Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“Hypoxemia and irreversible cerebral anoxia,” one of the students says as I make my Y incision.
“Good. What are the five stages of drowning?”
“Water infiltrates the airway—”
“Nope. Anyone else?” Cornwell prods.
His abrupt interruption of the first student keeps everyone else silent.
“Surprise and panic,” I say. “Then water enters the lungs. You involuntarily hold your breath. Next … lights out. In as little as thirty seconds, you’re unconscious. Respiratory arrest. You start to sink. Turn blue. Possible convulsions. Cerebral hypoxia and … death.”
“I don’t think everyone counts the last one,” one of the students says. “Because when you’re dead, you’re no longer drowning.”
I glance up at her. “What if you’re not dead?”
Her gaze darts around at the other students, but no one jumps in to save her.
After a few seconds, she clears her throat and eyes me again. “You mean if you’re not biologically dead?”
I nod, pausing my scalpel.
“You have three minutes.”
“Then what?”
“Well, your brain cells die, and your chances are kinda … non-existent.”
“Dr. Watts drowned with a gunshot wound to her abdomen,” Dr. Cornwell announces. “But she’s a freak of nature. We don’t know how long she was submerged, but it seems likely it was longer than three minutes. We’ll never know. Anyway … here she is with enough living brain cells to do her job flawlessly.”
He emphasizes the “flawlessly”. It’s his nod of approval. Another test I’ve managed to pass.
“Touch my phone again, and I will remove both of your hands, Mosley.”
Colten glances up from his desk, a little before seven. There are only a few people left on the floor. He pushes back in his chair and stands while wearing a champion’s grin. “You won’t.”
I set my bag on his desk and let him pull me into his body. “Try me.” I tilt my head back to look at him.
“You like what my hands do to you. I’d only have my tongue, and while we both enjoy what I can do with it, I think you’d miss these magical digits.” He holds up his hands and wiggles his fingers.
I glance around to see if anyone’s paying attention to us. “Everyone at work knows, yet … I haven’t told my parents.”
“They’re thrilled. Your mom screamed, and your dad did his long ‘hmm’ as if he wasn’t sure, but then he said I was the only man for you.”
“You told my parents!” I grab his shirt and jerk it.
“I’m making it happen, baby. You told me to get you to the altar. Step one: tell our family.”
Our family.
Not families.
We have a village. My parents love him, and his mom loves me. We are one family. My fingers release his shirt, and I press my hands flat to his chest. “Were they really happy?” All anger disappears.
Something about his expression softens. “You’re okay with me telling them?”
I shrug before lifting onto my toes and brushing my lips over his. “Get me to the altar, and I’ll say I do.” I kiss him.
His hands cup my face. When the kiss ends, he narrows his eyes a fraction, and he takes a seat in his chair, scratching his chin. I ease my backside onto the edge of his desk.
“I fucking love you so much.”
I smile, unsure of what to say back to him. All of my emotions clog my throat. I love him too. But it doesn’t take away my fear. Trusting him is all I can do.
Resting his elbows on the chair’s arms, he rubs his lips together before grinning. “I didn’t tell your parents. I just wanted to get you worked up, but you only gave me ten seconds of satisfaction.”
With a slight eye roll, I shake my head. “My parents adore you. Really, you could have told them.”
“My par—” Colten pauses. “My mom adores you, but you know that.”
“You were going to say parents.”
His brow furrows while he gives me a slow nod. “My dad liked you.” He lowers his gaze.
“Why do you make it sound like that was a bad thing?”
“Because it was,” he mumbles.
“I don’t understand.” I nudge his leg with mine, forcing his gaze back to me.
He frowns. “I was on my way to your house to tell your dad about us. To tell him that I loved you. And I wanted to go wherever you went after graduation.”
I slowly shake my head.
“Just as I was walking out the door, my dad came home. He made some snide remark about me secretly pining for the chief’s daughter. I said it wasn’t going to be a secret much longer.” Colten rubs his forehead. “Then my dad said you were the smartest decision I had ever made. And he was amazed I hadn’t screwed it up yet. He thought your good work ethic would rub off on me. And … well … that rubbed me the wrong way. It triggered my toxic need to do the exact opposite of what he wanted.” He shakes his head. “I … I was so damn self-destructive. I didn’t want to please him. I didn’t want to be him. So I didn’t tell your dad that I loved you. I did the opposite. And when your dad suggested the Marines, I knew my dad would hate that idea. So …”