Chapter 42
June 29, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Jay’s kisses were like the most expensive and exquisite dessert, leaving a sweet aftertaste on my slightly swollen lips and a light, intoxicating dizziness. He was my addiction. Lifelong and incredibly powerful. There was no cure or antidote for it, because he had long since stopped being just in my blood… he had become… a part of me. An integral and most vital part. Without him, his love, support, and warmth, I would have given up long ago and stopped fighting.
But every night, as I fell asleep in his strong, familiar embrace and heard him quietly whisper, “...just don’t give up, my love… fight, I’m begging you… fight… for me… For us…” — it gave me the strength to live through one more endless day.
His warm palm gently squeezed my chin, tilting my face up toward him, then slid lower, fingertips caressing my collarbones, until it settled on my waist and squeezed possessively, pulling me flush against him and drawing a quiet, blissful sigh from me.
Yes… I had missed this so much… I needed him like air to feel even a little better. To feel… alive.
His light, fluttering kisses scattered hot sparks across my skin, making me freeze from the tenderness of his touch under his gentle lips, only to melt again and again in his strong arms.
He had no intention of letting me go until dawn, because the night belonged entirely to the two of us, no matter where we were — whether in his dark bedroom or a bright hospital ward.
Finally, after leaving one last weightless kiss on my smiling lips, Jay reluctantly pulled away and pressed his hot forehead to mine with a silent sigh.
I fleetingly ran my tongue over my sweetly tingling lips, still tasting his velvet ones, and whispered with a dreamy smile:
“Mmm… Kisses with the taste of coffee… Delicious…”
Jay chuckled softly, burying his hand in my hair and slowly stroking the back of my head — he knew this caress always sent me flying, just like it did him.
“Do you want coffee?” he asked with a smile, leaning down and lightly pecking me on the nose, which made me snort and squeeze my eyes shut.
“I want you. But I wouldn’t say no to coffee either. Although… it tastes much better on your lips…”
Did I… really just say that? Oh God…
That was the most banal cliché, the kind that appears in literally every melodrama we’ve watched together during this time…
Yeees, it seems my earlier statement that Mr. Mcfell had completely and irreversibly spoiled me was no exaggeration at all.
But… he himself had once said he wouldn’t judge me even if I became a very bad girl.
Deep down, I had long suspected he was actually waiting for exactly that — and with great impatience.
I had already braced myself for a wave of quiet laughter and old-man jokes about me becoming overly romantic, but to his credit, Jay, upon hearing this pink vanilla nonsense, only smiled meekly, pulled me closer, barely brushed his lips against my temple, and whispered:
“What kind of coffee do you want, sweetheart? Latte, as usual? Give me two minutes and I’ll get it for you.”
But I just shook my head and smiled, hugging him tighter. Without words, I made it clear that I wasn’t letting him go anywhere now — not even to the coffee machine at the end of the corridor. He had already been gone too long today.
“Can we move the coffee to the morning? I’ve had enough of what was left on your lips.”
There I go again… Oh well.
It seemed that whenever my husband was near, my brain was consistently flooded with sweet pink cotton candy, and there was nothing I could do about it.
After these words, Jay still let out a stifled chuckle into the top of my head (the rascal!), but didn’t comment on it any further. He simply sighed quietly and said:
“Alright, darling. Whatever you say.”
We lay in silence for some time, broken only by our breathing and the beeping of the monitor, which had finally calmed down and was now pulsing steadily and slowly. It no longer made me blush desperately.
Jay gently stroked the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair and quietly purring something just at the edge of hearing. These cat-like songs of his were probably meant to lull me back to sleep, but I categorically did not want to sleep anymore — I felt like I had slept enough for an entire month ahead. I never would have believed it was possible to get tired of sleeping, but as it turned out, it very much was. Especially since my beloved doctor had been gone for what felt like an eternity today, and I didn’t want to waste a single minute of precious time with him.
