shut several times.

  “Leave me here. You've got to get out...danger...”

  “Oh, no, no, no...you can't leave me, Sir. You can't!” My words came in short, intense bursts, almost hushed. “For fuck's sake! Isn't there anyone here who can help?”

  My prayers were answered. Sort of.

  I had my hands pressed tight to the wound in his side, helplessly fighting to stem the thick red trickle seeping out Sir's beautiful flesh. I barely heard the footsteps creeping up behind me.

  I guessed one of the goons had woken up. I waited several seconds to turn around, swearing I'd go down with Garrett if these assholes wanted to finish what they'd started.

  Except I didn't see a short, stocky man with a bald head. It was the skinny boy again. His ridiculous eyes bugged out of his goofy face when he saw me.

  “What the fuck are you doing up here!” I screamed. “Get over here and help me!”

  “I'm real sorry, Miss...they...they made me.” He stammered and slurred his words even worse than I did. “I didn't know it would end up like this. Really! I would've called the police.”

  “Shut up!” I bared my teeth, reaching the end of my rope for dealing with idiots. “He's going to fucking die if you don't do something.”

  “Wait...” Garrett opened his eyes again. “Tyler knows men...they can clean up...tell him...before I...”

  “No,” I whispered, cradling his head.

  It seemed like the blood flow was slowing, but what did I know? If he didn't get some real medical attention soon...

  Don't think about that. Let a little of his energy, a little of his strength take over. This isn't about domination and submission anymore.

  I spun, facing the beanpole who just a foot away now. “Is this true? You can deal with...this?”

  I nodded to dead Michael.

  Even in his weakened state, Garrett was right. There was no easy way to bring police and EMTs up here without answering some very uncomfortable questions.

  “Yeah...I know some people,” he said softly. “I'll call them.”

  “Do it. Quit standing around.”

  Finally, he nodded and yanked out his phone. The young man – Tyler – mumbled a few words over the phone and then hung up.

  I stood, snatching the phone from his hands. Garrett's eyes had been closed for more than a minute now. A little more beautiful skin had turned to sickly alabaster.

  “Wait, Miss...you have to give us some time. Just a little bit. You don't want to risk the police showing up before everything else here is packed in.”

  “I don't care!” I whimpered, dialing 9-11.

  That look – or rather, the absence of any expression, any soul – on Garrett's face told me time had run out. The fear, the anger, everything blurred together into a numb fog swirling in my brain.

  “The address?” I said dully to the operator. “The Red Widow. Top floor. Please, get here as soon as you can.”

  VI: Dark and Light

  “He's going to be fine, Jess. I'm sure of it.” Ava had her arm around me in the cold waiting room, trying her very best to be reassuring.

  “That's not what the doctors say. Well, what little I can get them to tell me. Immediate family only...”

  I clenched my jaw in frustration, rolling my eyes.

  Garrett didn't have any family. Not just yet.

  The last hours had been a horrific blur. Tyler's clean up crew dragged away the bodies and bleached the blood just in time. Somehow, the gangly man and I got my love onto the table, ready for the paramedics, and then I was frantically dialing Ava for a ride.

  A lot of things should've been done differently. But nothing like the test.

  I should've waited, shouldn't have bought that pregnancy kit in the pharmacy attached to the hospital.

  And I certainly shouldn't have done it here, now, when Ava slipped away to grab something to eat...

  I cursed myself. Despite all the wonderful changes, all the ways he'd made me whole, I was still my own worst enemy.

  I slumped onto Ava's shoulder. Yep. Right down to it, I remained a shy, very scared girl when things hit hard and stung deep. Now I was just a shy, scared, and pregnant one.

  “Easy, Jess. I told you I know a nurse here who can pull some strings. They'll have to let you see him sooner or later, once they've got everything under control.”

  I collapsed against her, a crying, spitting wreck. Ava's tight grip was friendly, soft, comforting – and entirely too feminine. I would've given anything to break down on Sir's shoulder just then, bathing in his divine scent, his strength.

