26
A noise makes me open my eyes and sit up abruptly in bed.
My breathing is erratic as I try to make out the objects in the room, searching for whatever has caught my attention.
When I hear a growl, all my senses are immediately alerted.
I pull myself away from the sheets to turn on the lamp on the bedside table.
“Who’s there?” I ask, grabbing the scissors I keep under my pillow.
I glance around the bedroom until my eyes fall on a dark figure next to the big window. When he looks up, revealing those blue eyes that I quickly recognize, I gasp.
“Alek?” I cry out in a muffled scream before rushing over to where he is.
As I get closer, I immediately notice that he is covering his right side with his hand.
“Are you okay? What happened to you?” I whisper when I see the amount of blood coming from there.
He barely moves his head to nod. I help him sit down on the sofa, afraid of hurting him further.
“Stay here. I’ll go get a first aid kit.
” Before I can take any action, he grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him until I am sitting on his lap.
“I’m fine. Just a few stitches came out,” he says in a hoarse voice, his face hidden in the crook of my neck.
“Stitches? What happened to you?” I ask in a choked voice. My eyes move uneasily over his T-shirt.
“I had to leave town for a few hours and I couldn’t text you back.
” When I lift his shirt a little, my eyes open in horror, seeing some loose threads on his side and the open wound with blood coming out of it.
“I’m sorry about that. I promise I’ll make it up to you.
” His words make no sense to me right now.
He’s bleeding to death in my room, and all he cares about is apologizing to me for not replying to a message I sent him a few hours ago.
“I’m fine, Lena, stop worrying,” he says softly, bringing his lips close to my face. I close my eyes as he begins to plant short kisses on my cheek, then my chin, until he reaches my lips. Before he can do anything else. I quickly get up from his lap.
“No. You’re not fine, you’re bleeding.” He presses his lips together and tries to move closer to me in a quick, abrupt movement. “Stop moving, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Let me go with you then.”
“No, stay here. Listen to me, please.”
He sits down reluctantly and I rush to the bathroom, looking for the first aid kit. I grab it from the cabinet and set it on the counter. I take out some bandages, a needle and thread, and a little of rubbing alcohol. I have no idea how I should act now, so I just let my instincts guide me.
“I need you to take off your shirt.”
“Will you help me?” He asks with a cocky smile. His hands resting on either side of my hips. I nod, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks when I notice the bulge in his pants. Focus, Lena.
With clumsy, careful movements, I pull his shirt over his head. He puts me back on his lap and starts kissing the curve of my neck. I try to pull away, but his hands hold me by the hips.
“Stay still,” I whisper as he slips one of his hands inside my pajama pants, slowly caressing my inner thigh.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers, nibbling on the skin of my collarbone. I bite my tongue, keeping my composure and avoiding letting out a moan of pleasure when he starts sucking on that spot.
“Me too, but we have to heal that.” He continues to ignore my demands, entertaining himself with my neck. His fingers are now about to brush against my panties.
I give him a gentle push that makes him move his face away from my neck. Then I take advantage of his confusion to grab the alcohol and a piece of cotton while still sitting on his lap.
“This is going to hurt a little,” I say before bringing the cotton wool with the alcohol to the wound, first removing the dried blood stains. He doesn’t move or anything, he just watches my every move.
When I’m done, I put it aside. He looks back into my eyes with that intensity and sparkle that is so characteristic of him.
“This too.” I hold the thread and needle in my trembling hands.
When I pierce his skin with the needle, he doesn’t seem to flinch. Judging by his calm breathing and the sigh he lets out as he closes his eyes, I’d say he even enjoys it.
I don’t take my eyes off the gruesome sight for a moment, but I feel relieved to see that at least he has stopped bleeding, with only a few drops staining his jeans.
“Does it hurt a lot? I have some strong painkillers,” I say, intending to rummage through the medicine cabinet. He pulls me close with his bloody fingers, inhaling the scent of my hair.
“No, with you by my side, I could endure any pain.” His finger slowly caresses my cheek, leaving a trail of his blood, causing a tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach that I quickly forget, not wanting to know why or how it got there.
