Hell Bound (Seventh Level Book 2) by Charity Parkerson, Regina Puckett Page A

always be his, whether she chose to be with him or ended up married to someone else. He would never allow her to want for anything. He’d tried to forget her, leave her in peace, and then give her distance, but in the end, everything came back to her. Even if she could never forgive him, he would never love anyone else. He’d tried a few times to forget her, but she was the one for him and always would be.
    Her hair was a shade darker now and even with the heavy bruising on her face, she was still more beautiful than any other woman in the world. Only because he’d not looked away from her face since she came back from surgery, did he catch the slight fluttering of her eyelids. A flash of blue irises shone out at him for half a second before falling closed again.
    “You were right.” Her voice sounded almost as if it hurt her to speak.
    Leaning forward, Wade rested his weight on his elbows near her hip. “That doesn’t happen often. What am I right about?”
    She didn’t open her eyes, and he wondered if she was truly awake, but she answered, “You said parking lots are dangerous.”
    Despite the situation, he was still smiling like an idiot. It had been so long since they’d spoken to one another. He just wanted to be with her. “They are,” he conceded. “But, I don’t remember saying so.”
    “I feel heavy.”
    A shot of panic ran through him and he glanced at the machine keeping track of her heart rate. No alarms were sounding and everything held steady. He breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s probably the anesthesia,” he said, more to reassure himself. “They had to put a screw in your wrist. It was pretty fucked up.” Having to say the words reignited his anger. No one would ever touch her again. He would make sure of it.
    She stayed silent so long he thought she’d gone back to sleep. He almost leaned back in his seat when she spoke again holding him in place. “The first night we met, you said parking lots were dangerous, and you were right. I’ve lost so many things in them.”
    He smothered a laugh. Although he knew now wasn’t the time, he couldn’t resist. “You lost your panties there once.”
    Once again, he thought the drugs in her system had won out, but when she did finally speak, it was so faint he knew it was only a matter of time before they pulled her under. “I lost my heart in a parking lot, and I can’t get it back. I hate you for that.”
    Dropping his forehead to the bed, he sucked in a deep breath. It felt like someone was sitting on his chest and stealing the oxygen from the room. He hated himself enough for the both of them, but hearing the words from her mouth was like having his heart carved out. It was one thing to think she hated him. It was another to know. Stumbling to his feet, he dropped the bar on the bed and boxed her in with his arms. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to the side of her mouth that wasn’t split open. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. “I will make this right. I swear I will.” He could tell she was sleeping by the sound of her breathing, but it didn’t make his words any less true. If he never did anything else, he would find a way to make everything up to her.
    * * * * *
    She smelled his cologne before she opened her eyes. As much as she wanted to believe it was part of a dream she couldn’t shake, she knew he was there. She could practically hear his heart beating. That was how powerful Wade Collins’ presence was. After a moment of sheer panic, she decided she could no longer ignore him. If nothing else, she would eventually have to pee.
    He was staring at her. She knew as much without having to look. A quick peek confirmed her suspicions. He was every bit as intense as she remembered. “Why are you here?” Honestly, she’d not meant for her words to come out sounding as spiteful as they did, but she wasn’t feeling especially cordial.
    “Where else would I be?”
    Her brain hurt. She couldn’t