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“You’re nuts,” she told him.
“Luckily, so are you.”
He reached up and grabbed her around the back of her head, pulling her down to him. “Kiss me.”
And so she did.
It started sweet and gentle, but then it deepened into something more. And to his surprise, he wasn’t the one who took it deeper. When she drew back, the tension and worry had eased from her face.
“Come lie with me.”
“I shouldn’t. I should go and get—”
“Baby, that wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order. Lie with me. Now.”
She shot him a look.
“And don’t be giving me any of that Rainbow sass. No sass while a man is lying on his death-bed.”
Her eyes grew wide and he immediately winced, seeing his mistake. “Too soon to joke about that, huh?”
“News flash, it will always be too soon to joke about that.”
“Got it. Come lie with me, baby, so I can hold you.”
She finally settled into his side. Where she belonged. He kissed the top of her head, hoping that this would help her relax. Maybe even get some sleep. His poor girl was exhausted and had had a really rough night.
“I still don’t think I’m more important than you,” she whispered.
“It isn’t something you need to think about, baby. It’s just a fact of life. Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Fuck. Why hadn’t he already asked her that? He was doing a poor job of taking care of her.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure? Because if I find out later that you’re not and you were lying to me . . . you won’t just be feeling my hand on your ass, you’ll feel my belt.”
“You have got to stop threatening to spank me.”
“If you behave yourself, then you won’t get spanked.” He shifted around, looking for water.
“What is it? What do you need?” she asked.
“Is there some water anywhere?”
“Oh God! I didn’t get you any water! I’ll get you some.”
Okay, he needed to nip this in the bud. This guilt trip she seemed to be on wasn’t acceptable.
“Rainbow, look at me,” he commanded as she rolled over to grab a glass of water off the nightstand. “Aston.”
“I’m getting your water.”
“Look at me.”
She looked at him. Well, glared at him. But he’d take it. “I’m okay, baby. A bit sore and banged up, but I’m going to be all right. Understand? There’s nothing you have to feel guilty about. And you don’t need to run yourself ragged looking after me. In fact, I’m going to be upset if you do.”
She huffed. “I think there should be a rule that if you’re injured, you don’t get to be bossy.”
“Baby, I’m not just bossy. I’m the boss. And nothing will change the fact that I’m always the boss.”
“You’re out of control. Were you like this as a child?”
“As a child, I had little control over anything,” he said darkly, taking the glass she held out. “My mom died when I was young and my dad . . . well, let’s just say that he only really had time for Regent since he was the oldest. But that was a blessing for us and hell for Regent because our father was a cold, egotistical bastard.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know a thing or two about having a bad father. My mom took off when I was young. I don’t really remember her.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry you had a similar experience to me growing up, baby.”
“Yeah. But even though he was a terrible dad and person, I still wanted his attention,” she said.
“I understand that. I was the same. But when he gave me his attention, I regretted it.”
“Did he . . . did he hurt you?” she whispered.
“Sometimes. But more with his words than anything else. Regent shielded us all as well as he could, but that meant he had to grow up quickly. It’s also made him overly protective of us all.”
“Yeah, I kind of caught that.”
“Has he been looking after you?” he asked in a low voice. Regent took care of his family, but outside that tight circle there were very few others that he paid attention to or cared about. And he’d just met Aston.
Regent didn’t know that she needed handling like she was made of glass. That under that tough exterior, she was fragile.
“He’s been looking after me. He had the doctor look me over.”
“And?”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
He grunted. All right. He would take her at her word. For now.
“You need to sleep, baby. Snuggle into me. Let me help you.”
She eyed him. To his shock, she just nodded and slid closer to him.
Hmm. What was she playing at now? Well, whatever it was, he guessed he didn’t care since it got him what he wanted.
Her in his arms.
25
Aston didn’t need to sleep.
Well. That wasn’t true. She did. She was completely and utterly exhausted. However, seeing as it was close to midday and she was now wired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to. She’d gotten a bit of a cat-nap before. That would tide her over for a while.