  I'd suffered too much for one day. Somewhere in the maelstrom, sleep found me.

  “Ma'am?” An unfamiliar woman tugged on my sleeve. “You can see him now. Only for a few

  minutes. If you want to.”

  “Thanks, Rach.” Ava grinned secretly. “Come on. Let's go.”

  She gently pulled me up. I was woozy, sick to my stomach, my head pounding.

  Still, being able to see him...that brought me back to life.

  Cold chills swept up my spine as I followed Ava to the heavy metal door separating the Intensive Care Unit from the outside world. She stopped at the entrance, and gripped my hand.

  “Go on. I'll be waiting right here for you when you come out.”

  The nurse – Rach – led me onward. Darkness, bright lights, and ill odors assaulted my senses the deeper we went into the ICU.

  “He's right in there. I'll leave you alone and check back in five or ten. Sound good?”

  I nodded. The nurse walked away and I lingered at the entrance to his room, heart sinking, shuddering with fear.

  Garrett was hooked to a lot of machines. Most conspicuously, a large rack of bags feeding into his arm. Blood, water, nutrients, all the things he'd lost in the trauma.

  When I saw him laying there, his big chest rising and falling, I broke. I came to the side of his bed and grabbed his fingers, pursing them tight in mine.

  “Oh, Sir. Garrett. You saved me...wound up here because of me.” My voice trembled, small and shaky, like lonely words in an infinite, empty blackness.

  This is not a void. Not an abyss. His touch reminds me of everything we've got. Everything I still want to give him.

  My free hand circulated to my lower belly. I thought about the baby – his beautiful baby – beginning to grow inside me. He'd planted his seed deep, dominant master that he was, and now I swore that I'd make it something beautiful.

  “Guess what?” I said, sniffing back tears. I leaned as close to his ear as I could. “We're going to have a baby together. I'm pregnant. I want you to know, Sir. Even if you can't hear me...”

  I stopped, holding in another flurry of sobs.

  “You did it. You marked me, Sir. Branded me as yours. I love you. And I'll never, ever forget it...no matter what happens.”

  I let my head roll down, quietly letting the tears come, slowly stroking the back of his big hand. One monitor chirped next to me.

  Steady and stable, at least.

  “Miss? Jessica?” The nurse was back.

  I wiped my tears and turned, allowing her to lead me away. We were almost at the big metal door when I thought to ask a question.

  “Can he hear me? I know this is probably one of those medically induced comas...but do you know if he can hear anything I say?”

  Nurse Rach cocked her head. “Coma? What are you...oh, no! That wasn't necessary in his ca
se. He's just asleep. Losing blood like that and going through surgery takes a lot out of a person. Not to mention the anesthesia. Even a big guy like him is gonna need his rest. And a lot of it.”

  “Wait, you mean?”

  “It's not as bad as you think. Bad enough, of course. But I think when you see him tomorrow, he'll be awake. A little groggy, perhaps, but able to communicate.”

  I did a stupid thing. I leaned forward on my toes, threw my arms around the nurse, and gave her a big fat kiss.

  Ava had to work the next day. So did I, but I called in, told them my relative was on death's door.

  Nobody knew about Garrett except my best friend. I wasn't ready to tell my co-workers, my family about him. Not like this.

  What was I supposed to say? I'm laid up because my Dom boyfriend lost a lot of blood killing a man who stabbed him and wanted to rape me in front of him? Oh, and it was all thanks to a bad drug deal to boot.

  I shook my head. My skin felt sticky and sore. Too many hours sitting in the waiting room chairs, wandering the lonely commons areas at the hospital. I hadn't even gone home to sleep.

  Being in his condo alone haunted me. We'd barely moved in together when all this happened, and I wasn't going back there by myself, alone except for my phantoms.

  God. I'm going to have to ease up, take better care of myself soon. There's someone else depending on me now.

