“Good.”
“That’s good.” I didn’t have much more to say on the subject as most of what Kaden and I discussed I couldn’t tell her anyway. She fiddled with the hem of her blue top, standing at the foot of the bed. “What’s wrong?” I tried to shift on the bed and was only able to move an inch before I was hit with a jolt of pain.
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She tore her eyes from me and looked down. “I’m not.”
“Come here.” For as weak as I felt, my tone was strong, authoritative.
She peeked up at me but never moved. “Can I get you something? Are you hungry? Thirsty? When are you due for your pain meds?” She glanced at the clock next to the bed. “Not for another two hours,” she mumbled more to herself than me.
“Zoe. Come here.”
Every step she took was laced with hesitation and I couldn’t understand why. She’d been fine when she left. Then it dawned on me… she’d just come from Ryder’s. Either he wasn’t doing well, or he’d said something to her to make her act like this. Like she was shy, or unsure, or… fuck, I didn’t know what.
Once she was close, I reached for her hand and she accepted—thank God—kneeling on the bed and sliding her palm into mine. She was still too far away for my liking, but it wasn’t like I could flip her on her back and nestle between her legs like I wanted to, so I had to make do for now.
“What’s wrong?” I asked once more. “Is your dad doing okay?”
She gave me a curt nod. “He’s getting a little better every day.”
“Then what is it?” I gently squeezed her hand. Her teeth captured her full bottom lip, nibbling the corner. “Just tell me, woman. You’re making me think the worst.”
“Well, it’s not great.” She tried to pull her hand away, but I refused to let her go. “Let’s just say my dad isn’t at all happy I’m here with you. I’m sure part of it is the safety factor, but I’m his daughter, so I’m in harm’s way no matter what. But more than that, he doesn’t want me to be with you. I told him we don’t know what we are yet, but I’m grown, and I can decide who I have a relationship with.” She clamped her mouth shut after her rambling, her pale green eyes widening in the silence that followed.
“He definitely knows we’re messin’ around now.”
She dipped her head slightly. “He asked me if I was fuckin’ you.”
“He did what?” I sputtered. “He was that blunt?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him it was none of his business.”
“Which was code for yes.” The corners of my mouth curved up. “You probably set back his recovery, nearly givin’ the guy a coronary.”
“Don’t say that.” She playfully slapped my arm. Her quick grin disappeared. “He needs to stop thinking of me as his little girl and acknowledge I’m a grown woman. I can sleep with whomever I want.” She lifted her head and straightened her shoulders.
“Which better only be me.” Against my better judgment, I tugged her closer, needing to feel her warm, sweet breath on my face. We hadn’t discussed being exclusive, as we were still in the stages of getting to know each other, inside and outside of the bedroom, but the thought of her with someone else drove me crazy.
“Now that you’re laid up for a bit, I’m gonna need to find someone to sort me out until you’re all better.” She pecked my lips and made a move to pull away, but I grabbed her arm, holding her prisoner against me. “Don’t hurt yourself.” A flash of concern danced across her face but quickly faded when I licked my lips and arched my brow.
“If I have to chain you to this bed with me, I will. No one else will ever touch you.” My words were so final, and I meant every one of them.
“You know I like when you restrain me.”
My cock twitched at the memory of her naked, tied to this very bed only last week, spread eagle, waiting for me to fuck her.
“Don’t play with me when I can’t do anything about it.” My hold on her intensified. “Please don’t tease me.” My plea was in direct contrast to my grip.
“I can give you that sponge bath I promised.”
We stared at each other for a moment, my eyes traveling along the line of freckles painted over the bridge of her nose. My gaze dropped to her mouth when her tongue swept over her bottom lip and it took everything in me not to ravage her, to flip her on her back and fuck her hard, to push her body to the limits, just how she liked.
But I could do no such thing in my state, so I had to be content with whatever it was she offered. And right now, that looked to be a sponge bath.
Which might soothe my lust or heighten it to a whole other level.
4
“Can you make it to the bathroom? You can sit on the edge of the tub while I do your front.” The only times Brick had been out of bed was to use the toilet, otherwise he rested.
“I think I can manage.”
I reached for his hand, but he ignored me, slowly shifting his body into a sitting position before swinging his legs over the side.
“Thanks for the offer, but you don’t have the strength to help me.” He smiled, took a deep breath, and pushed himself off the bed. I was next to him a step later, holding on to his arm, but if he wobbled on his feet, there wasn’t much I could do to stop him from going down. Like he said, I didn’t have the physical strength to help him. Not by myself, at least. The good sign was that he seemed to have more vigor than he did earlier when Addy and Stone were here.
Five steps later, we entered his en suite bathroom. Brick plopped down on the ledge of the bathtub, bracing himself with his right arm so as not to put any strain on his left side.
Pulling the warm soapy washcloth from the sink, I squeezed it once, then moved toward him, wiping his face. He didn’t utter a word as I ran the cloth over his arms, then down his chest, careful of the bandage.
Touching Brick was torture because all I wanted to do was straddle him and have my way with him. But he was in no shape for such activities, even if I did all the work. He still had a fever and it could be days before his infection went away. If he only had the injury to his outer thigh, it’d be a different story. My selfish need would have to be put on the back burner for now. I’d wait however long it took, as long as he was okay in the end.
The first time I laid eyes on him I was instantly attracted. He was a sexy, gorgeous, tattooed biker, someone I never saw myself with. For years, I’d been surrounded by the elite in fashion, which meant that most of the people were rich, spoiled, and sometimes snooty.
Brick and I were worlds apart, yet we had this undeniable connection neither of us could understand.
I wrung out the washcloth and applied more soap. “Lift your arm for me.” I washed the underside as well as down the length of him until I came to his waist. Soon, I’d have to remove his boxer briefs. I only prayed I possessed the restraint necessary when he was splayed naked before me. I tended to his other side before washing his legs, careful of the bandaged area on his outer right thigh. Then I moved to his feet. He flinched once, then again when I hit a ticklish spot on the arch of his foot. I looked up at him and he gave me the most heartwarming smile, telling me so much without having said a word.