Page 70 of The Billionaires

“Given how little swelling there is around the cut, the impact wasn’t bad. Nor is he showing a single symptom of a concussion. The sugar in the juice should help him recover after the little bit of blood loss.”

“But shouldn’t you run some tests?” Elijah demands.

She shrugs. “In my professional opinion, this is a case of an ouchie boo-boo. My prescription would be to eat those bagels in the morning. But if you want to waste your time on tests, I can order some.”

Lucius rises to his feet, looking much steadier than before. The juice has clearly worked its magic. “If the neurosurgeon thinks I’m fine, I’m fucking fine.”

Dr. Brainiac flashes him her signature grin. “Make that a neurosurgeon who doesn’t want her malpractice insurance to go up. Or one who doesn’t wish to read the following article in the gossip columns: Doctor’s negligence kills billionaire.”

“In that case, thank you very much, doctor,” Elijah says stiffly.

“You’re welcome,” she says. “If you ever do get your brain damaged, or have a tumor you need removed, give me a call.”

Elijah pales. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Once again, apologies for waking you up in the middle of the night.”

She shrugs again. “My bank account would say, ‘It’s been a pleasure.’”

Without further ado, Lucius strides out of the room, and we hurry after him.

Once inside the limo, Lucius yawns and closes his eyes.

What a great idea. I close mine too—and must drift off, because a second later Elijah is rousing me.

“You okay?” I ask Lucius when we enter the mansion and Elijah scurries away to deal with the kitchen mess.

“Yeah,” he replies wearily as we stop in front of the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. “Just need some sleep.”

What I feel like saying is, “And I want to watch you sleep,” but instead I go with the much less creepy, “Me too.”

He kisses me gently on the cheek. “Thanks for fussing over me on the way to the hospital. It really helped.”

With that bombshell, he goes up the stairs, leaving me standing there with my palm pressed against my cheek and my mind spinning with all sorts of questions.

CHAPTER 26

LUCIUS

When I wake up, the top of my head is a little sore, but that’s about it. I can't believe I was made to go the hospital with something so trivial. I think I allowed that to happen because I was in shock—not from Elijah’s clumsy assassination attempt but from what happened between me and Juno.

As soon as I recall that encounter in the kitchen, I get hard. Does this mean I have regenerated all the blood I lost? Probably. I know this much: instead of me taming my biology, Juno is turning me into my biology’s slave.

With a sigh, I take off the bandages and use a second mirror to examine the wound. It doesn’t look bad, and my hair should cover it all nicely. Still, just in case, I’d better steer clear of Gram until full recovery.

When I’m done with my morning routine, I check my phone to remind myself of today’s plans.

Ah, right. The photoshoot. That’s an activity Juno and I can do that seems relatively safe… as far as biological urges are concerned.

Boy, was I wrong.

Juno looks extra sexy for the shoot—which, in hindsight, makes sense. She’s female and we’re about to take pictures.

Oh, well.

I do my best to smile instead of gritting my teeth when the photographer asks me to embrace her. As I do, her earthy, wonderful scent makes me as lightheaded as when I lost all that blood last night.

“Smile,” the photographer says.

With an effort, I lift the corners of my lips.

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