“Shit!”Devyn bit out only to immediately regret it when agonizing pain tore through the right side of his head, making the stabbing pain that felt like it was tearing his ribs apart feel like child’s play.
God, this fucking hurt, Devyn thought as he slowly exhaled, only to bite back another curse when the move caused excruciating pain to tear through his ribs. He wasn’t sure what hurt more, his head or his ribs, but at that moment, he wished the asshole that attacked him had finished the fucking job and put him out of his misery. He-
“Why didn’t you call me last night?” came the softly whispered question that sent a fresh wave of pain shooting through his head as he felt a pill pressed against his lips.
Desperate for relief, Devyn opened his mouth and accepted the pill, only to find several more pills gently placed in his mouth before he felt the small rim of a bottle of water brush against his lips. Reaching up with a trembling hand, he grabbed the bottle and tilted his head back as far as the pain would allow and swallowed the pills, praying that they knocked him out before he lost his fucking mind.
As soon as the bottle was empty, Devyn tossed it aside and rolled back onto his stomach so that he could bury his face against the pillow as he said, “I thought I told you to go home.”
“I don’t remember having that conversation,” came the softly spoken words as he felt Andi climb onto the bed next to him seconds before she managed to tear a groan from him when a heating pad was pressed against his ribs.
“You can leave,” Devyn said, forcing the words out between clenched teeth as he reached down and pressed his hand over the heating pad, making breathing tolerable again.
She didn’t say anything else, and he’d never been more thankful for anything in his life as the pain in his head slowly subsided as a haze took over his body, making it difficult to do anything as he was slowly pulled under and-
“Shhh, it’s okay,” came the softly whispered words as the terror that swallowed him whole had him gasping for air as he reached for her, needing to make sure that she was okay as he wrapped his arms around her and struggled to stop thinking about what could have happened to her if she’d been with him.
* * *
“I don’t needyour fucking help,” Devyn bit out, but since they both knew that he was lying, Andi simply ignored him as she lit the last candle.
Once that was done, Andi stood up with a satisfied sigh. It was perfect, absolutely perfect, she thought as she took in the candles giving off just enough light so that they could see what they were doing, but not enough to hurt his eyes, the steam coming off the hot water hidden beneath the extra bubbles that should make this easier and shifted her attention to the man that looked really pissed for some reason.
“No,” was all he said as she stood there debating the best way to get a man that had at least ten inches and seventy pounds of muscle on her into a bathtub against his will.
When nothing came to her, Andi decided to go the honest route. “You smell,” she said with a solemn nod that he didn’t seem to appreciate, not at all if that glare was any indication. Deciding that this was the way to go, she gestured to his bloodstained clothes and opened her mouth to point out that he’d been wearing them for the past two days, only to settle for a sad shake of her head as she let her hand drop away.
That seemed to be enough.
“I’m not taking a bath,” Devyn, her boss and the man that had alternated between glaring at her and holding onto her like she was a lifeline over the past two days, bit out as he moved to push away from the wall only to rethink that decision and pressed his forehead against the wall as he bit out, “I’m fine.”
“And you look it,” Andi murmured absently as she shifted her gaze to the large walk-in shower and debated letting him take a shower, but between his stitches and the fact that he couldn’t seem to stand up on his own without help, she really didn’t think that was a good idea.
That left…
“Not fucking happening,” Devyn said with a wince as he wrapped an arm around his ribs and slowly exhaled as she stood there, swallowing hard as she thought about that police report and…
“Were they waiting for you?” she found herself asking.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, slowly exhaling as he carefully pushed away from the wall and reluctantly made his way to the bathtub while she stood there, considering him for a moment.
Yes, it did, but she wasn’t going to argue with him, not when he was finally going to let her help him.