I smiled, letting out a contented sigh when I felt a tender kiss on my temple — something Mr. Mcfell periodically left there — and lightly ran my fingers over his perfect collarbones. He gave a barely noticeable shiver, then caught my hand with his warm palm and intertwined our fingers in that ancient, possessive gesture. Leaning down to me with a smile, he whispered:
"...I touched your hand with my rough one... To wash away the blasphemy, I vow:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss..."
I immediately recognized the lines and my lips trembled into a smile. Looking at him from under my lashes, I replied:
“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”
The golden, gentle eyes of my Romeo sparkled playfully, and he breathed hoarsely, tilting his head to the side:
“But lips… what are they for?”
I bit my lip, doing my best not to laugh.
“For prayer, holy father.”
But this passionate Jaymeo had no intention of giving up. He pulled me even closer and purred temptingly:
“Then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do.
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”
“Oh…” I already knew where this was going, so I quietly snorted and, just like Juliet, declared to this ardent lover:
“I’ll listen, but I will not move!”
In response, I heard exactly what I expected — bold, seductive, and hoarsely teasing:
“Then do not move, while I take what I need…”
Jay breathed these words almost against my lips, immediately covering them with his own again and making them part obediently with a blissful sigh.
He didn’t even let me squeak in protest.
Not that I, or my thoroughly kissed lips, had any objections whatsoever. The way my beloved husband kissed me was simply beyond words… and these were no longer the light, fluttering kisses he had been spoiling my lips with just ten minutes ago. No — now Jay was kissing me with the passionate, sensual intensity only he was capable of, driving me crazy every single time and making me crave so much more.
I clung to him, pressing my whole body against his and greedily clutching his broad, strong shoulders with trembling fingers.
Hmm… If the real Romeo was even one hundredth as passionate as Jay, I could perfectly understand why Juliet married him the very next day after they met.
How could a weak girl possibly resist such fervent pressure?
I certainly couldn’t.
As my husband’s kisses grew hotter and more insistent, all decent (and indecent) thoughts left my head in an orderly fashion, leaving it completely empty and light. I was left breathless, obedient, and ready for absolutely anything.
When Jay finally tore himself away from my lips (though clearly reluctant), we were both breathing heavily, and I felt completely disoriented.
*Who am I? Where am I? What year is it?* — something like that could probably be read in my unfocused, hazy gaze.
The culprit of all this chaos only smirked in satisfaction, lifting my chin and, unable to resist, left one more quick, fortunately innocent peck on my parted lips. Then he stroked my cheek with his thumb and whispered with a completely devilish half-smirk, clearly extremely pleased with himself:
“Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”
“Yeah, well… mine are now covered in it for the first time…” I thought. Because the guy who had just been kissing me so passionately was the very embodiment of the sweetest sin.
Jay smiled softly, lifted my chin with warm fingers, and, looking at my lips with darkened eyes, breathed out:
“Then… give it back to me…”
Enchanted by the deep midnight of his eyes and still unsuccessfully trying to pull myself together and steady my completely wrecked breathing, I whispered with just my lips:
“My friend, where did you learn to kiss like that…?”
I was already expecting another half-hour kissing session, because judging by his gaze, now darkened to velvet midnight, Jay was seriously planning to kiss me until morning. Especially since I wasn’t planning on sleeping anyway, and thankfully there was no Nurse in my ward yelling that “my lady mother calls” to interrupt us. But… the insolent brunette suddenly looked away from my eyes, bit his lip, and hid a smile in the corners of his mouth. I immediately realized he was about to say something like…
“Better you don’t know, little fawn.”
There it was. The turbulent past of the former street racer bandit was breaking through the facade of the respectable doctor and future star of cardiac surgery again. Although… damn, it was insanely hot. And he knew it perfectly well.
I narrowed my eyes and shot him a suspicious look.
