A moment later, Naomi was hurrying to my side, her eyes wide and anxious. “Oh my God,” she breathed, her hand pressing to her mouth. “You are awake.”
I took her in, frowning as I did so. “Have you been sleeping?” She looked fucking exhausted, the dark circles under her eyes telling me that she hadn’t been.
She blinked rapidly, lowering her hand. “Is that the first thing you can ask?”
“When it comes to you,” I growled. “Yes.” I hated that I made her worry about me, making her be the strong one when I had wanted nothing more than to protect her from that fucking madman. Instead Naomi had protected herself and ended Hampton’s life.
Naomi sighed, and I patted the bed beside me. “Come here.”
She did so carefully, sitting on the edge of the bed so I could touch her, mindful of the IV lines that were still attached to my body. “Kiss me,” I said roughly, needing to feel her lips against mine.
Naomi leaned down and pressed her lips to mine, hers trembling against my mouth. “Gavril,” she said brokenly. “I thought you were going to die.”
I pressed my forehead to hers, drawing in her scent. “It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than that to kill me.”
Naomi snorted. “From my vantage point, you were awfully close.”
I wanted desperately to pull her into my arms and kiss away her fears, but fuck, I felt as weak as a newborn kitten right now. I didn’t even think I could lift my arms any higher than a few inches off the bed at this point.
I hated it. “But I didn’t, did I?”
She drew in a shaky breath as she pulled away from me, her eyes shining with tears. “No, you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her, my hand brushing her thigh. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
“It’s not like you had much of a choice,” she reminded me, her fingers lacing with mine. “He was going to kill you.”
I knew what she was talking about. “You did the right thing,” I answered, brushing my thumb over her knuckles. “Do not mourn his fucking death.”
“I’m not,” Naomi answered with a sigh. “I took a life, Gavril. I’m not, I mean, I’ve never wanted to kill anyone, but he was going to kill you, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“You were fucking amazing,” I admitted, tightening my hold on her hand. “You were brave, Naomi. You saved my life.”
“And I would do it again,” she said softly, her eyes finding mine. “You should go back to sleep, Gavril.”
“Care to join me?” I asked, attempting to figure out how she could join me on this bed. I didn’t even have to touch her. I just wanted to have her presence near me so that I wouldn’t wake up and realize it was all a dream.
To my dismay, Naomi shook her head. “Doctor’s orders,” she said with a small smile. “I’m not to get in that bed until he clears it.”
Fuck. “I pay his fucking salary,” I grumbled, eyeing the line in my arm.
“Leave it alone, Gavril,” Naomi fussed as she rose from her perch on the bed. “He’s right. Give it a day or two, all right?”
I didn’t want to give it another second, but it was clear that Naomi wasn’t going to break the rules this time. “Fine,” I finally said. “But he and I are going to have words the next time he comes in the room.” I didn’t want to be separated from her.
She stifled a yawn, and my chest burned with guilt. “Go back to bed,” I told her. “I will see you in a few hours.”
Naomi leaned over and brushed her lips over mine. “I love you.”
Fuck, I loved her more than she could ever realize.
The next day, Dr. Carter removed some of the lines but ended up giving me a rundown of what I couldn’t do for the next week or so. “No sex,” he said sternly as he replaced his stethoscope around his neck. “I mean it.”
I grinned. “Is this like some sort of ploy to keep me from touching my wife?”
He rolled his eyes. “Gavril, I worked my ass off to stitch your abdomen back together. I would prefer for you not to pull the stitches out.”
My smile faded, and I stuck out my hand. “Thank you for saving my life.”