The Prince's Choice (Book 3)

Chapter 24

After twenty minutes, the doctors came in and discussed Daxton's condition with us. They advised he take it easy because the length of his coma was most likely due to stress.
"You were just taking a really long nap to avoid work," I hiccuped between sobs after they had left.
Daxton pulled me closer to his side. "Yes, love. That definitely was it. I needed a rest after having girls thrown at me left and right for months straight."
I laughed but it sounded more like I was choking due to the tears falling down my face.
The doctors told us Daxton had to spend one more night in the hospital even though I wanted nothing more than to have him by my side. So I was still down here, cuddled next to him, tears flowing freely down my face.
Everyone had come to visit but I was selfish. I let them talk but I quickly wanted his attention back on me. Each time someone visited, I nestled closer to his side and listened to them talk until I felt I couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to push them out.
Daxton asked about his mom, who still lay peacefully across the room. I explained the situation with his dad and his mom. We sat in silence for thirty minutes after that.
I expected him to wake her. I expected him to jump out of the bed and wake his mother.
But, he didn't.
We had sat in silence. I felt his eyes trained on her as he played with the ends of my hair.
Blinking I brought myself back to the present. Swallowing a sob, I sat up on my knees, grabbing his face in my hands. "Don't ever do that again."
He placed his hands over mine. "Do what? Get shot or go into a coma again?"
I rolled my eyes at his weak attempt of humor. "Both." I took a deep breath. "You shouldn't have taken that bullet for me."
His eyes grew serious. "And why not?"
"Because..." I trailed over, frowning at the blanket beneath me. "Because I'm not fit to rule a kingdom."
He lifts my chin to look at him. "Who says you aren't fit to rule?"
"Me. So much has happened and-you can't get shot again. You can't not be here. I can't do this alone," I shook my head, terrified of the thought that he'd slip right back into that coma and never wake up.
"Love, I promise you, I'll try my best to not get shot again. And I will never leave you again," he promised, leaning closer to me.
I nodded, lips wobbling. "I love you," I whisper, shyly.
I shouldn't be shy. He is my fiance, but for some reason those words make me want to duck my head down and hide.
A smile lights his face and it's one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen. "I love you, too," he whispers back and brings his lips to mine.
Every thought slips out of my head except for the feeling of his lips on mine. I lean into the kiss wanting to savor every second. He tilts my head and deepens it, sitting up so we're both knee to knee. My face is in his grasp and he kisses me like there's no tomorrow.
Pulling away, we rest our foreheads against each other, breathing heavily. "You need to rest," I breathe.
"You do to, Miss Queen Regent," he murmurs and I scoff at the title. "You also need a bath."
I sit up with a shocked expression on my face. "Are you saying I smell?"
His lips quirked up. "No, I'm saying half of your hair has hairspray in it and is pinned up and only half of your makeup is done. Actually, scratch that. Half of your makeup is smeared across your face."
I gaped at him. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because I was enjoying the view," he smiled cheekily. "And, I didn't want you to leave my side."
"Let me shower and I'll be back down here," I said, getting up.
"You need to rest, love," he grabbed my hand.
"I plan to sleep down here," I said, extracting my hand from his grasp.
I looked back one more time, just to make sure he was real as I exited the room. My guards fell into step behind me and escorted me to my rooms.
"Miss! Are you alright?" Cecily shot to her feet from where she was sitting on the couch.
"Yes. I'm wonderful." I nodded. "I just need to shower and then I'm going back down there."
Cecily raised her eyebrows at me but didn't make a comment. "And how is the prince?" she asked as she helped me out of my clothes, Josie and Courtney taking down my hair and makeup.
"He's wonderful. He's doing fine."
They smiled and helped me into the shower. I showered and quickly pulled on my pajamas before running back downstairs. Cecily wanted to dry my hair but I didn't want to be seperated from Daxton much longer.
When I got back down there, I found him asleep. A part of me deflated a bit but I understood. He'd woken up from a coma and had a lot of things thrown at him at once. Slowly, so as not to wake him, I crawled into the bed and snuggled up against him, falling asleep.