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I want you to be Xander. I want you to be the man I loved and lost, the one who I had hoped would one day love me back. The one who my heart still belongs to because I’ve had a crush on him for so long that I no longer know how to go on without him.
"I…" I twist my fingers together, "I want you to get better soon."
"Is that all?"
No.
No.
"Yes," I nod. "You saved my life and I don’t like seeing you in pain because of it."
"You have a soft heart," his lips twist, "but I am not sure it warranted my taking a bullet for you."
I gape.
"You see, I am not the kind of man who’d do something so selfless. And I definitely would not put my life at stake for someone else, especially not someone who—"
I narrow my gaze on him, "Someone who?"
"Someone like you, who’s clearly, not the kind of woman I am normally attracted to."
I open and shut my mouth, "Jesus, are you hearing yourself? For someone who can’t even pee by himself at the moment, you sure have a big ego."
"Not the only thing that’s big." He smirks.
I throw up my hands, "You are a horrible man, and your jokes are sexist."
"So I have been told." His grin widens.
Goddamn it, he’s even more attractive when he smiles. His features light up in a way Xander’s never did. Xander had been more introspective, more troubled about the state of the world, more brooding about his own internal conflict, while Axel… There’s a recklessness to him that comes through in the gleam in his eyes. In how he sprawls back in the bed, making the entire space feel too small for him. How he sucks up all the oxygen in the air, how he draws my attention to his face, to his chest, the length of his body partially hidden under the sheet. Even though his muscles will need rehab to regain his strength, thanks to the coma he’s been in… Still, there’s an aura of power that to clings to him, a cloak of dominance that seems to cover him from head to toe, a lazy authority that oozes from his very pores. It’s as if he’s got the best of all the Sovrano brothers, and more. All that charisma locked away and ready to be unleashed on some poor unsuspecting mortal like me. Hell, without even trying, he’s positively overpowering me… How the hell will he be when he’s on his feet and dressed to kill? I’ll probably combust if I am in his presence then. Not that I am not all hot and bothered now. A bead of sweat runs down between my breasts and I shiver.
"Hey." He snaps his fingers and I blink. "You okay?" he asks.
"Don’t I look okay?" I demand.
"No need to get defensive; I was just being polite."
"I see you are awake?" Both Axel and I turn toward the door.
Luca swaggers in, then throws himself down on the chair I recently vacated. "This one," he jerks his chin in my direction, "deserves a medal. Not only has she been by your bedside since you were brought out of surgery, but the first thing she did after regaining consciousness earlier was ask about you."
My cheeks flush. "I was simply doing what was right," I mutter.
"But you might be wasting your attentions on the wrong guy," Luca warns.
I glance from Luca to Axel, whose face is wiped of all expression. If that offended him, he isn’t showing it. Damn, but it’s so difficult to get a read on this man. He seems to keep everything bottled up inside… Except for his ego, of course, which pushes him to make stupid remarks like he had earlier.
"I’m not sure that’s a nice thing to say," I scowl at Luca.
"It’s a fact." He raises a shoulder. "Best to say what’s on my mind, right?"
"Don’t let us stop you," Axel says dryly.
"You couldn’t, even if you wanted to." Luca looks him up and down pointedly, "How long is it going to be before you get on your feet again?"
"The doctor thinks it’s going to be at least a month of intensive rehab. I bet him I’ll be walking again in two weeks."
"Two weeks?" I turn on him, "You were unconscious for two weeks. No way, can you regain your muscle strength and get back on your feet that quickly."
