Chapter 17
17
C olm stepped into the bedroom with Miller’s heating pad, some painkillers, a bottle of water, and one of his shirts.
Because he thought it’d best that she put something on... all that creamy skin on display was too much for him to ignore.
But he didn’t want her wearing the stuff Miller had left for her. Nope. He had some sort of caveman instinct telling him she had to be dressed in his clothes.
Probably some way of claiming her or something.
Whatever it was, he’d decided not to ignore it.
As he opened the door, he froze as soon as he took in the sight of her.
She’d moved.
And that demanded punishment.
Although he wouldn’t punish her while she was injured.
Plus, she’s not yours to punish.
Which she should be thankful for.
He had to do something, though. Otherwise, she’d never believe him to be a man of his word. But what?
Unfortunately, he was probably just going to have to scold her.
However, her disobedience wasn’t the only thing that had him freezing.
Nope, that would be the small, perfect breast now on display. He’d been on his best behavior before, not really peeking at her naked body.
However, he was no saint and there was only so much he could take before he broke.
So he stood there and took in his fill of her stiff, peachy-pink nipple. The plump breast that he wanted to cup. His mouth watered at the thought of sucking on her nipple, on listening to her cry out as he took it fully into his mouth.
There was nothing he liked more than playing with a woman’s breasts, except, maybe, for eating her out.
But this wasn’t just any woman.
This was his woman.
Even if she didn’t know that yet.
He tried to get himself under control. He knew he couldn’t do anything until she was his.
But fuck if he wanted to listen to himself.
“Sofia,” he growled.
“Um, sorry.” She tried to move back into place and draw the blanket up over herself, but he let out a low noise of warning, and she froze.
“Pull the blanket farther down.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Do as I say.” He closed his eyes for a moment.
Easy, man.
“You have a safeword,” he reminded her. And he fully expected her to use it.
When he opened his eyes to stare at her, he was sure she’d be covered up.
And that was for the best. It would give him a chance to chill the raging need in his blood.
So, no one was more shocked than him when she did as ordered, drawing the blanket away from her breasts. She held it just under them, keeping the rest of herself covered.
Fuck. Him.
She was so damn gorgeous.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” he told her as he made sure the door was locked before walking over and dumping everything on the bedside table. “You’re also in so much trouble.”
“I was just trying to put some clothes on,” she defended herself.
“You were told not to move. You disobeyed me. I’d likely edge you for the rest of the night if you were mine. Play with you, bringing you close to orgasm, then pull back.”
Her eyes were wide as she gaped up at him. “You wouldn’t!”
“Oh yeah, baby. Then you’d suck me off and sleep with my hand cupped around your poor, needy pussy, keeping it warm and hungry.”
“That . . . that’s so mean!”
“Hmm. But you’d learn to obey me, wouldn’t you? Of course, if that didn’t work, I might need to try other punishments.”
“Like . . . like what?” she whispered.
“Like tipping you over my lap and spanking your ass.”
“You . . . you can’t do that!”
“Baby, you have no idea what I can do,” he drawled. “But lucky for you, I won’t punish you while you’re in pain or until you’re mine.”
She gulped heavily. “I can’t be yours.”
Perhaps he should have felt rejected or maybe dejected at her words.
But Colm had let her push him away once. When he thought she was with someone she wanted to be with.
They still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of that.
However, Oleg was no longer a barrier between them. Colm hadn’t planned on letting him remain a barrier.
After his initial anger at her rejection, he’d decided to regroup and figure out a way to win her.
“Don’t you know that denying me something makes me just more determined to have it?”
“You’re nuts.”
“Nuts for you.”
She groaned. “That was terrible.”
“Terribly good?”
“Uh, no. Terribly bad.”
He sat on the bed, facing her. “I can be terribly bad if you want.”
Then he reached over to cup one breast, but she jolted and winced in pain.
Shit. What was he doing?
He snatched his hand back and reached for the blanket to cover her up again.
Teasing her like this while she was still in pain wasn’t taking care of her. He had to show that he could put her first.
Something he was certain that asshole, Oleg, would never do.
When he had her covered, he made her take the painkillers, then plugged in the heating pad and placed it behind her back. As he was getting his T-shirt to put on her, he noticed her face had dropped, staring at her lap. There was an air of dejection around her.
What was wrong with her?
Reaching out, he grasped her chin, lifting her face.
“Please don’t,” she whispered.
He ran his finger over her cheek. Hmm. “Why do you think I covered you up?”
“Urgh, I don’t know.”
“You have an idea, though, don’t you?”
