I try to smile, but fuck, everything hurts right now. “Don’t worry. They are discreet, and there’s a perimeter set up to stop them long before anyone at the restaurant would even know they were there.”
She locks eyes with me. I can feel my girl drawing strength from my words, from me. How the fuck does she not realize that she’s mine?
Finally she nods slowly.
I pat the bed beside me. “Come here, princess.”
Reluctantly, she takes small steps toward me. I wave off Darius and Jett, who retreat in relief.
Sophie sits gingerly on the edge of the bed. I tug on her dress, motioning for her to come closer. She’s still wearing that dark charcoal number with the square neckline that hugs her body just right. Fuck.
She looks down at my hand then up at me. I expect her to say something shitty, stand up, throw a tantrum again, demand to leave. But instead she shocks me by curling up, her back against my side, her head tucked into my arm.
Carefully, I roll onto my side, avoiding putting pressure on the many stitches Rossi left. Running my hand over her curves, I blow out a breath. “Fuck, Sophia, this dress on you is just…”
“Stop it, Vin.” She’s not mad, though and she presses back against me, taking my hand off her hip and pulling my arm around her.
That ass, Jesus Christ. My cock hardens as I nuzzle into her neck, smelling her hair. She’s still got the day on her skin, but feeling her next to me is too good to let her get up. “Soph…”
I bite down on the back of her neck, gently at first, then harder until she whimpers and writhes against me. “Vin, stop. You’re hurt.”
“Help me forget about it for awhile.” I tug the fabric of her dress up over her hip and slide my fingers underneath, grazing along the crease above her thigh. “Mmm, no panties.”
“Vin…” She moans and slides away from me. I try to hold her in place against me but pain shoots up my side, spiderwebbing across my back, and I let her go.
Standing by the bed, I grab for her and wince and she takes my hand. “Can I get you anything?”
“I can think of a few things.” I grin and try to push my hand she’s holding toward her pussy, and she laughs, smacking my hand away.
“Let me go take a shower, and then I will come back and pet you until you fall asleep—but that’s all.”
I roll my eyes and tug on her dress. “That’s it, huh? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she laughs. “How often do you have to change your bandages?”
“Everyday,” I say, stifling a groan and maneuvering onto my stomach as she helps me with the blankets. “Not till tomorrow though.”
She smooths my hair and kisses my cheek. “Rest, please.”
I just give her a sleepy smile and watch her walk into the bathroom. Her ass moves just right in that dress, and she glances over her shoulder at me as she shuts the door. She knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
My eyes close as the shower water turns on. On the nightstand, my phone buzzes. Groaning out loud, I turn and grab it. Tommy.
Fuck it.
I toss the phone back on the nightstand. Fuck the war. Fuck the drama. Tonight my Sophie is here and no matter what she says, I’m going to spend the night inside her one way or another and not give a single fucking second thought to anything outside of her.
41
SOPHIE
It’s the middle of the afternoon by the time Dr. Rossi comes to check on Vin. Vin is half-asleep with his head in my lap, his color better than it was yesterday, but still worse than I need it to be to feel like I can leave him alone.
I didn’t sleep much last night. I kept waking up to make sure he was still breathing.
I smile as Dr. Rossi enters, but he frowns, stopping short and looking me up and down.
“You look terrible,” he says, not to Vin but to me.
