Page 192 of Bleed with Me

“Have a little faith, boss.” Malin leaned against the wooden headboard. “There are still good people among us.”

“So poetic, sunshine.” I grinned, nudging his leg playfully. “The hit to your head gave you a factory reset?”

Zyon chuckled, and the tiniest smile appeared at the corner of Malin’s mouth.

“The boy was successfully rescued last night,” he revealed, masking the relief behind a stern expression, but his eyes betrayed him. A brief flicker of happiness appeared before it vanished, but it was there. I saw it. “The good guys went against the odds. Followed the anonymous leads and found him.”

“Good job,” Zyon praised. “I hope you have phone numbers of those guys.”

“And their addresses,” Malin shrugged, “their bank accounts, Social Security numbers. I even know their shoe sizes.”

“Nothing escapes you.” I shook my head, laughing.

For the next hour, we talked through every possible way to deal with the situation without causing an explosion, but came up empty. In the end, we decided to wait for their first move. If the Circle wanted Nina to open the criminal underworld to them, they would contact her sooner or later. And with a four-hundred-million-dollar debt hanging over her head, no one was simply walking away. Apparently, rich psychopaths were even more sentimental about unpaid loans than ordinary people.

Officially, my shift ended at six pm. But around that time, I was still in the OR, performing an abdominal washout after a ruptured appendix. Nasty business. I came home at nine, mentally exhausted, and, to my surprise, no one welcomed me.

For the past two weeks, Aryna waited for me at the door daily. She started a new school, so I didn’t take the night shifts to drive her there every morning, and every evening we prepared together. Not today, though. First, it was Friday. Second, neither Aryna nor Nina was in sight.

“Helloooo!” I yelled into the living room after checking the backyard and the kitchen. “Anyone here?”

“Upstairs!” Nina’s voice came to me from the upper floor, and I exhaled in relief. I didn’t even realize how tight my chest was when I couldn’t find them.

Running up the stairs, I checked my buzzing phone for the last time before switching it to silent mode. I did it often when I wasn’t on call, to spend quality time with my family without interruptions.

“Where are you?” I groaned loudly when I found Aryna’s room empty.

“Bedroom,” Nina replied. I crossed the hall in a few long strides, stopping dead in my tracks on the threshold.

For one disorienting second, I wondered whether I had walked into the wrong bedroom or exhaustion had finally pushed my mind over the edge and conjured the exact image most capable of bringing me to my knees. Then Nina smiled, and every coherent thought abandoned me.

She sat in the center of our bed wearing nothing but black lingerie, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. The delicate fabric followed the curves of her body like it was designed for her alone, revealing enough to make my blood heat while leaving just enough hidden to feel like a purposeful punishment.

Her dark hair was swept up, exposing the graceful line of her neck and the bare slope of her shoulders. A few loose strands framed her face. Her eyes were almost black in the dim light, glowing with wicked amusement as they moved over me without the slightest hint of shyness. She looked at me as though I were the one sitting half naked before her.

My hand squeezed the doorframe.

“Good evening, handsome.”

It was just a softly spoken greeting, but it curled around my throat like a command.

My gaze traveled over her again, slower this time, and her smile widened as if she could feel every place my attention touched.

“Where’s Aryna?” I asked, licking my dry lips.

“Zyon’s place.”

“You’ve been planning this.” My voice came out rougher than intended.

“Maybe.”

She smiled seductively and uncrossed her legs, the unhurried movement forcing every muscle in my body to tense. Leaning back on her palms, she tilted her head, studying me as though deciding what she wanted to do with me first.

“Come closer, Doctor.”

The quiet authority in her voice traveled straight down my spine, making my cock twitch with anticipation. I obeyed without hesitation, sitting on the bed beside her.

“How was your day?” She moved behind me, her hands traveling up and down my abdomen and chest. I leaned into her, closing my eyes as her lips brushed the back of my neck. A soft breath escaped me, and goosebumps erupted all over my skin.