Read Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) Online
Authors: Cheryl Davis
“Ah, she’s sleeping, that’s good. I was worried about her
for a while,” Sage said in a whisper. “Do you mind if I come in, or should I
come back later?”
“No it’s fine, come in,” Liam invited. He tried to adjust
himself so he could see Sage better over her, but it only caused him intense
pain. Sage seeing Liam’s struggle walked around the bed and sat in the seat
he’d sat in across from Cora the night before.
“So, how are you doing?” Sage asked, concerned.
“I’ve been better, but then again, in other ways, I’ve never
been better, and I doubt I will ever be better, if you can understand that,”
Liam said and gave a soft laugh, being careful not to disturb the sleeping
beauty in his arms.
“Yeah, I think I do,” Sage said and chuckled. He was so
thankful his brother was going to be fine, he relaxed a bit.
“Hey, thanks for knocking some sense into me this morning,”
Liam said and gave Cora the most contented look Sage had ever seen cross his
brother’s face.
“That’s my job. Don’t worry about it.” Sage brushed off
Liam’s gratitude. All he wanted was for his brother to be healthy and happy and
that’s the opportunity he gave him.
“No, it means a lot to me,” Liam said with a solemn voice.
“Okay, okay, you’re welcome all right? Can we drop it now?”
Sage said, almost squirming in his seat. He was a soldier not a touchy-feely,
emotional type guy, so this conversation was making him uncomfortable.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re too much of a big man to
accept gratitude from your brother,” Liam said and laughed.
“So I take it you two worked everything out?” Sage asked,
turning the conversation serious.
“Yeah, she’s amazing man. You wanna know what she told me
when I asked her to forgive me for being an idiot? She told me that there’s
nothing to forgive me for because she doesn’t blame me for anything. You were
right, most of it was my own fault because of my pig-headedness,” Liam shook
his head and looked at Cora with amazement. It was so hard to believe she was
his forever.
“Most of it? Dude, try all of it,” Sage said with a glare.
“You put her through hell and back, and she damn near killed herself trying to
save your sorry behind.”
“Whoa man. What’s up with you?” Liam said, picking up on
something, but not quite sure what it was.
Sage shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Nothing, it’s just
been a hell of a long day. I haven’t been to sleep yet either.”
Liam narrowed his eyes at Sage, but decided to let it go, at
least for now. He didn’t want to fight with his brother while the love of his
life was sleeping contented in his arms.
“Go get some rest, we’ll be fine. Neither one of us is
running off tonight, I promise,” Liam said and chuckled.
“I can’t, I came to get Cora for the unbinding prep. I
should have already been back there with her, but seeing her sleeping for the
first time in a while, I decided to visit for a few and let her sleep a little
longer,” Sage said and slid a quick gaze over Cora’s sleeping form and then
back to his brother.
Liam did not miss the longing look in Sage’s eyes when they
slid over Cora. That’s when it clicked for him what was bothering Sage.
“Please tell me you are not falling in love with her too,
Sage?” Liam groaned.
“No, I’m not falling for her, but I do care a lot about her
and if you hurt her I will beat the snot out of you without a second thought.
She’s my friend Liam, that’s all,” Sage stated while staring hard into Liam’s
eyes.
“The look you just gave her was more than caring or
friendship man. I saw it, be straight with me,” Liam said, sitting up a little
higher against the pillows.
“It’s not her. It’s more what you have with her, if that
makes any sense to you,” Sage said, feeling tired and weary. He didn’t want a
fight with his brother. His feelings toward Cora were as a big brother would
feel toward a little sister, platonic.
“Yes, I do understand that. Don’t worry man, you’ll find
your mate. You and Viola looked a little cozy there earlier,” Liam hinted with
a wink. He was willing to steer Sage anywhere but his Cora.
“Viola’s cool, but because she’s Cora’s twin it still feels
like a big brother-little sister relationship to me. I get they are nowhere
near the same person and all, but it just doesn’t work for me,” Sage tried to
explain.
