“You’re hurt badly, Valentin. We need to stop.” Gela sounds worried as she gently pulls back and places a soft arm on my back, but only after she makes sure there’s no bruise there. “You still didn’t tell me what happened, you know?”
I sigh and float back to rest against the hot tub. “It's nothing I want to bother you with.”
“I’m a big girl, I can take it,” she huffs and swims closer, settling down beside me, shoulder to shoulder. “These bruises don’t look like nothing.”
Her hands are gentle as they explore the extent of my injuries, and, ignoring the agony, I find myself leaning into her touch.
“One of our shipments got hijacked today,” I admit finally. The concerned look in her eyes makes me want to be honest with her, even if it means showing I failed. “We tracked it to an abandoned warehouse, but it was a setup, and we were ambushed.”
“You think it was the Zakharovs?” she asks, her voice dropping.
I nod. “We think so, but aren’t certain as yet. Leonid, Iosif, Miron, and I managed to get out, but not before taking a few hits.”
“Are your brothers okay?”
The question surprises me. She's asking about my family's well-being, something I never expected from her.
“They're fine. Leonid took a bullet to the arm, but it was just a graze. Iosif and Miron got lucky with some scrapes and bruises.” I brush a wet strand of hair from her face. “Like I said, nothing to worry about.”
“And you in a lot of pain?” Her fingers trace the worst of the bruises, a large one spanning my left side.
“I've had worse,” I say and try to face her properly, but immediately regret it when the pain shoots through me. “But tonight, I got thrown against some shelving and probably have a cracked rib or two, though.”
“A cracked rib or two?” she squeals. “Oh my god. Have you seen a doctor?”
“I called him. He said I just need rest and painkillers. There’s not much else he can do for me.”
“And yet here you are, pulling women into hot tubs.” She smiles and shakes her head in disbelief.
“Only one woman,” I correct her, catching her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. “And it seemed worth the pain.”
She blushes at that, and it's so goddamn endearing that I almost pull her in for another kiss. But she moves away slightly, creating space between us.
“Your client is clean, by the way,” I say, changing the subject to something safer. “I had him thoroughly checked out. TriCore Solutions is legitimate.”
Her eyes widen with surprise. “Y…you looked into it?” she asks.
“I saw you getting scared of trusting new clients. You don’t deserve that, Gela Jones. Your work speaks for itself,” I explain.
Her expression softens, and she reaches for my hand. “Thank you,” she says softly. “Come on. You need to get dried off and rest.”
I want to protest just so I can have some more time with her, to pull her back down into the water with me, but the fatigue hits me suddenly. The adrenaline that had been keeping me going all day finally drains away, leaving me bone-tired and aching.
She stands up, and the water drips off her clothes, which cling to her skin like a second skin. I realize then that I need her by my side, for she’s the only thing that calms my racing heart.
I let her help me up and surrender to her care. She drapes the towel around my shoulders and guides me out of the pool area, through the house, and up to my bedroom.
In my room, she leads me to the edge of the bed and urges me to sit. Her hands move to the waistband of my wet boxers, and I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Don't get excited,” she warns, but there's a flush to her cheeks. “I'm just getting you out of these wet clothes.”
I lift my hips to help her, trying not to wince as the pain shoots down my spine. Soon, I'm sitting naked on the edge of my bed while Gela, still in her wet clothes, pats me dry with a towel.Her touch is soft, cautious around my wounds, but every brush still sparks heat under my skin.
“Behave,” she mutters when she notices, but I hear her amused.
“What? Hey! I can't help it,” I grin. “It's what you do to me.”
“I swear if you weren’t hurt, I’d smack a towel at you.” She rolls her eyes and walks over to my cupboard to grab some clean clothes for me.
