My lips part, but I have no words to give, not as my lungs seize and my head swims from lack of air. Distantly, I’m aware of Lio pulling his hands from mine, and the panic worsens until he grips my face.
“Breathe, Rome. Just breathe. It’s okay, I’m here with you.”
“But…therapy…” I gasp. “Ten…”
“I know, I know,” he soothes. “But he’ll be the first to tell you that you need to take care of yourself.”
“I don’t know…”
“Javi said it’s about teamwork. You won’t be alone. I’ll be there with you. Don’t you want to stop feeling like your insides are being crushed? Don’t you want the darkness to stop being so fucking tempting?”
I shiver, though not from the cold. “Yeah…” I meet his eyes, seeing the hope and love in them, and I allow that to buoy me. “You’ll be there?”
“Every step of the way, Caro.”
I smile a little. “That’s much better than fuckingRome.”
He laughs, and the sound is a balm to my shattered soul. “I like Rome.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Only you. Anyone else tries to call me that and I’ll kill them.”
“Not if I kill them first.”
That makes me laugh. For the first time since he walked in, he looks and sounds like the Lio from before, and…it gives me hope we’ll be okay.
“Okay,” I finally say. “I’ll try.”
Lio leans forward and presses his lips to mine again. “Thank you.”
Leaning back on the bed, I hold my arms out for him, my soul singing when he crawls into my embrace. I press a kiss to his wet hair and sigh.
This is what I needed when I woke up after being rescued. As long as I have this, have him, I can believe that I’ll be okay.
“I love you, Roman,” he whispers.
“Love you, too.”
We tighten our holds on one another, and everything else seems to fall away as we enjoy the safety of being home, together.
Scrawling notes on a pad of paper, I barely glance up at the knock on my door. Grunting, I quickly finish before setting it aside. With a sigh of exhaustion, I stand and stretch before crossing the room to open the door.
As it opens, I’m treated to the delicious picture of my next victim…I mean subject. Gesturing for him to come in, I wait until Hollis enters before closing the door and striding over to my desk, sitting across from him. It’s not how I’d prefer to do this, but needs must until I get this office decorated properly.
Given his defensive posture and the bags under his eyes, I have a sinking feeling this won’t be as easy as discussing things with Lio. Still, while he’s here, I can tick a few things off my list of things to be addressed. Doc did warn me about Hollis’s…unique personality. Shrugging inwardly, I decide I may as well fight with him first, and then we can get down to business.
“Thanks for coming in,” I say with a smile. “Before we get started though, I need to address three things.”
He cocks his head as he stares at me like he’s hoping I’ll die a fiery death. It’s adorable. He’s yet another one that is in the dominant category, which has me itching to add sex therapist to the list. I think a refresher on kink may be useful with all the fuckery going on around here.
After a long hesitation, he flatly asks, “What?”
“For starters, I need a different computer. One that’s not constantly being spied on. Or, at least, a way to ensure my notes are not checked. I understand in your shoes that paranoia may be a positive, but I take doctor-patient confidentiality seriously.”
I open the drawer to the desk and pull out a very impressive piece of technology.
“This also needs to be gone. I’m sure if there’s one in here, there are more monitoring devices throughout the building. While I may have my own interesting background, I won’t compromise on ethics. That means, anywhere that therapy is taking place, I expect none of these will be around. I already need to inform Lio that his right to privacy has been violated.”
Hollis takes a deep breath, rubbing his forehead, but I refuse to give in. With a scowl, he sits back in the chair, folding his arms as he glares. “I agree that your computer should not be fully monitored. But there’s no way we’re getting rid of all the surveillance equipment. It’s already proven to be useful in saving Lio and Benjamin’s lives.”