“I guess. It kinda seemed like the two of you were into each
other. It seemed like Cora thought the same thing,” Liam said with a shrug. He
was trying, with a mounting desperation, not to feel like his brother was after
his mate, but was failing.
“Nah, it’s not like that. We tease and joke around, and
that’s about it. Like I said, she’s like a little sister to me,” Sage said,
looking at Liam. “It’s the same as being around Sassy.”
“So get out there and date more. You’re not gonna find your
mate sitting around here with all of us,” Liam said with a teasing sarcasm.
“Unless you think one of us is your mate? Oh Sage, you are so perfect and
wonderful, and I want to spend the rest of my life as your mate,” He said in a
high-pitched voice, trying to sound like a girl to get under his brother’s
skin.
“You, my dear brother, are still an idiot,” Sage said with a
small chuckle. “You are also so not my type.”
“Are you kidding? I thought I’d be perfect for you,” Liam
continued teasing. “My feelings are hurt more than you’ll ever know.”
“Yeah, I’m so sure. I do need to get Cora over to the house
now, or it’s going to be my butt on the line,” Sage said with a weary sigh. The
last thing he wanted to do was wake Cora up when she was sleeping, and she
looked so peaceful, but he knew it couldn’t be avoided any longer.
“Hey, after you take her over to the house, do you think you
could come back and help me get there? I wanna be there for her through this,
and I think if you take me, the doctor might agree,” Liam asked before they
woke Cora up.
“I will ask the doctor on the way out,” Sage answered him.
“No, I don’t want Cora to know. I want it to be a surprise,”
Liam said and winked at his brother.
Sage sighed a heavy breath and stood. “I’ll go find him now
and ask before we wake Cora up. If he says no…”
“Then I will sneak out and be there a little later than I’d
like to be, but I will still be there for her. I’ve messed up enough, I won’t
let her down this time,” Liam stated, interrupting anything his brother had
been about to say.
“You are
not
sneaking out of here and risking hurting
yourself further,” Sage said with extra emphasis on the word ‘not’.
“Either help me or watch me, but I am not staying in this
bed during the unbinding ceremony,” Liam insisted, being stubborn.
“Get over it Liam,” Sage stood his ground.
“Just go ask. We may be arguing over this for no good
reason. He may just let me go with a ton of conditions I have to follow,” Liam
sighed out in frustration. If they kept arguing they would wake Cora up and the
surprise would be blown.
Sage stood and gave Liam a withering look before turning
toward the door and exiting the room in search of the doctor.
Liam sighed and leaned back into the pillows, trying to get
comfortable and enjoy the last few minutes he had Cora in his arms before she
had to leave him for the ceremony. He tightened his arm around her, and she
shifted position a little in his arms, burrowing deeper into his side with a
small smile on her kissable lips. He reached over with his other hand and
traced his finger over her cheekbones, across her forehead, down her nose and
around her lips. He couldn’t get the thought of kissing her out of his mind and
decided that was how he’d like to wake her up when the time came.
Soon, Sage reappeared in the doorway with the doctor in tow
behind him. The doctor’s eyebrows rose in displeasure at the sight of Cora on
the bed, half lying across his patient, sleeping.
“So can I go for the ceremony Doc?” Liam asked, disregarding
the look the doctor gave him.
“I need to examine you before I can give you my answer,” the
doctor said, avoiding saying anything about Cora. He raised his eyebrows as he
waited for Liam to wake her up and get her to move.
Liam turned his head to her and kissed her lips. She moaned
and started to return his kiss as she began to wake up. By the time she was
awake, Liam was grinning from ear to ear and broke off the kiss. She looked
around and gasped when she found they weren’t alone anymore. She jumped off of
the bed embarrassed, before Liam could tighten his hold on her to keep her
there.
“Uh, hey Sage. Doctor.” She nodded at both and could feel
her cheeks turning red. She was so flustered to have been caught sleeping on
Liam, and then kissing him with so much passion, when she hadn’t realized
they’d had an audience.
“What’s up Cora? Did you enjoy your nap?” Sage teased with a
wicked glint in his eyes.
