“I feel better, but I have one small problem.”
He grinned as he asked, “You have to piss?”
I nodded hard. “I think it’s all those IV fluids.”
While I definitely wasn’t shy, I was a little embarrassed to ask him to help me get to the bathroom to pee, but rationally, I knew I wasn’t going to make it on my own steam.
He sauntered into the room, put his mug on the side table, and grabbed my IV bag from the small stand. “It’s definitely the IV fluids,” he confirmed as he lifted me in his arms. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t have this little problem earlier. You’ve been pumped with fluids for hours now.”
I didn’t realize how close to naked I was until I had to yank my borrowed T-shirt over my upper thighs as he’d lifted me up. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t sleeping in shorts and a tank, and I felt even more ridiculous as my cheeks flushed after I’d briefly flashed him.
When in the hell had I become the kind of woman who blushed about anything?
When somebody needed to see a bathroom as much as I did right now, it shouldn’t matter how, or under what circumstances, I got there.
Normally, I probably wouldn’t care, but there was something about Hudson that made me feel a little…off-balance.
I reminded myself that it was nothing he hadn’t seen before, but at least when he’d taken me into the shower, I’d been out. I was awake now, and perfectly aware of how bizarre my situation with Hudson was at the moment.
I didn’t really know him, but he was the most important person in my life right now because he was all I had, the only thing that had stood between me…and dying.
I couldn’t exactly call him a stranger.
But he wasn’t a friend, either.
We shared some kind of weird intimacy because the guy had literally saved my life.
I was finally able to get my arms around his neck for balance, and I clung to him, finding it almost impossible not to think about how good it felt to be cradled against his chest. Hudson was big, warm, and solid, which was pretty damn comforting after what I’d been through.
It was a short trip from the bed to the attached bathroom. Hudson sat me down on the toilet, and hung my IV bag on a hook that was actually meant for clothing. “Call me when you’re done,” he demanded. “I’ll be right outside. And don’t be embarrassed, I didn’t see a thing this time, either.”
I rolled my eyes. Just the fact he mentioned my discomfort told me that he definitely saw me flash him, and noticed my silly pink-cheeked reaction to it happening.
I sighed. “Does it really matter? You took off my clothes and dragged me into the shower at some point, so I think you’ve pretty much seen it all anyway.”
I could have sworn I heard him chuckle a little as he closed the door.
I shook my head a little. Hudson had seen me completely naked. Worse yet, he’d had to scrub ten days of filth off my body and out of my hair, too.
I cringed as I examined my legs and all the other areas I hadn’t been able to look at before, noting all the bruises I’d gotten during my beating.
No wonder every muscle in my body hurts!
I finished my business, and then tried to test my legs, hoping I could get a look at my face in the vanity mirror above the sink. Every muscle protested when I tried to stand, and I ended up leaning over to the sink from a sitting position on the toilet to wash my hands.
It was probably a good thing that I couldn’t see my face if it looked as bad as the rest of my body.
“I’m done,” I called out, hating the fact that I couldn’t even walk out of the bathroom on my own right now.
I was used to doing everything by myself. Mac had always encouraged my independence, even at a young age. I didn’t ask for help with much of anything, but Hudson had already saved my life, literally, and then had taken care of me when I couldn’t take care of myself. The man acted like it was a perfectly normal situation, but it was far from my usual. The details of what had happened after we’d stopped for water right after his rescue was a blank spot in my memory, but he must have hauled me for miles to get back to the coast.
It was frustrating as hell that I was now free, but unable to deal with even my simplest needs on my own.
It bothered me that I was still totally dependent on Hudson, but what choice did I have?
Suck it up! It wasn’t like my physical state was in my control right now, so I really had no option but to live with what my body could and couldn’t do at the moment.
“I’m really sorry,” I muttered as he effortlessly hefted me back up. “My legs aren’t working right yet.”
“Don’t even try to walk,” he warned me. “Not after all the abuse your body has taken. You need further medical testing and treatment before you do anything except stay in bed and get rehydrated. You’ll walk when your body is ready to do it. It’s going to take time, Taylor.”
His voice was stern, a tone that most people might find almost scary, but somehow, I knew it was coming from a place of concern, and not from irritation or impatience.
On the surface, for most people, Hudson Montgomery probably seemed pretty intense, and a little beyond intimidating, but I just couldn’t see him that way.
Not after all the things he’d done for me.
In fact, to me, it was almost endearing that he gave a damn that much about my welfare, no matter how grumpy he seemed when he was doing it.
“Do you have any idea how weird it is to have somebody physically carry me around?” I murmured as he put me back in the bed and covered me with the sheet and blanket.
He was quiet as he took my nearly empty bottle of water, strode to the fridge, and brought me back a fresh one, along with another bottle of something that looked familiar.
He screwed the cap off and handed me the mystery container along with a couple of pills that he pulled out of his front pocket. “Breakfast,” he stated in a rough voice.
I wrinkled my nose as I took a good look at the liquid nutritional supplement. I’d tried it before, and it was nasty. Mac had needed them when he’d gotten sick, and he’d loved them so much that I’d taken a tiny swig of his once just to see what he liked about it. “This stuff is horrible,” I said as I made a face. “Even if it is supposedly chocolate flavored, it doesn’t taste very good. I’d much prefer some of that coffee I smell.”
I had no problem with taking the pills he’d given me. He hadn’t risked his own life only to poison me hours later, but I hated the nutritional supplement.
Not only did it not taste good, but it brought back some very bad memories during my last year with Mac.
Hudson leaned his ass on the short, built-in dresser only a foot or two away from the bed, his coffee back in his hand, as he shot me a warning glance. “Drink it, and take the damn pills,” he insisted. “Doctor’s orders. Since you’ve had no solid food for a long time, we’re starting with that.”
I lifted a brow. “I suppose that means the big, medium-rare steak, and the really huge loaded baked potato I’m craving is a no-go?”
He nodded, a small smile on his sensual lips. “For now. But I’ll let you have a very small amount of coffee if you down those. We’ll see how it goes. I know you’re starving, Taylor, but you’ll have to take a raincheck on the steak dinner. I promise that you’ll get it, and anything else you want once you can handle it.”