Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
But her comfort was his priority and he didn’t want to cause her pain.
He cupped her face with his hands and gently wiped away the tears dripping down her cheeks.
“It’s all right, lass. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
He longed to question her further about Oleg. About why she would be with such an ass-pig. But he could also see that she was dead on her feet.
What she needed more than anything was sleep.
“I’m going to put this T-shirt on you, all right? Are the painkillers helping?”
She nodded as he drew the T-shirt over her head and she slowly put her arms through while holding the blanket up to cover herself.
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Are they really helping, Squirt, or are you lying to me?”
She winced and he wondered why. “What is it?”
“I, uh, you called me Squirt. I always feel like I’m your . . . your kid sister or something when you call me that.”
Ahh.
Right.
He cupped her chin and then gave into his instincts.
Just one small taste . . . it wouldn’t harm her. Leaning in, he kissed her. He took it further than he’d intended to, pressing his tongue into her mouth to play with hers.
She sighed. The lingering tension in her body faded away as she kissed him back.
Finally, he forced himself to draw away. He pressed his forehead to hers. “These feelings I have for you? They are definitely not brotherly. Trust me.”
“Good,” she whispered, her face as open and relaxed as he’d ever seen it.
It made him realize just how much tension she carried all the time.
Fuck.
Was she always worried? Always on alert?
Did she ever take the time to relax and pamper herself? Maybe she didn’t know how.
Perhaps she needed him to do that for her.
Some people might be shocked that the bodyguard of one of the biggest crime bosses in Texas knew how to pamper someone.
But he wanted to do it for her.
“And I won’t call you Squirt again, all right?”
Some of that worry returned.
What had he said?
He frowned. “What is it, lass?”
“I just . . . I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.”
Right.
So they were back to her doing her best to try to push him away from her.
“Not tonight,” he told her warningly. “I’m in charge until dawn. And I say you don’t get to worry about the future. You don’t concern yourself with how I’m feeling. You just let me take all of that on.”
“You really want to do that?”
“Baby, I need to. Just like I needed you to be in my clothes, not anyone else’s.”
She closed her eyes as he ran a finger down her cheek.
“You need sleep,” he told her.
The dark marks under her eyes were completely unacceptable. He hadn’t noticed them as much before. Had she worn make-up to cover them up?
“How long since you’ve had a good night’s sleep?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. She clearly liked the way he kept lightly running his finger over her skin.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked in a calm, quiet voice. He didn’t want to startle her.
“Nightmares.”
Keep calm.
He moved his other finger up to her temples and rubbed them. Sofia let out a soft sigh.
Good girl.
Let me take care of you.
He used one hand to massage her scalp, still running a finger of his other hand over her face. Along her nose, over her cheeks, then up to her forehead. Over and over until her breathing deepened.
Finally, he reluctantly drew away. Not because he wanted to but because he didn’t want to risk waking her up.
Colm wasn’t sure how long he sat there watching her. But the sound of a soft snore escaping her jolted him into awareness.
He had to grin. No doubt she’d be embarrassed if she realized she was snoring in front of him. Getting up, he stretched.
Fuck. He needed some sleep, but he was too wound up. His dick was still hard from seeing her breasts, touching them.
Shit. Reaching under his pants, he squeezed the stiff shaft.
Nope.
Giving himself a hand job while she slept was a step too far. If she woke up . . . well, no doubt she’d think him a pervert.
So he gave himself one last squeeze and promised his balls they weren’t always going to be in this amount of pain. That one day, he’d get to bury himself inside her.
Claim her the way he wanted to.
Stepping back, he glanced over at the armchair. He wanted to sleep beside her, but he didn’t want to jolt her and risk hurting her. He didn’t like that she had to sleep semi-reclined. Why hadn’t the doctor done more to help with her back pain? Surely something else could be done.
He made a mental list of all the things he had to look into when it came to her.
It was fast becoming a long list.