"Excellent," Max says as he appears at my side. He's a beautiful, big presence made up of taut, tattooed skin, lean muscles, and lots of contradictory pieces—pieces that fit perfectly into mine. "More for me."
As I stare at him, my heart wants to dive inside his chest and find its other half. He bares me down with those stunning, intense irises to my bones—to my swollen heart. "Hi, Menace."
His gaze diverts to the door just as I hear footsteps approaching. I sit up and Toni slides off the mattress as a nurse stops by my bedside.
"I'm going to get you a real coffee, okay?" Toni kisses my forehead.
When his lips touch my skin, I smile. "Love you."
"Gross," he says, walking from my hospital room.
Giving the nurse my attention, I twist to face her. She lifts my chart up as if to read from it. "Morning, Cassidy. You slept so well. We administered fluids twice during the night and you slept right through." She lowers the chart. "You must have really needed it."
"I feel a lot better."
She smiles and flicks Max a look. "That's great. Convince your boyfriend to sleep tonight. He refused to go home and get some rest. He's a stubborn one, hey?"
I look at Max, who shrugs indifferently.
"He is," I say adamantly with a light smile.
"We can discharge you today. You've had plenty of fluids over the past ten hours. We would recommend keepingyour fluids up though. Drink lots of water. Your sutures are dissolvable, so they won't need removing. However, you should get the incision checked in seven days."
"Okay," Max says from beside me.
When she turns to leave through the door, I notice Carter standing just outside. His back is to Max and me, legs a hip's length apart—a business-like stance.
I peer back at my beautiful, tall lover, who is watching me intently, eyes filled with that gentleness I can't believe he can still manage—for me.
He nods towards the door. "There is someone I want you to meet."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Carter casually stroll in. A grin meets his lips and it must be the first time he has smiled in my presence because he's not so scary to look at right now. Actually, he has a boyish, mischievous type of grin that hints at an attractive face beneath the scars.
"Miss Slater, I've been wanting to introduce myself since the wedding," he says, his black suit buttoned tight around his broad shoulders and thick waist.
As I turn back to Max, he brushes a few rogue strawberry-blonde tendrils over my shoulder. His eyes are still glued to me, searching my thoughts and feelings and diving beneath my layers. The way his stare can penetrate doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore. In fact, it's very reassuring knowing he's trying to figure me out—wanting the truth. "Carter has worked for my family for over two decades. He used to be Xander's." Max pauses, and his eyes follow his knuckles as they stroke the bruise along my cheekbone. "But he's yours now."
My eyes widen, darting between Carter's cool, calm face and Max's serious, authoritarian one. "I'm sorry, what?"
A little grin tugs at Max's lips. "You don't need to feed him or anything."
Carter just laughs. "I'm pretty low maintenance."
"And he doesn't need a place to sleep, right Carter?" It wasn't a question despite being phrased like one.
Carter nods. "I don't plan on sleeping ever again, boss."
Although I appreciate the attempt at humour, it's not settling the discomfort rolling through me. For a few moments, they let me absorb what they are saying without further information. "I'm sorry. I'm confused," I finally say.
"You don't have to acknowledge him if you don't want to." Max squats down beside the bed until his eyes are set lower than mine, and it makes me wonder whether that move is strategic. Max is excellent at observing body language. He's no fool.
Is he trying to appear less domineering? Is he lessening the blow of giving me a fricking guard dog—who is human?
He smiles at me, his blue eyes intense in a way I've never seen before. Assured. Ready. For what?
Me?
Us?
