Page 25 of Silent Betrayal

“Yes, and you’re going to lie in it and recover,” Tucker says as he carries me over.

Max crawls up and pulls the covers down for me to be placed into, then recovers me when I’m lying down. He lies on his side with his face propped up in his hand.

“Sweetheart, have you ever… cuddled before?”

“Max! No!” Gideon says, pointing his finger at him.

I laugh thinking Gideon sounds like he’s reprimanding a dog.

“Max, you know the rules. No touching until her wounds are healed, and there’s no risk of reopening any of them.”

What does that mean?Will there be cuddling after I’m fully healed? I can’t help but suddenly hope I’m a fast healer.

“Get some sleep, Princess, text us if you need anything,” Ben tells me as he places my phone on my nightstand. They each take a turn saying goodnight, but nobody touches me, which surprises me.

Dom exits last, and when he switches off the main light, a small light starts glowing by the bathroom door. It’s some kind of nightlight in the shape of a moon that reflects stars on the wall around it. I wonder if one of them picked that out for me or if they already had it here.

That makes me look around the room, my room, again and question where everything came from. I hope this wasn’t one of their rooms and they’re giving it up for me. But it didn’t seem to match any of their personalities. No… the person it best fit was… me.

It seems even the nicest room in the world isn’t enough to get me to sleep soundly. I find myself tossing and turning all night, aggravating my injuries. I’m uncomfortable and restless and can’t seem to shut off my mind. How long could I really stay here for? What was I going to do? Do I have to go back to high school? Do I even want to? What if my mom finds me here? What if Simon does?

The sound of my door creaking open has me sitting up with a gasp as I clutch the blanket to my chest.

“Mina, are you alright?” The sound of Dom’s voice has me deflating, the fear creeping out of me as I drop my hands to my lap and breathe heavily.

He steps inside and closes the door behind him before coming to sit on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on top of mine. He’s wearing a pair of blue plaid pajama pants and a tight black tank top that shows off the skin on his shoulders and arms.

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“I thought I heard you moving around in here, that’s why I came to check on you. Is there anything I can do to help you sleep? A warm glass of milk or I could put more lights on, if that will help?” he asks gently. I don’t think any of those things will help. The worry and fear set in as soon as they left me alone.

“Could you—” I look up at him nervously, afraid of his response.

“Ask me anything, Kitten.”

“Stay with me?”

His eyes soften as he strokes my cheek. “Of course, lay down.” He stands up as I lay back down and he pulls the blanket back before climbing in beside me, pulling the cover up to cover us both.

I lay on my back nervously and am beyond happy when he takes control of the situation. “Turn to face the other way, good girl,” he says when I obey him. He moves himself up against my back and wraps his arm around my waist so I can’t tell where he ends and I begin.

He gently rests his palm against the bandage on my lower stomach, and my breath hitches. “Kitten, do you want to talk about it?”

I lick my dry lips and with a shaky breath I ask, “about what?”

“The doctor said you might not be able to have children. You haven’t said anything, and I wanted to know how you were feeling about it.”

I take a moment to consider how I feel. Mostly, I’ve been tryingnotto think about it. “I-I’m angry she did that to me,” I whisper, deciding to be honest. He kisses my shoulder and it gives me the strength to keep talking. “I’m mad I might not be able to make the decision to become a parent.” He kisses me again. “I’ve never considered having children before, and I’m not sure I’d want them. But I hate that the decision has been taken from me.”

“I’m sorry she may have taken that choice from you, baby,” Dom says before placing another kiss on my shoulder.

“D—do you want children?” I ask nervously.

“Like you, I’ve never thought much about them. I think I’d be okay with them, if it’s something the person I’m with wants, but I’m also okay without them.”

He moves his hand higher, over my ribs and presses his nose into my neck. His warm breath skates over my skin, sending tingles everywhere.

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