10Marcus* * *This is my worst nightmare. The heart monitor beats at a steady pace, letting me know Addy is still with me, even though her eyes are closed. She’s still and silent in the hospital bed, and I curse myself. The sound of her head hitting the hard metal edge of my desk will never leave my brain. It’s etched there like a nightmare I’ll re-live for the rest of my life.
I squeeze Addy’s small hand.
“You’re going to be okay, baby,” I whisper. Tears pool in my eyes. How could I have let this happen?
I’m the only one to blame for this. I should have locked my office door. Why the fuck wasn’t it locked, anyways? I should have told the building security guards to bar Marissa from entering, now that she no longer works for the House of Steele.
Instead, I thought only with my dick. I was so caught up in enjoying anal sex with my girl, that I let my guard down. And now, Addy’s pale and injured, and it’s my fault.
“Mr. Steele?”
Addy’s doctor walks in with a reassuring smile. I try to smile back, even though it comes out more like a grimace.
“She’s fine,” Dr. Lester assures me. “She’s just sleeping. She’ll wake up in no time.”
I nod, my heart still pounding.
“But still, it’s been hours. When?”
He shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell you that. Rest assured, however, that her vitals are normal. We’ll get the results of the CT scan soon.”
“But things look fine, right?”
He nods.
“For the most part, yes. We won’t know for sure if there’s any damage until we get the CT results, but right now, everything looks fine.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.”
“Sure thing,” he nods. “You know, feel free to get food or coffee in the cafeteria if you’d like. If anything changes, I’ll have the nurse give you a call.”
I shake my head, eyes dark.
“Thanks, but I’d rather stay.”
“Of course. I understand.”
Dr. Lester leaves to check on his other patients, and I squeeze Addy’s hand a little harder.
“Please wake up, baby,” I beg hoarsely. “Please. I need you so much.”
To my surprise, her lashes begin to flutter, and within a minute, the beautiful girl is looking at me.
“Marcus?” she asks in a hoarse voice. “What happened?”
Tears spill from my eyes, and I bring her hand up to my mouth for a kiss.
“What’s going on? Marcus? Where am I?” she asks again.
I press another kiss to her hand.
“What do you remember, honey?”
Addy squints and blinks slowly a few times.
“We were in your office. We were …”
Her voice trails off and I smile despite myself.
“I’m glad you remember the best parts.”
She shakes her head, wincing when the movement causes her pain.
“But what happened after that? How long has it been?”
“Just a few hours now. You were out like a light, but the doc said you’d wake up.”
She shakes her head again, squinting like she can’t remember.
“But Marcus, what happened? Why does my head hurt like this?”
I take a deep breath.
“While we were making love, my ex barged into my office. I have no idea how Marissa got into the building, much less my office, but she pushed you, and you hit your head on the edge of my desk. It’s metal, and you were knocked out.”
Addy pulls her hand from mine and experimentally touches her forehead, where of course, there’s a big white bandage.
“But why would Marissa do this? I don’t understand. You’re divorced. And why did she come looking for you?”
I shake my head.
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
Addy’s confused.
“Is it because she’s jealous? I mean, I have her old office and her old job now.”
I sigh.
“Yes, I think it’s jealousy. But I think it’s more than that. I think there’s a difference between psychologically knowing that you’re divorced and actually seeing your former spouse with a new partner. And we weren’t just kissing and holding hands, sweetheart. I was buried inside of you, coating you with my come.”
She nods.
“Yes, but she knew it was going to happen at some point, right? I mean, you’re divorced. Not even separated, but divorced.”
I shrug, relaxing a bit now that it’s clear Addy’s going to make it out of the woods.
“Yes, but we moved on with each other pretty fast, Ads. I mean, I had you in my bed within how long? One week? Two weeks?”
She nods and flushes a bit then, smiling.
“I think it was one week.”
“Exactly,” I say, taking her hand again. “I needed you so much that I basically went wild when it came to claiming you. This wasn’t a slow courtship. I had you in my bed, screaming my name, as soon as I could.”
She nods.
“Well, what’s going to happen to Marissa now?”
My expression is grim.
“She’s sitting in a jail cell at this moment. It was battery, sweetheart. She assaulted you, and caused physical injury. Of course they were going to arrest her.”