12. Leonardo
Leonardo
Iwas mated. Sandro had surprised me, and he’d claimed me.
And seriously, the man had stamina. More than I honestly expected, with him still recovering from his injuries.
That definitely wasn’t the case. He’d claimed me, then proceeded to show me what he was capable of, and we spent the entire day in bed.
And then…then I remembered little to nothing after that.
I rolled over and found myself in bed alone. That wasn’t really the issue. It was the fact that I felt like I had been beaten up. I closed my eyes, thinking about Sandro, and discovered that he was downstairs.
“I’ll be right there, mio amato.”
I smiled. “No need to hurry. I’ll be here.
” I thought about it for a moment. “Maybe trying to get to the bathroom if needed.” I was almost positive that I was going to need the bathroom very soon.
I rolled over onto my back and groaned when my back twinged.
I heard chuckling through our bond, and I wanted to scowl at Sandro, but it was no use.
He wouldn’t see it. “Really? You’re laughing at me? ”
“I would never do such a thing,” Sandro replied. I heard him on the stairs, and seconds later, he appeared at the top. I lifted my head, smiled, then let it fall back to the pillow.
“I would ask what happened, but I know what happened. But I really want to know how long I was in heat for.”
Sandro appeared above me, and when he looked down at me, it wasn’t with humor but caring concern. “Seven, almost eight days.”
I cringed. “Really? That long?”
Sandro nodded. “According to my phone, yes.” He set a cup of something on the bedside table, then reached for me.
I wasn’t given much of a choice or warning.
I was suddenly lifted from the bed, and although I didn’t have much energy, I had enough to wrap one arm around Sandro’s back and grab hold of his shoulder.
“Are you taking me to the toilet?” I asked. I really hoped that was where we were going because my bladder definitely needed to be emptied.
“Yes. And while you sit there and take care of any business you might have, I’ll start the bath. Did you want me to join you in the tub?”
I could already scent that Sandro had showered at some point, so there was no need for him to join me in the tub. “You don’t have to. You’ve already showered.”
Sandro set me down just in front of the toilet, and I was so grateful that he didn’t let go of my waist. If he had, I would have crumpled there on the floor.
“Just because I have already showered does not mean that I won’t join you in the bath.
It is quite enjoyable to hold you in the tub.
Even more so to wash you.” I was too busy sighing in relief at the ability to empty my bladder that I couldn’t answer just yet.
Did I want Sandro in the tub with me? Sure.
What omega wouldn’t want their sire in the bath with them.
But he’d been doing something else. What I wasn’t certain about was what, exactly.
If he had something important that he needed to do, I didn’t want to take him away from that.
Sandro went to the tub and started the water. He picked up some dark bottle that wasn’t there before that I could remember and poured the entire contents into the tub.
“What’s that?”
“I can’t say for certain, but it’s from Rio.
It is supposed to help take away your aches and pains.
” Sandro turned back toward me and smiled.
I wasn’t going to say anything about something being added to the water for that.
I definitely ached. And there was quite a bit of pain in several different places.
“How are you feeling?” I asked. Sandro hadn’t exactly been feeling the best when we first arrived here, and I would imagine that him suddenly having a feline shifter in heat to take care of didn’t help any of that pain.
“I’m good,” he told me. He was now standing in front of me, and I sat on the toilet and watched as he slowly started undoing the buttons on the front of his shirt.
“What are you doing?” I asked. It was a dumb question because it was obvious what he was doing. He was getting undressed to join me in the tub.
“Isn’t that obvious?” Sandro’s shirt slid from his shoulders, and he let it fall to the floor.
“I mean, yeah, but you already showered. And you were doing something when I woke.”
“You are correct on both accounts. I was downstairs having a coffee. I brought you some juice, and I will bring that to you once I get you into the tub.” Sandro tilted his head. “Are you finished? Do you need help with anything there?”
I shook my head. “I mean, I’m finished, but I don’t need any help. I only went pee. My body isn’t saying I need to do more than that at the moment.” I was certain it would later, but not now.
“Very well. Then up and over to the tub with you,” Sandro said just before he reached under my arms and lifted me. I didn’t have time to protest. I suddenly found myself on my feet, and Sandro was helping me walk the few steps toward the tub. “Can you step in if I hold you?”
