Wholehearted by Cate Ashwood Read Free Book Online Page B

him piled on the bed.
    “I tried to get the pants on, but the stitches pulled when I leaned down to put my feet through. I don’t know if I can do the rest myself. It’s hard with one hand.”
    Declan tried not to react to the words hard and hand being in one sentence. This was not the time to be getting hard, especially when he was about to get up close and personal with Lucas’s almost-naked body. It was everything he had been waiting for, and he prayed that he could keep the attraction under control enough that Lucas wouldn’t see it.
    “Let me help you,” Declan said.
    Lucas opened his mouth as if to protest, but shut it again without saying anything. Declan knew what was coming next, and he approached it with both excitement and apprehension. He had been there when the medics had cut Lucas’s clothes off, but he had been operating on pure panic and adrenaline. He hadn’t much noticed what Lucas looked like beneath the clothes. Now he was about to see it up close.
    Declan approached Lucas slowly, as if he was a scared puppy, not wanting to spook him. He got close enough to touch him before Declan unfolded the scrub pants and knelt down in front of Lucas, holding them out for him to step into. Lucas bent slightly at the waist, placing his hands on Declan’s shoulders to steady himself as he lifted each foot. It was exactly what Declan had wanted all along, to be able to support the smaller man, to be his literal shoulder to lean on if he needed it. Being able to help made him happier than he wanted to admit. He pulled the pants up over Lucas’s hips and brushed the backs of his fingers along the tight abs as he tightened the drawstring at the front.
    Declan stood, placing his hands gently on his shoulders and turning him around to face the bed. He fingered the white ties that held the gown closed before tugging gently. The back of the gown parted to reveal pale skin. Declan let his eyes wander up and down Lucas’s back, taking in the movement of his muscles and the peaks of his shoulder blades as he held his arms out to let Declan take the gown off.
    He bunched the pale fabric in his hands and tossed it on the bed. Lucas turned back around to look at him.
    The skin on his front was mottled with shades of a violent rainbow. Blotches of purple, black, and yellow decorated his skin, and off to one side, a bright patch of white where the gauze covering his stitches was taped. Declan sighed and tried to remain calm despite the cold weight that had settled into his gut at the sight of the damage the unknown attacker had left behind.
    “You need something warmer than a T-shirt.” Declan walked to the other side of the room and picked up his jacket. “You can wear this.”
    He helped Lucas push his arm through the sleeves, and draped the other side over his shoulder. He didn’t want to risk trying to get the cast into the jacket. The doctor had warned them that it was possible for his shoulder to become dislocated again if they weren’t careful, until he was fully healed.
    Lucas was a couple of inches shorter than Declan’s six foot two, and paired with the weight loss from the hospital stay, the coat was a little on the big side for him. Declan lined up the two sides of the zipper and pulled the tab up, wrapping him in the soft leather. Leather looked good on him, Declan thought.
    “Ready to go?”
    “Yeah, and thanks, man, for the help,” Lucas said quietly.
    “No problem.”
    Lucas reached out and picked up the book Declan had bought for him. It was the only thing he had to take with him from the hospital.
    “Let’s get you out of here.”
    “’Kay,” Lucas replied and followed Declan into the elevators. Declan was careful to move slowly. He knew that the injuries were making it difficult for Lucas to walk. The guy was fiercely independent, and somehow Declan didn’t think he would respond too well to being treated like an invalid. It had been hard enough for him to ask for help getting dressed. A