He laughed and I was happy to see the light coming back into his eyes. It probably meant his pain medication was wearing off, so I made a mental note to get him another dose once I put him back to bed.
"But when I am up to it, I won't have to use a condom, will I? Since you're already knocked up."
I laughed. "I guess not." The idea of feeling him inside me without any barriers sent a thrill through my system, but I tamped it down. Noel needed his rest. He needed to recover physically and mentally.
"It's a good thing because as it turns out condoms don't work very well."
I put my arm around him and guided him out of the bathroom into the bedroom. "Okay, Mr. Virility, let’s get you into bed so you can rest and recover."
I gave him more pain medication and then he slept for a couple hours. When he woke, Archer and law enforcement agents from both Mexico and the United States arrived to interview him about Bastion and Lupe. Apparently, they'd already talked to Dax, who despite wanting to stay, had been ordered home by Archer earlier in the day.
"I want to go home too," Noel said when the interviews were done ,and he'd learned that Dax had already returned to the States.
"You need to rest more," I said.
He shook his head. "My recovery will be faster at home in my own bed."
I looked up at Archer who shrugged.
"And I need to see Mo. I need to know that he's okay." His plea to see Mo did me in. I couldn’t deny him that.
Archer pulled out his phone. "We can video chat with him —"
Noel shook his head. "I need to see him. I need to hold him." He was starting to get agitated which would only worsen his recovery.
"Okay." I patted him. “I’ll start packing.”
"I'll make arrangements with the plane. It will take about an hour to get ready and file all the flight plans,” Archer said.
I nodded. "We'll be ready."
It was nearly midnight when we arrived at Noel's place. Archer and another one of his men helped Noel upstairs and put him to bed. I showed them out, once again expressing my extreme gratitude. Then I went upstairs to Noel's room.
"What about Mo?" he asked, sleep nearly tugging him under again.
"It's late, Noel. Lane will bring him by first thing in the morning."
He wasn't happy about it, but he nodded. He watched me, but his gaze was unfocused. Was he fighting sleep?
“Get some sleep, okay?” All of a sudden, I felt uneasy. I wanted to climb into bed with him and stay there and never leave. But despite all the things that we had said down in Mexico, I wasn't sure how far along in our relationship we were.
We loved each other. He wanted me in his life. But did he want me in his house?
I straightened his covers and then stood. “Rest so tomorrow you can try to keep up with Mo.”
He grabbed my hand before I could walk away. "Where are you going?"
"You need your rest. I was going to leave you to it."
He cocked his head to the side. “You’re not going to your house, are you?"
Did he want me to stay? "I'll go wherever you want me to go."
He tugged on my hand. "Then come here."
Once again, relief and joy filled me. I got into bed on the other side of him and snuggled up against him, careful not to bump against his bruised body.
"Don't leave," he said.