He nodded as we slid into the car together. A first-aid kit was already on the backseat of the SUV, and I grabbed it to tend to Maksim on the ride back.
“Yes, I’ll question him. Keep him alive until I can come over tomorrow.” He winced as he settled back against the seat.
“You’ll keephimalive, right?” Viktor leaned his forearm on the doorframe, peering inside at me.
“I think we’ll manage,” I quipped.
It was no laughing matter. Wounds could get infected. Injuries could be more serious than they appeared. But I wasn’t mocking the situation at all. I was relieved that these Volkovs could be this easygoing after a threat. It was another sign of their strength, this ease of rolling with the punches and so readily accepting this violent life.
It was a strength that I thought I had too.
“Let me see,” I told Maksim as the car began to drive off.
The crew behind us would investigate and clean it all up. I was itching to know how much my brother was involved in that ambush. It no longer seemed wise to assume hewasn’tagainst the Volkovs. Until I had more information, though, I could focus all my energy on my husband.
“It’s not that bad,” he said as he shifted on the seat to let me wipe at his wounds. Blood still oozed from the cuts, but I wasn’t worried. A little more compression would likely stop it completely. First, I had to clean it the best I could here in the car.
“It’s bad that you were hurt at all,” I argued lightly.
He raised his brows, watching me dab at his wounds with a disinfectant wipe. “Oh?”
I gave him a sassy smirk. “Yes.” Before I did anything else, I grabbed the bunched up handful of his shirt that he’d lifted up to pull him toward me. Smashing my mouth to his reset my equilibrium. I was grounded, content to feel the heat and hunger of his lips answering to the plea of mine.
He kissed me without holding back, parting my lips and slipping his tongue between them to taste me. But when he lifted his hand to cup the back of my head and guide me to where he wanted me, he hissed.
“Not that bad, huh?” I teased with a slight scold as he lowered his arm.
He let out a deep breath and rested his head back against the cushion. “Not that bad,” he repeated.
I tended to his wounds the best that I could on the ride back to his house. He had gotten lucky with only minimal scrapes. The bullets had grazed him, but they weren’t life-threatening hits. All they would do was add to the collection of scars littering his hard body.
We got into the house and headed straight for our bedroom.
“I’ve left supplies out for you,” Jeremiah told me when he appeared.
“Thank you.”
“Please let me know if you need anything else.”
I nodded at him, leading Maksim up the stairs. He wasn’t winded or so off-balance that hehadto lean on me. When he let his fingers graze against my breasts, though, I knew he was more than fine.
We entered the room together, but as soon as I closed the door, he pulled me against him and kissed me hard.
Too harshly.
I bumped against his chest and even that irritated the gash on his side.
He cursed, wincing.
“Let’s clean this up before you get any ideas.”
“Ialwayshave ideas where you’re concerned.”
I took his hand and smiled, warmed by his sexy stare on me as I led him to the bathroom.
“Any fantasies of me playing nurse?” I joked.
“You’re the star in all my fantasies,” he growled, trying once more to pull me into his arms.