“Oh really? Seriously? Come on, tell me more from this point onward! Is there something I don’t know about you, hubby?” I demanded, trying to look stern (or so I hoped) as I glared at him.
But “hubby” only laughed quietly, shaking his head, finally dispelling the heavy, sensual, narcotic haze his mind-blowing and outrageously shameless kisses had plunged me into. My lips were still burning. He pulled me closer, wrapping me in his arms and somehow instantly transforming from a dark, impossibly hot demon-tempter into a sweet boy-next-door.
Ah, this magic outside of Hogwarts…
“In fact… there’s a lot, Bambi. And I’m afraid if you find out, I’m done for. You’ll not only beat me and send me packing, but you’ll also rip off everything most valuable, just like you threatened when you learned what my life was like before we met,” Jay declared with complete seriousness. But mischievous sparks were already dancing wildly in his dark eyes, and familiar little devils were having fun there, while his soft lips trembled in a failed attempt to hide his smile.
Hearing this, I really did want to smack him, but watching him wiggle his eyebrows and grin openly, clearly expecting my reaction and a well-deserved kick, I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Instead, I buried my face in his chest and groaned from there:
“God, Jay… you… You’re just impossible…”
But it was simply impossible to stay mad at this undeniably impossible guy. He was the perfect embodiment of a ridiculously charming, insolent tomcat who only needed to purr and rub against his owner’s legs to be forgiven for anything.
Chuckling softly, Jay stroked my back, patiently waiting for my laughter to subside. When I finally calmed down, I pulled back a little and smiled, gazing into the attentive, tender eyes opposite me.
“Is it really… that bad? Should I start preparing divorce papers?” I raised an eyebrow, deciding not to let him off the hook this time and tease him for once. We had been playing these games since the very first day. But it seemed he took my words too seriously. He growled lowly and possessively pulled me even closer:
“Silly little Bambi… Do you really think I’d let you go? It’s too late, darling… far too late… No piece of paper can change the fact that you’re mine now. Only mine. Forever. Understand? When you said ‘yes’ to me, you personally signed a contract with the devil…”
His voice turned into a velvet, insinuating whisper that sent a wave of sweet shivers down my spine. I shivered and closed my eyes as his lips brushed against my defenseless neck.
He really was… a devil. A real one. My personal devil.
And a vampire too (judging by the quite noticeable bite that followed the kiss), a hooligan, a bandit, unbearable, impossible… and impossibly loved.
The very best.
And only mine.
But in the arms of my beloved man, it was warm, cozy, and safe — whether he was a demon, a vampire, or Lucifer himself.
I laughed again, drowning in his almost suffocating embrace. I lightly punched him in the solar plexus when this bloodsucker bit my neck again, only for him to immediately soothe the spot with soft kisses. I had no desire to escape his clutches, so I just sighed and closed my eyes, completely relaxing and deciding not to pursue the topic any further. The past should stay in the past. For my own good.
After leaving another tender kiss under my chin, Jay buried his hand in my hair again, resuming his slow, hypnotic strokes, and whispered almost soundlessly in my ear:
“Forget about it, baby. My past was quite wild, but it was all before you… before us. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
I sighed, lightly brushing my lips against his collarbones, and nodded in agreement, whispering:
“I know, darling… don’t worry, I was just joking.”
He exhaled in relief and pressed his cheek to my hair, lazily stroking along my spine and practically making me purr.
“…O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard,
Being in night, all this is but a dream…” he whispered Romeo’s lines with a smile, barely audibly, making me smile again. Then he added in his own words:
“But I dare to hope… I have fully atoned for my guilt, and you’re no longer angry about my long absence?”
I sighed.
“No, sweetheart. Of course not. I understand — you’re at work and can’t sit with me around the clock. But I still miss you like crazy, even when I’m sleeping… and I’m still mad that you teased and tortured me for so long. You’re still shameless, got it?”
