“I didn’t fall asleep,” he murmurs. “Now tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. Something’s bothering you.”
“How the hell did you know?” I whisper, disbelief heavy in my tone.
“Your breathing. And you’ve been wiggling your toes nonstop.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Stop avoiding it. Tell me.” A brief pause. “Rule number two, remember?”
Dammit. He just had to bring out the big guns.
I exhale sharply, trying to release the frustration scratching at my brain. Then I rush the words out so fast, it feels like my lips are tripping over each other.
“I can’t saythethree words back to you. You know which ones. You keep saying them, and I like it. But no matter what, it’s impossible for me to say them.” I squeeze his fingers. My voice drops to a whisper. “I know it’s still early for us this time around, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say them to you, Dominic. And I don’t want you to expect something that might never come.”
My heart stutters when his fingers slip from mine, but settles when his hand comes back, wrapping around mine completely.
“Is that why you’ve been overworking your toes?” he asks lightly.
He doesn’t sound upset. It makes me frown.
His tone shifts, turning serious. “Stop overthinking, Adora. We both know why you can’t say them. But I don’t need the words anyway. I just needyou.”
He yawns, then exhales deeply before speaking again, his thumb brushing over my hand.
“If you really want to, you can just spit in my drink once in a while. To let me know how you feel.”
The absolute solemnity in his voice makes me huff out a quiet laugh.
“Okay,” I murmur, smiling now. “It’s a deal.”
He yawns again, and this time I can’t stop myself from following. The sound of Gary jumping down from somewhere briefly registers. The panic in my chest loosens its grip, and peace settles around me once again, warmer now. My toes stop moving, and my eyelids grow heavy.
“Good night, Dominic,” I murmur, already drifting.
“Good night, adorable. I love you,” he answers, voice rough with sleep.
My mind is finally quiet.
I’m busy brushing my teeth and making faces at myself in the bathroom mirror when the loudest sneeze I’ve ever heard rattles the walls. It’s immediately followed by a high-pitched hiss and a short, shouted curse.
Oh, no. That’s not fucking good.
I sprint out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over Gary as he bolts past me, and skid to a stop beside the bed.
My hands hover over Dominic, shaking. I don’t know where to touch him. Or even if I should.
He’s clenching his jaw, his face twisted in pain, one hand clutching his side, the other fisted in his sweatpants.
Shit. And he was sleeping so peacefully. I don’t even want to think about the kind of pain that sneeze just caused. It’s only been a week since he got out of the hospital.
“Meds. Pain meds,” I rush out, my tongue finally working. “I’ll bring you some.”
He shakes his head, then squeezes his eyes shut and stays like that for a long moment, just trying to breathe.
“Your cat just tried to kill me,” he rasps when the pain eases enough for him to speak.
My eyebrows shoot up. My hands finally start to steady.
“What the hell did he do?”
He groans, his body slowly sinking back into the mattress.
