Emma raced to a table on the other side of the room, where she poured water into a cup and placed a straw inside. She brought it back to Ace, who was beginning to wheeze.
“Here,” she said. “Drink this.”
Ace did as he was told. He drank the entire cup, then cleared his throat. The water had helped tremendously, plus the look on Emma’s face. It was endearing and comforting to see her so worried about him.
He smiled up at her. “Thank you.”
Emma slowly sat, gripping the wrist of his free hand. “I thought you were going to die,” she said softly. “I really did. It was horrible.”
His heart ached in his chest, and he tried to lean forward. But his wounds stung, making him cringe.
“Sit back, baby,” Emma said, coming to her feet once more.
She helped him lean back on the pillow by holding his neck and shoulders. He could smell her delightful scent, closing his eyes and breathing it all in like a sweet gust of wind.
“God, I love you,” he said.
Emma’s eyes flicked down at him, looking a little startled. “You meant that didn't you?” she asked.
Ace crawled his hand to her waist, trying to pull her in close. She moved into him, knowing that his normal amount of energy had been stunted.
“Of course I did,” he replied. “Did you think I just said it because I was dying?”
Emma’s eyes had wandered away from him, and she nodded a little. “Yes and no,” she replied. “I felt like you meant it, but my insecurity said perhaps it was just a final plea for something neither of us has ever experienced.”
Ace nodded. He knew what she meant. He pulled her closer to the bed while her hands went to his neck and stroked his cheeks. God, her skin felt so wonderful, plus her blazing eyes made him want to cower in a worshiping position.
“I understand that, Emma. I really do. But I meant it. And I am going to mean it forever.”
She smiled through tears swelling in her stunning eyes. She stroked his cheeks, letting the moment linger.
“You really are spectacular, you know that, right?” Emma whispered. “I can’t believe I get to love somebody like you.”
Ace’s heart jolted in his chest. He wished he had the energy to pull her on top of him and wander her body until she swam in the sun and stars at the same time. But that time would come. They had all the time in the world.
Instead, he purred, gripping her waist as tightly as he was able to. Emma let out a sweet giggle, his love for her growing even more profound.
“Love someone like me?” he repeated back.
She nodded without hesitation. “Yes,” she said, laughing. “I love you, Ace. I love you beyond anything I’ve ever felt in my life.”
She held his face in her hands and finally came down to his lips. They kissed like it was the first time, breathing in each other’s taste and presence. Ace let himself fall into her touch, absorbing everything that was her, knowing that he would eternally want more.
Just as the kiss became more heated, the mob doctor walked into the room. He was a curmudgeonly old man who probably hadn’t been laid since the wallpaper was put up.
He cleared his throat, and they parted. Emma kept her head leaning against his, though, smirking and biting her lip as they looked at the old man together.
“Accia,” the man said. “I was going to say that it is nice to see you, but it looks like you have already been greeted.”
Emma giggled again. His hand moved down her waist to cup her ass. She leaned farther into him, no longer self-conscious of how much she desired him.
“He has been, thank you, Pietro,” Emma said.
Dr. Pietro moved around the bed and stood over Ace. He had his hands behind his back with moderate judgment, waiting for Emma to move away from his patient. But she remained glued to his side, and Ace was proud of her.
She had grown into an assertive woman that he wanted beyond words.
“Well,” Dr. Pietro began, “I’m sure you know the story here. You were hit with around twenty bullets, all firing into your back. The average man would have been dead before hitting the ground.”