Serenity

Chapter 20

Julian

I struggled through the fog of sleep. Sensations filtered into my small patch of cloud. The soft footfalls of someone walking across the floor. The persistent beep beep beep of a machine was somewhere to my left. A harsh, antiseptic odour assaulted my nose, bringing with it the smell of dried herbs, and was that fresh coffee? My hand twitched as it felt the texture of the sheets beneath me, then stopped as a gasp sounded from somewhere to my right. "Chloe. He moved a hand."

The footsteps that had been slow and measured changed as the person hurried towards me. My eyes opened to see two female faces. One was worried, while the other tried to keep her expression neutral, but couldn't hide the relief lurking in her eyes. I turned towards Tami, and my brows furrowed. From what I could see of my surroundings, I was in the clinic of a stronghold. Brisbane, unless there was a healer named Chloe at another stronghold. "How long have I been here?"

"Five days. You started waking up two days ago, but your back needed more time to heal, so we put you under for an extra day. It's taken you a day to burn through the sedatives."

Chloe did a quick check of my back and nodded. "Your wound has healed, but I expect you to have residual stiffness. As long as you take it easy. No heavy lifting, light exercise only, nothing more strenuous than a jog. You should be able to increase your activity levels to normal in a week. No flying until the aviation doctors clear you."

"No flying?" One look at the glare on Tami's face had me nodding my head. "I can live with that, I guess. How bad was it? It felt like he ripped me in half."

"Not quite, but an inch deeper, and he would have slashed your spinal cord."

The sounds and smells of the clinic room faded as the implications of her statement hit me. If the wound had been deeper, it would have been the end of my time as a pilot. Without the use of my legs, the plane would need to be changed for me to continue flying.

"I can still walk, can't I?"

Chloe nodded, her mouth held in a tight line. "Yes, but considering you've just spent the better part of a week in bed, you might be stiff for a day or two."

I gave a sigh of relief and smiled at the healer. "Thank you."

Chloe smiled as she helped me sit up on the bed. "You're welcome. But I can't take all the credit. Dion sewed you back together. His skill as a surgeon is greater than mine, so when I saw how close the wound was to the spine, I asked him to do the repair."

I bristled at the mention of the male healer, then looked at Tami's expression and relaxed. It can't have been easy for him to operate on the potential mate of a woman he loved. I made a note to thank him when I had the chance.

"Well, I'll get out of here. You both have much to talk about. I'm leaving orders for you to rest for the next four hours, then you can get out of here, as long as you stay close enough for us to get to you if you need help."

Tami smiled, relief showing in her eyes, and nodded. "I'll make sure he stays close to home. Thanks Chloe."

The healer smiled as she turned and walked away, leaving us to stare at each other for a long, uncomfortable minute.

"Tami–"

"Jules–"

We both spoke, then stopped as we realised that the other person wanted to speak. "Sorry, you go first."

Tami blushed, her cheeks turning a bright red as she toyed with the sheet covering my legs. "No. You go first."

I grimaced as I pulled my thoughts into order. "I promised you I would stay until the end, no matter what you did. Well, now that the master is dead, you don't need me. I realise that after what I did, I don't have the right to claim your affections. Tell me now if you want to break the bond and I'll get on the first plane back to Sydney. No matter how much it will hurt me to go. If that's what you want, I'll do it."

Tami lifted her head, shock in her eyes. "No. I don't want you to go."

Her voice was quiet, and surprise replaced the shock in her eyes as she listened to her own words.

"Are you sure? If I stay, the bond will grow stronger and it will be harder to break." My heart was pounding in my chest as I waited for her response. It would kill me to leave, but I meant what I said. If she wanted to break the bond, I would walk away.

When it came, I had to engage my demon's hearing to understand it. "I want you to stay. I want to complete the bond."

Relief flooded my system, and I stretched my arms towards her. Tami shuffled forward on the bed and fell into my arms. I lowered my head towards hers, and our lips met in a kiss that seared me to my soul. "I love you, Tamara Michelson. Please make me the happiest man on Earth and tell me you will be my mate."

Tami smiled, happy tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She nodded, then whispered, "I love you, Julian Bourke. I would be proud to be your mate."