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I shook my head. “I haven’t given that much thought. I’m more pissed that she was trying to pass my baby brother or sister off as my kid and thought I would just roll over and let her do whatever the hell she wanted.”
“Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, you’re not exactly a timid or meek kind of guy. If anything, you sometimes border on Neanderthal. A few times over the years, I actually thought I heard you growling ‘mine’ at people.”
“That’s because I did,” I told her as I stepped up behind her. Inhaling deeply, I breathed in her subtle, sweet floral scent and closed my eyes to savor my favorite smell. “You were always mine, Kitten.”
I felt her shiver, and I pressed against her harder. “Brax…” she breathed, but she didn’t shy away from my touch when I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back against my front.
“I love you, Nevaeh. I love you so fucking much. My life is worthless without you in it. Please, baby. Please don’t give up on us. Give me another chance.”
“Mmm, it smells so good in here,” Arella said as she came into the kitchen behind us. “Nev… Oh shit. Sorry, didn’t realize you had company.”
I turned my head to look at her over my shoulder. “Go back to bed,” I told her without releasing her sister.
“Yeah, no.” Arella walked to the fridge and pulled out a carafe of orange juice. “I’m wide awake, and I’m not leaving my sister all alone with you when she just spent the last few hours crying her eyes out over your ass.”
My heart clenched painfully at the thought of my kitten crying because of me, and I instinctively tightened my arms around Nevaeh, afraid she would pull away from me. “I’m not going to make her cry ever again,” I vowed to Arella.
She snorted. “Yeah, sure.”
“Arella,” Nevaeh said warningly. “Stop.”
She grumbled something under her breath and replaced the carafe in the fridge. “You need to get some sleep, Nevi. You look like a fucking ghost right now. Daddy will only worry about you if he sees you like this later.”
“I’m fine,” she muttered, stepping out of my arms.
“You’re not fine. When did you last sleep? I bet it wasn’t during this week while you studied your ass off for finals.” Arella looked at me to back her up. “Am I right? How much sleep did she get all week?”
She was right. Nevaeh had gotten maybe a few hours of sleep every night that week because she’d been studying hard for her finals. Not that she really needed to. She knew everything her professors tried to teach her already, and I had no doubt she could have easily aced those tests without having studied a single minute during the entire semester. Nevaeh was a perfectionist when it came to her education, something everyone on campus knew. More than one professor had groaned over the last two years when they realized they had her in their classes.
My lack of answer had Arella smirking. “Thought so.” The smirk dropped from her face when she faced her sister again. “When you have the veggies sautéed, you take your cute ass upstairs and sleep. There will be no going to the hospital for you if you don’t get at least five hours of rest. You will not see Daddy looking like a wraith because I refuse to have you stressing him out.”
My kitten’s shoulders slumped, and she gave a single nod. “You’re right. I don’t want to worry him or Mom. They’ve had enough to deal with lately.”
“Good girl.” Arella lifted her juice to her lips and took a swallow before walking over and taking the spoon from Nevaeh. “Actually, you go on up to bed. I’ll finish the soup. That way, I can take a little credit for it.”
Nevaeh gave a small laugh, earning her a wink from her younger sister.
“And, you.” Arella pointed the wooden spoon at me. “Go with her. Sleep in my bed.” Nevaeh started to protest, but Arella shook her head, waving her out of the room. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. You’re pissed at him and blah, blah, blah. Trust me on this, big sis. It might have been from a distance, but I’ve still been watching you two. We all have. And the way this guy looks at you… That is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what Mom and Daddy have. Which means I seriously doubt either of you could sleep without the other.”
“Not two minutes ago, you were ready to kick his ass. Now you want me to sleep beside him?” Nevaeh huffed angrily.
“You were crying then. And he just promised not to make you cry ever again.”
“Which you were all derisive about,” she reminded the younger girl.
“I hate when you use words like that. Can’t you just say I was being snarky and thought he was full of shit?” Sighing dramatically, she stirred the vegetables still sautéing in the pan on the stove. “The truth is, I believe him. And so should you. Now go upstairs and get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go back to the hospital.”
Not wanting to argue with Arella when I was getting exactly what I wanted, I scooped Nevaeh into my arms and carried her out of the kitchen. I carefully climbed the stairs to the second floor and glanced at her bedroom then at the other closed doors, unsure which was her sister’s room.
With a heavy sigh, she directed me to Arella’s bedroom, and I kicked the door open. Using my elbow, I turned on the overhead light so I could see where I was going on my way to the bed. Once she was safely in the middle of the mattress, I went back to shut and lock the door before switching off the light. On my way back, I kicked off my shoes and pulled my shirt over my head.
As I dropped down onto the bed beside her, I caught the sound of her soft gasp, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Brax—”
“Sleep,” I told her in a gruff voice, pressing my nose to the top of her sweet-smelling head. Closing my eyes, I inhaled slowly and forced all my muscles to relax so I could enjoy this. My sinuses stung with unshed tears, and I prayed this wasn’t the last time she let me do this. “Let me hold you. That’s all I want right now, Kitten. You can yell at me later. Just please, let me hold you.”
Chapter 22
