Read Online Sweet Affliction [Sweet Awakenings 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Nicole Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

he discarded just moments before. He wiped his mouth and grabbed the water bottle, quickly disposing of the cap as he gulped nearly all the contents down in seconds.
    He tried his best not to laugh at her expression. “What? I was hungry.”
    “I guess so. You’re going to have to take it easy. I don’t want you getting sick again.”
    He was afraid to ask the question, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Did you clean me up?”
    She raised her brows and gave him a bemused look. “Afraid so.”
    Mortification. That was the only word to describe it. Getting shot and having a pretty little lady take care of him wasn’t that big of a slap to his ego. He rather liked the idea. Puking in front of her and having her cleanup said puke though, that made him feel like a child and brought him to an all new low.
    “Shit. I’m sorry.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.”
    “I know I was recovering from a bullet wound, but still. That’s nasty. You’re a saint.”
    She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “No, I’m not. The first day you were here I fought my father like crazy to turn you in. I didn’t want you here.”
    Turn him in? For what? He thought of asking her questions, but she was already talking again.
    “There’s more. Things I didn’t get a chance to tell you. I beg you to please try and understand. He’s my father, and I swear to you everything I told you about him being a good and kind man was true, it’s just…”
    He didn’t know why he felt the need to reassure her, but he reached over and gently rubbed his fingers on her knuckles, which were nervously clutching onto the sheet. “I know. He saved my life, remember?”
    The fear in her eyes was driving him mad. For some reason he wanted her to trust him.
    “I just don’t know if we did the right thing. See, my dad was a marine once. When he was younger. Before I was born. He fought in Vietnam. I’d seen pictures of him in his uniform, but he never talked much about it. Everyone who knew him just assumed he didn’t want to, so the issue was never forced. When he saw that man was standing over you with a gun, I saw something in him I don’t think I ever have. It was like something in him clicked.”
    She turned to him then. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she recalled the events to him.
    “Whoever it was, he wanted to kill you. Not like hold a gun to you and shoot you because he had to or was supposed to, but because he wanted to. As my father and I stood in the small cluster of palm trees, we could hear him saying something about waiting too long and you were finally getting what you deserved.”
    The news of that surprised him, and he decided to file it away for later rather than interrupt her. Unless she spoke Spanish, he could only assume the man spoke in English. He’d have to remember to clarify that later.
    “That’s when my dad told me to stay put. I pleaded with him to not leave me. He was so weak, so frail. How he even ran toward the man, let alone knocked him down, still amazes me. Anyway, he told me something wasn’t right. I tried to argue with him, but he held up his hand to silence my mouth and said something about never leaving a man behind. It was strange. I’d heard the phrase before, but I never saw such conviction in my father’s eyes. He was always so tender and loving, but in that moment he looked like someone I didn’t recognize.”
    For some reason, unbeknownst to him, he needed to be closer to her. He could feel her anguish over her father’s illness in every word she spoke about him. He scooted his body a little closer to her despite the ache in his side.
    Completely covering her hand with his, he asked, “Will you go on, please?” He said it so damn politely and caringly he wondered if he was under the influence of a heavy medication.
    She nodded. “Unbelievably, he sprang into action. It’s the only way I can think of to explain it. My dad, who was walking along side me and holding my hand just