Desire Unmatched: 4 (Coded for Love) (7 page)

“What are you doing here?” He forced a scowl and went for an
intimidating tone.

“You’re home. Did you really think I wouldn’t be here?”

He’d forgotten the beauty of her accent, feminine, so
different from his voice. He took another second to let her feel the full
weight of his glare. She needed to run from him. Now. If she stayed close, he
couldn’t contain his inner joy at seeing her again after so long.

He took a step toward Commander Shepard and the rest of the
gang, knowing they had a million questions about his kidnapping. The men
huddled around him, but he could still feel Emma’s sweet presence at his right
shoulder. He did his best to ignore her and his need to reach back and grab her
hand.

“Paulson’s dead,” he said, no preliminaries. There was no
verbal or physical reaction to his announcement other than from behind him. Emma’s
gasp had him spinning around to glare at her again, but her bare feet caught
his attention.

“You have no shoes,” he said, turning his back on the men.

“So?”

“It’s cold. Go back inside.”

“I’m an adult. I’ll go back in when you do.” She squared her
shoulders and stood on her bare toes, which had to be about to snap off from
cold.

He had no choice but to scoop her into his arms and stalk
into the main office building, holding his match. She felt perfect in his arms.
Doors magically opened before him by the men who’d come to greet him upon his
return. They ran ahead, understanding the importance of getting Emma inside
where it was warm. Her toes were more important than his retelling of events
that could wait five minutes while the woman got some damn socks on her feet.

It was a short walk down two hallways to reach the small
room Emma claimed as her own since moving to campus. At least he assumed it was
still her room. A lot had probably changed in the weeks he’d been gone.

Like his strength. When he’d picked Emma up, she’d felt
perfect in his arms, exactly right. Now with each step she grew heavier, about
as heavy as his head felt. The narrow hallway walls wavered in front of him as
his eyes tried to focus. He went down.

Emma felt Xander’s arms slacken around her and had some
warning he was about to drop her as he collapsed to the flat-weave carpet. She
jumped out of his arms and turned to try to catch him as he fell in a heap at
her feet. She was the only one not startled at watching one of the Program’s
strongest soldiers crumple into a pitiful ball.

“Michael.” Xander’s dad stepped forward and leaned over his
son. “Michael, stand up.” His words hit the ground around Xander like bullets.

“He fainted,” Emma said on her knees next to Xander. “Give
him space.”

“My son doesn’t faint,” Mr. Bristack practically spat at
her.

She met his gaze to raise her brows, then directed her stare
down to the glaring exception to Mr. Bristack’s statement. “Obviously, he
does.”

They didn’t get to finish their exchange, as Gavin and
another soldier pushed by to lift Xander into their arms and carry him to the
room they used as an infirmary. Emma hurried behind them, following to keep
Xander in her sight. Her heart filled with fear and determination. He wanted
her. She was sure of it, despite his doing his best to hide his need from her.

She’d promised herself she’d give up on Xander if he’d shown
any sign of not wanting her back. He’d done his best to hide it, but he’d had
eyes for no one else from the second he climbed out of the car with Gavin. And
the way he’d noticed her bare feet and carried her inside was telling. She
wished he hadn’t taxed his strength by carrying her. If he’d simply grabbed her
hand and dragged her inside, maybe they’d be alone in her apartment now, having
a proper reunion.

It was selfish thinking on her part, however. A circle of
concerned men, most notably Xander’s dad, hurried alongside her in Xander’s
wake.

She pushed her way through the doorway as Gavin lowered
Xander to the clean white sheets of the hospital bed. Shep was out in the
hallway calling for Doctor Wise, who possibly never slept. It seemed to
simultaneously take seconds and hours before the muffled sound of Doctor Wise’s
heels sounded on the carpet, and then the older doctor pushed her way through
the crowd into the room. She took in Xander with a long gaze from head to toe.

Emma had the fleeting thought the doctor acted as if she
were a robot that could medically scan a patient by sight alone. If only that
were the case.

Doctor Wise slapped her palm on Xander’s forehead, then
removed it. “He’s burning with fever. I’ll get his vitals, but I can tell by
looking at him he’s feverish and likely suffered from dehydration.” She turned
and scanned the room with a professional eye and landed on Emma. “Is he
wounded?” she asked.

Emma’s lips parted. “I don’t know.” She looked to Gavin, who
shrugged, looking worried.

“He was beaten when he was first taken, but he looked okay
when I picked him up. I assumed he’d healed,” Gavin said.

She bit her lip. No one had told her Xander had been beaten.
She’d assumed the worst, of course, but to hear it confirmed sent her stomach
somersaulting. “He seemed to be limping,” she volunteered. “When he carried
me.” She broke off as Doctor Wise frowned at her as if it were her fault Xander
had picked her up when he was injured.

