Mom chuckles lightly, wiping the corners of her eyes. “And it’s not that bad. Just think of it as us raising our son-in-law. And Zoan is not asexual, which would have been worse than this.”
Dad gets up from the bed. “Rest for now.” He looks toward Avira. “Take care of him, we will come in the evening.”
She nods.
Mom, after giving me another pat, leaves with Dad. Leo stays seated in his chair.
Avira looks at him. “You can also go and rest.”
“I’m well rested.”
She purses her lips. “Your face is looking shitty. Go and rest. It’s your wedding in two weeks, don’t give Iselyn another reason to cry over this wedding.”
He raises a brow. “Why so much care for me?”
“I called you twenty times last night. I was dying in worry, and you didn’t pick a single call after the first you answered and lied that Zoan was busy.” She bursts out.
“Ahhh, so that’s the reason behind this sisterly love. I’m sorry, my hands were full at that time. If I had known you would get this mad, I would have attended your calls,even if it meant getting a few wrong people killed,” he replies with a tight smile.
She crosses her arms. “Where were you fighting?”
His gaze sweeps over me before he rolls his eyes and gets up. “There is no business for you in my matters. I’m leaving. I need my beauty sleep,” he says, walking toward the door.
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. Avira looks at me with a frown. “What is this man?”
She sits on the bed, placing her elbows on either side of my face. She leans down and presses her lips on mine lightly.
“My lips are not hurt, Dove,” I murmur against her lips.
She presses a little harder. I open my mouth to kiss her back, but she pulls away. She sits up straight on the bed with her back against my side, her shoulders trembling though no sound comes from her throat. This is what I feared most.
“I’m sorry, Dove.”
A few suppressed sobs escape her. I lift my hand and touch her arm. She instantly turns and places my hand back on the bed. “Don’t move it,” she says, her voice thick with tears.
“I’m sorry. This won’t happen ever again,” I tell her with certainty as she keeps staring at me with tear-filled eyes.
After a long, torturous silence she speaks: “Did you think for even a second what would happen to me if you had died?”
“I knew I wasn’t going to die.” The thought of death didn’t cross my mind. I knew I would live, my body didn’t betray me until I knew help was coming.
She frowns and slaps me lightly. “How can you be so confident?”
“I worked very hard to become this confident, Dove. So don’t worry, I’m not leaving you. I’ve become addicted to living with you.”
She kisses along my jaw. “Promise me you will never let something like this happen again,” she whispers.
I hum. “I will keep myself safe.”
She kisses the corners of my mouth, the areas around my lips, when her mouth reaches the center I open and bite her gently, then suck both of her lips. I release her lower lip and nibble her upper one. She holds my face and sucks on my lower lip.
I lift my hand to cradle the back of her neck, but she instantly pulls away.
“Are you going to be a pain in the ass?” she scolds, putting my hand back on the bed. “If I see you move any part of your body again, I’ll tie you down.”
I smile and nod obediently.
chapter 44
