âI donât care what the doctors say, Carter,â Jack Thompson fumed as Peggy pressed her palms against his shoulders in an attempt to prevent him from rising from his hospital bed and doing God only knew what damage to his chest. âI donât wanna rest; I wanna get the sonovabitch who put me here!â
Peggy stared deep into the struggling manâs blue eyes and fixed him with a very serious gaze. âJack, do you trust me?â Peggy asked, her voice low as though she were about to relate a precious secret to him.
âThat mean you got a plan, Marge?â Jack replied almost too quickly. He had stopped struggling, and he had gone still in the same way as a predator who had scented prey.  Chief Thompson was readying himself for action.Â
âGive me a moment to make sure the coast is clear. Just pretend to be following the doctorâs orders in case anyone comes in unexpectedly,â Peggy whispered to him.   She looked over her shoulder as though making sure they were truly alone. âWonât be a tick,â Peggy said as she rose from the edge of his bed and hurried through the door and into the hall.Â
As soon as she was out of Jackâs view, she pressed herself against the wall and opened her navy blue clutch. She fished around for a few moments before she found the gold tube of lipstick that she still kept for emergencies. She applied it as quickly as possible using a small compact to check that it was neat and wouldnât arouse suspicion.Â
She counted to thirty before ducking back into Jackâs room, and she crossed hurriedly to his bedside again.Â
âWe set to go?â Jack asked, struggling to sit up.
âWait!â Peggy ordered. âGive me a moment to disconnect the monitors so we donât alert the staff,â she explained as she leaned over Jack, using the proximity of her own body to force him to lie back.Â
Jack stared agape at her; and, before he could say whatever was on his mind,
Peggy placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him soundly. She was surprised to feel Jack kissing her back, and she could feel her body respond in unexpectedly hungry ways as Jackâs stubble tickled along her cheek and his tongue caressed hers. She felt as though she were back on the rollercoaster at Coney Islandâher body slowly filling with a growing tension building to a peak that was quickly followed by the sensation of freefalling into her own desires.Â
It was over all too quickly, and Peggy found herself studying Jackâs sleeping face as she tried to sort through the whirl of emotions that the kiss had stirred in her. Truthfully, she could have found any number of ways to stop the troublesome man from leaving the hospital. The thought that she might have lost him had shaken her in ways she didnât like to admit. It had left her questioning decisions that had seemed clear just days ago.Â
âSweet dreams, Jack. Next time, weâll have to try that with regular lipstick,â she vowed, and a smile crossed her lips. Â