She shrugged, breathing out deeply. “Maybe you didn’t want to look at my tiny, nonexistent boobs.”
An angry noise escaped him before he quickly stifled it. Her eyes were wide as she gaped at him.
“You’re not to talk about yourself like that,” he warned her.
“Or you’ll punish me?” she whispered.
“Yeah. And I might not wait until you’re mine because that shit upsets the hell out of me. You’re amazing, lass. Stunning. Smart. Kind. Hard-working. The only time I can see you ever messed up was when you chose that ass-pig.”
“Ass-pig?” she asked.
To his surprise, her lips curled up at the edges. He started to relax slightly. He realized he was a bit concerned that he was coming on too strong.
“Ass-pig.”
“He is that. Or was? Is Oleg . . .”
Colm tilted his head to the side. “You want to know?”
“I have to.”
“He’s being held prisoner. Anton and Pavel were caught trying to sneak away. They’re with him. Arnie too.”
Concern filled her face. “What will... what will happen to them?”
“You cannot tell me that you’re worried about that ass-pig,” he growled at her.
Because that bastard, Oleg, in no way deserved her concern.
“No,” she whispered. “No, the only thing that concerns me about Oleg is that he’s still alive. I want him dead. Can... can that happen?”
He eyed her in surprise. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting her to say.
“You want me to kill him for you, baby?”
“I... I don’t know. I don’t want you to have to do it. But I don’t want him to still be breathing.”
He wondered why. Why now? Because he’d kidnapped and threatened her? Sure, that was enough of a reason. But he worried that there was something more, a greater motive.
That perhaps... he’d done something worse to her.
“Did he hurt you?” he growled.
Her eyes rose to his in shock. “H-hurt me? What do you mean?”
He stiffened as rage filled him.
That bastard had. He’d harmed her.
“I’m going to do more than fucking kill him,” he said, standing. “I’m going to fucking rip him limb from limb. Why the hell didn’t your cousin take care of you better? Why did he let that bastard near you? And why the fuck is he still breathing?”
Not that he would be for long. Colm would see to that. He didn’t deserve to be breathing the same air as his girl.
“I . . . I . . . he didn’t . . .”
He shot her a look and she stopped trying to deny what they both knew to be true.
“I’m holding on by a thread here, lass,” he warned her. “And you lying to me will tip me over the edge. He hurt you. If you can’t tell me what he did, then at least do not deny that he did it.”
When she didn’t say anything, he knew that was as much of an admission as he was going to get.
At least for right now.
Eventually, she would tell him everything. But he understood that she couldn’t right now.
“I don’t... I don’t want you to have blood on your hands because of me,” she suddenly said, tears filling her eyes.
“Oh, baby. This isn’t on you. He signed his death warrant the moment he touched you. I just wish I’d known earlier.”
He had to go to Oleg now. To teach him a lesson . . . to . . .
Fuck.
Colm took in the fear and pain on his girl’s face and knew he wouldn’t be leaving her just yet. He couldn’t.
Reaching down, he cupped her chin. Then he forced himself to sit and grab his T-shirt, which had dropped on the floor.
“You’re not . . . you’re not going now?”
“He’ll keep,” he said gruffly. “Right now, you need me more.”
A small sob escaped her and he knew that he’d made the right choice.
“It’s all right, baby. I’m here. I’m here.” He wished he could hold her tight, draw her onto his lap, and keep her there forever.
But her comfort was his priority and he didn’t want to cause her pain.
He cupped her face with his hands and gently wiped away the tears dripping down her cheeks.
“It’s all right, lass. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
He longed to question her further about Oleg. About why she would be with such an ass-pig. But he could also see that she was dead on her feet.
What she needed more than anything was sleep.
“I’m going to put this T-shirt on you, all right? Are the painkillers helping?”
She nodded as he drew the T-shirt over her head and she slowly put her arms through while holding the blanket up to cover herself.
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Are they really helping, Squirt, or are you lying to me?”
She winced and he wondered why. “What is it?”
“I, uh, you called me Squirt. I always feel like I’m your... your kid sister or something when you call me that.”
Ahh.
Right.
He cupped her chin and then gave into his instincts.
Just one small taste... it wouldn’t harm her. Leaning in, he kissed her. He took it further than he’d intended to, pressing his tongue into her mouth to play with hers.
She sighed. The lingering tension in her body faded away as she kissed him back.
Finally, he forced himself to draw away. He pressed his forehead to hers. “These feelings I have for you? They are definitely not brotherly. Trust me.”
“Good,” she whispered, her face as open and relaxed as he’d ever seen it.