“Uh, yeah, I sure did,” she said and looked back at Liam for
help, but realized she wouldn’t get any from him, because he was still busy
grinning from ear to ear.
“So Doc, about that examination?” Sage asked becoming
impatient. “We’ve got to get back up to the house for the ceremony, and Thomas
would like an update on Liam’s condition.”
Liam nodded his head in a silent thank you to his brother
for not blowing the surprise in front of Cora.
“I need you both out of the room for a few minutes, and I
will let you know,” the doctor said in an abrupt tone.
Cora nodded and leaned down to place a soft kiss on Liam’s
cheek and gasped when he turned his head at the last second so her kiss landed
on his lips. She pulled back before he could deepen the kiss and stepped
further away from the bed, putting much needed distance between them.
“I’ll be right outside if you need anything. I’m not leaving
until I get that update myself,” she said and smiled at him, then turned and
headed out the door with a smirking Sage following close behind. Too close
behind for Liam’s comfort, but he didn’t say anything.
The doctor pulled out his stethoscope and began his
examination, while Liam’s thoughts were out in the hall with Cora, and not at
all inside his hospital room.
The doctor finished his examination pretty quickly and then
sat down in the chair next to the bed to talk with Liam.
“Your brother told me of your request to go to the unbinding
ceremony this evening. I’m more inclined to tell you no, but somehow I think
you will disregard my orders, based on the position I found you and your young
lady in when I came into the room. Am I correct?” he asked Liam, direct and to
the point.
“Yes sir. She is my mate and this is a big night for her. I
will
be with her for it whether I have your approval or not,” Liam responded with
open honesty.
“And what makes you think I can’t stop you?” the doctor
asked, a dangerous note in his voice. “Your welfare is more my concern than
that of your mate. She will be fine at the unbinding ceremony.”
“Not to be disrespectful sir, but my mate is my primary
concern,” Liam responded, moving to sit further up in the bed.
“You need to take it easy. You do realize you had internal
bleeding correct? That is never something to be underestimated. I know you are
still in pain,” the doctor responded in a gruff voice.
“I do understand that. I asked for your consent to attend
the ceremony, not to be released from care. I expect a long list of
restrictions, as well as being required to remain in a wheelchair the entire
time. I am fine with all of that, but I am not fine with missing something so
important to her,” Liam told him, not covering the passion with which he spoke.
“So if I consent and do what you want by giving you
restrictions and an order to stay in the wheelchair, no matter what, you will
abide by everything?” the doctor asked with a raised brow.
“On my word of honor,” Liam said, hope flaring to life inside
his chest. “If you want to make sure I do, just inform my brother of all
restrictions and such. He’s such a hard ass he’ll make me follow them if I
forget even one.”
The doctor looked at him thoughtfully and stood,
straightening his white coat, before nodding and heading towards the door. The
doctor opened it and asked Sage only to enter the room. Liam frowned when he
asked Cora to wait in the hall for just a few more minutes.
“If I allow this request, may I count on you to see that my
patient follows all of my instructions to the letter?” the doctor asked Sage,
being very stern.
“Yes sir,” Sage responded, nodding.
“Good, then he may go, but he must stay in a wheelchair the
entire time. I don’t care what happens, if he leaves the chair, I will speak
with Thomas and have you reprimanded, is that understood?” The doctor stood
face to face with Sage, staring daggers into his eyes.
“Understood sir.” Sage spoke as if he was answering to a
commanding officer, and for all Liam knew, he might be.
“I will send a nurse back here with a wheelchair and a
detailed list of restrictions that are to be followed to the letter,” the
doctor said with a curt nod and walked out of the room, leaving the door open
for Cora to come rushing back in.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked, almost panicked.
“No, not at all. The doctor just wanted to go over some
things that are confidential with the two of us for a minute,” Sage told her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, looking over Liam to make sure
there wasn’t something wrong that she was missing.
“Positive Sweetheart. Come here,” Liam said and reached his
hand out to her. She walked over and took it in hers as she sat on the edge of
the bed. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss as Sage’s cell phone went
off.
“Oh damn. That’s Thomas, we’ve gotta go now,” Sage said,
looking urgent.