The doctor didn’t say anything and stepped forward to pull a
pair of leather loafers off Xander’s feet. Emma guessed the shoes were
borrowed. She’d never seen Xander in anything but combat boots or running
trainers. An angry vibe raced around the room from soldier to soldier as the
soles of Xander’s feet were revealed.

They were bleeding and spotted with purple and brown
splotches. Emma’s hand flew to her mouth. She thanked God Xander was
unconscious throughout the inspection. Nothing would piss him off more than to
know he was the object of pity right now.

“Everybody out,” Doctor Wise ordered in clipped tones.

The tiny room’s occupants shuffled their way past the door.
Emma kept her feet planted, shifting slightly to allow the larger soldiers to
pass. “I’m his match. I’d like to stay.”

“I’m his father,” Mr. Bristack said. “I’m staying.”

Doctor Wise didn’t spare them a glance as she stepped to a
small cabinet on the right wall of the room to pull out medical equipment. “You
can both stay, but give me space unless I need assistance.”

Emma shrank back against the wall, determined to stomach
anything she might witness as Doctor Wise began to do her thing.

“Shouldn’t he be waking up by now?” she ventured, when it
seemed to her Xander was too still and too pale.

Doctor Wise barely looked at him as she rolled a tall metal
stand over to the side of the bed, then dropped a folded pale-blue hospital
gown onto the low railing of the hospital bed. “Emma, can you please start
removing his clothing?”

She felt her eyes widen as she looked from Xander to Doctor
Wise. “Me?” Her voice was high-pitched, even to her ears.

Doctor Wise turned impatiently from the counter, where she
laid out more medical supplies. “I’m setting up here. We’ll save time if you
can get him naked.”

“Naked, but why?” She sounded like a teenage virgin.

“He could have more injuries,” Mr. Bristack said harshly.
“I’ll do it if you’re going to wimp out.” He took a step toward his son, but
Emma quickly held up a hand. Though she’d never had a conversation with Xander
about his father, she somehow knew he’d want his father out of the room for
this. He wouldn’t want to be this vulnerable to the man who’d raised him.

“I’ll do it. I’m his match.” She gave a nod toward the door
and the older man took the hint, stepping into the hallway but hovering in the
doorway, not closing the door fully. If Xander were lucid, he would’ve snorted
and forced her out of the way, but he wasn’t able to speak for himself, so she
was going to take advantage. She’d demand her rights as his match.

She didn’t wait for full privacy from his dad. Scared at
what she might uncover under Xander’s clothes, she started unbuttoning his
shirt as fast as her shaking fingers would let her. He barely stirred as his
wide chest came into view. She allowed her fingers to skate over his skin while
she carefully pulled one sleeve off his arm, then the other. She left the
bunched-up shirt under his back and got to work on his pants.

While she worked at his lower half, Doctor Wise hung a bag
of clear liquid from the metal pole at the top of the bed. “What’s that?” she
asked, eyeing it anxiously. Her hands paused at Xander’s zipper.

“Saline with a little D5NS,” Doctor Wise said calmly as she
picked up Xander’s thick wrist and inserted a needle in a vein.

“D what? What are you putting in him?” Whatever it was, it
couldn’t be good.

“Relax,” the doctor said, turning back to her counter of
mysterious and slightly scary medical instruments. “It’s only sugar water. He
looks dehydrated to me.”

She allowed her mind to calm a little. She’d heard of
dehydration. Not a big deal, right? “Why isn’t he waking up, then?” The thread
of hysteria on her words wound a little tighter.

“Get his pants off, please.”

Emma moved to the foot of the bed and took the cuff of his
black cargo pants in hand. “Please answer my question.”

“His body shut down.” Doctor Wise moved around the side of
the bed with ease, giving Xander a poke here, a touch there.

Emma supposed she should be grateful Doctor Wise didn’t look
worried and was competent. “What do you mean shut down? Is he in a coma?”

“Not at all. I’m assuming he hasn’t slept well or eaten well
in weeks. Now that he knows he’s safe, his body took over and forced him to
shut down. He should be waking soon.”

“So he’ll be okay?” Emma gave the pants a tug, but Xander’s
body weight kept them from moving very far. By moving up the bed and scooching
them an inch at a time from his hips downward, she had both his pants and underwear
off in time for Doctor Wise to examine him.

“He seems to be fine, simply exhausted, malnourished and
dehydrated,” Doctor Wise said. “I’ll do a CT and put him on a course of
antibiotics just in case.”

Emma’s gaze moved from Xander’s naked body to Doctor Wise.
She analyzed every tic and reaction of the doctor’s, trying to measure Xander’s
health. He was thinner than the last time she’d seen him without a shirt. His
ribs stuck out with each breath. He was thinner, and yet more muscular. He
almost looked as if he’d been training for some sort of bodybuilding contest.
His always-defined abdominal muscles were now carved in granite. His biceps
looked as though they’d make the sound wood made if knocked on.

