“You don’t have to lie for me,” Trent says in a soothing voice, pulling me closer. He nods to the doctor to continue.
“Breath play works just as well with a hand over the mouth. Maybe pinching nostrils closed. You need to avoid any type of throat compression because that shit’s dangerous.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious.” She moves her gaze to me, holding it steady until I feel about the same size as a bug. “If you’re into smothering, a pillow works fine. Shove it over your mouth or have him shove you into it, it all works the same.”
Trent shifts, pulling me slightly behind him while he moves a step closer to the doctor. “I said, okay. Anything else you want us to know?”
“Play safe,” she says, tipping me a wink. “You have to watch out for yourself, even if he’s not the one responsible.”
She leaves. When I glance at Trent’s expression, her departure comes a few seconds before she would have been escorted out.
“Just so you know,” he drawls. “I wasn’t planning on a repeat performance. If I never see a plastic tie again, it’ll be too soon.”
I turn, burying my face against his chest, still feeling that crawl of embarrassment. “Never thought I’d hear a doctor recommend smothering me with a pillow.”
He laughs and I join him, finding it hard to stop. Every nerve is taut, waiting for another disaster. When his arms hold me tighter, I try to relax into them but every second that passes I become more tense.
“Would you like to sleep with Finley tonight? Help her settle into her new room?”
The suggestion lets me breathe easier. “You don’t mind?”
Trent cups my cheek, tilting my head back so he can stare into my eyes. “Would I rather you spent the night in my bed where I can feel you against me? Yes. But today’s been overwhelming.” He drops a kiss on my cheek, laying a trail of them until he’s whispering into my ear. “You need to relax if you’re going to sleep, and you need to sleep to heal. If Finley can do that for you, then no, I don’t mind.”
I nod.
“And if you need me, I’ll be lying down the hall. You don’t have to wait for an invitation.”
I lay my head against his torso, closing my eyes while I listen to the steady thump of his heart. Grateful for his solidity. It’s like hugging the largest Kauri in the forest.
“Thank you.”
“Tomorrow night, though.” He waits until I pull back to look at him before continuing. “Tomorrow night, I’m all yours… and you’re all mine.”
* * *
I snuggle under the covers,stretching my foot out to touch against Finley’s leg, making her snort and jerk away.
“Your feet are freezing,” she complains. “You know these guys are rich enough to afford socks, right?”
“This is after they’ve been in socks,” I say with a manufactured sigh. “Does that mean you only love me when I’m warm.”
“It means I’ll only touch you when you’re warm. Unless it’s summer, whereupon those freezing toes will be welcome.”
I roll onto my back, feeling the bruises around my wrists and neck, the aches and pains from my frenetic bursts of energy, the throbbing in the side of my head where Andy smacked me.
Without other distractions, they hurt worse than I thought. Enough for me to be glad the doctor gave me that script.
“Since you’re still awake,” Finley says in a tiny voice. “Do you want to tell me what really happened today?”
“What did Trent tell you?” He’d gone in to fetch her on his own, insisting I stay in the car with every lock engaged.
“I’m not going to say. Otherwise, you’ll just match your story to his and I want to know the truth.” She waits for a beat, then adds, “I deserve to know the truth.”
“A man tried to hurt us,” I say in a hesitant voice, unsure how much to reveal. I trust her with my secrets but now some of those are shared with Trent and I don’t ever want to be in the situation where he has to worry.
“Doesn’t look like he tried,” she answers, reaching out to brush hair away from my bruised face. “Looks like he succeeded.”