He lets his head fall on top of mine, staring straight ahead, while I wrap my arms around him and rest my cheek on his chest. I close my eyes, enjoying the sound of his wild heartbeat.
It seems to calm down until he starts slowly stroking my hair, and that’s when his heartbeat becomes stronger and even faster than before.
“Let’s take a shower,” he says with an intense look. I just look at him with a pout on my lips. It’s three in the morning. “I want to clean up this mess.”
I haven’t noticed that all my clothes, as well as part of my hair and face, are stained with traces of blood.
“Okay. Let’s go then.” I gasp when he unexpectedly picks me up in his arms and I have to wrap my legs around his waist. “Put me down, you’ll hurt yourself.”
Far from obeying me, he ignores my words and walks to the bathroom, then sets me down on the large shower mat. We look at each other, not knowing what to do.
“I guess we have to take our clothes off,” he says in a hoarse voice, looking away with his cheeks slightly flushed. I still find it incredible that he blushes at these things.
When he starts taking off his clothes and leaving them on the floor, I do the same with my back to him, until I’m left in my panties.
My heart races and my hands sweat as I wonder if I should take them off too.
It’s stupid, considering he’s seen parts of me that even I can’t see, but somehow this feels more intimate.
Seeing his boxers lying on the floor gives me confidence to get rid of my panties.
The next thing we do is step into the shower in an uncomfortable silence.
It’s the first time he’s been naked in front of me.
His nerves are reflected in his movements, and his eagerness not to look me in the eye at any point.
I want to tell him how devilishly beautiful he is, but my brain is busy trying not to convulse.
My hands tingle, wanting to caress every inch of his skin. Especially the parts stained red.
Even though my bathroom is larger than normal, the shower is not big enough to hold both of us.
We barely have room to move, which means I have to get closer to his chest to turn on the hot water.
I press my lips together as I smell the scent of iron closer, and with one false move I manage to step on his foot.
“Sorry,” I whisper, looking up at his neutral expression. He reaches for something next to the faucet, his hand brushing my cheek for a moment, causing my muscles to stiffen.
“Turn around,” he demands in a hoarse voice. I take a while to do as he asks. Having him in front of me like that makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything other than his lips moving slowly and the drops of water sliding down his torso.
I stifle a sound as I feel something cold fall on my head, then he begins to massage my scalp very slowly with the shampoo before bringing the shower head, washing away the dirt and shampoo from my hair.
The warm water and his hands massaging my scalp relax my muscles, and a pleasant sound escapes my lips.
When he places his hands on my waist, I feel a small current run through me from the lower part of my belly to my chest. As I turn toward him unexpectedly, I open my eyes and, almost unconsciously, rest my hands on his abdomen and then wrap my arms around his neck as he lifts me up, holding the lower part of my arse.
“I love you,” he whispers close to my lips. I feel every empty space inside me filling up, allowing my lungs and heart to function with more vitality. The blood in my veins runs so fast that it makes me tremble, but his arms hold me so tightly that it’s barely noticeable.
I bring his mouth close to mine in a slow, careful kiss that shows what my lips are currently unable to say. He puts me back on the floor, but not before giving me a small kiss on the lips. Then he takes the hose to his wound, rubbing it to remove the dried blood from the spot.
Once we are both clean, we get out of the shower. In less than a minute, I have my body wrapped in a towel that he brings me. Sometimes I think he knows my room better than I do.
“Thank you,” I whisper, securing the towel and making sure it doesn’t fall. Then I start drying myself with my back to him.
When I turn around, I find myself completely alone, which I take advantage of to put on my panties more calmly, getting rid of the towel completely.
He soon returns with a black T-shirt in his hands, and on impulse I cover my breasts with my hands as I watch him approach with a deeper frown than usual.
Then he drops the T-shirt somewhere in the floor and holds my face, showering me with kisses.
“You are the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen, and that will never change, no matter what.” His firm words and gentle caresses on my cheeks warm something in my chest.
I part my lips, pushing myself up and brushing our noses together. He rests his lips on my nose for a few milliseconds before moving back a few inches and pulling the T-shirt over my head, then my arms. Right now, I feel like some kind of doll.