  I hadn't internalized the pregnancy in my brain yet. Something about it felt unreal – as unreal as all of this.

  “Jessica?” I jumped when the nurse came up behind me and spoke my name. “Go on in. He's awake and asking for you.”

  Excitement. Joy. A dash of unease.

  My muscles bunched tight as I followed her to Garrett's room. I held my breath, forced myself to take close, steady steps.

  Part of me knew I'd never see him quite the same way with the new developments between us. Yet, no matter how I saw him, I knew he'd be magnificent.

  “I'll leave you two alone,” Nurse Rach said softly.

  Garrett was propped up on a big pillow. His color was definitely better, returning to the bright, warm hue I knew so well. Most of all, the fire blazed in his eyes.

  “Jessie! You don't how good it is to see your beautiful face.”

  “Oh, I think I do.” I smiled, taking a step forward.

  Then I broke into a full on speed walk. I was at his side in a split second, grasping his hand, half-laughing and half-sobbing when he actually gripped my fingers back.

  “How're you feeling?”

  “Alright. Nothing that won't pass. I trust the work these guys do.” He tipped his head down, eyeing the closed up scar just beneath his blanket.

  I pulled up the closest chair, never letting go of his hand. For several long seconds, we just stared at each other, as if neither of us could really believe we were looking at the other – safe, happy, and sound.

  “Have they said when you'll be able to go?” I asked. Naturally, I hoped for sooner, rather than later.

  “Couple more days,” he said bluntly. Then his fingers tightened on mine, clasping my hand in his with surprising strength. “I need to ask you something.”

  I stared, waiting, wondering.

  “I had the strangest dream. There was a terrible heat. Weakness. A few words I remember mumbling to you when I was stretched out on the floor at the Red Widow. Then darkness.”

  “Sounds like a pretty accurate description of things to me.”

  “No, there's something else. You came to me. Told me you were going to have a baby...ours.” His eyes narrowed, as if expecting me to jump or laugh. “That can't be true, can it?”

  He knew. Before I said a single word, his fingers tightened more, searching, stroking my hand for sweet control. Amazing how he could rule and coax the truth out of me from a hospital bed.

  My Sir. My King.

  “Don't cry, beautiful,” he whispered. “I want this. I told you I did. I'm just amazed it's really happening. Who said submission can't create miracles?”

  I shrugged, too dumbfounded to speak. All I wanted to do was lean in and kiss his lips. Uncertain hospital protocols held me back.

  “Kiss me now,” he said, dashing my worries.

  And I did. I didn't dare say no to the man who read my mind, my flesh, my soul.

  We kissed long and deep. His lips were softer than usual, but the same powerful energy rippled behind them. I realized it wasn't just his hard, handsome jaw that always put such lightning into his lips.

  It was his heart, the core of who he was.

  That made me tear up and sniffle even more. My stupid breakdown ruined our kiss after a few long seconds, and I pulled away.

  So good. So good to taste those lips again!

  “Don't cry,” he commanded a second time. “Soon as I get out of here and on my feet again, we're gonna celebrate this momentous occasion the best way I know how.”

  I forced myself to look at him again. I wasn't going to turn down a little celebration. In fact, it made me laugh, giddy after everything we'd suffered this past week.

  “Yeah? How's that, Sir?”

  “You'll see. I've got the perfect surprise.” His fiery eyes had a mischievous swirl, glowing like the northern lights.

  The nurse came in and interrupted us. She leaned and whispered to my ear.

  I pressed my lips to his hand one last time before shuffling off, still feeling his hard eyes on my back, until I was out of sight.

  His fire followed me. After I feared I'd never see those eyes again, I welcomed their heat, and nourished the fire in my heart.

  Ten long days. Garrett listened to the doctor's orders and stayed on bed rest. Mostly.

  I fed him bone broth, cherry juice, and iron pills to rebuild his lost blood. His color improved a little more each day, and so did his energy.

