Two Kings

Chapter 18

Within minutes of pulling into a hospital, medics have Rico out of the car and on a stretcher assessing him. As they push the bed towards the emergency doors, I grab hold of his tattooed hand and wrap my fingers around it.

Once the stretcher is through the main doors, the harsh lights of the hospital show up the blood all over his body. I near gasp but reframe, not wanting to scare him. He's lost so much blood that his white hoodie is now soaked bright red, and the rest of him — from his head to his shoes — is splattered red. My heart thuds about my chest, knowing he could die.

The thought of it near chokes me.

I have no idea what he's thinking or if his brain is even operating at its normal speed after losing so much blood. But he doesn't take his eyes off me, even as two medics push him along the corridor and one works on him.

My cheeks are a flood with tears. Yet, he doesn't break: not a tear, not a last word. He keeps it together, not letting any pain or panic penetrate the fearlessness he displays. I've never witnessed anyone disconnect from their suffering as he is now.

Before they take him through the double doors to prep him for surgery, they stop and give us a moment together. I stare down into his green eyes and give his hand a gentle squeeze. "You got this," I whisper.

"Kiss me goodbye in case I don't," is his response.

My cheeks flush. "As much as I want to, I'm scared I'll hurt you."

His nostrils flare, and he groans. It's not the sound of a hurt man, but an impatient one. "Just put your lips on mine." He grabs my jacket and pulls me down to him.

As our lips connect, and our mouth's part, our teeth bump. Rico smiles against my lips and I laugh, not because it's funny, but because it's the first sign of life I've seen in him since he was shot.

As our lips touch again, a soft growl rumbles deep in his throat, and then his warm tongue brushes across my lips. I don't give a fuck who's watching as our mouths sink into each other.

Regardless of the throat clearing coming from the medics, we ignore them. His fading body roars to life, his mouth even more eager than mine as his tongue takes control. I can only imagine how this would play out if we weren't here. Oh god, just the thought of it makes my knees slap.

Until tonight, I never would have imagined us connecting as we are, with our mouths moving and our tongues stuffed deep inside each other's mouths, moving and caressing. But now that's it happened; I can't deny the commotion he stirs inside of me.

I end the kiss first, my mouth still close to his as I whisper against his lips, "how dare you kiss me that way and leave me wanting more." The corner of his mouth lifts to form an uneven smile. He looks smug, which has me smiling. Only I'm not joking.

As the stretcher pulls away, our hands separate, but his eyes stay on me until he disappears through the doors. I press my finger to my mouth, still able to feel his lips hungry on mine. How is it possible that I couldn't stand this man and now he's blowing my mind from just a kiss?

From there, I go wash the blood from my hands and wipe the smears from my chin and neck. Then I'm left to call his grandmother and tell her what's happened. Our conversation is brief and comprises little more than her being devastated and telling me she's on her way.

As soon as I return to the waiting room, two police officers are waiting for me.

"Hello. I'm constable Johnson and this is constable Campbell." The tall man informs me. "The hospital reported a gunshot victim being brought in this morning. We'd like to get a statement, if you don't mind."