Thirty seconds later when we were safely ensconced in our room after Sawyer had spouted some nonsense to an amused Maddox and baffled Isaac about getting his favorite patient settled for the evening, I bathed in the pure happiness on Sawyer’s face and couldn’t help but think one thing.
Worth every penny.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SAWYER
“Still not ready, huh?” I murmured to Apollo as he picked through the marshmallows I’d tossed into his enclosure. I’d been hoping that since the dog had allowed Jett to touch him, maybe he’d do the same for me, but clearly the animal wasn’t ready to trust me yet. I couldn’t really blame him since I hadn’t exactly been a stable constant in the weeks since he’d arrived at the center.
“We’ll get there, buddy,” I said as I moved away from the fence and rested my back against the big tree trunk.
Despite the early hour, I wasn’t tired, though I probably should have been. I’d spent the previous evening helping Jett get comfortable. Even though we’d been able to laugh and joke about the recovery from Jett’s overexertion, in reality, he’d been in a considerable amount of pain by the time I’d gotten him settled on the bed. Between the two of us, we’d managed to figure out how to remove the prosthetics, but that in itself hadn’t been enough. Jett’s skin where the knee had sat in the upper part of the prosthetic was rubbed raw even though he’d been wearing a protective sleeve.
As bad as the abrasions had been, though, it was his thighs that had caused him the most pain. The unused muscles in his upper legs had begun cramping and spasming soon after we’d removed the prosthetics. I’d spent a good hour massaging Jett’s thighs before the pain had finally begun to recede and Jett had fallen asleep. I’d ended up calling Linc, Walter’s nurse, to ask him for any tips on what I could do to help Jett both now and after future therapy sessions. Not only had the kind-hearted man given me the information I’d needed, he’d offered to stop by in the next day or two to show Jett and me some stretching and balancing exercises that would help strengthen Jett’s core.
While there’d been no sponge bath, Jett had woken me in the middle of the night and made love to me.
Repeatedly.
He’d used his mouth and hands to bring me to orgasm several times before finally pushing himself deep inside of me. The way he’d looked at me, the way he’d linked our fingers as he’d driven into me over and over had been such a powerful experience for me that it had felt like my first time in a lot of ways.
I supposed it kind of was.
Jett was going to be a lot of firsts for me, and I was looking forward to each and every one.
As Jett had fallen asleep in my arms, I’d been too wired to even try and close my eyes. All those rabbit holes in my head had felt like they were crumbling in on themselves, obliterating Marcus’s cruel taunts as well as all the self-doubt and hate I’d let linger for far too long after leaving him.
I wasn’t foolish enough to consider myself “cured” of all the negative emotions and insecurities that had shaped my life for so long, but I had a taste of freedom now and I wanted more. I knew that meant letting all of my masks go and accepting that when things weren’t old Sawyer’s version of “fine,” I’d need to seek out the support of not only my man, but my entire family. And if those voices in my head proved to be too strong for me and the people who loved me, I’d find a professional who’d be able to give me the tools to deal with it.
I glanced at my watch and saw that it was closing in on eight o’clock. Dallas and Maddox were likely already feeding the residents of the sanctuary while Isaac and Nolan would be making breakfast and getting Newt up and about. I reached for my phone to let Dallas and Maddox know that I’d start feeding the livestock but before I could type the message out, the phone rang in my hand.
I didn’t like the instant relief that went through me when I saw that it wasn’t Marcus calling me. Hadn’t I just given myself a pep talk about my ex’s version of me being a thing of the past?
I pushed the thought aside as I quickly answered the phone. “Hey Riley, what’s up?” It wasn’t unheard of for Cam and Ford’s teenage son to call me, but it also wasn’t a regular thing either. If anything, the teen had been texting me questions about Puddles’ condition so that he could make sure the mom-to-be was getting everything she needed.