Chapter 17 Rafael
“Stop fucking growling at me.” I swore the fucking cat was the spawn of the devil.
I scooped up his little, drenched, and fury ass and wrapped him in a towel.
A flea bath and two washes with baby soap later, and he smelled ten times better than when Cesare brought him home. “You’re lucky I’m even doing this.”
The damn thing hissed at me, and I hissed right back.
After three days, I couldn’t take it anymore.
After convincing Cesare to eat something and go back to sleep, I had my chance.
I sat on the tiled floor of the massive bathroom and ran the warm towel back and forth over the creature from hell.
I leaned back until my spine touched the cabinets and made sure Cesare was still in the bed.
He was sound asleep. The pain meds were helping, and not to mention, he was so out of it that he hardly fought me on control.
My stomach clenched, still unsure of what happened. All I knew was he was bruised up and had a concussion. I chewed my lip and glanced down at the cat. He finally settled down and began to purr the more I rubbed him down.
“Do you know what happened to him?”
There wasn’t an answer of course, and why in the fuck I asked the cat was a testament to how tired I was.
I was too nervous to fall into a deep sleep and miss something and Cesare died.
The thought made my blood go cold. There was a lot I was willing to deal with or go through.
Losing Cesare wasn’t one of them. I blew out a breath as the need to go over and touch the man clawed at my insides.
I need to touch him to make sure he’s okay.
My stomach twisted, and I made quick work of drying and brushing out the furry menace. He scurried away the moment I was done.
“You were purring like a bitch,” I reminded the cat.
The damn thing didn’t care. It clawed its way up the bed and right to Cesare like he was its life line.
My stomach pitched low as I related to the little thing.
I forced myself to clean up and wash up before making my way over to Cesare.
My hand hovered for a second before I touched him.
His chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, and the ball in my chest eased.
“Not dead,” I whispered.
“You want me dead?” Cesare grumbled out. He didn’t even open his eyes, his breathing still even.
I hadn’t noticed he’d woken up. How long had he been awake?
"Are you fucking stupid?"
His lips quirked up in a smile that I doubted anyone on the outside of this place had gotten to see. "You're the one obsessed with me dying."
I rolled my eyes. The idea of slapping him in the middle of the chest was quickly becoming a need. "What's wrong with me being worried about you? You scared me, coming in looking half dead."
The silence that greeted my words was telling.
I went too far and shared too much emotion.
I blew out a steady breath and unclenched my fist, not even realizing I'd started carving moon crescent shapes into the palm of my hands.
Cesare had no idea how terrified I was, how scared I still was.
I knew this was his life, and I was ready to support him, but it didn't mean I wouldn't be afraid at times.
“Thirsty?” I grabbed the glass of water I always kept fresh on his bedside table.
He cracked an eye open and groaned louder. “No.”
“You should have some water.”
“You’re an annoying nurse.”
“Would you like for me to get dressed up as one? I think I can get an outfit ordered for the occasion.”
His rich brown eyes focused on me with such intensity my insides quivered with desire. How did he do it? Still command so much power while laying in bed injured.
“Come here.” He crooked his finger, and I closed the distance between us. It wasn’t much to begin with, but still, with it gone I wanted nothing more than to crawl on top of him and lay there. Place my head on his chest so I could be sure his heart was still beating.
“What happened?” The words were out of my mouth before I could think better of it.
His eyelashes fluttered, and for a second, I thought he was going to give me the same answer as he had before. Nothing. Even high on pain medication, Cesare gave nothing away.
"Why?"
I licked my lips, staring down at him. There were so many answers that could be wrong or right and yet I gave the one that kept echoing in my head. "Because I need to know whose life I should ruin for hurting you."
A huff of a chuckle came from Cesare. “It was a small fender bender.”
“A car crash!”
Cesare groaned and moved back away from me.
“Sorry. Shit, so sorry.” I quieted my voice and bit the inside of my cheek. He’d gotten into a car accident and thought it was best to keep that information from me? Fuck, the man had issues. “How?”
Cesare blew out a breath, his dark gaze cut to me before he closed them again. “Distracted.”
“By what? Was it the fucking cat?”
“No, and stop fighting with it.” He grabbed my wrist, and with a surprising amount of strength, yanked me into the bed. I nearly landed on the furball. He was quick to dodge out of the way. He glared at me like I was the one at fault.
“Now you know, so shut up and go to sleep.”
I shook my head. If anything, I now had more questions. “This is important, what about the car? Does anything else hurt? You didn’t tell Melony shit. She had to examine you, but she might have missed something not knowing all the facts.”
