Page 34 of Throttle

“We’ve been waiting for you to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.” The doctor removes her stethoscope from around her neck and begins to examine Sienna. “And this guy has been a grumpy ass ever since they brought you in.” She hikes her thumb in my direction as she gives me a wink.

“Yeah, well… I?—”

The doctor cuts me off with a dismissive hand. “I’d be the exact same way if I were in your shoes.” A warm smile spreads across her face before she returns to her assessment.

She confirms everything looks good and tells us that she’ll order another round of labs and imaging first thing in the morning. I feel like I can finally breathe and thank her as she leaves the room, the nurse following closely behind her. As soon as they’re gone, I gently pull Sienna in my arms, needing to hold her but being mindful of her injuries.

“Ryan?” Sienna’s voice is raspy but it’s the best sound to ever grace my fucking ears.

“Yeah, baby. What do you need?” I ask, still holding on to her.

“Are you okay?”

I lean back so I can see her pretty face, shocked as shit at her question. “You’ve been badly injured, operated on, and unconscious for hours. And that’s the first thing you say?”

“I wasn’t the only one hurt. And I wouldn’t be here now, if it weren’t for you.”

“I know and I’m sorry. So fucking sorry. It’s my fault and you have every reason to blame me…”

Fuck, this hurts worse than I thought it would.

“What? No…” She begins to cough and I grab the cup of ice water from her side table, lifting the flexible straw to her lips. “That’s not what I meant. You saved me. I wouldn’t be here, on this earth, if you hadn’t.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? You saved me.” Surely she remembers what she did. “Sienna, you?—”

“I know what I did. You don’t have to tell me.” She casts her eyes down, perhaps some memory flashing behind her lids, before looking up at me again. “But I’d happily do it all over if I had to. He was hurting you and he would’ve hurt me too if you weren’t fighting him off. I did what I had to do for the both of us.”

I swallow a lump in my throat, overwhelmed by how brave this woman is. And she’s right. If one of us hadn’t gotten to that gun, that motherfucker would’ve kept coming until one of us was dead. I just wish I had gotten to him first. I can live with blood on my hands. That’s nothing new for me. But I’m not sure how Sienna will handle it.

Perhaps I should give her more credit though. I also didn’t know she could handle a weapon, and she did just fine even in her injured state. She’s tough as fuck, and I don’t deserve her.

“I love you, Sienna. I love you so fucking much.” I gaze at her, wishing there were better words to convey how strongly I feel for her.

Her eyes become glossy with tears. “I love you too. So fucking much.” She scrunches her nose and smiles after repeating my words. Even when she’s hurt, this woman is still a troublemaker.

It’s been three days since she woke up and Sienna’s still in the hospital. I’ve remained by her side the entire time, although she’s tried to run me off on numerous occasions. Not a fucking chance I’m leaving this place without her. And when she’s discharged, she’ll be in for a surprise because she has a new home to return to.

Mine.

I can tell she’s getting stir-crazy because her bratty side is starting to show again. Haven’t seen her act like this since we first met. But Daddy doesn’t have a problem putting his Princess in place. Unfortunately for both of us, it won’t be with my dick though. We’ve got six weeks before I can fuck her like I need to and my cock is crying about the wait.

Sienna slams the TV remote onto her bed, groaning in frustration. “Because of this stupid concussion, I only get a little screen time every day. But when I do get to watch TV, there’s nothing on.”

I can’t believe she’s actually pouting, but I’ll never admit that it’s kind of cute. “We’ve got all the streaming services at home. You can watch whatever you want when we get there.” I brush a tendril of hair off her face, wondering if she’s caught my meaning.

Apparently not.

“I only have Netflix at my condo,” she huffs, twisting her mouth to one side as she mopes.

“Well, I have all of them at my place, which is going to be your new home.” It’s ballsy, but I make the declarative statement, testing if she’ll argue with me. She doesn’t, at least not initially, and I’m guessing my words have yet to sink in.

She cocks her head to the side. “I thought you lived at the clubhouse?”

“I stay there most of the time, wanting to be near my brothers. But there’s an old house at the back of the property and it’s mine. We would have privacy and still be close to everyone. You can do whatever you want with it, but you are living with me. I can’t be without you, Sienna. I won’t. I need you too damn much.”

She’s silent while she stares at me.

“Did you forget you’re my ol’ lady? Ain’t no going back, sweetheart. Especially after almost losing you.” I chuckle sardonically. “You’re mine. And that means now and for fucking ever.”

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