  “Let's go check out the shop,” he said on day ten, hugging a huge gray blanket around his gorgeous body as he sat on the sofa. “I'm fucking beat being cooped up in here for another day.”

  “You sure? Doc said no long trips for a full two weeks.”

  “I think I can handle a little drive.” Sir rose, casting off the blanket, exposing his big, strokeable body in all its glory, clad in nothing but tight maroon boxers.

  For the first time in a small eternity, my lust flared. No, he didn't look sick. Not with those hulking muscles and Let's-Go-Now eyes.

  “Tell me you're not gonna say no to this.” I laughed at his words.

  “How could I? Sir, ” I added. “Except you can't go out like that...”

  “Then help me dress.”

  Was he serious? His hard expression was an emphatic 'yes.'

  I went into the bedroom to retrieve his shirt, jeans, socks, and shoes. I started at the bottom, gingerly rolling the jeans up his hips, reluctantly closing them snug.

  Working my way up, I had a wonderful view of his tattoos, especially that dark, protective sun sign on his chest. I stared at it as he lifted his arms, slid the shirt on over his shoulders, and then buttoned it upward, one by one.

  His socks and shoes were last. Sir stared down at me, approval twinkling in his eyes.

  I'd dressed him in record time. It hadn't been too difficult.

  It might just be my new favorite thing, I thought, beaming inside.

  “Come on,” he growled. “I'm starving to go outside and get some fresh air.”

  “What's here that's so important?” I said, taking his hand as he led me into the tattoo shop.

  “Give me one more minute. You'll see it then,” Garrett said. His voice contained that same mysterious tone he'd used every time I'd asked him about our 'celebration' since the hospital room.

  “Come on in. Close the door behind you.” He had his back turned to me, facing the cabinets and cupboards in the back room where he did his work.

  “Uh, okay,” I said. Even a well behaved submissive's patience could wear thin after awhile.

  “Lay down. Take off your shirt. I promise I'll be gentl
e.”

  I froze. What the hell was he talking about? This wasn't the place or time for sex, submission.

  “I know, I know,” he said, a smile so wide on his lips it formed small crinkles around his eyes. “It's a surprise. I'll come out with it: I want to give you that tattoo, Jessie. If you're willing to test your fears.

  Part one of several gifts I want to give you today. My way of saying thanks for saving my life.”

  His voice hit me deep.

  Sweet. Seductive. And truly appreciative.

  Damn. Saying no to him is like driving a dagger into myself. My eyes went to his side, remembering the pinkish scar beneath his shirt. Well, maybe not quite so painful.

  “You know I don't enjoy inflicting serious pain, Princess. But here, today, it's the only way I can mark you as mine. The last way I really need to. This is about love.”

  I softened. “One condition: you trace a G in the middle of that snake on my back. Make me remember who I belong to. Now and forever.”

  He smiled and nodded. In a flash, my shirt was off, and I lay on the table. He came to my side, all his tools ready.

  I didn't even flinch as he wiped my skin clean and numbed the area where he'd leave his stamp.

  Garrett started slow, tracing its outline on my skin. I winced when I first felt the needle, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Not a quarter as bad as the sting I got from being spanked into submission on his table.

  Nothing like facing Michael either. I fought back a shudder at the memory.

  Being with him had taught me how to zone out, how to go into myself. I found my happy place and went there, resting quietly as he flourished the snake's tail, filling its body with a decadent, dark ink.

  “You doing okay, baby?” He asked, leaning close to my ear.

  “Keep going.”

  It only took about an hour. If it weren't for the soft drone of the tattoo gun coming to a sudden stop, I wouldn't have known it was over.

  Garrett reached his hands to my waist and pulled me up. I turned, saw the pleasant glint in his eyes, and melted.

  “I'm so proud of you, Jessie. The hard part's all over.” He looked up, and I drowned myself in the warmth streaming from his face.

  “Hard part? What's next?” I asked. It had been a long time since I'd been so flushed and flustered.