She has her back to me while she stands at the edge of the shallow end. She reaches down and removes her shirt up and over her head. Her hair falls down, covering her bruised back. Then she pushes her shorts down her thin legs and kicks them to the side, exposing a black cotton thong.
I walk over to the sliding glass door and watch as she slowly walks down the steps, sinking her injured body into the water. It’s dark out, but the pool lights illuminate the water. She slowly sinks into it, holding her breath. Pushing off the wall, not swimming very far and pops her head up, taking in a breath before turning around and coming back, knowing her body is in no condition to go all the way to the deep end.
She pops out again, her head back, and she pushes her dark hair from her face. I see her flinch at how sore her body must be while trying to take it easy. I should go out there and pull her out of it. Tell her that she’s not allowed to swim yet. Her body needs time to heal. But I don’t. Instead, I stand here watching her like a weirdo.
Her eyes open and lock on mine. She ducks into the water, covering her chest. I hate to tell her I’ve already seen her practically naked in that video her brother showed me.
I shove open the glass door and step outside into the hot night. “I’m going to go into Kingdom for a few hours. We’ll go up to the hospital to grab the car when I get back.”
She frowns. “What car?”
“I assume you drove my car.” She tilts her head to the side. “The one I had parked at the beach house.” I have a Bentley Continental GT that I leave there. I’m quite glad that she drove it back. It just sits there and never sees daylight. It needs to be driven. She can drive here while she stays with me.
“Oh.” Her eyes lower, and drops of water run off her long lashes. “It’s still there.”
“At the hospital, yes, I know.”
“No, it’s still in Malibu.”
I frown. “Then how did you get here?”
“Haven sent me their private jet. That’s why it took me so long to arrive. I had to wait for it to pick me up in California.”
It’s only a little over an hour flight, and the drive time is about five hours. But it would have been easier to drive than wait for the jet to arrive. “Why didn’t you just drive?” The keys were there hanging in the garage. I didn’t want her to be stranded.
“I don’t know how,” she whispers.
“How do you not know how to drive?” I snort.
She still hovers under the water, right up against the side, shielding her body from me. Her arms still cover her breasts, and her hair floats around her like a black cloud. Her silvery-blue eyes meet mine. “I was never offered that opportunity of freedom.”
I run a hand through my hair. Jesus! Why didn’t Luca at least teach her these things? Everyday options that we take for granted. “I’ll teach you.” I decide. The woman needs to know how to drive a damn car.
Her eyes light up, and she stands to her full height, so the water comes to her chest instead of her neck. A smile so wide that it lights up her gorgeous face. Fuck, my dick twitches in my jeans. “You will?”
I clear my throat. “Of course. Everyone should know how to drive a car.”
She bites her bottom lip, and her eyes look up at me with a softness that makes my chest tighten. “Thank you, Dillan,” she whispers, and my breath catches at the way she says my name. It’s the first time without a bite. Plus, no one ever calls me by my name. It’s always Bones.
I wave her off. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” Then I turn and walk out of the bedroom, not even bothering with that shower. Because if I do, I’ll be jacking off in there imagining her topless in my pool.
_______________
I’M SITTING BEHIND my desk when Titan enters my office. “You’re here early this morning.” We haven’t even had our daily meeting in the conference room yet.
“What do you want?” I ask without even looking up at him.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asks, sitting down.
I place my elbows on the desk and glare at him. “Last chance. What do you want?”
He just smirks. “So Mia?” I sigh, knowing this conversation would come. “Who knew that Luca had a little sister.”
Yeah, who the fuck knew? “I didn’t.” Lie. Even if I didn’t remember her, I knew she existed. I just never would have guessed she was a Bianchi.
Reaching up, he runs his hand down over his face. “What are you going to do with her?”