“Lo ucciderò.” Cesare slapped a large hand over my mouth, effectively cutting off my next stream of questions. “Shut the hell up. Speak one more word, and you will be going back to Silver Dreams. Do I make myself clear?”
I nodded slowly and grabbed his hand from my mouth. “One more thing.”
He opened a single eye at me, and I was happy the bathroom gave me a bit of light so I could stare at him. He had that “don’t test me” look on his face, and I shoved my questions for later. When he was a bit loopier, I’d find a way to bring it back up.
I smiled and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his lips. His eyes widened, but I didn’t let him dwell on it before placing my head on his chest. A few beats passed before his arm came up around my waist and pulled me in closer.
Waking up in Cesare's arms would never get old. I etched every second of it into my memory. Even when I got old and senile, I'd remember the way his heart thumped soundly against my ear, the way his scent surrounded me, and the warmth that steadily radiated off him.
My smile stretched from ear to ear as I scrambled the egg whites.
I could make breakfast. It was the easiest meal, but lunch and dinner was another story.
I could get by fine, who couldn't make ramen and Kraft mac it didn't have to be great all the time, just good enough to swallow. At the rate we were going, I was going to have to learn how to cook. Ellie did offer to share some of her recipes with me. I’d have to ask her to make tutorial videos.
The things I’d do for him.
I plated his dish and got his pills out for the night. I headed back to the bedroom, expecting to find Cesare where I left him, and instead found him halfway across the room toward his closet.
"What the hell are you doing?"
He was clutching his head, and the paleness of his face told me everything I needed to know. I put the plate down and raced to grab the trash can I kept nearby. I had it to him just in time as he heaved into the can.
"Go lay back down."
"I can't stay in bed. Feel like an old, worthless sack of shit."
"Fine, we can go to the couch."
He went to shake his head but stopped short and groaned. "I have shit to do."
"Yeah, eat and take your meds."
Cesare handed me the trash can. He didn't end up puking this time, but if he kept pushing himself he was going to end up on the floor sprawled out. He didn't look any better. I grabbed his hand before he was able to walk further into the closet.
"Come on, I made you food."
There was a fight there. I could see it in his dark brown eyes, but I knew the moment I won. His shoulders sagged. "This fucking headache won't go away."
"I have your meds ready. Once you get something in your stomach, you can take them."
"Fine."
I hurriedly reached in my pocket and pressed the clicker the moment Cesare sat back down on the bed. His head tilted as I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Did you hear that?"
"I made you eggs and toast. Something light because you're still puking."
He groaned but took the offered food. I'd suggested on the second night to call his personal chef, but Cesare was adamant that no one would see him like this.
I'd be a liar if I said I didn't relish in knowing that I was the only one who got to see him so vulnerable.
Heat radiated over my chest, and my love for him only grew.
I was learning more and more about him, and it only cemented my feelings for him even further.
Fall in love with me already. Be mine!
The need to shout at him, to shake him, and beg for him to hurry up and become so obsessed with me was like a fire under my heart constantly raging on. I blew out a breath and took a step away from Cesare before I did something stupid and professed my love for him.
We were playing an extreme game of chess, and the moment I made one wrong move it would be game over for me. I'd lose it all.
"Going to feed the furball."
Cesare nodded slowly as I stepped back out of the bedroom.
I needed a breather. Having him like this was feeding my obsession in an unhealthy way.
I made quick work of cleaning up the mess I made in the kitchen, then fed the devil cat and put away some of the stuff I had ordered.
I saw a vase online that would go perfectly on Cesare's table, and not to mention the ten different blankets I added.
There was now one in every room of the penthouse, along with a few other things I bought.
I checked behind me and pulled Cesare's phone out of my pocket.
The annoying buzzing was getting on my nerves.
Why in the fuck they couldn't leave him be was beyond me.
Every single person acted like they couldn't wipe their asses without running it past Cesare first. I glared at the phone before putting it back on Do Not Disturb and shoving it in a drawer.
Heading back into the room, I took the empty plate and handed the pills over.
"This is what hell is like, isn't it?"
I tilted my head. "Oh no, you have a sexy as fuck guy serving you and waiting on you. How torturous."
Cesare glowered up at me. "I'm not staying in this bed."
"We can move to the couch like I said earlier.” I grabbed his hand, and he didn't pull away. I clicked the clicker and squeezed his hand. "Oh I know, we can watch Venom."
"The weird black blob with the tongue?"
"Yes. I'd call him Daddy any day of the week if I got fiv—" My words fell short as thick, rough, calloused fingers wrapped around my throat.
"I'm not so injured I can't break you."
Fuck. My insides liquified at his words, and I licked my lips. I wanted to tease him more, but I knew he'd just hurt himself further. But Cesare's jealousy did it for me every single time.