“Okay. I’ll come back down to see you after the ceremony is
over, if I can. I love you,” Cora said, giving him a more lingering kiss as she
stood up and headed toward the door.
“Hey, is it alright if Sage meets you there? I need to ask
him something,” Liam asked her.
“Yeah, sure. I have no problem finding my way to Thomas’
study. See you in a few, Sage,” she said and breezed out of the room with a
bounce in her step that had not been there when she’d arrived earlier in the
day.
“Well, that was easy,” Sage remarked with a grin.
“Yeah. I could tell she wanted me to be there but refused to
say anything because of the doctor’s orders to remain here for the entire week.
I also heard it in thoughts she didn’t realize she was projecting,” Liam told
Sage with a smile. “I’m going to love seeing her face when she sees me there.”
“Well, if we don’t get moving, then you won’t make it there
before her to surprise her. Where’s that nurse at anyway?” Sage asked, peeking
out of the doorway. “Ah, here she comes with the wheelchair now.”
Sage moved out of the way and a minute later the nurse
entered just as Sage had predicted. She handed a stack of papers to Sage
letting him know those were Liam’s restrictions and moved over to the bed to
start unhooking his IV.
“Uh, do you think that I can wear some regular clothes?”
Liam asked the nurse while looking down at his bare, bruised legs.
“That would probably be more appropriate,” she said with a
nod and headed out to let him change.
Liam swung his legs over the bed and looked up at Sage. “Uh,
you don’t happen to have a spare set of clothes handy do you?”
“Not at the moment, and I don’t recommend you using the ones
you came in wearing, they’ve been incinerated already. Last time I checked,
ashes aren’t in current fashion. Hold on a sec,” Sage said and walked toward
the small closet in the room and opened it. “Bingo, I remembered grabbing a
duffle bag that looked like yours as we were leaving Anna’s House of Horrors.”
Sage held up the duffle containing Liam’s clothes.
“Did I mention that you rock man?” Liam asked with a huge
grin.
“No, I don’t think you have. You may proceed to tell me
though, if you feel you must,” he replied, dropping the duffle on the bed next
to Liam and went back to reading the restrictions issued by the drill sergeant
of a doctor.
“Are you sure you want to go to this thing?” Sage asked, his
voice becoming weary the more he read.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Liam said,
jerking his head up to eye his brother.
“Well, it almost feels as if the doctor is setting us up to
fail, because short of just sitting in that chair, immobile like a drugged
zombie, you’re guaranteed to break one of these restrictions, and I’m gonna be
reprimanded,” Sage said, looking up at his brother.
“So why don’t we take the list to Thomas and show it to him
so he knows the doctor is setting us up to fail?” Liam suggested, being his
usual devious-minded self. “We’ll just nip that in the bud.”
Sage shrugged and kept reading as Liam pulled clothes out of
his bag. When Liam went to stand up to change, Sage moved over to stop him.
“Wanna fail before we even leave this room?”
Liam looked up at him surprised for a moment and then
understood what Sage was talking about and stayed on the bed. Sage took the
pair of jeans from Liam and slipped the legs over his feet and upwards, then
left Liam to zip and button them. Liam took off the standard hospital gown and
shrugged into a loose polo shirt that didn’t rub against his injuries too much,
wincing as the movement caused more soreness in his injuries. Sage grabbed
socks and shoes and placed them on Liam’s feet and double knotted the laces to
make sure they didn’t come loose, because Sage could swear an untied lace was
somewhere on that unreasonable list.
Once Liam was dressed, Sage lifted Liam up as if he was a
baby and placed him into the wheelchair. “Dude, I feel like I’m caring for a
gigantic infant with all of these rules!” he swore.
“Imagine how I feel,” Liam grumbled, but made himself as comfortable
as possible in the chair.
“Let’s rock and roll, we’re getting short on time,” Sage
said, dropping the stack of papers down on Liam’s lap as he wheeled him out of
the hospital toward the area where everything had been set up for the unbinding
ceremony, which should be starting in about thirty-five minutes.