Chapter 2 Five Minutes Too Late

Four weeks ago, Valerie had nearly died dragging a stranger out of a chemical fire.

Tonight, she lay beside him, her hand resting flat against his bare chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

"Stop squirming, Ewan."

"I've been flat on my back for a month, Valerie. I'm going out of my mind."

Valerie couldn't help but smile, even though he couldn't see it. "Your surgeon is coming in four hours to take those eye bandages off. Are you really going to ruin a month of healing right at the finish line?"

Ewan let out a frustrated groan and dropped his head back into the pillow. "Four hours feels like four years."

"You've survived four weeks already in the dark," she said softly. "You can make it four more hours."

His hand slid across the bed, finding her hip before his fingers moved up to catch her wrist. With one gentle tug, he pulled her down until she was hovering over him.

The white bandage was still taped tight over his eyes, but he didn't fumble. Not anymore. Over the last month, locked away in this private clinic, he had memorized every inch of her.

He brushed his thumb across the inside of her palm, tracing the thick, tender pink scars left by the burning steel rod.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked. His voice went low and rough, the way it always did when he touched her burns.

"No," Valerie lied.

A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "Liar."

"You ask me every single night, Ewan."

"Because you got those scars saving my life." He brought her scarred hand to his lips and pressed a slow, warm kiss into the center of her palm. "In a few hours, the doctors are going to swarm this room. The guards, the lawyers, the board...my old life comes rushing back."

Valerie looked down at him, as a tiny knot tightened in her chest. "Is that what you want?"

Instead of answering, Ewan gripped her waist and pulled her down against his chest. Valerie let out a soft gasp as his hands slid up to cup her face, and his thumbs brushed her cheekbones.

He tilted his face up to hers, breathing her in. "I don't give a damn about any of them," Ewan said, dead serious. "All I've cared about for four weeks is having you right here beside me."

Valerie's throat tightened. "Ewan..."

"I love you, Valerie."

The words knocked the breath straight out of her, and tears pricked the backs of her eyes.

"I don't need my sight back to know who you are to me," he murmured, his lips finding the soft skin beneath her jaw. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything," she whispered, her fingers tangling into his thick hair.

"When they cut these bandages off this morning, I want you sitting right beside this bed. I want your face to be the very first thing I see."

Warmth flooded her whole chest. "I promise, Ewan. I'll be right here."

He pulled her mouth down to his, kissing her deeply, hungrily, until she couldn't breathe.

His hands slid under her shirt, pushing it up and away. By the time the cool air of the bedroom hit her skin, Ewan was already moving over her, covering her completely.

His hands traced the fresh burn scars along her collarbone, and his mouth followed right behind them as if he were trying to kiss the pain away.

When he slid between her thighs, Valerie arched up with a quiet gasp, and her hands gripped his shoulders.

"Ewan..."

He pushed forward in one slow, deep thrust, filling her completely.

Valerie's head fell back into the pillows, as a shaky breath escaped from her throat. She wrapped her legs tight around his waist, pulling him closer, completely lost in the heat between them.

She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel the fierce tension in his arms, could hear his strained groans against her neck, and feel the slick heat of his skin against hers.

He moved inside her with full concentration, holding her tightly.

When the release hit, Valerie cried out, and her fingers dug deep into his back. A second later, Ewan drove into her one last time with a loud groan, burying his face in her neck as he spilled deep inside her.

She lay tangled in the sheets with him for a long time, chest heaving, and listening to the quiet ticking of the clock.

Down the hall, the grandfather clock chimed five times.

Five in the morning.

Valerie lifted her head from his chest. "I need to wash up before the surgical team gets here."

She tried to sit up, but Ewan's fingers instantly closed around her wrist. "Don't go."

She laughed softly, leaning down to press a kiss to his stubbled cheek. "I'm just going to the private bathroom down the hall to clean up and grab fresh clothes, Ewan. I'll be back in five minutes."

He paused, his grip lingering before he finally let go. "Five minutes, Valerie."

"Five minutes," she promised.

She pulled on her clothes in the dark, her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. A soft smile played on her lips as she went out the door and stepped into the quiet, dim hallway.

Ewan loved her. And in just two hours, the bandages would come off. Finally, he would see her.

She turned the corner toward the linen closet near the stairwell.

A shadow broke away from the wall.

Before Valerie could even turn her head, a hefty arm locked around her throat, and a gloved hand slammed over her mouth, muffling her scream.

Instantly, panic hit her.

Valerie thrashed wildly, kicking backward and clawing at the glove with her scarred fingers.

Pinprick.

An icy sting hit the left side of her neck. A needle.

Within seconds, numbness spread through her entire body. Her muscles went limp. Her legs gave way beneath her, and her hands dropped uselessly to her sides.

The attacker released her.

Valerie hit the cold floor tiles, unable to move even a single finger.

Her vision began to swim and blur into gray.

Straight down the hall, she could see the cracked door to Ewan's room. Just twenty feet away.

Ewan...she tried to scream. Ewan, help me!

But nothing came out, not a sound. Only a tiny, silent bubble of air escaped her lips.

Rough hands grabbed both her ankles.

Valerie watched helplessly as Ewan's door seemed to slide farther away. Her paralyzed body was dragged backward across the floor, out of the light and down into the dark stairwell.