He meets my eyes and shakes his head. “I meant what I said, Emilio is welcome wherever I am. Problem?”
“Of course not. Roman will enjoy having his friend close. Jude will probably make you sleep on the floor until there’s a bed big enough for the five of us, but it’s fine.”
“Six.” He shrugs when I raise a brow. “Benjamin is welcome, too. I’m sure with you and Lio close at hand, he’ll want to join in sometimes.”
“Six then. We’ll make it work. We always do.”
He leans over the boy and kisses me. “We do. I love you. Thank you, for everything.”
“You’re mine, Hol. You always have been. I’ll do whatever you need me to.”
My words earn me another kiss and then he slides down the bed to hold Emilio close. Reaching over, I remove his glasses and carefully set them on the nightstand behind me. “Sleep, Tesoro. I’ll watch over both of you.”
Hollis, for once, doesn’t argue, but cuddles his Boy and closes his eyes. Leaning against the headboard, I watch as his body relaxes and he finally falls into much needed sleep.
Anything. I’ll do anything and everything to keep everyone they love safe, even if it means breaking myself apart. All five of the people who somehow managed to see the monster in me and not only not run, but embrace it, deserve that much from me.
Another night of shitty sleep. Fucking hell. It didn’t help that I waited up way too late for Lio. I had expected him to climb into bed with me, but when he didn’t, I tried to find him. Finding him curled up on Tennant? That was…unexpected. Even though Hollis was right there.
I’m fairly certain the knife I put in Cristian should end up in Il Padrone as well. Maybe that’s where Luca got his idea that assault was an appropriate way to behave with me. Fucker. And now he’s back. Good luck to him with Il Padrone. Fuckers.
Shaking off my mood, I pop my head into Roman’s room first. There’s a nurse sitting next to him, but Roman is still sleeping. Frowning, I’m not sure what to do with this one. I’m not used to seeing him without one of his lovers, his father, or Leandro. Still, he has someone with him, so I doubt he’d appreciate me watching him sleep. That may cross the line, evenif he’s aware I’ve claimed him. Slowly, I back away, hoping not to wake him.
It’s only a few more steps to Ignacio’s room, and I walk in just as Dr. Ranlen is setting down his chart. She crosses her arms as she stares at me. I rub the back of my neck, uncomfortable with her scrutiny.
“You’re lucky I couldn’t sleep last night. He should be waking up any minute now. I’ve been tapering him off the sedatives since about one a.m.” I check the time and nod. After seven hours, she’s right, he should be awake soon. “He’s been in and out a little bit already. If I leave you with him, will you behave?”
“Of course. I’m a professional.” I bite back my frustration when she raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. Waving my hand in front of me, I brush off her contempt. “Yes, he’s technically my ex, but he’s still mine. And I’m the Second of the O’Connel Family.”
“You can throw any damn title around that you want. He’s still my patient. I won’t leave until I’m sure you won’t mess with him. Especially, since we don’t know where he stands in this—if he’s an O’Connel or not.” I pale, as it’s entirely possible he’ll want to join Roman’s Family. Fuck.No, that’s not going to happen.Dr. Ranlen rolls her eyes and mutters, “Exes, my fucking ass.”
Clearing my throat, I glare at her, even though it does nothing except amuse her. “We’ll be fine. I won’t upset him, but he will need to know what happened.”
Sighing, she runs her fingers through her hair, as her smokey gray eyes take in every inch of me. “Fine. But if I find out you’ve upset him, I will ban you from the entire medical suite. Not only his room.”
“It’ll be fine. Really.”
She presses her lips into a flat line before giving up. “Don’t fuck it up. I don’t need Doc bitching me out if Ignacio has a set back.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief when she leaves, listening to the tapping of her heels as she goes. I take a seat next to Ignacio’s bed and study him silently. Despite having major surgery, he’s as handsome as ever.
Fucking hell. We’ve been through so much, and almost losing him? It’s wreaking havoc on my emotions. I love Tennant. I know that. But there’s a part of me—a major part of me—that still loves Ignacio. No matter how I try to figure it out, I can’t.
Dropping my head, I struggle to put into words what I can’t understand. I want to lay this at Il Padrone’s feet, to blame him for the way sex snapped the connection between us back into place. Or hell, I'd even blame Cristian for reminding me what life would look like without Ignacio, the cold, blinding panic that encased me.
Yet, at the end of the day, it’s just me and him and my ball of feelings. For once, I think Lio may be right about that shit—feelings fucking suck. Because all I want to do is beg Ignacio to give me another chance, while selfishly keeping Tennant as well.
“’Ater?” I jolt at Ignacio’s croaky voice, jumping up to meet his dazed brown eyes. The eyes that steal my breath every time.
His tongue darts out, trying to moisten his dry lips, and I fumble for the water pitcher. I quickly pour him a glass and grab a straw. Holding it up to his lips, I watch as he takes a few powerful pulls before dropping his head back onto his pillow. Groaning, he mumbles, “Fucking hell.”
I snort as I set the water nearby and help raise the bed. “You’re going to be sore for a while.”
“No shit,” he grumbles. “What the fuck did Cristian do to me?”
“Ah, yeah… He, uh, gutted you.” My voice goes high, and I cringe from it, especially as Ignacio’s eyes widen in response. Clearing my throat, I try to maintain a calm demeanor so I don’t piss Sarah off. “He kind of went off the rails a bit.”
“A bit?” Ignacio shakes his head. “I don’t think I want to know what happened afterward. Fuck.”
