AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Knowing this was the only chance I would get to see her, I quietly opened the door and stepped in. The bedroom was in darkness, but the bathroom door was cracked open with the light on, giving the room just enough illumination to let me see Tavia lying on her back, her eyes closed as she slept.
There were oxygen tubes in her nose, helping her breathe. Raven told me earlier that she needed to speak to the doctor who made house calls for the MC and get the order placed for it since Tavia’s pain was making breathing hard for her. The doctor had come, checked her over, and left after setting up the new machine that sat quietly beside her bed.
On the way out, he spoke to me, reassuring me Tavia was doing well, and with Raven looking after her, she would be in the best of hands.
I stepped closer to the bed, my eyes eating up the sight of her. Even pale and fragile-looking, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever set eyes on. That long dark hair that was so thick it curtained her when it fell into her face. The doe eyes that were so dark when I looked into them while I was deep inside her, I felt like I was falling into an abyss I couldn’t climb out of until she whispered my name. Full, kissable lips, straight, cute nose, and the slightest dimple in her chin that combined made up a face I would never get tired of staring at for hours.
Balling my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her, I turned to go, not wanting to disturb her sleep.
Before I could take a step, I heard her shifting, and then a tiny moan escaped her. “No,” she breathed, and I turned back to her. “No. Don’t touch me. No. No. No!”
Dropping down onto the edge of her bed, I cupped her jaw in my hand. “Tavia,” I murmured softly, and her eyes snapped open, her breathing labored despite the oxygen tubes in her nose. Fear marred her beautiful face as her gaze darted around, frantically trying to figure out where she was. “It’s okay, krasotka. You’re safe, baby.”
“Y-Yerik,” she panted. “He… I couldn’t…get away. He tried…” Tears spilled over her lashes. “And I couldn’t…”
The memory of her shirt torn, exposing her bra, Yerik touching her, and then me putting a bullet in his head flashed before my eyes. Renewed rage filled me, and I ached to kill him again. In that moment, I knew how easy it was to hate someone so much that you would want their entire line annihilated. I wanted to wipe out every member of Yerik’s family for what he’d done to Tavia.
I rubbed my thumb over her bottom lip, still slightly swollen, the cut having already scabbed over. The bruise along her jaw had changed colors, but it would be a while before it completely faded.
“It’s okay,” I told her again, but I knew they were empty words to her when she started to tremble so hard, she whimpered in pain. Taking her hands in both of mine, I lifted them to my lips, kissing each hand. “Yerik is dead. He can never touch you again.”
“Y-you killed him,” she whispered, her brow pinching with confusion. “Y-you saved me. Why?”
“Because I fucking love you more than life itself. Seeing Yerik’s hands on you drove me crazy with rage and possessiveness.” I wiped away her tears with the pad of my thumb. “You belong to me and only me. You are mine to love and protect.”
And I was doing a shit job of both. The woman I cared about the most in the world was lying there, scared and in pain, not believing that I loved her, and it was all my fault.
“Theo.” She swallowed with difficulty, but the fear was no longer on her face, and the trembling was slowly starting to fade. “Will you…hold me?”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. That she wanted me to hold her, touch her at all, was more than I could have asked for. Standing, I kicked off my shoes and slid into the bed beside her.
Tavia hesitantly pillowed her head on my chest, and I carefully wrapped my arms around her, afraid I would hurt her. Almost shyly, she placed her hand across my stomach as she tried to get comfortable. I just lay there, letting her shift until she found the right spot. A soft sigh left her, and a few minutes later, her breathing evened out and I knew she was asleep once again.
Pressing my lips to her brow, I closed my eyes. But as soon as I did, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. I hadn’t slept in more than forty-eight hours, and the feel of her in my arms felt so damn good t
hat my muscles started to relax one by one and the exhaustion caught up with me.
Chapter 10
Theo
The next thing I knew, Raven was touching my shoulder. “Theo,” she murmured.
My eyes snapped open, and I quickly looked at Tavia, making sure she was okay. She was sound asleep beside me, her face relaxed as she cuddled into my side, her hand still lying across my lower stomach.
“She’s fine,” Raven assured me. “I gave her another dose of pain medication about an hour ago, and she fell right back to sleep.”
“What time is it?” I glanced at the window, but it was still dark out, so that didn’t tell me anything about the time.
“Just after five. I didn’t want to wake you, but Bash is going to work and wants to talk to you before he leaves.” She walked to the end of the bed. “Go ahead. I’ve got Tavia covered.”
Nodding, I carefully untangled myself from around Tavia. But before I stood, I kissed her brow. She sighed softly and turned her head away, her lashes not even flickering as she continued to sleep peacefully.
“The more sleep she gets at this point, the better. Her body needs time to recover, and as long as she’s awake and constantly shifting around, the harder it is for that to happen.” Raven patted me on the arm as I walked past her. “You look like shit, by the way. I made coffee, and Flick is making breakfast.”
Downstairs, the smell of coffee was too much to resist, and I grabbed a mug. When I turned around, Bash and Jet were both sitting at the kitchen table. Felicity stood at the stove, platters of bacon and pancakes already loaded up.
“How do you like your eggs, Theo?” she asked as she placed another pancake on a plate.
