Page 171 of Consume Me

“Baby, it’s okay.”

“You don’t feel pain, and that worries me, okay?”

I cup her cheeks. “I love you, but we have to navigate my condition. It’s not going away.”

“I know, but can you promise me you’ll tell me, even if you think it’s nothing, just for my peace of mind?”

“I promise.” I’d promise her the damn world.

When I am steady on my feet, she lets go of my arm, trusting my word. I will not break it.

As I approach the door, she says, “You will not go out with your ass on display.”

I toss my head back, laughter erupting from me. I forgot that I was in a hospital gown, basically flashing everyone my backside.

“I’m not joking. That is my ass to stare at.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, raising a brow in challenge. Fuck, I am mad about her.

“It’s your ass to stare at.”

She bites into her lower lip, humming with suppressed desire. “It’s a damn fine-looking ass. Round and muscled, topped by those two dimples and those damn strong thighs…”

“Baby, if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be held accountable for what I do to you.”

She makes a gesture of lifting her jaw off the floor. She’s so damn adorable. I truly am lucky.

By the time she helps me change, the door opens. Cassandra steps inside, leaving the guards outside. Clear relief shines in her eyes when she looks at me.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” she asks.

“Don’t insist, but we came to a compromise,” Mia says.

“I stayed in that bed long enough.”

“You’re going to stay in the hospital for as long as it takes,” Cassandra says. It would have sounded like an order if her voicehadn’t shaken at the end. In her role, she tries her best not to show favoritism, but she and I share a bond that only survivors of abuse understand.

“Silver, could you ask the nurse if it would be okay to leave the room with a wheelchair?”

She nods, glancing between us. My girl is so emotionally intelligent, reading the room well.

When we’re alone, I say, “I’m sorry I worried you.”

“You always took high risks…”

“I will stop. I have a family to think of.”

“Good. Celine and Kaden. Abigail and Dane. You and Mia. It’s going better than expected.”

“What are you going to do about Bailey? I don’t know why the fucker would be so interested in her.”

“That’s a worry for another time,” she says, putting a forced levity in her voice that doesn’t ease my worries.

I am about to ask her what she is hiding when the door opens, and Mia rolls the wheelchair in.

“See you at home. I talked to the doctor, and she said you will be discharged in a few days. But it’s bedrest for a while.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

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