Beyond the Shadows Read Free Page B

slide down her back.
    Before Kelly had time to prepare, the nurse flipped the gown over so she could wash him, exposing his back. Kelly gasped aloud.
    “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Caitlyn asked in an aside then carried on with her work, oblivious to the palpitations Kelly experienced.
    “Yeah,” she croaked, unable to come up with anything else. She’d had no idea he’d decorated his skin. He’d never mentioned having a tattoo. Mind you, he never offered anything personal. Black and white, the intricate design was clearly of a dragon. The scales themselves would have taken an age to create. With the finest movement from his breathing, they appeared to shimmer and move. Her gaze followed the design to the dragon’s face—arranged into an expression of ecstasy as its head rested in the lap of a woman, her head bowed over in ministration, soothing the beast. Where dragon and woman met, color exploded.
    Questions crowded her mind. He didn’t seem the type to get a tattoo and such a mystical one at that. When did he get it? What did it signify? Did it hurt? So much about this man remained an enigma, reminding her she’d barely scratched the surface in the few months they’d been partners. If— when she corrected herself—he woke, she swore she wouldn’t feel so afraid to ask him questions. The fact he carried such beautiful art on his body proved he had a sensitive side, hinting at a hidden facet to his personality. Why did he guard it so fiercely?
    Water trickled from the cloth and ran over the ridge of his back and down the other side. The image of her lapping that drop off his body with her tongue came out of nowhere, and she quickly averted her gaze, turning her attention back to the nurse.
    Caitlyn lifted her head and smiled at her. “Mr. O’Leary is lucky to have someone like you at his side. I wish more of our patients had people so devoted to their loved ones.”
    Kelly’s heart leaped. “Loved ones?” The nurse gave her a knowing smile, and she blushed furiously. She rushed to correct her. “Oh, no. Nate and I are colleagues—nothing more. He doesn’t even like me much, but I couldn’t bear to let him go through this alone.”
    Caitlyn raised a fine brow. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about people in this job, it’s that they’re very good at putting up a front when they want to hide what they perceive as weakness.”
    Kelly frowned and shook her head. “Nate’s a straight-up guy. He’s not afraid to say it like it is.”
    “Hmm, well if you’re sure about that.” She changed the subject, leaving Kelly with the distinct impression she didn’t believe her for a second. “I’ll just do his front then get you to lift his other side in a moment.”
    “Sure,” Kelly agreed automatically, and gently lowered him back to the mattress. Skirting the bed, she moved to the other side, her eyes following the cloth as it traveled over the hard planes of his body. Noting the angry red hole had started to heal, she nevertheless winced as the cloth ran around the tender skin. She closed her eyes at the sudden memory of that gaping wound—the sound and smells associated with it—his blood coating her hands, and shuddered.
    When she opened them again, she thought she saw his eyelids flicker. She forgot to breathe and stood motionless, willing the movement again. But there was nothing. She sighed, and shook her head. It wasn’t the first time in the past six days that she imagined a flicker of life, wanting to believe it so badly, her mind played tricks on her. The nurse repeated her attention to the other side of his back while Kelly determinedly kept her gaze on a laminated fire exit instructions taped to the opposite wall. If only there were such clear instructions on how to escape the burning pain of unrequited love.
    All too soon, the nurse placed everything back onto the trolley, retied the hospital gown, and wheeled out of the room with a cheery goodbye, leaving her alone with her