Savior

Chapter 35

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Cate rolled over as her eyes fluttered open. It was definitely nice to have Derek back in their bed after being on the road for a few days.

He did not have the most relaxing sleep overnight. Cate would wake up as she heard him groan while trying to roll over.

Around 4am, he finally agreed to let her grab the painkillers the doctor prescribed before they flew home. She gave him credit; he toughed it out longer than she would have been able to.

Cate's eyes wandered across his face, taking in the building bruises around his eye. The bruise around the cut on his forehead looked angry, too. She frowned as she ran her hand over his cheek.

Derek let out a groan as he tried to stretch his back out. He slowly opened his takes and blinked against the sun breaking through the blinds. "Mornin'," he offered softly.

She noticed how careful he was to move his body in bed next to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked in return.

"Like I went through a table," Derek replied with a laugh. She gave a tight lipped smile in return. Derek opened one eye to watch the brunette. "I'm fine, baby."

She smirked. "Likely story," she replied.

Derek stretched an inviting arm out, and Cate was too eager to snuggle close. "I'll be as good as new soon, I promise." She nodded against his chest.

Cate focused on his heartbeat as the two took their time waking up. Derek had told her of the horrors he's seen in the field before, so she took solace in knowing he was next to her in one piece. That piece may hurt right now, but it was in tact.

If a sore body and a few stitches in his forehead was the worst he had to deal with, she was grateful. She planned on nursing him back to full health.

"I don't want to go to work," she whined as she focused on his breathing. She was careful to not apply too much pressure to his chest but she needed to be close to him.

Derek's eyebrows furrowed at her words. "Work?"

She shrugged. "I have a closing at 11 that I'm seriously dreading."

"That doesn't sound like my girl," he mused. He could feel her lips turn up in a smile against his chest.

His hand was tangled in her hair as he pulled her as close as possible. "The seller's agent is just a scumbag. No biggie." Cate glanced over her shoulder at the clock on her bedside table. "I still have a few hours before I need to leave."

"What do you mean by 'scumbag'?"

Cate sighed. "He just makes remarks that make every woman in the room uncomfortable."

Derek repositioned against the pillows. "That's not okay, Cate."

"I never said it was okay," she replied. "I've made a lot of money off of his sales, so I try not to complain. I just block him out."

The black man shook his head. "I'll go with you."

She turned her eyes up to him and saw the determination and honesty in his face. "No need, my love. You need to relax, and I can handle him." She gave him a genuine smile. "I'm good, babe. I can talk down a mad man with a gun, I can handle this."

Derek closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. On one hand, she was the strongest woman he had ever met; she had dealt with things no one person should ever have to tolerate. On the other, she was a pain in his ass who wouldn't accept help. He may not be feeling his best, but he wouldn't think twice about punching out some creep who hit on his girlfriend.

"I just don't get dolled up for appointments with him, so it makes my life easier in the long run."

Derek laughed in spite of every chuckle forcing pain through his chest. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Catherine Johnson."

She began to crawl out of the bed to head towards the bathroom. Cate turned back and gave him a devilish grin. "Think on it until you're 100% healed. I don't want you hurting yourself again."

The brunette left him with a wink as she walked out of the bedroom.

Derek shook his head and rested back against the pillow. There was something so feisty about that brunette, but something equally as innocent. She was unlike any other person he had ever met, and he knew the longer he was with her, the more his life would change.

He had returned from cases hurt before, but always came back to an empty apartment and was left to fend for himself. Cate had no issue getting up in the middle of the night and doing whatever it took to make him comfortable.

Derek looked forward to coming home now. It wasn't the house he wanted to provide this beautiful being with, but it was a start. He knew he had to regain his strength as they were supposed to finish moving the rest of her stuff into the apartment and storage space this weekend.

Antonio had given Cate an extension on clearing out the condo after everything happened a few weeks before, but he was anxious to close on the lot. Cate had set up a moving truck and enlisted her brothers throughout the week to help move most of the boxes. All that remained was furniture and anything coming to the apartment.

Derek sighed. His older sister Sarah would joke that he was going to end up alone if he relied on one night stands. She said his apartment was the perfect bachelor pad but was in dire need of a woman's touch.

Cate had that touch. From the makeup basket in the bathroom, to the bottles of wine filling his liquor cabinet, she definitely left her mark on this apartment. But Derek could not shake the feeling that he owed her more; that she deserved more than a tenth floor apartment with two bedrooms.

He was ready for a house in the suburbs; three or four bedrooms and a backyard. He was determined to give her everything and then some. Every little piece that was on her wish list was going to happen, even if Derek had to build it himself.

He longed to build a play set in the backyard for children. Cate confided in him late one night, after a bottle of wine, that getting pregnant may not be easy for her. The injuries she sustained as a result of the Dennis Stone attack left her vulnerable. Her surgical teams did everything in their power to help her heal correctly, but it was ultimately up to her own body. He prayed that it would cooperate when it was time.

Derek Morgan never would have guessed that in just over four months he would be so head over heels in love with a woman like Catherine. She was everything he normally stayed away from. She was sexy without the skimpy outfits and pounds of make up. She made him genuinely laugh. Derek smirked when he realized that no pick up lines would have worked on her.

She was too good for him; but he was planning on spending the rest of his life changing his ways to be better for her. She saved him from the downward spiral he was on as far as relationships were concerned.

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