Page 15 of Dario

He kisses the tip of my nose and brings his other hand up to stroke my cheek. "I'm not leaving you alone. You go where I go." He smiles. "I'm going to get you an eye mask so you can go into the locker room."

"Oh my God!" I giggle. "That is so not happening."

He grins and sits back in the chair. "You can look at me naked all you want, but you're not putting those eyes on any other naked guys."

I snort. "Are you afraid I'll do some comparing?”

"Nothing to compare," he says in a serious voice.

After a moment I admit, "Honestly, you're the only one I see."

My heart pounds in my chest at the look on his face. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows hard. "I'm serious about you being where I am. I can't concentrate otherwise. Besides, you'll be safe with me. I won't let him get to you again."

I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything. Too bad my stomach doesn't get the message because it lets out a loud groan. "Oops."

"We need breakfast," Dario says, pulling out his phone. When he's done, he adds, "It'll be here in thirty minutes."

"What about Coach? And what did Wyatt say when you told him what happened?" I chew my lip, nervous about his answer to the last question.

"Coach told me to take today off. Wyatt knows I swim. He recommended the pool."

My eyes widen. "He recommended it to me, too."

He smiles. "Then you have nothing to worry about."

Oh, there's plenty to worry about.

CHAPTER NINE

DARIO

My day has takenan unexpected turn. As I watch Gemma sleep, my chest feels heavy, and my head is full of what ifs. The main one being, what if I hadn't been there? I'm usually gone by that time. This situation would be different.

Gemma doesn't know that I meant every word I said. She goes wherever I go. I want to suggest moving in with her, but after thinking about it, I want her to move in with me. Bradford and Madden also live there. There will be more of us to protect her.

The door slowly opens. I glance at Gemma, who is asleep, and then back to the door. Lake's wife, Juniper, enters, followed by Rhodes and Nikoli’s girls, Rosie, and Willow. The food they are carrying wafts into my nose and my stomach makes a loud growl.

Gemma blinks awake and rubs her eyes. "Food," I say unnecessarily.

Juniper spreads it out on the wheeled table. "We brought comfort food. I hope that's okay?"

"That's really nice of you." Gemma tries to sit up, so I jump up and help rearrange the pillows. "Thank you."

"We'll keep you company," Rosie says. Then to me, "When you've eaten, why don't you go to the arena for a while. Take a break. The boys will be there."

I shake my head. "I'm not going anywhere." I open one of the breakfast sandwiches and hand it to Gemma, who gives me a small smile.

"We're here to help, Dario. That's what being part of a team is all about. We want to help."

Hesitantly, I feel Gemma's light touch as she takes my hand. Her hand trembles slightly as I wrap my larger one around her smaller one. I swallow. "Give us today and maybe tomorrow you can keep Gemma company. I have a game." What I don't say is that, for the first time in a long time, I'm not looking forward to getting on the ice. The girls mean well, but I can't bring myself to leave Gemma just yet.

I kiss Gemma's hand and let her go so she can eat while the food is still warm. I force myself to sit in the chair and eat mine. The coffee I drink makes me feel like I haven't had any for days. The girls are chatting quietly, including Gemma, which is nice. I sense my girl is lonely in the friendship department.

Rosie moves away from the others and sits on the arm of the chair. I notice Gemma's eyes narrow at the move. Inwardly, I smile at her jealousy. Outwardly, I stand and make sure Rosie catches the look on Gemma's face.

Rosie winces. "Sorry." She pats Gemma's arm. "I wanted you to know that Dodge is investigating what happened. He's good. We'll keep you safe." She smiles.

"I don't know what to say." Gemma tears up and tries to smile but fails miserably.

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