He pulled back slightly, looking into my eyes with boundless adoration, gently stroked my cheek, and whispered with a soft smile:
“Why, kitten?”
I rolled my eyes and snorted:
“You’re seriously asking? You practically made me beg you for kisses! You’re a shameless blackmailer, that’s what you are!”
He laughed under his breath, kissing my forehead. Just that one gesture was enough to calm my righteous anger and soothe all the storms in my soul.
“Sorry, baby. I really didn’t think you’d take it that way. I was just playing with you… I would never intentionally hurt you… My love… my little kitten…”
I sighed again, feeling my heart clench at his quiet words, and hugged him tighter, leaving the lightest kiss in the hollow between his sculpted collarbones.
“My sweet boy… I just really like… kissing you…”
Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.
A second later, a cheerful, slightly mocking, and extremely self-satisfied snort sounded above my head.
“Of course you like it, Bambi… I am very good at it… and at many other things too…”
This hooligan wiggled his eyebrows expressively, once again (damn him!) biting the lips that constantly drove me crazy. A sweet pull tugged low in my belly, and the fire that had barely died down flared up in my blood with renewed strength.
I almost moaned from the memories — impossibly hot and arousing — of what else he was so good at… But with great difficulty I pulled myself together and threatened as sternly as I could:
“Shut up, you menace, unless you want me to actually hit you today! It’s been too long since you got what you deserved, and you’ve completely run wild!” I grumbled, even as I burrowed deeper into his warm embrace and bit my smiling lips. Meanwhile, my treacherous thoughts had already wandered off onto the crooked path leading straight to his bedroom, where he had shown me in vivid detail just how much he could do.
My threats only amused Jay.
Judging by the husky laughter muffled by my hair (into which the rascal had buried his face, his whole body shaking silently), he was thoroughly entertained. A couple of minutes later, his smiling voice reached me:
“Don’t hit me, sunshine. Save your strength. You’re going to need it, trust me… Or did you think you’d get away with just a dozen innocent kisses?”
I smirked, appreciating his subtle humor.
Those ten kisses (what ten? There had been at least a hundred!) were as far from innocent as earth is from heaven. Jay possessively pressed me flush against him, running warm fingers from my hip down to my knee. He gently squeezed it, hooked my leg over his hip, and purred hoarsely against my neck:
“Winter nights are so long, baby… and I… missed your lips like crazy…”
Everything inside me clenched sweetly at his velvet whisper and the soft kiss that followed on the curve of my shoulder, where my thin hospital gown had conveniently slipped down. I gripped his tense shoulders tighter, my breathing completely wrecked, and rasped with disobedient lips:
“Sounds like a threat…”
“It is a threat, silly girl,” Mr. Mcfell whispered with a completely devilish smile. One hand possessively gripped my waist while the other buried itself in my hair, tilting my head back and holding me in place so I couldn’t turn away from the fate he had prepared for me.
“Come here…”
…In his arms, eternity became a moment. And a moment stretched into millions of years.
When Jay finally pulled away, my head was spinning slightly. Alright — not slightly. Quite noticeably. And those helplessly sweet moans I had just heard… were definitely mine.
The damn heart monitor was screaming again, loud enough to probably be heard in the hallway.
God, what a nightmare…
Jay, who could hear its trills perfectly and understood exactly why all my readings were going crazy, hid a satisfied smile in the corners of his lips. He stroked my hair, which was spread across the pillow, and whispered soothingly:
“Shh… shh, little one… calm down… No need to react so strongly… it’s just me…”
I really wanted to smack him so he wouldn’t get so cocky, but I had no strength left. What little remained was only enough for an indignant, breathless squeak:
“Oh, screw you! You’re the one who got me into this state, and now you’re calming me down! Shameless hooli—”
But my righteous anger died before it could flare up properly under his soft lips, which cut off my stream of accusations. And I... obediently fell silent again in his beloved, strong embrace, completely dissolving in him…