It made him realize just how much tension she carried all the time.
Fuck.
Was she always worried? Always on alert?
Did she ever take the time to relax and pamper herself? Maybe she didn’t know how.
Perhaps she needed him to do that for her.
Some people might be shocked that the bodyguard of one of the biggest crime bosses in Texas knew how to pamper someone.
But he wanted to do it for her.
“And I won’t call you Squirt again, all right?”
Some of that worry returned.
What had he said?
He frowned. “What is it, lass?”
“I just... I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.”
Right.
So they were back to her doing her best to try to push him away from her.
“Not tonight,” he told her warningly. “I’m in charge until dawn. And I say you don’t get to worry about the future. You don’t concern yourself with how I’m feeling. You just let me take all of that on.”
“You really want to do that?”
“Baby, I need to. Just like I needed you to be in my clothes, not anyone else’s.”
She closed her eyes as he ran a finger down her cheek.
“You need sleep,” he told her.
The dark marks under her eyes were completely unacceptable. He hadn’t noticed them as much before. Had she worn make-up to cover them up?
“How long since you’ve had a good night’s sleep?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. She clearly liked the way he kept lightly running his finger over her skin.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked in a calm, quiet voice. He didn’t want to startle her.
“Nightmares.”
Keep calm.
He moved his other finger up to her temples and rubbed them. Sofia let out a soft sigh.
Good girl.
Let me take care of you.
He used one hand to massage her scalp, still running a finger of his other hand over her face. Along her nose, over her cheeks, then up to her forehead. Over and over until her breathing deepened.
Finally, he reluctantly drew away. Not because he wanted to but because he didn’t want to risk waking her up.
Colm wasn’t sure how long he sat there watching her. But the sound of a soft snore escaping her jolted him into awareness.
He had to grin. No doubt she’d be embarrassed if she realized she was snoring in front of him. Getting up, he stretched.
Fuck. He needed some sleep, but he was too wound up. His dick was still hard from seeing her breasts, touching them.
Shit. Reaching under his pants, he squeezed the stiff shaft.
Nope.
Giving himself a hand job while she slept was a step too far. If she woke up... well, no doubt she’d think him a pervert.
So he gave himself one last squeeze and promised his balls they weren’t always going to be in this amount of pain. That one day, he’d get to bury himself inside her.
Claim her the way he wanted to.
Stepping back, he glanced over at the armchair. He wanted to sleep beside her, but he didn’t want to jolt her and risk hurting her. He didn’t like that she had to sleep semi-reclined. Why hadn’t the doctor done more to help with her back pain? Surely something else could be done.
He made a mental list of all the things he had to look into when it came to her.
It was fast becoming a long list.
Grabbing the armchair, he dragged it over to the side of her bed. Maybe he wouldn’t sleep, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d stayed awake this long.
He’d only just sat when she let out a small whimper. Immediately, he stood and walked over to her.
Was she dreaming about what had happened tonight? He wouldn’t blame her if she was having a nightmare.
However, hadn’t she said that she’d been suffering from nightmares for a while?
But what were her previous nightmares about?
Oleg.
Had to be. That motherfucking ass-pig had a lot to answer for. How dare he mistreat Colm’s girl?
And how could you have let her stay with him? You should have gotten her away from him earlier.
Maybe then she wouldn’t be this haunted.
He ran his finger over her face. “Shh, baby. I’m here. I have you. I’m not going to let anyone harm you.”
The whimpers stopped and the lines on her face eased.
Regret and guilt hit him hard and fast.
This was his fault.
Deep down, he’d known something was wrong. He’d let her push him away.
Fuck.
What had Oleg done to her? It was nearly killing him not to know.
But he couldn’t push her too much when she was so fragile. It was clear to see she was close to the end of her endurance. As she slept, he took in her too-thin face. How had she managed to lose so much weight in a short amount of time?
Weight she couldn’t afford to lose.
Her skin was too pale. Her skin still looked red and sore in places.
Shit. It just occurred to him that she must have scrubbed her skin raw in the shower.
Washing off Oleg’s touch?
Yeah. She was fragile. She needed care and attention.
Not for him to demand that she tell everything.
Not for him to take her to his bed and not let her out until she agreed to be his.
Definitely not for him to demand that he let him claim her. In whatever way he needed to do that.
Which right now... included a ring, a permanent mark, and for her to never look at or talk to another man again.
Yeah.
He might be going a bit overboard.
Chill, man.
Let her get some sleep. We can take care of everything else later.
First was her health. Both mental and physical.
Then, he’d work on her heart.