“They just got here,” he insisted as he led me over toward the coffee.
And got me a… throwaway cup?
“I am going to lay it all out. Just haven’t gotten a chance yet,” he said, almost as if he was trying to assure me that he wasn’t hiding me or my situation from them. Or was I looking too much into things?
“Okay. Well, I’ll go enjoy my coffee and your massive TV that I assume has all the channels I refuse to pay for while you catch up with your family,” I said, giving him a smile as I put the cream and sugar into my coffee. “Spoon?” I asked.
And then this man, this full-grown adult man, handed me a plastic spoon out of a cutlery drawer full of plastic utensils.
Like… he didn’t have proper silverware.
Now, I wouldn’t judge if I thought he couldn’t afford it. But the man wore shoes that cost more than my couch.
“After I get them out of here, I think we need to talk more about your… treatment options,” he said, his fingers giving my side a little tickle as he leaned down and snagged my earlobe with his teeth.
“That is a very serious matter that we definitely need to… figure out. In depth. It could take hours,” I agreed, shooting him a smirk as I moved away. “Sorry, Ant, I tried,” I told Anthony as I passed, giving his shoulder a sympathetic squeeze.
I mean, sure, I understood that Salvatore wanted to make sure that his patient was moving an appropriate amount after an injury. But it didn’t seem so wrong for someone to want to have a little pampering. Especially when they were hurt. I’d have given anything to have someone bring me coffee or snacks when I was laid up with my injuries. Especially after a long day of work irritating them.
I made a mental note to do something nice for the kid before heading back to Salvatore’s bedroom to curl up in the bed and drink my coffee. And watch his cable, a luxury I hadn’t known since I still lived with my parents.
Eventually, the voices in the other room got quieter, then stopped entirely.
Curious when the silence dragged on for a bit, I popped back out into the hall, finding Anthony half-dozing on the couch.
And Salvatore nowhere to be found.
“He just popped over to the boss man’s house for a couple minutes. He figured you’d passed back out. Hey, since you’re up…”
“What do you need?” I asked, giving him a small smile.
I spent the next half an hour fetching things for Anthony before popping into the bathroom to try to find a spare toothbrush, then spend a silly amount of time choosing between his toothpaste collection.
As I suspected, my face was a mess.
But underneath the bruises, I swear my face had more color than usual. My eyes had a little more life, more sparkle.
It was amazing what some great sex with a good man could do for the complexion.
Done with that, I took another cup of coffee back to Salvatore’s bed, not sure what else to do with myself, and not wanting to invade Anthony’s makeshift bedroom when he didn’t need me to be out there.
It was maybe an hour into my movie when I heard him come in the front door, speak quickly to Anthony, then make his way down the hall.
I won’t lie.
My heart fluttered.
My sex tightened.
Then the door opened.
And there he was.
A man I was pretty sure I was starting to fall for.
“Good. Just where I wanted you to be,” he said, giving me a sexy smirk as he made his way to the bed, climbing up it from the bottom and coming over me. “I could get used to this,” he declared after his lips sealed to mine.
My whole heart, well, itwholeheartedlyagreed.