Another Love Story

Seventeen

I stretched in my sleep and blinked slowly as I opened my eyes. Tiger and I were sleeping in the middle of the bed. Our legs were tangled together and I half lay on his chest. One of his arms was around my shoulders; holding me close.

I lifted my head and rested my chin on his chest. My slight shift caused him to blink awake.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hey," he said. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was noon.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

I nodded and smiled. "How did you sleep in a queen size bed?"

"Perfect. I had the queen with me," he said and squeezed my shoulder. I dropped my face to his chest. This man was going to be the end of me; if I didn't watch myself.

I pushed off him and he allowed me to roll away and stretch fully. My hands touched the headboard and I winced.

Tiger rose from his lazy posture. He planted an arm next to my head and leaned over me.

"Can we talk about your hands while I re-dress your bandages?" he asked. I could tell that he had been holding in the inquiry since he first saw me in his office. I sighed.

He slid out of bed and went to the bathroom for the first aid kit. He returned in a few moments and found me seated upright in the tangle of beddings. He joined me on the bed and gently took my hands. He unwrapped first one hand and then the other. They were not as messy as they had been the night before but it still looked bad. Both my palms had half-moon shaped gouges where my nails had dug in. He leaned down. I thought he was getting a closer look. A few seconds later, he began to kiss each of my fingertips gently. I shivered as he worked his way slowly from one hand to the other. He looked up at me with my fingers cradled in his hands.

"I love you. I love everything about you," he said. Tears filled my eyes. He put down my hands in my lap and leaned up. He held my face and pressed a kiss between my eyebrows. He stayed there for several moments while his beard tickled my face.

A trail of tears slipped down my cheeks. He leaned back and wiped my face with his thumbs. He applied medication to my palms. The sting couldn't pierce the haze in my mind. I couldn't believe what he had said. I couldn't believe that I was in this place with him; after the rough night and months I had had.

He bandaged my hands and then got rid of the old bandage. He put away the first aid box and came back to bed.

He leaned back against the headboard and drew me down to lie in his arms. In the next moment, my bedroom door was opened and Trish came in. She gasped when she saw Tiger and then dived onto the bed.

"You sneaky girl!" she exclaimed as her hands delved into the beddings. I giggled and began to push her away. Her hands grasped my knees and slid up my thighs to grip my waist.

"You're lucky she's fully dressed," Trish said to Tiger as she collapsed onto the bed next to me. I was sandwiched between her and Tiger. He laughed and I felt his chest vibrate against my back.

"Why on earth did you go to bed in jean shorts?" Trish asked me.

I popped my thumb over my shoulder in Tiger's direction. "Obvious reasons. Plus, he went to bed in slacks," I said.

Tiger rolled off the bed. "I'm going to shower and change," he said.

"Did he move in with us while I was sleeping?" Trish asked.

"I've got a change of clothes in my bag. I worked all night and didn't plan on my staff dropping by on the weekend to find me still in my Friday work gear," he said.