Yet the last time she’d seen him without a shirt, his skin
had glowed with health. Now there was a grayish-pale cast to his skin and
bruises that hadn’t quite healed. She brushed back tears, grateful he wasn’t
awake to see her crying. He’d think she was crying because he looked terrible
from his imprisonment. He wouldn’t understand she was crying because despite
his weight loss and all the other changes to his body, he was still the most
beautiful man she’d ever had the privilege to see.

“Will you do the CT scan now?” she asked.

“No, we’ll let him rest for now.” Doctor Wise finished
hooking Xander up to the IV drip of fluids, then moved to his feet to rub an
ointment on the soles.

Emma noticed Xander’s skin looked even paler. “He looks
cold. His skin has goose bumps.” She looked around the room for a blanket and
found one folded on a chair in the corner. She carried it over to Xander and
tucked him under it, touching him in every allowable instance and trying to
convey with her touch that she was there and he was safe.

She was no doctor, but it seemed to her his breathing was
growing stronger and steadier. Her own heart calmed down a little. He was here
and he was safe. He was also whole. After weeks of imagining the worst, the
relief she felt at seeing him alive was almost more than she could bear.

A tsking sound had her head flying up to look at Doctor
Wise, who stood at Xander’s head, examining something in his scalp.

“What? What is it?” she asked.

“We may need to move up that CT scan,” Doctor Wise said. “He
has a bad cut. I’d stitch it, but it already started to heal. I’ll put some
ointment on it.”

Emma simply nodded and moved to the chair in the corner and
collapsed. The moment she was down, Xander thrashed a bit and she shot up again
to come to his side. He settled as soon as she came near. She looked to the
doctor, who didn’t look surprised at this latest development.

“Get in bed with him,” she ordered.

“What? Why?”

“He’s calmer with your touch. He’ll sleep better if he can
feel you.”

Emma stared at Doctor Wise for a long minute, debating
whether the doctor had gone insane. She decided to test the theory. She stepped
back to the chair and watched. Sure enough, after a bit Xander tossed and
turned, looking uncomfortably restless. Doctor Wise knew her stuff. She climbed
into the narrow hospital bed with Xander, sliding under the blanket and against
his large, hard body.

He settled down immediately, and she could almost feel a
sense of relaxation and well-being come over them both.

“Are you done in there?” Mr. Bristack’s voice came from the
hallway.

Xander’s body jolted, nearly knocking her off the bed. If
the plastic rails hadn’t been in place, she’d be on the floor now.

“Nearly there,” Doctor Wise called. “You can come in now.”

Mr. Bristack appeared in the doorway, then came fully into
the room. “So,” he said. “Anything seriously wrong with him, other than him
fainting like a little pansy-assed girl?”

Emma sat up, her mouth parting in shock. Xander’s arm
flailed out, catching her hard in the stomach. “Ooph,” she gasped and leaned
forward. She caught her breath, then eyed Mr. Bristack. She couldn’t seem to
think of him as Michael. Michael was a friendly buddy. This man was anything
but. “Your son has been kidnapped and tortured. He needs rest, so either shut
it and you can stay, or get out.”

She held her breath, grateful for the shirt that covered her
chest and a heart that beat madly at going toe-to-toe with Xander’s dad.

Their gazes remained locked for long moments until finally
the older man stood down. “I’ll be back in the morning.” He pivoted on one foot
and stalked out of the room.

Emma released a breath and tried to settle back in the bed,
snuggling into Xander. It took a while, but her body calmed enough to let her
relax. Soon she was more than relaxing, she was near sleep but tried to fight
it since Doctor Wise was still in the room.

Finally she heard, “Go to sleep. I’ll be in soon to check on
him.” Doctor Wise stepped to the doorway and hit the lights. “Hit 0-4-0 on the
phone if you need me. I’m down the hall.”

She stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Emma was alone with a naked Xander, something she’d dreamed about for a while.
She was curious about this match of hers. He could go from rough and cranky to
protective and caring in a flash. And for all his confidence and swagger, she
got the sense he had no idea what he was doing when it came to relationships or
sex.

When she’d stripped for him and suggested they have casual
sex for fun, he’d looked as shocked as if she’d suggested they run naked
through the streets of London. Had he never done the casual thing before? Given
how terrible their one and only sexual encounter had been, it was possible he’d
never done the sex thing before.

Xander, a virgin? Now that was laughable.

Curled on her side, she brushed her palm over his abs up to
his pectoral muscles. His skin heated her hand, calling her to curl in deeper
and give in to the exhaustion. She hadn’t slept well in weeks, months really.

The months as a prisoner at Paulson’s hadn’t been conducive
to a good night’s sleep and then she’d arrived here hopeful life would return
to a new normal. Xander’s presence stole that hope. When he was on campus, he
unnerved her, and when he’d been kidnapped and missing, things had been worse.
Fear for him had kept her from ever relaxing into a full sleep.