“We didn’t want you to overdo it again, so we thought we’d take care of breakfast to keep you from feeling like you had to,” Ivan said.
“You’re still not completely healed, which means you’re still at high risk of getting pneumonia again,” Stephen said.
“And none of us want you to have to go back on antibiotics or start sleeping all the time again,” Viktor said. “Because it’s so0000 boring without you around all the time,” Misha said, in the overly dramatic way that only he could.
*This might make us regret our decision to not order out, but it’s the thought that counts, right?” Andrei said, grinning at me.
I looked at Adrik, who was also amused at their decision, as well as their explanation. I smiled at all of them. “I’m so impressed.”
“Maybe reserve judgment until after you try it,” Stephen said.
“Nah, Andrei was right. It’s the thought that counts,” Adrik said.
After breakfast, which was actually quite good, I went with the guys to the gym. I still wasn’t allowed to do anything yet, but at least they let me tag along. I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to watch Adrik get sweaty from lifting heavy things.
Andrei took the opportunity to do some very light exercises with me to help my shoulder. We’d been doing small things, even before I got my cast off. Since it was the only thing I could do, I was happy to continue. It also gave me a few minutes mostly alone with him. We were far enough away from the other guys that I brought up the subject of turning his newly discovered gift on and off.
“So, 1 feel like you already know this, but I also feel like we should discuss turning your newfound ability off around certain people. Like Stephen, who is very clearly uncomfortable with our ability to see inside his head. You don’t want to be rude about it,” I said, as he helped me with my exercises.
“I know, spider monkey,” he said, smiling at me. “This is about me figuring out you were scared, isn’t it?”
King of the Underworld
Sephie
“Kind of. Adrik appreciates you and Misha talking me into telling him about it,” I said. I took a deep breath, looking at him. “He’s always been fine with me being around you guys and I never want that to be an issue. With me being hurt for so long this time, he’s feeling a little jealous at having to share me with everyone for the first time. But at the same time, he’s also excited that you’ll be able to catch the things I can still get past him. It’s complicated “
Andrei glanced around, then put his hand up to stop me from saying more. “You don’t need to explain it to me, spider monkey. I don’t want to cause problems. Like you leveling up Misha, I think it works best with you right now, but that’s just because I need more practice. I’ll make sure Boss knows I won’t be nosey,” he said, smiling at me.
“I did tell him he shouldn’t worry too much about you, since you’ve known about Ivan’s past longer than I have.” It was my turn to glance around to make sure we were still far enough away from everyone else that we wouldn’t be overheard. “I am slightly worried about Stephen when it comes to both you and 1. He’s very nervous about us finding out anything he doesn’t want us to know. I don’t want to make that worse,” I said.
“I did notice that. I’ve tried to assure him that I’m not going to drop in his head unannounced,” he said.
“He’s definitely one that needs to come around in his own time. I think he’ll tell us whatever it is eventually, but I don’t think it will go well if he’s forced to have to tell us something he’s not ready to,” I said. “You mean the way you’ve been forced to tell us everything you didn’t want to before you were ready?” he asked, giving me a sly smile.
Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it. I mean, it’s effective, but it hasn’t been ideal,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Also? Can we talk about how frustrating it is for these simple exercises to make my shoulder hurt this much?” I noticed Adrik on his way to us and wanted to change the subject before he made it all the way to us.
“Your shoulder is still healing, spider monkey. It’s a delicate balance of taking it easy and challenging it enough that it keeps getting stronger,” he said, looking at me apologetically.
*Is she complaining she can’t do much still?” Adrik asked Andrei as he walked toward us. He walked to me, still breathing heavier than normal from his last set, the beads of sweat prominent on his forehead. He caught me staring at him, my mo uth slightly open, as he walked to me. His s*xy smirk on his face, I felt the pull in my chest that meant he was thinking about how much he loved me. He slid his arm around my waist, pulling me to him so he could kiss my temple. My mind wandered to the night before and how I still felt like I couldn’t get enough of him.
“She might be,” Andrei said, laughing. “But I’m guilty of doing that anytime I’ve been hurt, too. I think we all are.”
“Don’t give me shit for it. It’s frustrating,” I said, defensively.
Adrik’s wide smile stretched across his face. “What? I might like extra spicy Sephie the most, too,” he said, holding me tighter against him.
“You boys better be careful what you wish for,” I said, letting my eyes go dark as I looked at both of them.
Adrik needed to go to his office the following day. I offered to go with him, but he said he only had a few meetings, then he would return. “I think we’re all enjoying being here so much that I don’t want you to have to leave just yet. This should be the only time I need to go back to the building for the rest of the week,” he said that morning while we were getting ready after they’d all hit the gym and I had lifted my five- pound weight a few times under Andrei’s watchful eye.
I felt my own nervousness at the thought of being that far away from him. He’d been away from me since I was taken, but only a few floors away. We were still in the same building. Now, I was facing having to be completely away from him for a few hours. My body was clearly not happy with that decision. I felt the shaking start almost immediately. He noticed I was quiet and walked from the closet to the bed where I had sat down, asking what was wrong.
“I don’t like the idea of being away from you,” I said before he made it all the way to me.
He chuckled, saying, “I don’t like the idea of being away from you either, but it’s just for a couple of hours.” He sat next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. As soon as he touched me, he felt my body shaking. His eyes went wide as he looked at me. “Oh, you really don’t like the idea of being away from me,” he said. He pulled me closer, rubbing my back to try and help the shaking calm down.
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.