21. Corey
21
COREY
D om closed his eyes, and I sat on the edge of the bed, running my hand over his hair.
“Go,” he ordered.
“Don’t you have some medicine you can take or something you can do to lessen the pain?”
“I’m—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re fine.” I shouldn’t be arguing with someone who obviously felt like shit, but he was so stubborn, so unwilling to let me or anyone else help him. How could he not tell his sons? Did they even know he got headaches like this?
He sat partway up and slid open his nightstand drawer.
“I can get it for you.”
But before I could stop him, Dom had extracted a pill bottle. He opened it, poured two pills into his hand, and popped them into his mouth.
“Don’t you want water?” He set the bottle down without saying anything.
Damn, could he be any more infuriating? I walked into his bathroom and filled a cup he had sitting by the sink and brought it to him. “Drink this.”
He waved a hand as if to tell me to take it away, but I didn’t budge. “Even though you got the pills down, you need water. Dehydration is only going to make your headache worse.”
“And you say I’m controlling.”
I could tell that talking made him feel worse. “Hush and drink this.”
He took the water from me, drank several sips, then set it down.
He started to say something else, and I shook my head. “Talking hurts, so stop doing it.” His lips quirked up just a touch, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was—that it was incredibly ironic that I was now telling him to stop talking.
“Roll over onto your stomach and relax. I’m going to give you a massage. It’ll help loosen up your muscles.”
I could tell he wanted to protest, but after a moment, he did as I’d asked. I hated seeing him in pain like this. “Do you get headaches like this a lot? Just squeeze my hand if the answer is yes.” He did.
“I want you to tell me about it later, but right now, I just want you to relax.”
I was sure he hated being told what to do, but he wasn’t in much of a position to argue. Though I was sure if he were really determined, he’d put up a fight. He could probably kill someone more easily like this than I could at my best.
I straddled his hips so I could better reach his neck and shoulders. It would be easy for me to get turned on—I could fit my cock right in the crack of his ass, work my hips back and forth—but it wasn’t the time for that. I’d have to try that out later. Right now, he needed comfort.
He tensed when I leaned forward and pressed my palms against his shoulders, but as I began to work deep into the muscles, he slowly relaxed into the mattress.
I worked the thick, corded muscles of his neck, his shoulders, his upper back, then worked my way down. He sighed with contentment as I pressed my thumbs into his lower back, running up the sides of his spine.
Then I switched my focus, moving myself to his side. I worked his injured leg. I wished he’d let me undress him. Surely he’d be more comfortable resting without his suit on, but I didn’t ask.
I reached for his arm, wanting to work on it too, but I realized that his breaths were coming in a steady rhythm. His body was relaxed. He’d fallen asleep, and that was the best thing for him.
I would work on his arm later; I didn’t want to wake him. I pressed a kiss to his temple.
I hoped the medication and some sleep would help him feel better. I’d kept the lights dim, but now I turned them off and pulled the curtains shut, knowing he probably wanted it dark.
I didn’t really want to leave him, but it was much too early in the day for me to crawl into bed. If I lay with him now, I’d be up most of the night.
So I left him, making sure his phone was on the nightstand in case he needed anything.
Once I left his room, I went to look for Beatrice. I’d promised him I wouldn’t call Val and Vito, but I knew it was wrong not to let them know. I’d have to make sure he didn’t know I was the one who alerted them.
It was for his own good, and I never would have promised not to if he hadn’t basically forced me. I only gave in because he was in so much pain, and he was fighting it. Surely it wasn’t really the wrong thing.
I found Beatrice in the living room talking to a man I didn’t know.
She smiled when she saw me and motioned me over. “Corey, this is Vinnie. He’s going to be here for the afternoon since Mr. Marchesi is needed elsewhere.”
Did she know what was actually going on with Dom? Surely she did, but I knew better than to contradict her. Dom clearly didn’t want anyone else to know he was incapacitated.
I held out my hand. “I’m Corey.”
Vinnie shook my hand. “I’ve heard a bit about you from Vito.”
“Good things, I hope.”
“Quite good. I’m going to be out in the courtyard for a while, but let me know if you need anything.”
Once he’d left, I turned to Beatrice. “Did Lucien send him over?”
“Yes.”
“And Dominic is?—”
“In bed with a migraine, as you well know.”
“I do, but I had to make sure I could talk about his condition with you.”
She sighed. “He had to give in and let me help him a few times, but I’ve kept his secret.”
“Even from his sons?”
“He’s my employer. If he doesn’t want them to know….”
“But surely it would be better if they did. He’s so stubborn, but he does need help. He was in terrible pain when I saw him and helped him to his room.”
“You’re right, but all I can do is make sure he has his medicine and gets some rest. He won’t allow anything else. Would you like something to drink? Maybe a coffee? I just made some cookies.”
I knew she was changing the subject on purpose, but coffee and cookies sounded perfect, so I followed her to the kitchen.
I pulled out my phone and fiddled with it for a moment as she poured my coffee. “I don’t have Valentino’s number. What is it?” I tried to keep my voice casual, but I knew immediately that I wasn’t fooling her.
