Ophelia sees it, too, and grimaces. “Why don’t I sleep with Rome tonight? You two take the couches. Then tomorrow I will talk to Daisy. I just couldn’t face going into it all today.”
I resent it a little that she chooses him over me, but as I look at my friend’s face, pain etched and exhausted, I suppose I can’t begrudge it.
I nod. “Of course.” Pulling her to me, I kiss her hard on the mouth. “But tomorrow, you spend some time with me.”
She giggles. “Cain, I already spent some time with you earlier. I’m still not walking right.”
That has me smirking and kissing her one more time, biting her bottom lip and dragging it into my mouth before letting gowith a moan. “Go on, take our wounded soldier to bed before I decide to do more than just kiss you.”
She shakes her head. “You’re a beast, Cain.”
Oh, she hasn’t seen anything yet.
Mal kisses her, too, softer than I did, but he runs his hands over her ass and squeezes, as if wanting to take the memory to bed with him. Then she leads Roman out of the room, and they ascend the spiral staircase.
“Lucky fucker,” Mal grouses. “Almost seems worth getting beaten up.”
“Definitely,” I reply.
His dark laugh is amused but sardonic. “Cain, youenjoybeing beaten up. It’s hardly a high price for you to pay.”
He’s not wrong. I do.
It’s my capacity for pain, my tolerance for it, my size, and the fucking fire burning in my chest that has me worrying that I’m going to explode.
And if I do, I might take us all down with me.
CHAPTER 4
Roman
Every fucking partof me hurts. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to talk. To laugh. It even fucking hurt to jerk off, but I couldn’t not do it with that show they put on for me. My ribs, my face, my stomach, it’s all nothing but a bundle of oversensitive nerves firing pain signals into my poor brain day and night.
Cleaning my teeth is an ordeal. Just patting my face dry, fuck that hurts. Around my eye, on the side I fractured my cheekbone, has what I believe must be some minor nerve damage because it tingles whenever I touch it, the way one’s mouth does as it starts to come back to life after a shot of Novocain.
After taking a good ten minutes to do the most basic of self-care tasks, I walk into the bedroom we prepared for Ophelia—and for us, too—to find her already in bed. She must have used the bathroom downstairs.
“Sorry I took so long,” I mumble as if I’m talking through a mouthful of clouds.
“Come here,” she says, patting the empty space on the mattress beside her.
I don’t need to be asked twice. I strip off and climb into bed. She’s wearing only a t-shirt-style nightdress, and it’s short,with short sleeves too, and I’m naked. As she snuggles up to me, taking care to be gentle, I relish the feeling of her bare arms and legs hooked over mine. Her white-blonde hair splays across the pillow in a fan.
She’s warm and soft, and every dream I ever had made flesh. I might not have known I wanted or needed this, but now she’s in my life, I can never imagine it without her.
Lifting her head from where it’s resting against my shoulder, she smiles at me. “I love you, Roman. Thank you for saving me.”
I’d been feeling as if I had traumatized her for life, so her heartfelt words warm me deep inside.
“I love you, too. I’m sorry I made it traumatic.”
Her giggle takes me by surprise. “More for him than me… and anyway, he deserved it.”
“I’ll always save you, baby,” I say truthfully.
It feels as if everything is perfect, except for my pain, but it’s not. Storm clouds are gathering on the horizon, and things will get a lot darker before the light hopefully finds us again.
I’m worried for Ophelia, that taking her back to that place will awaken even more demons for her. Letting my chin drop to her head, I inhale the scent of her shampoo, and pure fucking love fills my heart.
