Page 44 of Prince of Pain

“I knew you were loaded, dude, but this is insane.”

Tempest giggled, clinging to my arm like she was my fucking trophy wife.

“Right? Wait until you see the rest of the house. His bedroom is basically the size of my whole house.”

I opened my bedroom door and gave her a gentle push into it, waiting for Mason to follow before locking the door behind us.

“We’re not touring the house. This room and the ensuite are the only places you need to go. Mason, you can sleep on the wall side,” I muttered, his eyes widening.

“You’re letting me crash in here?”

“I can keep an eye on you in here.”

“I won’t go wandering.”

“You’re not exactly who I’m worried about. People end up dead or missing around my family sometimes, and they don’t like you,” I said with a dry chuckle, earning a frown from him.

“Why don’t they like me? I didn’t do anything to them.”

“Maybe not, but they know you’re in the drug scene, and after tonight, they’ll know you guys were the ones I was buying drugs from. Hunter would’ve put it together when he realized who you were and that we’re friends,” I answered before walking into my bathroom and motioning to Tempest. “Strip, shower, then sit still while I try and stitch you up. I don’t want to hear a complaint about it either since you refused proper medical care.”

She shrugged, stumbling slightly as she stripped naked and made her way towards me. “You can play doctor with me any day.”

“I’m serious, Tempest. I was asleep, so I’m dealing with this, and then you’re going to be a good girl and go to sleep for me. Or I choke you out and get a good night’s sleep regardless,” I deadpanned, turning the shower on and moving out of her way. “Get in.”

“Are you coming with me?” She was still stumbling, and I was a little worried she was going to fall over and break her damn neck.

“Jesus Christ,” I bit out, shoving her in and stepping in fully clothed to help shower her. I wrapped my fingers firmly around her arm, making her hiss as I held the wound under the spray.

“Ouch!”

“No complaints,” I reminded her, clicking my fingers at Mason and not giving a shit that he looked mad about it. “Antiseptic wipes are in the cupboard.” He grabbed them and held the packet out to me, so I grabbed one and started wiping at Tempest’s cut to clean the dried blood. “You need to stop this shit, Temp. I mean it.”

“You want to cut me and make me bleed, so what’s the difference?” she pointed out, earning a weird look from Mason.

“I told you I don’t,” I replied, grabbing a second wipe and making sure the cut was as clean as possible. “There’s no point taking drugs and alcohol to numb yourself, just to cut yourself to feel. Do you want to hurt, or not?”

“Don’t act like you don’t understand it,” she muttered, leaning into me and pressing her forehead to my chest. I did get it. It was a contradiction that I’d dealt with frequently, but I’d just fight and fuck when the numbness became too much.

Tempest fucked and took it out on herself.

Then again, all the hits I’d taken were basically the same thing.

“Mase? Are you getting in or not?” I asked instead of replying to Tempest, surprise filling his eyes.

“Why would I get in?”

“To clean the blood off you. You’re not getting in my bed bleeding,” I scoffed, pulling my wet shirt over my head and kicking my pants and boxers off. I grabbed a cloth and handed it to Tempest, knowing she’d want to wash her makeup off, then I left her in there with Mason while I got dry and into a clean pair of boxers, leaving a bandage for her to wrap her arm with until we could look at it better once she was dressed.

I found a shirt for her, knowing she probably wouldn’t keep it on, but I had to try and restrain myself from fucking her.

I returned to the bathroom to find Mason dressed in his boxers, and Tempest brushing her hair in the mirror with the bandage wrapped around her arm, telling me I’d been longer than I thought.

I snatched the towel from the floor and patted her dry, shoving the shirt over her head and taking the brush from her hands. She was making more knots, not fixing it.

I plugged the hairdryer in and started brushing the blonde strands, her eyes fluttering closed once I replaced the brush with my fingers. I tugged a little, her eyes flying open to meet mine in the mirror, and I smirked. “If you fall asleep standing up, I will let you fall on your face.”

“No, you won’t.”

---