“You’re not making this any easier,” I said, my hands still running over her body.
She opened one eye, grinning at me. “Maybe it was that pair of jeans. That bougie bi tch might’ve been skinnier than me. Or else she enjoys feeling like she’s being slowly choked by her clothes,” she said. She pushed her stomach out, patting it with her hands. “Or maybe I ate so much food that my pants were too tight on my hip.”
I sat beside her, taking her hands from her stomach, kissing each one. “You’re still too skinny. You’re all bony and sharp. You can afford to eat more, solnishko.” I pulled her panties off her hip so I could have access to her bandage, kissing her stomach just above the waistline. She folded one arm behind her head, so she could watch me. I took the bandage off as delicately as I could, but it still hurt her every time. Her skin was extra sensitive from the adhesive.
Her wound still looked mostly normal, but it was getting redder around the edges. “Sephie, I don’t know. I think you should see a doctor, just to be safe.” She sat up slightly so she could look at it.
“Did we bring anything to clean it with? Maybe it just needs to be cleaned again. I don’t want to see another doctor. I ha te doctors. I haven’t missed my antibiotic. It shouldn’t be infected.” She put her hand over it. “It’s not hot like it would be if it were infected.”
I clicked my tongue at her. “I still think you should see a doctor.”
“But I don’t want to. I just need to clean it and it will be fine.” She had that determined look in her eye that told me I was not going to change her mind on this one. I opted for a compromise instead.
“We’ll clean it for now, but if that sharp pain comes back that prevents you from standing, I’m calling a doctor whether you want me to or not.” I looked at her sternly. It was all I could do not to smile at her during this standoff.
She cracked first, grinning at me. “Deal.”
When I came back with antiseptic to clean her wound, she was still stretched out on the bed, panties half off, shirt pulled up, exposing her milky whi te, toned stomach, completely comfortable on the bed. I couldn’t help but grin at her as I walked to the bed. She was so comfortable in her own skin around me. Around the guys too. She didn’t care if she looked si lly, in fact most of the time she went out of her way to look si lly to get a laugh out of us. It was refreshing to be around a woman that wasn’t constantly worried about how she looked. Sephie was real. I knew she accepted me for me, all the parts of me, good and bad, because she accepted all the parts of herself. She had seen real darkness, but she still chose to shine her light on the world. She made peace with those dark parts of her, taking away their power. It gave me hope that I could eventually do the same. She looked at me with so much love, even after reading every part of my soul.
I paused, after closing the door, completely lost in the sight of her. She leaned up on her elbows to look at me, raising one eyebrow. God, she was sexy when she wasn’t even trying to be. “What are you doing?” she asked, a questioning look on her face. She broke me from my thoughts.
“Just enjoying the view, solnishko. Come, let’s get your wound cleaned so you can put clothes back on before I rip. another pair of panties off you.”
“Whatever. I have an endless supply of them now, so knock yourself out,” she said laughing. She stood up to walk to the bathroom, giving me a full view of her a ss that was barely covered by the black lace. I cursed under my breath, exhaling as I followed her to the bathroom.
“You’re a little evil, solnishko,” I said, smacking her as s lightly.
She looked at me over her shoulder. “You love it.” Just to drive her point home, she slipped out of her blouse and tossed it back to me as she walked into the bathroom.
“You’re a lot evil, solnishko.” I cursed under my breath again. She was clearly enjoying teasing me, as she turned toward me, chewing her bottom lip, as she pulled one side of her panties lower to give me access to her wound. She leaned against the bathroom counter as I tried to concentrate on cleaning her wound and not bending her over the counter. I could do this.
Fu ck. I can’t do this. She’s driving me crazy.
I grabbed some gauze to catch the antiseptic as I poured it over her wound and kneeled in front of her. I looked up at her. “You ready?”
“Nope but do it anyway.”
I poured out as little as I could. The liquid started to bubble in the wound. She inhaled sharply, clenching her jaw and closing her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry, solnishko.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Just keep going.” I poured out more liquid. More bubbles. She slapped the counter, cursing. “Again. I’m okay.” Once again, I poured more liquid over the wound. “FUCKING HE LL!” “I’m sorry, solnishko. You told me to! I’m sorry!”
“No, it’s okay. It’s not you. It fu cking burns. Cursing makes me feel slightly better.” She ran her hand through my hair, trying to smile through her pain.
“I should give you a minute. It’s still bubbling though. I think we should do it again.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said. She was fanning her hip with one hand. I leaned closer to blow on it, trying to give her relief from the constant burning. “How does Ivan stand there like nothing is happening with this stuff?”
I chuckled. “He still hasn’t told you?”
“Told me what?”
“He doesn’t feel much pain. He was born that way. His nerves don’t work the same way. He doesn’t register pain the same way you and I do. Some pain he feels, but other pain doesn’t register. It makes him a very dangerous opponent.”
“I knew there was something to his inability to feel pain! I could use some of that right about now,” she said, chewing on her lip.
“I’m sorry, love. One more time, then I put a new bandage on you so you can put your clothes back on.” I tried not to look at her chewing on her lip. I couldn’t figure out why that was so sexy to me, but I had trouble controlling myself every time she did it.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.