“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need more pain medicine?”
He shook his head. That would be the last thing he needed if he wanted to stay awake. “No. Tell me more about you.”
“Oh, well… I’m not sure what to say.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two. How about you?” she asked.
“Thirty-four.” Fuck, she was young, but the age difference didn’t bother him at all. “Do you go to college?” he asked.
“Yes, but my mom picked all my classes, and they’re all about medicine. She thinks that because I was born with a photogenic memory, I have to use it and not waste it.”
“You remember everything?”
“Yes.”
“How does that make you feel?” he asked.
“I feel like a freak.”
He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “You’re not a freak. You were born with a gift, and it doesn’t matter where or if you use it, sweetheart.”
“I was bullied a lot growing up. Heck, I’m bullied now, both at college and the hospital.”
“I’m sorry.” He was. He hated that this sweet girl was hurting and wondered what he could do about it. He’d talk with his friends and see if they had ideas. At the moment, he’d spend time with her and get to know her.
It would help keep his mind off the pain and discomfort he was dealing with.
Chapter Three
Anna couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Even with bruises and scratches all over him, he was still beautiful. The first time she saw him was when she was sent to wash him, and her breath had snagged in her throat while her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest. She set the towels, a bowl of warm water, and a washcloth on the rolling table next to his bed.
“Are you sure I should do this?” Anna asked.
Renee, the nurse on duty, nodded. “Yes. We’re so backed up that I need you to wash him. Call me if there’s something on his body you don’t feel comfortable touching. Otherwise, I’ll be down the hall.”
Anna nodded.
Renee hugged her. “Thank you, Anna. You’re helping us out.”
That felt good to know. “I’ll do the best I can.”
“I know you will.”
Before she wrung out the cloth, the door closed, but she didn’t hear it because her focus was on him. She started on the man’s face and neck. Then she used her fingers to comb through his hair to get loose bits of dirt and glass. She was extremely gentle and talked about anything she could think of. Guessing he might like football, she sprouted out all the information she had on it and who won every Superbowl since it started. She knew some people in comas could hear things, and she wanted him to know he was fine, so she went over his injuries with him and told him he’d get better and that his body was just tuckered out.
His chest was twice as wide as her, and he had hair in the middle. Even lying down and asleep, it still felt like he dominated the conversation and knew everything she was talking about. His strength wasn’t diminished by him being injured at all.
She put towels under him, so she didn’t get the sheet wet, then lifted his arm and washed as much of him as possible. It surprised her how much his arm weighed, and she struggled to keep it lifted.
This was the first bath he was getting, so she cleaned off blood, sweat, and small pieces of glass from the explosion. She knew she wouldn’t be able to roll him to his side to get his back because of his weight and the tubes that were stuck in him to help keep him alive.
Her body tensed when she got to his groin. God, she’d never seen a man naked before, and it was disconcerting that he would be the first one.