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Before panic could set in, Gideon leaned in and pressed a warm kiss against my forehead. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the tingling to flow through me that came just from his sweet kiss on my head. He stepped back, letting his hand drop from my cheek. Back at the door, he turned to look at me again.
“I’m really happy you’re back, stellina. I missed you.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again, not sure what the appropriate response was. Would I have eventually come back to their house if we had worked out our disagreements? Or would we have taken things much slower, with me living at the apartment? I didn’t know the answer to that and I didn’t want to feel like the only reason I was living in their house again was for protection.
No matter what, I had missed them, but when I looked up to tell Gideon exactly that, the doorway was empty. My chest felt heavy, surprising me that I could even feel anything after everything I had gone through. I was a swirling mass of emotions that I was trying to not feel all at once.
Turning toward the bathroom again, I put my clean clothes on the counter and turned on the shower. Under the steaming hot spray, I let the water flow over my body. My thigh was still wrapped in a water tight bandage that wasn’t to come off for a few more days. But I badly needed to scrub the rest of my body. Once the shower was heavy with my lavender scented products, I could feel some normalcy in my mind, even if it was only a small sliver.
I dressed quickly and wrapped my towel dried hair on the top of my head. When I came out of the bathroom, Ash was sitting on the edge of my bed, flipping through a magazine. Her head popped up the moment I opened the door and a huge grin appeared on her face.
“This place is crazy, Brooklyn. It’s huge. But like feels like a home, know what I mean?”
“Well, it is a home,”I said, shooting her an ironic look.
“I know, I know. But the club kings of the city just seem above family life. I see now I was quite wrong.”She slid back onto my bed, propping herself up on my pillows.
I moved around the room, moving things here and there, though nothing needed fixing. The guys had left everything justhow I liked it, not even considering turning my room back into their guest space. I went to my suitcase and bent to grab the zipper, but instead, I slipped to the side and caught myself with my hand, my head swimming.
“Brooklyn!”Ash jumped from the bed and rushed to my side.
I shook my head slightly and lowered myself to a sitting position before I tried to stand. Ash crouched in front of me, looking into my face, searching for what was wrong.
“I’m ok. Just moving around too much, I think,”I said, pushing her hands away from my face.
“Brooklyn?”Oliver’s voice came from the hallway and I could hear his feet moving fast.
When his face came into view, it was clear that he had heard Ash’s cry when I fell. He bent to scoop me into his arms before even checking me out. Carefully, he placed me on the edge of the bed and his hands came up to frame my jaw. He tilted my face up, with his thumbs under my chin. His gaze was critical, but I could see the worry creasing his forehead. Without a thought, I reached up and rubbed against the wrinkles and Oliver froze.
“I’m ok.”My voice was a whisper, as I snapped my hand back.
“She’s doing too much. She needs to rest,”Ash said from behind Oliver.
I nodded the little that Oliver’s hands allowed and waited until he saw everything he needed to. When he released my face, his hands slid down to my shoulders to squeeze before he stepped back.
“I’m ok. You don’t need to hover, Oliver.”My words were meant to be in jest, but when I saw him flinch, I knew they came out more harshly than I intended.
I motioned for him to come back toward me. His first step was small and careful. Reaching forward, I boldly grabbedhis belt loop and pulled him until he was between my knees. These men, my men, had come to save me, despite the risk to themselves. My heart thudded when I thought about what could have gone wrong, but we were lucky and safe under their roof again. I needed to remind myself what good I had in this house.
Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Oliver’s torso. I pressed my uninjured cheek into his chest, waiting for him to hold me. I wasn’t left to wait long, as his arms hugged me closer to him. It was the feeling of coming home, not the house, not the huge room, not the extensive wardrobe that hung in the closet. It was them, their skin, their smells, their warmth. They were home.
With that realization in my mind, I held Oliver longer than I intended, but he didn’t try to pull away. His hand came to the nape of my neck and began to massage the tension there. I sighed, melting a little under his touch.
“No wonder you wanted to stay here.”Ash laughed behind Oliver and I could feel my cheeks heating a little.
“She’s safer with us,”Oliver said, his voice a little defensive.
“That’s not the only reason, Oliver,”I said, pulling away to look up at him.
His smile was easy, and I couldn’t help but give him a small smile in return.
“We have plenty of time to talk about the other reasons, babe. I should let you get some rest. Has nurse Jaxon been in yet to give you meds?”
“I’ve been called much worse.”Jaxon came strolling into the room, his hands full of pill bottles that he set up on my night stand.
“Why do I feel like I’m living through the movie Groundhog Day?”I said.
“Let’s make sure this is the last time we have to repeat this.”Jaxon went to the mini fridge, which was already stocked, and brought a bottle of water and two pills to me.
