Page 97 of Doc

“Yes, we can,” Daddy tells me firmly.

Roman steps away from the bed. “I’ll be back later. Remember, call if you need anything.”

When the door is closed behind Roman, James sits and takes my other hand in his. “You scared me, Ash,” my best friend says, unshed tears shining in his light brown eyes.

I squeeze his hand in mine, trying to reassure him. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise not to do it again, you know I can’t. But Idopromise not to ever bitch about training or extra protection again, becausefucking hell, this sucks.”

James leans forward and presses his lips lightly to mine. I end up choking on my own spit because never, in all the years we’ve been sleeping together, has heevertried to kiss me. Though like many things over the last few months, even that limit is shifting.

It doesn’t bother me as much as it maybe should that he took the liberty, as a lot has happened in the last day or so. I don’t blame him for needing the reassurance that I’m here. Besides, I’ve never been opposed to kissing him. It was just a defense mechanism I was too use to throwing up by the time our relationship shifted from friends to fuck buddies to more.

Daddy begins fussing over me, but when I can catch my breath again and the pain goes from red-hot heat to a dull throb, I wave him off. “I’m fine,” I croak. “I was just startled.”

“Savor it,” James tells me. “That’s the one and only kiss you’ll ever get.”

Letting out a strained laugh, I squeeze his hand again. “I love you.”

He grunts, and I enjoy the way his face flushes at my words. Most of the time, James can ignore the ‘squirmy’ feelings he gets whenever I express how much I care for him, but sometimes, they hit just a little differently.

Maybe it makes me an asshole for enjoying the way he tries his best to show me he cares, even though he doesn’t feel it in the same way I do. I know sometimes it can be uncomfortable for him, but I’m injured, so that should give me a little more grace.

“Leave him alone,” Daddy gently reprimands.

Huffing, I shoot Daddy an innocent look, which makes him roll his eyes.

The brief return to normal, even though the pain running through my stomach and torso reminds me that this is anything but a normal situation, eases some of my tension, and I can relax in the bed. My heart feels light in a way it wasn’t before.

Being with the two people who mean the world to me, it’s easy to ignore what happened. None of us will be able to forget, but…there’s hope we’ll be able to heal, eventually.

Daddy leans in to kiss me, his lips lingering softly against mine for a long time, but I don’t mind. I need the connection as much as he does. James holds my hand tightly, and for a moment, I don’t think anything could be more perfect than this.

Recovering is boring. In the six weeks since Nikolai Petrov tried to kill me, I’ve read alotof books. My TBR has never been so empty, but even reading my favorite books can only hold my attention for so long.

Yesterday, Murry said I was making good progress, but he still wanted me to take things easy for a few more weeks. Jayden has also done his own evaluation, and gave me some simple exercises to do after talking to Murry.

All that means is Soren’s been taking care of me, and normally, having my Daddy’s undivided attention would be a good thing, but I’m restless. I want to be loved and fucked and spanked, and that’s not going to happen until I get the okay from Murry. It’s a humbling thing, to know I’m not infallible. It’s not a good feeling. I much prefer saving lives than being the one who needed to be saved.

I’m sitting in the family room, contemplating getting up and finding whatever trouble I can get into, when one of the triplets enters the room. Unlike Daddy, I can’t tell them apart. You’d think it’d be easy since Donovan has a cochlear implant, but that’s not a hard and fast rule, because I’ve learned there’s about a thirty-seventy chance of him wearing it that day. Which would be fine, except Dominic and Dmitri are both in the habit of acting like they’re also deaf, so all three of them default to either ASL or RSL, or a weird combination of both languages.

I’ve never spent much time around multiples, so it’s been a crash course in how…interesting they can be. Though Daddy says the triplets take it beyond just having close bonds. His theory is that they’re really one person spread across three bodies. Sometimes, it seems like it...

The last few weeks, they’ve been staying with us, because they obviously can’t go home, and even though they’d been staying at Soren’s condo off and on over the last few months, Daddy’s wanted to keep them close. It’s not as though we don’t have the room. It’s not a problem to have a few extra bodies in the house.

“Is the Boss always so…scary?” he asks, taking a seat in one of the recliners near the sofa I’m laying on.

I laugh and manage not to wince as my wound twinges. “Yes. Yes, he is. I’m assuming the meeting went well?”

He nods and smiles. “Yep. He said I could start training with the rest of the guards as early as next week, if I pass my medical check up that is.”

“I won’t lie for you,” I tell Dmitri. “But it should be fine.”

He rolls his eyes. “I would never expect you to. But will you be back to work by then?”

“Yes, don’t worry about me. Murry gave me the all-clear to do light work, and a simple physical won’t be so strenuous.”

“Only if you’re sure. I can get an appointment with the Bratva doctor if I need to. He might not approve of me and my brothers, but he’s loyal to the Pakhan first and foremost. David will make sure he doesn’t give me any issues.”

“It’s fine. I know you’re worried about Soren hovering, but I have to go back to work at some point. I’m sobored.”

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