“Yeah,” I told him. I wasn’t sure I could or not, but I was going to at least try. The tub was nice, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as some of the ones that were in the pride house in Rome.
I carefully stepped over the side, and after Sandro helped me sit in the warm water, I winced at first, but it quickly turned to a sigh when the flash of sting turned to something soothing.
“I’ll go get your juice and then join you.”
Sandro was gone before I could respond. I watched him go, and it was only then that I discovered that he was wearing what looked like some sort of linen lounge pants. He was barefoot, and why was that incredibly sexy? Seriously.
I scooted toward the middle of the tub, then leaned back against the side and closed my eyes.
Sandro was back just seconds later, and I turned my head and smiled at him.
“When you talk to Rio next, can you tell him thank you for me? Whatever this oil or whatever is, it’s really nice,” I said without much thought.
Sandro grinned. “I will. He certainly has quite the ability to help omegas in ways that I can’t.” Sandro held out the juice cup, and I sat up and reached for it.
“I didn’t mean it that way, Sandro. I would actually prefer that you do all of my care if I’m pregnant.
I think it would be wonderful to have my mate be the one taking care of me during something like that.
” I took a drink of juice and closed my eyes.
It was pure bliss. There was another bit of sting in my throat, but that was quickly soothed by the cool liquid.
“I will provide you with care if you wish. But I’ve seen the abilities of Rio. He can provide things that I cannot.” Sandro pulled on the drawstring of his pants, and then they simply slid down his body and pooled on the floor.
I sighed, a bit frustrated. “If you want me to go with Rio, I’ll go with Rio.
It doesn’t really matter yet because we don’t even know if I’m pregnant or not.
” Sandro raised an eyebrow at me. “What?” I moved when Sandro lifted his leg and stepped into the tub.
He turned the water off before he sat down, and after I finished my juice, I set the cup on the floor at the other end.
I moved in between his legs, then leaned back and closed my eyes when Sandro’s arms wrapped loosely around me.
“I would be incredibly surprised if you didn’t catch, mio amato.”
“Was it bad?” I asked.
“Why would your heat be bad? I can certainly understand if you were to have to spend it alone. It was intense, for one. You were quite insatiable for the first five days. Then the last two to two and a half, you were still very much needy, but not to the same level.”
I sighed. “Hopefully, I caught, and we can have a baby, and then suppressors will work for us in the foreseeable future. I’m sorry about you having to go through that with me. But only because I know you were in a lot of pain when we first arrived here.”
Sandro’s arms slightly tightened around me.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret. You would know it if you only looked into my mind as you can now.
But since we claimed each other and I’ve fed from you several times, I have started to feel so much better.
Even a few of the smaller scars have all but disappeared. ”
I leaned to the side and looked up at Sandro as best as I could. “Really?”
He nodded. It was incredibly uncomfortable to look at him that way, so I turned back around and leaned my head against his shoulder again. “That’s wonderful news. Do you need to feed from me again? Will that help you heal even more?”
Sandro kissed my temple. “That’s incredibly sweet of you to offer, and I very much would like to feed from you again.
It is in my nature. But I do not need to at the moment, no.
You need a very large meal when your body will allow for it, but I won’t need to feed from you for at least another week. ”
I smiled. I’d been able to provide something for my mate. I was almost certain that I’d never have anything to offer, but I’d been wrong. I’d been able to give him something that apparently he couldn’t get elsewhere.
Sandro sighed behind me. “We’ll continue to work on your sense of self-worth. You have much more to provide than you realize.”
Sandro went quiet for a moment, and I closed my eyes, thinking about what he’d just said.
He wasn’t wrong, and if my parents were still alive, I knew that they would be incredibly upset with me about how I was always putting myself down.
It hadn’t taken long for those in the pride to completely kill my self-respect after my parents were no longer around.
“I didn’t use to think so little of myself,” I said.
“I know,” Sandro said. “From your memories, you’ve been through a lot since your parents died. There won’t be anyone at the coven that will put you down. If anyone ever bothers you, speak up, and they will be put in their place.”