Bedmates Soulmates

It was as if he didn't exist.

Pop.

Austyn cracked his knuckles.

Luca stifled a laugh.

He gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. I recall someone once told me, categorically, emphatically, in no uncertain terms, that he did not like his wife." Austyn flicked Luca's hand away.

The police captain laughed out loud. "What about now? Still don't like her?'

Luca was enjoying every minute of it.

H

It was such a rare treat to see his assertive, self-possessed friend acting all flustered yet powerless.

Austyn was obviously mad, but he held back from taking it out on his young wife.

Instead of stomping off, he chose to stand there and be ignored.

Admodi, You Have Feelings For Her

Luca leaned in to whisper in his friend's ear. "You've finally fallen for her, haven't you? It started off as a carnal relationship, but now you're getting serious.' He poked a finger at Austyn's chest. 'Admit it, you have feelings for her!"

Love Of Lust

Love Or Lust

Austyn swatted Luca's hand away. 'You're one to talk. What about that woman you're seeing behind Isabel's back? Is that relationship based on lust or love? Or both?' Luca looked away and shuffled his feet.

Austyn had touched a sore spot.

After a while, Luca forced a smile. 'No wonder they call you McCarthy the Merciless. You go straight for the jugular, don't you?"

Afraid of hearing any more hard truths he wasn't prepared to handle, Luca turned tail and took off.

Austyn stayed outside in the hallway.

His eyes were trained on Kira in the ward.

She was standing by the bedside, watching the nurse's every move.

'Please be gentle,' she pleaded nervously. 'My friend is hurting."

When the nurse went to work on Giana's left hand, Kira held her friend's right hand as if to offer moral

support.

Any casual observer would easily deduce the patient was very dear to her.

While Kira studied the nurse, Austyn studied her.

Even from a distance, the pallor on her face was apparent.

She looked just as pale as Giana, but she remained on her feet and refused to leave her friend's side. Memory of the drive to the hospital returned. Luca had filled him in.

He said Kira looked fine when he saw her in the holding cell.

She did not appear to have suffered any beating or abuse.

But he also said officers on duty had been instructed not to give them food or water.

There was a single cot in the cell.

Just a steel bedstead, really.

No mattress, no sheets, no blanket.

Kira gave the bed to Giana and slept on the cold floor all night.

Summertime was almost over.

Temperatures at night could drop below twenty degrees Celsius.

Austyn had been to the holding area.

The basement level was dark, dank and chilly even during the day.

Kira was wearing a cotton shirt.

How did she get through the night?

Unfamiliar emotions took turns attacking Austyn..

He didn't know what he was feeling.

At the moment, he just wanted to punch something, anything.

'Next time, don't wait till the last minute to call us, the hurse said after she was done.

"Got it. Thank you." Kira nodded meekly.

When the nurse came towards the door, she found her path blocked by a tall, sturdy figure..

The handsome man was looking directly at her.

Her heart fluttered.

She'd noticed the man when he stepped off the elevator.

He had the looks of a movie star and the air of an aristocrat.

The nurses at the station couldn't stop giggling and wondered about his identity.

'Sir, excuse me. I need to get out."

Subconsciously, she lowered her volume and sweetened her voice.

Wait till she told the other nurses she'd talked to him!

Austyn shifted his body.

The nurse gave a polite nod and a coy smile.

The man's cologne was intoxicating.

'Miss.

His voice was a bit husky and unbelievably alluring.

The n

nurse turned around slowly, blushing slightly. "Yes?

Was he going to chat her up?

She smoothed out the hem of her uniform.

Her shift ended in two hours.

Maybe they could have dinner.

She bet the man knew all the fancy restaurants.

Austyn strolled towards her.

His steps were slow and measured, his gaze unwavering.

Up close, he towered over her.

The nurse caught another whiff of his cologne and felt a little weak at the knees.

His lips were curved upwards, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Just a word of advice. When you talk to patients or their families and friends, be nice. Impatience and condescension are conduct unbecoming of angels in white."

The nurse went rigid with both shock and humiliation.

Her lips trembled, but no sound came out.

"You can go now.' Austyn dismissed her from the ward and his mind.

Love Lust

The nurse fled from the man, whom she no longer considered attractive.

He had the face of an angel but the heart of a devil!

Kira was oblivious to the little episode outside the ward.

She sat at the edge of the bed and watched Glana.

It was the second bag of IV fluids.

Kira caught the words '0.45% NaCI' on the plastic bag.

The doctor told her earlier that it was some kind of crystalloid solution to replace lost blood fluid.

But she had forgotten to ask him how long it would take.

Giana's face was still whiter than the sheets underneath her.

She looked like a vampire's victim.

If a genie jumped out of a bottle right now, Kira would wish to trade places with Giana.noveldrama

It was all her fault.

Glana wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed if she hadn't tried to save Kira.

Kira wanted to kick herself.

If only she'd never gotten into Kayleigh's car!

"What are you thinking about?"

Austyn's voice boomed directly overhead.

She felt the warmth emanating from his body.

Her body stiffened.

Kira dropped her eyes.

She bit her bottom lip.

When he didn't get an answer, Austyn pulled Kira to her feet and spun her around.

He pressed her to his chest and locked both arms around her waist.

Kira shoved him. "Let me go!"

Her petite frame was enveloped in his strong arms.

His chest was hard.

His muscles were hard.

It was like pushing against a granite wall.

'Don't move!'

Even his voice was hard.

Austyn's breathing quickened.

Kira's hand felt the rumble of his chest.

Two days ago, she would have listened to him and stopped struggling, like the good little obedient wife

she was expected to be.

Over the past year, she'd played that role to perfection

A contract wife should be seen and not heard.

So she kept her mouth shut and eyes open.

She did his bidding, followed his rules, and was the first to yield in any disagreement.

But she didn't want to obey him now.

She'd had enough.

She and Giana almost died in that holding cell.

Her heart was still in her mouth and would not return to its rightful place until Giana woke up.

It was all thanks to him and his woman, Kayleigh.

Kira had been sticking her head in the sand for long enough,

Truth be told, she would have continued the ostrich policy if Giana weren't caught up in the middle of all

this.

She could swallow her pride, but she was not going to watch her friend get hurt because of her,