She raised her brows as she studied me. “Why do you need Mr. Valentino’s number?”
I couldn’t tell her I was going to call him and let him know his father needed his help. She wouldn’t agree to that if I said it outright. “I want to do something nice for Mr. Marchesi, and I need Valentino’s help.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”
I took a sip of my coffee to avoid her gaze. “He’s done a lot for me.”
“He has, but I know him as well as his sons do. I’m happy to help you.”
“Oh. Well, I thought it should involve his sons.”
“Uh-huh.” Damn, I sucked at lying.
“Please. I need to be able to contact them if….”
“If he’s too stubborn to ask for backup and he’s in trouble?”
I was done with lying. “Yes.”
She shook her head. “He might kill me for this.”
I sucked in my breath as I felt the color drain from my face. “I don’t think… He wouldn’t?—”
Beatrice shook her head. “Oh, no. I don’t mean that literally.”
I exhaled sharply, relieved she didn’t think he was that cruel. “You can’t say things like that after what you’ve told me about him.”
“He would never hurt me physically, but he might fire me.”
I sighed. “I don’t want to get you fired, but I’m worried about him.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m going to give you the number. It’s been a long time since anyone outside the family—and few enough of them—saw through Mr. Marchesi’s hard shell. Very few people truly care about him.”
“That’s sad.” But I didn’t doubt it was true.
She nodded. “It is, but to an extent, he has brought it on himself. Though his ex-wife is far more to blame.”
She sure as hell was. I’d never felt as violent toward anyone as I did toward her.
After Beatrice told me Val’s number, she said, “He clearly cares about you too.”
It wasn’t a good idea for me to get my hopes up. “He cares about his mission to protect me.”
“I think it’s a lot more than that.”
Val and Vito did too, but even if they were right, he was too closed off, too stubborn to admit it. And what could we have beyond hooking up while I was here? I was the age of his youngest son, and he saw me as innocent, naive, not made for his world.
Not to mention he’s straight.
No, the fuck he’s not. Nothing could convince me of that after the way he’d fucked me. I hated feeling so damn confused.
How had my life taken this turn? I was living with a mobster while waiting to testify in court. My law firm had fallen apart, and I wasn’t even sure what I wanted anymore.
You want Dom.
I did. I wanted to take care of him, to fix him, to fuck him. I’m such an idiot. But what if….
You don’t have enough in common. It will never work out.
I might as well go ahead and call Valentino. Dom would have a solid reason to hate me, but it would be easier to walk away knowing someone else was looking after him.
Beatrice refilled my coffee, and I took the cup to my room. Sitting by the window, I pulled out my phone and typed in the number she’d given me. After a few rings, Val answered. “Who the hell is this?”
“It’s Corey. Beatrice gave me your number.”
“This is my private line. I’m not used to seeing unknown numbers on it.”
“I’m sorry. I asked her for it because I’m worried about your father.”
“Shit, what’s going on?”
“Did you know he gets migraines?”
“He got them in rehab, but he said that wasn’t an issue now. You’re telling me he lied?”
“I…” Shit, I wasn’t about to outright call Dom a liar. “He has one today, and I thought I understood that it wasn’t unusual for him.’”
“Fuck. Do you need me to come over?”
“No, not now. Dom contacted Lucien, and he sent Vinnie over.”
“Yeah, that’s good. Vinnie’s a solid guy. But why the hell didn’t Pops call me?”
“I told him I would call you or Vito, but he told me not to tell you.”
“And yet, here you are, doing what he told you not to do.”
I’d clearly lost my mind. “I thought you needed to know. He insists on doing everything alone, but he does need help. I have no doubt he could push himself to do whatever was necessary to defend me. He’d fight through the pain and only collapse after I was safe, but he shouldn’t have to do that. Not when he has family who care.”
“Damn, you really are something. No wonder he’s enamored with you.”
“I… That’s not… He’s not….”
“Are you telling me there’s nothing going on between you two?”
“Um….”
“That’s what I thought.”
“If you want me to put an end to it, I will. I promised not to hurt him, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
“He has no idea how to ask for help or accept it when it’s offered, but I keep trying anyway.”
“I can imagine how that’s going.”
“He let me help him walk to his room. The headache started in the sunroom, and I ran into him partway back.”
“Fuck, he must have really been suffering.”
“He was. He is… Well, he’s sleeping now. I’ll check on him again soon.”
“Call me anytime if you need something or Pops does. Vito and I have no intention of letting him go after Lisa alone.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“We’ll stop by tomorrow to check on him.”
“Great. Just please don’t tell him I told you.”
“We won’t rat you out. Don’t worry.”
Dom was still sleeping when I checked on him. I forced myself to leave him alone for a while. But after a workout and taking out some aggression on a video game, I returned to his room, stripped down to my underwear, and crawled into bed with him.
He made a contented sound when I spooned him and he pushed back against me. I stroked his hair and kissed his neck before closing my eyes and letting myself drift to sleep.
When I woke hours later, the house was dark and quiet, and Dom was no longer in bed.
I checked the bathroom, but he wasn’t there either. I hoped he was feeling better. Maybe he got hungry.
I pulled on my clothes and headed downstairs.