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“Cortez has gone for our family doctor. You really should not bother.”
She glares at me. “What were you even thinking?”
“You know, for someone who pretends not to care about me, you’re getting extremely worked up.”
She lets out a huff of breath in frustration and this time, my lips pull up painfully in a smile.
She glares at me again but doesn’t respond, focusing instead on applying antiseptic and ointments on the wound, then bandaging it.
Her hands are steady but her jaw is tight, and her moistening eyes betray the concern she is trying so hard to hide.
“You insufferable bastard. How could you go out there and get yourself injured like this?” she mutters to herself.
“You know I can hear you.”
“Just keep quiet, Elio.” Her sniffles and the fact that she doesn’t meet my gaze cause my lips to lift even further in amusement.
When she dabs hard at the cut in my lip with antiseptic, I yelp in agony.
“Easy…” I whimper. She flickers her lashes at me and dumps the cotton wool in the waste bin.
“Easy,” she mocks, trying to mimic my tone.
“You know, after this, I’m pretty sure you like me.”
Her eyes widen in disbelief, and she grabs one of the pillows from the bed, smacking the good side of my body with it.
“Seriously? That’s what you’re concerned about after coming home all battered like this?”
I snake out my arm and grab her waist, pulling her to me.
“Easy now,” I murmur as I try to settle her onto my lap, but she struggles against me. “Just stay with me like this for a moment. Please,” I say into her ears. And it strikes me that never before have I begged a woman to stay with me.
“You’re reckless,” she murmurs back into my ears, relaxing but not dropping all her weight on me.
“I know,” I respond to her, leaning my head on her shoulder and closing my eyes.
For the first time in a long time, I feel like I know what it means to be truly cared for.
Chapter twelve
Aria
I’m just relaxing when there’s a knock on my door.
Nobody in this house−Elio’s house−ever comes to my door at this time of the night. The raps come again and curiosity makes me drop the mug of tea in my hand to head straight for the door.
The knock comes again, louder and insistent. I approach the door cautiously, my fingers hesitating at the door knob.
“Who is it?”
“Just open up already.”
Elio.
A sigh of relief escapes my lips but at the same time, irritation finds its way under my skin. What the hell is he doing here, and at this hour?
I unlock the door and yank it open, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but the words die on my lips.