Take My Breath Away

"Not until you tell me what it is," Blair said.

"You're kidding, right? You really don't know? You never did that with Miller?" Wesley asked. He remembered that she and Miller were together for quite a while, and figured they probably tried lots of sexual positions. His hand balled into a fist at the thought of it.

"Miller? What does he have to do with any of this? Why did you have to bring him up? Buzzkill!"

His hand which had been rubbing her lips grabbed her chin. "He ever let you..." And he leaned in close to whisper to her.

Blair got what he meant. That even though her hands were injured, she could use her mouth. Not only was he assuming she and Miller had sex, but was also asking for a blow job.

'Asshole!' Blair found his arm and bit into it.

Wesley didn't make a sound, but the sharp pain made him grit his teeth.

Blair let go. Her teeth weren't sharp enough to draw blood. She shoved his arm away and raged, "Get out!"

Touching the bite mark on his arm tenderly, Wesley asked calmly, "When did you turn into a dog?" She had bitten him more than once.

"I turned into you!" she stormed.

If she wasn't injured, she would have kicked him—hard. Maybe even punched him too.

Wesley was not happy, either. But he could only blame himself. It was his fault that Blair ended up with Miller. If he hadn't turned her down, she wouldn't have gotten engaged to that cheating scumbag.

He did have regrets. Every missed opportunity with Blair was a regret.

He took her into his arms ruefully, kissed her hair and apologized, "I'm sorry."

Blair thought he was apologizing for what he said to her. "Don't ever talk about that stuff," she snorted. She had never had sex with Miller. They never even shared a passionate kiss.

"I won't. Ever." He stroked her cheek. "Don't see Miller again."

Because of his apology, her anger vanished. What wafted in the air now was affection and romance. There never was a sweeter scent.

"That's easy. I don't even talk to him. He's out of my life." After Wesley had beaten up Miller, the family cut contact with her. And she was just fine with that.

"Good." Wesley wanted to kiss her, but he didn't. He thought of Orion, who had been trying to make ties with Blair, even coming to the hospital to take care of her, and it bugged him.

Stroking her hand, he offered, "You took care of me previously. Time for me to return the favor." Until she was totally healed.

"You don't need to. You're still recuperating. And your wound reopened in the fight. That must have hurt a lot." Her hand brushed across his body.

"No, it didn't hurt." He was used to all kinds of injuries. It was her he was worried about. She didn't have his training, his level of pain tolerance. She was probably in a lot of pain. And when he thought of that, he had a sobering thought. She was hurting because of him. Wesley felt guilty.

Blair fell asleep in his arms as the night wore on.

The next morning, when she woke up, Wesley wasn't there. But Hartwell and Joslyn were, sitting in the ward.

Joslyn was due next month. Hartwell had pawned off his workload onto his coworkers, so he could spend time with his wife and see his baby be born.

"Hartwell, Joslyn, when did you get here?" Blair asked. She turned to look out the window with bleary eyes. It was light out by now.

Joslyn rose from the sofa, walked over and sat on the bed—with Hartwell's help. She was pretty big now. "Bless, you're awake. How're you feeling? Does it still hurt?" she asked with concern.

Blair shook her head with a smile. She held out a hand to stroke Joslyn's swollen belly. "Don't worry. The doctor applied some antibiotic ointment to my wounds. It stung at first, but not now."

After settling Joslyn on the bed, Hartwell walked to the headboard of the bed and folded the bed up. "You must be hungry. I'll heat up your breakfast."

Her eyes lit up when she heard that. She was hungry. "Okay," Blair responded.

Hartwell put a lunch box on the table, and pulled out the thermos. Turning, he said to her, "A foreigner brought your breakfast. He said he was your friend."

Blair knew who it was. "Yeah. That's Orion. We studied together in London. Now he's my boss."

"He wanted to stay, but he got called into work. He asked me to tell you he dropped by, and left."

"Thanks," Blair said.

Joslyn was intrigued. She sensed something more than just a work relationship. "Your boss is so good to you. Tell me, he have a thing for you?"

Blair had to admit her friend had keen eye. Was Orion that obvious? "Yeah," she said. "Nothing gets past you."

"Wow! Sounds like Wesley has some competition," Joslyn exclaimed.

"A lot of guys wanted to date me. How is this any different?" Blair asked.

"Because Orion is a hottie. And his wallet's fat," Joslyn stressed.

Afraid that Hartwell might hear her, Blair lowered her voice and queried, "Who do you think is more handsome, Wesley or Orion?"

"Wesley, of course!" Joslyn replied without hesitation. "Orion is cute, but not as good-looking as Wesley. They're both loaded. But Wesley is more powerful."

Blair agreed with a big smile, "I think so too!"

Joslyn joked, "Look at you! There's a glint in your eye."

"Of course. You didn't happen to run into him on your way here?" Blair wondered when he left.

"No. The nurse said he left after taking a phone call," Joslyn told her.

"Oh, but he shouldn't be at work. He hasn't recovered yet." Hartwell heard what she said.

"Wesley's job is special. If he were paralyzed, he'd have to find a way to get to work. Besides, he is almost recovered," he said.

"Sounds cruel." Blair felt bad for Wesley. "Not at all.

I assume he'll be back to work soon and will be super busy." Because of the information on the SD card, a new operation concerning more than one hundred human lives was being put together.

Even if Wesley wasn't part of the mission itself, he still was in command.

Hartwell put the warm food on the table by the bed and wheeled it over to her. "Focus on getting better. Don't worry. Wesley will be fine."

"Yeah." Blair hoped everything would be okay. She was about to grab a spoon when Joslyn picked up the bowl and said, "Sit still. I'll feed you." By instinct, Blair wanted to decline. Then she looked at her hand, and opened her mouth.

Before putting the spoon in her mouth, Joslyn blew on the congee patiently. "Mrs. Ji is feeding me personally, and she's pregnant. She take care of you like this?" Blair joked, looking at Hartwell.