12. Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Ettore
M y eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing fuzzy surroundings. Where was I? My body ached and throbbed with pain, like I had been hit by a bus. Things came more in to focus, and it was clear I was in a hospital setting, but I struggled to remember how I ended up in this place.
“Nice of you to join the world of the living,” a voice said.
I tilted my head and saw Cesare, our doctor. The puzzle pieces began to slowly piece themselves back together. I had been with Liria; she had almost gotten kidnapped, I got shot, and now I was here. The full scene was still hazy, but I remembered the general sequence of events.
“As if that would kill me.” My voice was raspy, and I desperately needed water.
He frowned at me. “One day it will. I’m getting old; I won’t be here to do this forever!”
I had heard the speech time and time again. He wasn’t wrong; Cesare was our only doctor, and no mafioso was currently in med school.
“Yeah, yeah.” I would have lifted my hand to wave him off, but my body felt like lead. “Where is Liria?”
“In the waiting room. She’s been asking about you every fifteen minutes.”
“Yeah?” I said, the corner of my mouth lifting up in a smile. “Let her in, then.”
Cesare nodded, dismissing himself to the door. As he pulled it open, I could see a flash of dark hair and the sound of a sob stifled quickly. Liria rushed in, her eyes wide and bright as they took me in.
“You dummy,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “You could’ve died.”
“Almost did,” I replied. “But there was no way I’d let my cute little wife be kidnapped.”
“Not funny!”
She moved towards the bed, grasping my hand in hers. Her grip was tight, almost painfully so, but I didn’t complain. Instead, I squeezed back with as much strength as my weak body could muster.
Liria crumpled onto the bed, her face pressed into the sheets. I could feel the dampness of her tears seeping through the fabric. Her sobs shook her body, each one a sharp stab of pain. The room was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by Liria’s muffled cries.
“Come here,” I said, opening the crook of my left shoulder, which hadn’t been shot. She was awkwardly positioned on the middle of the bed and it couldn’t have been comfortable.
“But you’re hurt,” she said apprehensively.
“Not on this side.” It was a lie. It would probably hurt a little, but it hurt more to see Liria sad.
She hesitated for a moment, assessing me with puffy red eyes. Then she slowly crawled into the spot I had made for her, curling into me with careful precision. I winced as her body brushed against my chest, but quickly masked it with a half-smile.
“Don’t do it again,” she mumbled.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t make promises that I wouldn’t do it again, because I likely would. Whether it be protecting her or executing a mission, I would most likely find myself in a situation like that again.
Liria’s tears wetted my shoulder for what felt like an eternity until she finally fell silent. Her breaths became shallow and steady, and I could tell she had drifted off to sleep.
Cesare reluctantly gave me permission to return home, with strict orders for bed rest. One of my men drove Liria and I back to our place, the car stained with remnants of the blood I had spilled earlier. Once we arrived, he set off again to work on cleaning the car. Scrubbing away any evidence of the violent event that occurred within its walls.
“Looks like I’ll be staying home for awhile,” I muttered to myself.
I had so much to do with taking over Leone’s businesses. But I wouldn’t be able to move much after getting shot in the chest. Hopefully, I could get a lot of office work done from home.
“Tch,” Liria said, her lips forming into a pout. “I’ll chain you to the sofa if you try to leave.”
“Kinky.”
She shot me an icy glare, clenching her jaw. I could tell I was walking a very thin line, but I couldn’t help but push it further.
“I’d rather chain you up in bed,” I smirked, cupping her jaw with my hand. “It would look much better.”
“I-Why, You!” she turned bright red, so flustered she couldn’t form a complete sentence. She just walked away, into the second bedroom I used as a gym, and slammed the door shut behind her.
The silence that followed was punctuated by the distant hum of the city; cars honking, people chatting, life moving on as if the world hadn’t almost lost one of its inhabitants. Alone in the vast living room, I felt the weight of my injuries.
The painkillers Cesare had given me were starting to wear off, bringing forth an agonizing throb in my chest. I grimaced and clutched at my side, my knuckles turning white from the effort. It was a stark reminder of how close I had come to meeting my maker.
The pain was too much to stand up and get the painkillers, so I resigned myself to turning on the TV, hoping to find something to distract me from the pain. I ended up on the Discovery Channel, watching lions rip apart their prey.
How oddly similar we were.
The throbbing ache in my chest intensified with every passing minute, making it nearly impossible to sit still. I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer - I had to face the pain head on and stand up. With a deep breath, I used the chair arm to help myself up. As I stood, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I promptly fell to the floor.
In between waves of pain I heard the little pitter patters of footsteps.
“What are you doing?” Liria’s panicked voice asked.
“Just needed to grab the painkillers.”
She blinked at me, her eyes wide with a mix of exasperation and concern. “Why didn’t you call for me? You’re in no condition to walk around like this!”
“Thought you were still pissed from the chains comment,” I said, managing to sound casual despite the pain.
Liria sighed, shaking her head as she raced away. A few moments later, she returned with a glass of water and the small white pill that promised relief from the pain. I could feel her hands trembling slightly as she helped me sit up and handed me the medication.
“You should go to bed,” she said, after I had swallowed the pill.
“No complaints here.”
Liria rolled her eyes but helped me to my feet nonetheless. I could feel the strain as she tried to lift me, her slender body trembling under my weight. But she managed, and we made the slow journey toward the bedroom.
She awkwardly laid me down on the bed.
“Ok. Goodnight, then,” she said, turning to face the door.
“Y’know,” I started. “You laid in the hospital bed with me. I’m pretty sure we can share an actual bed, too.” I gestured to the other side. “Look, there’s so much space we don’t even have to touch.”
Liria’s gaze lingered on the empty space next to me. I could only imagine how many thoughts were running through her mind at this moment; she was likely torn between comfort and propriety. Her body was sore from sleeping on the air mattress, but she didn’t consider it acceptable to share a bed with a man who was not her romantic partner.
Even though I was her husband.
“F-fine,” she said, too embarrassed to look me in the eye.
“Oh?” I responded, surprised she said yes.
“Yes.” She reached in my drawers and tossed me my pajamas. It was a full set with a top and a bottom. “Now put these on.”
It would be eighty degrees tonight.
“It’s way too hot for that,” I said, raising an eyebrow at her. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me a stern look.
“Well, I won’t share a bed if you’re…half naked,” she said, near whispering the second part.
“Alright,” I responded, grabbing the pajamas from her.
She left the room, promising to return once I was decent. The process of changing clothes was more physically exhausting than I wanted to admit. My wound throbbed with every movement, and by the time I had pulled on the top and bottom of my pajama set, beads of sweat were dotting my forehead.
Liria knocked lightly on the door. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
She walked in wearing her own set of pajamas - a two piece set that covered her arms and legs. When I pictured Liria in my bed, it was always with no clothing. I couldn’t help but mentally undress her as she got closer to the bed.
My cock began to harden, and I shifted so Liria wouldn’t see the tent in my pants.
Liria climbed into the bed cautiously, keeping as much distance between us as possible without falling off the edge. Then, she began creating a pillow wall under the blanket.
“Seriously?” I said.
“Yes!”
I watched her build the wall in amusement. “Good idea. I heard you can get pregnant if you share a bed with someone.”
“Shut up,” she said, lightly tapping my face with a pillow.
“Well,” I said, my voice lowering an octave. “If you share a bed with me, you might.”
I didn’t miss the way her thighs crossed under the covers, her core desperate for friction.