“Later,” she mumbles without looking up from the box of medicines resting on the corner table. “I’m about to go prep dinner.”
Pihu and I exchange a resigned glance. Placing her next to me, I twist and slide off the bed. The shuffling noise makes Arya’s head turn.
“What do you need?” she asks with a frown. “Sit down. I’ll get it for you.”
Marching toward her, I bend and throw her over my shoulder.
“Nathan!” she squeals. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t pick me up.”
“You’re mine.” I smack her ass. “I’ll pick up you whenever I want.”
“You’re still recovering. Put me down!”
“I am fine.” She bounces when I dump her on the bed. Leaning down, I cage her between my arms. “I’ll do push-ups with you on my back to prove you wrong. Will that convince you that I’m more than fine?”
Wide-eyed, she orders, “You will do no such thing.”
“If anyone needs rest, it’s you, angel,” I softly say, reaching up to stroke the fading bruises on her pretty face. “You’re stretching yourself too thin. I won’t have it.”
“I want you to get better.” Curling her fingers around my wrist, she sweetly confesses, “I like taking care of you.”
“I love you for it. But not at the cost of your health. Okay?”
“If I pause to relax for even a second, I keep picturing you lying unconscious… or see your father bent over you in the hospital bed. Taking care of you keeps my mind off it.”
“Aww, angel. Why didn’t you tell me?” My chest constricts that I didn’t notice her silently suffering over the traumatic memories. If the situation was reversed, I’d be a mess too. Sinking onto the mattress beside her, I make her straddle my lap and pull her front against my chest. Running my fingers through her silky strands, I comfort her, “I’m here with you. Alive and healthy. You don’t have to be scared anymore. It’s over. My father is gone for good.”
So is my mother, who didn’t wait a single second to file for a divorce as soon as the news broke out that my dad tried to kill me to cover up his money-laundering scheme.
She came to meet me once and it was to tell she’s moving out of the country. Her decision did not make me feel anything. I accepted the truth that I don’t have a mother a long freaking time ago.
Arya’s hands slip underneath my T-shirt, aching for a skin-on-skin contact. I reach behind my neck, pulling off the barrier completely. Goosebumps spread over my flesh at her relieved and pleasured sigh.
“I know he can’t harm you now, but I still get scared that I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone. I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
“Then don’t.” I tip her chin up and kiss the tip of her nose. “Being with you is my favorite place to be, Ari.”
“Don’t you think it’s too needy?”
“Needy?” I scoff. “You’re fulfilling my dream on a silver platter.”
She bites her lip. “Really?”
“Yeah, angel.”
“There’s also something else I want.”
“What?”
“Move in with me.” My pulse races, my heart galloping behind my ribs. “Sell your place. We can get a new apartment together.”
“A house,” I rasp. “One that’ll become our home. That’s what I want.”
A breathtaking smile curves her lush and pink lips. “Ourhome.”
“Yeah. It’ll be a start. I won’t stop until we’ll have everything we’ve ever desired. Marriage. Kids. The white picket fence. I want it all with you.”
“Yes,” she cries, eyes shiny. “To all of it.”
